While NSA whistleblower* Edward Snowden may still be dodging U.S. custody, the signal he transmitted doesn't look like it can be stopped.Roll Call reported yesterday that House GOP "libertarians" demanded amendments be added to the current Defense bill that would de-fund PRISM, among other things.
Read: legislation is happening, in America, because of Snowden's leaks. For those of us who've been railing against NSA spying since it was Bush's pony, it's a glimmer of hope in a struggle long thought to be lost.
But there's more.
Chevron proved that oil companies still look like jerks, though the power for that ruling still emanates from government.
The NSA's embarrassingly un-free program now threatens our international standing as well. The affair exposes our waning influence over South American countries. Calls for liberty from places we once regarded as bastions of tyranny should give Americans pause.
Last week, Germany of all places stopped playing the NSA's game, despite the interior minister's belief "that security is a 'super fundamental right'" and "as such it outranks fundamental rights such as privacy."
Perhaps these events may have unfolded on their own, but I doubt that. What is clear is that Snowden and his leaks aren't going away anytime soon, and the demonizing of the former contractor doesn't seem to be taking root either.
Is it possible that Americans aren't scared so easily, that Terrorism fear-mongering might finally be giving way to sanity?
One can hope and watch as these events continue to unfold.
*Apparently, the AP doesn't allow Snowden to be called a "whistleblower," but I can.
Independent Media 1, Associated Press 0.
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