Phil Donahue: Whistle-Blowers, Dissenters and Progressives Are the Patriots

[marmar]

[Luminous Animal]

1. And today, in The Intercept, a fantastic narrative by whistleblower James Bamford

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/02/the-nsa-and-me/

[ReRe]

8. If there are people who don't know who James Bamford is...

... then they have some reading to do. They can pick up his books on most any online book supplier for a song. If you can't afford that, just go to your library. But first, do go and read whatever is on intercept right now for your first lesson on James Bamford.

[Octafish]

15. Thanks for the heads-up.

Great read about Bamford's journey as a whistleblower before the Church Committee. Bamford was "shocked" the NSA lied to Congress. The guy still has his integrity.

[ReRe]

17. Did you read all the way to the bottom of...

... his (James Bamford) article on intercept? Including the 182 page document at the bottom?
If not, go back and check it out. Click on the "next page" button of page 1 of the document.

[Octafish]

18. That document is dynamite.

His friend helped him protect what the Justice Department of Jimmy Carter said was a citizen's right to know, the Reagan cough Bush DoJ said he had retroactively no right to possess.

Absolutely incredible article. You can download the whole 183 page file. Don't know for what NSA or CIAFBIArmyIntelwhatever will do with the knowledge that you know, but We the People are the ones who should decide.

I think what Hannah Arendt said, though.

The goal of wholesale surveillance, as Arendt wrote in “The Origins of Totalitarianism,” is not, in the end, to discover crimes, “but to be on hand when the government decides to arrest a certain category of the population.” And because Americans’ emails, phone conversations, Web searches and geographical movements are recorded and stored in perpetuity in government databases, there will be more than enough “evidence” to seize us should the state deem it necessary. This information waits like a deadly virus inside government vaults to be turned against us. It does not matter how trivial or innocent that information is. In totalitarian states, justice, like truth, is irrelevant.

SOURCE: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_last_gasp_of_american_democracy_20140105

[ReRe]

20. I couldn't believe it when...

... I clicked to see the next page! The print is so small that it's going to be difficult to get through it. How do I download it?

[Octafish]

23. Click on the ''box'' with four outbound arrows to expand the window...

...I think it's the little box symbol for expanding to full-frame.

On the top document, it opens a second window. On the right side of the document in the new window, there's a "Original Document PDF" button. The thing should be 183 pages, going from memory.

Same for the second document. That's 63 pages, GFM.

[ReRe]

24. Thanks!

[rhett o rick]

19. Please consider making this it's own OP. Thanks for posting. nm

[ReRe]

21. I agree with rhett...

... this is important enough to be it's own OP! So more people will see it. Thanks!

[KoKo]

30. Indeed...that from Bamford is a very good read or Bookmark for Later.........

[BlancheSplanchnik]

32. Saving for later reading. thanks!

As well as a kick & rec for the OP.

[grasswire]

2. kick to read later

thanks

[billhicks76]

3. Damn Right

Google Russ Tice

[TheVisitor]

4. The Real News...

Is great from my experience and I try to keep up with them as much as possible, because they offer mostly non-partisan, factual information, without the dramatic and hells bells attitude...

Thanks for sharing this

[ballyhoo]

5. Damn straight...

[RufusTFirefly]

6. "We have to elect leaders who will reach out rather than lash out."

Just one of dozens of quotable bits of wisdom from Donahue in this fascinating interview.
(By the way, Donahue is referring to international relations, not to appeasing right-wing Republicans.)

I love TRNN. Thanks so much for posting, marmar!

[truedelphi]

16. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^n/t

[KoKo]

31. Great Graphic...and did you SEE the Latest from Bill & Hillary with SiSI of Egypt...?

Fits well with your graphic:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025616015

Well worth the read.....for those who Care about Politics beyond the Spin.

[RufusTFirefly]

33. Oh, you purists are insufferable! As Madeleine would say, "We think it's worth it."

[daredtowork]

7. A corrollary - when government uses unethical tactics to suppress whistleblowers, it is unpatriotic

I've become highly disillusioned by the ability of government at all levels to get away with underhand tactics in suppressing whistleblowers. No matter how how badly the government or certain people within the government want the whistleblowers information to be suppressed - even if they think it's in the interest of the American people to be suppressed - I think they should only use legal, honest methods to achieve that goal. Otherwise the government is just conducting a sleazy cover up, and it seems to me the whistleblower is the more noble party and what they have to say is worth listening to just because the government went through the trouble of using dirty tactics against them.

I call using dirty tactics against whistleblowers unpatriotic because it decreases my respect for the government as an institution.

[christx30]

12. I like this quote:

I call using dirty tactics against whistleblowers unpatriotic because it decreases my respect for the government as an institution.

You owe loyalty to the country. You owe absolutely no loyalty to the government. And at this point, a total lack of respect is understandable.

[ReRe]

9. K&R

Thank you profusely, marmar! I hope everyone will help keep this kicked for exposure. We have allot of young people who don't know Phil Donahue OR James Bamford (mentioned in the thread.)

[JEB]

10. K&R

[toby jo]

11. Everything here. +1 &

[cui bono]

13. Definitely. It's going to be difficult to use the "attack the messenger" tactic on Donohue.

He's absolutely correct throughout this interview. We are so far off from what this country is supposed to be about and stand for and how it is supposed to function. It does not matter if it is a Dem or GOP admin any more for most of these issues. It's just a good cop bad cop routine.

[sabrina 1]

14. That is why they took Donohue off the air, despite his show having the highest ratings

while the war mongers were gearing up for their illegal war. Too much truth was being heard on his show.

And we point to other countries 'propaganda' media.

'Clean your own backyard before you start pointing at your neighbor's'.

Thanks again Phil. I love Real News, it is what our media OUGHT to be.

[KoKo]

26. Just Posted Part 1 of the 3 in DU V&MM...now...It's an Incredible Watch..

TRNN: The Radicalization of Phil Donahue...and How He Got Cut Off & What He Learned: 1/3


http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017218786

[Luminous Animal]

36. Excellent.

[sabrina 1]

44. Thanks Koko, I will definitely go there and watch that.

[rhett o rick]

22. Suppression of whistle-blowers, dissenters, progressives, and honest journalists equals suppression

of democracy. The biggest issue facing us today is getting control of the very powerful NSA/CIA Security State. They can control who gets elected.

Thanks for posting marmar.

[KoKo]

27. Part 1: The Radicalization of Phil Donahue...and How He Got Cut Off & What He Learned:

Is up NOW on DU, V&MM. It's an incredible watch.....


http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017218786

[Uncle Joe]

25. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, marmar.

[navarth]

28. Best thread today IMO

Thanks friends, for a most excellent and informative thread. I'm off to read the provided links now. Bamford on the intercept, and Hedges on truthdig. Well done.

[LiberalLovinLug]

29. Kick and Rec

We have to ignore not only the voices of those GOP and bought off BlueDogDem politicians, but the easily frightened and ignorant average people from all sides (including a few in here) who seem to come up with a new reason to despise whistleblowers and even those that report on them on a daily basis. They all have one thing in common, they never will debate the actual effects that the whisltleblower's revelations, and their journalists, have on the country. its always how he looks, where he lives, his sexual preferences, that he dares to make a living, or his open mind towards ideas from more than one political party. I can't believe the conversation I had with a poster in here that simply said Snowdon was an "asshole" and he didn't like him. I asked how he knew that, and he couldn't say. Its frightening how easily some refuse to look past personality projections.

I'm with Phil, whistleblowers are vital to a democracy and true patriots.

[Fuddnik]

34. We're going to need a big shoehorn to squeeze Donahue under the bus.

It's pretty crowded under there.

[sabrina 1]

45. True, 'they never will debate the actual effects that the whistleblower's revelations and

their journalists have on the country'. It's hard to argue against facts. That is what makes it even worse, they know the facts, at least some of them do, so they use the 'politics of personal destruction' to try to distract from facts they clearly have no problem with.

I can understand not believing the facts, they are pretty horrible, but to know them and try to get people to ignore them, is far, far worse imo.

[LiberalLovinLug]

46. I agree

That's even worse. I am puzzled by that kind of mind. How can you call yourself a liberal, or even simply a Democratic Party supporter, and piss on Snowden, and Greenwald, and by extension every other brave whistleblower or journalist in history that has risked their reputations, careers, and personal freedom to get citizens the truth?

I notice none of these cowards are on this thread, that I've seen so far. Is Phil Donahue too sacred a cow that even they dare not smear?

[sabrina 1]

47. Don't worry, if he continues to speak out, they will not hesitate to try to smear him too.

The simple answer to your question imo, is, they are not Liberals.

[ybbor]

35. Great link

Really good interview. Phil has been correct on the transformation of our country for a long time now.

Hard to believe he was one of the original afternoon talk show hosts. I was a fan then and am still today. His voice needs to be heard on a greater stage!

[Enthusiast]

37. Kicked and recommended!

Not quite 8 minutes in and all I get is buffering.

I would love to watch it. But I have waited and waited.

This is a story I am well familiar with.

[Mister Nightowl]

38. Replace the Toadie on MTP with Phil

The corporation owes him for cancelling the #1-rated show on MSNBC in 2003 because he was right about Iraq. Plus, neither stupid Republicans nor cowardly Dems could get away without having their fucking nonsense called out every Sunday!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

39. Conservatives only believe whistleblowers when they squeal to Drudge about their fake scandals....

Then when it turns out they didn't have the inside knowledge they claimed it doesn't matter because the story fit their narrative.

You know,...like "Curveball".

[ctsnowman]

40. K & R

[whereisjustice]

41. "I've got nothing to hide" really means "I've got nothing worth protecting"

[navarth]

42. kicking this again. nt

[kairos12]

43. Dixie Chicks