Snowden and Ellsberg: Are Comparisons Valid?

The NPR headline reads "Daniel Ellsberg Expected Life in Prison After Leaking Pentagon Papers".  

  

 Daniel Ellsberg was called a "traitor" and every other name in the book. I was in high school. I remember. He may still be that in the eyes of a few, but for the most part, history has exonerated his actions. It's easy to compare Edward Snowden to Daniel Ellsberg because he appears to have done us all a service revealing this information on the NSA's government sanctioned overview of private phone calls of private citizens, aka, you and me.

The Political Carnival referenced this LA Times article with a fresh perspective on the revelations of Edward Snowden, focusing on, not whether or not he's a traitor but rather if the information he reveals is true. 

"Standing on principle is meaningless if there is no risk attached. That’s his cross to bear.But in the greater scheme of things, the 29-year-old infrastructure analyst did the country a service.Even President Obama, while condemning the leak, seemed to acknowledge as much. “I welcome this debate,” Obama said last week. “And I think it's healthy for our democracy.”    

Practice Babies

When I became a first time mother at the tender age of 35, I didn't know beans about how to care for a kid. I'd never baby sat or worked with little children, nor did I have younger siblings to raise.  My three years younger brother was too close in age and my mother would never have left me with him.  All we did was fight.

I had no idea what to do with my new baby. I was thrilled but clueless. Dr. Spock became my go-to guru after I wore out my welcome with day and night phone calls to the nurses at the hospital where I'd delivered. Hell, they had to put my son on my breast and teach me how to get him to latch on. That was  painful.

And I thought motherhood came naturally.                   

It doesn't.

Imagine my surprise when I learned that, once upon a time, there were "practice babies" borrowed by colleges for their domestic classes for young women. The babies were routinely borrowed from orphanages and given to a small group of young women, housed in a practice setting, to help them prepare for parenthood. This was commonly done between 1919-1969. I took an early "Women's Studies" class in 1973 and I'm shocked we weren't told of this practice. Oh the ridicule it would have received.

My local NPR station aired a podcast about this today and if you want to know more, take a listen. It's only 8 minutes and is fascinating.

I can honestly say, in retrospect, I wish they'd had these classes when I was in college.  It would have saved me a great deal of grief. 

Trouble is, I would have been too smug and/or stupid to take one.

The Women Who Lost

Republicans may have taken over the House but they did not take over California.  Here's to Barbara Boxer and Jerry Brown for saving the state from the likes of Meg "I Spent $160MM and Still Couldn't Get Elected" Whitman. 

Don't forget Carly "I Ran H-P Into the Ground But Who Cares Because My Hair Looks Good?" Fiorina.  Carly only spent $90+MM while smirking at Barbara Boxer's hair do. "It's so last year," she murmured.   

Apparently big spending and big hair doesn't guarantee an election.  A report on NPR the other day indicated Linda McMahon, who lost her Connecticut senatorial bid, spent the most per vote, $90.  Her total outlay was $47+MM but, let's face it, CT is a dinky state. 

Want more info?  ABC News has it. 

And get a load of these ads!  Voted #1 and #4 by adfreak.com out of the "Ten Freakiest Ads of Election 2010".

WTF?!*#@#!!!

I am friggin' blown away by the rash of sex scandals in government. I was listening to NPR yesterday afternoon, with my mouth hanging open, when Neal Conan and Don Gonyea came on the air with this story (listen, it's quite a radio moment) about South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and his unlikely, unknown and unexpected trip to see his Argentine amor. Holy infidelity! John Ensign, the Nevada senator who couldn't keep his "promise" to his wife or his faithful; John "Oh how the mighty have fallen" Edwards, his infidelity and & possibly a child (yikes!)with a staff member; Mark Foley, gettin' it on with pages; Larry Craig, Idaho senator, gettin' it on in with any male port in the bathroom of the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport (yuck); Eliot Spitzer, the Elliot Ness of NY who was cleaning up the city couldn't clean up his own act. The list goes on and on. We can blame it on President Clinton whose tawdry affair with Monica Lewinsky is still headline worthy or we can accept that this has and will continue ad infinitum.

What astonishes me is how these men are so transparent, so careless and so unrepentant. Were they repentant, most would resign their posts and show true contrition. I don't understand how aspiring politicians with good solid careers commit so many stupid acts. Yeah, okay, I'm naive. My husband laughs at me and says, "What do you expect? These guys think they're bullet-proof. They think they're above the law. It's all about entitlement."

Interesting article in the NY Times yesterday regarding this. Another good article on the NPR's "Talk of the Nation" program and how the story broke live on the air.