Yesterday’s hero, today’s slug

Schumer

They have been lionizing him for his role in pushing for “immigration reform,” meaning amnesty and a quickie path to the voting booth for about 11 million illegal Mexicans now in the US.

All part of the lefty effort to pad the Democratic demographic lead in the voting booth and continue to brown America against its will, hoping to end America's history as not only the greatest power but the greatest white power in the world.

Now the professional left is punching him for his attitude toward Snowden, the NSA, leaks, the fight against Muslim terrorism, and all that “national security state” stuff.

Though they may have been the first to say so, it is most certainly not just Republicans who think of this guy in particular and the leaker industry in general as a bunch of stupid traitors, though that is exactly what the professional left wants us to believe, just as they want us to believe they are the patriots every time they stab national security in the back.

Sen. Feinstein calls Snowden's NSA leaks an 'act of treason'

The accusers could even be right, assuming the leaks gave "aid and comfort" to al-Qaeda or the Taliban, the only people with whom we are now at war.

Article III, Section 3 of the US Constitution.

Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. 

On the other hand, in this text, while it looks like “enemies” might refer not to the broader group of those bearing ill-will but only to parties with which the US is actually at war, it also looks like we don't have to read it that way.

It seems a fair construction to take it as referring even to the broader class of hostiles.

And in that case Snowden had better find the deepest hole he can.

Who do you suppose favor a narrow reading on this one, liberals or conservatives?

National security aficions or enemies of "the national security state"?

And if Snowden is a traitor, what is Greenwald?

Snowden has not been charged with treason, of course, and is unlikely to be.

He has been charged with espionage.

US charges NSA leaker Snowden with espionage

NBC reports,

Snowden has been charged with three violations: theft of government property and two offenses under the espionage statutes, specifically giving national defense information to someone without a security clearance and revealing classified information about "communications intelligence."

Each of the charges carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.

As I have said before, because of the power of the press in America, authorities have to throw the book at pipsqueak leakers who spill the beans to one unimportant guy, but leave untouched that same guy, though he tells the whole world and is the one truly giving aid or comfort to our enemies.

Make no mistake.

Greenwald and many others are hiding behind a probably accurate but certainly stupid interpretation of the First Amendment, else they would stand targets of charges of treason even more clearly deserved than the leakers.

An interpretation that makes the press lords autonomous little monarchs who, apart from libel and the like, legally can do no wrong by what they print or say, completely untouchable and uncontrollable.

And to hear them tell it their total exemption from being called to account is an absolute necessity of democracy and liberty, though no other industry in the universe is trusted to police itself and stop itself harming the public good.

All of that is egregious, self-serving eyewash.

Media conglomerates and newspaper companies have grown too big and too politically powerful in recent decades.

Time to break them up.

Time to revive the Fairness Doctrine.

Time to to put a muzzle on them.