Julian Assange: Hunted by America's Violent Empire

[reorg]

57. The "Espionage Act"

was actually a law that was passed to stop socialists from speaking out against the first World War, against those "who have poured the poison of disloyalty into the very arteries of our national life; who have sought to ring the authority and good name of our Government into contempt ..." (according to Woodrow Wilson).

As some commentators have pointed out, six government whistleblowers have been charged under the Act by the Obama administration whereas from 1917 until Obama came into office, only three people had ever been charged in this way.

I agree with the previous poster that this is not really in the interest of the American people. The Obama administration should defend constitutional freedoms instead of appeasing proponents of the security state. But I suspect Obama's powers are limited in this respect.

http://www.thenation.com/article/169860/protecting-torturers-prosecuting-whistleblowers?rel=emailnation#
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espionage_Act_of_1917#World_War_I