Mother Russia gives Uncle Sam lesson on Americanism

The embarrassment that Uncle Sam has incurred by his futile efforts to apprehend NSA whistleblower Ed Snowden, first from China, then from Russia, continues to grow exponentially. A majority of Americans consider Snowden acted in the public interest for exposing the massive spying program begun under President George W. Bush and continued
under President Obama. The genie of knowledge about our loss of privacy guaranteed under the 4th Amendment is out of the bottle and can never be put back. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was caught lying about the program before Congress and forced to apologize. The administration is apoplectic over Russia's refusal to return Snowden and to grant him one year of temporary asylum in Russia. Congressional Hawks, led by virulent war monger Senator John McCain, are demanding reprisals against Russia for their action. US outrage now threatens to torpedo President Obama's planned September summit with Russian President Putin. America has become a worldwide laughingstock over Affaire Snowden.

But the corker in this whole sordid mess of unconstitutional governmental spying on literally every phone call and every email, is what Uncle Sam promised Mother Russia if she would only hand over the guy who deserves a hero metal instead of a jail cell. Cough Snowden up, pretty please, and we promise neither to torture nor kill him. That's right. The country that should be the beacon of not torturing or murdering folks, has lost such credibility as a moral actor on the world stage that we are reduced to making a public announcement not to engage in such abominable conduct. That public utterance speaks volumes about America's decline as the last best hope of mankind.

But Snowden's revelations leave a legacy among people who still believe in Constitutional guarantees of privacy. A recent coalition of 111 Democrats and 94 Republicans, opposed by both administration and House GOP and Democratic leadership, nearly voted to end unlimited spying in an amendment to a defense spending bill. The close 217 to 205 vote to continue such spying sent shock waves through the ranks of those who disgrace and dishonor the Constitution. The debate is on and it won't go away till our 4th Amendment rights are restored. And thanks to Russia, Ed Snowden, for at least a year, will escape the kangaroo court that waits him if returned to the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.