In a letter to WSJ, Rand wrote:
Edward Snowden broke the law. There are penalties for breaking the law, and I believe he should be prosecuted. I do not overlook or believe our country should condone people who have access to military secrets to reveal those secrets.Rand does go on in the remainder of the letter to muddy his view above, but this is typical Rand, trying to take both sides of an issue:
You claim "in essence" I've asked for a plea bargain for Mr. Snowden. I've made no specific legal judgment other than to say that I do support laws against national security leaks. I have not argued, as you allege, that Mr. Snowden is a hero. I have stated that history will decide.
Further, his leaks that had nothing to do with unconstitutional domestic surveillance may have caused real damage to our national security and relations with other countries.
There are advantages to having Mr. Snowden face trial: We could determine how he breached our security and to what extent and how much information was shared with foreign countries. Ruling out the harsher end of the sentencing spectrum might encourage him to return for trial.
Standing trial would allow a judge to determine whether Mr. Snowden's law-breaking served a higher purpose and thus sentence him accordingly and also whether some of his actions went too far in endangering our security and aiding our enemies, and also sentence him for that accordingly.
But legally and morally, the actions of the individual lawbreaker must be weighed against the government law-breaking that he went to great lengths to reveal. I do not believe we must give up this much of our liberty for security, nor do I apologize for standing up for the Fourth Amendment, which restricts such frighteningly unlimited power.
Note: The purpose of a trial is not to find out how someone was able to accomplish certain things, it is to determine guilt or innocence. Rand's statement:
There are advantages to having Mr. Snowden face trial: We could determine how he breached our security and to what extent and how much information was shared with foreign countries.is idiotic.
So much for the saying "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Are we sure Ron Paul will be too old in 2016? Ah, screw it, I'll never waste my time voting ever again. Well, unless Tom Woods runs.
ReplyDeleteGood grief, you are a dupe.
DeleteI think Rand is adopted.
DeleteSame here Chris. Tom Woods is one of the VERY few people I'd ever trust again to vote. The rest of these maggots can go to hell.
DeleteRand, wouldn't it be fun and profitable to torture Snowden so you can find out exactly whom he shared national security secrets with? You are guaranteed to get the truth that way! It's the tried and true American way!
ReplyDeleteMaybe we can even start a war with some new terrorist country - just saying...
"Frances Townsend voiced strong views on the NSA issues, arguing that the government needs privacy in order to do its job, and that any objection to what the NSA has done is incomprehensible."
ReplyDeleteOf course she makes money from intelligence as Chair of the Board of NS2. Fran's board slots grew by two in 2013, adding gold/copper and international monetary payments.
http://peureport.blogspot.com/2014/01/fran-townsend-lands-two-more-board-slots.html
Tried.? Tried for what? Annoying the DC Gang, which Rand is so desperate to be a part of?
ReplyDeleteHas anyone started a website keeping track of his voting record and these types of statements all in one place?
ReplyDelete"Further, his leaks that had nothing to do with unconstitutional domestic surveillance may have caused real damage to our national security and relations with other countries."
ReplyDeleteNO, Rand. Imperialism and war is what has caused real damage to America's national security and relations with other countries. That's what your father no doubt would have said, and he would have been right as he so often has been. As for relations with "allies" like Germany, you mean damage to relations with countries for the purpose of joint warfare? Because It certainly has nothing to do with free trade. The less these countries trust America on issues of foreign policy, the better.
Oh and let's not expect the Rand apologists to show up and admit to anything. They'll either be conspicuous by their absence, or somehow try to twist this in their hero's favor.
"NO, Rand. Imperialism and war is what has caused real damage to America's national security and relations with other countries."
DeleteGood job Tony. You GET it!
I think I worked out Rand's problem - he talks to much on too many issues. When his knowledge about something is too thin and he comments on it, he ends up putting his foot in his mouth.
ReplyDeleteThe corruption of Britain: UK’s key institutions infiltrated by criminals
ReplyDeleteThe report states that the infiltration made it almost impossible for police and prosecutors to successfully pursue the organised gangs that police suspected controlled much of the criminal underworld.
The author of Tiberius, which was compiled from intelligence sources including covert police informants, live telephone intercepts, briefings from the security services and thousands of historical files, came to the desperate conclusion: “Quite how much more damage could be done is difficult to imagine.”
The fresh revelations come a day after The Independent revealed that Tiberius had concluded the Metropolitan Police suffered “endemic police corruption” at the time, and that some of Britain’s most dangerous organised crime syndicates were able to infiltrate New Scotland Yard “at will”.
In its conclusions, the report stated: “The true assessment of the damage caused by these corrupt networks is impossible to make at this stage, until further proactive scoping has been undertaken.
Another case of corruption beyond the Met, identified by Tiberius, included intelligence of alleged foul play within HMRC, which is supposed to lead the UK’s fight against white-collar crime such as money laundering.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-corruption-of-britain-uks-key-institutions-infiltrated-by-criminals-9052617.html