Bill would give president emergency control of Internet

Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.

They’re not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, have spent months drafting behind closed doors. CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773 (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.

The new version would allow the president to “declare a cybersecurity emergency” relating to “non-governmental” computer networks and do what’s necessary to respond to the threat. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for “cybersecurity professionals,” and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license.

“I think the redraft, while improved, remains troubling due to its vagueness,” said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which counts representatives of Verizon, Verisign, Nortel, and Carnegie Mellon University on its board. “It is unclear what authority Sen. Rockefeller thinks is necessary over the private sector. Unless this is clarified, we cannot properly analyze, let alone support the bill.”

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Bill would give president emergency control of Internet

Just in case anyone happened to miss this one, here it is in ALL of it’s glory. Spread it far and wide. While we still can.

If anyone still doubts that the Obama administration, or the evil minions of the Obama administration are not all about CONTROL of the American people, this should hammer it home for you. What’s to stop Obama from shutting down the ‘net if he felt he was about to lose control of the American people? What about a perceived threat that only existed in his mind?

A spokesman for Rockefeller also declined to comment on the record Thursday, saying that many people were unavailable because of the summer recess. A Senate source familiar with the bill compared the president’s power to take control of portions of the Internet to what President Bush did when grounding all aircraft on Sept. 11, 2001. The source said that one primary concern was the electrical grid, and what would happen if it were attacked from a broadband connection.

I have got to call BS on this one. What Bush did by grounding all the planes after the attacks of 9-11 was, he removed a threat that was real. A clear and present danger!

The next few paragraphs will illustrate even more why I believe that this idea of shutting down the Internet, and comparison to the actions of the Bush administration on 9-11, to be the BS we ALL know it to be.

When Rockefeller, the chairman of the Senate Commerce committee, and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) introduced the original bill in April, they claimed it was vital to protect national cybersecurity. “We must protect our critical infrastructure at all costs-from our water to our electricity, to banking, traffic lights and electronic health records,” Rockefeller said.

I have absolutely NO problem with protecting the infrastructure of this nation, but shutting down the Internet is NOT how you protect it. I can guarantee you that MY computer will never get a virus or be hacked if I turn it off, but turning it off defeats the purpose of having the thing.

So, here’s what I, and every other responsible computer owner do; we buy, update and use the very best protection we can afford. That’s what the federal government needs to do, them, and all of this critical infrastructure. Get protection, but don’t shut down the ‘net. That move is akin to the old adage regarding the closing of the barn door after the horse has left the building.

If a hacker, or someone intent on setting a malicious virus into this infrastructure has made their mind up to DO just that, shutting the ‘net down after it has happened is a useless, and futile effort. By the time you KNOW that the damage is done, it’s too late, the damage has been done.

And look at WHO the authors of this bill are. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.VA) and Olympia Snowe (RINO-Maine). That tells you everything you want to know right there, a libber Democrat and a moonbat RINO in cahoots, and doing the work of The Fuhrer.

Probably the most controversial language begins in Section 201, which permits the president to “direct the national response to the cyber threat” if necessary for “the national defense and security.” The White House is supposed to engage in “periodic mapping” of private networks deemed to be critical, and those companies “shall share” requested information with the federal government. (“Cyber” is defined as anything having to do with the Internet, telecommunications, computers, or computer networks.)

“The language has changed but it doesn’t contain any real additional limits,” EFF’s Tien says. “It simply switches the more direct and obvious language they had originally to the more ambiguous (version)…The designation of what is a critical infrastructure system or network as far as I can tell has no specific process. There’s no provision for any administrative process or review. That’s where the problems seem to start. And then you have the amorphous powers that go along with it.”

Translation: If your company is deemed “critical,” a new set of regulations kick in involving who you can hire, what information you must disclose, and when the government would exercise control over your computers or network.

TexasFred translation: It’s not about security, it’s about CONTROL!

The total control of you, me, every business in America, every transaction, every doctors visit, every walk you take and every move you make. It’s about the idea of a bastardized version of a place that doesn’t exist. Utopia.

It’s about a combination of Soviet Russia and all the evils of the NAZIs during their reign of terror. That is what the Obama administration is all about. That is what Obama’s minions are trying to foist off on the people of this great nation. The only way they can succeed is if WE sit back, do nothing and let it happen.

“First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.”

Remember this: All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. So, what are YOU prepared to do? Sit back and do nothing? Complain to your spouse? Complain at a TEA Party meeting and then go home and wait for someone else to do it for you?

Or are you prepared to commit, and risk your freedom, your fortune and your very life in an effort to save this nation? Are you prepared to die trying?