Congress Flips Out About 'Snowden The Traitor' As They Try To Pass Legislation To Stop The Program He Revealed
from the cognitive-dissonance dept
Congress is quite incredible at times. Compare and contrast the following two articles. First, we've got the news that Congress is pushing very, very hard to roll back and limit the various NSA surveillance programs -- programs that we only really know the full details about because of the leaks from Ed Snowden to the press. Then, we've got a bunch of Senators calling Snowden a traitor and arguing that Russia has "stabbed us in the back" by taking Snowden in. It's as if they don't even realize what they're saying and how fundamentally ridiculous they look:“Russia has stabbed us in the back, and each day that Mr. Snowden is allowed to roam free is another twist of the knife,” said Senator Chuck Schumer....So... he's a traitor, and Russia has "stabbed us in the back" by allowing him to stay in that country... and... oh yeah... we need to fix this whole spying thing that Congress really sorta kinda knew about all along, but didn't much care about until Snowden let the public in on it. Incredible.
[....] “I think this is a troubling pattern,” Ayotte said, pointing to Putin’s support for Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, his crackdown on adoptions and a string of other decisions in which he’s “basically just trampling on what we’ve expressed to him that we want to see happen … we’re not just talking about Snowden here.”
[....] “I think Snowden is a traitor, and Putin did a wrong thing."... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told BuzzFeed.
[....] “Russia’s action today is a disgrace and a deliberate effort to embarrass the United States,” McCain said in a statement.
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Filed Under: chuck schumer, congress, ed snowden, harry reid, john mccain, kelly ayotte, legislation, nsa, nsa surveillance, traitor
Reader Comments
The First Word
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Ahem. I think it's explainable if you breakdown Congress into their respective members. Part of them think Snowden is a traitor and the other doesn't. Same with the support for the programs exposed by the leaks. And then you have the weird cases who think the programs are ok but Snowden is also ok because there was no transparency despite the programs being ok (?!?!?!).
There seem to be the cases that are indeed some sort of mental disturb and are fighting against the programs while condemning the very man who brought them to light. I'm inclined to think these are either clueless or the "go with the flow" ones regardless of how dumb it makes them look.
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Hello Congress
Unfortunately you aren't getting the message.
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Wow
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Since when did the US empire expand to include Russia?
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But the way some Congresscritters are talking, it's like they think the Russian Federation is the 51st state, and the state is on the verge of rebellion.
Acting in accordance with that viewpoint will have nasty consequences. While the current incarnation of Russia isn't quite as much of an international heavyweight as the USSR was, it's well above the weight class of Iraq or Afghanistan.
Have the leaders we elected grown so overconfident from trampling on midgets, that they've forgotten that there are full size bodybuilders around?
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Amazing that you can spot this contradiction,
When you think surveillance, think Google!
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I'd say it's like talking to a wall, but plaster and bricks would listen better...
You cannot opt out of government services/data gathering.
Learn the difference.
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Re: I'd say it's like talking to a wall, but plaster and bricks would listen better...
Learn the difference.
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And wonder why everyone flagged your post
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Re: Amazing that you can spot this contradiction,
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Huh?
Are we not the country that was founded by those that sought to lay off the restraints of a ruler and find the best way to live?
Have we gone so far from the ideals of our founding that we are now becoming the country and state that this country was founded to defy?
In are largess and fatness have we decided to become something lazy and fretful and allow others to rule us and define our lives as long as our narrow lives are not impinged.
Ok so that was my rant in old speak. :-)
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Look at it from Congress' perspective
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The politicians are doing their normal raindance to avoid looking like soft socialists. The things they say are to affirm that none of their own has gone soft and if they have, that everyone else in the community knows and can help to freeze them out of the good company.
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Dissociative identity disorder
Yep, politics as usual.
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Re: Dissociative identity disorder
One thing should be noted. In spite of what Congress is saying about it, I still have severely mixed feelings about Russia. Diplomatic relations between the US, Russia, and China are like a three way chess game because we are all bitter rivals in the global community. I don't doubt Congress is quite insane...but in my own opinion, while as a whole it is good that Snowden has been granted asylum there...I cannot help but question Russia's motives in this situation. They still carry diplomatic ties to countries that would torture Snowden's information out of him.
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Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
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I bet they want a return to the bad old days of the Cold War, when people did whatever the government asked because there were Commies out to get you!
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I'm starting to feel like the lone voice defending Snowden at sites like Politico, it's insane how many people are concerned about the NSA's spying there, but call Snowden a traitor. Nevermind how many times I point out that treason is defined in the US constitution and the US government doesn't have 2 or more witnesses against him.
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This is a tacit admission that this whole wild goose chase has less to do with justice or national security and the public interest and more to do with being embarrassed.
These politicians have no clue what they are saying sometimes. With your very own words you condemn yourself.
Your decisions should not be based on avoiding embarrassment. That should not enter into the discussion. Your decisions should be about doing what's right. but apparently your reputation means more to you than the public interest.
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Traitor!
Riiiiiigght!
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Why I side with Snowden
Notice that bit at the end? That's what I stand for.
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As If being caught with your hand in the data jar wasn't Embarrassing.
Still finding the Anti US statements flying around , Makes me laugh the UK has it's version of Prism, it's called Tempora every nation in the world has at one time or another spied on it's people ...crack open your history books and quit making excuses for your ignorant uneducated remarks
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Huh.
Lather, rinse, repeat until total government failure
The branches of government don't represent us anymore, but not all of us recognize that, and so long as we're distracted by the circuses (and have enough bread) we won't be inclined to do anything about it.
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