Posted on 07/19/2009 5:16:20 AM PDT by Kaslin
President Barack Obama wants to control the internet.
And if our President has his way, this website may soon be under legal attack from the White House.
Since the internet’s emergence in the private sector (it actually began in the public sector, through developments at the U.S. Department of Defense back in the 1960’s), officials in our U.S. Government have generally viewed the internet as a good and necessary thing.
In 1996, when former Sun Microsystems Officer John Gage began a movement to get high-tech companies involved in providing internet infrastructure for the world’s schools, libraries, and clinics, President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore marked the first ever “NetDay” celebration by traveling to Concord, California, and spending the day re-wiring a high school campus with computer cables.
Similarly, both President Clinton and President George W. Bush pushed for “every school in America” to be connected to the world wide web, and internet connectivity generally flourished around the globe under the leadership of both Presidents, and by both public and private funding means.
But today, things are different. After approximately seven months in office, President Obama controls, in varying degrees, General Motors, Chrysler, and a variety of financial services companies. He is seeking to control, among other things, the health care industry, the energy industry, and the amount of money that business executives are paid by their employers.
And now it appears that the President who ran the most successful, web-savvy political campaign in world history, wants to curtail what other people can do online.
Cass Sunstein, an American legal scholar and Harvard Law Professor, has been appointed by President Obama to head up the “White House Office Of Information And Regulatory Affairs.” His title is sufficiently broad and ambiguous, but he wields plenty of power. And with advance copies circulating of his new book “On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, What Can Be Done,” Americans who still care about their rights to “freedom of speech” should be paying close attention.
You owe it to yourself to review what has been reported in both the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal about Mr. Sunstein, and the ideas that he advances in his book. And while we don’t know precisely what Obama and Sunstein will be doing, many of the thoughts that Mr. Sunstein expresses about the internet seem consistent with President Obama’s proclivity to control things, generally.
Perhaps most disturbing is Mr. Sunstein’s vision for the future of web content, as he argues for a so-called “notice and take down” law. Under this provision, those who operate websites - - The Washington Post, radio stations, private bloggers, and perhaps even you, yourself -we would all be required “take down falsehoods upon notice” from the U.S. government.
And not only would the original content of websites be scrutinized by the government for “falsehoods,” website operators would also be held responsible for the content of “posts” created by the website’s visitors and readers. At first blush it may seem that, for a web operator to be held accountable for content generated by “posters,” is completely untenable. But that may very well be Mr. Sunstein’s goal - - to create an “untenable situation” for website operators - given his assertion that “a ‘chilling effect’ on those who would spread destructive falsehoods can be an excellent idea..”
But who shall determine what, exactly, is “true” and “false?” Mr. Sunstein laments the supposed “lie” that emerged during last year’s presidential race, that “Barack Obama pals around with terrorists.” Despite that fact that a friendship between Obama and known domestic terrorist William Ayers was something that both men acknowledged, Sunstein alludes to the notion that this was one of those “destructive falsehoods” of the sort that needs to be policed.
As I was recently talking about this matter on-air at Arizona’s NewsTalk 92-3 KTAR radio, a caller to the show observed that “there’s no way this could be legal, or constitutional..” Thoughtful Americans of all sorts will immediately view this situation through the lenses of constitutionally guaranteed rights.
But issues of “legality” don’t seem to matter, at times, with the Obama Administration. In March of this year, there was nothing illegal about executives of the AIG Corporation being paid bonuses that they earned from their employer, but they were harassed and publicly belittled, nonetheless. President Obama himself demonized them, while dozens of Obama supporters “demonstrated” in front of the private residences of the executives, alleging that it was “unfair” for those executives to be making “so much money.”
In a similar way, it appears that the Obama Administration may be ushering-in an era of harassment for website operators. Regardless of what U.S. courts may or may not say about this in the future, a “notice and take down” letter from the White House could have quite a “chilling effect” for today.
Control the Internet? I don’t trust the man to control his wife’s waredrobe, much less anyhing of value or concern to anyone else on the planet.
1984
They can take my keyboard from my dead cold hands.
And think of all the crap the left spewed about GWB over the years. The most ridiculous being: The George Bush weather machine that created Hurricane Katrina so as to destroy black people.
Unbelievable. We all knew this was coming though.
I have no doubt they are going to try this at some point and at that point people are going to have to join together to take drastic steps because it is officially a totalitarian state at that point. And it is bad enough already, but these people are fearing no consequences thus far until the ignorance of the public catches up to what they are in fact doing. Active dissent is needed. Palin is going to be needed with the audience she draws to speak out against what is going on here.
AMEN!
My daughter spent time teaching in China during the Schezchaun earthquake. Fortunately, she was nowhere near the quake, but the government tried to censor news of their incompetent handling by blocking certain websites. Friends and relatives got around it and communicated by posting blogs on websites which they hadn't thought to have blocked.
The young people in China are amazingly sophisticated about knowing how to do this, even with U.S. companies such as Google providing the government with the tools such as blocking software to control the information flow.
http://tinyurl.com/nfx2nq
I had trouble getting past the title, with its name for obama. No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President. I have never referred to the thug in our White House by any title higher than "former US Senator", nor will I until I see evidence that the November 2008 election was at least a lawful mistake by easily deluded voters.
As for a socialist tyrant controlling the Internet, I think the First Amendment is perfectly clear: Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. The liberals really do want a dictator with no limitations on their Dear Leader's power. As much as I loved Reagan and love Palin, I want my president (once we have a legitimate one) to follow the written words of a formal Constitution that places limits on the power government can exercise over our lives.
I know, but it is this arrogant, mealy-mouthed lying pos, who sits in the People’s House who does exactly what the left accused President Bush of doing’
The "Masters of our Universe" knows what is best for us proles.
Submit. Obey and take a long ride on your free Unicorn while you follow that rainbow.
They may just do that.
He can do whatever he wants and controls everything in this dimension (except for Michelle's mouth and her wardrobe choices).
All hail Emporer Obama!!!!
Fixed it.
Let me be clear. (he probably has a patent on this phrase) Obama is the least qualified, least equipped, least intelligent, least competent person that we have ever had at the helm of our country. Yet, he WILL be the one that causes the most "change."
Our country will be irreversibly changed thanks to this dumb-ass and his low-IQ supporters.
We'll not recover.
Bottom line: He will effectively be shutting down the gathering place for discussion of ideas that may oppose him. Let’s cut through all the fog and call it what it is. Reminds me of Christians who were reduced to using a fish symbol carved into the dirt before they could feel free enough to speak openly with a stranger.
In order to control the population, a dictator has to control the media. Free speech and free assembly are threats to any dictatorship. Chairman BO would be very comfortable as the president of North Korea, and he is using North Korea as his model, except it does not have the testicles to criticize democratic countries in a blatant way. Look how he has undercut Israel.
If Chairman BO remains in office for much longer, free speech as we know it will be no more. He will control not only the MSM, which he already controls, but radio and the Internet.
Any attempt by the government to control the internet in order to limit free speech between like minded people, no matter what the subject should be met with the same level of dissent as would be exhibited should they try to pry our guns from us.
Ain’t gonna happen.
That being said I suggest everyone of us, especially those who are technically minded should be considering what potential alternate technologies might be employed to circumvent such control should the Obamanazis strike.
He already controls the major TV stations....He even had the nerve to say it when he specifically mentioned Fox.
Just what did Obama do that was so "uber savvy"?.....
.....Taking a gazillion web donations by credit card under $200 with no donator ID taken?
Being shady and unscrupulous is not necessarily ground breaking or amazing. It just takes someone willing to do what is immoral or shady.
As for the "most successful" part, he would have won anyway with the guilty white racist vote.
With regard to "setting records" using the Internet for campaigns, since the Internet is relatively new, records will be broken every campaign for some time to come.....unless Obama does get control of the Internet. Then his records will be THE record.
All you need to know...
OH HELL NO!!!! AND BY THE WAY GET THE HELL OUT OF MY COUNTRY OBAMA GO BACK TO KENYA!
In addition to guns and ammo, better stock up on shortwave radios. I expect by 2012 the only place we will be able to get uncensored news is by shortwave broadcasts from overseas unless Obama seeks to jam those broadcasts. Our country is rapidly turning into East Germany and I expect our borders with Mexico and Canada may soon be fortified, but with the barbed wire designed to keep people in.
Many, family's have begged the media to take a story and expose corrupt, social services who are barging into people's homes, hospitals, schools, taking our children and falsifying incriminating evidence to take our children.
They are taking parents' constitutional rights away, selling the children for illegal adoptions never to be seen again!(child trafficking). They are pulling in enormous money for each child kid-jacked!
If you have children, please take heed and check this out! Your children are not yours they are goverment property!
The Internet is the only way these parents' can seek out to the public about this Federal funded racket!
Low income parents' don't stand a chance, as well as targeting the home-schooled, it pisses them off.
I pray that I can help get the attention on line before they steal away that privilege!
From my past post on FR it is obvious that I have a mission!
It may be too late. One can only hope we have a Brutus among his clique.
Should President Obama Control The Internet?
This is not satire.
Have posted with concerns about this many times on many threads previously. No one seemed to want to pay attention. Tinfoily and all that.
This administration has been moving us since DAY ONE at an extraordinarily rapid pace towards totalitarianism.
We are almost at the point of no return.
My question to Sunstein would be, who does Obama pal around with, sit on boards with,go to dinner with, hide videos of speeches with, fund with tax dollars or board aid, Or have in his administration that is not radical or hate America and what it stands for?
We knew this was coming. it is not a matter if obama should control the internet. Obama has czars in place to control cable news, talk radio and the internet. And they wrote books describing how it should be done. Obama hires those who have written books so he knows what he is getting.
I see Rahm and Axelrod sitting around with Obama, saying I read this book and you would not believe this guys radical communist ideas. Obama, get him on the phone. I will make him a offer he can't refuse.
Obama cannot end term limits and obama cannot be fraudulently elected 2012 and on if he does not control the conservative voice. There is only so much money to hand to ACORN for voter fraud and obama is spending like crazy and we are bankrupt. Obama will need to control what people are allowed to read and hear without illegal funding. When he does msm will be worse than they are now after looking at obama destroy freedom of speech evrywhere they will too scared to write the truth.
You have to wonder what MSM thinks when they see what obama is doing to our country. Do they ever worry about their children and grandchildren? Are they concerned their parents will be forced to accept death early or when obama says it is time?
Thought this thread was a bit relative to your posts this morning.
There’s one title that John S won’t be able to use. Reality is ahead of satire.
Control - his favorite thing.
What a wonderful CHANGE?!!
GTH!
Yes, thank you.
What someone posted on this thread earlier struck me.
There is no central control of the internet. It allows many millions of individuals to contact one another. Any controls would have to be instituted by ISPs - that is the bottleneck.
Such controls would be violations of the First Amendment and therefore unconstitutional. That doesn’t seem to faze the Obama Administration, as they’ve regularly abused our rights. So, I expect they will at least try to prevent the free and open exchange of ideas and information.
Funny that China claims it controls its internet yet they are world leaders in computer hacking.
if Obama tries to control the US part of the internet it will unleash a wave of hackers looking for every conceivable way to disrupt a government website.
is this fear stirring? trying to get attention to a subject that to me is not really important?
I hope he does, I mean it, that he really does a draconian gesture.
Not to mention all the garbage spewed in the past year about Sarah Palin and her family.
I wonder if we could catch Obama in a lie (not too difficult to do), would the government take down the crap on his White House website for being 'falsehoods.'
Ironically, (and historically), its the MSM who are first to be taken to the gulag in any totalitarian dictatorship. Guess they've not learned from history
“This is not satire.”
I know, LucyT...that’s what makes it so scary. BO doesn’t have one ounce of “funny” in his body.
He’s full speed ahead to socialism.
That’s what all the ammo purchases are for. Unlike Germany in the 30’s these Nazi’s are going to get a hell of a fight from us.
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