Tornado Alley (PROG)

[migo]

on the "whistleblower" issue.
while a "whistleblower" appears to be reprehensible to those who would have us covered by the NSA security blanket, all that they have done is to confirm, in a documentary way, what most of us have suspected all along.
Manning exposed a war crime or two, Snowden exposed examples of civilian surveillance. Ellsburg exposed the lunacy of Vietnam.

from Wikipedia:
A whistleblower (whistle-blower or whistle blower)[1] is a person who exposes misconduct, alleged dishonest or illegal activity occurring in an organization. The alleged misconduct may be classified in many ways; for example, a violation of a law, rule, regulation and/or a direct threat to public interest, such as fraud, health and safety violations, and corruption. Whistleblowers may make their allegations internally (for example, to other people within the accused organization) or externally (to regulators, law enforcement agencies, to the media or to groups concerned with the issues).
One of the first laws that protected whistleblowers was the 1863 United States False Claims Act (revised in 1986), which tried to combat fraud by suppliers of the United States government during the Civil War. The act encourages whistleblowers by promising them a percentage of the money recovered or damages won by the government and protects them from wrongful dismissal.[2]
Whistleblowers frequently face reprisal, sometimes at the hands of the organization or group which they have accused, sometimes from related organizations, and sometimes under law.
Questions about the legitimacy of whistle blowing, the moral responsibility of whistle blowing, and the appraisal of the institutions of whistle blowing are part of the field of political ethics.

it is no surprise to me that whistleblowers are met with reprisals rather than with applause: no one likes to acknowledge the feet of clay of our leaders and our institutions and our businesses.
the nerve that is exposed is painful to bear, but because of the whistle blowing, a society has the opportunity to make adjustments, and to grow better, if that is the tack taken.
all of this harsh judgement should be suspended pending the facts of the cases. unfortunately, no facts will likely be forthcoming; emotions will be stirred up, and society will continue to suffer and decline.
my opinion