GOODNIGHT, FUCKERS #734: DANIEL ELLSBERG

 

I have a few friends who served in the military, and it never ceases to amaze me that almost all of them have a healthy disgust for authority. You'd think that being in the military would have the opposite effect, but not so. It's a pattern, though. People who work in government grow to hate government until they realize what they're doing is possibly evil and must be stopped.

I talk a lot about corporate greed, but it's not the only thing destroying America. The politicians are doing a good job of it, too, and they enable those corporate suckfish to boot. I forgot who said it. Maybe it was Daniel Ellsberg? But exposing government secrets is rarely about national security. It's almost always about showing ineptitude.

(Ellsberg died when I was on hiatus. I thought I'd write about him sooner, but things happen. Anyway, if you want to know more about him, you should read this. It's very good.)

Whistleblowers always get the shit end of the stick for doing something to help the American people. Look at what happened--and continues to happen--to Edward Snowden. They're publicly crucified for their heroic efforts at showing how the American government is fucking over its people. Whistleblowers are run to the ends of the earth, and if found they suddenly . . . disappear? Whoops. How could that have happened?

Ellsberg got off lucky because Nixon, who I previously mentioned as a political beast, took his own beastliness to the edge and beyond. Perhaps if he hadn't offered to make the judge in this case the head of the FBI, the hammer might have come down on Ellsberg. Instead the case got dismissed at the 11th hour.

Ellsberg revealed, via the Pentagon Papers, that the US had known, practically from the beginning, that the Vietnam War was not winnable. That they were sacrificing America's able-bodied sons for JACK FUCKING SHIT. They knew the war would end in America's defeat, and they still committed thousands of lives to the meatgrinder for no good reason at all.

You'd think that would have ended US involvement, but no. That was in 1971. The war ended in 1975. Just think of how many young men's lives could have been saved if the American people had taken him seriously at the time. Both on our side and theirs. Instead Nixon tried to ruin Ellsberg's life, and it was one of the many things that lead up to the president's resignation. He gave his all to fuck Ellsberg over. It was so bad that Nixon was considered the most corrupt politician we've ever had until Trump.

(You could argue that Clinton unseated Nixon as champion, but no one really gave a shit about that blowjob. No one. Even his bitterest of enemies will admit that deep down, they really didn't care about it. Same for Dubya and the war. While he may have done some shitty things, they were all shitty things that he got away with. Suspicion of corruption does not equal corruption. It's a pretty good barometer, though, if you ask me, but it's legally not the same.)

Vietnam was an open festering wound on the American soul for the early half of my life. It could have all been avoided if one president thought maybe, just maybe, we shouldn't be doing this. But it should have ended when Ellsberg handed over the Pentagon Papers to the NYT. Full stop.

It's a goddam shame that whistleblowers always get fucked by the people they're trying to save. Not all of them get to die a hero, like Ellsberg. How do you think Snowden's obituary is going to go?

It's kind of fucked up that the best heroes America has to offer are whistleblowers taking on government corruption at the highest levels, but here we are. And I can't help but notice it's been a while since Snowden. I can't think of someone else continuing his good work.

I hope it's not the end of an era. If so, we're all pretty fucked.

Pretty fucked, indeed.

EVERYONE'S GOT ONE #20: THE VILIFICATION OF EDWARD SNOWDEN

Chances are, if you’ve been paying attention these last few months, you are familiar with Edward Snowden.  In all likelihood, you probably think he’s a terrorist or a spy, maybe both.  That’s because the media has pulled a very interesting trick with the American people.  At first, they were a bit more open about what he did, but these days, you’d be hard pressed to find any information about this in their coverage.  Why?  Because Snowden hurt a lot of powerful people, and they want to send a message stating this will not be tolerated.  How did they manage to manipulate most of the country?  By glossing over why Snowden is in trouble and instead making the story about HIM.

In my opinion, Snowden has done an incredibly brave thing, and he should be celebrated instead of vilified.  But let’s take a look at exactly what he did, and you can make up your own mind.

Americans have known they were under surveillance for a long time.  One just needs to look at the cameras everywhere, from office buildings to city streets, to be sure.  They have also been fairly certain that their email and phone calls and internet usage has also been under surveillance.  This is a vague feeling, but if you’re being billed for something, chances are someone is keeping track of it.

Snowden leaked absolute, irrefutable evidence that this is true to the American people.  Technically, he leaked evidence about phone surveillance, but let’s face facts.  You all have internet on your phones, and chances are, you’ve been checking your email on them.  So yeah, that’s all being watched and itemized by the government.

Sure, take the high road.  You don’t have anything to hide.  But if you have pictures of your kids on your phone, there might be a government official staring at them.  Staring at your private moments.  The memories you want for yourself.  Or if you want to get vulgar, remember those dick pics you sent to your girlfriend?  The government now has a record of what your cock looks like.  Or how about that special video the two of you made together?  The government is supposedly professional, so chances are good that no officials are jerking off to it.  Right?

Everyone has the right to privacy.  If you want to flaunt yours, go right ahead.  But for everyone else, the government has taken that choice away.  Taking choices away . . . hm . . . does that sound like something that should happen in a country that calls itself the Land of the Free?

Snowden said that he wanted “to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them.”  He also said, “I don’t want to live in a society that does these sort [sic] of things.”  Who would, really?  And how about this one?  “I can’t allow the US government to destroy privacy and basic liberties.”

This makes him a whistle blower, not a terrorist.  And he’s certainly no spy.  It’s not like he leaked the information to another country; he leaked it to the media in America, and look at how they’ve paid him back.

Being a whistle blower sucks.  Each and every one of them has the best of intentions, and they’re always martyred by the press.  Maybe ten years pass, and people look back on them as heroes.  Maybe they even get movies made about them.  (Think SILKWOOD and THE INSIDER for starters.)  But that’s not going to do Snowden any good when he’s got a bullet in his head in whatever Central American country that will take him.  And make no mistake, any country that takes him from Russia will be setting a trap for him.  And whichever country does this will send us the receipt, since we’ve already paid the bill.

Did he betray his government?  Sure.  Did he betray his country?  Absolutely not.  Throughout his life, he’s tried to serve America as best he could.  He was in the Special Forces.  He was hired at the NSA.  He did his time in the CIA, and that’s where he started seeing his government for what it really is.  He said, “I felt like I had an obligation as a human being to help free people from oppression.”  So he tried to help us, and we spit in his face.

So why is Putin refusing to extradite Snowden back to America? I hear you ask.  He certainly isn’t doing it out of the kindness of his heart, if he indeed has one.  Okay, I’ll admit, Snowden probably bought his safety in Russia with a secret or two.  But he never would have done that if he wasn’t in survival mode right now.  He isn’t interested in destroying the country he loves; he tried to save it.  If he’s a traitor to his country, it’s because we forced him into it.  If we had celebrated his courage instead of crucifying him, he would never have had to do it.

Enough from me.  How about you?  Is Snowden a hero or villain?  Let me know in the comments below.