It’s taken a while for me to sort out my feelings on this issue, and it’s still a work-in-progress. I lean toward support of Snowden’s actions. But one thing I can’t shake is the feeling that he’s an asshole. Does that matter? Probably not. History is peppered with heroic figures who were assholes.
I assumed Laura was talking about the line at the bottom. As someone with a deep distaste for government, I think having a mayor who is a constant, running dirty joke would be fabulous, and Weiner’s swelling candidacy really excites me.
I think focusing on whether or not Snowden is an asshole is playing into the government’s hands. It wants the focus on him and not what he has revealed. I don’t care if he is an asshole, but I care a great deal about civil liberties.
If it’s a distraction it’s a welcome one. At least we don’t have to have the same conversation about “civil liberties” that we’ve been having for 10 years. While there’s some amount of new stuff here, it’s mostly details. We’ve been discussing this since Poindexter and Total Information Awareness. As I recall (and recent events bear it out) the conclusion of that discussion was to get a new name, a new front man and that was about it.
Apt. 11d 
It’s taken a while for me to sort out my feelings on this issue, and it’s still a work-in-progress. I lean toward support of Snowden’s actions. But one thing I can’t shake is the feeling that he’s an asshole. Does that matter? Probably not. History is peppered with heroic figures who were assholes.
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Being heroic and an asshole I’m pretty sure are positively correlated. Apparently in their personal lives Gandhi and Mother Theresa were assholes too.
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I assumed Laura was talking about the line at the bottom. As someone with a deep distaste for government, I think having a mayor who is a constant, running dirty joke would be fabulous, and Weiner’s swelling candidacy really excites me.
LikeLike
I think focusing on whether or not Snowden is an asshole is playing into the government’s hands. It wants the focus on him and not what he has revealed. I don’t care if he is an asshole, but I care a great deal about civil liberties.
LikeLike
If it’s a distraction it’s a welcome one. At least we don’t have to have the same conversation about “civil liberties” that we’ve been having for 10 years. While there’s some amount of new stuff here, it’s mostly details. We’ve been discussing this since Poindexter and Total Information Awareness. As I recall (and recent events bear it out) the conclusion of that discussion was to get a new name, a new front man and that was about it.
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