re: #89 GeneJockey

yeah. George Zimmerman triggered a conversation relating to racism, profiling, and self-defense. Doesn’t make him a hero.

One of the issues we have regarding national security is that so much stuff is classified that law breaking like what Snowden did may actually be the only way to get a conversation about security vs. civil liberties started. For example, law suits are very difficult to start if secrecy prevents anyone from having standing to bring a case. As another example, congressional oversight is significantly impaired if important briefings (e.g., general interpretation of the Patriot act by FISA court) are classified and cannot be discussed in public.

My personal opinion of Snowden is strongly negative mainly because of the way he fled the US and has dealt with foreign powers since then. If he had stayed to face the music in some principled manner, that would have made a big difference to me.