I would hardly call this cute. American Exceptionalism at its finest. We rarely think of the long term consequences of our actions on the world stage in the name of 'freedom' or 'the war on blank' or whatever.

I would take this seriously. Why? Because guess what? All of the shit that Google, Apple, and other American tech wonders market and sell are made with parts from Chinese factories. We have sent all of that manufacturing to China to save money and what are the consequences? What if China changes its stance on this due to these revelations about NSA abuses? What will Apple and Google do? Apple has an inconsequential amount of manufacturing here in the US. Will they suddenly spend those billions to setup up massive factories in Texas or Michigan? Will they hire thousands of American workers to make the parts necessary for those shiny iPhones?

Actions do have consequences even if this just sounds like blustering. Eventually the blustering talk becomes actions that could harm our economy and the lives of real American's instead of just the 1% owner/elite class.

Isn't the bigger issue here that internet-based computing has destroyed any real security, personal privacy and the protection of trade secrets?

It is often stated that "Information is power" but what happens to that dynamic when the information is wide spread?