‘We’re From the Government and We’re Here to Enhance Your Computer Security’

What could possibly go wrong?:

President Obama is expected to announce late this week that he will create a “cyber czar,” a senior White House official who will have broad authority to develop strategy to protect the nation’s government-run and private computer networks, according to people who have been briefed on the plan.

The adviser will have the most comprehensive mandate granted to such an official to date and will probably be a member of the National Security Council but will report to the national security adviser as well as the senior White House economic adviser, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deliberations are not final.

The Obama administration is fulfulling its goal of containing more czars than a Russian history book.

In the corridors of power in Washington, DC, they’ve figured out that if you call someone a “czar,” you can side-step any annoying confirmation procedures and other constitutional issues and still create what is in essence a rogue, unchecked cabinet post.

Don’t you wish you could do the same?

IRS: Hey, you cheated on your taxes.

You: I don’t have to follow the prescribed system because I appointed a tax czar to file my return.

IRS: Okay.

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Comments

Shouldn’t it be illegal to just make up a new term and use it to bypass Congressional confirmation?

Nobody is going to challenge him on this?

Daggett on May 26, 2009 at 9:26 AM

Going to be really interesting to see who he picks for this post.

Many of Bambi’s IT types are very very shadey characters… imports from the East, some of whom are already under investigation for various crminal acts.

Add in the computer shenanigans with his online Campaign finance data, and you suddenly see a pattern.

Romeo13 on May 26, 2009 at 9:50 AM

I am happier than ever to be going Galt in the sense that I’m shutting down my business and purposefully earning less money. While this is obviously going to impact big companies the most, even small time web developers like me who run a server are bound to be affected – after all, the article nonchalantly announces (as if it were fact) “although it is a key government responsibility to help secure private-sector networks…” – you know that regulation will trickle down to everybody who connects at some level.

Countdown to the Obama Administration’s inappropriate use of the word “cyber” (and the “teabag” snickering media to ignore it) in 5… 4… 3…

Laura on May 26, 2009 at 12:21 PM