-Proposed Bill would give Obama control of... the Internet

From CNET news:

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." …

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.

And no, this isn't about terrorism either. No good intentions here.

In May, President Obama acknowledged that the government is "not as prepared" as it should be to respond to disruptions and announced that a new cybersecurity coordinator position would be created inside the White House staff. Three months later, that post remains empty, one top cybersecurity aide has quit, and some wags have begun to wonder why a government that receives failing marks on cybersecurity should be trusted to instruct the private sector what to do.

Let's just continue to watch as our freedoms and America is eroded away right before our eyes.

-ABC News poll asks "What do the Kennedys mean to you?"

What Do the Kennedys Mean to You?
Is there a single memory of a member of the Kennedy clan that sticks out in your mind? Do you think they are better known for their work in government, or as a wealthy and powerful family? And with the passing of Sen. Ted Kennedy, do you think another member of the family will emerge as its public leader? Tell us your thoughts...





There are sure to be more responses throughout the day, they are classic. Poor ABC.

-Give birth in a bathroom in Great Britain, thanks to government healthcare

One word: Change! The change from a comfortable hospital bed with caring professionals and people you love around you to to a public restroom, prying eyes, and excruciating pain!

The Daily Mall reports:

Thousands of women are having to give birth outside maternity wards because of a lack of midwives and hospital beds.

The lives of mothers and babies are being put at risk as births in locations ranging from lifts to toilets - even a caravan - went up 15 per cent last year to almost 4,000.

Health chiefs admit a lack of maternity beds is partly to blame for the crisis, with hundreds of women in labour being turned away from hospitals because they are full.

Latest figures show that over the past two years there were at least:

* 63 births in ambulances and 608 in transit to hospitals;

* 117 births in A&E departments, four in minor injury units and two in medical assessment areas;

* 115 births on other hospital wards and 36 in other unspecified areas including corridors;

* 399 in parts of maternity units other than labour beds, including postnatal and antenatal wards and reception areas.

Additionally, overstretched maternity units shut their doors to any more women in labour on 553 occasions last year.

Babies were born in offices, lifts, toilets and a caravan, according to the Freedom of Information data for 2007 and 2008 from 117 out of 147 trusts which provide maternity services.

h/t Bluegrass Pundit

-Ted Kennedy is dead

I was told never to speak ill of the dead, so I won't. Even though I desperately want to. Maybe I'll change my mind later, so people know the truth not just the media spin.

Ted Kennedy
1932-2009.

Mary Jo Kopechne was unavailable for comment.

-9/11 is now the "Day of National Service" according to Obama

As if you weren't disgusted enough with the Obama administration, here is a story that will make you cringe.

The Obama White House is behind a cynical, coldly calculated political effort to erase the meaning of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks from the American psyche and convert Sept. 11 into a day of leftist celebration and statist idolatry.

This effort to reshape the American psyche has nothing to do with healing the nation and everything to do with easing the nation along in the ongoing radical transformation of America that President Obama promised during last year's election campaign. The president signed into law a measure in April that designated Sept. 11 as a National Day of Service, but it's not likely many lawmakers thought this meant that day was going to be turned into a celebration of ethanol, carbon emission controls, and radical community organizing....

On the Aug. 11 call, Yearwood and other leaders kept saying repeatedly that they wanted 9/11 to be used for something "positive," "forward-leaning," and "productive," said a source with knowledge of the teleconference.

The plan is to turn a "day of fear" that helps Republicans into a day of activism called the National Day of Service that helps the left. In other words, nihilistic liberals are planning to drain 9/11 of all meaning.

"They think it needs to be taken back from the right," said the source. "They're taking that day and they're breaking it because it gives Republicans an advantage. To them, that day is a fearful day."...

-Czar Van Jones: Glenn Beck gets on board with Obama's communist czar

-Spokesclown Gibbs argues with Major Garrett over White House emails

Much more background on yet another frightening story at Bluegrass Pundit.

-America's Nation Parks: The new racist hotspots, according to ABC

Newsflash! The President is black, and won pretty handily. And political correctness aside, has anyone stopped to consider that black people may be *gasp* different than white people? Maybe black people don't want to visit a national park. Maybe white people generally like uppity activities like that. It's okay to speak in generalities when they are on point.

-Quote of the Day: Obama playing God again

"We are God's partners in matters of life and death"
~Barack Obama.

Source: Politico

-Cash for Clunkers: The debacle continues. Even Rep. Joe Sestak isn't happy.

Even liberal socialized healthcare pusher Rep. Joe Sestak realizes Cash for Clunkers is a stupid bureaucratic nightmare, and that is exactly what it has become.

The federal government has only reimbursed auto dealers for 2 percent of the claims they've submitted through the popular "cash for clunkers" program, a Pennsylvania congressman said, calling on the Obama administration to help speed up the process.

Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., called for "immediate action" to address the problem in a statement Sunday, after writing a letter to President Obama Saturday expressing his concerns.

In the letter, Sestak said only 2 percent of claims have been paid and that four of every five applications have been "rejected for minor oversight."

In recent days, auto dealers across the country have been complaining that the reimbursement payments are slow to process. And they said some of their applications were being rejected because of apparent procedural issues. The statistics Sestak cited suggest those complaints are not based on isolated incidents.

Wait wait wait... did I read that correctly? 2% of the claims have been paid out? Hurray for government efficiency! Let them handle healthcare! Aw hell let them give all of us auto insurance and houses too! After all, it isn't fair that only the rich get those fancy things. We are a much evolved and enlightened society and EVERYONE should have them right? Wait for it friends.