Greenpeace Puts Banner On Mt. Rushmore

This is ridiculous…last night, Greenpeace placed a banner on Mt. Rushmore.

It does have somewhat a point…”America honors leaders, not politicians.” Well that sounds about right…but then it said “Stop Global Warming” and I laughed.

Why did they have to put it on Mt. Rushmore?

Some of the demonstrators breached a controlled area and got to the top of the monument, Mount Rushmore spokeswoman Patty Rooney told CNN.

Greenpeace, a nonprofit organization that supports environmental causes, said the sign “is part of a global day of action … to urge world leaders … to take the actions necessary to avert runaway climate change.”

Great…did you have to put the sign on Mt. Rushmore?

Greenpeace acknowledged the protest is illegal and dangerous, but said it does not believe the sign will damage the solid granite structure.

What rebels. You’d think they were high schoolers…

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Cyber Attacks Hit US and South Korean Government Websites

North Korea may have caused US government websites to go down on Independence Day, and South Korea government websites to go down yesterday.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told members of parliament’s intelligence committee Wednesday that Pyongyang or its sympathizers were believed to be behind the attacks, according to aides to two of the lawmakers. They spoke on condition of anonymity given the classified nature of the information.

The spy agency declined to confirm the information provided by the aides but said in a statement that the sophistication of the attacks suggested they were carried out at a higher level than just rogue or individual hackers.

The attacks, which began in the U.S. over the July 4 holiday and in South Korea on Tuesday, were thoroughly prepared and appeared to have been committed by hackers “at the level of a certain organization or state,” the statement said.

It did not mention North Korea by name.

It would make sense that North Korea would be doing this, or hiring other people to hack websites. After all, it’s not too hard to create a virus if you know what you are doing.

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John Harris Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud

Blago must be sweating buckets right now…

From the Chicago Tribune:

John Harris, the last chief of staff to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, pleaded guilty today to a single count of wire fraud in federal court — and agreed to cooperate in the federal probe against his former boss in return for a recommended prison term of just under 3 years.

Harris was accused of aiding some of the former governor’s efforts to leverage the powers of his office in exchange for favors and campaign contributions. Among the accusations against Blagojevich is that he attempted to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.

(Read the guilty plea here)
Harris entered the plea after Assistant U.S. Atty. Carrie Hamilton detailed discussions in which Harris talked with Blagojevich about how the then-governor could personally benefit from naming a successor to Obama in the Senate.

The discussions began long before Obama’s election victory, Harris said. He said he aided Blagojevich by researching his ideas or counseling him and at other times “expressed opposition” to some of the plans to profit off the Senate appointment, Hamilton said.

In reading a summary of Harris’ plea agreement, Hamilton alleged that Blagojevich met with an official from the Service Employees International Union — a person he understood to be an emissary working on behalf of Obama — hoping to get something for himself in exchange for appointing the right candidate to fill the Senate seat.

Blagojevich was hopeful that by naming a person identified only as “Senate Candidate B” — previously disclosed to be Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett — he could secure an appointment to become secretary of the U.S. Department Health and Human Services, according to the plea agreement.

Blagojevich also was interested in a possible job at a private foundation in exchange for naming Jarrett and asked Harris to look into it.

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Public Says Proposed New Taxes Aren’t Okay

From CNN:

Senate negotiators are searching for new ways to pay for an overhaul of the U.S. health insurance system after recent polls showed many Americans oppose funding it through taxes on employer-provided health insurance, a key senator said Tuesday.

A recent New York Times/CBS News poll showed only 20 percent of respondents support the tax and a Washington Post/ABC News poll found 70 percent opposed it. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found 54 percent of respondents oppose the new tax.

The poll was a setback for many lawmakers who considered the tax the best way to raise hundreds of billions of dollars needed to pay for health care reform.

“When you get numbers like that, it certainly causes you to look for alternatives,” said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-North Dakota.

Conrad is chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and leads a Finance subcommittee on taxation. He said the proposal is unpopular because most Americans are not aware of the value of their employer-provided health benefits and don’t know if they will be subject to the new tax.

He gave few clues to possible alternatives, but said, “We are searching for options, and there are a fair number of them that can work.”

Taxing sugary drinks, something House Democrats have pushed, is out because “there are a lot of members who don’t like it,” Conrad said. But lowering tax deductions for wealthier Americans, something advocated by President Obama, is still under consideration.

Most of the tax options are related to the health sector, Conrad said. New ideas were raised Tuesday during a meeting with congressional negotiators.

The idea of taxing health care benefits has been controversial since it was proposed. Obama has never fully supported it, and many key Senate Democrats have opposed it outright. Even so, Conrad didn’t rule it out, saying the tax remains “viable” while senators seek other options.

Meanwhile, a new surtax on Americans who make more than $250,000, the sugary drinks tax and increasing the Medicare payroll tax were among the proposals for funding health care reform discussed by Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Rep. Charles Rangel, the committee’s chairman, said “all of the above” and more were covered during an all-day meeting at his Capitol Hill office, but declined to give details.

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Donald Rumsfeld Says…

The absence of evidence is not necessarily the evidence of absence.

It’s a difficult thing today to be informed about our government even without all the secrecy.

I don’t believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons.

Stuff happens.

There will be good moments, and there will be less good moments.

It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.

Oh, Lord. I didn’t mean to say anything quotable.

Song Of The Day: A Little Less Conversation