The Leaker is.......

[The Dharma Bum]

[Professor]

No. I am not defending the program.

I am defending the right of the US government to classify information. I am also saying that it is not right for a single person to decide if that policy is OK, all on their own.

But, I understand that you hold the unrealistic view that the entire government is corrupt. If you truly believe that, why do you still agree to live under their authority?

Put simply, the answer to the above question is that you DON'T believe that. You think that most of the government is NOT corrupt, so therefore you agree to live under their authority. Either that, or if you do believe it, and you still agree, then you are complicit in their corruption, by continuing to contribute your money to their cause.

[The Dharma Bum]

1. The government doesn't have rights. So it doesn't have a "right" to do anything.

2. This spying program wasn't authorized by elected officials therefore it is illegal in the US. It is the duty of all US citizens to report illegal activity to the authorities and the highest authority in the US is WE THE PEOPLE.

He did his duty. He reported wrongdoing to the highest authority in the land and now it is up to that authority to deal with this wrongdoing. He could have reported to a lower authority, but history shows they are corrupt and attempt to punish whistleblowers rather than address the important issues they bring to the surface. All he did was take this to the top authority available when lower authorities failed to act. Nothing illegal about that at all.

The result of your idea to deal with this would only be to ignore it and in turn receive more of the same, so it's not an appropriate suggestion for a response to this set of circumstances.

[Medius]

[Professor]

[exploited]

[Professor]

[Professor]

[The Dharma Bum]

How is he a vigilante? He reported illegal activity to the American people.They are in fact the highest authority in the land and such need to know everything about what the government does. To remain ignorant of this information is quite frankly bad citizenship. Look at the results of ignoring this duty. Two wars and a massive spy program directed against US citizens. These guys are out of control.

Also, since there is an inalienable constitutional right to free speech the idea that an individual can be somehow alienated from this right via an oath or agreement is utterly incorrect. Furthermore any contract made that includes concealing illegal activity, such as spying on the American people, would be automatically invalid.

The man was perfectly within his rights to say anything he wanted to. Clearly agreements made to conceal illegal activity are not valid.

Maybe private individuals should start doing citizens arrests on these maniacs and putting them before the people's court. You are right about one thing, illegal activity should not be tolerated, and if the law is corrupt then the citizenry is well within it's right to replace it, using force if necessary.

[Gremlin]