Do not mess with the people’s internet.
RT: Senate sneaks in #SOPA under a new name
“The rebuttal to push Internet-regulating legislation has transformed into a new cybersecurity bill. The particulars of the latest attempt by senators to censor the Internet have not been disclosed to the public.
However some leaks suggest that the bill will grant the authority to crack down on the Internet to the executive branch of power, namely the White House. It looks highly possible taking into consideration that the legislation has to come out of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, chaired by Connecticut Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman.
The same Lieberman who earlier co-sponsored the so called Kill Switch bill that could allow the president of the United States to “declare a cybersecurity emergency,” and practically shut down the Internet.
After outrage from Internet advocacy groups, Kill Switch never made it in the Senate. This time it may be back under a new name. ”
Ten Key Questions and Answers About Bill #C-11 #SOPA #ACTA & #TPP
(In a way that you can understand it with out becoming outraged and hysterical and can understand what is happening with little previous knowledge on the background and politics of the bill. From someone who knows what they are talking about.)
(Because I completely freak out when I start reading into these things on the internet. It’s so easy to get confused on the internet.)
In a rare showing of bipartisanship, the Senate voted 93 to 3 on Thursday to approve the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, legislation that prohibits lawmakers and their staff from trading stocks based on information they learn during congressional briefings and related work.
Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Richard Burr (R-NC) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) voted against the bill.
“Bottom line, members of Congress have to live by the same laws everyone else,” said Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), who proposed the STOCK Act. “With approval ratings of Congress at an all-time low, this bill represents an opportunity to build some trust with the American people.”
“The truth is, members of Congress have access to all kinds of sensitive information, and it has to be clear that the information is being used to serve our country – not to make a personal profit.”
The legislation directly corrects the ambiguity in existing laws by empowering the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to ensure that members of Congress and their staff can be held accountable for illegally trading on non-public information.
“We are entrusted with a profound responsibility by the American people to look out for their best interests, and nothing else, certainly not our own financial interests,” Sen. Gillibrand (D-NY) said.
“Today, we took the first step toward restoring the trust that’s been lost in Washington by ensuring that members of Congress play by the exact same rules as everyday Americans.”
(via sans-nuage)
End the Fed or Fix it?
We’ve all heard this before. “End the Fed” What I’ve never heard is “Fix the Fed” or “Reform the Fed” What do you think? Should we do away with a central bank? Should we strip it of its power to make loans without any executive branch or congressional approval? What’s your thoughts about this situation.
