The sad truth is that societies that demand whistleblowers be martyrs often find themselves without either, and always when it matters the most.

Defending ourselves from internet-based attacks, internet-originated attacks, is much, much more important than our ability to launch attacks against similar targets in foreign countries.

The surveillance revelations are critically important because they revealed that our rights are being redefined in secret, by secret courts that were never intended to have that role - without the consent of the public, without even the awareness of the majority of our political representatives.

We watch our own people more closely than anyone else in the world.

So many of the things we're told by the government simply aren't true.

If we don't do anything, if we go along with the status quo, we are going to have a mass surveillance world.

I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building.