Repealing the Patriot Act.

George Smiley indeed. Surprisingly, Arthur C. Clarke wrote a sci fi spy novel. "Earthlight" was about an accountant recruited as a counter-intelligence agent when tensions flared up between Earth and it's planetary colonies.

Based on how agents are recruited - the less conspicuous, the better. You don't get access to an enemy's secrets by playing baccarat and driving fast cars.

Exactly. Despite the Hollywood/Hong Kong movie depictions Ninja were mostly spies, with an occasional hit job thrown in for political reasons, not necessarily just mercenary causes. Sun Tzu emphasized that spies were crucial to avoiding war or winning wars as efficiently as possible.

I just figured out why @Jenee believes Snowden should be pardoned. Bernie said so, and she needs no further information. She's as devoted to Bernie as oldfella is to Trump, which IMO is not what Bernie would prefer.

Exactly.

I have nothing against repealing the Patriot Act, or re-examining it to keep the good parts and ditch the ones that went too far in an orgy of "but 9/11!" hysteria.

But there are literally just a handful of days left in the congressional session, and when the 116th Congress ends, all bills that haven't been acted upon go poof. Gabbard is just trying to grab a few more headlines and endear herself to a few more Internet Libertarians in an effort to buy a few more seconds of relevance and shore up her future income prospects.

Can't blame her. I'd probably do the same thing. Why not?

Another serious miscalculation on your part. You really should give up trying to tell people what they think.

If the people in question would actually say what they think, that would be helpful. So here's a chance: Why do you believe Snowden should be pardoned?

I realize it’s the wordforge way to make assumptions about the motives of others. But interviews with Snowden say the opposite.

Your reading comprehension needs work. I only said that if the Patriot act is repealed, then the charges against Snowden should be rescinded. Much like after legalizing marijuana, all those charged with crimes relating directly to marijuana should be dropped.

Yes, that's exactly what you said. And you've spent all day refusing to say why.

What do you mean why? The why is the answer I gave.

Must have been in code. Stop being coy and post it again, or I'll assume it's "He was an innocent victim and the ENTIRE U.S. GUBMINT IS EVUL AND NOBODY SHOULD SPY ON ANYONE EVAH AND LET'S ALL JOIN HANDS AND SING KUMBAYA."

Try for specifics. There's a good girl.

yes I voted for Trump (twice!) which means I am devoted to him. Refresh my memory, how many people voted for Obama twice? Just wondering!

Well, you know what happens when you assume.

but, let me try to put it in terms a 4year old might understand.

If A, then B. Just as if, C, then D.

A being the Patriot Act getting repealed
B being the charges against Snowden revealing information obtained via the Patriot Act should be repealed
C being a law overturned
D being people incarcerated for law that was overturned should be exonerated

We can explain why. You're so hard to avoid explaining why you voted for Your Boy Donnie that you're not even part of this conversation.

I’m forced to agree with @Jenee , Snowden should be pardoned and/or the charges be dropped.

Lost you at "being that," which is not the way to start a sentence.

That said, if a law is overturned, in your mind, EVERYONE convicted under that law is innocent?

Fascinating.

Drill down: Snowden, specifically. Why do you, @Jenee, find him innocent?

Snowden, specifically. Try.

Maybe you can provide a rational answer. @Jenee obviously can't.

Impress me.

Ellsberg disagrees with that; if you haven't done so, you might want to look up his writings on Snowden.

Because he’s a whistleblower who exposed that our government is illegally spying on us for one. I’ll admit though that we pretty much already knew this when the Patriot Act was passed, but people kind of forgot.

why should I have to explain it? I don't expect you to explain who you voted for, or who anybody voted for. You hate Trump, I get it.
Side note are you currently taking any prescription medication?

See. Here’s your problem. You get too hung up on style, that you aren’t reading sentences. I didn’t say I thought Snowden was innocent. I said if the Patriot act is repealed, then charges against him, specifically those charges related to him revealing the kind of information gathered under the patriot act, should be rescinded.
and..., while it was what 12 hours since that post, I may have forgotten, but I think my original post was a query, not a statement.

No. Snowden was one of the first whistle blowers to make public how hard you were getting your asses kicked. This happened years before he fled.

Thank you for a rational answer.

As a child of the Cold War, I just assumed that the government was spying on us as soon as they had the capability. Back in the landline days, I refused to have a cordless phone because I assumed that would make it easier for them. Nowadays, oh, what the hell. If they haven't broken down my door since 1968, I figure I'm too small-fry for them to bother.

I'm not sure how I feel about Snowden. I know if I feel strongly about anyone or anything, I'm able to explain why.

With people who make a claim and then spend hours refusing to support it? Yeah, cast me as rational.

JFC, you spent the entire day pursuing this. I’ve answered YOUR questions.
this is why God hates you.

I have no doubt that with Hoover’s FBI, they were doing shady shit, but now it’s gotten a lot worse.