Maybe both sides are right?

[kentuck]

Maybe Edward Snowden is a low-life snake in the grass? Maybe this is a personal thing with him and he decided to betray the country he was working for? Maybe he deserves to be in jail? Maybe all the things people say about him is true?

Also, maybe the war on terror was mostly an excuse to expand the MIC? Maybe the threat is not as huge as those in power say it is? Maybe we have been played by the con artists after 9/11? Maybe government has gone too far with their collection of data?

I heard yesterday that the NSA had over 700K employees on their payroll and more than 300K contractors on their payroll? That is over a million employees working to gather secret information on everybody. Maybe if we want to cut government, this might be a good place to start?

Whichever way we might believe, this is no trivial matter.

[GeorgeGist]

1. Outsourcing national security.

Is foolish.

[meow2u3]

5. Outsourcing national security is the root cause of the leak problem

The only way to stop people working for government contractors from leaking classified information, or at least keep it to a bare minimum, is to pass laws that repeal the privatization of intelligence gathering. In other words, no private company should be allowed to have unlimited access to intelligence that some rogue employee could leak to take revenge.

[kentuck]

6. The only way to keep that from happening...

..is to keep the government from collecting the information in the first place.

[Laelth]

2. Quite. This is no trivial matter. n/t

-Laelth

[el_bryanto]

3. It's also no simplistic matter

This is not an issue I feel as passionately about as I ought to (I think, as someone speculated the other day, it's because I'm somewhat used to the idea that people might be spying on all of my internet stuff anyway (and I barely use my work mandated cell phone)).

But the venom and anger aroused by this very complex issue on DU is astounding. You'd think various DUers were either a short step away from joining the Nazi party or maddened Obama-haters the way that people talk about it. I really don't know what that accomplishes.

I think it's best to generally assume that DUers, even if they are wrong, are generally good hearted, and proceed from that basis. And if you really think that DU is a proto-fascist message board (either because they support the PRISM program or because they attack Pres. Obama), maybe you should examine that belief in more depth.

Bryant

[treestar]

4. True enough

The government is huge and that will cause problems, though the problems should be remedied or resolved rather than throwing out baby with the bathwater, which conservatives do on progressive programs, progressives on conservative liked government functions and libertarians on all programs.