Freedom of expression and anti-secrecy advocates are coming out of the woodwork in support of Booz Allen Hamilton whistleblower Edward Snowden. 
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange called him a "hero," while Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg said the disclosure about the National Security surveillance program was "one of the greatest national security leaks in recent American history."
The debate over whether Snowden is a lawbreaker or treasure has just begun. That's but a sideshow.
A more important debate focused on the privatization of U.S. government functions should also begin. The small government crowd has been dismantling or "right-sizing" government and federal employees for quite some time in the quest to achieve efficiencies.
BAH hitched a ride on the federal gravy train, hauling in more than $5B in revenues with 36 of 45 top secret agencies, according to today’s Washington Post. Staffers at BAH earn much more than their federal counterparts, which raises red flags about cost-savings. The revolving door spins. Federal employees set up programs and then take contractor jobs to administer them.
Can't the guys who write RFPs at federal agencies do the work themselves?
The BAH affair also raises the question about the basic "outsourcing" of national security to the private sector. It doesn’t sit well that a company responsible to the whims of Wall Street is doing the work of the NSA, which is supposed to be the savviest technology unit of federal Washington.
BAH, which is shocked by the Snowden leak, played by the rules.
The rules, perhaps, need to be changed.
Trump Media & Technology Group today reported a $58.2M net loss on $4.1M in 2023 revenues, a disclosure that drove its stock price down 22.6 percent to $47.96.
Barry Pollack, an attorney at Wall Street’s Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler, has registered Julian Assange as a client with the Justice Dept. “out of an abundance of caution.”
Paramount Global to slash 800 jobs in what chief executive Bob Bakish calls part of an effort to “return the company to earnings growth"... Rolling Stone editor-in-chief Noah Shachtman is exiting at the end of the month due to disagreements with chief executive Gus Wenner over the direction the magazine is taking... The New York Times broke the $1 billion barrier in annual revenue from digital subscriptions in 2023... Press Forward is investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms.
The majority of news articles are read within the first three days of publication, according to a recent report.
The Los Angeles Times gives pink slips to 115 people or 20 percent of its newsroom staff... TIME is also laying off about 30 employees, which is approximately 15 percent of its editorial staff... The Baltimore Banner, which was launched by Stewart Bainum in 2022 after he failed to buy the Baltimore Sun, added 500 subscribers per day in the three days following Sinclair Broadcast Group's deal to purchase the Sun.
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