State Secrets.

       What's your take on Edward Snowden, the guy who released so much secret information from the NSA? It turns out he lined up some reporters before he applied for a job with Booz Allen and started working as a troubleshooter in the computer world of the NSA. It even looks like Wikileaks and Julian Assange were involved.
       Unlike PFC Bradley Manning, who was already in a position to find the items he would eventually leak, Snowden seems to have been getting his ducks in a row first. The question I have to ask is whether or not these guys are acting as true whistle blowers or just acting on hopes of financial gain? But perhaps even more important is whether these folks are the appropriate purveyors of national secrets and is it even appropriate to release that information at all?
       It's been stated that the unscheduled release of this information has endangered the lives of people in the field. And that it has set back our country's ability to protect us. What if those statements are true. Are Snowden and Manning still whistle blowers deserving of being protected under the law? Or are they truly traitors deserving of prison?
       I've asked myself these questions and I've figured out that I'm not nearly well enough informed to make that decision. Just who is qualified to release this kind of information? Look, I think there's tons of information the government holds as  national secrets that should be released. In many cases, I'll bet the reason to withhold some of this information is long past relevance.
       On the other hand, there certainly is information that must be held as secret. So who is or are the appropriate people or person to make those decisions?  Is a thirty year old computer nut who is a dropout the right person to reveal this information? Was adequate advance warning given to protect people's lives? How will this affect our country's ability to protect us be affected? Did Ed or Brad consider any of these questions first?