Whistle Blowers or Traitors ???

After watching the Hannity interview with Julian Assange this week and the movie Snowden by Oliver Stone, I've got much to say.

First.

Are they whistle blowers or traitor's?

That's the million dollar question.

Both claim to be after the truth. Both obviously want the public to know what they've uncovered. And both have literally put their lives on the line in order to expose political and governmental corruption. Both now live in hotel like rooms at embassy's and no longer have the freedom to come and go. They are like prisoners. Who would risk their freedom, if not for noble reasons?

So whistle blowers or traitors'?

I believe that there is a strong difference between Snowden & Assange.

Edward Snowden is an American citizen who wanted to serve in the military but due to injuries, could not. He then went on to serve our country in other various governmental positions with the CIA, NSA, etc.

There's no doubt in my mind that he is a patriot.

Some might ask, how can you say that? He exposed secrets of the NSA and beyond and thus put our country at risk.

I can easily refute that.

As far as I know, in not ONE circumstance has he given away information that would/could hurt the security of the United States. In other words, no military or strategic secrets. No access to financial structures or the court system. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

All he did was basically inform the public and say, did you know that the NSA has access to your private email, addresses, phone conversations, etc? That they can easily tap into your personal lives without a FISA warrant by means of surveillance, wiretapping, etc?

In case you're not sure what a FISA warrant is, Wikipedia defines it as such:

"The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC, also called the FISA Court) is a U.S. federal court established and authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests for surveillance warrants against foreign spies inside the United States by federal law ..."

Against, FOREIGN spies. The average, everyday American shouldn't be subjected to surveillance UNLESS they have proven to be a security threat to our country.

Now, you might ask: How can you tell if someone's a threat, unless you have access to their activities?

My answer is most likely you can't unless there is very unusual behavior witnessed by others ie their family, friends, co-workers, etc. and is reported to the authorities.  In turn, a FISA warrant could be acquired and then go from there.

But think back. Has the NSA really prevented terror attacks on the homeland due to their surveillance? Maybe. But obviously not all, as there's been plenty  attacks over the years since 9/11/2001.

My point is, is that Edward Snowden exposed what could be the beginning of a Big Brother government that has way too much access to our personal lives. And when that happens, it provides a massive amount of federal power, which put into the wrong hands, can create a 1984 or Brave New World scenario. Not good in my book. 

It also opens the door to unethical leaders and government officials to intimidate and exact revenge on those they view as enemies. Think about the IRS and it's use of blocking many Tea Party organizations from becoming legal entities which in turn would enact opposition to the party that blocked them? 

Or how about the Justice Department's use of power over the FBI and in many other cases?

Access to private citizens lives in the hands of power hungry and vengeful leaders is NOT a good thing.

Bottom line, in my eyes, Edward Snowden is a hero. An unsung one. And I believe his intentions were noble.

As for Julian Assange.

The jury is still out on him.

Right now, he's a friend to us Conservatives since he outed the corruption and manipulative behavior of those in the DNC and Hillary Clinton herself. 

But whose side is he on?

Is he really just after the truth no matter what country? Could he be working for the Russian's as many have stated?

I have no idea. The guy is a true enigma.

I watched Sean Hannity's interview with Assange and was totally intrigued.

On the surface, he seemed incredibly sincere in just wanting to expose a corrupt Hillary & DNC. And he did so. For that I'm grateful. But was it really about exposing corruption or was/is he just playing a game or working for another government who did NOT want to see the Clinton's gain power once again?

Bottom line.

Assange is one heck of an intriguing character and I don't think we'll ever really know what makes him tick, what his true motives are or if he works for any one country or aligns himself with no one at all. Only time will tell... 

Regardless of what I or anyone else think about Snowden and Assange, these guys represent the future.

There will be more of them. And they will amass incredible power.

Last words.

While thinking about all of the above after watching the movie Snowden, I fretted over the future of our children.

Computers, smart phones, gps',  devices that read to our children and can practically raise them, self driving cars, robots handing over burgers at McDonalds. These conveniences while improving our lives in some ways, can also create a distance with each other. There's a danger with that,  in my humble opinion. But that's a topic for another day!