The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Hollywood Script: Hipster Geek With Hot Girlfriend Fights ‘Omniscient’ Government

Posted on | June 11, 2013 | 65 Comments

Edward Snowden’s ex-girlfriend: He left her for a trip to federal prison.

“[Snowden] rails against ‘the dangerous truth behind the U.S. policies that seek to develop secret, irresistible powers and concentrate them in the hands of an unaccountable few.’
“He declares that ‘At this point in history, the greatest danger to our freedom and way of life comes from the reasonable fear of omniscient State powers kept in check by nothing but policy documents.'”
— Marc Thiessen, American Enterprise Institute

Over-imaginative narcissists living out hero fantasies inspired by pop culture are not an unfamiliar phenomenon . . . says the former newspaper editor who quit his job, started a blog, and went out on the 2012 campaign trail like Hunter S. Thompson had done 40 years before. But my role model for that bizarre gonzo adventure was a real human being, a working professional journalist, not the protagonist of a spy thriller, and I broke no laws — well, OK, I violated the speed limit in 14 states, but what the hell? — in the process of Living the Dream.

Edward Snowden? Not so much:

Talk of Snowden as a “hero” was rejected by former military intelligence officer Ralph Peters. Appearing on Fox News, Peters criticized the celebration of the NSA leaker. “Now you’ve got this 29-year-old high school dropout … making foreign policy for our country, our security policy,” said Peters, a retired Army lieutenant colonel. “And this guy, I think it’s sad … we’ve made treason cool. Betraying your country’s kind of a fashion statment. [Snowden] wants to be the national security Kim Kardashian. He cites Bradley Manning as a hero.” Manning is an Army private who is being court-martialed for his 2010 leaks of classified information. For both Manning and Snowden, Peters said, “We need to get very, very serious about treason … bring back the death penalty.”

Drawing the line between reality and fantasy, and between heroism and criminality, seems to be increasingly difficult for young people, and some not-so-young people have also spent too much time consuming science fiction and spy novels that tell us that we have more to fear from government computers than we do from Muslim radicals who want to kill us all. People who think life is like a Matt Damon movie need to stop watching so many Matt Damon movies.

This is how I managed to keep my sanity during all the craziness of the Brett Kimberlin episode: As weird as that was — and trust me, it was plenty weird at times — I avoided the flattering thought that I was the protagonist of the story, even when Kimberlin’s people were trying to destroy me. “No, damn it, I’m just the storyteller.”

My resistance to the heroic view of Edward Snowden has an awful lot to do with the way his Courageous Truth-Teller Narrative looks like it was inspired by an ambition to get a book contract and a Hollywood movie deal — Code Name: Verax — “Based on a True Story.”

Unfortunately for Snowden, federal law forbids convicted criminals from profiting from the story of their crimes, which means that Snowden’s “friends” — including Glenn Greenwald and Barton Gellman — have played him for a chump. Snowden’s going to end up in Leavenworth, while his “friends” will be cashing in on his story.

“The Kook Who Knew Too Much” — yeah, I’ve seen this story before. Barrett Brown boasted he had a “six-figure” book deal to tell the inside story of the Anonymous hacker conspiracy, but if you’re inside the conspiracy, aren’t you also a criminal? And once the feds started tightening the screws on Barrett, the punk couldn’t handle the pressure, so he flipped out, went paranoid, and had the most memorable YouTube meltdown in the history of YouTube meltdowns. And federal inmates can’t collect book royalties.

Oops.

Pro Tip: If you want to live out a fantasy, pick a fantasy that doesn’t involve a trip to federal prison.

For decades, America has been plagued by these grandiose Walter Mitty types who can’t be satisfied doing regular jobs and living regular lives, and instead feel the need to Make a Difference — to see their name in headlines and, they hope, make their mark in history — and they never seem to notice that, in real life, these stories seldom end “happily ever after.” But let’s round up today’s headlines:

NSA leak is treason, says Feinstein
— The Hill

U.S. explores criminal charges against Snowden
— USA Today

Transcript: Exclusive Interview
With House Speaker John Boehner on NSA Leak
— ABC News

U.S. Preparing Charges Against Leaker of Data
— New York Times

Edward Snowden: Russia offers
to consider asylum request
— Guardian

“We’ve made treason cool”
Lt. Col. Ralph Peters on NSA leaker: We need
to bring back the death penalty for treason
— The Right Scoop

Booz Allen: We fired NSA leaker on Monday
— Yahoo News

 And — as I expected all along — Edward Snowden’s story doesn’t add up. When are people going to wise up to these bullshit artists?

Is there such a shortage of common sense that people no longer have any ordinary kind of skepticism? A high-school dropout flies to Hong Kong, claims he was paid $200,000 a year and the people who hired him say he exaggerated that by $80,000, and yet you’re telling me that everything else Snowden said was true?

Liars lie, and braggarts brag, and kooks are crazy for Cuckoo Puffs.

This computer geek had a six-figure salary and a hot girlfriend — if you like the skinny long-legged blonde ballerina acrobat type — and yet, his life in Hawaii wasn’t exciting enough for him, so he decides to become an international fugitive from justice.

Way to go, World Famous Douchebag.

Andy Warhol just called to say your 15 minutes are over.

If you want to see your name in headlines, there are lots of ways to do it. Me, I’m  just the guy who’s telling the story:

The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee condemned as traitorous the unauthorized release of top-secret information about National Security Agency (NSA) data-mining operations. Even while thousands of Americans signed a petition urging President Obama to pardon the contractor who leaked classified documents about the program — and Republican Sen. Rand Paul slammed the NSA’s surveillance as unconstitutional — Sen. Dianne Feinstein joined other lawmakers urging the prosecution of Edward Snowden.
“I don’t look at this as being a whistle-blower, I think it’s an act of treason,” the California Democrat told reporters on Capitol Hill. “He took an oath — that oath is important. He violated the oath, he violated the law. It’s an act of treason in my view.”
Debate swirled over the constitutionality of the NSA program Snowden exposed, but Feinstein’s condemnations of the leaker were echoed by Republicans, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham: “I hope we follow Mr. Snowden to the ends of the earth to bring him to justice.” And in an interview with ABC News, House Speaker John Boehner called Snowden a “traitor,” adding: “The disclosure of this information puts Americans at risk. It shows our adversaries what our capabilities are. And it’s a giant violation of the law.” . . .

Read the whole thing at ViralRead. While I don’t want to make you paranoid, you should wonder why so many people on social media are trying to convince you Edward Snowden is a  hero.

Our enemies have Internet access, too. And all the “progressive” friends of our enemies are really into this Snowden guy, aren’t they?

Think about that. And stop watching Matt Damon movies, you kooks.

 

 

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Category: Crime, Culture, Fear. Loathing.

Comments

65 Responses to “Hollywood Script: Hipster Geek With Hot Girlfriend Fights ‘Omniscient’ Government”

  1. Pablo
    June 12th, 2013 @ 7:43 am

    Boy, I’m sure glad they STOPPED the Tsarnaevs and the WORKPLACE VIOLENCE of Nidal Hasan. In fact, they’ve STOPPED SO MUCH TERRORISM with PRISM that they can’t point to a single incident prevented without lying.

    Yes, they are seizing (and storing) our communications. I don’t give a damn what they want to pretend they can do with it. It violates the Fourth Amendment and if you and they are fine with that then amend the Constitution.

    It’s my business, not theirs and they can keep their snouts out of it.

  2. Pablo
    June 12th, 2013 @ 7:45 am

    Then there’s that. We’re all breaking the law, whether we know it or not. Our protectors, our betters have made it all but impossible not to.

  3. Adjoran
    June 12th, 2013 @ 7:59 am

    Microsoft and Twitter have joined Google’s call to be allowed to disclose the monitoring requests they’ve received under these programs.

    Now, if the results as are as Snowden and Greenwald allege, why on earth would they be so anxious to be allowed to disclose the actual numbers?

    No, it only makes sense these companies would be clamoring to let their users know how often they serve up data to NSA if it is a rare occurrence. But that wouldn’t fit the meme, would it? The hysteria might seem misplaced.

  4. ConantheCimmerian
    June 12th, 2013 @ 10:06 am

    Yes, this will never be misused or abused. Just like the IRS never misuses or abuses….Oh wait.

    Once you start carving out the Constitution, it is just a matter of time.

    And BOO MUSLIMS, now give us your liberty in exchange for this pottage of safety.

  5. dad29
    June 12th, 2013 @ 10:27 am

    You’ve never heard of “general warrants,” R Stacy? THAT is what “authorized” PRISM. And they are un-Constitutional.

    Further, you have NO idea of what NSA regards as “terrorist,” do you? Just the AlQ Muzzies? Or more? Do they use the Homeland Security definitions (as did the IRS)?

    You can’t even read the Court decision which allegedly authorized this crapola, can you?

    Nonetheless, you assert.

    Hmmmm.

  6. ConantheCimmerian
    June 12th, 2013 @ 10:40 am

    Some Samuel Adams:

    “The grand end of civil government, from the very nature of its institution, is for the support, protection, and defense of those very rights: the principal of which are life, liberty, and property.”

    “The supreme power cannot Justly take from any man, any part of his property without his consent, in person or by his Representative….Now what liberty can
    there be, where property is taken away without consent?”

    The Founders and the Founding documents are not on your side.

    It is your choice on which side you wish to fall, but at least honestly admit that you wish to give up your rights for the perception of security.

    But should you be allowed to give up my rights and take them away (and yours)?

    Again Adams:

    “Among those Rights are the following; which no men or body of men, consistently with their own rights as men and citizens or members of society, can for themselves give up, or take away from others”

    Now let’s go take Grandma and the 1 year old baby to get felt up by the TSA. Just don’t do any racist profiling, ain’t security grand?

  7. Bob Belvedere
    June 12th, 2013 @ 11:26 am

    Those Republicans who think any of these immigrants will end up in the GOP are in serious denial.

  8. Bob Belvedere
    June 12th, 2013 @ 11:30 am

    And the problem with doing that is???

  9. Bob Belvedere
    June 12th, 2013 @ 11:41 am

    Not condoning Dad29’s tone in his reply to you, he brings up a damn good point.

    From Commentaries On The Constitution by Justice Joseph Story:

    § 1894. The next amendment is: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue, but. upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things. to be seized.”

    § 1895. This provision seems indispensable to the full enjoyment of the rights of personal security, personal liberty, and private property. It is little more. than the affirmance of a great constitutional doctrine of the common law. And its introduction into the amendments was doubtless occasioned by the strong sensibility excited, both in England and America, upon the subject of general warrants almost upon the eve of the American Revolution. Although special warrants upon complaints under oath, stating the crime, and the party by name, against whom the accusation is made, are the only legal warrants, upon which an arrest can be made according to the law of England; yet a practice had obtained in the secretaries’ office ever since the restoration, (grounded on some clauses in the acts for regulating the press,) of issuing general warrants to take up, without naming any persons in particular, the authors, printers, and publishers of such obscene, or seditious libels, as were particularly specified in the warrant. When these acts expired, in 1694, the same practice was continued in every reign, and under every administration, except the four last years of Queen Anne’s reign, down to the year 1763. The general warrants, so issued, in general terms authorized the officers to apprehend all persons suspected, without naming, or describing any person in special. In the year 1763, the legality of these general warrants was brought before the King’s Bench for solemn decision; and they were adjudged to be illegal, and void for uncertainty.
    A warrant, and the complaint, on which the same is founded, to be legal, must not only state the name of the party, but also the time, and place, and nature of the offence with reasonable certainty.

    http://www.constitution.org/js/js_344.htm

  10. Bob Belvedere
    June 12th, 2013 @ 11:43 am

    Nice looking teenage boy.

  11. Quartermaster
    June 13th, 2013 @ 6:24 am

    No problem at all 🙂

  12. Tacitus
    June 13th, 2013 @ 11:19 am

    So this site, too, is all in for Obama’s Big Brother Regime, and wants Snowden in front of a firing squad because he has a hot girlfriend or something.

    Just like Ace. And just about every other so-called right wing site.

    Glad to see you are toeing the Liberal line on this. MSNBC is reporting this case exactly the same way. Good on ya. How does feel to side with the likes of Feinstein and Grahamnesty, not to mention every single MSNBC host?

    The only “enemy” this hurts is US.

    I wonder if there is such a thing as an actual conservative site anymore that hasn’t turned into Pod People.

  13. Because They Hate America
    June 13th, 2013 @ 4:23 pm

    […] people guilty of actually "hating America" today are those eagerly smearing the whistleblowers in a sad attempt to defend the Status Quo. It is they who are hostile to America's limited-government […]

  14. Who Are the True Enemies of America? | Daily Pundit
    June 15th, 2013 @ 2:31 am

    […] of actually “hating America” today are those eagerly smearing the whistleblowers in a sad attempt to defend the Status Quo. It is they who are hostile to America’s limited-government […]

  15. Ben Smith Wants You to Ignore This : The Other McCain
    June 24th, 2013 @ 9:15 am

    […] Hollywood Script: Hipster Geek With Hot Girlfriend Fights ‘Omniscient’ Government […]