By Steve Rhodes
“What are we to make of Edward Snowden?” Richard Cohen writes in the Washington Post.
“I know what I once made of him. He was no real whistleblower, I wrote, but ‘ridiculously cinematic’ and ‘narcissistic’ as well.
“As time has proved, my judgements were just plain wrong. Whatever Snowden is, he is curiously modest and has bent over backward to ensure that the information he has divulged has done as little damage as possible. As a “traitor,” he lacks the requisite intent and menace.
“But traitor is what Snowden has been roundly called. Harry Reid: ‘I think Snowden is a traitor.’ John Boehner: ‘He’s a traitor.’ Rep. Peter King: ‘This guy is a traitor; he’s a defector.’ And Dick Cheney not only denounced Snowden as a ‘traitor’ but also suggested that he might have shared information with the Chinese. This innuendo, as with Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction, is more proof of Cheney’s unerring determination to be cosmically wrong.”
You know who else called him a traitor?
Roger Simon, in the Sun-Times, twice in June.
“It appears that what Snowden really wants to be is a superhero in his own comic book,” Simon wrote first back then.
Simon returned a few weeks later to write “International man of mystery, leaker of secrets and self-proclaimed spy Edward Snowden is now deep into his own martyrdom.”
Care to reassess, Roger?
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Also up for reassessment:
Clarence Page wrote for the Tribune in June about Snowden’s NSA leaks: “Scandal? Not so much.”
Really?
And Eric Zorn wrote: “I’m not alarmed by what we’ve learned in the past week about the extent of the government’s electronic data mining in which algorithms search for telltale patterns of communication. Not yet. Not by a long shot.”
Now?
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See also: Claim On “Attacks Thwarted” By NSA Spreads Despite Lack Of Evidence.
Obama’s Drone War Is Illegal & Immoral
Hey, don’t take it from me – take it from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Maya Angelou Turns On Obama
Welcome to the party!
JFK Overdrive
“With roughly 40,000 books about John F. Kennedy, and many more to come as the 50th anniversary of his assassination nears, why do we still know so little about him?” the New York Times asks in a blurb for a book review by executive editor Jill Abramson.
Really? Don’t we know everything ad nauseam about JFK?
The real problem is the myth still getting in the way of the reality.
For example, when I came across this year-old story about Mimi Alford in the New York Post recently and she referred to the White House swimming pool, I thought, “Oh yeah, the swimming pool Seymour Hersh wrote about.”
John F. Kennedy was a disgusting man. And he was a lousy president – and not just because of his affairs. Read Hersh.
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I’m not sure, though, if I ever realized this curious detail about JFK’s assassination: Lee Harvey Oswald Bought JFK Assassination Rifle From Chicago Sporting Goods Store.
A local TV report on WBKB, the forerunner to WLS, was uploaded to YouTube this week and it’s fairly fascinating. Plus, the reporter is Hugh Hill, whom we just lost last week.
I’ve added some other bonus material, so take a look.
Exclusive! Rahm Budget Preview
Another Beachwood Special Report.
Lady Gaga’s Affront To R. Kelly’s Victim
A blindingly obvious question goes unasked by almost everyone.
The Political Odds
Slightly updated.
Fantasy Fix
Bring in the replacement players.
Chicago Pneumatic Hammer Review
Ideal for front-end work.
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BeachTweets
“Lincecum was selected by the Chicago #Cubs of the NL in the forty-eighth round (1,408th overall) of the 2003 MLB Draft, but did not sign.”
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) October 23, 2013
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#Vikings coach Leslie Frazier has the same look on his face that #Cubs managers get toward the end of their tenures. #thousandyardstare
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) October 23, 2013
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First Wintry Mix Of The Season On The Way.
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) October 23, 2013
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Mixed grill.
Posted on October 23, 2013