Former NSA official allegedly leaked material to media

As I was growing up on a farm and ranch operation in southern Idaho, my father, a wise man despite his scant formal education, inculcated me with some basic, yet serious, philosophical ethics guidance for life.  I didn't take it too seriously then because my father wasn't the type of man to pontificate on anything.  He would just quietly state his case or make a comment then go on about the business at hand.

One of the things he taught me was the importance of loyalty: Loyalty to co-workers, friends, family, country and God.  He did this with many small comments during my formative years and one that I remember best was: "Ride for the brand or ride."

A simple statement of ethics comprised of just six words; but one of great import.  It means that you must be loyal to those you work for or quit the job, face-to-face, and walk away.  It's a simple idea but one that some people just don't understand.

To begin with, we aren't talking "whistleblower" here.  We're talking about those who act to derail policy decisions because they disagree with them.  For too long we have tolerated those who let their personal political beliefs take precedence and break their oaths by leaking classified information to the press.   Anyone who does that should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law because such leaks endanger all Americans.

During my long career in government I saw many who had never learned this lesson and I was always perplexed at how they could denigrate the organization they worked for yet still accept the paycheck it provided.  It certainly said then, and still does, more about their own lack of character than it does about the problems they were describing in their agency.  Remember that the next time you see an unidentified, masked or backlit person on the Left Stream Media TV using an electronically altered voice as they spout-off about governmental wrong doing.  Ask yourself the two questions:

     1. If he feels so strongly about this, why doesn't he face the camera and identify himself? and,
     2. If he won't identify himself, is he really an expert on the material or is his expertise "self-certified?"

Follow the link for the story from the Left Stream Media.