Obama Says Pay No AttentionIn the past few weeks we’ve had a non-stop barrage of Snowden coverage – the man who has been labeled a patriot and a traitor.

The question is: does revealing the malicious intent of your own government make you a traitor… or a hero?

The truth is for you to decide – but it sure is being manipulated – and fast.

The NSA did admit the reason they hold records of everyone is so they can easily build a case against them if they need to.  And considering the average American commits 3 felonies per day, it would be easy to lock you up if you cause too much trouble, or rub some government agent the wrong way.

Just think how self-incriminating you can be when you don’t know that every innocent text message, e-mail, and phone call you have ever had has been recorded.

Imagine sitting in court defending yourself when the district attorney shows up and brings 10 years worth of evidence painting you as a career criminal when all you’ve ever done is get up, go to work, pay your bills, and watch some American Idol at night.

I’ve never been a fan of bullies so I apologize if this article is…

A Little Skewed

After all – even IF you consider the man a traitor, does he really deserve the “justice” the U.S. government wants to deliver?  At BEST he will be tortured and thrown in jail for life.

I have to admit, I cheered when the U.S. started pressuring Ecuador to refuse asylum to Mr. Snowden and they essentially said “go to hell.”

It started when a U.S. official said he would “use his leverage over trade issues to cut preferential treatment of Ecuadoran goods at the US market, should Ecuador grant political asylum to Snowden.”

Their response? 

“Ecuador will not accept pressures or threats from anyone, and it does not traffic in its values or allow them to be subjugated to mercantile interests.”

“Ecuador is willing to allocate $23 million annually (equivalent to the sum gained from the benefits) to fund human rights training in the U.S.”

Awesome.

But even if someone was standing up to the empire, were they the…

Only Ones Willing?

I had read about President Obama’s historic visit to Germany where he was to speak about peace and freedom – and supposedly answer some hard questions about why his country was spying on everyone in the world.

To be honest, I watched the speech for all of ten minutes and had heard enough.  Ten minutes of my life wasted on learning what his wife and kids were eating for lunch.  Serious matters in Europe.

In the past few days, though, many countries in the E.U. (and their leaders) are learning they were specifically targeted for the massive spying program – that seems to have pissed them off.

The question now is: what will they do about it?

Will they take some drastic action or perform like the majority of Americans and just…

Sit On Their Couch!

In my recent travels I’ve been asked several times, why aren’t Americans rioting in the streets?  Why aren’t they rising up against their government?

Good question.  And I would answer it – but I’d rather watch Family Guy.

I say that with only a little tongue-in-cheek, because in reality – that’s the truth for many Americans.  The sentiment is “I have nothing to hide, so why worry?”

Doesn’t it bother you that you’re being treated like a criminal even though you’ve done nothing wrong? 

Doesn’t it bother you that your most intimate moments you share only with your family and loved ones can be used against you in public?

At what point is this behavior unacceptable?  Where is the line?  Will you only be upset when it directly disrupts your television program or your McDonald’s run?

I know some would tell me, “Well, my bills are paid and I have cold beer in the fridge so life is pretty good.”

Sure, it could be worse.  But am I the only person around here who sees the pot is slowly starting to boil and all of the frogs are going to be cooked alive? …or do I deserve a tinfoil hat?

It seems the people of the world are waking up much faster than the Americans but regardless it will be interesting to see what happens.

For now, the President just says “Pay no attention to that man we cannot capture.”

I’m sure the average American will listen… but I hope for our own sake, you and I pay close attention to what’s going on.

Until next time,

Have a fantastic day and live well!