Paramount Drops Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has been cancelled after only two seasons. Starfleet Academy was a little beacon of hope for the future that has been snuffed out by the merger of Paramount Skydance & Warner Bros. Sure, there was a cowardly upswing of toxicity with bot attacks and review bombings towards the show, but I’d bet a cargo holds worth of gold-pressed latinum that pleasing the monsters who will give the yay or nay to the merger is at the core of this warp-core breach.

It does not bode well for the future on several levels; for Star Trek of course and, more directly, for accessibility to information that isn’t from the unofficial state-run ‘Department of Truth,” that this merger will usher in. "1984" was not supposed to be a user manual, yet here we are. The Paramount/Warner merger is a blow to the First Amendment, to Journalism, and to any voice that does not genuflect to the powers that be and the idiocy that they bring in their wake. I did a quick Google search and the ACLU from Arizona encapsulates this point succinctly…

“Freedom of the press, protected by the First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution, ensures that media can report, publish, and disseminate information without government censorship or intimidation. It is considered a cornerstone of democracy, essential for holding officials accountable and informing the public. Key principles include the prohibition of prior restraint and the right to investigate government actions.”

Journalism and shows like Star Trek & The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (also owned by Paramount who owns CBS) are in the process of being dismantled. Their crime? Showing and telling truth to power. When a Paramount falls in line with the powers that be they sacrifice the truth for the favor of an emperor who is wearing no clothes. A false king whose insanity & greed has brought us to war and sacrificed any good standing we had at one time not all that long ago with the entire world.

“But the new Star Trek is woke!”

Stop. The “woke” gripe against any Star Trek series holds no water. If you think #StarTrek is “woke” then you have watched Star Trek, but you have never really seen it. No, the simple beauty of Star Trek isn’t the technology or the science, it is in the idea that we, humanity, learn to live together and move forward together into that undiscovered country, the future. There is a well known quote about Star Trek from Gene Roddenberry…

“Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms. If we cannot learn to actually enjoy those small differences, to take a positive delight in those small differences between our own kind, here on this planet, then we do not deserve to go out into space and meet the diversity that is almost certainly out there.”

I read my daughter that quote and, heartbreakingly, she said, “We do not deserve the stars.”

So, why bring the axe down now? Starfleet Academy was smartly written. They told a full story in one season’s time. This story must have ruffled feathers due to the narrative of the battle of ideologies between Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) & Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti). Ake, the voice of reason & Braka, the voice of chaos. Braka wants to destroy the Federation. He’s a loud, obnoxious, man-child, lying, bullying, tyrant of a leader who through manipulation & violence gains power. In the end he makes his case as to why he should be the leader of the new galactic order & destroy the Federation.

Ake using facts proves that Braka is wrong & makes the case for facing the future without fear or terror to worlds of beings. To the various space-faring races in attendance & to the galaxy, who is watching the proceedings, Ake says in her closing argument, “Who do you want to go into the future with?”

Braka & Ake

As a sixty year old franchise, Star Trek has always used allegory to tell stories about issues of the day that historically effect us all. Paramount cancelled Star Trek for being Star Trek. And, in all reality, this is what cancelled Star Trek. Paramount wants to please Trump’s administration so that their merger with Warner Bros. goes through, make them nearly a monopoly to shape the message of what people read, hear, & see. They would be the mega-corporation condoned voice of the state. In the show the galaxy sides with Ake, in reality, Paramount sided with Braka – a Trump proxy, all for greed & power.

It does not bode well for the future of Star Trek, at least with its present masters at the helm. The “Star Trek: Year One” concept, which would have been a wonderful pickup from “Strange New Worlds” would have been worth seeing come to fruition since we are owed two more years on that initial five-year mission. Star Trek Legacy, and any other potential projects including movies or anything else franchise related will, much like Kahn’s crew on the Botany Bay, be put into stasis.   

When Star Trek is gone from Paramount Plus, I will not be far behind. I will drop it like an overheating phaser. They have proven to be poor stewards of what they had and now that I see what they want to usher in to the world… well, no thanks. I’ll put my $15.00 a month towards other things. I encourage you to do the same. The only thing corporations care about are dollars. I’m almost done giving them any more of mine. You see, I know who I want to go into the future with and that has nothing to do with the chaos that the current administration and their toadies at Paramount are willing to sow.

To the cast & crew of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Thank you for carrying the torch of Star Trek further. You have much to be proud of. I am looking forward to season two and know that your contribution to the narrative of Star Trek – of the future, has been indispensable. One day, I firmly believe, that we – humanity, will be worthy the stars. You have helped light the way and I am grateful. 

LLAP

Domestic Kidnappings and What Can Be Done About Them

These are strange and dangerous days here in the United States.  Strange happenings that, if you are paying attention, should send chills down your spine.  On top of social injustice, people confusing public health with personal freedom, and economic woes – there are now federally authorized kidnappings happening right now within the United States.   

Business Insider, reported this week, “A former Border Patrol agent describes the special federal unit deployed in Portland as one of 'the most violent and racist in all law enforcement'”  The article by Oma Seddiq, can be found right here: https://www.businessinsider.com/former-border-patrol-agent-describes-unit-portland-violent-and-racist-2020-7.  Jenn Budd is the former Border Patrol agent.  She describes the Bortac (Border Patrol Tactical Unit) as, “elite federal unit deployed by the Trump administration to quell protests in Portland, Oregon, as one of the "the most violent and racist in all law enforcement."”  She goes on to describe them further, "They don't exist within the realm of civilian law enforcement. They view people they encounter in the military sense as enemy combatants, meaning they have virtually no rights."

The trick is, these are American citizens and not enemy combatants, meaning they have rights.  Trump has authorized this ‘elite federal unit’ on the citizenry of Portland, Oregon and on these United States. 

“But these are lawless protesters!”, you may have grown fond of typing or screaming. 

One could just as well say that these are citizens who are using their First Amendment rights to assemble and petition the government for change – in this case, the Black Lives Matter movement.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying rioting is a right, but I am saying that peaceful protest is.  But, as Juvenal the Roman poet said, “Who will guard the guards themselves?”  It can be hard to hold those in power accountable.  These are soldiers who have been used as muscle to threaten, intimidate, and kidnap American citizens.  Stomping over the First Amendment betrays the oath that they took in becoming soldiers in the first place – remember, that oath to defend the Constitution?  These presidentially authorized kidnappings and federally authorized terrorist actions, are by definition and scope, completely un-American. 

It is disconcerting.  Here in the United States, if you exercise your right to peaceful protest, you can get carted off by a goon-squad that is all too happy to be abusing their power.  The oppression is real, and it is here.  It is the natural progression of tyranny.  Trying to control and manipulate the news, trying to block publications, making people disappear to silence them – these are all hallmarks of a totalitarian regime.  It is only a matter of time before things get worse.  Perhaps when they get to the writers and the bloggers, you’ll see people like me disappear too?  There is historical precedence.   

Disturbing, to say the least.  The brutality of despotism here in the United States is something that keeps me awake at night.  Mainly due to the fact that for my entire life as an American citizen – 51 years, mind you, I have been taught to believe otherwise.  We all were.  Brutality, authoritarianism, tyranny were things that we fought and not practiced or stood up for.  It is a hopeless situation we find ourselves in.  But then I remember, Charlie Chaplin and his final speech from the 1940 film, “The Great Dictator”, and again, I have hope.  You can see that speech here: https://www.charliechaplin.com/en/films/7-The-Great-Dictator/articles/29-The-Final-Speech-from-The-Great-Dictator- and here... 

I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone - if possible - Jew, Gentile - black man - white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness - not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost….

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men - cries out for universal brotherhood - for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world - millions of despairing men, women, and little children - victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.

To those who can hear me, I say - do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish. …..

Soldiers! don’t give yourselves to brutes - men who despise you - enslave you - who regiment your lives - tell you what to do - what to think and what to feel! Who drill you - diet you - treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men - machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate - the unloved and the unnatural! Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!

In the 17th Chapter of St Luke it is written: “the Kingdom of God is within man” - not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people have the power - the power to create machines. The power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.

Then - in the name of democracy - let us use that power - let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world - a decent world that will give men a chance to work - that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfil that promise. They never will!

Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world - to do away with national barriers - to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness. Soldiers! in the name of democracy, let us all unite!

Thank you, Mr. Chaplin.

Hope in a bottle, the vintage label reads 1940.  I read this speech and, once more, I have hope.  Hope that we can rise above the quagmire that the last four years have brought us.  Hope that, one day, we remember the people we are supposed to be.  Hope that there is a future for the United States of America and that we won’t collapse from the decay of corruption, greed, & lust for power.  The coronavirus exposed our weaknesses.  The social and economic fault lines are exposed and it is time to fix them – the injustice woven through our society, the lack of healthcare so people remain exploited, the willful ignorance where we haughtily reject expert opinions for YouTube videos or for people who have degrees from the “University of Facebook”.  It is time recognize our problems, address them, and move into the future – a decent and good future for all.   

Chaplin’s words hail from 1940 but they are more relevant today than he ever envisioned.  There is an important election coming up here in the United States.  Read this speech before you vote.  Watch it again before you cast your ballot.  This next election is for the soul of our nation.  Register to vote, if you have not, especially, if you haven’t voted before.  The Millennial generation and the marginalized could shift the balance of power and they should for a variety of reasons, but let’s just stick with the most obvious one – this is YOUR country, it is time to put someone in office who represents you and not their own polluted interests.

Read the speech again.  And again.  Allow it to sink in. 

Read it and hope.

“Don’t give yourselves to brutes.” 

Read it and #VOTE.

 

 

 

Final speech from The Great Dictator Copyright © Roy Export S.A.S. All rights reserved

Whistleblowing & the Prophecies of The Dark Knight

“I'd like to apologize to the schizophrenic rambling half naked homeless guy outside Wendy’s. Turns out you were right about the government.” – An observant man from Twitter named, Ben, commenting very effectively on the events of June 6^th, 2013.

(SPOILERS)

Do you remember the end of “The Dark Knight” when Lucius Fox tells Bruce Wayne when he taps into everyone’s cell phone in Gotham so that Batman and that Bat-Sonar-Computer of his can see everything that is going on in the city and he tells Bruce, “No one should have that much power.” – When Batman saves the day he gives Lucius the choice to keep the tech or to blow it all up – trusting Lucius to do the right thing whatever that may be? 

“No one should have that much power.”

Lucius does the right thing and after the Joker is vanquished he destroys the computer.  Within the scope of the story he saves Bruce by doing so, as well.  Bruce knows that he would use the technology for what he would truly believe is a good cause but he also knows his own heart and, even with the best of intentions, how corruptible a human heart can be.  Bruce, in the end, does the very best he can do by handing the decision over to the only man he knew he could trust – the true hero of the story, Lucius Fox.  In the world of fiction it all made sense the good guys won, the bad lost and the credits rolled.  The specter of absolute power corrupting absolutely is averted and Bruce can keep fighting bad guys without becoming one in the sequel. 

(END SPOILERS – by the way, see “The Dark Knight” already, will ya?) 

In reality we find that proactive security and governmental monitoring just a bit too tempting.  On June 6^th, 2013, the story broke that the United States government is collecting vast amounts of information from private communications.  It appears that it may be too idealistic to simply expect the government – ANY government to do the right thing on the issue of rights, security, & decency online is simply an idyllic model.  So why would Bruce Wayne, the Batman, build such a machine in the first place?  Alfred sums it up best when he says that, “Some men just want to watch the world burn.”   

Who knew that The Dark Knight would be so prophetic?  Maybe Christopher Nolan?

That is why.  The world is a dangerous place filled with people who only want to lie, kill & destroy and with a healthy combination of vigilance and fear we boldly step into a brave new era.  A world where surveillance on citizens of the United States is done in the name of safety and of security – power and control; a surveillance society.  Yes it is a, “different world” but the roots of our surveillance society go back further than we think.  In the article, “Privacy in Retreat, a Timeline”, NPR’s, Charles Mahtesian traces privacy’s decline back to the invention of, “the cookie” back in 1994.  It includes other greatest hits to personal freedoms and writes such as 2002’s, “Total Information Awareness” and 2005’s, “Warrantless Surveillance”.  You can watch the forward motion of this right here: http://www.npr.org/2013/06/11/190721205/privacy-in-retreat-a-timeline?sc=tw&cc=share.  In another article from NPR, “Privacy Past & Present: A Saga of American Ambivalence”, the writers under the subheading Privacy Past & Present have this quote from, “…Neil Richards, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

‘If you want to talk about privacy, what would be less private than having a platoon of Redcoats living in your house, eating your food, listening to your conversations?" Richards asks. "... In the Constitution itself — the quartering of soldiers, the execution of general warrants — all have to do with the privacy of the home, the privacy of papers.

"And though the Constitution doesn't use the word 'privacy,' the separation of individuals and their information and their homes and their persons from the state is a theme that runs throughout the Bill of Rights.’” 

The entire article can be found right here: http://www.npr.org/2013/06/16/192369272/privacy-past-and-present-a-saga-of-american-ambivalence?ft=1&f=1001.

I have discussed privacy issues before – on this very blog on various occasions and have had people tell me in no uncertain terms, “To think the government is looking at YOU is the height of narcissism.  You’re not that important.”  While I may have a few healthy narcissistic tendencies, however, it is now a very well established fact that the NSA and the FBI think differently on the subject.  We are being monitored and that is a fact.  All of the sudden, my tinfoil collection doesn’t look so strange.  This “brave new world” which we find ourselves in did not just materialize out of thin air.  This is a systemic condition; it does not start or end with the executive branch.  None of this happens without the Legislative or the Judiciary branches of the United States government being aware of the widespread surveillance of the general populous in some capacity. 

I’ve heard the argument from several people, “Well, if you’re not doing anything wrong, so what?”  My concern is who is determining what is right and what is wrong?  As one administration bleeds into another what happens when the opinions of those in power shift – when our overlords are not so benevolent anymore?  I may have a differing opinion than the regime who has say over these nebulous / flexible terms of use that are NOT SUBJECT TO ANY LAWS.  What happens when my views on politics or religion are deemed a danger to the state and are now part of several data bases in the desert of Utah or in Langley Virginia?  Is there any ownership of my information or does it belong to a third party data aggregator who sells it to Lord knows who?

In the Reuters article, “Reports on Surveillance of Americans Fuel Debate Over Privacy, Security”, Diane Feinstein (Democratic Senator from California who heads the Senate Intelligence committee) is quoted as saying, “It’s called protecting America.”  Benjamin Franklin (Founding Father) is quoted as saying, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”  Mark Hosenball & John Whitesides article can be found here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/07/us-usa-wiretaps-verizon-idUSBRE95502920130607.    

Ben was like a Yoda that you would actually want to spend time with.

A CNET article by Declan McCullagh, “NSA spying flap extends to contents of U.S. phone calls”, states that, “National Security Agency discloses in secret Capitol Hill briefing that thousands of analysts can listen to domestic phone calls. That authorization appears to extend to e-mail and text messages too.”  The article quotes Mr. Kurt Opsahl.  “’…There are serious ‘constitutional problems’’ with this approach, said Kurt Opsahl, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who has litigated warrantless wiretapping cases. ‘It epitomizes the problem of secret laws.’”  Mr. McCullagh touches on the “NUCLEON” program where the NSA can take the spoken words from a phone call, convert it to text, and stores it all in a database.  The article can be found right here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57589495-38/nsa-spying-flap-extends-to-contents-of-u.s-phone-calls/?ttag=fbwc.

Due to recent events there has been a spike in sales of a precautionary tale from George Orwell, entitled, “1984”.  “As literary political fiction and dystopian science-fiction, Nineteen Eighty-Four is a classic novel in content, plot, and style. Many of its terms and concepts, such as Big Brother, doublethink, thoughtcrime, Newspeak, and memory hole, have entered everyday use since its publication in 1949. Moreover, Nineteen Eighty-Four popularized the adjective Orwellian, which describes official deception, secret surveillance, and manipulation of the past by a totalitarian or authoritarian state.” – Oxford Companion to English Literature, Sixth Edition. University of Oxford Press: 2000. p. 726.  It is enjoying a resurgence in sales and is more relevant now than it ever has been.  See: “Orwell’s 1984 flying up the Amazon charts” right here: http://cir.ca/story/sales-of-1984-surge.

As the meme says, “It’s not supposed to be an instruction manual.”

The Guardian’s, Eric Limer wrote, “Meet Boundless Informant: the NSA Tool That Watches the Entire Planet”.  The Guardian published in the United Kingdom.  As the opening paragraph states, “First there was PRISM—the network that’s collecting real-time data on people everywhere—and now The Guardian has turned up “Boundless Informant” which is indexing surveillance and espionage metadata from the ENTIRE WORLD.”  You can read all about it right here: http://htl.li/lR9sz.

So who is watching you?  Information has been used as currency for quite some time now.  Governments & corporations use it to sell ideologies, as well as, manufactured items to us all the time.  Slate’s Amy Webb published an article entitled, “Who’s Watching You? Not Just the NSA”.  In the article Ms. Webb explores the price that we pay when we choose to use new emerging technologies and participate in Social Media.  “The reality is that we all live in clouds of deeply personal data, and we carry that information everywhere we go and in nearly everything we do. Stop for a moment, and think about all of the services you use and the conveniences you enjoy. Do you really think that Verizon is the only company divulging your information? Or that the NSA is the only organization doing the monitoring?”  This article underlines an important factor that so many people ignore on a routine basis – actions & words mean things.  We pay the price for using our tech with information and when it’s out there – it’s out there.    “…There are serious social and legal repercussions when we allow a government or any organization unfettered, ubiquitous access to personal information. There are also serious repercussions when citizens don’t stop to think about the personal data they’re sharing, with whom and for what purpose. You may not be able to stop sharing that data, but you certainly can know what it is that you’re broadcasting.”  You can find Amy Webb’s full article right here: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/06/nsa_verizon_surveillance_you_re_sharing_your_private_data_all_the_time.html.  Click on the newly discovered Verizon commercial at the bottom of the article too.  Unfortunately, there is a lot of truth in humor.

Micah Lee’s article on the Electronic Frontier Foundation website goes into further depth as to how we are being followed.  Who picks up our electronic breadcrumbs when are on the web?  Or, more to the point, what happens when our information is farmed out to a third party data aggregator to anyone guess where?  “…by loading third party resources from servers controlled by major providers like Facebook, Google, and others, are sending information about their visitors to companies subject to US government data requests. While these news companies themselves could directly receive requests for this data, the fact that they voluntarily send this data to the same small, centralized group of third parties makes these third parties convenient and attractive targets to collect visitor information from vast swaths of the web. Once a website sends data to a third party, it no longer has the power to stand up for its users against unconstitutional government requests for that data.”  How it happens and why it matters can be found right here: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/06/third-party-resources-nsa-leaks.  Again, this is nothing new – it is the price for participation and has been since the invention of the cookie in 2004.  Pay and play, it’s as simple as that.  If you want to reap the benefits of Social Media or using directions on your cell phone you must exchange information.   

What of Social Media of Facebook, Google, & Microsoft – how do they stand on this issue?  As per CBS news, “General Counsel Ted Ullyot said in a statement Friday that Facebook is only allowed to talk about total numbers, but is lobbying to reveal more, and the permission received is still unprecedented.

Following the guidelines, Ullyot says Facebook received between 9,000 and 10,000 requests from government entities in the last six months of 2012, on subjects from missing children to terrorist threats.

"With more than 1.1 billion monthly active users worldwide," said Ullyot, "this means that a tiny fraction of one percent of our user accounts were the subject of any kind of U.S. state, local, or federal U.S. government request (including criminal and national security-related requests) in the past six months. We hope this helps put into perspective the numbers involved, and lays to rest some of the hyperbolic and false assertions in some recent press accounts about the frequency and scope of the data requests that we receive."

In a rare alliance, Facebook, Google and Microsoft Corp. are pressuring the Obama administration to loosen their legal gag on government surveillance orders.”  See: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57589463/facebook-around-10k-requests-for-info-from-govt-in-last-6-months/ for full story.  Information is Social Media’s bread and butter.  These companies had to come forward in hopes that they would be viewed as being more transparent and that, as it says in the article, hoping that the Obama administration, “loosens their legal gag on government surveillance orders.”  They cannot afford to be lumped into any surveillance plot.  It’s just bad for business.   

So, whatever happened to doing the right thing?

A whistleblower as defined by Wikipedia (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistleblower) is, “…a person who exposes misconduct, alleged dishonest or illegal activity occurring in an organization. The alleged misconduct may be classified in many ways; for example, a violation of a law, rule, regulation and/or a direct threat to public interest, such as fraud, health and safety violations, and corruption. Whistleblowers may make their allegations internally (for example, to other people within the accused organization) or externally (to regulators, law enforcement agencies, to the media or to groups concerned with the issues).”  What of the whistleblower – the often lone voice in the wilderness who stands up and does something?  The individual who is brave enough to do the right thing? 

Before the election are the promises to, “strengthen whistleblower laws” and are cited as, “Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government”.

After the election and the advent of Julian Assange & WikiLeaks, of Bradley Manning, and now Edward Snowden one can only conclude that we are being lied to on a sweeping - epic scale and on a routine basis.  The truth gets lost in the struggle to maintain power.  It is with profound sadness that I write those words.  “Obama will ensure that federal agencies expedite the process for reviewing whistleblower claims and whistleblowers have full access to courts and due process.”  How quaint.  The shame of it is I bought it – hook, line, & sinker.  I had “HOPE”.  It turns out truth and transparency are only words used to placate voters like me and things are not the same as it always was but with the endless march forward of technology and our innate ability to serve the darker angels of our own natures, things are much worse and there is no end in sight.  Our technology has outpaced our ethics.  We need to do better.  It’s that simple.

Where is Lucius Fox when we need him?     

Personal freedom.  Liberty.  America used to be known for these and, in some quarters, we still are.  Among our Rights as citizens is the First Amendment – the right to freedom of speech.  “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Those words are found in our Declaration of Independence.  I have to believe that they still mean something.  In 2006 we were ranked 8^th in personal freedoms (see; http://www.stateofworldliberty.org/index.html).  In 2013 (as per very similar data collection. See; http://patrickrhamey.com/saturday-research/2013/6/9/2013-state-of-world-liberty-index) The United States is not even in the top ten.

Let that sink in a bit.

We are not in the top ten.

Hong Kong is listed as third.  Perhaps this may have had some bearing on why Edward Snowden chose this as his initial base of operations?  I don’t know.  I do know; however, that the United States Department of Justice has now filed paperwork charging him with espionage (see: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/22/us-usa-security-snowden-charges-idUSBRE95K18220130622).  So much for all that “whistleblower protection” pre-election talk. 

I firmly believe that this the issue that will define the Obama Administration in the history books.  It cuts to the core of American ideology and speaks to our rights and our liberties.  The surveillance state which we live in did not just materialize into existence overnight; it was only brought into the light under this administration.  It is systemic and it could never have happened without all three branches of our government being aware or it to some degree.  Now we are aware of it too. As twenty-first century American citizens do we remain ambivalent and distracted waiting for the next wave of surveillance tools to be implemented (I’m looking at you, Drone fleet)?  What can we do?  I think it is a healthy practice to encourage transparency.  Further, I believe it sends the wrong message to United States citizens and to the rest of the world when we persecute a whistleblower.  I think it essential that we stand up for those who stood up for us - those who say, “This is wrong & it bad for others”.  Whistleblower protection is not only something that should put into policy but it should be lauded as a high watermark of a civilized society.  Doing the right thing to those who are trying to do the right thing speaks volumes about our ethics as a people and as a nation. 

Now that the inconvenient truth of the surveillance program is public knowledge politicians are starting to speak about it.  They must.  It cannot be avoided.  These are dangerous times (in several ways) and there must be a “balance” between defense & dystopia.  In the Politico, article entitled, “Nancy Pelosi Booed, Heckled at Netroots Nation 2013”, by Emily Schultheis (Emily Schultheis’ article is here: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/nancy-pelosi-booed-netroots-nation-2013-93193.html#.UcZ48iyO_Oo.twitter) we find Nancy Pelosi being booed and heckled when she used the word, “balance” trying to justify the warrantless surveillance of millions of American citizens during a speech.  One man yelled, “It’s not a balance.  It’s not constitutional!  No secret laws!”  As this man was ushered out of the hall by security a voice in the crowd said, “And that is what a police state looks like.”

My fear is that the voice in the crowd may be onto something.

We can do better.

We must.