As I read this today, I was thinking clearly there must be more coverage about this over at CNN? Clearly, as Fox News and CNET among other online sources are featuring this on the front page! Nope, CNN is apparently taking a somber look at Bill Gates taking on hurricanes… really, CNN?

Any individual in power, regardless of why, should never have this kind of power over our computers — ever. It’s not even about politics, it is a matter of our personal liberty over our individual technology.

“We must protect our critical infrastructure at all costs — from our water to our electricity, to banking, traffic lights and electronic health records” -Jay Rockefeller

Speak for yourself, sir. I think you will find a large number of Americans who would tell you where you can stick this bill, quite frankly! And please, I do not care for fearmongering from either side of the aisle.

The EFF among other watch groups have expressed concern. And the thing about bills is that while they start out as temporary ideas due to legitimate concerns, they also tend to turn into permanent laws. We have been battling Big Brother syndrome for as long as we have been online, if not longer. I, for one, have had enough. Our elected officials are barking up the wrong tree for true security in my honest opinion.

Yes, we do need to do what we can to protect our infrastructure, eBusinesses, etc. I absolutely have no problem with that. So here’s a thought: let’s start by securing our infrastructure by keeping it off the Internet. Put the money into properly securing things in the first place instead of writing bad fiction from a 1984 perspective! Problem solved, or at least a big chunk of it. eBusinesses need to look to their own abilities to secure themselves as much as possible.

Once again I am all for the Federal  government taking on an active role in securing our nation’s infrastructure, but I would suggest doing it without vague/open ended bills that lack any real strong protocols for handling this without going overboard with open ended access to anything that happens to be on our computers. And please realize this is to be said with any one person in office, at any level of government. Remember, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

To be ultimately fair, this is a bill and it will almost certainly be shot down before going very far. But man, it’s crap like this that makes me anxious for some fresh blood with our elected officials! Yikes!

Regarding CNN, I have refreshed both the front page and tech pages. Still no sign of what I would deem as SIGNIFICANT news as of 1:07 pm today PST.

CNN, any time you are interested in joining “the rest of the press here,” we’ll be waiting.

Update 1:26 pm: CNN still showing nothing and MSNBC is covering back to school gadgets… wow… thank goodness for other news sources.

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