It is with a heavy heart that I post this

[Hekate]

81. Ah, so you disagree not just with the OP but with the whole concept....

... that there might be differing ways of looking at the multifaceted problems at hand.

Incidentally, I have never seen even one post "defending" the NSA. One non-BOG poster even went so far as to quantify this fact several weeks ago and post it in GD, apparently in the interests of fairness and honesty. (and no, I did not save the link for future reference)

Early on I myself pointed out that this level of spying is nothing new -- that the programs metasticized under Dubya after 9-11-2001 -- and that Big Brother evolved out of Big Business decades ago. I did not say I approved, far from it, but only that I did not quite understand the extreme shock and awe from the revelation of what to me (and a lot of others) was not new information. (Summary: I do not approve of spying on Americans. It is not new information that it is going on. Please tell me how we can rein it in.)

Along the same lines I (and others) pointed out that Snowden planned his exit very clumsily; that his motives may not have been as transparent as all that; and that regardless of his intentions he is now in the world of the exile and fugitive from harsh justice, under the dubious aegis of an oligarch who will drop him as soon as he is no longer useful. The guy could be Saint John the Baptist, but he is still going to be crucified. (Summary: Motives: unclear. Outcome for Snowden: probably not good, given past history.)

The entire discussion shortly got so acrimonious and personal that I gave up participating. Still -- despite claims to the contrary, "The BOG" does not "defend" NSA spying.