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In reply to the discussion: Al Gore: Edward Snowden's 'Important Service' [View all]merrily
(45,251 posts)There is difference between "Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion" (duh. Try to stop someone from having a thought) and an expert opinion, which courts recognize as, not definitive, but a lot more valid than the run of the mill, pulled out of thin air opinion. I can have an opinion that someone is nuts, but that doesn't mean a court would allow me to testify to that unless I can demonstrate that my opinion is worth more than most people's in that regard. Hence, an experienced psychiatrist with a good academic background can voice an opinion in court on such matters.
Al Gore has actual experience in having his life possibly at the mercy of classified info and he also has had 8 years of being briefed on classified info. (I say "possibly" because he has said that he was not in any particular danger during the Vietnam War. Which federal politian's son was, though? Still, you never know what happens if the enemy gets their hands on classified info of the kind that actually merits classification.)
randome on the other other hand, seems to have a fair amount of experience in posting in support of the whatever position the Obama administration seems to be taking and hoping we'll take as well. So, we can't really equate randome's right to have an opinion with the weight that Al Gore's opinion in this matter should carry. Well, randome claims to be able to do that, but I can't and neither can most people who try to consider and think about things.
Thanks for the link, though.