Who is the criminal and who the patriot?

Editor,

The United States government has 16 -- count them -- 16 different spy agencies, all of whom have the ability and willingness to spy on American citizens.

This violation of the Constitution has been in effect since prior to Sept. 11, 2001, but was escalated after the so-called "Patriot Act" was signed into law by President George W. Bush. This violation of the Fourth Amendment was further escalated by the current occupant of the White House and was given approval by the lapdogs in Congress.

Edward Snowden, like Daniel Ellsberg who exposed the "Pentagon Papers" in the early 1970s, exposed these illegal activities, probably as a matter of conscience, and is now a hunted man hiding inside Russia. He is reviled by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, John Boehner, Dianne Feinstein, Lindsey Graham, Dick Chaney and John McCain, to name a few.

On Dec. 18, 2013, a panel that was convened gave the president 46 recommendations, all of which meant shut it (the spying on American citizens) down. In December of 2013, a federal judge ruled the National Security Administration spying was unconstitutional. Also in December of 2013, Google, Facebook and Yahoo sent a letter to Congress and the president demanding that the spying on American citizens be terminated.

Even the liberal ex-president (a Council of Foreign Relations member), Jimmy Carter, has publicly denounced the actions of our spy agencies and defended Snowden's actions, stating, "I think the invasion of human rights and American privacy has gone too far."

So, who is the criminal and who is the patriot? Snowden? or Obama, Bush, McCain, Boehner, Biden, Feinstein, Graham, Cheney, Congress, or us for allowing this to happen?

John P. Fitts

Noel, Mo.

Editorial on 02/05/2014