Whistle Blowers

I am a bit worried about the increasing secretiveness and dirty tactics by the Obama administration.  President Obama came into office promising openness but has acted more like North Korean dictator, Lil Kim, than someone Americans can trust. His administration has spied, lied, denied and covered up as best as possible every scandal after scandal the administration has been created. Surely, this is the most paranoid and dishonest presidential administration since the days of President Richard Nixon. I wonder if our democracy will slap down Obama and force a more democratic behavior in the next presidential administration. Our courts and the awful media here, which worships and aids Obama every day in the name of political correctness, will have to fight back to stop this duplicitous behavior.

I have little faith in the mediums who allegedly report the news (but in fact act more as an entertainment bureau than an impartial news reporting machine). The courts may be acting more responsibly though. In a case of alleged "spying" the military court has just given a just decision that the Obama administration won't like. Bradley Manning, the Army private who sent hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. government documents to WikiLeaks, was found not guilty the other day of the most serious charge against him, aiding the enemy.  But Manning was found guilty of five counts of theft, five counts of espionage, a computer fraud charge and other military infractions and could spent a long time in jail  because of it. The ruling though is good news for we Americans who want the government to stop spying on us for "security reasons" the government cites.

So called "whistle blowers" are essential to any democratic government, as they keep the powerful from abusing their power.  But people today who expose misconduct or waste in government agencies often risk their careers to do so. Now the tide seems to be leaning toward more freedom to report that abuse. Debate has flared over just what constitutes a whistle blower and whistle blowers are no longer tagged as "traitors". This debate has mostly been prompted by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden's disclosures about digital surveillance programs the Obama administration uses against practically every American citizen to allegedly "keep them safe". Some say he acted courageously to reveal government violations of privacy rights. Others say he broke the law and risked national security by leaking classified information. The courts will eventually decide that and hopeful set limits on ow much a democratic country may spy on its citizens.

I think any law or court decisions that upholds whistle blowers who reveal wrong is the right thing to keep government responsible. But the Obama administration has been far from responsible in many matters, not just this one. If an American citizen knows that any laws are being violated and money's being misspent by he government, that citizen has  a patriotic duty to report it. Hmmmm Someone should explain that to President Obama.