305 - Edward Snowden: Hero, Traitor, or Both?

Listen to this episode from Timesuck with Dan Cummins on Spotify. Off and on from 2006 to 2012, Snowden had worked as a CIA analyst, a subcontractor for the NSA, and several other positions that gave him access to classified NSA information that enabled him to see the true scope of how the US was surveilling its own citizens. Does leaking those docs to the press in 2013 make him a traitor? Or does it make him a hero who opened the eyes of the American public to the dangerous and unconstitutional surveillance our government has been clandestinely carrying out for years? I was familiar with Edward Snowden before this week, and the gist of what he did, but I truly didn't realize the scope of the surveillance and the amount of private data gathered on US citizens who were not accused of any crimes. Are you okay with agents working on behalf of the US government going through your private text messages whenever they want for whatever reason? Emails? Looking through your photos? Combing through your internet browsing history? Monitoring your GPS positioning to determine your travel patterns? Are you okay with Big Brother watching you? If you're not, too bad, because it's already happening. It's BEEN happening for years. This is what Snowden exposed, and he exposed it because it's wildly unethical. The fight for privacy is important because it's a fight for freedom. Is possibly allowing the government to make your existence a little safer worth losing so much of your freedom? We got an interesting one today. Bad Magic Productions Monthly Patreon Donation:  The Bad Magic Charity for July is The National Compassion Fund. Their mission is to give funds to the victims of mass casualty crimes, such as mass shootings and terrorist attacks. We donated   $14,697 with an additional $1,632 going to our forthcoming scholarship fund. To find more or donate yourself, please visit www.nationalcompassion.org TICKETS FOR HOT WET BAD MAGIC SUMMER CAMP!  Go to www.badmagicmerch.comWatch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/V0_2w5vbgpEMerch: https://www.badmagicmerch.comDiscord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89vWant to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever happens to be our most current page :)For all merch related questions/problems: [email protected] (copy and paste)Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcastWanna become a Space Lizard?  Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcastSign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.