Comment Re:Oh great! (Score 1) 272
Let's see what else. Oh yeah he now has the power to declare a "national emergency" and shutdown the internet.
I'm always amazed at just how much people like to harp on the whole "OMG! Internet can be shut down in a national emergency!" thing. Yes, the President could abuse his power by arbitrarily declaring a national emergency and using that to derive the authority to shut down the internet.
But there's the slight side detail that the President has already had the power to declare a state of emergency and, say, revoke the right of habeas corpus (call me crazy, but I think holding people without charges or judicial oversight is a bit more serious than shutting down the internet) ever since Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution was accepted. The President has had far more injurious emergency powers available to him since long before you or I were born.
The power to shut down the internet in a national emergency does provide a possibility for abuse, there's no question about that, but, if you consider all the other things the President can order in a national emergency, shutting down the internet is just pissing in the ocean.