I've been reading blogs and forums on the i-net of late and have discovered several rather unlikely blogs (from republicrats, so-called lemmings, the like). I'm posting this woman's blog in full in the event that it's shutdown, much like my comparatively innocuous xanga blog had been shut down for posting a cartoon of The Head Chimp (taken from The NY Post, msm media paper no less), hopefully no one will mind too much, I think we are going to have to start archiving and keeping track of our writings offline as well as online in the near future.

September 8, 2009 by marieacole

S773 .. THANKS BUT NO THANKS…
[I am sure you know the story of the ostrich who buried his head in the sand and the world passed him by. If you can’t see the danger that exists to our nation and our government, even to our society as we know it, I will personally designate your new title “Ostrich.”

Normally, we would all be saying, “Something like what she says could never happen in America.” I would have agreed with you until I started seeing some of the other changes that have already been introduced to the American people in the form of dictates from a president who apologizes to foreign governments for the Democracy the American people hold dear.

I’ve seen him stand in a military “at-ease” posture while the Flag is presented and posted. No hand over his heart in salute to the Flag that represents our freedoms. No show of any sign of American pride at the playing of the National Anthem.

Yes, I do truly believe this kind of thing can happen in America. That is not to say that it definitely WILL happen.

However, for the first time in my life, I see the possibility and in all honesty, it frightens me. If I wanted to live in a Socialist or Communist country, I am free to denounce my American citizenship and move to some other part of the world. Instead, I see the Socialistic and Communistic threat to my own country, and I don’t like it at all.

I am aware that all of those who read my opinions don’t necessarily agree with me. I see the comments that are left that you never see; those calling me “stupid right-wing extremist” and other equally flattering names. I don’t even know how they found my blog, and it doesn’t really matter.

I will continue to be as positive as I can in thinking that if even one person is given pause to think that I might have made a viable point in something I wrote, I will have succeeded in doing what I set out to do when I started writing about this subject. My words are the only weapon I have to fight for my country, and I will do that for as long as I possibly can.

Here is the sixth edition in the series I call “WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON IN WASHINGTON, DC?” presented to you for your agreement or your ridicule. If any of the things I say do come to pass, please just remember

September 8, 2009 by marieacole

S773 .. THANKS BUT NO THANKS…

(S733 starts out innocuously enough:)

“To ensure the continued free flow of commerce within the United States and with its global trading partners through secure cyber communications, to provide for the continued development and exploitation of the Internet and intranet communications for such purposes, to provide for
the development of a cadre of information technology specialists to improve and maintain effective cyber security defenses against disruption, and for other purposes.

APRIL 1, 2009

Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Ms. SNOWE, and Mr. NELSON of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
The Congress finds the following:

(1) America’s failure to protect cyberspace is one of the most urgent national security problems facing the country.

(2) Since intellectual property is now often stored in digital form, industrial espionage that exploits weak cybersecurity dilutes our investment in innovation while subsidizing the research and development efforts of foreign competitors. In the new global competition, where economic strength and technological leadership are vital components of national power, failing to secure cyberspace puts us at a disadvantage.

(3) According to the 2009 Annual Threat Assessment, ‘‘a successful cyber attack against a major financial service provider could severely impact the national economy, while cyber attacks against physical infrastructure computer systems such as those that control power grids or oil refineries have the potential to disrupt services for hours or weeks’’ and that ‘‘Nation states and criminals target our government and private sector information networks to gain competitive advantage in the commercial sector.’’.

(4) The Director of National Intelligence testified before the Congress on February 19, 2009, that ‘‘a growing array of state and non-state adversaries are increasingly targeting-for exploitation and potentially disruption or destruction-our information infrastructure, including the Internet, telecommunications networks, computer systems, and embedded processors and controllers in critical industries’’ and these trends are likely to continue.

(5) John Brennan, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism wrote on March 2, 2009, that ‘‘our nation’s security and economic prosperity depend on the security, stability, and integrity of communications and information infrastructure that are largely privately-owned and globally-operated.”

(6) Paul Kurtz, a Partner and chief operating officer of Good Harbor Consulting as well as a senior advisor to the Obama Transition Team for cybersecurity, recently stated that the United States is unprepared to respond to a ‘‘cyber-Katrina’’ and that ‘‘a massive cyber disruption could have a cascading, long-term impact without adequate co-ordination between government and the private sector.’’.

(7) The Cyber Strategic Inquiry 2008, sponsored by Business Executives for National Security and executed by Booz Allen Hamilton, recommended to ‘‘establish a single voice for cybersecurity within government’’ concluding that the ‘‘unique nature of cybersecurity requires a new leadership paradigm.’’.

(8) Alan Paller, the Director of Research at the SANS Institute, testified before the Congress that ‘‘the fight against cybercrime resembles an arms race where each time the defenders build a new wall, the attackers create new tools to scale the wall. What is particularly important in this analogy is that, unlike conventional warfare where deployment takes time and money and is quite visible, in the cyber world, when the attackers find a new weapon, they can attack millions of computers, and successfully infect hundreds of thousands, in a few hours or days, and remain completely hidden.’’.

(9) According to the February 2003 National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, ‘‘our nation’s critical infrastructures are composed of public and private institutions in the sectors of agriculture, food, water, public health, emergency services, government, defense industrial base, information and telecommunications, energy, transportation, banking finance, chemicals and hazardous materials, and postal and shipping. Cyberspace is their nervous system—the control system of our country’’ and that ‘‘the cornerstone of America’s cyberspace security strategy is and will remain a public-private partnership.’’.

(11) The Center for Strategic and International Studies report on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency concluded that

(A) cybersecurity is now a major national security problem for the United States,

(B) decisions and actions must respect privacy and civil liberties, and
(C) only a comprehendsive (sic) national security strategy that embraces both the domestic and international aspects of cybersecu1rity will make us more secure.

The report continued stating that the United States faces ‘‘a long-term challenge in cyberspace from foreign intelligence agencies and militaries, criminals, and others, and that losing this struggle will wreak serious damage on the economic health and national security of the United States.’’

(12) James Lewis, Director and Senior Fellow, Technology and Public Policy Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, testified on behalf of the Center for Strategic and International Studies that ‘‘the United States is not organized and lacks a coherent national strategy for addressing’’ cybersecurity.
(13) President Obama said in a speech at Purdue University on July 16, 2008, that ‘‘every American depends—directly or indirectly—on our system of information networks. They are increasingly the backbone of our economy and our infrastructure; our national security and our personal well-being. But it’s no secret that terrorists could use our computer networks to deal us a crippling blow. We know that cyber-espionage and common crime is already on the rise. And yet while countries like China have been quick to recognize this change, for the last eight years we have been dragging our feet.’’ Moreover, President Obama stated that ‘‘we need to build the capacity to identify, isolate, and respond to any cyber-attack.’’.
(14) The President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee reported in 2005 that software is a major vulnerability and that ‘‘software development methods that have been the norm fail to provide the high-quality, reliable, and secure software that the IT infrastructure requires. .

. . Today, as with cancer, vulnerable software can be invaded and modified to cause damage to previously healthy software, and infected software can replicate itself and be carried across networks to cause damage in other systems.’’.

[Are you frightened to turn off your computer yet thinking it may not come on next time?

I think it must have been Senator Rockefeller’s direct intention to Cloward-Piven the people who SHOULD be reading this bill, but having the exact opposite effect on those of us who really ARE reading it. Briefly, the Cloward-Piven Strategy is to create a crises so that the government will be forced to step in to protect the citizenry.

S773 gives the President the right to form a Cybersecurity Advisory Panel yet there already is one. John Brennan, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, is America’s “Internet Czar”. Refer to scare-tactic #5 above. Senator Rockefeller intends for this panel to exist in perpetuity, supposedly, by stating explicitly that the panel is exempt from “FACA SUNSET—Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. (5 U.S.C. App.)

Senator Rockefeller is suggesting provision in this bill for everything imaginable related to the Internet. He is trying to legislate everything from the code programmers use to the scholarships that will be available to students who want to undertake undergraduate or graduate degrees in the cybersecurity field and then provide jobs for them following their graduation.

All of the policing will fall to the hands of the President or his “designee” – I assume that will be his “Internet Czar”.]

SEC. 16. LEGAL FRAMEWORK REVIEW AND REPORT.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the President, or the President’s designee, through an appropriate entity, shall complete a comprehensive review of the Federal statutory and legal framework applicable to cyber-related activities in the United States, including—

(1) the Privacy Protection Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 2000aa);
(2) the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (18 U.S.C. 2510 note);
(3) the Computer Security Act of 1987 (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.; 40 U.S.C. 759);
(4) the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3531 et seq.);
(5) the E-Government Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.);
(6) the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. App. 2061 et seq.);
(7) any other Federal law bearing upon cyber related activities; and
(8) any applicable Executive Order or agency rule, regulation, guideline.
(b) REPORT.—Upon completion of the review, the President, or the President’s designee, shall submit a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology, and other appropriate Congressional Committees containing the President’s, or the President’s designee’s, findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

[Here’s the part we’ve all heard about and have seen in some of the emails that are sent to us. Ladies and gentlemen, I suggest that if this bill passes, America will not be in danger of falling into the status as a third world country. America will BE a third world country. It will be an automatic occurrence much like turning on a light in your sitting room just before the sun goes down.

Socialist and Communist countries and those in the Middle East dominated by the Muslim faith control their own citizens during times of insurrection and national violence by removing all access to the “outside world”. Suddenly, the people find that electricity and telephone service is not working. Suddenly, the BlackBerries and other cell phone equipment are totally inoperable.

State-run media is unable to report the story of the citizens in danger from the troops the government has sent out to beat them back into submission. Of course, they wouldn’t have reported it in that manner if they were able to broadcast. The beaten, bleeding and defeated populace crawl back to their meager existence and the government will then announce to the world that the “rebels have been quieted and the rebellion quelled.”]

SEC. 18. CYBERSECURITY RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITY.
The President—

(1) within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, shall develop and implement a comprehensive national cybersecurity strategy, which shall include—
(A) a long-term vision of the Nation’s cybersecurity future; and
(B) a plan that encompasses all aspects of national security, including the participation of the private sector, including critical infrastructure operators and managers;

(2) may declare a cybersecurity emergency and order the limitation or shutdown of Internet traffic to and from any compromised Federal Government or United States critical infrastructure information system or network; [emphasis mine]

(3) shall designate an agency to be responsible for coordinating the response and restoration of any Federal Government or United States critical infrastructure information system or network affected by a cybersecurity emergency declaration under paragraph (2);
(4) shall, through the appropriate department or agency, review equipment that would be needed after a cybersecurity attack and develop a strategy for the acquisition, storage, and periodic replacement of such equipment;

(5) shall direct the periodic mapping of Federal Government and United States critical infrastructure information systems or networks, and shall develop metrics to measure the effectiveness of the mapping process;

(6) may order the disconnection of any Federal Government or United States critical infrastructure information systems or networks in the interest of national security; [emphasis mine]

(7) shall, through the Office of Science and Technology Policy, direct an annual review of all Federal cyber technology research and development investments;
(8) may delegate original classification authority to the appropriate Federal official for the purposes of improving the Nation’s cybersecurity posture;
(9) shall, through the appropriate department or agency, promulgate rules for Federal professional responsibilities regarding cybersecurity, and shall provide to the Congress an annual report on Federal agency compliance with those rules;
(10) shall withhold additional compensation, direct corrective action for Federal personnel, or terminate a Federal contract in violation of Federal rules, and shall report any such action to the Congress in an unclassified format within 48 hours after taking any such action; and
(11) shall notify the Congress within 48 hours after providing a cyber-related certification of legality to a United States person.

[Our “great leader” will even be able to seek advice from international governments who have experienced the same kind of cybersecurity threats from their own viewpoints and incorporate that information into his “decision making process”. He will be able to tend to the requirements of “our government” under the guise of restoring service of our telephones, televisions, computer Internet services and cell phones while at the same time providing the information he deems necessary to the “outside world.”] [Emphasis: EG, this paragraph might as well read "israel and the jews within our government", instead of "international governments"

SEC. 21. INTERNATIONAL NORMS AND CYBERSECURITY DETERRANCE MEASURES.

The President shall—

(1) work with representatives of foreign governments—
(A) to develop norms, organizations, and other cooperative activities for international engagement to improve cybersecurity; and
(B) to encourage international cooperation in improving cybersecurity on a global basis; and
(2) provide an annual report to the Congress on the progress of international initiatives undertaken pursuant to subparagraph

(A). SEC. 22. FEDERAL SECURE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ACQUISITIONS BOARD.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Secure Products and Services Acquisitions Board. The Board shall be responsible for cybersecurity review and approval of high value products and services acquisition and, in coordination with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, for the establishment of appropriate standards for the validation of software to be acquired by the Federal Government. The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall develop the review process and provide guidance to the Board. In reviewing software under this subsection, the Board may consider independent secure software validation and verification as key factor for approval.

[In an attempt to give him the benefit of the doubt, even after reading this much of the information provided in Senator Rockefeller’s bill, I tried to assure myself that any President of the United States would never do anything so totally detrimental to the citizens of our nation.

Surely he would never consider my little home computer and Internet access a “cyberthreat”.

After I read and digested this last part, I am no longer able to give anyone the benefit of any doubt.

If in his opinion my Compaq and AOL connection write something whether of a personal nature or to be disseminated to a third party in an attempt to “educate” someone else to what really is going on behind our national “closed doors” of a transparent government, I have no doubt whatsoever that I would suddenly be proclaimed a “cybersecurity threat to the government of the United States” and my AOL would go blank.

So would our lives as we have known them and accepted them since we live in a Democratic Republic which would, by this time, no longer exist as we know it today.]

SEC. 23. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) ADVISORY 1 PANEL.—The term ‘‘Advisory Panel’’ means the Cybersecurity Advisory Panel established or designated under section 3.
(2) CYBER.—The term ‘‘cyber’’ means—
(A) any process, program, or protocol relating to the use of the Internet or an intranet, automatic data processing or transmission, or telecommunication via the Internet or an intranet; and
(B) any matter relating to, or involving the use of, computers or computer networks.
(3) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND UNITED STATES CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND NETWORKS.—The term ‘‘Federal Government and United States critical infrastructure information systems and networks’’ includes—
(A) Federal Government information systems and networks; and
(B) State, local, and nongovernmental information systems and networks in the United States designated by the President as critical infrastructure information systems and networks. [emphasis mine]

(4) INTERNET.—The term ‘‘Internet’’ has the meaning given that term by section 4(4) of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5503(4)).

(5) NETWORK.—The term ‘‘network’’ has the meaning given that term by section 4(5) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5503(5)).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Former Congressman Tom Davis Emerges as Favorite in Obama’s Cyberczar Search
Top Cybersecurity Official Resigns
Umm… Actually Obama Doesn’t Want to Take Over The Internet
http://marieacole.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/