The Morning Roar: Americans Think Snowden Did the Right Thing, Richard Branson Speaks Out Against Drug War, and the Secret Service Searches for Sarcasm
Welcome to The Morning Roar for Thursday, June 5, 2014!Majority of Americans Think Edward Snowden Did the Right ThingExactly one year ago today the first of the revelations on NSA spying - which we would later learn were leaked by Edward Snowden - was reported by Glenn Greenwald and The Guardian. In Greenwald's book, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State
"I only have one fear in doing this," he said, which is "that people will see these documents and shrug, that they'll say, 'we assumed this was happening and don't care.' The only thing I'm worried about is that I'll do all this to my life for nothing."
I am happy to report that it seems that at least a majority of people not only care, but believe Edward Snowden did the right thing in leaking the documents. This week Newsweek reported on a poll commissioned by cloud storage company Tresorit:
The survey found that 55 percent of respondents think Snowden did the right thing in exposing PRISM, the mass data-mining program, while another 29 percent believe he was in the wrong, and 16 percent endorse neither statement. Of Snowden’s supporters, 80 percent said he exposed constitutional violations.
I'm not sure what to think about the 16% - it seems likely that it's a mix of people who may be glad the documents were leaked but feel Snowden went about it the wrong way, or simply did not consider themselves informed enough on the subject to have a strong opinion. It is certainly encouraging that a majority of respondents believe Snowden did the right thing, even when that "right" thing may have technically violated espionage laws of some sort. Regardless it's safe to say that Snowden's fears that people wouldn't care were unfounded, as the past year has seen an endless debate over the NSA spying program, and from my perspective it certainly seems that a strong majority are opposed to it.We do have to wonder about that 29% that believe he was "in the wrong" for revealing the NSA's spying program. What are the motivations behind the thought that he was in the wrong? What is their reasoning? Are they people invested in the current system? Do they have a blind faith in their own government? Are they active psychopaths?While the 55% majority is encouraging, it's that 29% that really frightens me.Stay vigilant, inform others, and take steps to protect your privacy on the net. Let's make sure Snowden's fear that all his effort will have been for naught will never come to fruition.Richard Branson Speaks Out Against the War on DrugsThis past Tuesday The Huffington Post ran an article penned by famed billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, in which he advocates the shutting down of the War on Drugs. Branson writes:
If I started a business and it was clearly failing, I would shut it down. The war on drugs has failed -- why isn't it being shut down?As acclaimed filmmaker Eugene Jarecki's latest video shows, the war on drugs has failed in every way possible. Trying to wage the war on drugs has costs the U.S. $1 trillion, with another $51 billion adding to the tally each year. This has resulted in 45 million drug related arrests, with the U.S. now jailing 2.3 million prisoners -- more people than anyone else on the planet. What has all this accomplished? "Rates of addiction remain unchanged, overdose deaths are at an all-time high and drugs cost less than ever before."
Branson is of course correct that the drug war doesn't "work" if the goal is to actually stop people from using dangerous drugs. In an interview I conducted with Dr. Mark Thornton for the Lions of Liberty Podcast, we discussed many ways in which the War on Drugs creates unintended consequences such as more potent and dangerous drugs, violence, and the corruption of youth.Even if the War on Drugs did "work" and keep people safe from drugs, principled libertarians should still oppose it on the fact that it infringes on the rights of individuals to put whatever plant or substance they want into their body so long as they are not forcing anyone else to do so.Regardless of the utilitarian nature of Branson's argument, it's great to see such a mainstream figure who clearly has nothing to gain from taking a public stance on this issue speak out against the insane War on Drugs.Below you can find the video on the War on Drugs Branson refers to, as well as my full podcast interview with Dr. Thornton on the economics of the War on Drugs.http://youtu.be/EmBHnk78Q_4Secret Service's Sarcasm SoftwareAlright, you got me, this one is mostly for the alliteration.In a story that's funny-but-sorta-scary-that-its-true, the Secret Service is apparently seeking software that will enable them to "identify top influencers and trending sets of social media data, allowing the agency to monitor these streams in real-time – and sift through the sarcasm", as reported by CBSDC. The article further details:
A work order posted online Monday shows that the agency desires analytics software that can watch users in real time, collecting a range of data including “emotions of Internet users to old Twitter messages” across multiple languages.The Secret Service is also seeking software that can complete very succinct tasks within massive sets of continuously flowing social media data, such as locating users and detecting sarcasm.“Ability to detect sarcasm and false positives,” reads the request.“The Secret Service has had a Twitter account for several years. We are trying to procure a tool that can automate the social media monitoring process; synthesizing large sets of social media data,” spokesman Brian Leary told CBS News.
Is it me, or does the Secret Service sort of come across like your grandmother who has just discovered the "interwebs?"It's no surprise that the Secret Service likely receives more sarcastic tweets than just about any other agency, especially considering the extra curricular activities it's agents have been found to partake in. Until the Secret Service is able to land it's Sarcasm Detector, I suppose it's open season to keep the sarcastic tweets a-comin!Read The Morning Roar every weekday Monday-Friday!The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
