Bush: 17 recess appointments tonight. Google Time

[stevedeshazer]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/01/20060104-3.html

President George W. Bush today recess appointed the following individuals:

Floyd Hall, of New Jersey, to be a Member of the AMTRAK Reform Board.

Enrique J. Sosa, of Florida, to be a Member of the AMTRAK Reform Board.

Nadine Hogan, of Florida, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Foundation (Private Representative).

Roger W. Wallace, of Texas, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Foundation (Private Representative).

Gordon England, of Texas, to be Deputy Secretary of Defense.

Benjamin A. Powell, of Florida, to be General Counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Ronald E. Meisburg, of Virginia, to be General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board.

Julie L. Myers, of Kansas, to be Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

Tracy A. Henke, of Missouri, to be Executive Director of the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness at the Department of Homeland Security.

Arthur F. Rosenfeld, of Virginia, to be Federal Mediation and Conciliation Director at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Ellen R. Sauerbrey, of Maryland, to be Assistant Secretary of State (Population, Refugees, and Migration).

Dorrance Smith, of Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs).

Robert D. Lenhard, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Federal Election Commission.

Steven T. Walther, of Nevada, to be a Member of the Federal Election Commission.

Hans Von Spakovsky, of Georgia, to be a Member of the Federal Election Commission.

Peter N. Kirsanow, of Ohio, to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board.

Stephen Goldsmith, of Indiana, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service.
=================================================================================================================================

[StClone]

1. When Dems Control things again

Isn't it going to be fun all the tricks we''ll be able to use?

[Blue_Tires]

44. amen to that shit

Bush's trickery has set the bar VERY high (or low, depending on how you look at it)

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

81. No, because you'd never use them.

[Nikki Stone 1]

2. AMTRACK reform board? There go the trains....

The Labor Relations Board and the Federal Election Commission are big targets tonight too it seems.

[Erika]

6. W will just privitaze the trains and triple our costs to ride them

It's his idea of what is good for corporatism and just part of his job.

[XOKCowboy]

15. That does sound ominous for Amtrak doesn't it..

That's a shame. I'll miss it and we've only got the California Zephyr coming through here. Back east this is much more important. Balancing the budget on the back of the tax payers.

[Chichiri]

55. You know what's really scary?

My girlfriend is riding the Amtrak RIGHT NOW.

[ClintonTyree]

101. If he does for Amtrak what he did for mine safety..........

I'm never going to ride a train again in my life! :scared:

[AuntiBush]

108. There was a Lot of Talk About These Issues This Past Summer

Watched it on C-SPAN and assumed it was a dead-issue. Now, what!?!

17 changes? Need a few to digest this.

[Erika]

3. A bunch more of W's $100,000 club/ political hacks

They couldn't make it through regular confirmation hearings and W loves to reward his donors with taxpayer jobs. Kind of like Brownie.

[peekaloo]

4. Hans von Spakovsky

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Hans_von_Spakovsky


I'm tired but I believe this arse had a hand in the Texas redistricting, too.

[berni_mccoy]

5. Here are the appointments to be VERY CONCERNED ABOUT:

Gordon England, of Texas, to be Deputy Secretary of Defense.

Benjamin A. Powell, of Florida, to be General Counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Julie L. Myers, of Kansas, to be Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

Tracy A. Henke, of Missouri, to be Executive Director of the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness at the Department of Homeland Security.

Ellen R. Sauerbrey, of Maryland, to be Assistant Secretary of State (Population, Refugees, and Migration).

Dorrance Smith, of Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs).

Robert D. Lenhard, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Federal Election Commission.

Steven T. Walther, of Nevada, to be a Member of the Federal Election Commission.

Hans Von Spakovsky, of Georgia, to be a Member of the Federal Election Commission.


The assistant SoS and defense positions because they are so important and Bush just changed the order of succession in the DoD.

The FEC positions because they may impact the Abramoff scandal (obstruction of justice).

[Erika]

10. Bush is sure a sneaky little bastard, isn't he? n/t

[peekaloo]

27. you betcha. Julie Myers is Richard Myers (ex Joint Chief) daughter

and is married to Michael Chertoff's Chief of Staff. Even Michelle Malkin criticized her nomination..

[Erika]

35. Bush cares about loyalties not qualifications

and he sticks American workers for the paychecks of his unqualified political hacks.

[Kool Kitty]

58. Son of a bitch.

The NYTimes had a piece in OP-Ed about Sauerbrey, about how Nancy Pelosi had them hold up her nomination. He really does think he is the Emperor. Why do we even have a Congress?

[stevedeshazer]

7. Gordon England of Texas, Deputy Sec Def

Never served. Defense contractor.



<snip>

72nd Secretary of the Navy

England was a controversial choice for Secretary of the Navy due to his lack of any military service experience and his long career in the defense industry including his most recent appointment as Executive Vice President of General Dynamics Corporation. Critics such as William D. Hartung, Head of the Arms Trade Resource Center, felt that it was inappropriate to appoint businessmen whose companies would be the prime benefactor of any increase in defense spending.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_England

[slipslidingaway]

62. Gordon England profile from rightweb.

snip

"Like other armed service secretaries originally appointed by George W. Bush—including James Roche and Thomas White—Gordon England arrived at the Pentagon fresh from duties as an executive of a major corporation, in this case the Pentagon contractor General Dynamics. Gordon, along with his boss Donald Rumsfeld, is a champion of military transformation. According to a Washington Times article about his appointment, one of Gordon’s chief aims as navy secretary is to develop “futuristic weapons to counter new types of threats emerging in the post-Soviet world.” General Dynamics specializes in the design of attack and ballistic missile submarines as well as tanks." (3) (5)


http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1144

[Ilsa]

103. Oh shit. The second amendment won't mean anything

if these bozos can develop new weaponry and turn it on us.

[Canuckistanian]

8. Benjamin A. Powell

Anyone know his story? He's a WH lawyer and....?

I found this in a Robert Novak column from Nov 12, 2005:
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/robertnovak/2005/11/12/175201.html

A footnote: Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Negroponte last Tuesday wrote Senate leaders pleading with them to confirm White House lawyer Benjamin A. Powell as the DNI office's general counsel. The unexplained Democratic hold on Powell, wrote Negroponte, "is hindering necessary transformation" of the Intelligence Community.

Who is this guy?

[merwin]

9. Robert D Lenhard

Husband of Viveka Novak
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Robert_D._Lenhard

[stevedeshazer]

12. Hmmm.

Very interesting

[Canuckistanian]

17. A little peck on the cheek for Viv, eh?

Seeing as how these thugs always work through spouses...

[Canuckistanian]

16. Oh, yeah, I remember that

He was quietly slipped onto the short list a couple weeks ago, wasn't he?

[DemonFighterLives]

11. Last Throes?

Anything that this smarmy devil pulls needs to be undone asap.

[woodsprite]

13. Some directions for research, like

does Abramoff touch any of these guys? Might as well start getting our ducks in a row early.

Gee, It's like * is scared something might happen so he's trying to cram every sneaky thing in that he can before he gets tied up in all this other mess or a new "distraction". OR when he may not have the Congress he hoped for, but has to make do with the Congress he gets (2006!).

Sounds good to say it - just wish I believed it wholeheartedly. :(

[Virginian]

23. If these crooks who are linked to Abramoff quit, who fills their seats?

Does the Governor of the state appoint a representative until the next election?
How many Govs who would do the appointing are Dems?

[stevedeshazer]

14. Ellen Sauerbrey, Maryland For Bush Campaign Chairperson

Another political hack, to be Assistant Secretary of State (Population, Refugees, and Migration).

http://www.aptusit.com/MarylandforBush/EllenSauerbrey.htm

[Erika]

20. These people all need to be laughed at.

Bush is just rewarding his loyalists with taxpayer monies. They are in no way qualified for their positions.

How sad the bastard is doing this to our country.

[davidinalameda]

21. I thought that was Blanche from Golden Girls

:rofl:

[Binka]

70. What The Fuck Is On Her Head? A Lacquered Ferret?

Holy shyte!

[stepnw1f]

90. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww

What the fuck is that on her head? Hey, Haus Frau, whig is so 1800's!

[stevedeshazer]

18. Former Amoco and Dow executive Enrique J. Sosa

http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/detail.php?id=2365

<snip>

As executive vice president, Sosa headed Amoco's chemicals sector before becoming president of BP Amoco Chemicals after the two companies merged. Prior to joining Amoco, he was senior vice president of Dow Chemical and president of Dow North America. He also was a member of Dow's board of directors and executive committee.

A native of Cuba, Sosa has been a U.S. citizen since 1971. He maintains residences in Chicago and Key Biscayne, Fla.

[annabanana]

114. napalm Dow Chemical.....

(remember boycott saran wrap?)

[stevedeshazer]

116. napalm = evil

Perfect fit for Bushco. :(

[Canuckistanian]

19. Kicked and Nominated

This is a good discussion.

[Erika]

24. This is a very sad discussion. W is selling this country out

to a bunch of his political hacks. Paid for by working
Americans.

[Canuckistanian]

59. Sad, but necessary

If you don't pay attention to 'em, they'll attempt to do something worse. Although, i can't imagine what that would be.

[stevedeshazer]

22. Nadine Hogan, President Hogan Associates International Alexandria, VA

http://www.claa.org/about.html

Caribbean-Central American Action (CCAA) is a private, independent organization that promotes private sector-led economic development in the Caribbean Basin and throughout the Hemisphere. The organization serves its goal of facilitating trade and investment by stimulating a constructive dialogue between the private and public sectors to improve the policy and regulatory environments for business on both the international and local level. The organization conducts policy-oriented programs in sectors such as financial services, transportation, energy, agriculture, apparel, intellectual property rights, tourism, telecommunications, and information technology.

CCAA today is playing a major role in the regional trade and integration process, mobilizing business and political leadership to advance the economic reforms and hemispheric free trade pledged at the 1994 Summit of the Americas. The organization is committed to the implementation of a comprehensive free trade agreement with the Caribbean Basin and the progressive evolution of the mutually beneficial trade relationships established through the Caribbean Basin Initiative for the countries of the region with the United States.

[jwirr]

86. You mean an OUTSOURCER?

[stevedeshazer]

112. It would certainly appear so. Shocked?

So am I. Or not. :(

[radio4progressives]

25. FEC appointments..

Anyone got the goods on the Federal Election Commission appointments?

Lenhard, Walther, & Spakovsky? Maryland, Nevada, and Georgia?

[robbedvoter]

36. Here's some stuff on Spakovski

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/31/opinion/31sat3.html
Conspiring Against the Voters

snip
The most objectionable nominee is Hans von Spakovsky, a former Republican county chairman in Georgia and a political appointee at the Justice Department. He is reported to have been involved in the maneuvering to overrule the career specialists at Justice who warned that the Texas gerrymandering orchestrated by Representative Tom DeLay violated minority voting rights. Senators need the opportunity to delve into that, as well as reports of Mr. von Spakovsky's involvement in such voting rights abuses as the purging of voter rolls in Florida in the 2000 elections.

[stevedeshazer]

50. Thanks. So he's a vote supressor.

Bastard.

[FatDave]

60. You've got to be fucking kidding me.

That is absolutely astounding.

[stevedeshazer]

26. Roger W. Wallace, a Bush 'Pioneer'

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0343,harkavy,48033,1.html

[stevedeshazer]

28. Benjamin A. Powell,

All I can find is that he appeared to pass the New York bar exan in 1997:

http://www.nylawyer.com/display.php/file=/exam/names/7973ip

[stevedeshazer]

29. Ronald E. Meisburg's last appointment blocked in Senate

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0442,robbins,57699,5.html

From October 2004 <snip>

As president, George W. Bush gets to fill three of the five seats on the National Labor Relations Board, the panel that serves as a kind of Supreme Court for labor issues. Bush didn't get his three-member majority until last December, when he placed a conservative Washington, D.C., attorney named Ronald Meisburg on the panel. Meisburg's nomination had been blocked in the Senate, so Bush made what's called a recess appointment, meaning Meisburg gets to serve only until the Senate recesses next month.

[me b zola]

30. Legislative Branch? He don't need no Legislative Branch!

Crazy king george strikes again :scared:

[linazelle]

31. This is what they do while the news blares the story du jour. nt

[stevedeshazer]

32. Julie L. Myers, worked for Ken Starr!

http://www.ndu.edu/inss/symposia/pacific2002/bios.html

Ms. Myers is the Deputy Assistant Secretary, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes at the Department of Treasury. She is responsible for developing, managing and implementing the National Money Laundering Strategy, including strategies designed to combat the problems of terrorist financing. Oversee the U.S. delegation to the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Supervise and provide policy guidance on legislative and regulatory issues relating to the recent anti-terrorism legislation, international counter-narcotics programs and international crime control. Conduct and supervise the analysis of the counter-money laundering regimes of foreign countries and coordinate the imposition of countermeasures on non-cooperative countries. From 1999 to 2001, Ms. Myers was an Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York. Between 1998 and 1999, she worked as an Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr. Ms. Myers worked with the law firm of Mayer, Brown & Platt from 1995 to 1997. During the summers of 1993 and 1994, she worked as an Associate. She was a law clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Chambers of the Honorable C. Arlen Beam from 1994 to 1995. Ms. Myers received a J.D., cum laude from Cornell Law School and a B.A. from Baylor University.

[Fiendish Thingy]

33. any coverage in the MSM yet? K&R n/t

[stevedeshazer]

34. Tracy A. Henke, Racial Profiling Report Fixer

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tracy_A._Henke

<snip>

"Fixing" the Racial Profiling Report

In April 2005, as a report was being completed by Lawrence A. Greenfeld, whom President Bush had named in 2001 "to lead the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mr. Greenfeld's office drafted a news release to announce the findings and submitted it for review to the office of Tracy A. Henke, who was then the acting assistant attorney general who oversaw the statistics branch," Eric Lichtblau reported (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/politics/24profiling.html?ex=1129348800&en=81d2774680ed8804&ei=5070) in the August 24, 2005, New York Times.

"The planned announcement noted that the rate at which whites, blacks and Hispanics were stopped was 'about the same,' and that finding was left intact by Ms. Henke's office, according to a copy of the draft obtained by The New York Times.

"But the references in the draft to higher rates of searches and use of force for blacks and Hispanics were crossed out by hand, with a notation in the margin that read, 'Do we need this?' A note affixed to the edited draft, which the officials said was written by Ms. Henke, read 'Make the changes,' and it was signed 'Tracy.' That led to a fierce dispute after Mr. Greenfeld refused to delete the references, officials said."

[Erika]

37. Bush appoints his political hacks based on equality

He doesn't care if his appointees are racists or not.

[LizW]

38. Cronypalooza!!!!! n/t

[Staph]

39. Big Donors

According to Texans for Public Justice (http://www.tpj.org/docs/pioneers/pioneers_table.jsp), two of the recess appointees are big donors:

Stephen Goldsmith -- Major League Pioneer in 2000 and Ranger in 2004. President Bush appointed Goldsmith as his “special advisor” for faith-based initiatives as well as chair of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Roger Windham wallace -- also Major League Pioneer in 2000 and Ranger in 2004. Wallace is a long-time GOP fundraiser, who headed the first President Bush’s Houston-area presidential campaign in 1980.

None of the other recess appointees are on the list.

[stevedeshazer]

52. Thanks for checking

Welcome to DU. :hi:

[stevedeshazer]

40. Arthur F. Rosenfeld: Union Buster

Wal-Mart pimp.

http://blog.wakeupwalmart.com/ufcw/2005/04/ufcw_files_char.html

[amerikat]

41. >>>>>>don't forget this resource

http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/index.asp

[amerikat]

46. Floyd Hall.......Kmart exec..big pub contributer

http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/index.asp

HALL, FLOYD
MONTCLAIR,NJ 70042


FLOYD HALL ENTERPRISES


10/23/2000


$8,000


National Republican Senatorial Cmte

HALL, FLOYD
MONTCLAIR,NJ 07042


KMART CORP/RETAIL


5/28/2002


$5,000


Republican Pty of Fla Fed Campaign Acct

HALL, FLOYD
MONTCLAIR,NJ 07042


RETIRED


4/30/2001


$5,000


New Jersey Republican State Cmte

HALL, FLOYD
MONTCLAIR,NJ 07042


FLOYD HALL ENTERPRISES


6/13/2002


$2,000


Coleman, Norm

HALL, FLOYD
MONTCLAIR,NJ 07042


6/14/2002


$1,000


Thune, John

HALL, FLOYD
MONTCLAIR,NJ 07042


6/19/2002


$1,000


Talent, James M

HALL, FLOYD
MONTCLAIR,NJ 07042


6/19/2002


$1,000


Talent, James M

HALL, FLOYD
MONTCLAIR,NJ 07042


FLOYD HALL ENTERPRISES


6/13/2002


$1,000


Coleman, Norm

HALL, FLOYD
MONTCLAIR,NJ 07042


FLOYD HALL ENTERPRISES/CEO


6/12/2002


$1,000


Ferguson, Mike

HALL, FLOYD
MONTCLAIR,NJ 07042


10/24/2002


$500


Garrett, Scott

HALL, FLOYD
MONTCLAIR,NJ 07042


6/13/2002


($1,000)


Coleman, Norm

HALL, FLOYD MR
MONTCLAIR,NJ 07042


K MART CORPORATION


4/22/2002


$225,000


RNC/Repub National State Elections Cmte

HALL, FLOYD MR
MONTCLAIR,NJ 07042


K MART CORPORATION


12/14/2001


$25,000


RNC/Repub National State Elections Cmte

[amerikat]

51. Gordan England

ENGLAND, GORDON
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


FEDERAL GOVT/DEPT OF NAVY EXECUTIVE


8/28/2001


$1,000


Tiahrt, Todd

ENGLAND, GORDON
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT/ADMINISTRAT


8/20/2001


$1,000


Granger, Kay

ENGLAND, GORDON
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT/ADMINISTRAT


8/20/2001


$1,000


Granger, Kay

ENGLAND, GORDON MR
FROT WORTH,TX 76132


GENERAL DYNAMICS/ADMINISTRATOR


5/2/2001


$1,000


Tarrant County Republican Victory Fund

ENGLAND, GORDON R
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


US DEPT OF DEFENSE


8/6/2002


$1,000


Collins, Susan M

ENGLAND, GORDON R
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


US DEPT OF DEFENSE


8/6/2002


$1,000


Talent, James M

ENGLAND, GORDON R
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


US DEPT OF DEFENSE


8/6/2002


$1,000


Thune, John

ENGLAND, GORDON R
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


US GOVT


8/6/2002


$1,000


Coleman, Norm

ENGLAND, GORDON R
FT WORTH,TX 76132


DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE


12/6/2001


$1,000


Cornyn, John

ENGLAND, GORDON R MR
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT/DEPT. OF NAVY EX


8/22/2001


$1,000


Barton, Joe

ENGLAND, GORDON R MR
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT/DEPT. OF NAVY EX


2/20/2002


$1,000


Barton, Joe

ENGLAND, GORDON R MR
FT WORTH,TX 76132


UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT/SECRETARY


2/15/2002


$500


Barton, Bradley Linus

ENGLAND, GORDON R MRS
FT WORTH,TX 76132


UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT/SECRETARY


2/15/2002


$500


Barton, Bradley Linus

ENGLAND, GORDONR MR
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


6/4/2001


$500


Republican National Cmte

ENGLAND, GORDONR MR
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


6/11/2001


$500


Republican National Cmte

ENGLAND, GORDONR MR
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


7/22/2002


$500


RNC/Repub National State Elections Cmte

ENGLAND, GORDONR MRS
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


6/11/2001


$500


Republican National Cmte

ENGLAND, GORDONR MRS
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


7/22/2002


$500


RNC/Repub National State Elections Cmte

ENGLAND, GORDONRMRS
FORT WORTH,TX 76132


6/4/2001


$500


Republican National Cmte

[stevedeshazer]

53. Thanks for the help!

:hi:

[amerikat]

57. Thanks for the post

This is why I love DU. DU'ers get right down and sharpen their pencils and do the research.

[Straight Shooter]

61. If England is tight with Granger, he's crooked.

Bank on it.

Not enough time to explain. That woman's "ethics" are highly questionable.

[amerikat]

54. Sosa, Enrique

SOSA, ENRIQUE J
KEY BISCAYNE,FL 33149


6/29/2001


$1,000


Responsibility/Opportunity/Community PAC

SOSA, ENRIQUE J
KEY BISCAYNE,FL 33149


RETIRED


10/28/2002


$1,000


Menendez, Robert

SOSA, ENRIQUE J
KEY BISCAYNE,FL 33149


RETIRED


12/28/2001


$500


Hollings, Fritz

[philly_bob]

94. Sosa

I saw Sosa's nomination hearing to the Amtrak board back in 2004. He was a clown. At the reporter's table, folks were laughing. Sosa had no written statement and said he'd never ridden a Northeast Corridor train. Senators knew he was lame and started asking him hard questions about the Amtrak balance sheet which he answered with vague generalities.

A Washington Post (?) columnist wrote about Sosa's buffoonery. I included a link in a post I made previously on this subject, but the Washington Post search function doesn't turn it up and I don't know how to look up historical DU posts. Sorry.

Bottom line: no reasonable personnel director would hire Sosa for a railroad job -- much less promote him, as this latest news indicates.

[stevedeshazer]

113. Thanks for that

Send in the clowns!

[stevedeshazer]

42. Dorrance Smith: Bush Loyalist, former "This Week" producer

J. Dorrance Smith, former media adviser to Coalition Provisional Authority Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, was nominated (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050922-4.html) September 22, 2005, by President George W. Bush as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. Smith would replace Victoria Clarke who resigned June 20, 2003.

White House Loyalist
A Republican National Convention planner and former ABC News executive, Smith was quoted (http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?p=%22Dorrance+Smith%22&sm=Yahoo%21+Search&toggle=1&ei=UTF-8&xargs=0&pstart=1&b=41&u=www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/brcoverage_09-07-04.html&w=%22dorrance+smith%22&d=Gx5wPGFULjpm&icp=1&.intl=us) in a September 7, 2004, PBS Online NewsHour article as saying "the networks were to blame for their dwindling viewership and called Fox's triumph during the GOP convention 'truly a seminal event.'"

Smith served as a senior advisor to President George H.W. Bush, where he was Assistant to the President for Media Affairs (1991-1993), and as a staff assistant to President Gerald R. Ford. <1> (http://www.highbeam.com/library/docfree.asp?DOCID=1G1:65276485&ctrlInfo=Round18%3AMode18c%3ADocG%3AResult&ao=)

"After two years of running his own production company with fellow Bush Diasporite C. Boyden Gray, Smith rejoined 'This Week' in 1995. He was eventually placed in charge of political coverage for ABC–coverage that, by most reckonings, became among the most scandalobsessed on network television." <2>

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Dorrance_Smith

[realFedUp]

75. and Carl Levin opposes his nomination....

http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007498

The Enemy on Our Airwaves
What is the relationship between al-Jazeera, al Qaeda and America's TV networks?

BY DORRANCE SMITH
Friday, November 4, 2005 12:01 a.m. EST

(Editor's note: Sen. Carl Levin is opposing Mr. Smith's confirmation as assistant secretary of defense for public affairs because of the senator's objections to this article, which appeared in The Wall Street Journal, April 25. A related editorial appears here.)

here:

Terror's Mouthpiece
Carl Levin tries to keep a critic of al-Jazeera out of the Pentagon.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110007499

Friday, November 4, 2005 12:01 a.m. EST

Donald Rumsfeld wants Dorrance Smith to be confirmed as assistant secretary of defense for public affairs--but there's a hitch. Sen. Carl Levin (D., Mich.) has latched on to an op-ed about reporting in an age of terrorism that Mr. Smith wrote for this newspaper on April 25 and pronounced him unfit for the Pentagon job. Mr. Smith's alleged sin? To summarize Sen. Levin's complaints at an Oct. 25 grilling of the nominee: "Unfair labeling."

You decide. In the course of his op-ed (which you can read here), Mr. Smith criticized the U.S. media's habit of routinely broadcasting terrorist statements and tapes obtained from the Arab-language broadcaster al-Jazeera and raised questions that many Americans have asked themselves: By airing such footage--of insurgents in Iraq holding hostages or attacking U.S soldiers and of al Qaeda officials promising death and destruction--do TV networks effectively (if unwittingly) enter into a propaganda partnership with terrorists?

Does the terrorists' knowledge that their grisly filmed messages will instantly reach millions embolden them to create more chaos and endanger more lives? Do U.S. networks--Mr. Smith mentioned six by name, including CNN and Fox--that air these tapes know, or even inquire about, the terms under which al-Jazeera obtained them?

Is it news each time an al Qaeda leader makes a video, promising death to infidels and offering paradise to suicide bombers? No more so than when Cold War-era Soviet agitprop went on about the glorious Red Army poised to crush the warmongering NATO--which is why routine Soviet propaganda was largely ignored by the mainstream U.S. media. There is an argument to be made that allowing the terrorists (and before them, the communists) to explain their murderous ambitions to an American audience forces us to take their threats seriously.

continued

[stevedeshazer]

79. This guy appears to hate free media

No wonder he's a Bushie.

[realFedUp]

89. Yet he worked for American networks...shrug.....

I think he's married to an actress from Texas
and I can't remember who.

[stevedeshazer]

43. Robert Lenhard: Recommended by Daschle and Pelosi?

http://democraticleader.house.gov/press/releases.cfm?pressReleaseID=324

[stevedeshazer]

45. Steven Walther: Harry Reid's lawyer?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/16/AR2005121601717.html

[proud patriot]

47. Cronyism

pure and simple

[stevedeshazer]

48. Peter Kirsanow: Stolen Election "Debunker"; paid shill?

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/kirsanow200501100742.asp

[stevedeshazer]

49. Stepehn Goldsmith: Policy adviser to Bush campaign, Indianapolis mayor

Quote: "Compassionate conservatives do not believe in big government programs that simply throw money at people, that discourage personal choice and responsibility, or that result in keeping people forever out of the mainstream of American life." :rofl:

http://www.hooverdigest.org/004/goldsmith.html

[Fritz67]

67. I remember Goldsmith...

...that bastard was the poster child for "privatizing" government (meaning "Fire all the city workers in the name of saving money, then hire his campaign contributors to do the same jobs for more than the city workers got, and run the services with less responsiveness the public except in the rich neighborhoods")...crooked and sleazy to the core.

The local alternative paper Nuvo had some stuff on this guy years ago. I'll have to see if they still have it archived on their web site, http://www.nuvo.net

[BiggJawn]

119. Remember him? I *WORKED* for him!

The High Priest of Privatization. and you're right it DOES mean fire all the City workers and replace them with Cronies and Contributors.

He did away with the City's IT department and farmed it out to some outfit called "SCT". In addition to the problems I had getting the computers I needed (never mind that I asked for Macs for video editing, SCT told me I had to buy Compaq home computers) and THEN they told the City they could "fix" the impending Y2K problem for $50,000...

And for the next 2 years, almost every City Ccounty meeting, the CIO's reps were there going "Please, Sir, may we have more money?" I think it wound up costing the taxpayers 3 megabux.

Fleet Services got smart and kept from getting privatized by re-orging themselves, and they had to go and BEG private sector outfits to submit proposals for privatizing my department. Nobody was interested because there was no money to be made, and one responder actually said "we don't see how ther staff does so much with so little..."

They remodelled the old Service Supply Company warehouse (which I THINK might have been the old Marmon or Stutz car factory) and GAVE it to CCA to run as "Marion County Jail II".

After his disasterous run for the Governor's office, Little Stevie Goldsmyth started beating the drum for the Bush campaign, obviopusly angling for a cabinet spot. the best he could do was #2 man at the Office for Myth-Based Give-aways, and after having to sleep on the couch for a few years ("you RAT! I gave up my job with the courts and drug myself and the kids to DC for THIS???") he left there and last heard had wound up as a VP of some kind for Boeing in Chicago...

He was once described as "Raw Ambition in a Suit" when he was Mayor.

[troubleinwinter]

56. Do you know that the 'war president' extended the war to another continent

for five years? http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x55486

He can do as he pleases while 'at war'?

[tavalon]

63. Are you saying these appointees may not be upstanding individuals?

Maybe cronies, even?

[stevedeshazer]

69. Perish the thought!

I'm sure Congress would have signed off on them, one and all.

[sweetm2475]

64. Does he appoint anyone when Congress IS in session???

G-D!!!!!!!!!:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[5X]

65. Didn't shrub just change the order of secession? Gordon...

England, next in line now?

[Ready4Change]

66. That's my thought. Many of these are "Next in line" positions.

Bush planning on firing some people in order to get more Bush loyalists in to power spots?

[sui generis]

68. We need to recess appoint EVERY judge on the list

when it's our turn. All at once. There will be so many freeper heads exploding across America you'll be able to see it from outer space.

[LiberalEsto]

71. Oh gawd, Sauerbrey again

She's like the iffy hot dog you ate hours ago. She just keeps popping up and reminding you, with an uneasy rumbling of the stomach, of how very nasty she really is.

[LeFort III]

72. Sauerbrey ran for governor of MD

twice, lost to Glendenning both times. She raised such a fit about the vote tallies the first time everyone I know refers to her as Sauergrapes. Her appointment is little more than an "attagirl" from the right for being a candidate.

[LiberalEsto]

73. I'm a Marylander

and I remember her all too well.

[geckosfeet]

74. This is amazing! Simply amazing. What an arrogant POS! n/t

[stepnw1f]

76. Karma is Going to Be a Bitch for the GOP

Get ready bitches...

[mopinko]

77. now we know why congress is on an extended break

somehow, i do not think this will be the last batch.
and this is why i love du.

[realFedUp]

78. The Next Chapter in the Hackocracy: Ellen Sauerbrey

Oct 26 , 4:32 PM
The Next Chapter in the Hackocracy: Ellen Sauerbrey
by Shaula Evans

http://www.bopnews.com/archives/005267.html

A new name joined the teeming legions of George Bush's appointments of incompetent Republican political hacks this month when Bush nominated Ellen Sauerbrey to the position of Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM). "Fair and balanced" national news coverage has characterized that Democrats object to Bush's crony appointments of Sauerbrey and others (infamously including Harriet Miers) "because they lack high-level experience."

High-level experience? How about any experience at all?

The primary role of the assistant secretary for PRM is to oversee the U.S. refugee assistance and admissions programs and coordinate U.S. international family planning programs. Sauerbrey has NO experience with refugee protection or in responding to humanitarian emergencies.

continued...good read, even from October.

[stevedeshazer]

80. Thanks for that, interesting comparison in that article:

Let's compare Bush's nominee with Phyllis E. Oakley, President Bill Clinton's appointee to head the State Department's refugee program:

* Master's Degree from the Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy at Tufts;
* International Affairs Consultant to the National Board of the YWCA;
* Career member of the Foreign Service Office since 1974;
* Served with distinction under presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, and Clinton;
* State Department's Afghanistan Desk Office from 1982 to 1985;
* Seconded to the Agency for International Development (AID), working with the Afghanistan Cross-Border Humanitarian Assistance Program in Islamabad, Pakistan, 1989-1991;
* First woman Deputy Spokesman for the State Department, 1986-1989;
* Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Analysis, Bureau of Intelligence Research, 1991-1993;
* Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (then known as the Bureau for Refugee Programs);
* Received two Departmental Superior Honor Awards, for her performance as Afghanistan Desk Officer and as Deputy Spokesman;
* Received Intelligence Community's National Intelligence Medal of Achievement.

Contrast the qualifications of Ellen Sauerbrey, Bush's nominee to fill the same shoes:

* Republican member, Maryland House of Delegates, 1978-1994; also Republican minority leader;
* Failed Republican candidate for Governor of Maryland, 1994;
* Failed Republican candidate for Governor of Maryland, 1998;
* Maryland radio talk-show host on WEAL
* Maryland for Bush 2000 Campaign Chairperson;
* Delegate to seven Republican National Conventions.

[lostnfound]

87. Someone should make a book of such comparisons.. And 'Brownie' vs

the previous FEMA head, who was reportedly extremely competent and experienced, would be another classic comparison.

[stevedeshazer]

98. Okay, let's compare

James Lee Witt:

James Lee Witt has over 25 years of disaster management experience, culminating in his appointment as the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where he served from 1993-2001. In this capacity, he is credited with turning FEMA from an unsuccessful bureaucratic agency to an internationally lauded all-hazards disaster management agency. His leadership abilities have been praised by nationally recognized organizations, including the Council for Excellence in Government, Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and the National Association of Broadcasters.

Mr. Witt was appointed by President Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in April 1993. In February 1996, President Clinton elevated Mr. Witt to cabinet status - a first for a FEMA Director. As FEMA Director, Mr. Witt coordinated federal disaster relief on behalf of President Clinton, including the response and recovery activities of 28 federal agencies and departments, the American Red Cross and other voluntary agencies. He also oversaw the National Flood Insurance Program, the U.S. Fire Administration and other pro-active mitigation activities that reduce loss of life and property from all types of hazards. Mr. Witt directed 2,500 employees located in Washington, DC and 10 regional offices.

From 1993 to 2000, Mr. Witt oversaw more than 350 disasters. More importantly, he was responsible for response and recovery operations for six of the ten most devastating disasters of all time, including the most costly flood disaster in the nation's history, the most costly earthquake, and a dozen damaging hurricanes.


=======================================================================================================================================

Michael Brown:

Michael D. Brown was nominated by President George Bush as the first Under Secretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response (EP&R) in the newly created Department of Homeland Security in January 2003. Mr. Brown coordinates federal disaster relief activities, including implementation of the Federal Response Plan, which authorizes the response and recovery operations of 26 federal agencies and departments as well as the American Red Cross. He would also oversee the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration, and initiate proactive mitigation activities.

Additionally, as Under Secretary, Mr. Brown will help the Secretary of Homeland Security ensure the effectiveness of emergency responders, and direct the Strategic National Stockpile, the National Disaster Medical System and the Nuclear Incident Response Team.

Previously, Mr. Brown served as FEMA's Deputy Director and the agency's General Counsel. Shortly after the September 11th terrorist attacks, Mr. Brown served on the President's Consequence Management Principal's Committee, which acted as the White House's policy coordination group for the federal domestic response to the attacks. Later, the President asked him to head the Consequence Management Working Group to identify and resolve key issues regarding the federal response plan. In August 2002, President Bush appointed him to the Transition Planning Office for the new Department of Homeland Security, serving as the transition leader for the EP&R Division. Mr. Brown currently chairs the National Citizen Corps Council, part of the President's USA Freedom Corps volunteer initiative.

Prior to joining FEMA he practiced law in Colorado and Oklahoma, where he served as a bar examiner on ethics and professional responsibility for the Oklahoma Supreme Court and as a hearing examiner for the Colorado Supreme Court. He had been appointed as a special prosecutor in police disciplinary matters. While attending law school he was appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee of the Oklahoma Legislature as the Finance Committee Staff Director, where he oversaw state fiscal issues. His background in state and local government also includes serving as an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight and as a city councilman.

A native of Oklahoma, Mr. Brown holds a B.A. in Public Administration/Political Science from Central State University, Oklahoma. He received his J.D. from Oklahoma City University's School of Law. He was an adjunct professor of law for the Oklahoma City University.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/brown-bio.html



*note: This is his entire biography from the White House website. Notice that the ONLY qualification is bolded by me. It only says what he supposedly did, very little or nothing about his qualifications or experience.

[lostnfound]

105. We could probably do this with 200 appointments

and find very few exceptions to the rule that Clinton appointed a FAR more qualified person than Bush did.

Experience doesn't always make you good at your job, but it's got to count for something.

[debbierlus]

82. Robert Lenhard - Husband of New York Time's Plame Reporter

From the Huffington Blog:


Especially Bush's new nominee to the Federal Election Commission. And particularly his aisle-crossing appointment of Democrat Robert D. Lenhard -- a choice the Washington Post called "controversial."

You see, Lenhard was one of the lawyers who mounted a challenge to the constitutionality of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill. As a lawyer, Lenhard wasn't able to overturn McCain-Feingold before it took effect, but, as an FEC commissioner, he'll be able to do the next best thing and try to gut it.

But that's not why I'm obsessing (if I got worked up every time Bush picked a fox to guard a government henhouse, I'd never get anything done!). No, the thing that has my mental wheels in overdrive is the fact that Lenhard is the husband of Viveca Novak -- the Time Magazine journalist whose loose lips may end up saving Karl Rove from joining Scooter Libby on Indictment Row.

Imagine that: Novak provides Bush's Brain with a possible get-out-of-jail-free card and -- just weeks after she tells Fitzgerald things Rove's lawyer desperately wants the special prosecutor to hear -- Bush taps her hubby for the FEC post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/heck-of-a-job-viveca_b_12504.html

Serious concerns, here. He not only contested Feingold/McCain Campaign finance law, he is married to a reporter involved in the Plame scandal.

This is so sick. And, the main stream media won't report on ANY of these people. It took me a total of one minute to find the above story on google.

[stevedeshazer]

95. Thanks, more proof that this list is nothing but cronies

I'll bet most or ALL of these appointees would be contested if the Do-Nothing Republican Congress were in session. :grr:

[kcass1954]

83. Rachel Maddow went through 9 of these appointments this morning, giving a

detailed list of their mis-qualifications. All I could do was just shake my head in disgust.

[debbierlus]

84. Hans Von Sporsky: Over-ruled objection Texas Redistricting

Violated Voting Rights Act:

Mason, a current FEC commissioner, consistently supported the creation of loopholes in campaign finance laws through his vote in favor of rules that were later struck down in court. Von Spakovsky, while serving as a political appointee at Department of Justice, overruled a recommendation by professionals at the DOJ that an objection be filed because the Texas redistricting plan violated the Voting Rights Act. Lenhard, a union lawyer, was part of the legal team that challenged the constitutionality of BCRA. And Walther plays the role of an untested wildcard, with limited campaign finance experience and a highly publicized relationship to Minority Leader Reid as his lawyer during the recount of Reid’s 1998 senate election.

http://www.reforminstitute.org/cgi-data/news/files/75.shtml

These dark of night appointments are the death knell in our hopes for fair elections.

[jwirr]

85. What do we know about the three people he appointed

to the election boards? They may be the most problem.

[Wordie]

97. I agree - those elections appointments are the most important. Anyone? nt

[eppur_se_muova]

104. von Spakovsky appears to be quite notorious

googled "Hans von Spakovsky" and came up with an alarmingly long list of voting rights action sites. He appears to be enemy #1 to a lot of groups. I'll add the GA photo-ID law to his list of dubious accomplishments.

[Tsiyu]

88. Google, hell

I can tell you ALL about them:

They've all got brown stains on their noses from having them up Bush's ass; they've all raised mega money for **; the men named are all closet bisexuals who nonetheless don't want gays to marry; 3/4ths of them are Southern Baptists; they are ALL drunks and incompetent, and they will each cause more suffering for Americans in the name of Jeebus, as they have been carefully intructed to do by the PNAC.

Sums it up for me, anyhoo.....

[swwallace81]

96. Being a drunk is not so bad...

but don't you think the repugs will close the recess appointment loophole in their last gasp before being thrown out?

[Tsiyu]

102. Being a drunk while put in charge of protecting Americans IS a big deal

The ** administration finds the most blatant pedophile they can find, solicit donations from the sonofabitch and then put him in charge of handling the Department overseeing child molestation.

Over and over and over they have done this with everything from FEMA to Environmental agencies to Health and Human Services. It is sickening, and only proves that Repukes couldn't care less about this nation and her citizens - they are interested solely in having and keeping power.

[KamaAina]

91. Stephen Goldsmith was Mayor of Indy for years

should have a robust paper trail, but then again, that's one of the least important posts on that list.

[Name removed]

92. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Norquist Nemesis]

93. Those are under DHS

[Wordie]

99. Just curious...

Are recess appointments for so large a number of appointees common? Do all administrations do this, Repub and Dem alike? Or is this something unusual in the Bush administration, that so many are appointed without the usual vetting?

[stevedeshazer]

100. Inconclusive numbers, acording to Wikipedia

Ronald Reagan made 243 recess appointments during his two terms in office; George H. W. Bush made 77 during his single term.

President Bill Clinton made a recess appointment of Bill Lan Lee as Assistant Attorney General for civil rights, when it became clear that Lee's strong support of affirmative action would lead to Senate opposition. Similarly, when the Senate did not vote on his nomination of James Hormel to be Ambassador to Luxembourg, Clinton made a recess appointment. Many people felt that the Senate's inaction was because Hormel was an openly gay person, and when he was appointed became the first such person to serve as a U.S. ambassador. Clinton made 140 recess appointments over two terms.

President George W. Bush appointed several judges to U.S. courts of appeals using recess appointments after their nominations were subjected to a Senate filibuster by opposition Democrats. One, Judge Charles Pickering of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, withdrew his name from consideration for renomination when his recess appointment expired. As of August 1, 2005, Bush has made 106 recess appointments.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recess_appointment

I think the crux of the matter is in who these appointments are, and the cheesy timing by Dennis Hastert. They're trying to keep this stuff off the table until they (the House and the White House) get their story straight

[POAS]

106. Bio of Peter Kirsanow from

his law firm (Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, LLP)

Mr. Kirsanow focuses his practice on representing management in employment-related litigation, as well as in contract negotiations, NLRB proceedings, EEO matters, and arbitration. He frequently testifies before and advises members of the U.S. Congress on various employment laws and issues.

Mr. Kirsanow formerly served as senior labor counsel of Leaseway Transportation Corp. and labor counsel for the city of Cleveland.

He has extensive experience in public sector employment matters as well as in industries such as heavy manufacturing, trucking, health care, radio and television and employee leasing.

Mr. Kirsanow is past chair of the board of directors of the Center for New Black Leadership, is on the advisory board of the National Center for Public Policy Research and has been an adjunct professor at Cleveland Marshall College of Law.

Mr. Kirsanow was appointed by President Bush to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in December 2001.

[stevedeshazer]

110. It sounds really benign at first

You have to dig beneath the surface to realize that this guy is a stealth right-winger.

[AuntiBush]

107. What the HELL!!!!?????!!!

What!?!

Be right back. Need a big barf-bag, here. Oh, GAWD!

[LiberalAndProud]

109. DeLaying will be pricy recess-appointmentwise /nt

[PWRinNY]

111. Sauerbrey!!!

:grr: Bad, bad bushie!!! That "woman" is a menace. :mad: So much for my letters to my reps asking them to oppose her appointment. BAD BUSHIE! :grr: :mad:

[LuCifer]

115. Did anyone else hear Lynn Sameuls today?

She NAILED it when she said "Bush is going to do whatever the fuck he wants to!" or words to that affect. And you assholes on the right, FUKU to you. You freaks all pitched a hissy fit when Bill Clinton (who you people ARE STILL OBSESSED WITH!) did this ONCE. ONCE. Piss off! That's bad! But if BU$Hitler does it, 17 AT ONCE!? God what an asshole!

Lu Cifer, my new years resolution is simple: TO BE AN EVEN BIGGER PAIN IN THE ASS TO YOU LYING SHIT REPUBLICONS!!!!!!!
http://www.LU13.TK

[CrackpotAmerica]

117. Is that a Presidential Record?

It's a shame...

I have never witnessed such rule bending and breaking in my life...

[electricray]

118. Check out sourcewatch.org for Floyd Hall

Floyd Hall

[Blue_Tires]

120. ttt n/t