“The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming!” Oh, wait. “The Chinese are coming, the Chinese are coming!” Hold it. “The International terrorist hackers are coming, the international terrorists hackers are coming!” What will we do?
Well, we can start by counting our blessings that Jumping Joe Lieberman is here to protect us.
Just when we needed it most, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn was able to swoop in and introduce the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, to shield us all from those evil, foreign communist keyboarders.
Forget it. We’re covered. Nothing to see here; Joe’s on the job. Just go on about your business. Go watch the BP hearings or a World Cup Soccer Match. Does anyone know where Lindsay Lohan is today?
I’ll sleep so much better once the government takes broad-brush control of the Internet. Won’t you?
Forget that this bill gives the President, any President, an Internet “on/off” switch in times of a National Emergency. Forget that it’s language is as broad as the power it gives the Executive Branch to quell free speech via the web. Forget that the White House recently used all it forces attempting to malign certain news agencies, deemed to be unsympathetic to the Administration’s talking points, while favoring other “real news” outlets.
“Bri, you’re over reacting. It could never happen on the Internet. Come on.”
Do you find it odd that this bill seems destined to rocket through Congress? Can’t get a budget even 1/2 way done but this bill is way too important to let languish in open debate. Does it seem strange, at all that the main stream “Needia” has pretty much ignored the story?
Hmmm. Let’s see. Who despises the Internet and the free voice it lends to all points of view more than the Needia and Elected Politicians? Interesting, one group wants the bill passed into law just as bad as the other? As the Internet grows, so grows transparency; the politicians have to show us their cards and they don’t like it. As the Internet grows, so goes reader and viewer loyalty to the mainstream Needia outlets and they don’t like it either.
Forget too big to fail. Seems many now believe that the Internet is “too big to be free.”
One last thought. In this day and age you can’t squelch thought, speech or debate by banning or burning books, unless of course your Vladimir Putin.
Free speech has always been a threat to power. Just watch how quickly those in charge now move to control it.
How about a little truth in advertising? Let’s call this bill what it is. The PCNAA isn’t a Cyberspace security act, it’s The Political Insecurity and Instability Act.
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Comments
Laws are reactions to a perceived threat. I wonder what the real threat is…and who is it directed at? The people? Governments? I don't hear the people really asking for this protection. It's for our own good, I'm sure.
“Cyber Terrorism”? You don't need this power to stop that. It's easy enough to identify the source and destination IPs, block the IP, the subnet, filter by protocol, define inbound & outbound rules, etc. It's called a firewall. You can even control routing tables if you want. This bill is completely unnecessary to protect us from any threat they speak of.
Too big to fail? It doesn't fail because the Internet is a mesh topology with a ton of redundancy in place. It's not some big box in a government office. If it's too big to fail, invest in better infrastructure and make it more accessible.
They're doing this so they have a way to maintain control when our reliance on them fades. We let them control us because we think we need them. You see this in governments, religions, and corporations everywhere. It's like being in an abusive relationship.
This bill would worry me, but I've already taken this into account. It's funny watching them pretend to be smart though.