What we must do ...

People and companies before banded together, did some extraordinary things such as darkening their websites, to defeat SOPA (and by extension, PIPA).  At the time, while we were celebrating this victory, I had a gnawing feeling, as did many of my friends, that the evil forces spawning this other draconian monster of a law, would come back with different initials, but essentially the same evil attempt to take our freedom away.

Well, we were right and now we must fight CISPA. What we MUST do is to reach beyond just fighting this legislation and send each and every legislator, those who support it and those who don't, that we are the majority, we vote, we buy cars, shaving cream, shoes, widgets, etc. This is to say we have TREMENDOUS power to help our friends, and even more power to oppose our enemies.

Make no mistake, banding together with others, you have enormous power.

Here is a list of co-sponsors of this piece of crap:
http://pastebin.com/yqtaM4ER

1. Rep. Mark Amodei [R-NV2]
2. Rep. Michele Bachmann [R-MN6]
3. Rep. Dan Boren [D-OK2]
4. Rep. Michael Burgess [R-TX26]
5. Rep. Ken Calvert [R-CA44]
6. Rep. Ben Chandler [D-KY6]
7. Rep. Michael Conaway [R-TX11]
8. Rep. Norman “Norm” Dicks [D-WA6]
9. Rep. John “Phil” Gingrey [R-GA11]
10. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez [D-IL4]
11. Rep. Joe Heck [R-NV3]
12. Rep. Peter “Pete” King [R-NY3]
13. Rep. Adam Kinzinger [R-IL11]
14. Rep. James “Jim” Langevin [D-RI2]
15. Rep. Frank LoBiondo [R-NJ2]
16. Rep. Michael McCaul [R-TX10]
17. Rep. Jeff Miller [R-FL1]
18. Rep. Sue Myrick [R-NC9]
19. Rep. Devin Nunes [R-CA21]
20. Rep. Mike Pompeo [R-KS4]
21. Rep. Thomas Rooney [R-FL16]
22. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger [D-MD2]
23. Rep. John Shimkus [R-IL19]
24. Rep. Lee Terry [R-NE2]
25. Rep. Michael “Mike” Thompson [D-CA1]
26. Rep. Frederick “Fred” Upton [R-MI6]
27. Rep. Greg Walden [R-OR2]
28. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland [R-GA3]
29. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen [R-NJ11] (joined Dec 08, 2011)
30. Rep. Robert Latta [R-OH5] (joined Dec 08, 2011)
31. Rep. Patrick McHenry [R-NC10] (joined Dec 08, 2011)
32. Rep. Ben Quayle [R-AZ3] (joined Dec 08, 2011)
33. Rep. Kevin Yoder [R-KS3] (joined Dec 08, 2011)
34. Rep. David “Dave” Camp [R-MI4] (joined Dec 16, 2011)
35. Rep. Timothy Walberg [R-MI7] (joined Dec 16, 2011)
36. Rep. Anna Eshoo [D-CA14] (joined Dec 20, 2011)
37. Rep. Michael Michaud [D-ME2] (joined Dec 20, 2011)
38. Rep. Mike Coffman [R-CO6] (joined Jan 18, 2012)
39. Rep. Robert “Bob” Goodlatte [R-VA6] (joined Jan 18, 2012)
40. Rep. David McKinley [R-WV1] (joined Jan 18, 2012)
41. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers [R-WA5] (joined Jan 18, 2012)
42. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [R-FL18] (joined Jan 18, 2012)
43. Rep. John Sullivan [R-OK1] (joined Jan 18, 2012)
44. Rep. Randy Forbes [R-VA4] (joined Jan 25, 2012)
45. Rep. Frank Wolf [R-VA10] (joined Jan 25, 2012)
46. Rep. Darrell Issa [R-CA49] (joined Jan 31, 2012)
47. Rep. Gary Miller [R-CA42] (joined Jan 31, 2012)
48. Rep. Clifford “Cliff” Stearns [R-FL6] (joined Jan 31, 2012)
49. Rep. Tom Cole [R-OK4] (joined Feb 01, 2012)
50. Rep. Michael Turner [R-OH3] (joined Feb 01, 2012)
51. Rep. Mo Brooks [R-AL5] (joined Feb 07, 2012)
52. Rep. John Carter [R-TX31] (joined Feb 07, 2012)
53. Rep. Vicky Hartzler [R-MO4] (joined Feb 07, 2012)
54. Rep. Bill Huizenga [R-MI2] (joined Feb 07, 2012)
55. Rep. Dan Benishek [R-MI1] (joined Feb 13, 2012)
56. Rep. Paul Broun [R-GA10] (joined Feb 13, 2012)
57. Rep. Michael Grimm [R-NY13] (joined Feb 13, 2012)
58. Rep. Brett Guthrie [R-KY2] (joined Feb 13, 2012)
59. Rep. Candice Miller [R-MI10] (joined Feb 13, 2012)
60. Rep. Michael “Mike” Rogers [R-AL3] (joined Feb 13, 2012)
61. Rep. Geoff Davis [R-KY4] (joined Feb 14, 2012)
62. Rep. Doc Hastings [R-WA4] (joined Feb 14, 2012)
63. Rep. Leonard Lance [R-NJ7] (joined Feb 14, 2012)
64. Rep. Patrick Meehan [R-PA7] (joined Feb 14, 2012)
65. Rep. Spencer Bachus [R-AL6] (joined Feb 16, 2012)
66. Rep. Mary Bono Mack [R-CA45] (joined Feb 16, 2012)
67. Rep. John Kline [R-MN2] (joined Feb 16, 2012)
68. Rep. Pete Olson [R-TX22] (joined Feb 16, 2012)
69. Rep. Aaron Schock [R-IL18] (joined Feb 16, 2012)
70. Rep. William “Bill” Shuster [R-PA9] (joined Feb 16, 2012)
71. Rep. Joe Baca [D-CA43] (joined Feb 27, 2012)
72. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann [R-TN3] (joined Feb 27, 2012)
73. Rep. Phil Roe [R-TN1] (joined Feb 27, 2012)
74. Rep. Leonard Boswell [D-IA3] (joined Feb 28, 2012)
75. Rep. Kristi Noem [R-SD0] (joined Feb 28, 2012)
76. Rep. Rob Wittman [R-VA1] (joined Mar 01, 2012)
77. Rep. Marsha Blackburn [R-TN7] (joined Mar 05, 2012)
78. Rep. Alcee Hastings [D-FL23] (joined Mar 05, 2012)
79. Rep. Randy Hultgren [R-IL14] (joined Mar 05, 2012)
80. Rep. Robert Hurt [R-VA5] (joined Mar 05, 2012)
81. Rep. Rick Crawford [R-AR1] (joined Mar 08, 2012)
82. Rep. Bill Johnson [R-OH6] (joined Mar 08, 2012)
83. Rep. Adrian Smith [R-NE3] (joined Mar 08, 2012)
84. Del. Madeleine Bordallo [D-GU0] (joined Mar 19, 2012)
85. Rep. Trent Franks [R-AZ2] (joined Mar 19, 2012)
86. Rep. Rick Larsen [D-WA2] (joined Mar 19, 2012)
87. Rep. Albio Sires [D-NJ13] (joined Mar 19, 2012)
88. Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns [D-NY10] (joined Mar 19, 2012)
89. Rep. Jim Cooper [D-TN5] (joined Mar 22, 2012)
90. Rep. Joseph Pitts [R-PA16] (joined Mar 22, 2012)
91. Rep. Mike Ross [D-AR4] (joined Mar 22, 2012)
92. Rep. Jon Runyan [R-NJ3] (joined Mar 22, 2012)
93. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett [R-MD6] (joined Mar 29, 2012)
94. Rep. Brian Bilbray [R-CA50] (joined Mar 29, 2012)
95. Rep. Dennis Cardoza [D-CA18] (joined Mar 29, 2012)
96. Rep. Jim Costa [D-CA20] (joined Mar 29, 2012)
97. Rep. Morgan Griffith [R-VA9] (joined Mar 29, 2012)
98. Rep. Larry Kissell [D-NC8] (joined Mar 29, 2012)
99. Rep. Mike McIntyre [D-NC7] (joined Mar 29, 2012)
100. Rep. William Owens [D-NY23] (joined Mar 29, 2012)
101. Rep. Collin Peterson [D-MN7] (joined Mar 29, 2012)
102. Rep. Steve Scalise [R-LA1] (joined Mar 29, 2012)
103. Rep. Heath Shuler [D-NC11] (joined Mar 29, 2012)
104. Rep. Steve Stivers [R-OH15] (joined Mar 29, 2012)
105. Rep. Addison “Joe” Wilson [R-SC2] (joined Mar 29, 2012)
106. Rep. Rob Woodall [R-GA7] (joined Mar 29, 2012)
     -----------------------------------------
     If any of these people represent you, you need to call, write, email, fax, in short, contact them and let them know that for us, these efforts to abuse those of us using the internet, to try to paint us as criminals, to interfere with our use of the Net, to censor us, to keep secret lists, will NOT be tolerated. We will not only work hard to see that everyone voting for it loses their office, but we will also work hard to make it public information about all companies and people who are our enemies by supporting this attack on the public posing as a bill.
     
     CONGRESS.org is a good place to find who your representatives / senators are and to contact them.

CISPA: Congressional plan to censor Internet concerns critics Continue reading on Examiner.com CISPA: Congressional plan to censor Internet concerns critics - Portland Progressive | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/progressive-in-portland/cispa-congressional-plan-to-censor-internet-concerns-critics#ixzz1rEyGtmwX

http://www.examiner.com/progressive-in-portland/cispa-congressional-plan-to-censor-internet-concerns-critics "A controversial new bill that would allow for Internet censorhip is quietly moving through Congress. Critics claim H.R. 3523, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), constitutes a substantial threat to the Internet as we know it.  

The controversial bill intends “to provide for the sharing of certain cyber threat intelligence and cyber threat information between the intelligence community and cybersecurity entities, and for other purposes.” The bill is being sponsored by Rep. Michael Rogers, a Republican representing Michigan’s 8th district.

Continue reading on Examiner.com CISPA: Congressional plan to censor Internet concerns critics - Portland Progressive | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/progressive-in-portland/cispa-congressional-plan-to-censor-internet-concerns-critics#ixzz1rEyLg4lG"

SOPA Part II: New Cyber Intelligence Bill Threatens To Label Alleged Infringers As National Security Threats

http://blog.experts-exchange.com/ee-tech-news/sopa-pipa-cispa-privacy-national-security/
"If you thought the Stop Online Piracy Act (a.k.a. SOPA) was scary, wait until you get a load of this. It’s called the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA. Unlike SOPA, which would have empowered private companies to take preemptive action against sites merely suspected of copyright infringement, this new bill takes it a step further.

In a purported effort “[t]o provide for the sharing of certain cyber threat intelligence and cyber threat information between the intelligence community and cybersecurity entities, and for other purposes,” CISPA threatens to take the targets of failed bills SOPA and PIPA and, instead of bypassing due process as would have been the case under that pair of bills, allow them to be labeled as threats to national security. That is, instead of having a site that allegedly infringes on another’s copyright protections shut down without filing so much as a court complaint, this bill would allow the clandestine intelligence apparatus of the U.S. to turn its traditionally external gaze inward.
This is done by the amendment that CISPA would make to the National Security Act of 1947 by—and this is according to the Congressional Research Service’s official summary of the bill—“add[ing] provisions concerning cyber threat intelligence and information sharing.”
The primary term of concern is “cyber threat intelligence” and its disconcertingly broad meaning. Borrowing again from the CRS’s official summary, the following explanation is given regarding CISPA’s definition of this term (emphasis added):

Defines “cyber threat intelligence” as information in the possession of an element of the intelligence community directly pertaining to a vulnerability of, or threat to, a system or network of a government or private entity, including information pertaining to the protection of a system or network from: (1) efforts to degrade, disrupt, or destroy such system or network; or (2) theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information.

From SOPA To CISPA

Quite predictably, the provisions emphasized above are of particular concern to those of us interested in maintaining a clear legal protection of personal privacy. By establishing a basis for a relationship between the National Security Agency (NSA) and private entities, the act would leave the door open for the type of due process violations that led Internet activists to organize the historic SOPA Blackout Day protest just a few months ago. What makes this piece of legislation particularly ominous, however, is the fact that it allows all of this information gathering and sharing to be done covertly.
The use of such sweeping language to define the bill’s key terms leaves the lion’s share of CISPA’s power to the discretion of an agency so secretive that even Congress has a difficult time getting answers without being blocked by a state secrets claim. As such, a potential interpretation of the bill could not only bring the entire globe within the purview of NSA surveillance—subjecting any and all personal online communications or activity to potential monitoring—but, according to Raw Story senior editor Stephen Webster, could also lead to “NSA wiretapping [of] publications like The New York Times, The Guardian and Wikileaks in the likely event that they obtain classified, secret or otherwise inconvenient information on governments or corporations.”
Webster goes on to inform us that companies including AT&T, Microsoft, Facebook, Intel, and others have already publicly expressed their support for CISPA. Meanwhile, despite being originally introduced all the way back in November, CISPA still hasn’t quite entered the public discourse, which serves to explain the current lack of public outrage to a bill the poses to make SOPA and PIPA pale in comparison."

Thanks to NDAA and Other Laws..You May Now Be A Serf

http://www.businessinsider.com/thanks-to-ndaa-and-other-laws-you-may-now-be-a-serf-2012-4
"
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, or NDAA, signed into law by Hope/Change enthusiast Barack Obama on December 31, 2011, potentially ends right to due process and habeas corpus for US citizens. You can now be detained by military forces and imprisoned, without trial or charges, for as long as the government deems necessary.
The Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011, or Trespass Bill, signed into law by Barack Obama on March 9, 2012, "potentially makes peaceable protest anywhere in the U.S. a federal felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison." Nice. More specifically, peaceful protest within proximity to those protected by the Secret Service, including presidential candidates and the President, may be a federal felony now. So much for that First Amendment, huh? (Source.)
The Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act of 2011, or H.R. 1981, is the brainchild of SOPA author Rep. Lamar Smith. The bill, according to VentureBeat and others, "would alter U.S. code Chapter 18 section 2703 'Required Disclosure of Customer Communications or Records' so that all Internet service providers would need to store your IP address for at least 12 months, along with any highly sensitive personal information such as credit card data." Keep in mind, this would be used on ALL Americans who use the Internet, including you and I. Just in case, you know, we are harming children. Police state surveillance: it's all for the kids!
Quite creepily, Canada's equally privacy-destroying bill (which faced widespread scorn from Canadian citizens), was called the "Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act." A prominent digital critic described the bill like so: "Now, every single Canadian citizen is walking around with an electronic prisoner's bracelet."
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA, has been called quite similar to SOPA -- apparently a Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) homepage petition, Reddit blackout, and Wikipedia blackout weren't enough to send a message to Congress that Americans aren't OK with massive Big Brother intrusion into the free, global Internet.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation claims "[CISPA] would let companies spy on users and share private information with the federal government and other companies with near-total immunity from civil and criminal liability. It effectively creates a ‘cybersecurity’ exemption to all existing laws." Again: nice. Great work, Congressional fascists. Don't worry about that whole Bill of Rights thing.
The National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order, or NDRP, was released by Barack Obama's administration on March 16, 2012 -- it received very little broadcast media attention. According to a columnist at The Washington Times, "It states that, in case of a war or national emergency, the federal government has the authority to take over almost every aspect of American society. Food, livestock, farming equipment, manufacturing, industry, energy, transportation, hospitals, health care facilities, water resources, defense and construction…
In short, the order gives Mr. Obama the ability to impose martial law. He now possesses the potential powers of a dictator. The order is a direct assault on individual liberties, private property rights and the rule of law. It is blatantly unconstitutional."
The Enemy Expatriation Act, if passed and signed into law, could "let the government strike away citizenship for anyone engaged in hostilities, or supporting hostilities, against the United States. The law itself is rather brief, but in just a few words it warrants the US government to strip nationality status from anyone they identify as a threat."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/thanks-to-ndaa-and-other-laws-you-may-now-be-a-serf-2012-4#ixzz1rEr17iY9"

CISPA...another evil bill

MOVE OVER SOPA...CISPA is INTERNET ENEMY NUMBER ONE ~

http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/watch-out-washington-cispa-replaces-sopa-as-internets-enemy-no-1/
"
The Internet has a new enemy. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (CISPA), also known as H.R. 3523, is a “cybersecurity” bill in the House of Representatives. CISPA is quickly gaining traction as “the new SOPA,” the infamous anti-piracy bill that was forced to crawl back into its hole after thousands of websites and millions of Web users protested with a massive, high-profile “blackout.” While CISPA does not focus primarily on intellectual property (though that’s in there, too), critics say the problems with the bill run just as deep. But what is CISPA, really, and will its presence on Congress’ agenda cause the same type of online revolt that SOPA and PIPA did?

What is CISPA?

Unveiled to the House by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Rep. C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger (D-MD) late last year, CISPA is described as a “cybersecurity” bill. It proposes to amend the National Security Act of 1947 to allow for greater sharing of “cyber threat intelligence” between the U.S. government and the private sector, or between private companies. The bill defines “cyber threat intelligence” as any information pertaining to vulnerabilities of, or threats to, networks or systems owned and operated by the U.S. government, or U.S. companies; or efforts to “degrade, disrupt, or destroy” such systems or networks; or the theft or “misappropriation” of any private or government information, including intellectual property.
CISPA also removes any liability from private companies who collect and share qualified information with the federal government, or with each other. Finally, it directs the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to conduct annual reviews of the sharing and use of the collected information by the U.S. government.
Read the full text of CISPA here, or the full official summary at the bottom of this page.

Who supports CISPA?

The bill currently has a whopping 106 co-sponsors in the House — more than twice the number SOPA ever had. Also unlike SOPA, CISPA has explicit support from some of the technology industry’s biggest players, including Internet service providers like AT&T and Verizon, Web companies like Facebook, and hardware companies like IBM and Intel.
See the full list of CISPA co-sponsors here. See a complete list of companies and groups that support CISPA here.

What CISPA supporters say it will do

According to Rep. Rogers, CISPA will help U.S. companies defend themselves “from advanced cyber threats, without imposing any new federal regulations or unfunded private sector mandate.” It will also create “new private sector jobs for cybersecurity professionals,” and protect “the thousands of jobs created by the American intellectual property that Chinese hackers are trying to steal every day.”
In a statement, Rep. Ruppersberger pushed his reasons for proposing the legislation, saying, “Without important, immediate changes to American cybersecurity policy, I believe our country will continue to be at risk for a catastrophic attack to our nation’s vital networks — networks that power our homes, provide our clean water or maintain the other critical services we use every day.  This small but important piece of legislation is a decisive first step to tackle the cyber threats we face.”
Private companies like the bill because it removes some of the regulations that prevent them from sharing cyber threat information, or make it harder to do so. In short, they believe the bill will do exactly what its supporters in the House say it will do — help better protect them from cyber attacks.

What CISPA opponents are worried about

As with SOPA and PIPA, the first main concern about CISPA is its “broad language,” which critics fear allows the legislation to be interpreted in ways that could infringe on our civil liberties. The Center for Democracy and Technology sums up the problems with CISPA this way:

    •    The bill has a very broad, almost unlimited definition of the information that can be shared with government agencies notwithstanding privacy and other laws;
    •    The bill is likely to lead to expansion of the government’s role in the monitoring of private communications as a result of this sharing;
    •    It is likely to shift control of government cybersecurity efforts from civilian agencies to the military;
    •    Once the information is shared with the government, it wouldn’t have to be used for cybesecurity, but could instead be used for any purpose that is not specifically prohibited.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) adds that CISPA’s definition of “cybersecurity” is so broad that “it leaves the door open to censor any speech that a company believes would ‘degrade the network.’” Moreover, the inclusion of “intellectual property” means that companies and the government would have “new powers to monitor and censor communications for copyright infringement.”
Furthermore, critics warn that CISPA gives private companies the ability to collect and share information about their customers or users with immunity — meaning we cannot sue them for doing so, and they cannot be charged with any crimes.
According to the EFF, CISPA “effectively creates a ‘cybersecurity’ exemption to all existing laws.”
“There are almost no restrictions on what can be collected and how it can be used, provided a company can claim it was motivated by ‘cybersecurity purposes.’” the EFF continues. “That means a company like Google, Facebook, Twitter, or AT&T could intercept your emails and text messages, send copies to one another and to the government, and modify those communications or prevent them from reaching their destination if it fits into their plan to stop cybersecurity threats.”

Is the Internet freaking out like it did over SOPA/PIPA?

Not yet — but it’s starting to. After TechDirt’s Mike Masnick — a widely followed and trusted source on matters of laws regarding technology, intellectual property, and how they might affect our civil rights — posted an article telling readers to “forget SOPA, you should be worried about this cybersecurity bill” earlier this week, concerned Web users have started to take notice. On Reddit, a community that is largely responsible for the push-back against SOPA/PIPA, an increasing number of posts (some accurate, some not) have popped up regarding the potential dangers of CISPA. Anonymous has also started to get in on the action, having released a “dox” on Rep. Rogers, and a video condemning the bill, earlier this week.

Will CISPA pass?

Nobody can say for sure, but at the moment, its passage looks likely. CISPA breezed through the House Intelligence Committee on December 1, 2011, with a bipartisan vote of 17-1. Also, as mentioned, the bill has broad support in the House, with 106 co-sponsors, 10 of whom are committee chairmen.
As with any piece of legislation, however, nothing is certain until the president signs the bill. And if the Internet community rises up in the same way it did against SOPA and PIPA, then you will certainly see support for CISPA crumble in Congress (it is an election year, after all). That said, whether or not the Internet will react with such force remains a big “if.”"

TEXAS CO-SPONSORS OF CISPA

Rep. Michael Burgess [R-TX26] /
Rep. Michael Conaway [R-TX11] / 
Rep. Michael McCaul [R-TX10] (LOTSA MICHAELS) /
Rep. John Carter [R-TX31] (joined Feb 07, 2012) /
Rep. Pete Olson [R-TX22] (joined Feb 16, 2012) /

If you are represented by any of the above, please write them and let them know you will work to vote out of office ANYONE who continues sponsoring or co-sponsoring CISPA or any related bills.