Heroes or Traitors?

Edward Snowden and Bowe Bergdahl:  heroes or traitors?

Snowden plainly broke the law when he stole super-secret information from the U.S. Government and gave it to news media.  Many say he gave our government’s serets to our enemies, and that makes him a traitor. 

But others say he showed us Americans how our own government has been spying on us in ways “1984” never even dreamed of, and that can only be good.  

Personally, I think Snowden is a hero, or will be when he comes home to face trial.  I believe deeply that every American has the right, even sometimes the duty, to beak the law —  if he is willing to pay the consequences.  Snowden broke the law, although apparently for patriotic reasons.  Now he just needs to complete the job by paying the consequences.

And what a trial it would be. Everybody, from the judge to us faraway spectators,  would be acutely aware that all of us have benefitted greatly from his crime.

Bergdahl’s case is different.

Bergdahl walked away from his comrades-in-arms at a very dangerous time in a very dangerous place, and thus became the Taliban’s prisoner. President Obama gained his release by trading away five of the Taliban’s top leaders. 

Was the trade worth it?  

What we’ve heard so far is that Bergdahl could be a deserter, perhaps even a traitor.  To many, giving up five men who almost certainly will return to war against us seems stupid and probably illegal.

But unlike Snowden, there are many questions that must be answered.  Many unknowns.

Besides, the United States never leaves a soldier behind.  Never.

So the jury’s out on that one.  Let’s wait, and not leap to judgment.

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Privacy?  What Privacy

We can give up the idea that any of us has any real privacy anymore.  Or ever will again.  

And there’s nothing you, I, or even any government can do about it.

And no, that’s not paranoia speaking.  It’s just observation.

For one thing, as long as you are within view of any other people, you know at least some of them have their pocket cameras at the ready.  Those cameras are the main reason more photographs were taken in 2013 than in all other years combined. 

By the way, if you carry one of those little pocket computers, “they” can track you wherever you go. 

Walk the aisles of any store, or through its parking lot, and you know a camera is filming you.

Use your grocery store’s discount card and build an accessible record of your eating habits.  Use your credit card and risk having it swept up by hackers. 

And that doesn’t even mention what our governments do.

Not only does Uncle Sam snoop into who we’re talking to — and when, and for how long — but now he’s even lifting our photos from social web sites to be used by face-recognition gizmos. 

Then there are the drones that will fill the skies in just a few years, their cameras whirring constantly.  And not just government drones.  Already you can google  photos of your own backyard that were taken from space.

And already Google can drive past your house and, in a fraction of a second, learn all of your email contacts.

Privacy?  Gone.

But unless you’re breaking a law, do you really care?  

After all, the way to be truly free is simple: break no laws for which you are not willing to pay the consequences.  Then what can any government do?

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Three Cheers for a Racist's Case

I’m really sorry that Donald Sterling caved in to the NBA bullies and agreed to let his beloved LA Clippers be sold.  I wanted him to fight those hypocrites to the end.

After all, what did he do that made the NBA fine him $2.5 million, force him to sell his team, and ban him for life? 

He made some racist comments during a private conversation with a lady friend.   Nothing more.

Doesn’t the First Amendment count anymore?  Doesn’t Sterling have the right to to say whatever he wishes — especially in private — no matter how ignorant, repugnant, stupid or outrageous his words might be?

And another thing:  Is the NBA punishing him because he’s a racist, or because they caught him saying so?  There’s a huge difference between the two, but the NBA loses either way.  

Because he’s a racist?  Oh, please.  Does anyone really believe that he’s the only racist among the NBA’s 30 controlling owners (all of whom are white)?  If the NBA is going through with its action against Sterling, they should investigate all the other owners, find out if they’ve ever made any racist comments, even in private, and mete out the same punishments to them.  Otherwise they are blatantly hypocrites.

And if they’re doing this only because he got caught making racist comments — during a private conversation yet — well, we’re back to the First Amendment.  And hypocrisy.

Racism is plainly a scourge of our nation.  But so is bullying. 

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How to Kill Obamacare

One of the Republican Party’s most cherished strategies is to convince people that something horrible is about to happen to us, and that only the Republican Party can save us. 

Republicans are using that formula now to try and repeal Obamacare, but this time there’s a problem with their strategy.   Although they have been very successful at scaring the bejeepers out of us, they’re not doing so well with telling us how they’re going to save us. 

For evidence of that, listen closely to any of the GOP’s  most popular spokesmen --  Limbaugh, O’Reilly, Krauthammer,  Lowry, whomever -- and you’ll hear a constant, never-ending, vicious attack on Obamacare.  But what you will  not hear is one word about what the Republicans would do to make things better.

Not one word!

So, if the Republicans are successful in repealing Obamacare,  by default we will return to the insurance system we had, where as many as 50 million Americans have no health insurance, insurance companies cancel policies of seriously ill people at will, and deny people policies because of pre-existing illnesses.  Et cetera.

But nevertheless, onward they trod with their constant barrage of negativism.

The negativism might work, but here’s a better strategy for the Republicans if they really, honestly want to kill Obamacare:  Support it.  

That’s right.  Jump on the bandwagon and do everything you can to make it work.  Then, if you are right, it will fail quickly.  And not only will you get rid of Obamacare, you also will deal a devastating blow to Democrats as well. 

Of course, such a plan might backfire.  Obamacare just might work.

  

And isn’t that what Republicans fear the most?

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