Another attempt at controlling the internet

[Dreamstalker]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10168114-38.html

Republican politicians on Thursday called for a sweeping new federal law that would require all Internet providers and operators of millions of Wi-Fi access points, even hotels, local coffee shops, and home users, to keep records about users for two years to aid police investigations.

Ostensibly to curb/stop child porn...sorry, but I'm getting a bit tired of the "for the children" excuse to further control what everyone does.

Holy hell, the economy is in the toilet and the Republicans are once again worried about policing something that cannot really be policed. I doubt that the ones concerned with said information can accurately decipher it.

If this passes, how the hell is it going to be paid for (hardware, storage, etc)?

[AdminAssistant]

Ah, but, Dreamstalker the Republicans are about less government, remember? They certainly wouldn't want to monitor everyone's computer....oh, but it's for the kids? Well, then, fine, take away my privacy and personal liberty - it's for the children!

sheesh.

[AFPheonix]

All they need to do is shut down /b/ and child porn will go down dramatically.

[Sylvia727]

Yes, of course, everyone wants to protect the children. And once society has swallowed that, they'll start looking up the information on murder suspects- do you really support letting murderers get away?! And after that, anyone suspected of a felony, and then anyone the police don't like the look of, and then Big Brother will be keeping an eye on your masturbation habits. It's not just a slippery slope; they're trying to weasel their way into your rights. "Those who give up an essential liberty for a temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security." -Ben Franklin.

I propose that politicians no longer be allowed to utter the words "for our children" or discuss children on any issue that does not directly involve them. Also, I don't have any numbers to back this up, but I'll bet you a dozen chocolate chip cookies that there are more children being beaten by their guardians then there are being molested by them. Why don't we ever hear about those poor children? No, it's always about the dirty pictures. Something safe we can feel scandalized about without ever having to admit that there are worse problems facing children today.

[Dreamstalker]

I'll take that bet, and raise you a loaf of gingerbread. I suspect that the child-molester problem (at least insofar as strangers being the molesters) is overblown. You really want to help the children? Find the desperate, homeless kids out there (some of whom probably are selling their bodies) and get them into a system that works...food, healthcare, shelter, education.

This to me smells of a Great Firewall ver. 2. Anyone can say anything they want about the government. The Republicans especially don't like that, so let's wrap a censorship attempt in language that people will go for.

[Greenday]

I'm sick of this crap. This goes beyond ridiculous. Why don't they just install chips inside our brains so that they can know everything we think? I mean, that's what it seems like we are leading to at this point.

[lordlundar]

I'm sick of this crap. This goes beyond ridiculous. Why don't they just install chips inside our brains so that they can know everything we think? I mean, that's what it seems like we are leading to at this point.

Will you please SHUT UP!? They don't need someone giving them ideas like this.

[Greenday]

Will you please SHUT UP!? They don't need someone giving them ideas like this.

Doh! Stupid Greenday! Stupid, stupid!

[otakuneko]

If this passes, how the hell is it going to be paid for (hardware, storage, etc)?

Internet users, obviously, via disappearing free wifi hotspots and higher ISP bills. Because clearly, the Republicans wouldn't offer to pay for it. They'd make the ISPs pay for it, and the ISPs will simply pass on the cost to consumers.

Don'tcha know, the root password to the constitution is children? And if that fails, try terrorism.

[Dreamstalker]

The root password has clearly been compromised and must be changed.

I'm fresh out of suggestions, though...it obviously needs to be something that Republicans by definition can't possibly guess.

Can you imagine a geek-run country?

[DesignFox]

Can you imagine a geek-run country?

Depends on the kind of geek...'cause that could get damn scary. (where's that laughing smiley?)

*imagining things run with 20 sided dice, star trek vs. star wars debates, and problems resolved via LARP*

j/k

Can you imagine our world leaders settling a score over a game of D&D? *giggle*

[Dreamstalker]

Now that would be interesting...

[Antipsych]

George Orwell's nightmarish vision of the future from "1984" is closer to reality every day. One of these days I'll turn my computer on only to discover that it's become a telescreen, and my wallpaper is now an image of Big Brother!

[Dreamstalker]

Well, we've gone through "War Is Peace" already with Shrubya. Probably a couple others as well.

And people have laughed at me for years for saying that... *sigh*

[Antipsych]

Well, we've gone through "War Is Peace" already with Shrubya. Probably a couple others as well.

And people have laughed at me for years for saying that... *sigh*

I just bought a copy of 1984 recently, and finished reading it a few nights ago. I'd only read it once in my life before that - over 20 years ago in high school. I had forgotten the part about the war being an excuse to steal the people's money and show no return on investment. Which makes sense now, no doubt that's what Dubya was doing; taking our money and redistributing much of it to himself and his cronies.