November 7, 2015


News Clips For the Day


http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/05/454834662/pentagon-paid-sports-teams-millions-for-paid-patriotism-events?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=202605


Pentagon Paid Sports Teams Millions For 'Paid Patriotism' Events
Eyder Peralta
NOVEMBER 05, 2015

Photograph -- Paid advertisement? A soldier holds an American flag before the first half of a 2013 NFL football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots in Atlanta.
David Goldman/AP


In the past few years, the Pentagon spent $6.8 million to pay for patriotic displays during the games of professional sports teams.

That's according to a joint oversight report released by Arizona Republican Sens. John Flake and John McCain on Wednesday.

The senators found that since 2012, the Pentagon has signed 72 contracts with teams in the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer that amounted to "paid patriotism."

For example, taxpayers paid $49,000 to the Milwaukee Brewers to allow the Wisconsin Army National Guard to sponsor the Sunday singing of "God Bless America." In another contract, the New York Jets were paid $20,000 to "recognize one to two New Jersey Army National Guard soldiers as hometown heroes."

USA Today reports that NFL teams received the biggest slice of the pie — $6 million, according to the report. The newspaper adds:

"The Atlanta Falcons received $879,000; the New England Patriots, $700,000; and the Buffalo Bills, $650,000. The Atlanta Braves received $450,000, the most of any Major League Baseball franchise, while the Minnesota Wild were paid $570,000, the most of any National Hockey League team.

"The Atlanta contracts included a 2013 event during which a roaring crowd cheered as the Falcons welcomed 80 guard members who unfurled an American flag across the Georgia Dome's turf."

In memos included in the report, the Pentagon said the payments were part of its recruitment campaigns. But it has since banned the practice and, according to Flake, the NFL has called on its teams to stop taking money for patriotic salutes.

"Americans across the country should be deeply disappointed that many of the ceremonies honoring troops at professional sporting events are not actually being conducted out of a sense of patriotism, but for profit in the form of millions in taxpayer dollars going from the Department of Defense to wealthy pro sports franchises," McCain said in a statement. "Fans should have confidence that their hometown heroes are being honored because of their honorable military service, not as a marketing ploy."




“The senators found that since 2012, the Pentagon has signed 72 contracts with teams in the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer that amounted to "paid patriotism." …. The Atlanta Falcons received $879,000; the New England Patriots, $700,000; and the Buffalo Bills, $650,000. The Atlanta Braves received $450,000, the most of any Major League Baseball franchise, while the Minnesota Wild were paid $570,000, the most of any National Hockey League team. …. In memos included in the report, the Pentagon said the payments were part of its recruitment campaigns. But it has since banned the practice and, according to Flake, the NFL has called on its teams to stop taking money for patriotic salutes.”


This sounds too much like Russia and China. I am not pleased! Is it possible that Obama had anything to do with this? Was this program of paying teams to participate in what is nothing more than a scripted show undertaken by the Pentagon officials on their own, or was it a part of the annual budget? What lawmakers brought it forward or voted for it? Did the president knowingly sign it? I wonder if he even knew. Somebody in Congress/Senate/Executive knew about it, I’m sure, and they need to be sanctioned and publicly shamed. This is truly an embarrassing story and another huge waste of taxpayer money.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/louisiana-police-shooting-video-arrests-norris-greenhouse-jr-derrick-stafford/

"Disturbing" video key to arrests in deadly La. shooting
CBS NEWS
November 7, 2015

Photograph -- greenhouse-stafford.jpg
Photos released by the Louisiana State Police show Norris Greenhouse Jr., left, and Lt. Derrick Stafford. LOUISIANA STATE POLICE
Play VIDEO -- 6-year-old dies, father hurt in Louisiana officer shooting
Photograph -- ctm1106deadlychasemystery464282640x360.jpg, An undated photo shows Jeremy Mardis, 6, who was shot and killed Nov. 3, 2015, after his father led law enforcement officers on a chase. CBS NEWS


Just 72 hours after a police pursuit ended in gunfire, two Louisiana law enforcement officers are under arrest, charged with murder in the death of a 6-year-old autistic boy.

The boy's father was wounded when the officers opened fire on the car in which he and his son were riding.

The head of the Louisiana State Police says a video of the shooting is one of the most disturbing things he's ever seen, CBS News' David Begnaud reports.

Jeremy Mardis, 6, died in the front seat of his father's vehicle with his dad at the wheel.

Investigators said both father and son were shot by Marksville police officers Norris Greenhouse Jr. and Derrick Stafford. They are being held without bail.

The officers surrendered Friday night and were charged with second degree murder for the death of Jeremy and the attempted second degree murder of his father, Christopher Few.

Neither officer said a word as they were rushed out of the Avoyelles Parish Jail in handcuffs.

A law enforcement source told CBS News the officers will not tell state police investigators why they wanted to pull over Few Tuesday night, starting a police pursuit that ended in gunfire.

Col. Mike Edmonson, head of the Louisiana State Police, has seen the video of the shooting.

He told Begnaud how key the video was to making the arrests.

"That video was incredible," Edmonson said. "I mean, as a father, much less head of the state police, I looked at that tape, I said this is incredibly disturbing."

CBS News has learned it was a third officer who recorded the shooting with a body camera after he responded to a call for backup. According to a source, that officer told investigators Few was not acting in a threatening manner toward police.

Initially there was a report that Few had a warrant out for his arrest. It turns out there was no warrant. He had no gun in the vehicle.

Begnaud asked Edmonson what Few did to warrant the traffic stop.

"I think the rest of the investigation tells us that," Edmonson said. "I mean, we've got to look at everyone involved, and we'll get to the part of that, but what we learned from the very first night, what we heard an hour after that, was that they were trying to effect an arrest warrant on a traffic stop. Not factual. Not factual."

Edmonson said initially the two officers claimed that Few tried to reverse his vehicle and ram it into one of their police cars.

The damage on the police car that was reportedly hit appears minor.

Begnaud asked Edmonson whether Few was someone who deserves blame here.

"It doesn't seem from what we see," Edmonson said, "because we don't know why they were trying to chase him."

A source told CBS News that the two officers arrested fired a total of 18 shots at both father and son.

Few was shot twice but survived and is listed in serious condition at a local hospital.

The Avoyelles Parish coroner said Jeremy was shot five times in the head and chest.

"I can tell you he didn't suffer," Edmonson said. "He didn't suffer, and his dad was near him, but he did not suffer."

The two officers arrested usually work for the Marksville city police department, but on the night of the shooting they were working for the city marshal's office.

Law enforcement confirmed to CBS News they are probing whether one of the officers arrested has a personal grudge against Few and may have sought revenge with gunfire.




“Jeremy Mardis, 6, died in the front seat of his father's vehicle with his dad at the wheel. Investigators said both father and son were shot by Marksville police officers Norris Greenhouse Jr. and Derrick Stafford. They are being held without bail. The officers surrendered Friday night and were charged with second degree murder for the death of Jeremy and the attempted second degree murder of his father, Christopher Few. Neither officer said a word as they were rushed out of the Avoyelles Parish Jail in handcuffs. A law enforcement source told CBS News the officers will not tell state police investigators why they wanted to pull over Few Tuesday night, starting a police pursuit that ended in gunfire. …. CBS News has learned it was a third officer who recorded the shooting with a body camera after he responded to a call for backup. According to a source, that officer told investigators Few was not acting in a threatening manner toward police. Initially there was a report that Few had a warrant out for his arrest. It turns out there was no warrant. He had no gun in the vehicle. …. Edmonson said initially the two officers claimed that Few tried to reverse his vehicle and ram it into one of their police cars. The damage on the police car that was reportedly hit appears minor. Begnaud asked Edmonson whether Few was someone who deserves blame here. "It doesn't seem from what we see," Edmonson said, "because we don't know why they were trying to chase him." A source told CBS News that the two officers arrested fired a total of 18 shots at both father and son. …. The two officers arrested usually work for the Marksville city police department, but on the night of the shooting they were working for the city marshal's office. Law enforcement confirmed to CBS News they are probing whether one of the officers arrested has a personal grudge against Few and may have sought revenge with gunfire.”


Here we go again with a story that is very similar to the other police shootings in the last couple of years since we began focusing on them. I wonder how many there have been in the past that went unreported. One difference here – the driver being pursued is white and the officers are black. Still they used up 18 shots, six into a 6 year old boy. They claim the drive Few tried to ram the police car, and a dent and broken headlight was detected on the officer’s front end. Still, that’s not good reason to shoot and kill, and the circumstance which caused Fell to back up and ram their car has not been stated. The officers involved have refused to tell what their motivation for chasing Fell was, but the fact that they were working for the city marshall’s office led to the claim that they were trying to arrest Fell, but apparently there was no warrant out for his arrest. “Law enforcement” is looking into the possibility that it may have been a vengeance killing instead. I would really like to hear more about this situation, but so far it just looks as though both black and white police officers are being trained to pursue and shoot first and ask questions (or think?) later. We need police officers, of course, but we need for them to be reliable, honest and logical. Too many of them are not.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-kasich-talks-marijuana-with-stephen-colbert/

John Kasich talks marijuana with Stephen Colbert
By REENA FLORES CBS NEWS
November 7, 2015

Photograph -- Presidential candidate Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaks to the media in the spin room after the CNBC Republican Presidential Debate at University of Colorado's Coors Events Center October 28, 2015 in Boulder, Colorado. ANDREW BURTON/GETTY IMAGES
Play VIDEO -- 2015 Republican debate: GOP candidates on marijuana


Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich sat down with "The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert on Friday to defend his stance against legalizing marijuana just days after Ohio voted against a statewide decriminalization of medical and recreational marijuana.

"We have a huge drug crisis in this country," Kasich said.

"Is that really pot, the drug crisis?" Colbert asked. "Lots of people are going to jail for minor infractions, and it ruins their entire life."

"We don't do that in Ohio, OK?" Kasich said. In the state, if police find a person in possession of small amounts of marijuana, they can charge a fine rather than doling out jail time.

"We don't even want serious drug addicts to be locked in prison for the rest of their life. We treat them, and we pass them off to the community," the GOP candidate said. "The problem with marijuana is this: We don't want to tell our kids, 'Don't do drugs, but by the way, this drug's OK.'"

"Isn't that what alcohol is?" Colbert asked, to loud applause.

When asked if he had ever smoked marijuana, Kasich replied that he had -- a fact he has admitted to in previous interviews.

Colbert later pressed him: If he had ever been caught by police using the drug, would he be the governor of Ohio today?

"It ruins a life to have that police record because you can't get a job," the late-night host said.

"I just don't want to legalize drugs," Kasich replied, though he said he would consider it if doctors deemed it necessary for medical purposes.

"Now, when it comes to medical marijuana," he said, "if the experts come back and say we need this for people who have seizures, I'm for that."




"We don't do that in Ohio, OK?" Kasich said. In the state, if police find a person in possession of small amounts of marijuana, they can charge a fine rather than doling out jail time. "We don't even want serious drug addicts to be locked in prison for the rest of their life. We treat them, and we pass them off to the community," the GOP candidate said. "The problem with marijuana is this: We don't want to tell our kids, 'Don't do drugs, but by the way, this drug's OK.'" …. "I just don't want to legalize drugs," Kasich replied, though he said he would consider it if doctors deemed it necessary for medical purposes. "Now, when it comes to medical marijuana," he said, "if the experts come back and say we need this for people who have seizures, I'm for that."


I personally don’t want to see every person young and old using marijuana as they are now using alcohol. I don’t believe either is a “harmless” drug. The real problem is that alcohol is produced every time a jug of sweet cider is left unrefrigerated for a week or so, and marijuana can be found growing wild in some US areas. They can’t be fully eradicated. The way medicinal pot shops have popped up everywhere in the states where it has been allowed show another problem – there is a huge amount of profit in growing pot. I am far from convinced that everyone who wants to buy it has a medical problem. There have also been a few cases in the news of children getting into the pot supply, especially the “edible” forms.

One article said that edible marijuana can have a lasting, delayed effect. Some who have used it overdid the dosage because of that. When they didn’t get the effect they wanted they took some more. Perhaps overuse doesn’t kill, but it isn’t healthful either. I agree with Kasich that the drug shouldn’t be legalized because it is entirely too intriguing in its effects and long term use can contribute to psychosis among other things. That isn’t harmless. See the “newhealthguide” article below on scientific studies that have been done:

http://www.newhealthguide.org/Can-You-Overdose-On-Marijuana.html

Can You Overdose On Marijuana?

Marijuana is a highly used drug all over the world for both recreational and medicinal use. It comes from the “cannabis” plant and can be used in foods or smoked. Depending on how potent the strain is, the effects can be short-term and long term. There is a chance of overdose from marijuana if too much of the drug is used. However, can you die from ingesting too much Marijuana? Let’s take a look at the effects of marijuana and what an overdose might feel like.

Effect of Ingesting Too Much Marijuana --“Greening Out”

A temporary overdose of marijuana can occur and is called “greening out.” It is important to understand that a temporary overdose of marijuana will not result in permanent disability or death, but can be quite common in people who have not used the drug often. The following are the symptoms of too much marijuana in the system:

Temporary feelings of paranoia, fear and anxiety
Shortness of breath
Pupil dilation
Vomiting and/or nausea
Fast heart rate
Shaking that is hard to control, feeling cold
Disorientation or hallucinations
Hangover

This phenomenon passes on its own within minutes to hours of marijuana use. If the symptoms are severe, medical attention needs to be obtained to make sure the user is closely observed for complications. There is a chance that some marijuana obtained on the street could contain stronger chemicals and drugs that could cause a person to become very ill. In this case, someone could suffer from dangerous side effects. There is also a slight risk of using too much marijuana with underlying health conditions and suffering severe reactions to the drug.

How to Treat Marijuana Overdose Symptoms

Slight cases of “greening out” will usually go away on its own in a few hours without treatment. Keep an eye on the person and offer fluids and rest. Watch for symptoms that warrant further medical care such as; trouble breathing, pale skin color, fast heart rate and unresponsiveness. Take the person to the nearest emergency room or call 911.

Medical personnel will focus the treatment on alleviating the symptoms. They can give anti-anxiety medications, medications to control the heart rate and blood pressure. Intravenous fluids may be administered and they will be watched in a controlled environment with doctors standing by to handle any further health complications.

Can You Die from Marijuana Overdose?

Death Is Not Likely

There are actually very few documented cases of death by a marijuana overdose. For the most part, THC (the drug in marijuana) has never been thought of as a deadly drug. In the few instances that death has occurred with marijuana use it has been attribute to other drug use or the health condition of the individual. THC is so low in potency that very large amounts would need to be taken to cause a dangerous overdose.

A fatal marijuana overdose in humans would take 40,000 times the amount of THC that it took to get them high in the first place. In comparison, it would only take 5 to 10 times the amount of alcohol to get drunk to kill a human. If you can get drunk on 3 beers, then 15 to 30 beers can cause death. If you inhale 3 puffs of marijuana smoke and get high, then you would have to take 120,000 puffs of marijuana smoke to be fatal. In this sense, it is nearly impossible to die from an overdose of marijuana. Again, it depends on the purity of the marijuana and the health status of the individual so these amounts may vary depending on the situation.

Support from A Scientific Study

There have been a number of scientific studies on the main chemical in marijuana, THC. This drug is a cannabinoid and in the field of science known as, tetrahydrocannabinol. These studies are pretty conclusive on the fact that THC is a “psychoactive” substance and can cause people to become high when ingested, but they have not found any evidence that it is toxic to the body.

In order to determine how much of a drug would be fatal, scientists came up with a formula known as “lethal dosage.” They then test a substance until 50% of the test animals in the lab die. The formula is known as the LD-50. With this formula, it shows that very small animals such as; rats and mice, can take in as much as 1000mg per kilogram before they die. Larger animals did not even reach the LD-50 even giving them as much as 3000mg per kilogram of body weight.

What this means is that a person who weighs 140 pounds or about 63 kilograms would need to take in over 4 pounds of marijuana at once to reach the same levels as the large animal study and this still would has not been proven to be a fatal dosage. These studies have been ongoing over 30 years and researchers have yet to see a severe adverse event with the drug.

What Are The Dangers Of Smoking Marijuana?

Marijuana can have a few dangers that you need to know about. While it won’t cause death it can have some short-term and long-term effects on your body and your life. Let’s take a look at the dangers of marijuana use:

Short-Term Dangers

Marijuana does have some side-effects that can be slightly uncomfortable for some people. These include:

Anxiety and panic attacks
Memory loss
Slowed and impaired thinking
Slowed judgement
Slowed muscle and coordination
Cardiac complications for people with heart disease and high blood pressure
Driving impairment for up to 24 hours after ingestion

Long-Term Dangers

Issues with learning and memory
Decreased fertility
Increases in mental illness





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/security-clearance-broken-spies-inside-says-ex-u-s-official/

Security clearance broken, spies inside, says former U.S. official
60 Minutes with Scott Pelley
November 6, 2015

Video -- PREVIEW: INTO DANGEROUS HANDS


There are probably more people like NSA leaker Edward Snowden working right now with America's secrets says a former deputy secretary of Defense. John Hamre tells Scott Pelley that the U.S. security clearance process -- the one that green-lit Snowden as well as convicted spy Chelsea Manning and mass murderer Aaron Alexis -- is obsolete. In fact, an internal government memo obtained by 60 Minutes warns the process could contain "systemic problems." Pelley's report, "Into Dangerous Hands," will be broadcast on 60 Minutes Sunday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. PT.

"We have spies in our midst. I'm convinced of it," says Hamre, who also chairs the Defense Policy Board, which advises the Pentagon. "Our system is very obsolete in my view."

Its basic flaw is a form applicants fill out themselves on which people can lie and not get caught. Alexis, who killed 12 coworkers at a U.S. Naval office, lied about a felony arrest for letting the air out of someone's tire. He failed to mention he did it with a gun in a "black out fueled by anger." Snowden worked for the CIA and left there under a cloud that convinced the agency to put a red flag in his file. But when his security clearance was later reviewed, after he took a contract position with the NSA, he said his past employment was "classified" and the clearance investigator did not check with the CIA.

Hamre says this kind of lapse is an example of the most serious threats the system faces. "Snowden was an example of it. He moved into an enormously sensitive position," says Hamre. "We control people at the gate and once we give them a credential, they're in the compound, we don't pay attention to where they are after that...So our big elaborate, expensive system didn't prevent something that was truly important."

Responsibility for most government security clearance investigations falls under the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM. 60 Minutes obtained a memo written by the OPM's Inspector General Patrick McFarland in the wake of Snowden's disclosures of classified NSA documents to journalists. McFarland writes that Snowden's background investigation was "...deficient in a number of areas..." and "...OPM itself did not identify that the report had glaring deficiencies." McFarland concludes, "there may well be systemic problems."

Manning lied on his application about his mental health history. Hamre points out that authorities are not even permitted to search applicants' social media accounts because of privacy concerns. "It's amazing what people will say on their Facebook account that they don't say on a security clearance," Hamre tells Pelley.

Representatives of the OPM declined to be interviewed for this report, but told 60 Minutes in a statement that they are "working aggressively to incorporate new data sources and to transform investigation methods" and that they are "...currently reviewing key aspects of the security clearance process."


COMMENTS --

WHISTLERUSA 44 minutes ago
Citizens must look at their own members of congress, unfaithful holding office, see attachments to budget that aid wall street, Those members are not true Americans, they seek their own, whats best for them, not the middle class, not the disabled, veterans and seniors.

They are the real crooks, people like Paul Ryan and GOP.


QUINCYTODD 2 hours ago
Another right-wing fanatic trying to scare us to death. How old this gets!


VENUS DEMONS 2 hours ago
>>more people like NSA leaker Edward Snowden working right now with America's secrets

Except from what we know about Snowden is that he didn't take the job with the intention of spying. He saw that the agency he was working for was, and still is, overstepping its authority. Snowden brought those facts to the light of day. Interestingly, Snowden says that he tried to address the issue through the appropriate internal channels first, but was shut out. That's what lead to his decision to become a "whistle blower", which incidentally is far different than a spy.


FIRINGSQUAD6666 3 hours ago
More like Snowden inside? Sounds like a good thing to me.


OBSERVER1504 3 hours ago
@firingsquad6666 Does it really sound like a good thing for a person like Snowden to expose how America gathers foreign intelligence ? Once that man started shooting off his mouth terrorists from Hamas to AQAP changed the methods they use to communicate. Foreign agents are out of the intel. business due to them not being sure they can be protected from exposure. Yup, that sure sounds like a good thing !


VENUS DEMONS 2 hours ago
@Observer1504 @firingsquad6666 And yet in spite of that NSA is still operating its inward facing surveillance and spying on Americans, and that is outside their charter and authority.


DAVID DEEDS 13 hours ago
Audit every Government Department and all agencies from the top down and the bottom up, streamline all Departments and eliminate fraud, waste, thief, and corruption, you do this by bring in CPA's of America and have High School & College Sr. assist, this can be completed in less than a year, it's in our Nation Best Interest to audit our Government, they do work for American Tax payers. Let them prove it, and if anyone is found to be the lightest bit dishonest in anyway, show them the door and bar that person from ever entering the work force at all levels of Government or agency ever again. Throw out all in all parties who have serve more than two terms, its not a career...you work for the betterment of America and the American people. When all members of our Government body apply their skills for two terms they should be proud they served making America great. Have no current member of Government assist from any level. Maybe NSA can do a better job of weeding out the corrupt within the CPA's of America and High School and College Sr. before they qualify to assist.


DAVID DEEDS 13 hours ago
Follow the Money when any member of the house votes. Stop the fraud.


LASTTRUEAMERICANS 15 hours ago
I wonder what it feels like to be working for NSA sitting in Utah, Hawaii, Ft. Meade, San Antonio, Augsburg, Torii Station, ...knowing one is violating the Constitution of the United States by spying on the citizens of the United States. How would it feel to be spying on American citizens, your relatives, you family, or the millions of decent Americans knowing it is against the Constitution of the United States which one is suppose to uphold. How can one sleep at night, spend time with ones family knowing one is a traitor to their own country.

It is amazing that there is only one person that stood up and did the right thing. Of all of the hundreds of thousands of people working for NSA, only one is not corrupt, one that stood up for what is right, Edward Snowden. I never thought we would have so many traitors in our country.


FIRINGSQUAD6666 3 hours ago
@LastTrueAmericans I worked there during the Cold War in the 1980s and the only thing we concentrated on back then was the Warsaw Pact countries.


VENUS DEMONS 2 hours ago
@LastTrueAmericans >> It is amazing that there is only one person that stood up and did the right thing.

Agreed. But is you've ever spoken to anyone who is in that level of government agency you will quickly realize that they've bought into the entire system and believe that no matter how egregious or unconstitutional that they are doing the "right thing."


LASTTRUEAMERICANS 15 hours ago
They must be doing something right if they let in Snowden.

The problem is that they don't have enough honest, smart people like Snowden.


NO_AFFILIATION 18 hours ago
If I'm not mistaken the vetting process for government security clearance is now performed by for-profit companies on government contracts.




From the article above: “John Hamre tells Scott Pelley that the U.S. security clearance process -- the one that green-lit Snowden as well as convicted spy Chelsea Manning and mass murderer Aaron Alexis -- is obsolete. In fact, an internal government memo obtained by 60 Minutes warns the process could contain "systemic problems." …. Its basic flaw is a form applicants fill out themselves on which people can lie and not get caught. Alexis, who killed 12 coworkers at a U.S. Naval office, lied about a felony arrest for letting the air out of someone's tire. He failed to mention he did it with a gun in a "black out fueled by anger." Snowden worked for the CIA and left there under a cloud that convinced the agency to put a red flag in his file. But when his security clearance was later reviewed, after he took a contract position with the NSA, he said his past employment was "classified" and the clearance investigator did not check with the CIA. …. "We control people at the gate and once we give them a credential, they're in the compound, we don't pay attention to where they are after that...So our big elaborate, expensive system didn't prevent something that was truly important." …. . 60 Minutes obtained a memo written by the OPM's Inspector General Patrick McFarland in the wake of Snowden's disclosures of classified NSA documents to journalists. McFarland writes that Snowden's background investigation was "...deficient in a number of areas..." and "...OPM itself did not identify that the report had glaring deficiencies." McFarland concludes, "there may well be systemic problems."


As a practical person, I believe in some secrecy in our government for security reasons. I also believe that “spies” shouldn’t be working there, but Snowden wasn’t a spy. He was a whistleblower, which is a much needed activity in a democracy. It helps keep the people in power honest. The USA PATRIOT Act opened the door to a wider and more indiscriminate surveillance or the US population, not because of their crimes, but “just in case.” That’s Big Brother reasoning, and should be, in my opinion, criminal. I think Hamre shouldn’t have mentioned Snowden in the same breath with a killer, but as one of the commenters above stated, those “in that level of government agency you will quickly realize that they've bought into the entire system and believe that no matter how egregious or unconstitutional that they are doing the "right thing."