Some people are calling him a hero and others are calling him a traitor, but if you haven't read Glen Greenwald's interview with the NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden, you should. Here are some selected excerpts:

Snowden: "NSA and intelligence community in general is focused on getting intelligence wherever it can by any means possible. It believes, on the grounds of sort of a self-certification, that they serve the national interest. Originally we saw that focus very narrowly tailored as foreign intelligence gathered overseas."

The court order authorizing the government to collect all Verizon cell phone records rested on legislation from a controversial 2001 Patriot Act provision, Section 215.

Here's what Section 215 does, according to law professor Jeffrey Rosen:

That's what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) thinks about revelations that the government is spying on nearly all Americans. His exact words were "Right now I think everyone should just calm down and understand that this isn't anything that is brand new, it's been going on for some seven years..."

What a relief, eh ? I'm having a problem seeing how the knowledge that the government has been spying on us for years is supposed to be calming. It's having just the opposite effect on me.

Yesterday, Attorney General Eric Holder, who has at least twice given false testimony under oath to Congress (Fast And Furious, AP reporter scandal), described his Justice Department's collection of reporters phone records as being "a little out of whack". Holder said he was "a little concerned" that an investigative reporter, James Rosen of Fox News,  was named as  an "aider, abettor, and/or co-conspirator" in crime just for doing his job. Holder's little concern for freedom of the press, however, did not prevent Holder from signing off on an affadavit naming Rosen as a possible criminal in order to obtain a secret warrant for his phone records. In fact, Holder was so little concerned with Rosen's First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights that he shopped his Rosen secret warrant application around the courts until he found a judge who would agree to it. After two judges denied Holder's request for secrecy, a third compliant judge okayed it. Holder's actions regarding Rosen were revealed  shortly after Holder told congressional investigators, "In regard to potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material. This is not something I’ve ever been involved in, heard of, or would think would be wise policy.“

President Obama said he still has confidence in Holder, despite the fact that Holder seemingly lies to Congress whenever it suits his purposes. If Holder does leave his post as Attorney General, perhaps he will become Obama's next Press Secretary or something. After all, Obama did name Susan Rice, who infamously misled the American people about Benghazi, as his next National Security Advisor. I'm wondering if putting forth falsehoods to cover the Obama regime's back, rather than being seen as disgraceful behavior, puts a faithful underling on the fast track for promotion in the administration's highly politicized world.