Homeland Security and ICE have started seizing domain names
I first heard about this story of the Department of Homeland Security and the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement office seizing domain names of websites that are in violation of copyright laws over at Bunkerville so a hat tip is in order.
As I wrote above, DHS and ICE have begun shutting down websites that are engaged in copyright infringement against the music industry. This story should be frightening to people all across the country for two reasons, not because of who these departments are going after–there is no defending people who are stealing something that belongs to someone else–but the manner in which they are doing so, and which departments are doing this.
The first part of this story that I find frightening is the fact that the Congress is still debating the bill that would grant these departments the authority to shut down these websites, and as of right now there is the very likely chance that the Combatting Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act will not pass in the Senate because Democrat Ron Wyden believes the law would be too heavy handed and has vowed to stop it. So the Department of Homeland Security and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office have not been granted the authority to carry out these procedures and they are doing it anyway.
The fact that government entities are usurping more power than they have been authorized should be frightening to all Americans because while shutting down websites that infringe upon an artist’s copyright may be a just and prudent cause, the fact remains that nobody has given them the authority to do this. Where will it stop? Who will be next? Will DHS and ICE start expanding their probes to include websites that might be critical to the president? That doesn’t seem to far-fetched to me when they are already shutting down websites without actually having the power to do so.
And the second frightening aspect to this story is this: Why the hell is the Department of Homeland Security and the Immigrations and Customs office the two government agencies which are conducting these cyber raids in the first place? Stealing copyrighted music is not an issue of national defense and it certainly falls well outside the parameters of what the Immigration and Customs office should be charged with overseeing. The ‘C’ stands for customs, not copyright! (Doesn’t ICE have other issues they should be working on?) If their power is allowed to be expanded into a realm so far removed from the initial responsiblity of these agencies the boundaries of any future power they may be given are virtually limitless.
We have two government agencies that are usurping power that does not belong to them to enforce a law that is not even a law yet and we are just supposed to sit back and think that there is nothing wrong with this?! And this is just the beginning, for as Bunkerville said in his comment to me over at his site, watch out for the FCC because they are coming also. The courts have ruled against them but they are still getting ready to move forward with a version of net neutrality even though the Congress was unable to pass it.
And it still doesn’t end there because the Congress was unable to pass a comprehensive global warming bill so the EPA is now in the process of dictating the bill into law. Barack Obama is expanding all of these government agencies and he is doing so because he is looking to dictate through these agencies policies that the American people have rejected and the Congress has failed to pass. Yes, these are scary times indeed! We are dealing with a megalomaniac here who will stop at nothing to thrust his agenda upon an unwilling American people. The Congress be damned! If he cannot get his agenda through the Congress, he will simply bypass the Congress.
The walls are closing in all around us, and I don’t think there is anything we can do.
Trackbacks
- Sunday Links: Rush Edition | Conservative Hideout 2.0
- Sunday hunt for links – Rattlesnake Edition | Political Realities
- Wikileaks releases more top secret United States documents « America's Watchtower
- Ministry of Propaganda? Barack Obama creates a new government agency to control his message « America's Watchtower
- DHS released an admitted terrorist who entered the country illegally, and they don’t know where he is « America's Watchtower
America's Watchtower 
I often find myself wondering, if they continue to do these things without authority, what’s to say that Obama won’t retain his presidential seat through some other governmental, forceable, illegal (as without elections) manner?
And why isn’t this enough for the people of America to revolt! Are not these individuals who are involved in these illegal activities criminals or at the very least acting with criminal intent? Shouldn’t they be tried, impeached, convicted, whatever we have at our disposal to put them out?
And lastly, what happen to the good men and women in our government finding some way to hold these people/organizations accountable? Isn’t our government on where the branches are supposed to be counter-weights to the other branches?
I’m with you Steve. This stuff is starting to really make me physically sick. Sometimes I just want to cry as I watch America being completely dismantled and disrobed. Sickening…
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Yes this is getting sickening! The president is not able to pass his agenda using constitutional means so he is all too willing to let these defferent government agencies implement it for him. This is an assault on our constitution and it must not go unanswered! If he is allowed to get away with this there is not limit to what he will be able to do!
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I remember we said the same thing about President Nixon – that he’d declare a state of emergency and cancel elections. It didn’t happen, and it won’t with this President, no matter how much of a paranoid frenzy some people develop.
As to the issue of ICE and DHS seizing domain names, I think it’s terribly troubling. The legislative debate obviously hasn’t been held, yet these agencies are at least jumping the gun and at most engaged in a breathtaking abuse of authority.
And considering some reports I’ve read about some of the sites shut down, it appears that the heavy-handedness many have expressed concern about is being demonstrated – shutting down bittorrent tracker sites, for example, is kind of like shutting down a library because somebody used the copying machine to copy a copyrighted image.
Steve’s right – the copyright issue, I’m afraid, is just a smokescreen. The government, regardless of who was running the show, has been drooling to control web content since Al Gore invented the internet, and this is nothing more than the foot in the door.
Finally, I hope nobody’s kidding themselves that either the GOP or a government run by Tea Party populists wouldn’t take advantage of this sort of authority to pursue their own agenda and squelch opposition and dissent.
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I don’t believe there is any way that Barack Obama would be able to get away with cancelling elections either–remember all of those on the left that claimed GWB was going to cancel the elections? It didn’t happen.
I do believe this is a foot in the door towards more internet control by the government and I find this to be a scary proposition to say the least!
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Nothing like some more illegal search and seizure to set this administration apart. Mind you, that before the next election, this will be expanded to cover us. It won’t matter that we haven’t actually done anything, we’ll just be take out.
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I concur, the true target of this assault is not on the people who violate copyright laws, this administration has bigger fish to fry here. The door will be opened by these initial website sezures, but their power will be extended even further so that the DHS and ICE can go after the true targets–you and I. I use quotes from other article on just about every post that I write and although I always credit the source the fact is that the government is going to go after us bloggers who are fighting against this oppresive regime. It is only a matter of time before they use this power to shut down all opposition to the president around the blogosphere.
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They’re citing laws already on the books, but I saw nothing that gave ICE or Homeland Security the authority to do this. I suggest we all contact Darrell Issa who will be congress’ watchdog come January. Something like this would be right up his alley.
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Now that is a great idea! He has claimed that he plans on holding multiple investigations, he should probably start here!
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Thanks for the H/T. Well said by all. Our last stand will be the Supreme Court. 5-4 so far in our favor. This will be our alamo I predict. Obama has already gotton two picks, and no doubt Ginsberg soon.
The other front will be the Secretary of States who control State elections. A little know office which is critical that we retain control. Soros is spending millions to elect his minions. That is what happend in Minn. and why we lost a seat. We must maintain and have faith in our elections. Imho.. This whole process has become easily corruptible.
The fact that they made their move late yesterday tells us all we need to know about what they are about.
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You are welcome! The Supreme Court is our last hope and the 5-4 majority is much too think for my liking, lst year the SC only ruled by a 5-4 that the 2nd amendment was an individual right. One more Obama justice and the ruling could be overturned. We need to hope that Obama doesn’t get another nominee, or we could lose the SC as well.
I have heard something about Soros trying to buy the Secretary of State seats all across the nation, this is a scary time we are living in.
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I have a story to tell. I was talking to my leftist friend who I had to hear during the Bush administration spout nonsense about the Bush dictatorship and Republican Nazis. So I said to him so where are you now with this. He told me that these are sites that are breaking copyright laws and the government intervention is justified. I said what about the TSA; he replied said a necessary evil. I then asked about food safety, he replied well that’s a given we need food safety. So I said these were all the things you were against when Bush was president, but now Obama is in the house and it’s ok. He replied…I just didn’t like George Bush. So I replied so as long as it’s not George Bush…you’re ok with tyranny. The phone went silent.
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I hope you didn’t lose your friend over this! 🙂
It is amazing the length that the left will go to defend policies which they would have decried if Bush had implemented them. If Bush had gone after the copyright websites the leftist would have proclaimed that “big record companies” were making an obscene profits and forcing people to start websites like this, and tha Bush was going after the little guy. And can you image the uproar if Bush had set up a virtual police state at every airport in the country?
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Oh the hypocrisy…
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Indeed!
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Today copyright violations… Tomorrow, anyone that dares to question Obama and Company…
Seriously, consider this; what if Obama decides that the DNC can’t challenge him in 2012? With a new Dem that wants to take Obama out? What then?
Suppose Obama, through a series of Executive Orders, shreds the constitution and appoints himself *Leader for Life*? What then?
Where do WE draw the line against these NAZI tactics being used to KILL our American freedoms?
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The fact that Obama is organizing these agencies in an attempt to support his agenda is very reminiscent of 1930’s Germany, I don’t think it is too absurd to compair what is going on in the United States today to what happened in Germany in the 1930’s.
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