Another ‘Transformational Moment’ — The Cyber-Czar is Born!
by Gary GrahamCall me paranoid, but…
I was wondering when the government was going to make its move on the Internet. There’s a whole lot of commerce going on, a lot of communication, a lot of people talking to each other, building their businesses and enjoying their lives.
So naturally, they’re going to want to tax it.
Apparently, we have another crisis afoot. Our digital networks and computer systems are at risk. (Well, duh – where has the President been for the past decade?) And of course, the Obama administration’s answer to this serious threat…is to consolidate more central power by creating a new department and appointing a ‘cyber-czar.’ Man, I feel safer already. My chest swells with pride. A thrill runs up my leg.
Obama calls this threatened system our ‘digital-infrastructure’. (And nothing that contains the word ‘infrastructure’ can ever be denied funding. That would be anti-American in this post-modern, post-reason world of Obamaland.)
That seems to be President Obama’s answer to everything – more centralized power. Run everything through Washington, D.C. Cyber-threats? Let’s form a new department in Washington. Economy on a cyclic downturn? The Federal government will unravel it and make it all better. Health Care costs too high? Let’s nationalize the entire system and run everything through Congress. Problems solved, everything’s fixed, now we can sleep easy at night.
But check this out! In order to better understand the thinking behind the Big-O’s big borrowing, big spending, and big, bigger and biggest government… I purchased Obama-Shades online. They look like regular sunglasses, only cooler. And they’re sort of like BluBlocker glasses (that block out U.V. light). These have a new technology called SmartBlocker, which blocks out all smart ideas. I put them on and WOW! The blues are bluer…thinking Green is easier…Marxism suddenly rocks…and I feel good about everything the Democrats propose. Republicans look like hateful, drooling, racist homophobes through the Obama-Shades. But I’m cool; I’m walking around with Obama-Shades, I’m hip and happening, the good guys are in power, and even Sean Penn makes sense. In fact, I just feel good about…feeling good. And that’s all that matters. I’m in Obamaland.
Okay, I’ve taken them off now. I was suddenly overcome with the desire to smoke a bong load and have beers with Keith Olbermann and Janine Garofalo; but I immediately threw up, checked myself into the clinic for a colonoscopy, and then came home and read some Krauthammer. I’m feeling much better now.
Call me paranoid, but does it seem to anyone else that Big Brother is creeping into literally every aspect of our lives? I know we have a national crisis virtually every ten minutes, and Barry ‘the Messiah’ Obama can easily turn waterboard into whine. But come on!! Does this guy ever sleep? Every day I awaken to a new ‘program’ of the President’s that is going to ‘take care’ of us and ‘protect’ us from some new crisis. And as anyone knows who has been paying attention the past fifty years or so (All right, I’ve only been paying attention the last thirty years, but I read history.)…every new government program costs us each dearly in the form of higher taxes, greater debt and reduces Liberty in the form of new laws, regulations and restricted freedoms.
President Obama, when commenting upon his administration’s first four months, was quoted as saying, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”
Sadly…I believe him.
So here we are, with yet another department of the government, the ‘Cyber-Czar’, created to deal with some supposed crisis. No doubt this new department will expand into something which sounds sooo legitimate and necessary, and of course, end up bloated, ineffectual, and unnecessary. It’ll be called something snappy and officious like the “Department of Digital Communication and Internet Commerce Regulation”. Or maybe Obama calls an audible and it’s a play-action pitchout to Pelosi: the “Congressional Cyber-Resource and Digital Oversight Committee”. Hundreds of millions, maybe billions of dollars will soon be allocated to ‘serve’ the American public by overseeing, monitoring, regulating, and oh yes, taxing all Internet activity.
For you Doubting Thomas’s…I remind you of the President’s own words today: “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
But there’s certainly nothing to worry about; it’s all just to keep us safe, dontcha know. I’m reminded of a certain clandestine group of Italian origin that used to approach businesses, and entreaty the proprietors to pay them monthly for ‘security’. When the business owner refused to pay, they lost a window, were beaten up, or had their store mysteriously burn to the ground. The message was clear: Let us ‘protect’ you. Pay up…or else.
Some of you may say I’m nuts. The government would never try to move in and start taxing something we already get for free. But consider this: You already pay an Internet provider. Fifteen to twenty, to thirty bucks a month, right? Or it’s packaged with your HD entertainment package … Verizon … Comcast … whatever? The government can simply start taxing them. Then, out of necessity, they pass this charge along to you in the form of higher monthly ‘fees’. Comb through your Internet bill, they’re probably already doing it now. (If you can decipher their gov-speak codes.) Another thing: A lot of Internet purchases, if out of state, are tax-free. Look for that practice to end soon. Remember the government credo: If money is being passed around, get your cut – tax it. If something is being exchanged, tax it. If people are living their lives, tax them, the greedy bastards. If it moves, walks or crawls, tax it, tax it some more, turn around, do the hokey pokey and tax the living hell out of it. And that’s what it’s all about.
But we’ll rest easy because Barack Obama is looking out for us.
I hate to rock the happy collectivist boat, but none of that helps me sleep easy at night. In fact I am growing increasingly more and more angry at how swiftly this new bunch of legislators, headed up by the Big-O himself, is spreading its ever-encroaching tentacles into our daily lives. It seems less and less a distant can’t-happen-here fiction of having government-mandated ‘security’ cameras in every room, monitoring our private lives…for subsequent prosecution of hate speech and insurrection, lest we not align ourselves to the fashionably and politically correct.
Is it really such a stretch from ‘hate speech’ to thought police?
The Leftists’ unforgivably naïve dream of the nanny state, womb-to-tomb coddling and ‘caring’ utopia is daily becoming a clear and present danger/reality. The land of the free and home of the brave will soon become a fondly-remembered anecdote, unless citizens who love freedom and honor our Constitution stand up and fight to stop its systematic disembowelment.
But I’m probably just being paranoid.
The President said today in the Washington Post: “Our pursuit of cyber security will not — I repeat, will not include — monitoring private networks or Internet traffic.” So what would a right-wing Conservative like me ever have to fear from the Obama administration? Even if I don’t ‘get my mind right’? Nothing, I’m sure. After all, these are ‘historic times…of transformational moments’.
What’s that sound? Can you hear that? Is that a helicopter circling?
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118 Comments
[...] So naturally, they’re going to want to tax it. May 29th, 2009 | Tags: Big Hollywood | Category: Commentary | Leave a comment [...]
Gary I don't think you are being paranoid at all!
O.k. elaborating on my other comment just a wee bit, I think there have been too many instances in which this administration or it's operatives have shown a genuine desire to stifle opposition that how could you not be just a little paranoid and think he will try and find a way to control the net to achieve his ends.
I believe that eventually the internet will earn a reputation as a necessary evil. Mr Obama's unnecessary and enhanced attempts, as well intended as they may be, to control it or manage the it or secure it up will only result in greater 'underground' and rebellious behavior. Perfection isn't possible. This will no doubt waste more time and money and distract the existing cyber organizations from their assigned tasks. Mr Obama needs to learn that more isn't necessarily better and doesn't enhance the nation's constitutionally given freedoms. Taken to the extreme, his overreaching may be seen by some as an attack upon the country.
Heck Gary, taxing would be the least of my worries. With the MSM now either running interference for the Won, or developing journalistic Alzheimer's regarding issues of 'transparency' and stopping 'unchecked Executive Branch power', blogs like Big Hollywood, Hot Air, Power Line etc, seem to be the only ones writing about this Administration's disasterous policies and political manipulation of areas the MSM often and loudly declared as 'exempt' from political influence' .
DHS' redefinition of who is a 'terrorist' (Or is that 'man-caused disaster-maker') makes it clear that the unconfirmed and autonomous 'cyber-czar' will act to either cut off access to these sites, or run those who contribute to them through an expensive legal or bureaucratic process.
From a legal standpoint, I hate this whole czar thing. I see it as unconstitutional and as dangerous. And strangely, Robert Byrd agrees with me and I don't know how I feel about that.
Congress makes the laws in this country, not the Executive. But by appointing a czar to "work" with "industry leaders," Obama is effectively making laws in secret. Rather than going through the legislative process, out in the open for all to see, he's using pressure (i.e. threat to withhold funds) to get these industries to self-regulate. And he's doing it without oversite and in one-on-one meetings.
That's a violation of the separation of powers and of due process of law. That's also how you end up with Republican car dealerships being dumped by Chrysler.
Great comments, Gary. This was the first thing I heard about this morning and it was and is chilling. I'd rather rely on private industry to solve and continue to solve internet security issues. It won't be long before these private companies are seized by the government as if we were in Hugo's Venezuela. We kind of are.
Smoke and mirrors. The next thing this lummox will come up with is a Czar Czar to keep track of all the czars. Will Goverment Motors first vehicle be a Czar Czar's car? That's how stupid Present Incompetent and his lineup of loonies are getting. They can't even keep track of Bumblinbiden, you think they can keep track of our computers?
Cyber-Czar. Are you friggin' kidding me?
Cyber-Czar my Italian Irish American MFing ass.
That which the gummint can't tax by going through the front door, it will tax by going through the back door. And control from DC is good for you, don't you know? As for Obama not monitoring internet messages, has he ever given us any reason not to believe his every word? Don't answer that question.
And when he's not acting in place of the legislature, there's that other little thing he must have overlooked in his Harvard law classes–unlawful delegation of executive power.
If a Cyber Czar gives you a thrill up your leg, you must be visiting those ".gov" sites again.
By refering to the internet as a digital infrastructure now, when the next presidential election cycle comes around, Himself can say he poured billions into our infrastructure– conveniently leaving off the "digital" part. When this announcement is long forgotten and people hear the word "infrastructure" in three and a half years, they'll think of highways and bridges. This is a clever way he can throw dollars at electrons without actually accomplishing anything. And (some) people will say "he's done so much".
Of course, they have to regulate the 'net. It's one of the last truly free things we have. Freedom is an affront to Obama's sensibilities. There is nothing this country possesses that will be allowed to remain beyond his control. It's bad enough that some of the citizens won't bow down and serve.
I get a tingle at ".gov" sites too. . . I feel it in my wallet.
Carefully Jimmy or he's going to propose a "Jimmy-Czar" to correct that "uncooperative" attitude of yours!
TOTUS: "Um. . . uh, delegation of what? Um. . ., uh. . . never heard of that. Listen. . . I won. I can do what I. . . uh want."
All joking aside, this is Hopey reaching out to strangle another medium of dissent.
I intend to confront my legislators face-to-face in their offices on some pretext of looking for Auntie Fascist's Social Security check, and tell them directly to their face in no uncertain terms that we will do everything we can legally do to insure that they will never seat themselves again there for their entire lifetimes if they continue to support this bonehead.
With the passing of the ridiculous spending bill, you know the immediate concern was how to pay for it and in Obama's language that means what can we tax?. This is just a taste of things to come I fear.
And "waterboarding to whine" is just awesome. I plan on spreading that one around as much as possible…
At that moment in time I will have truly arrived.
Bring it on!
MugabeObama sure loves those Czars. Even Pravda is mocking how fast we're adopting Marxist tactics.I just hope the backlash starts before he gets away with much more.
Gary, your articles keep getting better. Now let me say something bad about Obama <MESSAGE INTERRUPTED…
THIS IS THE CYBER POLICE. THIS MESSAGE REPRESENTS A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER TO OBAMATOPIA. IT HAS BEEN PURGED OF ALL SLANDEROUS UNTRUTH AND UNTHINK ABOUT OUR GREAT LEADER OBAMA THE ALL-MERCIFUL.
OBAMA IS GREAT. OBAMA IS KIND. YOU MAY PROCEED WITH YOUR TIME-KILLING EXERCISE…
MESSAGE CONTINUED> and that's all I've got to say about that. Wait a second. There's some flashlight shin.asoicnasoins afaq caeraera
Has anyone else noticed besides me that Gary Graham's, 'Transformational Moment/Cyber Czar' article is sandwiched right between John Nolte's 'Drag Me to Hell' review and Big Hollywood's 'Up' Open Thread?
Kind of stuck between heaven and hell.
When I get like this I know it's time to hit the hay.
Nighty night.
obama and his administration are paranoid and rightly so. They KNOW that the American people are not happy with what they're doing, so what are they going to do about it, why they're going to spy on them that's what they're going to do. They want to be in every aspect of our lives, they want to know who the dissenters are, who makes contributions to them and who doesn't, who owns guns, who doesn't, who gripes about obama on blogs and who doesn't. Oh yea, this is big brother at its WORST and you know it's bad when Russia is noticing.
American capitalism gone with a whimper:
http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/10745...
However I do have to disagree with that whimper part though.
Look Andrew your post as usual is well thought out and well reasoned but you are just not getting the PC talking points that might make your arguments listened to by the Omamanauts.
He said Czar and that is sexist and mysogynist. Why are there no Czarina's huh………….
And how many of these Czar's are old white men anyways. Obama could get in big trouble for this…..
Is that billions real billions or virtual eBillions ala South Park
Brothers and sisters this is essentially the beginning of the end of free expression. The leftists will punish those who speak out against them….Had a run in with the Arizona Clean Elections Committee because I had the audacity to put up a website against (then governor) Janet Napolitano last election. Punitive taxation will seem trivial to what they are poised to do to someone like me….I have bumperstickers, I attend rally's, I write political commentary, I write to politicians, and I have my website. The Czar is going to have a field day on me…I'm little surprised DHLS Crappy Nappy already hasn't.
I didn't serve my country to sit silently as the leftists heard the sheeple to forge this newly failed revision of communist utopia.
As the march over our lives continues, I noticed one horribly sad thing. I am not even surprised by what they are doing anymore, even though each new day brings things that should be putting me into some sort of mild shock with their glaring parallels to the procedure so many countries in the past (and currently) do to maintain power and keep the stranglehold on their people.
This must not happen.
But that's the falicy of liberalism. More is better! And if THE ONE's involvement doesn't correct the problems, AND IT WON'T! He'll just think that what is needed is MORE INVOLVEMENT!
Cause our President thinks he's the answer, it's just a question of how much of the ONE is needed.
he sure knew how to play the internet during his campaign, huh? Now that he won, the shades go on and it's only a place where mean ol' Republicans are getting TOO MUCH REAL news, not just news his propoganda-media department's churning out. And, of course, there's no Robt Gibbs through which to FILTER the 'news'.
I have way too many friends still wearing those shades……..
"That's also how you end up with Republican car dealerships being dumped by Chrysler. "
I was going to mention that very thing.
And with government taking over the banks, you think they won't take a glance over at your voter registration when deciding whether to approve that loan – or work with you on that mortgage?
SgtTank beat me to it Gary, but you DO want to check out <a href="http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/10745…” target=”_blank”>http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/10745… The headline says: "American capitalism gone with a whimper."
Let me quote for you the first paragraph:
It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.
No honey, you are NOT paranoid!
SgtTank beat me to it Gary, but you DO want to check out http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/10745... The headline says: "American capitalism gone with a whimper."
Let me quote for you the first paragraph:
It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.
No honey, you are NOT paranoid!
BO has not provided transparency on the web… as he promised.
Great read again Gary. Wow, the Barry is the one we’ve been waiting for, barf. For 40 years this has been promised, now here it is ‘60s radicalism in full regalia. I have a half dozen business associates and friends that didn’t bother voting at the last election, and these people are some of the ones groaning the loudest in disbelief and horror at this monstrosity of an administration. The apathy is gone now, and is being replaced with anger. This energy we are all feeling, needs to be funneled into to the rapture of 2010, a conservative sweep. We all must remember that elections have consequences and get our a$$es to the polls. Between now and Fall 2010 burn up the emails and phone calls to your representatives with a hearty, Hell No! I see it as an opportunity to sweep the field of our stupid ‘60s radicals once and for all, they’re exposed now an can easily be beat, 2010, 2010, 2010!
Gary,
“Even paranoids have real enemies from time to time.”
I’m with you bud.
I haven’t “commented" here at BH for awhile because I’ve been busy putting my “money where my mouth is”, sorta speak.
I haven’t just been sitting back and waiting for the “other Obama shoe” to fall every day, but trying in my own small way to educate and agitate the “other side.”
As proof of my commitment to liberty and free speech, (while it lasts), I put together a,
“Assault Weapons” A Pop Quiz for Liberals…short vid. ➜ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H1ipU3J8hA
“CyberCzar” my a$$.
Janet Napolitano I’m your guy honey.
That midnight train to socialist hell…well, she is acommin’ my friends…what are YOU going to do about it when it pulls up to your platform?
Not Over.
Italian-Irish? Is that an officially recognized ethnic group? Shouldn't You be on the Supreme Court? Are you protected by hate laws? Can Italians and Irish marry now in California?
I have it on good authority that Pinnochio has retained Dewy, Cheatum, & Howe, and is going to sue Barry for Copyright infringement, and Defamation. As the reining king of the prevaricators Pinnochio feels he has no choice as it has been reported that Barry is considering nose augmentation, “this is unacceptable!” Barry couldn’t be reached for comment, but Grubby Dewy, Pinnochio’s lead counsel played an ominous message left presumably by Barry, “I got no strings to tie me down,” bwha…hahaha…bwhahahahaha… Folks this is gonna get nasty!
When Roberty Byrd is involved, that guarantees that he is being lobbied by someone. Don't forget that there is a big dollar issue here that is bubbling under the table. Net Neutrality. When you enter a phrase in a search engine, who has the right to decide what list of links you see? The Search Engine provider (ie..Google, Yahoo, Excite) or your ISP (Time-Warner, Comcast, etc.).
Deciding what content (ads, links, etc.) you see during a search is worth mega-bucks.
This dog-fight will guarantee that beaucoup dollars are flowing from lobbyists to Evil Bastards (Congress).
No doubt this also means more taxpayer-funded summits at five-star hotels and mountains of paperwork that no one will ever read. I smell more taxes. And less freedom.
I used to know a libertarian ham-radio operator who told me that there was a plan in place to keep the internet running via ham-radio when the facists take over the wired system..
We now have 17 or 18 czars – is that weird or what? Heard a while ago that appointing them as czars rather than as secretaries (eg, members of his administration, cabinet) allows this administration to bypass the congress in confirming these so called administrators of things that we have no control over. Bigger government, bigger paychecks of our tax dollars – is this what the people want? Don't think so!
Although appointing yet another Czar, I believe President Obama will not be able to control the internet; however, given his messiah complex & his narcissism, he will try his best. Controlling the internet will be much the same a spreading particles in the atmosphere to control the so-called "global warming."
"That seems to be President Obama’s answer to everything – more centralized power. Run everything through Washington, D.C."
We elected a neo-Marxist, so why are we surprised?
The propaganda media (bless their little RED hearts) have managed to conceal the fact that Obama's mindset is distinctly African, not African-American and certainly not American. Africans tend to favor Marxist government. I can't think of an African nation that is not Marxist. If anyone out there can, enlighten me.
Look at the facts:
Though reared in Hawaii by what apparently were loving white grandparents, Obama's focus was his KENYAN father. This is not unusual for abandoned children — even adopted children reared in loving adoptive families. Almost all go in search of their "real" (read birth) parents . Blood IS thicker than water (and adoption and abandonment and rejection). Furthermore, from what I understand about psychology (admittedly limited — it's a really boring subject) children who are abused or abandoned tend to seek out the abuser/abandoner. Obama's search for his father seen in that light is not unusual in his situation.
In Hawaii, his mentor and role model was a black communist not his white grandfather. This during his most formative years.
By his own admission in college and law school, he sought out Marxists.
When he moved to Chicago, he sought out a former terrorist (Bill Ayers) who, but for a technicality would have been in prison for murder.
and
Joined an Afro-Centric Church where he sat for twenty years listening to anti-Semitic and anti-white screeds by Reverend Wright, a man who made excuses for the perpetrators of 9-11 ("chickens come home to roost") and who supported Louis Farrakhan.
He married a woman who, by her own admission, was filled with resentment toward the nation that affirmative actioned her into Princeton.
He told Joe the Plumber EXACTLY what he meant to do. The propaganda media (bless their little red hearts)
attacked Joe the Plumber.
He told WE THE PEOPLE exactly what he meant to do paraphrasing Marx's "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" into "I want to tax those who prospered in the past and give it to those who earned it" meaning the unions and minorities.
Weren't we listening? The truth is, Obama is the most truthful politician in most of our lifetimes. We just didn't believe him when he told us EXACTLY what he was going to do. And now he's doing it, we're surprised? Cyberspace is just the beginning. It isn't about taxing cyberspace or protecting cyberspace, it's about controlling cyberspace ala the Chinese and Cuba and any other dictatorial government.
Everyone is howling over losing American prosperity through onerous taxation — that's just the plot. The subplot is that we're losing our liberty. And once that is gone, it's gone.
What Obama is doing is not unique. We are simply making the mistake of comparing Obamism to Euro-Socialism and/or Russian Communism. It is neither.
What Obamism most resembles is what happened in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and South Africa, a transfer of wealth from the "oppressor class" to the "oppressed". Obama decides who is oppressed. Right now it's unions, Hispanics and minorities. (Gays, it looks like you're under the bus with Grandma).
Before the Lefty trolls start flaming me, let me state flat out that Obamism has an argument so far as African Americans are concerned. Slavery was wrong, segregation was wrong. Perhaps forty years of integration and a generation of affirmative action which some see as reverse discrimination has not made up for the wrongs of our forefathers. Perhaps the wrongs of our forefathers can NEVER be made up for. If that's the case, SAY SO. Come right out and tell white America that we are always going to have to atone for slavery and "apartheid". It is a conversation we need to have. We cannot keep pretending that this can be fixed if, in fact, it cannot be.
So far as Hispanics and unions, Obamism has less of an argument. Unions were necessary at the beginning of the twentieth century. In that hundred years, however, their leadership became as powerful and oppressive as "management". This, likewise, fits with Marxism (the dictatorship of the Proletariat).
So far as Hispanics go, nobody discriminates against LEGAL Hispanics — that's a bogey issue. if Icelanders wee sneaking across our borders illegally, we'd be just as critical of them. Unfortunately, the propaganda media censors that view and Hispanics are being corralled onto the Obama Plantation just like the rest of the Lefty 'base".
And that Czar Czar already is Czar Barack Obama…President, Czar – potato, potahto
In case yall haven't noticed, we have been sliding towards socialism for the last 100 years.. Are you now just waking up and smelling the roses? Does "Social Security" ring a bell? When the "Patriot Act" was passed and gutted our constitution, where were you? If you think this is just an Obama phenom, you've been hiding your head in the sand too long. The 3 percent of our population that controls the 80 percent of our nations wealth run this country. If you think this country runs like they said in does in our civic books in school, then you better take a reality check. Money talks, and b******t walks.
I hear they are remaking Red Dawn. So I gotta be wondering who the heck are the bad guys. Then it comes to me: its the FEDS. They already IDed us in "Homeland Security" as domestic terrorists for not be loyal to those in power. Now we even got a Czar around every corner. So in this movie, we aren't invaded, because the Commies are already here. But in the end, our butts are saved because the Russians invade and help us win back our liberty. Thanks, Ivan!
The fact that Obama uses the word czar so often is pretty much all you need to know.
I am with you on this. If the Moca thinks we are all going to just lie down and have him run over us ……..
Bureaucracy, is one of the biggest problems with Government, these people have control over our lives, they were not elected to anything. Here in Mo. we have part-time elected Mayors, with an appointed City Administrator doing all the work, planning and policy. Then we have appointed Chief of Police instead of elected. They are all very insulated from the public and voters, it just ain't right. We need accountability to the voter and taxpayer. I could list a host of others such as the DOR, DMV and EPA but, you get the point
Cass Sunstein Shouldn't be allowed to roam the streets for fear of public safety, let alone be hired by the Obama Administration as the new cyber czar.
I put my trust in companies like Symantec, Cisco, Microsoft, Apple, and [my ISP], for providing me with cyber security, because they are perfectly capable of doing their job. I do not, however, trust the government to secure the internet, because I know the only thing they are capable of doing to the internet is screwing it up.
Before we can get a conservative sweep, we need to get conservatives in place to run. The GOP is doing their best to keep that from happening. They want their power as much the Dems. Real people of principle need to organize and fight at the very bottom level to make that not happen. People need to target the real conservatives and run them and back them despite the GOP if we must.
The problem is that the textbook sdon't teach how our country runs or even how our country should run. Most people never get taught the truth about our Founding, our Founding documents, or the way things are supposed to be. As a result, most people are truly ignorant, but through no real fault of their own. Again, it's the government that has kept us in the dark. You have to be interested and curious on your own in finding out the way of things, and you have to be taught to start wondering why two and two in society seem to add up to three. Critical thinking is something else that our schools don't teach. Have you ever wondered why so many parents fight for the right to home-school their children?
Big Brotha is watching you!
This is only about the Internet that people see to the extent that it has to be monitored for covert activity that would damage the US – read Al Queida, Shining Path, New IRA etc., etc communicating over it.
That is only a tiny tiny part of "Cyber" and the least important. Go to any ATM and read the networks it connects to. Then VISA connects 22,000 member banks. Same for the other CC companies. E-tickets for air travel – SABRE. The network that flies Predators from Nellis AFB in Nevada to hit bad guys in Afghanistan. The US Navy with 250 some odd ships just said that can't hope to patrol the seas unless they "Own Cyberspace" – meaning data fusion of all their networks and knowing what happening on all the other networks that schedule and run ocean going ships. Then there are all the networks from central banks to reserve banks. Networks of parts suppliers that connect to companies like Government Motors to share design, financial, contract information – all the electronic drawings specs and so on that they build with.
Well you get it. "The Internet" and a few news stories and a few dirty pictures going around is the last thing that a Cyber Czar has to worry about or care about. How would you like them to do that instead of working on keeping your credit card solvent or stopping hackers from getting into the control loops for a predator and star shooting at our troops?
Cyber Czar is a silly little office boy title that covers up a huge issue of keeping all the military, NSA, CIA, banking, communication, airline, and all the other networks running and safe.
I don't give a damn if Obama does this or Clinton or Bush do this or name the department head a Cyber Dork – I just want the government to worry about it and do everything they can about it behind the scenes.
Obama will either hand it off to the control of the UN, (which will definitely put the clamps on any dissenting opinions) or intimidate Internet providers to hand over control to his commissar, er czar.
I am a teacher-high school economics and government and I take exception to the comment that our students don't get taught the Constitution. I take pride in the fact that the Constitution is what I focus on each year and I continually look for ways to have my students understand that the founding fathers didn't want a centralized/national government, but wanted a representative republic. I use examples from the news-MSM and online sites such as this and drudge-to highlight the fact that the liberties we were given at the founding of this country are slowly being eroded. I used the analogy of a frog in a pot of water. If you raise the temperature a little at a time eventually you will have frog soup and he will never have struggled to get out. This is what is happening to us, little by little the government takes a small piece of our liberty away(for the good of all), until we will have given over every aspect of our lives and we will never have struggled one bit. I remind my students daily that if you don't want to pay higher taxes, then quit asking the government to do things for you. Every time you ask them to take on some pet project, they have to find the funds for it and since government doesn't make any money of its own, they have to tax you. I am lucky in that for the most part my school district is conservative, but I would teach this way no matter what since it is the way I believe.
i was just thinking yesterday, "where's gary graham's article this week?" Another excellent piece. I sure hope someone out there is creating an underground alternate internet for when the big O decides to block all sites that may be a "threat to national security" (i.e. all sites that criticize, mock or do not worship him). I read the Pravda article as well – it's scary when the Russians make more sense than our current administration.
You're right, this is Chicago-Style politics at its worst: use public power to reward your friends and punish your enemies. Rule of law be damned.
Oh and we all KNOW just how much more important controling the internet is over todays issues. (sarcasm)
LOL! I'm sorry, I forgot to run my post through the PC filter. I should have said "Czar or Czarina or any combination thereof".
I read you article by the way, well done.
I'm with you on everything here but people can't look beyond general criticism of ILLEGAL immigration. If you criticize illegal immigration then you're obviously racist. If you point out that a black politician is corrupt then you're racist, if you're a white person who is being denigrated…well then too bad. That's todays mindset.
As for past transgressions on slavery? Well aren't these the people who yell the loudest that we should Move On?
You're right. Bureaucracy is a huge problem, particularly when it is given the power to make decisions, because bureaucrats are not responsive to the population.
One more thing about this "cyber czar" for cyber security..IMO this is just a ruse, a way to move onto the much bigger picture and that WOULD be controling the whole of the internet. This is just a very small step towards that goal.
It was very interesting how Obama tossed the phrase "New Neutrality" into his announcement, seemingly from out of the blue. I wonder where this is going to lead.
Then you should see why lib teachers teach the way they do too, and unfortunately there are far more lib teachers than conservative teachers.
Hands up from all of those who believe the government is not currently monitoring The Internet. Before voting be advised that you are on a right-wing extremist site as identified by it being frequented by those who either are or are likely to be recruited by right-wing extremists as shown by being war veterans and/or by expressing certain viewpoints such as being against the current Administration, pro-2nd Amendment, and/or pro-life etc. Commence voting.
Read this article:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.vi...
It explains why people are upset about the new cyber czar.
Somehow it will lead to money from the Internet companies getting fed to Democratic causes.
I'm sure. Keep in mind, most of the Silicon Valley bigshots were huge supporters of Obama.
Yet one can argue we actually need further isolation, let the career professionals do their work free of politics. We are seeing the effects of political appointees at the Justice Department, CIA and FBI, etc. Meanwhile the Treasury is a mess due to lack of qualified willing candidates of the correct affiliations. Let the heads alone be appointees, the Secretaries and equivalent. For the rest there should be a fair and consistent internal review mechanism based on written standards, ideally the process could be automated with employee appeals handled by people some distance away from their supervisor to minimize office politics. Then the heads can defend those standards before Congress and the people, open meetings with the proceedings and the standards published for public review.
I dislike this idea of un-appointed Czars who have decision-making authority, especially when equal to or exceeding the authority of appointed and confirmed heads of true federal agencies. And not just because people are spelling the term wrong. Perhaps it is a psychological slip as they are "Caesars" once ensconced.
Good point, AlistZ. The search engine is literally the Gate. And the Keeper of the Gate weilds large power indeed. With the huge funds borrowed, funneled…and unaccounted for… I see on the horizon an orgy of corruption the likes of which humanity has heretofore not experienced.
God help us.
As a wise man once said, "it's not paranoia if they are really out to get you."
And as my late daddy told me, "It's not paranoia, it's called smart thinking!"
Tansparency on anything else either. As it would seem.
With such great hopes as a computer for every family with complete nationwide high-speed internet access besides the computing needs of an expanded and further entrenched government, it would be a charge against capitalism to complain about Silicon Valley support. Since the economy was tanking anyway they needed someone who would pay for their products.
Money from internet companies in the form of paid taxes is already going to Democratic causes since enacting the great emergency Stimulus Bil besides existing entitlements. Given the Administration's habit of biting the hand that elected them and forcing the bitten to like it, I would not be surprised to see new internet taxes going to a "computers and high-speed for all" initiative. Which would be implemented by community organizations. It is all for the kiddies therefore there will be no complaints, unless you want to be seen as against the education of the poor and disadvantaged minorities.
Nice….
From the ridiculous…to the sublime.
Thanks, Stan, for the LOL.
You notice that the lefties that normally sit out there and cry and whine about George Bush was taking their rights away and how the chill wind was blowing across the land aren't saying anything about any of this. There are "ministers" or "czars" now in this administration that are overseeing a number of things. I don't see the end at the internet czar. I too did see where Pravda (interchange MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN as our Pravdas) did say that we're headed to Marxism at an alarming rate, just as James noted. Who else would know better than them? Obama's playing like he doesn't want to run industry or banking as a selling point, but isn't pushing that aside when the government has a chance to step in. He's all to happy to take over another segment. As is with this Marxist congress. Nancy "Sweet Buns" Pelosi was talking the other day about intruding into peoples lives for saving the planet. This IS truly a chill wind. Where are you freedom loving liberals out there?
"And "waterboarding to whine" is just awesome. I plan on spreading that one around as much as possible… "
Just spell my name right.
I find all this talk about czars incredibly sexist. Where is the empathetic czarina?
Does Obamawan make this (Insert proper colorful metaphor) up out of the air? Where does he pull this (insert another proper colorful metaphor here) stuff out of..oh wait…don't tell me…I have a fragile little mind..Yeah we know another crisis. What color is the sky in Obama's world?
Czar czar…HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!
You are sending a mixed message here. You are complaining about socialism while complaining about the concentration of wealth. Money itself is not the problem, it is the concentration of political power to a few in a system fueled by money gathered from those expecting favors. The wealthy are not even much a part of that due to campaign donation limits.
To fix the system, reduce the maximum individual limits, disallow the "bundling" of contributions to support a particular cause, set a limit on the total amount that individuals can give to all PAC's and related combined, and allow only individuals to contribute. That will take much of the money out of elections allowing in more candidates who eschew political favoritism. Candidates will then have funding attached to no particular cause that they can consider a referendum of their views. 1st Amendment rights will still be supported as organizations are free to run ads, however the money spent on them must come from individual donations and not from the organization themselves, preventing unions etc from flooding the media with ads to effectively silence their opposition. Candidates will then have to appeal to the greatest number of citizens possible to run a campaign thus democracy will be served from start to finish.
Dear God, this loony is an absolute moron.
Will this overseer of overseers be named Gabor?
BO is the type of guy who might work at a fast food place and have to keep stopping to look at the monitor repeatedly to see what the order was. Sadly, we cant call 911 when we dont get fries with our happy meal.
The next thing to do is to make sure you are teaching yout children. Get involved make sure they now what you know. I believe that they can be our next great leaders. Read "The Fourth Turning".
Absolutely right! Campaign finance reform and term limits are two of the most important things needed in government reform. Unfortunately it will never happen, because the groups that have to make and pass the legislation to enact these items will never do it.
The Rapture may commence so One World Order can escalate.
I just read about it the other day, and it's to be the Chinese.
Sorry but I cannot support term limits. I know of good people who are career elected politicians and you need only look to the White House to see the perils of inexperience. The problem is cronyism and campaign finance reform will take care of most of that. The implementation of term limits is also problematic. The legislation will likely specify not a lifetime limit but of consecutive terms which will lead to the revolving door we see with administration figures, so many years in, peddle influence for lobbyists and think tanks for awhile, then back in. A better solution would be that if someone leaves Congress they must stay out for a fixed time, say ten years. That is long enough for influence to wane and connections to grow stale, as well as to get established in another career to pay the bills. If they still want back in after that long when they will be essentially running as a newcomer, it may be presumed they really do want to serve the public.
Congressional term limits will require a Constitutional Amendment as read here. If Congress is unwilling to approve the proposal by a 2/3 majority then as provided for in Article Five 2/3 of the state legislatures may vote for a constitutional convention to have it added. Historically when the state legislatures start voting for it is when the Congress will cave in so they can control the language. Calling your state representatives would seem your best shot at getting US Congressional term limits.
IMHO we already have too much of the ONE. A very little of him goes a long way.
I agree totally!! I'd say our country has one chance to turn things around, and that will be the 2010 elections. If the Democrats maintain control of Congress after that election, then the good old USA will be screwed beyond repair. I'm afraid that a certain segment of our population has been so totally "mind-controlled" by the Leftist/Greenies that they will agree to anything, and think that everything Obama does is just fine. Then of course there is the other segment of the population that vote for the Democrats because they want the hand-outs that the Dems provide. But fortunately for the good old US of A, I also believe that a fairly large segment of the Obama voters are just now waking the eff up and realizing, "Oh my God, what did I do when I voted for Obama!?!?!" What percentage would that be? 30% of those that voted for O? 40%? I think it's big, whatever the percentage is.
Cause those hollywood lefties are sure that they'll be exempted from THE ONE's new net rules. The second Tim Robbins gets censored by the Obama adminitstation's Net Czar, he's gonna start thinking. Too bad he'll just play along.
I wish I could be as optimistic as Frosty here, but I don't see how we're going to get the toothpaste back into the tube.
1. The ongoing recession and resultant job loss have people on edge, not only financially but emotionally.
And, by the way, the recession really kicked in in June of 2008 the day after Obama snagged the Dem nomination from Hillary. I suspect that's when capital grabbed their bucks and headed offshore.
2. ACORN. There just aren't enough living Americans not on the dole to overcome living Americans on the dole and the dead guys who always vote Democratic. Throw in that Obama's justice dept. just threw out the case against the thugs intimidating voters with billy sticks to prevent them from voting, and you have a banana republic election. Jimmy Carter would approve.
3. Soros, Gates, Buffett and other multibillionaires who won't be asked to participate in the classlessness.
They'll keep funding Obama because whatever he does won't affect them. The Americans who fund Republicans are being hammered by the recession. Republicans depend on small donors; small donors don't have the money.
4. The Propaganda media (they are worth at least 10 points in any election).
The American Bolsheviks were smart. They understood they could not take this country over with a shooting revolution–Americans shoot back–so they went about it incrementally.
First the bureaucracy in the forties (McCarthy was right; there were commies in the government. Henry Wallace, Roosevelt's VP was one. Had Roosevelt not dumped him for HST, we'd have had an elected communist sympathizer as president in 1945). I still don't know how we got out of that pickle.
Once the Left had the bureaucracy, they moved on to the media. Anybody think the anti-Vietnam movement would have happened without the media driving the people into a frenzy? The sixties flower children graduated college, went to grad school and then got professorships in the universities.
Elections gave the Left the House for forty years and the Senate for most of the 20th century. Isn't it interesting that the Socialists no longer bother to field a candidate. Why should they when the Dems' platform is the same as theirs?
Now they have the whole ball of wax: Bureaucracy, Media (propaganda), Education (brainwashing), Senate, House, Judiciary and Presidency. It took sixty years (about as long as the Soviet Union lasted) but here we are. I don't see it going away until America sinks under it's own weight and debt (happening as we sit here typing and reading. How many trillions we don't have has Obama spent?)
I see the "Blue Dog" Democrats as our only hope. If they wake up and realize what's happening to America, they can stop the ship from hitting the iceberg. Otherwise, we're all in the drink.
The first priority of an invasion is to cut the opponents lines of communication.
I've been waiting for this move by Obama for quite some time now.
By the way, look up the word "dystopia". That's what the U.S. is rapidly becoming..
Very true.
Our founding fathers looked at public service as a short term commitment, you serve your time and then go back to private life. Your idea of limited consecutive years with a time limited hiatus is interesting plan, it will solve the problem of the career politicians. It would also allow them to reconnect with the people they are supposed to represent, which is something most politicians do not do now.
As far as state legislatures voting for a constitutional amendment, they are just as vested in the current system as the federal legislatures, so they would be reluctant to propose something that will eventually come back to them.
I will say one thing for brother Obama, his love of big government doesn't exclude anyone. This bigger government effort will require billions be poured into the military-intelligence-security complex. Eisenhower warned against the military-industrial complex and Obama seems to be overrreaching in the same direction.
all this reminds me of the Rabbi's blessing for the Czar in "Fiddler on the Roof":
My the lord bless and keep the Czar… Keep him far away from us!
There's no whimper at our house! There's outrage, there's plans being made for 2010/12 that fall into the "You're Fired!" category, and die hard dedication 'viva le Constitution!'!! And no whimpering allowed.
Demolish the platform!
Hmm, sounds like Southland Tales…
Can you imagine the MSM reaction if George Bush tried to install a Internet Czar?
Nothing surprises me. In fact, and to be fair, some liberal Democrats are very open about their plans to control the internet. This is the anti-free speech party remember.
[...] With Obama’s admin now having more “czars” than Russia has had combined in their entire existance, why not add another? The Cyber Security Czar. It’s now clear this cyber threat is one of the most serious economic [...]
I believe the Obamatons have a two-pronged attack in mind- disruption of communications and another source of taxation. But the main goal is as you say- cutting lines of communication. First cripple talk radio, then have all your checks in place to stop us from using the web as an alternate source. China already has an intricate web-monitoring system in place. I'm sure that POTUS is currently figuring out how to adapt it for his own purposes.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/05...
I wonder if this was sparked by the Tea Parties. The msm wouldn't give them really the time of day, and when they did it was to try and make them seem like a kkk rally.
The only way the parties had an opportunity to organize, evolve and grow is because of the internet.
Could be something. Could be nothing. Just an observation.
President Obama is fond of his Czars; he as 20 of them to date.
Thank you I am really enjoying creating the posts.
By the By please check out Latina Freedom Fighter on You Tube. She ends her videos by saying the Revolution continues ….. She means the Reagan Revolution.
It's Great. There is a link at Sherman's March.
http://shermansmarch.blogspot.com/
Wow, you touched on an interesting tid bit that I had to go back and read again. Africans prefer to rule using a marxist model, show me one that's not corrupt. Not your exact words but…stick with me.
Let us dare to take the next step. Show me one country that is governed by an african/black man that is not a third world, destitute, flies in their eyes, bonified sh!t hole. The truth hurts.
Am I a racist now? Or just a bigot and a fool?
It hurts, make it stop!!!
Joy
+1 for teaching he Constitution
Excellent column, Mr. Graham. Thank you for addressing this most recent harrowing development.
Joy…. You are my hero.
Sgt. Tank… With all due respect…I believe that control over the internet, if implemented is one of the BIGGEST issues of the day. It would control information…press…commerce….and it would spell the end to electronic free speech. It would be a way to electronically snoop on citizens for ANY provocation, real or imagined. No small deal, if you think about it. It's a very serious prospect to me, especially since i would be considered an enemy of the state with this bunch. Janet Napolitano has already stated as much.
I totally agree Gary..I was being sarcastic about the administrations attention to the internet, not yours.
[...] Czar Doesn’t Really Know All That Is in Energy Cap-and-Trade Tax Bill Gary Graham, Big Hollywood: Another ‘Transformational Moment’ — The Cyber-Czar is Born! Fire Andrea Mitchell!: How many Czars does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Michelle Malkin: Alert: [...]
[...] Czar Doesn’t Really Know All That Is in Energy Cap-and-Trade Tax Bill Gary Graham, Big Hollywood: Another ‘Transformational Moment’ — The Cyber-Czar is Born! Tarheel Pundit: Here a Czar, There a Czar, Everywhere a Czar, Czar Fire Andrea Mitchell!: How many [...]
[...] Czar Doesn’t Really Know All That Is in Energy Cap-and-Trade Tax Bill Gary Graham, Big Hollywood: Another ‘Transformational Moment’ — The Cyber-Czar is Born! Tarheel Pundit: Here a Czar, There a Czar, Everywhere a Czar, Czar Fire Andrea Mitchell!: How many [...]
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