I have a history of "questioning authority" within the rules of the democratic system that I inhabit ...

Unfortunately, when it comes to whistle blowers working in the intelligence community or for telecoms -- people like Thomas Drake, William Binney,and J. Kirk Wiebe, --going up the chain of command, working within the system, does not gain them anything but vilification and/or prosecution by the U.S. government.

For years, the three whistle-blowers had told anyone who would listen that the NSA collects huge swaths of communications data from U.S. citizens. They had spent decades in the top ranks of the agency, designing and managing the very data-collection systems they say have been turned against Americans. When they became convinced that fundamental constitutional rights were being violated, they complained first to their superiors, then to federal investigators, congressional oversight committees and, finally, to the news media.

To the intelligence community, the trio are villains who compromised what the government classifies as some of its most secret, crucial and successful initiatives. They have been investigated as criminals and forced to give up careers, reputations and friendships built over a lifetime.

So, how did those "legal options" work for them? According to Jesselyn Radack of the Government Accountability Project, who represents the three:

Jesselyn Radack: Not only did they go through multiple and all the proper internal channels and they failed, but more than that, it was turned against them. ... The inspector general was the one who gave their names to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution under the Espionage Act. And they were all targets of a federal criminal investigation, and Tom ended up being prosecuted -- and it was for blowing the whistle.

Radack has also spoken out, quite eloquently, in my view, on the dangerous hypocrisy of the government going after these whistle blowers by way using the Espionage Act to prosecute them:

"This Administration has brought more `leak' prosecutions than all previous presidential administrations combined. When first elected, President Obama acknowledged that often the best source of information about government wrongdoing is an employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. He called such acts courageous and patriotic. So it is especially hypocritical to be prosecuting public servants under the Espionage Act.

Painting whistleblowers as spies serves another ugly purpose: alienating these brave employees from their natural allies in the legal, civil rights and civil liberties community. It is rank hypocrisy for our government--preaching openness and transparency--to criminalize whistleblowing that exposes embarrassing or illegal government conduct. This Administration--whose mantra is to `look forward, not backward'--gives war crimes, torture and warrantless wiretapping a pass . . . but is going after the whistleblowers who exposed that misconduct.

The prosecution of Tom Drake is the most severe form of whistleblower retaliation I have ever seen and it sends a chilling message. It is tragic when serving your country gets you prosecuted under the Espionage Act, and when telling the truth gets you charged with `making false statements.' "

If I worked at a company where I thought malfeasance or criminality was occurring, I might--MIGHT--go through available channels to get the situation cleaned up, but only if I really believed the company's system worked, and only if I believed I would not be retaliated against. I've worked for enough companies to know that is not always the case. One of my family members has been an HR director for a number of companies and organizations, and I know the true inside story on how many of those businesses actually give a cr*p about their employees and will protect the whistle blowers under such circumstances. No surprise, some of the biggest, most powerful companies in America end up protecting the abusers, and further abusing the whistle blowers. Losing your job and your family's only livelihood after blowing the whistle is an ugly reality for a lot of good people.

If I worked for the U.S. government and saw criminality going on, would I try to go up the chain of command to get it cleaned up? NO WAY. And as a private citizen, I have no power at all in getting the criminality cleaned up. My vote means absolutely nothing. In particular, one of my "Democratic" senators is one of the worst offenders when it comes to representing my values: she not only voted for the Iraq War, a vote which, she said three years later, she "had no regrets" about. She also voted quite happily for the Patriot Act. Twice.

At this point in my life, I will also forget about engaging in any more peaceful public protests. I've seen enough brutality by the police against OWS protesters--tear gas, pepper spray, beatings, tasings, arrests, and people held for months in jail without even being charged (this just recently happened in Seattle, and the two detainees were finally released from jail in May). And anyone who doesn't know the rallies are infiltrated by undercover cops, and that surveillance technology is being used at every single of these rallies, is someone who is asleep, or in willful denial.