Bad Deeds for 6-21-2007

Cheney Says He Doesn’t Have to Report on Classified Documents Because the Vice President’s Office is Not Part of the Executive Branch – The Office of Vice President Dick Cheney told an agency within the National Archives that for purposes of securing classified information, the Vice President’s office is not an ‘entity within the executive branch’ according to a letter released Thursday by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Waxman noted that Cheney’s office had declared itself not affected by an executive order amended by President George W. Bush in 2003 regarding classification and declassification of government materials. The Vice President’s office’s refusal to comply with the executive order and the National Archives’s request prompted the National Archives to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s office. But the Justice Department has not followed up on the Archives’s request.”The Oversight Committee has learned that over the objections of the National Archives, you exempted the Office of the Vice President from the presidential executive order that establishes a uniform, government-wide system for safeguarding classified national security information,” Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the Committee’s chairman, wrote in a letter to Cheney. “Your decision to exempt your office from the President’s order is problematic because it could place national security secrets at risk. It is also hard to understand given the history of security breaches involving officials in your office.”

The Number of Uninsured Veterans Has Increased by 290,000 Since 2000: Total is Now Over 1 Million – Yesterday, Harvard Medical School professor Stephanie J. Woolhandler told the House Committee on Veteran Affairs that the amount of uninsured veterans has increased by 290,000 since 2000 and that 1.8 million United States veterans under the age of 65 do not have health insurance. Ms. Woolhandler said to the committee that “the data is showing that many veterans have no coverage and they’re sick and need care and can’t get it.”

How to Downgrade to XP is at the top of Microsoft’s “Top 5 Licensing Questions.” – In a posting to Microsoft’s UK Partner Team blog, a Microsoft employee lists the five questions most often asked last month via the “Ask Partner” Hotline. The most commonly asked question was “What downgrade rights does Windows Vista Business have?” (Not a question you want to hear asked if you are trying to convince customers that upgrading, not downgrading, is the way to go.) The second most frequently asked question: “What media and key can I use when downgrading?” Again, not exactly a resounding endorsement of Vista from volume licensees.

Homeland Security Can’t Secure It’s Own Computers – The Homeland Security Department, the lead U.S. agency for fighting cyber threats, suffered more than 800 hacker break-ins, virus outbreaks and other computer security problems over two years, senior officials acknowledged to Congress

Thieves Steal Herman Munster’s Identity

Regards,

Jim