Snowden is a criminal on the run, needs to be captured, and brought back to face justice.

[KharmaTrain]

46. Lots Of Smoke...

...but very little fire here other than another media and DU feeding frenzy. I'm more concerned about my other half giving me grief about the calls I make on my cell bill than some doofus in a secret room half a world away. The ugly truth is all types of information about our lives are datamined by corporate and government entities and this "revelation" is years...even decades too late. Technology has redefined "privacy" so that any electronic signal, once it leaves your home becomes public. This is also the case any time you use a credit card or write a check or drive a government licensed car on a public road past a camera. Your information is bought and sold constantly...anyone who is intent on building a dossier doesn't need to go far to find out more about you than you will feel comfortable knowing they know.

The positive that possibly can be gleamed here is that this revelation and the ensuing outrage will lead to hearing and investigations into how far and deep the NSA and other government and private entities can dig into our private lives. It can unravel an underground network that has been growing over the past 12 years and maybe it will force some accountability.

As far as Snowden...I don't see him as either a hero or villain...just another player in a game of politics. I would like him to testify in a Congressional investigation of how he was able to gain access to the information he did...not jail. We need a new Church committee to look into how out of control the "security" state has become and then pinpoint ways to put controls on it. Unfortunately that requires working with a dysfunctional Congress...