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Welcome Debate?

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As the weekend began, we learned that the Obama Administration had formally charged Edward Snowden with espionage, theft and stealing cable TV. Snowden is the guy who leaked classified information about massive and unconstitutional National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs and then fled to Hong Kong.

President Obama said he welcomed the debate touched off by Snowden’s disclosures to The Washington Post and Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian in London . . . but apparently not enough to welcome the man himself.

Sunday, we awoke to hear of Snowden’s new travel plans. Clearly, there is surveillance! Snowden left Hong Kong and flew to Moscow. From there, he appears headed to Ecuador, where he is requesting asylum.

Having just turned 30, Mr. Snowden, a former Central Intelligence Agency employee, then employee of Booz Allen Hamilton, a contractor for the NSA, remains mysterious. Whatever we learn about Snowden, though, I agree with Greenwald’s judgment: “What he has done is an immense public service, an act of real patriotism, to inform his fellow citizens about things the government has been doing of great consequence in the dark . . .”

A separate story over the weekend drives that point home: “President Obama held his first-ever meeting Friday with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) — the group charged with ensuring that the executive branch balances privacy and civil liberties needs with its national security efforts.”

Were it not for that Snowden fellow, would this group “charged with ensuring” our rights and privacy have ever even met?

Don’t bother asking. The story reports, “The White House declined to comment on the meeting.”

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

7 replies on “Welcome Debate?”

That darn Ron Paul was right again when he said “there is nothing patriotic about the patriot act” and “we need to repeal it entirely”.

Wake up America.

2 comments.

1. Obama ISN’T PRESIDENT, HE IS KING. HE KNOWS BEST.

2. The WSJ has had 2 ( that I saw) pieces, both of which shed more light on the NSA’s ” massive spying”– mainly that it was not reading all emails, but looking for links between people and groups and terror organizations/terrorist groups.

I think in a prior edition I put in the date of Mr Cravitz (of the WSJ) wrote an especially enlightening op-ed on it.

What’s the matter with you, Paul?

Don’t you realize that massive surveillance is necessary to keep our country (and ungrateful citizens such as yourself) safe? This so-called “spying” has prevented hundreds of terrorist attacks!

We can’t tell you about any of them of course, because that would reveal our hidden agenda…I mean compromise National Security.

You need to take our word for it. Haven’t we earned your trust?

Look at it this way. Adults know how dangerous it is for toddlers to cross roads without supervision. We deny them freedom to keep them safe.

You and your fellow citizens are the toddlers; I’m the adult. You can’t handle the truth, so we are here to control protect you from your own bad judgment.

Now don’t you feel silly? Just cooperate and you’ll be fine.

Move along. There’s nothing to see here.

Your Despot Benevolent Protector in the White House,

President Barack Obama

Why is this such a huge story? I mean, is everyone just now finding this out because of this guy? Has no one ever heard of ECHELON? How about the FBI’s ability to park a van down the block and record the key strokes on your computer keyboard, or your electric typewriter before that? I’ve known about this stuff since before 9-11, just by paying attention to the “media”, and ‘other’ things. And I mean WAY before 9-11. Try 1979.

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