Key 2 Liberty's Take on Edward Snowden
July 20, 2013
Jim Merritt
Edward Snowden has now been on the run for almost 2 months after admitting to the world through the British newspaper The Guardian on Sunday June 9th that he was the person who leaked the information about national security programs to The Washington Post and The Guardian that was used to create a series of articles detailing how the United States government is using the computer data of private companies such as Verizon to spy on the American people. This information was basically already known to the public because the Telecommunications Act of 1996 required that by 2001 one quarter of all cell phones manufactured were to be equipped with GPS technology in order to allow government authorities to track people's positions if necessary. In 2002 it became mandatory for all cell phones to be equipped with GPS technology. It is funny to think that most people probably thought that cell phone companies were providing this new technology as a trendy new feature of the phone to allow for map navigation. Although the law has been in place for over 15 years this is the first confirmation that the government is actually using this technology to spy on people that are not even suspected of being involved with committing any crimes and keeping a record of all the available data that it feels important despite an obvious violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Key U.S. political figures have called Snowden a traitor. Dick Cheney not only called Snowden a traitor on Fox News with Chris Wallace on Sunday June 16th, he defended the illegal surveillance programs he helped to set up after the attacks of 9/11. Dick Cheney, the man who ordered the stand down of NORAD on 9/11, calling another person a traitor to the United States is a classic example of calling the kettle black. It is definitely not a surprise that an admitted Council on Foreign Relations member would consider what Snowden did as treasonous. House speaker John Boehner also called Snowden a traitor on Tuesday June 11th on ABC's Good Morning America. Boehner can hardly be considered a defender of liberty as he pushes the typical neo-con GOP agenda of big military industrial complex spending and catering to the banks involved with the Federal Reserve System. In Snowden's defense tea party leader Sarah Palin commented on Fox News that without whistle blowers such as Snowden we wouldn't be aware of Obama's NSA tyranny turning it into a left vs. right argument without acknowledging the fact that George Bush kicked off the current system of tyranny when he signed the Patriot Act of 2001, about seven and a half years before passing the torch of tyranny on to Obama.
There is no such crime as giving away government secrets when the government secrets are crimes. If we are going to stick with having a Constitution then we should also follow it and take offense when it is violated in any manner, especially when it is grossly violated as is the case with the government keeping track of every phone call that is made along with every text message and email that gets sent in the name of keeping us safe from terrorists. Ben Franklin once said, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." James Madison also warned about letting tyranny start to take a hold, "Because it is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of Citizens, and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution. The freemen of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise, and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle. We revere this lesson too much soon to forget it." Maybe Dick Cheney and John Boehner need to refresh themselves on the ideology of our founders before they go calling someone who defends the principles of liberty a traitor. It makes one wonder whose side they are on.
Snowden at this time is still stranded without a valid passport in the transit zone of Moscow's airport and is trying to find a permanent home somewhere in a country that has the courage to let him stay. Just last Tuesday he officially requested asylum from Russia and said that he fears for his life if he is forced to return back to the United States. He has tried recently to obtain asylum from several other countries such as Venezuela and Honduras while senior officials in the State Department have basically threatened Latin American and other countries that letting Snowden have asylum in their country would have "lasting consequences". Instead of our country going after the people who violated the rights of almost every one of its citizens it is instead deciding to once again be the world bully and show that we are indeed an evil empire and not a "Global Force for Good" as is claimed in commercials for the U.S. Navy. The United States of America is descending into tyranny and becoming a total police state. Americans need to let their elected officials know that this conduct is unacceptable and cause for removal when it comes time for the next election.
World News
February 3, 2013
Jim Merritt
This news section will cover world news events that pertain to the US Constitution or freedom and liberty in general. The war on terror and its effects on freedom and liberty will be a major topic. The governments of other countries will be compared to ours and will be either applauded or criticized depending on the way they support the principles of freedom and liberty.