If This Ain’t A Direct Violation Of The First Amendment, Then Nothing Is!!!

This Is A Clear Abridgement Of Our Freedom Of Speech!

This is from FNC.Com in its entirety!

 

Senate Bill Would Give President Emergency Control of Internet

Details of a revamped version of the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 show the Senate bill could give the president a "kill switch" on the Internet and allow him to shut out private networks from online access.

FOXNews.com

Friday, August 28, 2009

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A Senate bill would offer President Obama emergency control of the Internet and may give him a "kill switch" to shut down online traffic by seizing private networks — a move cybersecurity experts worry will choke off industry and civil liberties.

Details of a revamped version of the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 emerged late Thursday, months after an initial version authored by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V., was blasted in Silicon Valley as dangerous government intrusion.

"In the original bill they empowered the president to essentially turn off the Internet in the case of a 'cyber-emergency,' which they didn't define," said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which represents the telecommunications industry.

"We think it's a very bad idea ... to put in legislation," he told FOXNews.com.

Clinton said the new version of the bill that surfaced this week is improved from its first draft, but troubling language that was removed was replaced by vague language that could still offer the same powers to the president in case of an emergency.

"The current language is so unclear that we can't be confident that the changes have actually been made," he said.

The new legislation allows the president to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" relating to "non-governmental" computer networks and make a plan to respond to the danger, according to an excerpt published online — a broad license that rights experts worry would give the president "amorphous powers" over private users.

"As soon as you're saying that the federal government is going to be exercising this kind of power over private networks, it's going to be a really big issue," Lee Tien, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told CNET News.

A Senate source familiar with the bill likened the new power to take control of portions of the Internet to what President Bush did when he grounded all aircraft on Sept. 11, 2001, CNET News reported.

Spokesmen for Senator Rockefeller and the Commerce Committee did not return calls seeking comment before this article was published.

But Rockefeller, who introduced the bill in April with bipartisan support, said the legislation was critical to protecting everything from water and electricity to banking, traffic lights and electronic health records.

"I know the threats we face," Rockefeller said in a prepared statement when the legislation was introduced. "Our enemies are real. They are sophisticated, they are determined and they will not rest."

The bill would also let the government create a detailed set of standards for licensing "cybersecurity professionals" who would oversee a single standard for security measures.

But many in the technology sector believe it's a job the government is ill-equipped to handle, said Franck Journoud, a policy analyst with the Business Software Alliance.

"Simply put, who has the expertise?" he told FOXNews.com in April. "It's the industry, not the government. We have a responsibility to increase and improve security. That responsibility cannot be captured in a government standard."

Clinton, of the Internet Security Alliance, praised President Obama's May science policy review, which he said would take cybersecurity in the right direction by promoting incentives to get the private industry to improve its own security measures.

But he faulted the Senate bill, which he said would centralize regulations for an industry that is too varied to fall under the control of a single set of rules without endangering the economy and security.

"We think a lot of things need to be done to enhance cybersecurity," he told FOXNews.com, but this bill is "not something that we could support."

What are we doing? Why are we doing this?

What is happening to us, America? What has transpired that is making so many people BELIEVE that Socialism and Fascism and even Communism is much better than this Republic that our military veterans, forefathers and ancestors fought and sacrificed so much for?

What is it that is making so many of us actually want our government to babysit us from the cradle to the grave. Telling us that we are just way too stupid to make decisions for ourselves as to when to see a doctor, which doctor to see, and when we should just give up and die.

Even though I cannot ever begin to fathom the attitude of so many of us that believe that government should guarantee medical health care to each and every one of us, wether we worked for it or not. That so many of us now believe that the government owes us money we never worked for when we refuse to go out and find a way of paying our own way through this life.

Where did all this dependency attitude come from?

Did it begin in our public schools way back in the early seventies when school districts began mandating that children be not failed in order to save their self esteem even though they have not achieved the necessary skills to advance to the next level of instruction?

Or did it begin way back in the early 1930’s when government started giving handouts called welfare to those who could not find a job, no matter if they were looking for work or not?

Did it begin with the passing of the Social Security Act that was originally meant to be an assisting device to help one supplement his/her retirement nestegg, but actually started paying out full benefits to people just one month after it was signed into law thereby making it a deficit spending agency from its very beginning to the almost devastating tragedy that it is today?

What happened to that pioneer spirit that won the west by people actually walking alongside their Ox driven covered wagons across the central plains and through the Rockies to the Pacific shores?

What happened to the country that men like my Father-In-Law volunteered to go forth into harms way to fight off the armies and navies of the Imperialists and Fascists and Nazis? Where are those who have that grim determination to sacrifice whatever it takes to preserve and defend these United States Of America from all enemies foreign and domestic?

Today. This very day. Up in Washington, District of Columbia, there is a very large group of people that is doing their level best to usurp the Constitution of the United States of America. They are doing their level best make all of us believe that we cannot possibly live without their brand of un-American government.

And to listen to the mainstream news media, there is an overwhelming majority of American citizens that are of voting age who are demanding that this is the very kind of government that we actually want and believe in.

What are we doing, America? What in the Sam Hell are we doing?

A couple of years ago my wife and I spent some time at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. We took the self guided audio tour. It took us an entire day driving around to all those places where good men sacrificed their very existence for the kind of freedom that they believed in with all their heart and souls.

Over one half million Americans died on that battlefield. They died for no other reason than their own personal belief in what they perceived as freedom.

Now today, am I supposed to believe that we Americans – the very descendants of those selfless men of Gettysburg – not only are willing, but actually want to give up our freedom for a few dollars a month in government dole?

Am I supposed to accept that the children and grandchildren of those who went forth in harms way to save the world back in WW2, actually want that very brand of Socialism and Fascism to now rule their lives?

I was told today by an old WW2 vet that he wished he would have died in that war than to live to see what is happening in this country today!

All I can ask you is . . . JUST WHAT IN THE SAM HELL ARE WE DOING?!?

Two Of Our Country’s Natural Wonders . . .

Every few years we take a trip somewhere around this Nation of ours to a place we have never been before.  This usually coincides with one of our wedding anniversaries.  This year was our 40th, and this year we went to the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest in Arizona – Both are in the National Park System, and both are a sight to behold!

Let me warn you all that there is no amount of photographs that can ever do justice to either of these places.  To be able to reel in the actual natural beauty of these wonderful American National Parks, one should always see them with your own eyes.  I urge all who read this blog to go to as many natural wonders in this country of ours as you possibly can, only then can you appreciate the value of our country in terms other than our politics or our people.

Now, having said that, let me show you a few photos that I took on this trip.

The gaping mouth of the Cavern as seen as you prepare to enter.

From the inside looking up and out as we descended into the cavern.  Those birds are cave swallows, and they live and nest just inside the mouth of the cave.

One of the good things to come out of Hollywood is the lighting system inside the cave, this done by a theatrical lighting expert throughout the entire Cavern – except for the bat cave – which gives a visual perspective of what a Cavern is that no camera could ever capture.  You just gotta see it for yourself!

The enormity of the Cavern can be seen in the contrast of these ladies as they descended behind us.  They are of average height and the top of the cave towers above them.  Note the handrails, as the entire Cavern has paved walkways with handrails throughout.

The handrails and paved walkways that a I mentioned above.  As you can see, there are places that even I had to duck to get through.

This is a typical sight throughout the Cavern.  Note the lighting near the bottom of the picture.  I cannot praise that unknown lighting expert enough.  This something one MUST see with one’s own eyes to really appreciate.

Although we took the self guided tours with the walk down and the part of the Cavern known as the Big Room(they have these numbered stops and an accompanying audio info thing we rented), we also took the Ranger Guided Tour of the Kings Chamber.  This is our Ranger as he prepared us for the tour.  These Rangers are very knowledgeable and they love to impart their knowledge when asked.  I urge all those who go to ask many and every question you can think of, they really enjoy answering questions.

Now for the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert . . . .

Just 16 miles east of Holbrook Arizona on Interstate 40, old Route 66, lies another magnificent natural wonder of our great nation.  Again I say that no amount of photographs can ever do this place justice.

As far as the eye can see . . . . . . . .

Some may call this the brush strokes of Mother Nature, and others say it is the handiwork of God Himself.  The Painted desert is truly an awesome sight indeed.  We took three days to take it all in.

Again, we purchased an Audio Tour that took us to numbered stops along the way and gave us the history of the area and set us up for the walking paths.  Take a lot of water with you as this IS a desert, warm and dry.

The petrified logs – This one looks like it is sawed into sections, but it is actually naturally broken into these neat pieces – are everywhere, but remember that it is a federal crime to remove them from a national park.

Look closely at the picture above.  What looks like wood chips is actually tiny broken pieces of the petrified logs that were broken off during a flood over a million years ago.  But then, I am told, that people actually used dynamite to blow up some of the logs to get the quartz crystals out of the centers – this actually destroyed the crystals that they were trying to get.  Greed gets you nowhere.

 

In nearby Holbrook is the Wigwam Motel.  Yes, it is a real Motel that you can rent a Wigwam to spend the night in.  Yes, those are real antique cars parked all around the place.

As you can see, it is quite a sprawling place.  I recommend it if you have children as it would give them something to talk about at “show and tell” when they go back to school.

There you have it.  That is all the pictures I am going to bore you with today.  If you want to see more, then schedule a trip of your own and take a good look at the physical worth of this country of ours.  It is priceless in both memories and value.  This nation really is worth saving!

I'm Baaaaack!!!!!

Just got back today, and do I have some reading to catch up on! Over 200 emails!


Just got word that my local member of the House of Reps is holding a town hall meeting tomorrow (08/22/2009) in Kingman . . . Dare I attend?


hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe . . . and chuckle ;-)