Edward Snowden Poll: Hero or Traitor?

The total number of people who voted in this poll: 4,746

1) Do you think Edward Snowden is a hero?  17%  voted:  No, his actions have harmed U.S. interests and its position in the War on Terror.  78%  voted:  Yes, the U.S. government overstepped its boundaries spying on its own citizens and he is a hero for exposing it.  5%  voted:  Not Sure. 2) Do you believe mass government collection of phone records and internet searches make America safer?  13%  voted:  Yes, large scale government spying programs are necessary to keep American’s safe.  84%  voted:  No, large scale government spying is turning America into a communist country.  4%  voted:  Not Sure. 3) Do you believe government spying on American citizens is illegal when it is done without probable cause or a warrant?  86%  voted:  Yes, American’s have rights from illegal “search and seizure,” NSA spying violates those rights.  12%  voted:  No, it’s naïve to believe that in this day and age our government can keep us safe without some sort of surveillance.  2%  voted:  Not Sure. 4) Edward Snowden had made it clear that he has more government secrets to expose. Do you believe Americans have a right to that information?  12%  voted:  No, I trust the government does what they do for reasons to secure our country and our way of life.  81%  voted:  Yes, I believe full disclosure is warranted after learning just a little of the surveillance activities the government has perpetrated against its citizens.  6%  voted:  Not Sure. 5) Which political party do you most closely align with philosophically?  10%  voted:  Democrat  24%  voted:  Republican  11%  voted:  Libertarian  18%  voted:  Tea Party  28%  voted:  Independent  9%  voted:  Other

Bradley Manning Statement

From the Howard Zinn Project

Yesterday, in a statement made after his sentencing and read by his lawyer, David Coombs, Bradley Manning said, "As the late Howard Zinn once said, 

'There is not a flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.'"

Bradley Manning also said in the same statement:

"In our zeal to kill the enemy, we internally debated the definition of torture. We held individuals at Guantanamo for years without due process. We inexplicably turned a blind eye to torture and executions by the Iraqi government. And we stomached countless other acts in the name of our war on terror.

Patriotism is often the cry extolled when morally questionable acts are advocated by those in power. When these cries of patriotism drown out any logically based intentions, it is usually an American soldier that is ordered to carry out some ill-conceived mission.

Our nation has had similar dark moments for the virtues of democracy—the Trail of Tears, the Dred Scott decision, McCarthyism, the Japanese-American internment camps—to name a few. I am confident that many of our actions since 9/11 will one day be viewed in a similar light."

Amen