Whatever is bad for Obama is good for America. Obama is more dangerous to us, and will do more damage, than any foreign power or terror group. Obama and the Liberals are more harmful than China, Iran, North Korea, and the entire Middle East combined and put to the nth power.

America can survive anything but liberalism, which is killing it.

Insofar as Snowden harmed Obama we should pin a medal on him and have a parade.

I guess it’s all about the context and you’re right about the IRS scandal providing that context. Still, I’m glad this has come out [again] now, and I’m glad that the significance of (and danger posed by) this is finally penetrating our collective craniums. Regardless of Snowden’s motives.

But we already knew the gist of it anyway, from William Binney, an earlier whistleblower:

During interviews on Democracy Now! in April and May 2012 with elaboration in July 2012 at 2600’s hacker conference HOPE and a couple weeks later at DEF CON, Binney reported that he estimates that the NSA (particularly through the Stellar Wind project) had intercepted 20 trillion communications “transactions” of Americans (such as phone calls, emails, and other forms of data but not including financial data). This includes most of the emails of US citizens. Binney discloses in sworn affidavit for Jewel v. NSA that the agency was “purposefully violating the Constitution”

It was only in the context of the IRS scandal that the Snowden news drop seem to matter so much to people, because Binney’s revelations (which were so similar) didn’t gain all that much traction.

Snowden also said a bunch of other stuff about the NSA program (in addition to the materials he gave, which are apparently authentic) that may or may not be true (I’m writing a post on that subject now). So his motivation and general veracity are very much an issue—is he truthful, a freelancer, or working in someone else’s interests (and about to come under the control of another country’s interests)?

Of course the program itself is most important. I’ve written that time and again. But Snowden’s agenda (and possible hidden agenda) is also relevant.

The question I asked myself this morning was this: ” Are we Americans better or worse off knowing about the existence of these secret programs, particularly in light of the other scandals that have come to light?”

For me, the answer is a no-brainer: It’s far better to know; I’m glad I know. How could one not be glad that we now know?

Snowden may be a traitor or, more charitably, a Pandora. But even assuming the worst about him I’ll take him to be no worse than Tolkien’s character Gollum, who after all had an essential part to play: despicable though Gollum was, the Ring would never have gone back into the Fire had it not been for the role he played.

For me, Snowden’s possible treason is irrelevant. What’s relevant is the danger he’s brought to our attention. And what ought to be done about that danger.

What should be done? What can be done?

He pointed out that if Snowden knows even a fraction of what he says, the Chinese Communists (no shrinking violets, they) will capture him and wring every drop of information out of him — if he’s just a colossally naive young man.

Or — he may well be planning to defect to the PRC. In which case, America is in for some rough stuff.

That is a point apart from the Left’s arrogation unto themselves of vast, Big Brother-ish powers. This guy has gone to people who’ve already made that sort of thing their special Dark Art.

The Dykes

We have no heart for the fishing — we have no hand for the oar —
All that our fathers taught us of old pleases us no more.
All that our own hearts bid us believe, we doubt where we do not deny —
There is no proof in the bread we eat, nor rest in the toil we ply.

Look you, our foreshore stretches far, through sea-gate, dyke and groin —
Made land all, that our fathers made, where the flats and the fairway join.
They forced the sea a sea-league back. They died, and their work stood fast.
We were born to peace in the lee of the dykes, but the time of our peace is past.

Far off, the full tide clambers and slips, mouthing and testing all,
Nipping the flanks of the water-gates, baying along the wall;
Turning the shingle, returning the shingle, changing the set of the sand . . .
We are too far from the beach, men say, to know how the outworks stand.

So we come down, uneasy, to look; uneasily pacing the beach.
These are the dykes our fathers made: we have never known a breach.
Time and again has the gale blown by and we were not afraid;
Now we come only to look at the dykes — at the dykes our fathers made.

–Rudyard Kipling

This is the link to the video.

I found it rather informative. While I would have preferred to interview him myself, his facial gestures (would have liked to see his body language as well) gave more data.

I question whether he used any of his access to check NSA records on certain people… such as Greenwald, to ensure he had no connections to Obama or the US intel services.

After all, Snowden says he has “access” to the secret agent lists and resources as well as NSA meta and concrete data. Might he not have used it to check up on certain things?

And what things would that be.

He’s quite right that the Leftist alliance, or even Islamic Jihad, that if such people were given access to these powers, the internet can become a very powerful tool of tyranny. I’ve already seen the net used in order to benefit MPAA.

It won’t be long before they understand that they can use it for other things as well.

My other questions concern Manning and Greenwald. When exactly did he know of them? And why is Greenwald’s relationship with the US government and Obama specifically. I know he is part of the Left, but is his particular faction just based in Britain and has no connections whatsoever to US factions?

Former Private Manning was given to even more important intel, in some ways.