CISPA bill passes. Lets your email-company give out your password and emails.

[Eric J in MN]

The US House passed CISPA 248 to 168.

Nancy Pelosi voted No on privacy grounds.

See how your Rep voted here:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll192.xml#N

And tell your US Senators and President Obama that we don't need a cyber-security bill. Companies are addressing cyber-security fine under existing law.

[Rex]

1. So they work on this kind of bullshit, but cannot help

1 out of every 4 children in the US live in poverty. Congress seems to want to stay a joke with single digit approval rating numbers. I guess they like the idea of Americans living like it was a Third World country.

[kenny blankenship]

2. This marks the irreversible fusion of corporate power w/ government

We have arrived and if this stands, there's no turning back.

I know it's poor grammar but, hopefully, Obama will veto this unambiguously fascist legislation with all due righteous vehemence. (But I wouldn't hold my breath on that)

[socialist_n_TN]

3. Can we call it fascism yet?

nm

[Speck Tater]

4. Cut out the middleman. CC: FBI on all your emails. nt

[freshwest]

5. Overwhelm.

[Eric J in MN]

9. The FBI can already get our emails under the PATRIOT Act by calling us terrorists

...and writing "National Security Letters" (NSLs are like warrants, but without a judge involved.)

If CISPA becomes law, then private-security companies can get our emails by calling us hackers, or by saying we shared information which a corporation or government agency wanted to be private.

Then the private-security companies can share our emails with the FBI, NSA, and any other agency it wants.

[freshwest]

6. What about the 'freedom and liberty' the bagger Congress promised? Huh? Why'd they do it?

[saras]

7. You mean your emails aren't encrypted? THAT horse is long gone from the barn.

[Eric J in MN]

8. Do you encrypt most of your emails? NT

NT

[goclark]

11. How can you do that--

I've had some computer problems lately ~ hope they are solved but any info about the encrypt method would be helpful.

[Eric J in MN]

14. Typically, it's the email company which provide the encryption

...and that prevents the email from being intercepted (in readable form) in transit.

However, if the gov't wants to read emails encrypted that way, then it can get the password from the email-company (warrant or FBI National Security Letter).

If you encrypt a message yourself with Winzip, and tell the recipient the password over the phone, then the government can't easily open it.

However, the NSA is building a super-computer specifically to open encrypted messages. If that project succeeds, then encryption will be worthless in protecting against NSA spying.

[goclark]

15. Thanks a lot

Anything is possible now.

[Zalatix]

10. Didn't President Obama say he would veto this bill?

[Eric J in MN]

12. Obama didn't personally speak about CISPA. The White House...

...issued a letter saying if CISPA "were presented to the President, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill."

The letter:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/112/saphr3523r_20120425.pdf

But if the Senate passes a cyber-security bill, then it will be merged with CISPA, and the White House can say the bill he signs isn't exactly CISPA.

[neverforget]

13. I've been redistricted into a Blue Dogs district and the POS voted for the bill. My current

Congressman Blumenauer did not vote but I am sure he would have voted no. Kurt Schrader is my new Congressman and he is going to hear from me a lot. Fucker is for the Simpson-Bowles Cat Food Budget.
http://schrader.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=24&sectiontree=23,24&itemid=595

I went from a fantastic Rep to a fucking asshole.