July 13, 2013

NSA Leak: The Bogus Edward Snowden Narrative

There’s a spurious narrative about NSA leaker Edward Snowden and it goes something like this:  Snowden sure picked some questionable places to flee to (China, Russia) if he’s so worried about his freedoms. Both liberal and conservative pundits have issued this narrative and comedian Bill Maher has told jokes invoking it. But the problem with this bogus anecdote is that it assumes Snowden leaked information for his own personal benefit. So far there is zero evidence that he did this for fame or did this to advance a self-serving agenda. All indications are that Edward Snowden leaked the NSA spying information, including details about the PRISM program, because he truly cares about our constitutional rights being infringed by our government.

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July 2, 2013

Is The United States-Mexico Border Fence A Symbol Of Freedom Or Racism?

When I see images of the U.S.-Mexico border fence, I know I don’t think strength. I don’t think freedom. I don’t think liberty. I don’t think compassion. I don’t think empathy. No, when I see that fence, I think of oppressive regimes. Now, to be fair, those regimes usually build fences to keep people in, not out, but still, does a country that prides itself on freedom need a fortified border fence? And if so, why is there no such fence separating us from Canada?

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June 15, 2013

NSA Leak: Law-Breaking, Civil Disobedience, And Who Do You Trust?

Democrats will need to go above and beyond to be trusted when it comes to their opinion on the NSA leak by Edward Snowden. What do I mean by that? With a Democrat in the White House, I don’t trust Democrats who say Snowden is a traitor. Similarly, I don’t trust Republicans, particularly libertarians, who say Snowden is a patriot or a hero.

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June 10, 2013

NSA Spying: The Collective ‘Meh’ Heard ‘Round America (Pew Poll)

Meh - photo by Thomas HawkAmericans read about NSA surveillance of internet traffic and data mining of phone records and they responded with a collective “meh.” This blog doesn’t exactly tear it up in the page view department, but my recent posts on NSA Spying have gotten very little traction at all. And that leads me to believe when it comes to the NSA leak story, Americans just don’t give a shit.

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June 7, 2013

NSA Spying On Americans: We Are The Reason It Will Continue

There’s a simple reason the National Security Agency’s (NSA) data mining of phone records and internet content/traffic will continue unabated — This is how Americans now expect their government to behave. We want to be protected, and so many of us have made peace with it. As long as it’s out of sight, out of mind, there’s no civil liberty concerns.

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May 28, 2013

What Can Denmark Teach Us About Ourselves?

On The Huffington Post, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders asks (“What Can We Learn From Denmark?“). But I think a better question is: What can Denmark teach us about ourselves? — Senator Sanders talks about the town hall meetings he attended with Danish Ambassador Peter Taksoe-Jensen. During those meetings, people learned about the major differences in quality of life of the average person in Denmark compared to the average person in the United States.

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