He certainly raises some good points, I think they both fall short of the word "hero" though. There is a right way and a wrong way to do what Snowden did, he chose the wrong way. I have to say that either way he had some balls for doing what he did. No way in hell I'd come forward with information like that. I would have just quit the job and found some work outside the government.
The 'Right Way', like these 3 insiders attempted? Following the rules got them screwed. Perhaps lying to all the people all of the time does succeed. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/06/16/snowden-whistleblower-nsa-officials-roundtable/2428809/ I got my education from the inside, in 1962 at age 17 when I was conned into joining the United States Army Security Agency - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There is a process. You can't just steal the documents and then run to a foreign country and release them to the media. That is not how it works. Most high level whistle blowers that do it the legit way end up losing their jobs/careers or can forget about ever getting promoted, but they don't have to go file for asylum in Russia. Whistleblower Protection Program You should always start by talking to your first line supervisor and then move up to the inspector general. That is how it works. Of course him being a contractor doesn't help him out any. Either way, Snowden is a criminal for what he did, regardless of his intentions and regardless if what the NSA is doing is wrong. Russia is just holding off, they will hand him back over when the US has something they want.
