Threats and Enemies of America

Just what we need, more sabre rattling.  Recently Snowden informed the world about a massive, undercover spy program the US was conducting all over the world. Many of our European allies are furious over the revelation but we dismissed it stating that everyone does it so it is okay.  Of course, it is no surprise that Putin and other world leaders would offer Snowden protection.  The rest of the world sees him as a hero.  I am sure we would do the same thing for a Russian whistle-blower if he sought protection in the US.

Many people don't realize that Snowden is the Paul Revere or Thomas Jefferson of our time.  When history books are written, his name will be up there as a liberator of his country from the neo cons.  So now, Snowden is currently seeking asylum from several countries, including Ecuador.

Sen. Chuck Schumer with his Cold War and mobster mentality said this about Ecuador if it gives Snowden political asylum;

"We should cut off the foreign aid we have with them, it's about 10 million.  If Ecuador agrees to Edward Snowden’s request for asylum, there will be serious consequences.  Their economy will pay a very big price.  We will end all foreign aid, repeal trade agreements.  Whatever political benefit the leader of Ecuador thinks he will get by granting Mr. Snowden asylum, it will be far outweighed by the damage done to Ecuador’s economy.”

"Damage?"  Did he say "Damage?"  Will we intentionally damage another country's economy for want of one man?

And, did he say ten million?  It is more like billions.  These trade preferences include items like fruits, coffee, oil, shrimp, gold, vegetables and flowers.  Ecuador is the world's largest exporter of bananas to the US ($936.5 million in 2002) and a major exporter of shrimp ($251 million in 2002). Exports of non-traditional products such as flowers ($291 million in 2002) and canned fish ($333 million in 2002).  If my math is correct, like, you know, that comes out to about 10 million . . . I guess.  I'll take your word Senator Schumer.

Now, FIRST, if we were to cut off ties with Ecuador, what will that do to our own economy when we have to buy our imports from other countries if at all?  Where will we get those export items from and at what additional cost to us?  Is Snowden's freedom worth doubling the cost for some items to US citizens?

Secondly, Ecuador employs at least 50,000 people on about 550 farms across their country and is indirectly responsible for another 110,000 jobs.  Is it fair to to the children, families and innocent workers of that country to punish them because of our own government's ineptitude?   It is always easy to blame the foreign power because the last thing we want to do is admit that the Snowden incident happened because of our secret spy policies and failure to contain them.

Frankly, I think Senator Chuck Schumer has done far more harm to this country than Edward Snowden ever did. In fact, I think Snowden has done the country a great service.  Who does Schumer think he is, a 1950 mobster?  Our own senate is a greater enemy of the Constitution.

Schumer went on to say, “The U.S. should move forward with suspending the thousands of visas we issue to their businesses each year, and let trade preferences expire should they decide to grant Snowden asylum."

Is Schumer willing to mete out his version of justice and ruin thousands of lives to satisfy the letter of the law without considering the damage that will take place both here, there and to countless individuals?

Schumer and his kind dream of preserving Imperial America by endless war and intervention in every conflict. They think this planet is the property of the US and that other nations cannot reside here unless they meet our lease terms.  Do they really want us to be in war with every country?  Are they really willing to impose economic sanctions which can deny food, medicine and housing to hundreds of thousands of innocent people?    Are they willing to punish an entire nation, and ours, over this incident?  Instead of inflicting harm or spewing venom and threats, why don't we just stoop to bribery to get Snowden back?  Money talks.  Everyone will think they win.

In this predominately Christian country, is the church willing to allow such economic sanctions which could starve and hurt thousands of innocent people?  What will be the church's response and demand to all this be?  Is the church a monument or a movement?  Will it sacrifice everything to protect the poor and those persecuted by governments, even if it is their own?   I'm sure its response will be to pray for them. 

You know, Jesus was not the Milquetoast guy our church makes him out to be.  He was a passive aggressive who did not stand down when facing governments, politicians, friends or even his own church.  Those parables about carrying a soldier's cloak for an extra mile and turning the other cheek are not what we think they are about.  Research them. You will be surprised to realize how tough Jesus really was.  The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.  I am not discounting the power of prayer but, in many of our churches today, prayer is the least thing they can do for someone while still getting to grandstand like they are actually doing something.

Back to Schumer, one of the good people.  In 2009 on a US Airways flight from NY to DC, December 13, during the take off, Senator Charles Schumer was repeatedly asked by a flight attendant to turn off his cell phone.  Later, Schumer called the flight attendant a "bitch." He made the comment to fellow New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who was seated next to him, and was overheard by a House aide who was also on the plane.  Schumer, after being outed to the press for his behavior issued an apology (because he got caught).  He said it was an "off-the-cuff comment".  I guess that makes hate speech okay if it is off-the-cuff.  Just ask Paula Deen.   According to the aide who overheard Mr. Schumer, the phone rang again moments after the attendant had told Mr. Schumer to shut it off.  But, everybody does it so it must be okay.

Schumer's comments about damaging Ecuador, their people and their economy (and eventually ours) really perturbed me.  He is a bully, no better and no less than a war criminal, willing to hurt other people with impunity so that our government can save face and get what they want.   And, if they don't get what they want, like a spoiled playground brat, they will take their ball and go home, resolving nothing.   Nobody wins.

Arrogant, ignorant and corrupt career politicians must go! We need term limits!

From the Conspiracy Department: "Well, it's their fault for bringing kids into a battle."

I'm sure everyone has an opinion regarding those people who leak government secrets.  Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and Bradley Manning are the latest. We held Manning for three years without charge while he was kept in a small cell, most of the time he was naked, the lights were on 24/7 and he was provided no blankets.  This "torture" was for his own safety. 

Manning leaked a video to Assange who then posted it on Wikileaks.  The government said that the video put American lives at risk.  I provided a link to the video so you may see our national security being compromised.  The two murdered men which the video highlights are Reuters News Services photographers each carrying cameras.  After the massacre, a van pulls up to help the wounded.  In the van was a father who was bringing his two children to school or to visit a relative.  While driving by, he saw one of the wounded men and stopped to help him.  No good deed goes unpunished.  The video is located here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw442y2fTeU

You can read about the video here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_12,_2007_Baghdad_airstrike

Manning is just now, three years later, being formally charged for treason because he leaked that video.  There are legal avenues to blow the whistle on the government but, there is no way the government would release this video on its own merit had Manning even pursued those avenues. 

The soldiers' demeanor in the video raises other issues.  There are many people who harshly judged them although no charges or punishment was lodged against them.  I admit I wouldn't want any of them as neighbors but this sort of activity and behavior is what they are trained to do.  They are trained, rewarded and some would even go so far as to say "brainwashed," into taking joy in what they do:  Killing.  The alternative is PTSD or not being able to do their job when it most counts.  They are like police dogs who are trained to attack.  Police dogs are not being vicious, they are having fun when they attack, it is mostly play for them.  That's how they are trained.  That is why they are effective at fighting crime.  If a dog didn't like what he was doing, he probably wouldn't do it, at least not effectively. 

Military training is one reason why there are so many unemployed veterans.  Employers know the type of training military soldiers go through and don't want to take a chance on one of them going "postal."  An interesting movie on the topic is "Jack Reacher."  It is about a military homicide investigator who digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper who shot five random victims because he was trained to kill and was never afforded the opportunity to do it.

The other bane veterans have lurking in their corner is that many of them entered the military fresh out of high school and despite having some of the best training in the world, they don't have college degrees.  So a nurse, trained in battlefield triage, who has amputated limbs, stitched gaping wounds, stabilized traumatized bodies, set broken bones and even performed her job while under enemy fire, is not qualified to take your child's temperature in your local school.  Given the rise in school shooting incidents, I think I'd rather have her at my school than someone with text book training in boo-boo management. 

So, Manning, Assange, Snowden - are they patriots like so many of our national heroes who came before them by doing much the same and made this country what it is today or are they enemies of the state?   Sure, Snowden just informed every terrorist in the world that we are reading their emails and listening in on their phone calls (like we didn't know this ten years ago when Bush signed the Patriot Act) but don't you think that that too is a deterrent?  How many armchair terrorists have second thoughts because they now realize that trying to pull something off is too risky or difficult with the government listening in on their calls? 

We were warned after the Tsarnaev brothers pulled off the Boston bombings that there would be copycat bombings.  Well, after learning that there is a camera on every corner, in many cars, in every shirt pocket, in most stores, how many would-be-bombers decided not to do anything because they now know they can't pull it off?  I don't think Snowden put as many American lives at risk as we think.  He may have actually saved some. 

Isn't that the reason our country criminalizes honesty?  If someone admits to completing a crime we send them to prison.  Not because they are necessarily a threat to society, but the punishment is designed to serve as a warning to others not to commit the same crime.  In reality, if someone has designs to commit a crime, they're going to do it anyway because they are not thinking of the consequences, they are thinking about the immediate payoff.  They all think they can get away with it, that's why they do it and that is why deterrence sentencing doesn't work. 

Reading peoples' emails, Facebook accounts and cell phone records is a good way to stop crime as it is happening.  Knowing that the government is reading emails, Facebook accounts and cell phone records can also deter crime so it doesn't happen.  Knowing there are cameras in stores prevents shoplifting although, everyone knows that most store theft occurs by the employees in the back rooms.  You know - the people who passed the background and drug checks. 

I'm not sure how I feel about entrapment.  Should we turn the lights out and leave our doors unlocked so we can entrap criminals and burglars or should we warn them that there is a pit bull inside and and out of fear, they don't do the crime in the first place?  Currently the government is the biggest distributor of child pornography.  They distribute it so they can catch people downloading it.  If the government didn't distribute it, would the criminals exist?  Is it a wise investment to spend $30,000 per year to incarcerate someone who would otherwise be a taxpayer had we not entrapped him?  We then put them on the sex offender registry where they will be unemployable and a drain on the largess of the social service department.  Although, the new Farm Bill denies people convicted of violent crimes, such as downloading child pornography, of food stamps and other benefits afforded to people who can't find jobs or housing.

Contrary to what everyone opines, Manning, Assange and Snowden were not thinking about an immediate payoff, fame or fortune, they were thinking about the consequences and the actions by our government.  They knew they were sacrificing everything for what they thought to be the greater good:  Knowledge and transparency.

One thing these patriots/whistleblowers/traitors/snitches do reveal to us is why so many other countries in the world view America as the terrorists.