Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced a bill in the Senate on April 1st calling for sweeping powers for federal regulators to “secure cyber communications.” The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (S.773) would give government authority over all networks considered part of the nation’s critical infrastructure.

The usual threats and scare tactics are used to justify giving Big Brother greater powers, including giving the President the power to shut down portions of the internet he deems a threat to national security, and access to vast amounts of digital data currently legally off limits.

Industry experts criticize the pervasive intrusion into private business standards and practices that would result from some of the finer points of the legislation, including a section that grants government exclusive licensing rights to IT professionals.

Here are the basics:

1. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards development and compliance.
2. Licensing and certification of IT professionals.
3. Regulation of domain name contracts.
4. Executive authority to “shut down the Internet” when in interests of national security.

The bill is still in its infancy being referred to Committee, so now is the time to stop it! Take the time to write or call each of your Congressional representatives. You can look up your representatives’ name and contact information using this tool.

Here is a sample letter you can cut and paste to use as your own:

Details of the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (S.773) have recently come to my attention. I am writing to voice my utter contempt for this proposed legislation and wish to document opposition to what I consider unacceptable expansion of federal authority into the cyber domain.

S.773 would give the federal government excessive power in regulating the Internet. The power to unilaterally shut down private networks, to garnish unprecedented digital data currently outside the realm of legal authority, and intrusion into commercial practices of professional certification are unacceptable.

Please take serious consideration in evaluating this measure. I urge you to support freedom of the Internet, individual privacy in digital information, and continue to let the private sector make certification and employment decisions without federal coercion.

We must actively fight the erosion of liberty and individual freedom, preserving the values that made this country great. Thank you for your time!

Take a moment to leave a comment below to voice your support for this movement!

To receive updates and our daily newsletter subscribe by E-mail or RSS Feed.

Watch Sen. Rockefeller discuss the bill below. It is not at all evident he truly understands what he’s talking about, yet this man wields power to control us all:

You just finished reading Stop the Cybersecurity Act of 2009! on The Freedom Factory. Please consider leaving a comment!

In the name of national security, the Obama administration is secretly drafting an international treaty that will give corporations and government sweeping powers to seize and search private computers and personal media.

When asked to disclose the treaty’s details, President Obama declared content of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) “classified in the interests of national security pursuant to Executive Order 12958.”

Scared about Big Brother? Worried about the chaos that could ensue if the dollar snaps and we hit a real economic crisis? In Emergency, Neil Strauss comes to the sobering realization that, even in America, anything can happen.

Rather than watch helplessly, he decided to do something about it. And so he spent three years traveling through a country that’s lost its sense of safety, equipping himself with the tools necessary to save himself and his loved ones from an uncertain future.

—–SPECIAL OFFER—–

The Federal Reserve is creating tens of trillions of new dollars, debasing our currency, and silently taxing us all through inflation. With tens of trillions in federal budget deficits on the horizon there is nowhere for the US dollar to go, but down. Refuse to be a victim of this flawed financial system, buy gold and silver NOW!

You just finished reading Sweeping Privacy Infringement: Obama Wants to Search All computers on The Freedom Factory. Please consider leaving a comment!

Obama more popular that Jesus, follows through on tax cuts, Sen. Schumer chastises Americans for caring about earmarks, White House says it will cut deficit in half, of chimps and racism, decomposing the stimulus bill, Clinton tells Chinese to go Green, Latvia’s government collapses, and Iran blocks opposition on Web…just the latest in your Freedom Under Fire Report!

Everyday our liberties and freedom come under fire. The American Republic once protected its citizens from arbitrary abuse, extortion, and deliberate social engineering. Now the very same public servants who were meant to work for us connive daily on how to control our lives. The Republic is gone and we are left to fend for ourselves, to put up resistance to every encroachment on individual self-determination. The Freedom Under Fire Report provides daily coverage of the most important issues, so that you remain informed and ready to defend yourself. Read on and pass this around to everyone you think could benefit:

Obama Follows Through on Promised Tax Cuts. President Obama came through on his campaign promise to cut taxes for 95% of Americans. Yesterday, he ordered the Treasury to implement the tax cuts, which are part of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The package includes $282 billion in tax cuts. With upwards of 40% of Americans not paying any income taxes, it is curious how 95% can receive a tax cut.

Poll Shows Obama More Popular than Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. President Obama took the lead in a Harris interactive poll that asked 2,634 Americans who they admired enough to call a hero. Obama ranked the highest, ahead of Jesus, Mahtma Gandhi, and George Washington.

Sen. Charles Schumer Chastises Americans for Caring About Earmarks.
“And let me say this, to all the chattering class-that so much focuses on those little, tiny, yes “porky” amendments-the American people really don’t care.” We must be part of this derided “chattering class” because we care.

Obama Sets Goal of cutting Budget Deficit in Half. President Obama wants to cut the federal budget deficit in half by the end of his first term. He intends to do this mainly by scaling back the Iraq War, raising taxes on the wealthy, and streamlining government. This will be difficult given that the Afghan War is ramping up, Congress just passed a $787 billion spending bill, the size of the federal government is growing, and the economy is deteriorating. Taxing capital and the wealthy will have a dampening affect on economic growth, not a stimulating one.

Chimp Cartoon has People Up In Arms Over Racism. Racism politics are firing up across the country. A controversial New York Post cartoon has sparked anger, protests, and of course a series of Al Sharpton speeches decrying racism. Allegations of racism are sizzling in politics these days, with Attorney General Eric Holder calling Americans “cowards” for “self-segregating on weekends and in their pivate lives,” and South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn said that some governors’ refusal to unconditionally accept stimulus funds was a “slap in the face” to blacks. This is a dangerous, divisive trend in which Al Sharpton, Holder, clyburn and other power-hungry interests use hatred to their advantage.

Video Decomposes Stimulus Bill, Doesn’t Look Pretty. The main premise is that the spending bill signed earlier this week targets sectors and industries that are still growing, like health care, government, and environmental, leaving rapidly declining sectors of the economy with little relief. The spending profile timeline is off, skewed out towards 2010 and beyond. Even infrastructure spending seems to be put to unproductive venues, used simply to hire people versus build useful items.

Clinton Encourages China to Pursue Green Growth, Not Likely they Care. In a tour of Asia this week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China to pursue green growth initiatives. Declaring that “we hope you won’t make the same mistakes we made,” she encouraged China to join the new administration’s ambitious effort to curb greenhouse gases. She added, “When we were industrializing and growing, we didn’t know any better; neither did Europe. Now we’re smart enough to figure out how to have the right kind of growth.” It is good that our public servants can direct us towards the “right kind of growth.” We’d be lost otherwise!

Economic Crisis Collapses Latvia’s Government. Latvia’s center-right coalition government collapsed on Friday due to economic strain. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell at an annualized rate of 10.5% last month, with projections of a 12% loss for 2009. The government is now cutting spending wherever it can, slashing public salaries by as much as 40%, for example. How many other governments will fold before the global economy regains its health?

Iranian Government Blocks Web Sites for Political Opposition. Authorities have blocked two Web sites promoting the presidential bid of Mohammed Khatami, a reform candidate. This is the first sign that “powerful hard-liners might seek to thwart his challenge to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the June 12 election.” This is an example of why it is so important to keep the Internet free of government intrusion.

You just finished reading Freedom Under Fire, Feb. 21st, 2009 on The Freedom Factory. Please consider leaving a comment!

Everyday our liberties and freedom come under fire. The American Republic once protected its citizens from arbitrary abuse, extortion, and deliberate social engineering. Now the very same public servants who were meant to work for us connive daily on how to control our lives. The Republic is gone and we are left to fend for ourselves, to put up resistance to every encroachment on individual self-determination. The Freedom Under Fire Report provides daily coverage of the most important issues, so that you remain informed and ready to defend yourself. Read on and pass this around to everyone you think could benefit:

See Where the Stimulus Spending Will Go. CNN has a good breakout tracking the sectors in which the new bill’s money will be allocated. Despite the bill’s cost totalling $787 billion, only $317.2 billion of that is new spending-the rest is reduced federal revenue through various tax cuts.

Pirate Bay Trial Begins: Test of Copyright Law, and Internet Freedom. Four men are being tried by the Swedish government for “helping millions illegally download protected movies, music, and computer games.” The men created popular file-sharing site, The Pirate Bay. Pirate Bay does not host any unauthorized content, but is accused of facilitating piracy by directing its 22 million users to protected material. A civil claim is also penting by media giants, such as Warner Bros., MGM, Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, BMG, Universal, and EMI, in which they are seeking $14.3 million in damages. The defendents claim to have committed no wrong-doing, since their site does not host any illegal material. Rather, they claim that the merely provide a technology that others take advantage of.

Foreigners Still Buying U.S. Treasuries? The Dept. of the Treasury says so, at least through the end of last year. Net foreign purchases of long-term U.S. securities are reported to be $22.4 billion for December, 2008. This corresponds with the 30-Year Treasury yield trough at 2.519%. The yield now sits at 3.52%, meaning prices have steadily eroded since then. This would indicate net purchases have declines relative to sales.

Germany Paves Way for Forced Nationalization of Banks. Germany’s cabinet approved a bill allowing the forced nationalization of banks in the event of deteriorating conditions. The mandate enables the government to seize banks up through Oct. 31, 2009.

Facebook Backs Down on User Content Policy. After severe pushback from users, bloggers, and the media, Facebook reversed a Terms of Service (TOS) change that granted itself permanent rights to users’ photos, wall posts, and other information. Facebook claimed they would have indefinite rights to this content, even after users closed their accounts.

Obama Vows to Fight Home Foreclosures: Is it $50B, $75B, or $200B? Yesterday Obama announced that he was redirecting $50 billion from TARP to the mortgage industry, mandating banks use the  funds to lend to homebuyers. Today, he announces a $75 billion plan that appears to be separate. This plan would give direct subsidies to distressed homeowners, giving money to those who continue to pay their mortgages. The government would also encourage banks to renegotiate terms with lenders, particularly for borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth. Finally, the federal government will make another $200 billion in credit available to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-controlled mortgage finance companies. So how much will all this cost? Yesterday’s headline said $50 billion, today’s says $75 billion, but then there’s that pesky $200 billion in credit to Fannie and Freddie.

Fed Bleak on Economic Outlook. Ben Bernanke says the economy would face an “unually gradual and prolonged” recovery. In other words, he says things will stay bad for a long time. The Fed predicts a GDP contraction of between 0.5% to 1.3% this year, with unemployment in the 8.5% to 8.8% range. Bernanke promised to do “everything possible within the limits of its authority to assist in restoring our nation to financial stability and economic prosperity as quickly as possible.” This means they are set to print a lot more money.

Postmaster General Pay Raise by Congress. There is growing scrutiny of Congress’s decision to grant the Postmaster General-the head of the U.S. Postal Service-a $135,000 performance bonus after losing $2.8 billion last year. John Potter’s (the Postmaster General) base salary also increased from $186,000 to $260,000 last year. These are not large figures relative to the size of the USPS operation, but it is ironic that this comes admid Congressional demands for capping Wall Street bonuses and salaries.

You just finished reading Freedom Under Fire, Feb. 18th, 2009 on The Freedom Factory. Please consider leaving a comment!