Comments by "L.W. Paradis" (@l.w.paradis2108) on "United States of Secrets, Part One (full documentary) | FRONTLINE" video.

The one question I always had was how a guy without a college degree got this job. Was the brand "Snowden" that strong, or is his father a huge Big Deal? The brand helped, that's clear. There is something we were never told.
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But no one knew the Afghan government would collapse within hours, no one knew COVID was coming . . .
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@orawancarlile6192 I am skeptical of Wunderkinder. It's all part of the Great American Narrative of miraculous achievement with very little work, just following one's bliss . . . the apotheosis of the Cult of Profit. But beyond that, a person could be very gifted indeed. Still not clear HOW he gets a job like that, with security clearance, in the post 9/11 world. It's not as though MIT, Cal Tech don't graduate hundreds of people each year . . .
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@orawancarlile6192 Those three on balance changed the world for the worse. And not one of them applied for a highly sensitive job post-9/11 requiring exceptional security clearance, which is the issue here. I agree that Martha Argerich did not need a college education. Yet Einstein did. You know, maybe this mentality of "well, who gets to SAAAAY what qualifications are, ANYWAY?" is not serving us all that well? Ever think of that?
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@culbinator I don't disagree one iota. I still want to know.
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@orawancarlile6192 Also, those three did not go to ordinary high schools like most people do (Gates's high school English program is like two or three years of an excellent college), and all three had some college -- and not ordinary colleges, either. But concerning Snowden, the security clearance, coupled with lack of oversight, is still a question. Few want to bring this up, because it starts to sound like opposition to what Snowden did. I am not only glad he revealed what he did, I also wonder why everyone else went along with hiding the rampant spying. It is chilling. Where are the people who support the Constitution? He should get a hero's welcome.
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@TheCaptainSlappy The KGB was dismantled by the time Snowden was in third grade. Now of course he is a computer prodigy and GENIUS. (BTW, who hired Snowden? Why?)
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@TheCaptainSlappy I guess if you say so, it must be true. All Americans are like that now.
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@TheCaptainSlappy Everything you say is always true. I mean, why else have the richest economy and the largest armed forces in human history? Stands to reason. /s
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@TheCaptainSlappy blocked
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@TheCaptainSlappy Dates don't matter. You have powerful insults.
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@TheCaptainSlappy The KGB was dissolved in December 1991. So Glenn is genius and also a time traveler?
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@barbarafranklin3378 If I want to learn?
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@alanholmes2366 It's not about the coding, it's about the clearance. MIT is not just about the education, it's about the vetting. This wasn't a startup, or a startup culture.
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@alanholmes2366 So you had military service. In the absence of a draft, that is a huge statement -- certainly more than college. He "came from a family . . . " Oh, do we judge individuals based on their family now? So, two facets of hereditary nobility going for him: his family and brand Snowden. Funny, neither would have impressed me. A lot of people could do his job, certainly including Marine Corps veterans and MIT grads. Jobs are structured that way. They had no trouble replacing him.
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@hollygolightly8048 Pfft. If you really did work for a university you must have noticed that the most common major BY FAR is Business, with Health Sciences not far behind, and Nursing at the top of those. Kids who graduate in debt have to sing the boss's tune, and Silicon Valley HR departments want to hear a woke discourse, at least up to a point. That's their brand. Hence the discourse is useful for getting and keeping a job. As for Snowden, you think he was (1) "brilliant;" and (2) not a leftist by your lights? Please answer. I want to hear this!
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