He can also nuke half the U.S. if he wants to, but that doesn't make it probable.

An hour of internet downtime in the U.S. would cause more economic damage than 9/11 and the grounding of all airplanes. Do it once and you lose the confidence of investors everywhere, and you will see a bank run that will drive the value of the dollar to the ground. Not to mention what it will do to domestic confidence.

Economies and national sovereignty are an illusion that must be kept by the state, through constant projection of power and stability. Shake that a tiny bit and it will ripple across the board.

[Edit:

This blog is a fringe, vanity publication that seems to cater to the extreme right. Their "articles" include a list of properties and social-security numbers of people associated with Obama, along with other wacky ideas, like using the word "homosexual" as a derogatory. Doesn't look very credible, or for that matter accountable.]

Great, a blog with stories like "Yet another terrorist tie to Obama White House" excerpting prisonplanet.com. I suppose this means we're supposed to think that Obama will shut down the internet to allow William Ayers to assume power as Grand Imperator of North America, who will then kill you with a missile from a black UN helicopter before revealing his true Reptilian form and teleporting into space.

Is shutting down the internet physically possible? Ignoring the consequences, I'm just curious about the implications on infrastructure. I, for one, am really unsure about what the internet is as far as the hardware connections go.

If this story is accurate, and it probably isn't, it's a step forwards for Internet-libertarians. Under the Communications Act, the President already had the power to shut the entire Internet down indefinitely for national security reasons. The people making angry noises about stuff like this don't understand the law as it already exists.

I'm at a loss to think of one good reason a president needs this power. Can anyone elucidate?

And if she wins the next election, Sarah Palin can also choose to shut down the internet for 4 months.