History of Gov't Spying on Us (cartoon)

Ashley Wells, Pat Macpherson, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Marguerite Renner and Robert M. Nelson (pasadenaweekly.com)

(Tom Tomorrow/thismodernworld.com)

 
Déjà vu all over again

What has history taught us about gov't spying on its people?

Whistleblower Ed Snowden (npr.org)

Recent developments suggest that it is time to pay homage, once again, to Yogi Berra, the all-star New York Yankee catcher. His well-known quote serves as the title of this article. Consider for a moment the following timeline:

June 5, 2013. The Washington Post and The Guardian report the existence of PRISM, a top-secret program under which the National Security Agency (NSA) accesses the private communications of all Google and Yahoo account users and the phone records of Verizon subscribers. Four days later… 

June 9, 2013. The Guardian and the Post report that the revelations were made by NSA computer contractor Edward Snowden, who was then in Hong Kong, seeking asylum. Fourteen days later…

June 23, 2013. Snowden boards Aeroflot Flight 213 to Moscow, his ultimate destination, Ecuador. Upon arriving at Sherementyevo Airport, he is prevented from proceeding. His US passport had been revoked. Four days later…

June 27, 2013. President Obama downplays the situation saying,” I’m not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker.” Four days later… 
 

Progressive Kristallnacht (jensorensen.com)

 
July 1, 2013. Ecuador’s President Evo Morales, at a conference in Russia, says that Ecuador would consider a Snowden asylum request. The next day…

July 2, 2013. Violating diplomatic protocol, Spain, France, and Italy deny Morales’ plane access to their airspace, forcing an emergency landing in Austria. The plane is boarded, searched, and Snowden is not found. Twenty-four days later… More