Senate Proposal Could Put Heavy Restrictions on Internet Freedoms – Presidential Politics | Political News – FOXNews.com

The days of an open, largely unregulated Internet may soon come to an end.

A bill making its way through Congress proposes to give the U.S. government authority over all networks considered part of the nation’s critical infrastructure. Under the proposed Cybersecurity Act of 2009, the president would have the authority to shut down Internet traffic to protect national security.

The government also would have access to digital data from a vast array of industries including banking, telecommunications and energy. A second bill, meanwhile, would create a national cybersecurity adviser — commonly referred to as the cybersecurity czar — within the White House to coordinate strategy with a wide range of federal agencies involved.

Read the full story here: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/21/proposed-heavy-restrictions-internet-freedoms/

Want to protest your government by going to a Tea Party event? DENIED!

Remember this report from our nation’s history?

CNN (Continental News Network) Boston, 1773: The city of Boston canceled a proposed protest over tea taxes today, citing the fear that too many people dressed as Indians would be gathered near the wharves. Organizers expressed sadness over the cancellation, but meekly returned to their homes fearful of upsetting the officers of the Crown. Taxmen breathed a sigh of relief as the tar and feathers were put away not to be used this day.

You don’t remember that pre-revolutionary history? I should say you shouldn’t, because it didn’t happen. But flash forward a few hundred years and you’ll find it is happening today in Cape Coral, Florida where city officials canceled a tax day tea party gathering because they “feel too many people could show-up.”

That’s right, folks, the God-given, long-held American right to assemble and protest the actions of our government has been canceled due to too much popularity of the protest.

And what does it come down to? Money. You see, the city officials want an insurance policy taken out so that organizers can cover any loss that might occur as a result of the rally. And those insurance policies cost hundreds of dollars.

The tea party organizers of Cape Coral, though, aren’t the only ones to find this restriction of their free speech and rights to assemble. Tea party organizers all across the country have begun to find out just how difficult, if not impossible, it is to be “allowed” to exercise their God-given right to speak their minds against government excess and criminality. City governments all across the country are charging fees for “permits,” forcing organizers to pay out huge sums for “insurance policies,” and binding tea party organizers in all sorts of government red tape.

In many instances, organizers are being told that they aren’t “allowed” to hold rallies on government property. Imagine that? We, the taxpayers of the city/state/federal government aren’t “allowed” to gather on property that our own taxes paid for.

And then there are the “permits” required to reserve the day, arrange the police protection, and clean up afterward. Often those “permits” can only be applied for at certain times a year, precluding any spontaneous assembly. Also, these “permits” can be denied with no reason stated quashing at birth any plan to exercise the right of assembly.

Here one might wonder how it is that we so often see those lefties appearing on our TV sets engaging in their many organized protests? Don’t the flotsam and jetsam of the far left seem to have large protests all the time? One might be drawn to imagine that the government is involved in some sort of grand conspiracy to allow those with anti-American sentiment, the moonbats of the left, to march with impunity. But, hold the tinfoil hats, won’t you? Because the wackjobs of anti-war ilk and the shrill, circus acts of the Code Pinkos are expected to cut through the same red tape the tea party organizers have been confronted with. The lefties are just better at it.

You see, contrary to popular conception, the far left has some deep-pocketed backers (your George Soros types, unions and even government funds) and a raft of organizations that do “protests” as a full time job. Their protest marches and rallies are far from spontaneously organized. These groups are thoroughly knowledgeable about the red tape and governmental hoops through which they must jump to carry off a successful protest assembly. After all, the hatemongers of the left are intimately intertwined with city governments all across the country. They understand what needs to be done because, by and large, city officials used to belong to, or belong still to the sorts of groups that plan lefty protests. Your new president is one of them. Being part of government, these leftie protest marchers help write the rules, being intimately associated with government they are quite well informed about what is required and how to get around or satisfy those rules.

But the obstacles are coming as a shock to the average citizens that love this country. For their whole lives peace-loving, work-a-day Americans have taken for granted that there exists the freedom to assemble completely unaware that those rights have been eliminated by stealth regulation by governments all across the land.

And now the folks in Cape Coral, Florida have learned their lesson.

Americans do not have the rights they always thought they did. There is no right to protest government. There is no right to assemble. The people have no rights at all to voice their displeasure. Shut up people. Go home. Nothing to see here. Go quietly back to your IPods and DVDs. Big daddy government will take care of you. The Obemmessiah will decide what’s best for you. Don’t worry your little heads. Oh, and thank you for your payments on April 15th.

Put away the tar and feathers, won’t you? There’s a nice fella.

-Warner Todd Huston

The U.N. Human Rights Council, frequently accused of coddling some of the world’s most repressive governments, threw itself a party in Geneva Tuesday that featured the unveiling of a $23 million mural paid for in part with foreign aid funds.

Nov. 18: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, far right, attends the unveiling of a $23 million mural at the European headquarters of the U.N. in Geneva, Switzerland.

In a ceremony attended by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Spanish artist Miquel Barcelo told the press that his 16,000-square-foot ceiling artwork reminded him of “an image of the world dripping toward the sky” — but it reminded critics of money slipping out of relief coffers.

“In Spain there’s a controversy because they took money out of the foreign aid budget — took money from starving children in Africa — and spent it on colorful stalactites,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of U.N. Watch.

Click here to see photos of the $23 million ceiling art.

Spanish taxpayers paid for most of the sprawling sculpture, which has been compared to the Sistine Chapel, but around $633,000 came from Spain’s budget for overseas development aid.

Spain’s conservative opposition party blasted the government for diverting money from projects to alleviate poverty in poorer countries, though the government insisted the funding for Barcelo’s work was kept separate.

Ban himself praised the piece and thanked Barcelo for putting his “unique talents to work in the service of the world.” The artwork will soar above the Human Rights Council’s chambers at U.N.’s European headquarters in Geneva, which may soon undergo a $1 billion renovation — but only after a $1.9 billion facelift of the U.N.’s New York offices is completed.

Meanwhile, international humanitarian groups pleaded with the human rights panel to take time out from their party to address the worsening human rights “catastrophe” in the Congo, where the government is fighting a deadly battle with several rebel groups.

“Mass displacement, killings and sexual violence — involving hundreds of thousands of victims, if not more — require an urgent response,” according to a statement issued jointly Tuesday by Freedom House and U.N. Watch.

Congo has been off the radar at the Human Rights Council, which removed its monitor from the African country in March when the Congolese government and a group of neighboring nations applied pressure on the council to expel the monitor.

“When the Human Rights Council was established two years ago there were about 12 or so monitors, and gradually one after another has been scrapped,” said Neuer. “The other ones are all on the chopping block.”

Violence is worsening in the country, where an estimated 4 million people have been killed in the past 10 years and tens of thousands have been displaced in recent months.

“The [Lord's Resistance Army] leader, Joseph Kony, is continuing his brutal and abusive tactics,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The U.S. and U.K., along with the U.N. and governments in the region, should actively work together to apprehend LRA leaders wanted by the [International Criminal Court].”

Secretary-General Ban has supported a U.N. resolution that would increase the U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo by 3,100 troops and police, but some critics say that move would not be enough.

Human rights groups — and U.N. officials themselves — have criticized the peacekeeping force for failing to protect civilians in places like Kiwanja, where at least 20 people were killed this week.

The 17,000-man U.N. deployment is already the U.N.’s largest peacekeeping commitment, but is restricted by tough rules of engagement and has a massive territory to cover. Congo is the size of Western Europe, and North Kivu, where the fighting is centered, is one-and-a-half times the size of France.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Read more on this story at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,454191,00.html

LOS ANGELES — Thousands took to the streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco on Wednesday evening to protest California’s passage of Proposition 8, a ban on gay marriage.

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Demonstrators marched through West Hollywood, Hollywood and Santa Monica where several protesters stopped at busy intersections, blocking traffic and prompting police intervention.

Nov. 5: Protesters march on the Sunset Strip during a

An additional group of about 500 protesters gathered near CNN’s Los Angeles bureau, where they were seen banging on the doors and walls, causing the Los Angeles Police Department to declare a tactical alert — requiring all available officers to respond to the protest — some of whom were brought in from other stations.

Television cameras showed one protester jumping on top of a police car at the intersection of Hollywood and Highland. He was quickly wrestled to the ground by police and handcuffed.

Several others were arrested when a group of people broke away from the larger demonstration that began in West Hollywood earlier in the evening.

Click for additional video coverage at MyFoxLA.com

Some of them were detained, but “the overall indication is that the demonstrators and marchers are peaceful,” Lee said.

In San Francisco, hundreds gathered on the steps of City Hall to protest approval of the ban.

Protesters held candles and carried signs that read “We all Deserve the Freedom to Marry” as part of the event, which was sponsored by groups opposed to Proposition 8.

Click for more on the protests in San Francisco

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom expressed frustration in the ban, but said he is hopeful it will be overturned in court.

The loss was a political defeat for Newsom, who’s been one of the most prominent advocates of same-sex marriage. However, he believed the effect on his gubernatorial aspirations is “trivial” and “irrelevant.”

City attorneys of Los Angeles and San Francisco, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, filed requests for the state Supreme Court to overturn the gay marriage ban on Wednesday.

Meg Waters, part of the Yes on 8 campaign team, told City News Service, “gay and lesbian couples have exactly the same protections under the law with civil unions.”

“Marriage has been defined as a man and woman since time began,” Waters said. “The people of California have voted twice, so I think the best thing to do is for everybody involved to figure out a way to move forward.”

Waters said she understands “how gays and lesbians may feel concerned about this.”

“If they stop and look at the situation, they have the exact same legal protections and rights under the law today they had yesterday,” Waters said.

“You can’t change the definition of something that existed forever because you don’t like it.”

The Yes on 8 campaign has “a great deal of compassion for gay and lesbian couples and support completely their right to live as they choose, whether it’s in a committed relationship and a domestic partnership or however they choose,” Waters said.

“We don’t believe that Proposition 8 hinders that at all,” Waters said. “We’re hoping very much to rebuild bridges to that community at some point.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

John McCain congratulates Barack Obama on his “historic” election as president of “the greatest nation on Earth.”
Wednesday, November 5, 2008

PHOENIX (Reuters) – Republican John McCain congratulated Democrat Barack Obama for winning the U.S. presidency on Tuesday, saying “the American people have spoken” and promising to help his former rival address the country’s many challenges.

Class Act - John McCain

McCain addressed his supporters in an emotional speech at a Phoenix hotel after telephoning Obama to concede the election. Obama later said McCain’s call had been “extraordinarily gracious.”

“We have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly,” McCain said.

“Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it.”

The 72-year-old Arizona senator urged all Americans — including his supporters — to rally behind Obama, saying he planned to help the new president-elect tackle the myriad issues the country faced.

“It’s natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again,” McCain told his supporters, shushing them occasionally with “please, please” when they booed his mentions of Obama.

Many McCain supporters said expected Obama to raise their taxes and expose the country to terrorist attack.

“As far as I’m concerned, Obama’s going to take away all my rights and my freedom,” said college student Kristen Keogh.

McCain spoke to a crowd of a few thousand on the hotel’s lawn, on a stage framed by spotlights and palm trees.

Several people in the affluent crowd said voters had been seduced by Obama’s promise of change, rather than considering a candidate who had a long record of independence.

“People got wrapped up in charisma, they got wrapped up in an ideal as opposed to reality,” said podiatrist Tanya Pfitzer.

“HE HAS PREVAILED”

McCain and Obama clashed over the Iraq war, taxes, trade, and energy policy during a heated, five-month general election campaign, but the Arizona senator pledged his support as the next president navigates a major financial crisis and two wars abroad.

“Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed,” McCain said, adding many of those differences remained. “These are difficult times for our country, and I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.”

McCain was joined by his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who did not speak.

McCain praised her as a vital new voice: “We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country.”

After a campaign that grew negative at times, most recently with Republican attacks on Obama’s ties to a 1960s radical, McCain emphasized common ground between the two men.

“Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans, and please believe me when I say no association has meant more to me than that.”

McCain expressed sympathy over the death of Obama’s grandmother just before Election Day, saying he was sorry she had not lived to see her grandson’s victory.

He also acknowledged the historic nature of Obama’s win.

“This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight,” he said.

McCain thanked his campaign staff and family for their support in his nearly two-year White House quest.

“Campaigns are often harder on a candidate’s family than on the candidate, and that’s been true in this campaign,” he said. “All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.”

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