The news is regularly peppered with stories of computers and networks being compromised and security being questioned. The new bill introduced as the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 will give the US Government extended reach in shutting down portions of the Internet as they deem necessary, as well as gaining control and access to data previously off limits to government review without due process and legal warrants.

Perhaps more interesting than the article itself is the amount of comments that have now been collected on the article. Read the article to get a better idea of the details of what’s being discussed, but read the comments to start getting colorful representation of how these proposed changes are expected to impact individuals and businesses.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation provides good overview of the impact to these proposed changes as well.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this legislation as it continues to be discussed.

Image: sxc.hu

Post from: Uncover the Internet

It’s that time of year again. The taxman cometh. The only sure thing is death and taxes.

Now you can avoid losing a little bit more money during the process by filing your taxes for free with TaxAct.com.

I’ve never used TaxAct.com but a friend of mine just did and recommended them. I’ve been using TaxSlayer.com for the last couple of years so I’m not really looking for a new provider at this point.

Image: Snagit of TaxAct.com website

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With just a few more days until the presidential elections in the United States, it may be time to learn a little bit more about some of the history of these United States of America.

The Heritage Foundation website has made it possible for you to get your own pocket sized copy of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence completely free.

Just visit The Heritage Foundation website and complete the online form to receive your copy today.

UPDATE: Although still being promoted by a few different media outlets, the web page is no longer clear on how to receive your free copy. The order form appears to only provide the ability to purchase a minimum order of 1 pack of 10 copies.

Post from: Uncover the Internet

You’re probably aware by now that I’m a big fan of twitter. I’m also a big fan of government and elected officials listening to the people and connecting with them where they’re at in society.

I’m not under some dreamland of thinking all of the American people are on twitter or highly involved in any other social network, but I don’t think there should be laws or regulations limiting the contact of elected officials from communicating with the public through these methods.

The Let Our Congress Tweet website is hoping to change the way things are:

Congress should join us where we the people are talking, sharing and networking – online. As Congress reconsiders the restrictions placed on their Internet use, you can tell Congress to embrace the communication technologies that we already use.

Sounds pretty straight forward and helpful to me. What do you think?

I think it opens up the possibility of government working more like the Republic/Democracy it was setup to be in the first place.

www.letourcongresstweet.org

Post from: Uncover the Internet

I was going to say it’s that time of year again, but it’s been that time of year for a couple of months. Most people have already filed their taxes, but I still haven’t. I really need to get that done.

Regardless of your timing for doing your taxes, have you ever wondered where all that tax money goes that’s collected each year?

The TaxTrackr website will give you just the information you’ve been curious about. And you know it’s got to be cool because they spelled it without the “er” at the end.

All you need to do is put in your amounts for income, social security, medicare, etc and you can find out how much of all of that goes for items like defense, education, international affairs and more.

Hat tip to WXPNews for uncovering this in their e-mail newsletter.

Post from: Uncover the Internet