An Open Letter to the People of Russia

Zdravstvuy, Rossiya. (Hello, Russia.)

Needless to say, I would like to thank your country for having the most pageviews  of  this fine blog of any country outside the United States, and, as you know,I  try to keep it light around here, shooting my mouth off
about sports, entertainment, anything that floats my boat, but mostly leaving politics to the pundits.

Well, every rule has an exception, and welcome to the exception.

While the relationship between Russia and the USA  is nowhere as amicable as our relationship with the United Kingdom, for example,our relationship is still very important. Kruschev's threats against us, as well as the entire Soviet war machine he represented, are nothing but memories, and  many prominent US brands have set up shop in  your country. You have been an important ally in the War On Terror, and we have,  in the words of President Reagan, "met on the playing field and not on the battle field." The fact that we have cooperated on so much since the collapse of the USSR makes your President's meeting with NSA traitor Edward Snowden , and your Government's apparent refusal to comply with extradition demands,that more shocking.

As an American, I believe in freedom and the right to go about my business as I see fit as long as it fits within the parameters of the law, and if I have to sacrifice some of that freedom in the name of security, so be it. What Mr. Snowden did is inexcusable, and a threat to our freedom. I cannot bring myself to call his accomplices, Glenn Greenwald or Julian Assange,journalists. "Mouthpieces," "lackeys," and "apologists" are the terms that more swiftly come to mind, and Mr. Assange's WikiLeaks basically screams, although in not so many words,"Hey, Mr. Terrorist! Here's all the information you need!"

Dear Russian Comrades, you may take these words as the nonsensical ravings of a lunatic mind or you may take them as the words of an old stick-in-the-mud still trapped in the Red-Under-The-Bed paranoia of the past,but I prefer you take them as the words of one friend concerned about the well-being of another.I have
believed in the betterment of US-Russia relationships since the first Goodwill Games in 1986,and I look forward to the Winter Olympics in Sochi,but when a valuable ally such as Russia provides aid and comfort to
someone such as Edward Snowden, that just can't be tolerated. He should be returned as quickly as possible to American soil, and he  should get everything he deserves, on  his way to the un-nameable place where, I'm sure, he'll meet Benedict Arnold,  and they'll have a lot to talk about.

Usually, in some flippant fashion, I will issue a disclaimer about management's (in this case, Google) agreement with my opinions,but, this time, I believe I speak on behalf of all freedom-loving American people who cannot abide Mr. Snowden's totally un-American attitude, or Russia's total lack of cooperation. I have long admired Russia's contributions to music,drama, and sport, but, my, Russian friends, I urge you to write Mr. Putin and tell him to return Mr. Snowden to us and stop coddling him as if he were a harmless baby, or,
as one of our American soul classics, goes, "Check yo'self before you wreck yo'self."

Spasiba i dosvidanya,(Thank you and goodbye.)
Steve