"modeled on a law already on the books in China"...really, Comrade Lieberman? 

So much to call about, so little time.  Keep on your Congress critters, folks!  ~M

He may not have succeeded in slowing the rise of the oceans or providing jobs for the jobless. But if Congress passes the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, which quietly arrived on the floor of the Senate late last week, Barack Obama will have the power to shut down the Internet for at least four months without Congressional oversight.

Nicknamed the “kill switch” bill, the legislation would give the federal government the power to close down networks and block incoming Internet traffic from certain countries under a declared national emergency. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), the bill’s primary sponsor, told CNN that the bill is modeled on a law already on the books in China, which gives the government authority to “disconnect parts of its Internet in case of war.” Lieberman added, “[W]e need to have that here too.”

In an earlier incarnation, the bill gave the president unlimited control over the Internet “kill switch,” but the legislation was amended in the face of criticism and now requires that the president seek congressional approval to extend emergency measures beyond 120 days. Even so, the bill imbues the with president absolute authority to shut down the Internet without oversight for a period of no less than four months.

Read the rest of this great post here!