ACLU Statement and petition regarding Snowden.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

Dear Michael,

Edward Snowden risked everything to expose the secret NSA spying program which surveils our calls and emails. Last night, we learned what shape those risks would take—in a late night news release the Administration hoped we wouldn’t notice.

Snowden has been called a “traitor” by politicians and had his personal safety threatened. Now he’s been formally charged with violating the Espionage Act—the same law used to charge Bradley Manning, who provided information to WikiLeaks.

For his trouble, Manning was held in solitary confinement for 23 hours per day and forced to sleep naked and sheetless, in conditions even a military judge called “excessive.”

By bringing to light information that the powers-that-be would rather keep secret, whistleblowers like Snowden play a fundamental role in our democracy. We can’t just let them be thrown into darkness.

As the Department of Justice moves in on Snowden, we need to raise our voices to ensure that Snowden is treated fairly and legally, and that the massive abuse of government power, that he risked his safety to expose, finally comes to an end.

Sign the statement below urging President Obama to guarantee due process for Snowden and to crack down on unconstitutional spying programs—not whistleblowers.

Dear President Obama

We stand opposed to any attempt to treat Edward Snowden as a traitor. Our government must also not pursue the case against him outside the ordinary course of American justice. He is entitled to the rule of law and constitutional protections that so many before us died to defend.

Snowden is innocent until proven guilty before a court of law and he must be afforded all of his rights as an American citizen. If he is brought to an American court, he must be afforded every opportunity to defend himself and convince a judge that what he did was justifiable and patriotic, even if he is charged with violating laws that themselves pose a threat to our democracy.

Finally, we say as Americans that we are tired of seeing liberty sacrificed on the altar of security and having a handful of lawmakers decide what we should and should not know. We are tired of living in a nation governed by fear instead of the principles of freedom and liberty that made this nation great.

Sign and share the statement.

https://www.aclu.org/secure/president-obama-guarantee-due-process-edward-snowden?emsrc=Nat_Appeal_AutologinEnabled&emissue=natsecurity&emtype=petition&ms=eml_acluaction_snowden_130622&af=FjPB3laJmE3LCiqDWZraYzg7KjGhBgw%2BG49mzSOAC1npMbviRZXgQAnnDe%2Bqw3HwbObcbtxxxAu0bCr%2BUXS4bN7QQamEfwtcVqsz7nu4vwLHFWCTEGU9X2tbHA3Uf8VTXIdbExp3RcD94LUUB2Hr5cMHHtPlsPumk8Xg4m5BRDcKUjr%2FjVMU40VxA1o2XegYOrtEDmpkUuvF7g1kwB1X8SsY4NG1qNnHuS1R4wFd%2B5qvlFIAG51k1EH4diEhB4%2Fe&etname=130622+NSA+Spying+Email+Copy&etjid=900480

Of all the terrible things that Snowden has to fear, he has told us: “The greatest fear I have…is that nothing will change.”

Let's make sure it does.

Thank you for taking action,
Anthony for the ACLU Action team

[Yo_Mama]

1. Kick

Thanks for posting here, Anthony.

[rhett o rick]

2. I would like to modify his statement, “The greatest fear I have…is that nothing will change.”

I would add, "for the better." to the end. Things are apt to change for the worse.

[forestpath]

3. K&R

[Melissa G]

4. Done.

K&R

[tblue]

5. I'll sign but the day

President Obama does what a petition I've signed says, I will plotz.

[Dustlawyer]

6. They will set another, "Don't you dare blow that whistle!" example out of him!

[Catherina]

7. Thank you. Normally I don't sign petitions but this is the LEAST I can do to support

Normally I don't sign petitions but this is the LEAST I can do to support someone who risked everything to warn us. I don't even want them to pursue a case against him and hope they never find him. But I'll sign the petition, it's the least we can do.

[LuvNewcastle]

10. I feel the same way. n/t

[tblue]

8. Borowitz today

U.S. SEEMINGLY UNAWARE OF IRONY IN ACCUSING SNOWDEN OF SPYING

POSTED BY ANDY BOROWITZ


WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—The United States government charged former intelligence analyst Edward Snowden with spying on Friday, apparently unaware that in doing so it had created a situation dripping with irony.

At a press conference to discuss the accusations, an N.S.A. spokesman surprised observers by announcing the spying charges against Mr. Snowden with a totally straight face.

“These charges send a clear message,” the spokesman said. “In the United States, you can’t spy on people.”

Seemingly not kidding, the spokesman went on to discuss another charge against Mr. Snowden—the theft of government documents: “The American people have the right to assume that their private documents will remain private and won’t be collected by someone in the government for his own purposes.”

“Only by bringing Mr. Snowden to justice can we safeguard the most precious of American rights: privacy,” added the spokesman, apparently serious.

http://m.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/06/us-seemingly-unaware-of-irony-in-accusing-snowden-of-spying.html

[Th1onein]

14. This needs an OP of it's own.

And it is funny as hell. Thanks for posting it. I actually looked down at the source to see if it was The Onion. These days, I should have known better.

[DirkGently]

9. Signed n/t.

[blkmusclmachine]

11. .

.

[George II]

12. Um.....

When Edward Snowden follows the examples set by Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, Muhammad Ali, Jesus Christ, and many others like them, I'll sign the petition.

Same goes for Assange.

[brett_jv]

13. Signed and shared on the Facebooks nt

[pacalo]

15. Done.

[George II]

16. Snowden could learn a thing or two from this guy:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/23/us/voting-war/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

CNN) -- On the night of June 12, 1963, Bernard Lafayette was walking up the driveway to his home when he heard the sound of footsteps closing in on him from behind.

He turned to see a muscular, thick-necked man with a crew cut staring down at him. "Buddy," the man said as he motioned to a stalled car in the street, "how much would you charge me to give me a push?"

Lafayette sighed with relief, and walked toward the stalled car. Suddenly, though, the man whipped out a gun and started bashing him on the forehead. With blood dripping onto his eyelashes, Lafayette staggered to his feet and watched as the man stepped back, ready to pull the trigger.

The message from his would-be assassin was unmistakable: Leave town and stop trying to organize black voters.

Lafayette was saved by an alert neighbor. But he checked himself out of the hospital the next day and, wearing a bloodied shirt and with stitches embedded in his swollen face, returned to downtown Selma, Alabama, to resume his mission of urging black residents to vote. He was 22.
(more..........)