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Jillian Stirling's avatar

I am getting tired of the art of leaking. Some politicians use it to advance their agenda by undermining the process of government and the need for security. Then disgruntled employees of government use it to undermine their employers. We really don’t need to know everything all the time at the time of it happening.

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Maryanne Demasi, PhD's avatar

Agree, I worked in politics for years. Leaking to the press was standard procedure when trying to undermine opponents and control the narrative. As I wrote, leaking national security secrets is bad, but these lines can be blurred.

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Billy Field's avatar

Perhaps, if lives of a military or secret service active operations are genuinely involved,....however, seems this is a "catch all" to silent exposure of wrongdoing,...& really, what is a national security secret? ....especially when clearly it is not? In my view it is & has always been, anything they say to hide wrongdoing. Typical Big Bro gets it wrong and goes after the citizens here with a wrong "solution" RATHER than the seriously going after the terribly corrupt FBI, CIA & Judiciary that pursued & prosecuted Trump for years & years with fake Russia-gate claims and fake re "Russia collusion & vote influencing" connections .....They ALL knew they were fake & they are the ones ought be prosecuted not harmless whistleblowers. (And NB I am no Trump fan...just a Truth & Justice fan!)

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Billy Field's avatar

The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings.

John F. Kennedy

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Jillian Stirling's avatar

JFK kept some secrets that should be aired and are being so today. I don’t really rate the man as an upright leader with integrity.

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Billy Field's avatar

Maryanne notes "And history shows that no government, Left or Right, can resist the temptation to censor or punish dissent." Quite right! The hallmark of all dictatorships is they begin by "criminalising/imprisoning or murdering" folks for free expression - (and this frightens everybody to remain silent about terrible things). Really, this is just the same by THREATENING journos & anyone with "financial murder", "selective prosecutions" & "law-fare" eg. Mary Kosakidis. BTW it also corruptly enriches others from ridiculously long "legal" processes for years & years. Assange was never even charged and was effectively "detained" by use of "law-fared" for about 15yrs. These rules are further dangerous departures from rights of free expression in USA & our traditional "rights", which BTW, are defined as inalienable rights under The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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Roger Kimber, MD's avatar

Maryanne, the Democrats destroyed Journalism long ago. Mainstream Journalists are just a treasonous arm of the Democrat party.

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