Clara Peller finds none in Chapman's effort to put beef on Trib's meatless Snowden pardon denial

After trotting out a meatless editorial bemoaning all the damage Edward Snowden did to American national security, The Trib Editorial Board trotted out member Steve Chapman to add beef to the Trib's beef about a pardon for Snowden for outing Uncle Sam's illegal surveillance of every American.

Everything Chapman offered to oppose a pardon in his 'No pardon for Snowden' op ed, was conjecture, buttressed by conjecture from liberal legal big wigs like UChicago's Geoffrey Stone and former ACLU national security counsel Tim Edgar. One gets more conjecture from reading the three page summary of the classified report, (http://intelligence.house.gov/…/hpsci_snowden_review_-_uncl…) which, after 25 months of study, amounts to a mere 36 pages. Much of that three page summary focuses on character assassination of Snowden as a liar, serial exaggerator, fabricator and disruptive employee. And oh, my goodness gracious, his exposure has cost hundreds of millions of dollars, about a week's worth of illegal bombing of seven Muslim countries. That, and not anything Snowden did is what imperils our national security.

If Clara Peller, Wendy's octogenarian beef inspector of competitive burgers were to read Chapman's op ed, she'd surely bellow 'WHERE'S THE BEEF?"

Pardon Trib for supporting criminal war? Nyet!

The Trib Editorial Board mounted their high war party horse to oppose a pardon for National Security Agency whistle blower Edward Snowden in their editorial that answered the pardon question with a strong "Nyet". Use of the Russian 'NO' was a snide slam at Snowden's Russian hosts as he seeks return to the US with a pre-arranged plea deal to avoid a 'show trial' and its likely long prison sentence. Virtually ignoring the public service Snowden provided in outing the Bush Administration's mass secret surveillance, a stain on what American should stand for, to claim only in general terms that "Snowden's actions did severe damage to U.S. national security, compromising the Intelligence Community's anti-terror efforts and endangering the security of the American people as well as active-duty U.S. troops" and that "the government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars — and eventually will spend billions — to clean up the mess and 'mitigate the damage' Snowden caused."

That's about as specific as saying 'Edward Snowden did a very bad thing.' Speaking of bad things, how about the Tribune, with full knowledge to the contrary, supporting our criminal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that caused hundreds of thousands of needless deaths, including over 7,000 GI's, several trillion in squandered treasure, and unquestionably paved the way for ISIS and the unfolding collapse of peace in the Middle East. Not satisfied with that madness, the Trib Editorial Board fought hard against detente with Iran, gins up war to oust Syrian President Assad, demonizes Russia at every turn, and totally ignores the plight of the Palestinians, suffering slow genocide at the hands of Israel.

Pardon the Trib Editorial Board for their untiring support of perpetual war? If legendary Tribune Publisher Robert McCormick could come back from Isolationist Heaven, he wouldn't say 'Nyet'. He'd say 'You're all fired.' Then he'd pen an editorial demanding the US withdraw from its criminal destruction of the Middle East.

US military needs new public spokesman

News that the US military, the so called greatest in the world, mistakenly bombed Syrian troops instead of ISIS, killing 83 and wounding 120, should surprise no one. Bombing the innocents is its specialty, whether killing dozens at a Muslim wedding party, dozens at a Doctors Without Borders hospital or now dozens of soldiers in a foreign country we defile with our criminal bombing.

These atrocities happen so frequently Uncle Sam should hire the proper spokesman to explain and apologize for them to a mystified and outraged world. How 'bout comedian Steve Martin. Every time we blow another group of innocents to bits, we could trot him with with his arrow thru the head gear. He'd step up to a genuine US military podium and proclaim......"EXCUUUUUUUUSE ME!"