BILL WOULD ALLOW PRESIDENT TO SHUT DOWN INTERNET
Mother Jones - Senators John Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) . . . introduced a bill to establish the Office of the National Cybersecurity Advisor-an arm of the executive branch that would have vast power to monitor and control Internet traffic to protect against threats to critical cyber infrastructure. That broad power is rattling some civil libertarians.
The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 gives the president the ability to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" and shut down or limit Internet traffic in any "critical" information network "in the interest of national security." The bill does not define a critical information network or a cybersecurity emergency. That definition would be left to the president.
The bill does not only add to the power of the president. It also grants the Secretary of Commerce "access to all relevant data concerning [critical] networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access." This means he or she can monitor or access any data on private or public networks without regard to privacy laws. . .
The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 gives the president the ability to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" and shut down or limit Internet traffic in any "critical" information network "in the interest of national security." The bill does not define a critical information network or a cybersecurity emergency. That definition would be left to the president.
The bill does not only add to the power of the president. It also grants the Secretary of Commerce "access to all relevant data concerning [critical] networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access." This means he or she can monitor or access any data on private or public networks without regard to privacy laws. . .
posted by TPR | 5:11 PM
4 Comments:
Not a surprising development.
No, not at all surprising. Obama is shaping up as the most right-wing, conservative president ever. What a louse. Funny that he was elected on a promise of "change." I don't think we've ever had a president more committed to preserving the status quo. He really is a liberal through-and-through, and I don't mean that as a compliment.
I’m sorry, but for anyone who walked into this election naive as to what a true “ultra progressive" might do to our constitution and liberties, I can only say “duh” and ask that you to ponder repentance. You owe all the “right wing wacko’s” aka conservatives, at least a moment of honest reflection about the fallacy of your politics. Bush was an economic catastrophe, but it wasn’t under his watch as president that we will have seen the mainstream rights of everyday Americans on a massive scale are usurped.
Sorry, Anon101, but if you think Obama is in any way a progessive, never mind a 'true "ultra progressive"', then you're politically a half-dozen goose steps to the right of the Birchers.
As Anon723 points out, Obama is shaping up to be highly reactionary, which is the extremists' version of 'conservative'. Now, that might be because he's stupid, but I'm more inclined to think it's because he's no more than a vile opportunist with a particular kind of stupidity, namely a tin ear for the political Zeitgeist.
In all honesty, I believe it's more than possible that Obama will be the first WH resident to be impeached and convicted, possibly even during this term. If that happens, I think he'll also stand in the dock, though not alone. People are finally becoming seriously upset with how they're being treated.
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