One of the most talked about people in the last few days is NSA "whisteblower" Edward Snowden. Edward Snowden, NSA files source: 'If they want to get you, in time they will' is part of the Guardian report.
Snowden, working as a contractor, released classified information on top-secret programs, including the PRISM surveillance program. There are lots of mixed feelings about Snowden leaking information about the National Security Agency spying on folks through their phones and e-mail. Interestingly, they opinions don't really break down according to party lines. Many Americans are skeptical of certain national measures conceived under Republican Bush and birthed under Democrat Obama.
The New Yorker says that Edward Snowden is no hero, while a number of folks have started the Pardon Edward Snowden petition that seeks White House response.
I don't have enough information to make extended comments, but my first impression of Snowden is that he is sincere in his desire to warn the American people. He has much more to lose than he can gain personally. I have long thought that our government needs to be reigned in from unwarranted searches and sketchy warrants that skirt constitutionality. We all want to be safe, but a government that secretly violates the Constitution is a government of which we also need to be wary. We shall watch and see how this all plays out.
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As an example of the strange bedfellows created by the NSA leak: Senator Dianne Feinstein called Edward Snowden's whistleblowing "an act of treason" and House Speaker John Boehner called him a "traitor". It is possible that Snowden's release of classified information to the media might put Americans at risk. Is it not also possible that an unchecked government with unlimited access to our information might also put us at risk, if not now in the near future?
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