MY TWO BITS ON SNOWDEN...

     I fully support what Edward Snowden has done and I agree with Daniel Ellsberg who leaked the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War that this leak surpasses even their own in terms of importance. But why, you ask? It's very simple actually...

     The basis of the justice system in our country is presumption of innocence. Whether the job of the government or a prosecutor, it is their responsibility to prove beyond the benefit of doubt that the accused is guilty of a crime. It is not the job of the accused to prove their innocence.

      And no, I don't buy into the bullshit claim that one has nothing to fear if one has nothing to hide.

      The NSA surveillance programs that were revealed via Snowden's leak turned that presumption on its head. Understand I'm not talking about ordinary spying done by governments against other governments. That has a long history and what they do is fine. The problem here is that it involves U.S. citizens and when what you're doing involves U.S. citizens, the laws of this nation and the spirit of those very same laws must be followed to the letter if not better.
       Warrantless spying on U.S. citizens creates a presumption of guilt and I can't stand for that. It's also a violation of the Fourth Amendment which not only requires the government to have a warrant and/or reasonable suspicion to initiate a search, but it must also have a specific target in mind. Law enforcement agents cannot search for anything more than they are allowed to search for. There's a reason these limits on power exist.

      The NSA spying program works on the assumption that all citizens are terrorists or are aiding terrorists until shown otherwise. Also, there is nothing specific being searched for nor have the people being searched via this program been charged with or even accused of a crime.

       The fact that this isn't being talked about by the press has been infuriating. With rare exception, the mainstream press is actually condemning Snowden rather than the revelations made. This in turn makes me furious because since when did the press become official spokesmen for the government?

      At the risk of sounding conspiratorial, it really does bring about the feeling that we are in the opening stages of a dictatorship. Not now...not through President Obama (I'm not that crazy), but soon. That slow transition...

      It certainly does feel like the groundwork has been laid.