tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post6478990938366967724..comments2024-03-26T14:20:38.103-04:00Comments on The Thought Criminal: You Have To Wonder How Much Snowden And Greenwald Contributed To The Election of TrumpUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-17769288531308188552017-01-06T05:30:29.458-05:002017-01-06T05:30:29.458-05:00I agree entirely about the reflexive anti-American...I agree entirely about the reflexive anti-Americanism of some of the worst of the play-left, and it isn't just on behalf of some allegedly leftist character. In her great essay, Mother Country, Marilynne Robinson points out how many in the United States will present the most skimpy and stingy measure of British welfare as some great example of socialism while ignoring things like land-grant universities, the GI bill and other such American distributions of wealth, far greater in size and far more radical in their conception. <br /><br />I have no use for Amy Goodman. If you want to see a real eye opener, look at the antics, internal politics and activities of Pacifica. Anyone who considers such things as their enthrallment to snake oil peddlers and their pathetic power struggles something worthy of comprising a "left" has something wrong with them.<br /><br />I think that the Obama administration made some major errors in foreign policy. Every American administration does. Americans have to learn that the United States can't fix or even assert its will all over the world. As many sins as the Assad are, the results of the attempt to overthrow him have been far worse. You'd think they'd realize that considering what happened in Iraq. <br /><br />Putin is a horrible dictator and his attempts to control the countries Russia borders is bad. He, himself, is probably the greatest thief in all of history, at least recent history. That is if the estimated size of his personal fortune, amassed in office, is accurate. I do have to say that, having watched the Republican Party selling the United States down the river to Putin's puppet, I am eager to see them pay a huge price for it. The Trump regime is the greatest act of treason in our history since the Confederacy. That it was brought to us by American style, unregulated, TV and hate-talk radio is absolute proof that those, when their owners can profit, will betray democracy. <br /><br />I hate to say it but if Julian Assange and his Wikileaks happened to meet with an unfortunate accident, I'd have a lot of trouble feeling bad about it. I am also far less enamored of the Ecuadorian government for harboring the sleazy, bottle blonde creep. The Thought Criminalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01381376556757084468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-31681461984340623252017-01-05T21:51:47.973-05:002017-01-05T21:51:47.973-05:00My big issue is knowing what the end game of Snowd...My big issue is knowing what the end game of Snowden and Manning was. I want to be able to believe what these guys did was in the best interest of protecting the individual from significant intrusions into their lives/more bad foreign policy decisions. I've never felt particular animus towards them (particularly Manning, whose mental health situation prior to joining the Army was quite tenuous). I think everyone should be concerned about the way the NSA collects data on citizens and the decisions of our leaders to say, invade a sovereign nation using poor intelligence. My issue with the Greenwalds/Amy Goodmans of the world is that they seem to always work from the perspective that America sucks and they enjoy reveling in its embarrassments. Perhaps a gross oversimplification, but not far off in the case of Goodman, who seemed positively effusive about Hugo Chavez at one point. Not a fan of either of them. As for Julian Assange, it is interesting how this man who was touted by some on the left as heroic is now being praised by the likes of Sean Hannity. I don't know if he's in the bag for the Russian Federation, but it's not an insane thing to wonder. He seems quite narcissistic and desperate. As for Russia, I am scratching my head that this is NOW an issue. The current and previous administrations have meddled in the Middle East while Russia's influence and meddling have increased. I feel that President Obama paid more attention to Russia's influence in Syria, which I would argue they have a more legitimate claim to than the aggressive "annexing" of the Crimean region. That could have been Russia's Sudetenland moment. As detestable as Bashir Assad is, our decision to support his opposition has been a major catastrophe of foreign interference. We have unwittingly armed war criminals and jihadists to take out an enemy we at least were familiar with. I don't think much of Donald Trump nor his grasp for how much of a threat Russia will pose if we placate her. These next four years will be an interesting ride. Perhaps this is how it all ends!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-77407653530697700372017-01-05T10:03:20.122-05:002017-01-05T10:03:20.122-05:00"I haven't seen Oliver Stone's movie ..."I haven't seen Oliver Stone's movie supposedly about Edward Snowden but from what I've read of it, it is a load of crap in the typical Hollywood hagiographic-paranoic style. "<br /><br />You're criticizing a movie you haven't seen? Why am I not surprised? Incidentally, Sparky, another Oliver Stone movie you haven't seen -- NATURAL BORN KILLERS -- has as its theme the idea that killing Steve Dunleavy is something that actually should be done. I dont see how you can argue with that.steve simelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13247393763004076992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-54110580532131663052017-01-05T08:22:29.927-05:002017-01-05T08:22:29.927-05:00Well, you know, information wants to be free; so l...Well, you know, information wants to be free; so long as it's not Glenn Greenwald's information.<br /><br />He got pretty upset when he thought he was important enough for the NSA to "spy" on him. He got more upset (I suspect) when it turned out he wasn't Snowden-worthy, and the U.S. government let him travel freely to America from Brazil. He wants to traffic in illegally obtained property (classified information provided to him by thieves) but be held harmless for doing so, because "principles."<br /><br />As a lawyer, you'd think he'd understand it doesn't work that way. But Greenwald is a special snowflake who deserves to be free to do what he wants, because what he wants to do is so important; well, to Glenn Greenwald.<br /><br />The rest of us have yet to see much benefit from it.<br /><br />Interesting how much of the right wing is now (report from NPR on the right wing in France and Britain says) supportive of Putin. FoxNews has decided they love Assange. Politics makes for strange bedfellows, indeed. But it's all so predictable.Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.com