Saturday, August 29, 2009

White House Sued Over Free Speech...this ought to be interesting.

I have often thought that there is enough evidence to impeach Obama...actually, I think there is more than ample evidence to send him to jail for the rest of his life but nobody seems to have the courage to press any kind of charges. So now we have a lawsuit against the racist scum bag over free speech (no, I'm not a name caller...the guy is the epitome of evil and he puts himself on display as to what and who he is). First question..."Who are you going to get to hear this case?" That ought to be interesting... Now there' s overwhelming evidence that he is guilty which leads us to the next question. Who are you going to get for a jury? Will it be another OJ jury? That ought to be interesting... Then there is punishment for the crime...I wonder what that will be. Will the punishment be for every count? That would be over three-hundred-million by my count. The population of the citizens of the United States of America; everyone one of them a victim! If we the people...aah, we the victims impose punishment, he should get life without parole. Will Biden go down as an accessory? Now that would be interesting! ~ Norman E. Hooben
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White House Sued Over Free Speech

Thursday, August 27, 2009



The Office of the President and other White House officials are defendants in a free speech lawsuit filed by a prominent physician group, and a non-profit advocate for inner-city poor.

The White House has “unlawfully collected information on political speech,” thereby illegally using the power of the White House to chill opposition to its plans for health care reform, according to the complaint filed in District Court for the District of Columbia, by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) and the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE).

The lawsuit was prompted by the White House solicitation for the public to report any “fishy” comments to ‘flag@whitehouse.gov.’

Although the White House slightly revised its data collection procedure last week, the email address still exists, the illegal activity continues, and is part of an “unlawful pattern and practice to collect and maintain information” on the exercise of free speech, which “continues in violation of the Privacy Act and First Amendment even if the Defendants terminate a particular information-collection component due to negative publicity.”

The lawsuit outlines how the White House has employed a form of “bait-and-switch” tactic of accusing the Plaintiffs and other opponents of spreading misinformation about the Administration’s goals for healthcare reform, and thereby refusing to ‘come clean’ about its real agenda.

The lawsuit outlines that the White House knew that the data collection would chill free speech, and in fact, intended to do just that:

“43. As part of their effort to advance the White House healthcare reform agenda, Defendants have accused opponents (including Plaintiffs) of spreading misinformation on issues such as whether (a) health reform would provide public funding for abortions, (b) put “death panels” in place to deny care to the elderly or infirm, (c) amount to a government takeover of healthcare, and (d) increase healthcare costs..the Defendants and the administration have spread misinformation, semantics, and disinformation on these topics…..

“45. By denying and continuing to deny that healthcare reform legislation includes “death panels” that make individual life-or-death decisions on the elderly or infirm, the Defendants and the current administration have ignored and implicitly denied and continue to ignore and implicitly to deny both that their healthcare reform agenda involves rationing healthcare…”

“My hate mail started shortly after the White House issued the ‘fishy’ request,” said Kathryn Serkes, Director of Policy and Public Affairs for AAPS. “We were quite visible and vocal before then, so it doesn’t seem like a coincidence. Who did they share their data with? With whom might they share it?”

AAPS and CURE demand that the White House remove all information already collected, and further, be prohibited from collecting any personal data in the future.

NOTE: AAPS is a non-partisan professional association of physicians dedicated since 1943 to protection of the patient-physician relationship. CURE, founded by Star Parker, serves poor and inner-city communities through church, individual, and market-based solutions to poverty.

© 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

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In other news...(this is an old story but deserves repeating at this time)

Kennedy's Secret Soviet Overture Against Reagan
Saturday, August 29, 2009

President Ronald Reagan and Sen. Ted Kennedy were good friends, according to Nancy Reagan. But that didn't stop Kennedy from trying to undercut Reagan ... with a little help from the Soviet Union.
According to Peter Robinson, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and a former White House speechwriter, Kennedy offered to make a deal with then-Soviet leader Yuri Andropov in 1983.
Robinson, writing for Forbes.com, says Kennedy sent his close friend, former California state Sen. John Tunney, to Moscow with a secret message to Andropov: Help the Democrats battle Reagan in the 1984 presidential election, and in return Kennedy would help Andropov in dealing with Reagan.
Robinson recounts that Victor Chebrikov, a top KGB official, recorded the details of Kennedy's offer in a memo that was uncovered in Soviet archives in 1991.
Kennedy promised to:
Visit Moscow and prep the Soviets on effective propaganda. "The main purpose of the meeting, according to the senator, would be to arm Soviet officials with explanations regarding problems of nuclear disarmament so they may be better prepared and more convincing during appearances in the USA," states the Soviet memo.
Help Andropov get on U.S. television. "A direct appeal ... to the American people will, without a doubt, attract a great deal of attention and interest in the country," states the memo. "If the proposal is recognized as worthy, then Kennedy and his friends will bring about suitable steps to have representatives of the largest television companies in the USA contact Y.V. Andropov for an invitation to Moscow for the interviews. ... The senator underlined the importance that this initiative should be seen as coming from the American side."
According to the memo, Kennedy also had told Tunney that he planned to run for president in 1988.
Robinson writes that there is no evidence to prove that Andropov, who died eight months later, ever took any action regarding Kennedy's offer.
© 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

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You cannot make bad people good by saying nice things about them...
they will be just as bad, only they'll smile while they play their back-stabbing games.
Ted Kennedy was one such person...Obama is another!

Should Ted Kennedy Have a Catholic Funeral Mass? [cross-posted from Bottom Line Up Front]

Source: Amy Proctor

Should Ted Kennedy Have a Catholic Funeral Mass?

Keeping in mind that deceased, infamous Democrat Senator Ted Kennedy, who died Tuesday of a brain tumor, opposed the overwhelming majority of the Catholic Church’s moral positions and legislated those positions, should Kennedy be treated to a Catholic funeral Mass?

Ted Kennedy on the issues:

  • Voted NO on defining unborn child as eligible for SCHIP
  • Voted NO on prohibiting minors crossing state lines for abortion
  • Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines
  • Voted NO on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions
  • Voted YES on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives
  • Voted NO on criminal penalty for harming unborn fetus during other crime
  • Voted NO on banning partial birth abortions except for maternal life
  • Voted NO on maintaining ban on Military Base Abortions
  • Voted NO on banning partial birth abortions
  • Voted NO on banning human cloning
  • Ensure access to and funding for contraception

Kennedy also earned 100% by NARAL, the radical pro-choice group and a 0% rating by the NRLC (National Right to Life Committee).

To answer the question, should Ted Kennedy be given a Catholic funeral Mass? The answer is yes. Although I am not privy to how often Ted Kennedy went to Mass and was allowed to take Holy Communion, it would be beside the point to deny him a funeral Mass when he was permitted to act as a Catholic for his entire life. Simply put, it would be a case of too little, too late.

His priests and bishop, however, should be ashamed because they essentially condoned Kennedy’s public stances by allowing him to take communion. Their lack of rebuke and true pastoral care, which facilitated the fraud that Kennedy was a good Catholic, may have very well cost him his soul.

Additional reading:

After Kennedy’s Death: Silence from the Pope

A Catholic Funeral for Ted Kennedy?

The Kennedy Funeral - A Golden Opportunity or Capitulation for the Catholic Church?

Reader Comments (1)

There is nothing Catholic about him!

The Mass is purely political...the guy just won't give up trying to corner the Catholic vote even in death!

Most of his Massachusetts supporters also supported JFK which simply proves these people have no values whatsoever. JFK and Ted were polar opposites!

Should Teddy boy have a Catholic Mass? It almost seems sacraligious!

August 29, 2009 Norm

Friday, August 28, 2009

Officer Wesley Cheeks Turn In Your Badge...YOU don't make the laws!!!

Click on picture to enlarge.
See video below.
Is this why we need the 2nd Amendment?

Re-Run Of An Old Classic...teach this to your children, it's all about freedom...freeeedommm!


Click on picture to enlarge.

Howard Dean Comes Clean...Democrats are afraid of lawyers! Unbelievable!

Source: Stephen Kruiser

Howard Dean Brain Farts, Admits Democrats Are Afraid Of Trial Lawyers

(Via Ace)

Looks like I’m not the only one who wonders why tort reform isn’t at least part of the Teddy’s Dead Health Care bill.

First, enjoy the hypocritical Democrat congressturd asking his constituent for ID before he’ll answer the question. When the question is finally asked, Rep. Braindead punts to Howard Dean. Dean is, of course, Crazy Joe Biden Lite. The brain farts come at a pace that make it seem as if his synapses were packed with garlic. As is the case with Biden, when he speaks about his own party the powers that be get ulcers because the mouth is usually running 75-100 miles an hour faster than the brain (”Gird your loins!”).

DoctorGovernorSpaz cuts to the chase and says what we’ve known all along. Except he gets to say it without being called racist. Or lawyerist. Or something.

And now you know why lawyers really hate doctors.

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ID Please... Hey Congressman, "What planet are you from?"

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Will Obama Sieze Power Overnight... You better sleep lightly!

If you look over to my side bar to the right you will find some various quotes including this one:
From the first time I heard about the boogey-man as a child to the first time I got shot at in Vietnam, nothing in my entire lifetime, THAT'S NOTHING! has put more fear into me than this man Obama.
Norman E. Hooben - July 2008

And why do I repost it here? Because every single American should have the same fear. Put your party politics aside for a moment and watch this video (below) ...then if you have the inclination you can go back through my entire posts (over 1,000) and you will note that everything Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh says, I have already stated and warned you about on numerous occasions...Are you beginning to get the picture? We're in big trouble America! Wake up! For one last time, Wake up! ~ Norman E. Hooben


Glenn Beck's fear of Obama: Seize power overnight
Rush: 'Most dangerous time in my life for freedom and liberty in this country'




Posted: August 26, 2009


By Joe Kovacs © 2009 WorldNetDaily

Will President Obama "seize power overnight" in a move to consolidate White House control of the U.S. government?

That's the fear of Fox News anchor Glenn Beck who discussed the issue at length today with another broadcasting powerhouse, radio's Rush Limbaugh.

"I fear this government, this administration has so much framework already prepared, that they will seize power overnight before anybody even gives it a second thought," Beck said.

His comment came as he was analyzing the changing nature of the media since Obama's election, citing the administration's close ties with the NBC network, owned by corporate giant General Electric:

If you watch what could only be called the administration's organ – anything involved with GE or NBC – you've got [GE CEO] Jeffrey Immelt on the board of the Federal Reserve, you have him in the Oval Office consulting not only on health care, but the financial situation, and they are an organ.

If you watch MSNBC, I contend that you will see the future because they are laying the ground for a horrible event ... anything from the right, there's some awful event and I fear this government, this administration has so much framework already prepared, that they will seize power overnight before anybody even gives it a second thought.

Limbaugh responded, "I don't think they're going to be able to seize it overnight without anybody knowing about it."

Get the book that exposes the secret blueprint for ending free speech: "Shut up, America!"

The pair analyzed Obama's appointment of Mark Lloyd, the nation's first "chief diversity officer" at the Federal Communications Commission, and both agreed he is looking to severely limit free speech in America through a series of new initiatives without ever having to revive the "Fairness Doctrine" that was abandoned in 1985.

WND recently reported that Lloyd believes the policy was never actually repealed, and he is said to advocate crippling $250 million fines for radio stations whose programming does not meet with the government's approval.

He's also reportedly pushing for private broadcasters to pay licensing fees equal to their total operating costs. That money would then be used to enhance funding of government-subsidized networks such as National Public Radio.

"Citizen access to popular information has been undermined by bad political decisions," Lloyd wrote in his 2006 book, "Prologue to a Farce: Communications and Democracy in America." "Corporate liberty has overwhelmed citizen equality."

"What they're trying to do here to communications is simply stifle dissenting voices. They're trying to wipe out any opposition," Limbaugh explained. "The things he's talking about doing to shut down radio are simply un-American. ... It is a dangerous time. It's the most dangerous time in my life for freedom and liberty in this country."

Limbaugh maintained every action thus far by Obama has been designed to intentionally hurt, rather than help the nation.

"Look at what they're doing to the U.S. economy," he said. "Anybody with a sense of economic literacy would know this is not how you create jobs. You do not rebuild the private sector. This is being done on purpose. All of these disasters are exactly what Obama wants. The more crises, the better. The more opportunity for government to say, 'Let us in and fix the problem.'"

Limbaugh has been maligned by some in the media for previous comments that he would like Obama to fail in implementing his policies, and he said today he was "uncomfortable thinking and saying these things about a man who's been elected president of the United States."

It is terribly upsetting and disconcerting, and I wish I didn't think it and I wish I didn't have to say it. But there's no way to sugarcoat it. This is not politics as usual. This is not left versus right. This is not Republican versus Democrat. This is statism, totalitarianism versus freedom. And if these people are allowed to go where they want to go unchecked, then some people, a lot of people – I don't think half the country, but close – will wake up one day and find, "My God, what the hell happened?" Because this is not what they voted for. They had no intention of this. They thought they were getting something entirely different and it is a responsibility that we all have being honest and earnest to inform people of what these possibilities are because they are very real.

Beck, who has a national radio show of his own as well as his television broadcast on the Fox News Channel, wondered about a perceived lack of coverage on the issues they were discussing.

"Where is the true outrage from anyone in the media?" asked Beck. "Why are these things not grabbing traction at this point?"

"I think the whole concept of reporting has gone out the window," Limbaugh answered. "I call them the State-Controlled Media because it's what they are. They're just repeaters. They take dictation from [Obama Chief of Staff] Rahm Emanuel for the most part, and they simply run with it. It's who they are, too."

Despite the potential for doom and gloom, Limbaugh assured Beck that there was a ray of hope that Obama's goals could be defeated.

"Passion, love of country, truth is going to outmaneuver and overpower fake passion, trumped-up people who are just given marching orders and sent out to act in a certain way," Limbaugh said.

"I'm confident that this can be beaten back. If I weren't, you know what, Glenn? I'd pack it all in and I'd spend my money before they take it and I'd go enjoy the rest of what my life is gonna be, but I –

"That's quite a shopping spree," Beck interrupted with a laugh. "Can I come with you?"

"There's plenty of room," said Rush.

Home

Health Care and you... Lets Make A Deal ...screw the little guy!

"People who believe in real healthcare reform should not be nice about this. They must rise up and rebel against our popular new president's outrageous concession." (Quoted from The Nation; see story below)
Click on image to enlarge.

Remember when Obama was campaigning and he would say (on more than one occasion), "I'll rebuild this country from the bottom up and not from the top down." or words similar to that. Well I knew right away where he stole those words and instantly knew they where complete lies. Just as FDR used the words in his 1932 'Forgotten Man' speech and lied to the American people, Obama repeats history here by rebuilding from the top down...Big Pharma, in case you didn't know is not at the bottom (you and me are at the bottom). In researching for this topic I came across the following headlines with the main story from The Nation that follows. ~ Norman E. Hooben



The Obama Administration has affirmed that it cut a deal with Big Pharma, which agreed to support Obama's (weak) public option and to give cuts of $80 billion over 10 (ten!) years. In return, Obama promised not to demand further concessions. For example, Obama agreed to prevent importation of cheaper drugs from Canada. Basically, this looks like a big sell-out to Big Pharma. [from OpEd News]


A senior White House aide told Democratic senators Thursday that the administration did not make a deal with the pharmaceutical lobby that would prevent Congress from using the government's clout to negotiate for lower drug prices, according to three Democratic senators who were in the meeting.

The New York Times had reported on Thursday morning that the White House affirmed that a deal barring price negotiations had been struck... Read the rest of story here (link).


A Rancid Deal with Big Pharma [source: The Nation ]
By William Greider August 6, 2009

So now we know why the president wants everyone to make nice in the healthcare debate. His White House has cut a deal with Big Pharma that smells like the same old rotten politics that candidate Obama regularly denounced and promised to end. The drug industry agrees to deliver $80 billion in future savings and the president promises the government will not use its awesome purchasing power to negotiate lower drug prices.

Wow. This is roughly the same deal that George W. Bush cut with the drug makers when he was legislating Medicare's new coverage of drug purchases. It is the same bargain that Democrats in Congress universally condemned as wasteful and corrupt. The deal does not smell any better now that a Democratic president is embracing it.

In effect, Obama wants to give away one of the principal objectives of strong reform. The details were spelled out in today's New York Times and revealed by Big Pharma's top-dog lobbyist, Billy Tauzin, a former Republican congressman who leads the industry association. Tauzin called it a "rock-solid deal," and the White House did not dispute as much. But that is not the last word.

People who believe in real healthcare reform should not be nice about this. They must rise up and rebel against our popular new president's outrageous concession. They must demand that Congress declare the private deal-making null and void. If Congress lacks the nerve to do this, then this exercise in reform begins to look more and more like previous attempts that were eviscerated by the clout of the corporate interests.

The fate of healthcare reform may depend not on the Senate or the White House but on Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. What prompted Billy Tauzin to spill the beans on his deal-making with White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel was the House measure that specifies government's right to bargain for lower prices. No, no, no! Tauzin said. We've got a deal with the president, who says that won't be allowed.

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi simply responds that the House is not bound by any deals made with the Senate or the White House. Her caucus must back up her words. They should pass the House bill, which will allow the government to do what any major customer would do in the same circumstances--use its leverage to demand lower prices.

If House Democrats stand their ground, then they will force a debate they can win with the American public. President Obama will have to choose between standing with the drug manufacturers or defending the original purpose of healthcare reform.

Home

America Divided...Obama, Acorn, Civil War, Secession, etc.

Time sure has a way of catching up to the truth. Not that I wanted to take credit for recognizing these facts as far back as the mid 1970's (1976 to be exact), but I'm finally happy that others more prominent than myself are waking up to reality. Just last spring (around Easter time) while visiting with a friend in San Antonio, Texas, John (an old friend) said to me, "Do you remember when you talked a lot about a new world order? I didn't believe you then, but you were right on the money! You were absolutely right!"
Why it takes others to recognize what I find is obvious is very perplexing to me. And now after all these years we have nationally known personalities from radio and television recognizing that indeed America's days are numbered...but we can stop this madness. It may take some re-educating the general public who have been controlled by the mainstream media (MSM...which is also controlled by the politic elite [In case you want to know who the politic elite is, just start with Obama and you'll be on the right track]). But if we don't empty the entire United States House of representatives and replace them with ordinary citizens next year (2010) we may be in big trouble in 2012 where we may not have an election at all. (By the way, 2010 is also the time that I predicted the possibility of a civil war...Does that scare ya? It ought to! Just look around you and see how much Obama has divided the country [the link is an example of how Obama divides us with his Acorn goons]).
It also amazes me that so many Americans are still sticking to their so-called favorite political party whether it be Democrats or Republicans...if they only knew they're all in this together. It was collusion by both parties that wrote the FEC laws and other legislative actions that prevent true American Patriots from attaining high office. Meanwhile catch a glimpse of the video below. When I watched it it seemed like I was reliving the the last 33 years all over again.

More on "divided" below:

America Divided, Jefferson & Central Banks, Fiat Currency, and Politics on the Train

In case you haven’t noticed, America is becoming more and more divided these days by politics. I know this is politically incorrect to say, but I’m happy to say it – that’s a good thing. People are waking up to what has been going on for decades in Washington, and is currently happening way worse than ever before. The govt is massively expanding its size, becoming a larger part of our GDP, right as GDP is shrinking in virtually every other area of the economy, even state & local govts.

Half the country seems to think that it’s necessary for govt to grow because we need to provide services to everyone in the country, for free, even if you’re not a citizen. They would be called the economically illiterate half. The other half, the SPDBRNR half, think the govt should return to its constitutional roots, stop the rapid encroachment on our freedoms and privacy, and yes, abolish the Federal Reserve, like Thomas Jefferson would tell us to do. He was kinda smart – don’t ya think? Read his direct quote below regarding central banks:

“The [privately-owned] Central Bank is an institution of the most deadly
hostility existing against the principles and form of our Constitution…
if the American people allow private banks to control the issuance of their
currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations
that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their property
until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers
conquered.”

Doesn’t that sound like exactly what’s happened? The dollar has lost 96% of its value since the Fed came into being in 1913. The biggest banks in the land have been given free money by the govt. They pay themselves repulsively large bonuses for jobs done poorly with this free cash, then use absurdly spurious arguments to support this practice. Meanwhile, the other 95% of us have frozen salaries, belt-tightening, lost jobs, and are bargain hunting…and there’s no end in sight at this point. Jefferson NAILED IT!!!!

Back to the govt…in case you’ve forgotten, govt is NOT PRODUCTIVE. Govt sucks the resources from an economy; it does not create value and it is MASSIVELY inefficient and fiscally irresponsible. We are very late in the life of this fiat currency run, as the dollar soon ‘celebrates’ its 38th year being backed by nothing. I’m guessing the celebration will be yet another dollar printing orgy. On 8/15/71 Nixon closed the gold window to foreign states as France’s Charles DeGaulle called the U.S.’s bluff at $35/oz for gold. The average age of fiat currencies is only 35-40 years. The lure of the printing press becomes too great (like monetizing govt debt…), the public loses faith in the currency, races to buy real wealth-preserving assets with their suddenly shakey currency, and the dolar implodes. Wealth-preserving…hmmm…like gold and silver for 1,000’s of years now?

Finally, back to America the Divided (yes…I’ve rambled…sorry). Tuesday evening on the train, I listened to a man & woman talk about how ‘we are sooooo close to finally having govt healthcare, gee I hope it goes thru’. I felt like they weren’t even fellow Americans because this crap is so obviously socialistic and unconstitutional. I kept my mouth shut, since I know if I said a single word, I’d start to get passionate & heated about the topic. But right as I got up to leave, I laid down a copy of some economic commentary that I’d finished reading, and said ‘here’s some reading you might like’. They were stunned into silence as I walked away. Hopefully they at least glanced at it.

Then there is this that I recieved in an email...

----- Original Message -----
From: link removed
To: undisclosed-recipients
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 8:49 PM
Subject: Wow


On the Cause of Independence

During the Freedom Watch show on The Fox News Strategy Room (online edition), host Judge Andrew Napolitano and prominent businessmen discuss the freedom and independence of the several states of the union.
Judge Andrew Napolitano (former New Jersey Superior Court Judge): In my research for a lot of my publications … I have come across Texas, Rhode Island, and of all places on the planet, New York, reserving for themselves at the time they joined the union the right to secede.
Cody Willard (Fox Business Network Anchor): Yeah baby.
Judge Napolitano: I mean, I would love to see a challenge. I would love to see a state legislature secede and basically tell the Federal government, Get the heck out of our state”, and see what happens.
Lew Rockwell (American libertarian political commentator): Well, as the crisis deepens I think we’re going to see that. I think we’re going to see secession among states. I mean, even in places [in] California seceding from the rest of California. And we’re going to see parts of the United States seceding from Washington DC. That will be a great sight.
Judge Napolitano: Well, then we would be back to Andy Levy’s favorite documents, which are the Articles of Confederation, which he thinks that I discovered.
Lew Rockwell: I love the Articles of Confederation. It was a very libertarian document, and it was a far freer system than even our constitution.
Cody Willard: The great problem with it was, of course, ruinous tariffs between the states.
Lew Rockwell: Right. There were tariffs between the states, and now of course, we have all the impositions of the Federal government on business, which are far worse than those tariffs.
Judge Napolitano: Okay, it’s a cost-benefit analysis…, which was worse? The ruinous tariffs between the states or a monster government that nobody can control in DC.
Cody Willard: I think the Articles of Confederation were basically the slippery slope towards the strip mallification of America, and that’s exactly what we got. We got a cookie cutter of strip malling in America. There’s a Target and Starbucks on every corner at least, hey. Hoo hoo! At least there are no tariffs in between states; give me a break. I’m all for the tariffs and seceding and I want the states to stand up and actually fight for their rights .
This issue has teeth, Dear Reader. Will it bite?
Exerpt from the show, March 18, 2009

Arrest this cop! ...Who is causing the problem here? ...the cop!

It's obvious that the country is going to hell in a handbasket...give one reason why the policeman in this video should not lose his job...better yet, tell me why he should not be arrested.

And the same goes for all those Obama goons with the Acorn shirts...Who gave them the right to interfer with our freedom? (Dumb question, it was the dictator, Obama!)






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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

White House pretends to stop gathering info... aah lets change that to, "Obama Lies About Gathering Info..."

Source: FreedomWorks

White House pretends to stop gathering info on dissenting citizens

By Rossputin on Aug 18, 2009

In a post on the White House blog on Monday evening, the Obama Administration says they are shutting down the flag@whitehouse.gov web site at which they had encouraged to snitch on other citizens who were not agreeing with the White House’s talking points (lies) about health care “reform”.

However, there is much less to the announcement than it seems and the Administration does not seem to have been fazed by accurate complaints that the information gathering done by their snitch program is possibly illegal and certainly unseemly, smacking of tactics used by most of history’s worst dictators (link added by Norm).

Although most of the furor about the White House’s tactics has been about the “snitch” e-mail, the White House blogger does not address the topic until the penultimate paragraph of his blog note, where he says this:

To better understand what new misinformation is bubbling up online or in other venues, we want your suggestions about topics to address through the Reality Check site. To consolidate the process, the email address set up last week for this same purpose is now closed and all feedback should be sent through: http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/contact

Allow me to translate: “We’re going to try to defuse the outcry over our tyrant-like behavior by closing down an e-mail address but we will allow and continue to encourage people to send us the same information through a form on a web page instead.”

There’s also the issue of the White House getting e-mail lists from outside groups and sending mass e-mails to people who never signed up to receive Obama propaganda. The Administration is basically saying that people can click on an “unsubscribe” link if they don’t want the information but that lots of people “appreciate” being lied to about what the government is trying to do to them. (OK, he didn’t word it exactly like that but that’s what it meant…)

If you’re interested, Ike over at CallingJohnGalt.com has written an insightful take on this issue as well:
http://www.callingjohngalt.com/2009/08/17/no-more-enemies-list-wink-wink/

Dems promised to clean things up...Did you really believe them?

The following story caught my eye over at The Snooper's Report and again at A Blog For All not that it comes to no surprise that this guy is a criminal, but what took them so long to arrest the crook. And why is Joe Biden, Hillary, Clinton, Barrack Obama, and the rest of the top brass crooks still walking free? The flag that went up almost immediately was the name, "Hassan Nemazee"...I knew I had seen that name before. Sure enough, I posted an article almost a year ago called Iranian Medal Of Honor Winner Part ll - Biden, the terrorist's friend! ... and if you go there you'll find Hasssan Nemazee.
I'll tell you this folks, "If you don't wake up soon they'll be nothing left to this country...stop pandering to the guy in the White House and all his associates. Did somebody say, "Czars? They're all a bunch of thugs who got to where their at because you let your guard down... What are you going to do about? ~ Norman E. Hooben
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Democrats Turn Swamp of DC Corruption Into Swimming Pool

The politics of corruption continues and the Democrats are up to their necks in these kinds of arrangements. In fact, as Hot Air notes, Hassan Nemazee makes Norman Hsu look like a small time crook.

Hassan Nemazee, chairman of Nemazee Capital Corp. and a fundraiser for President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, was arrested on charges he used phony documents to trick Citigroup Inc. into lending him as much as $74 million.

Nemazee got the loan by telling Citibank he held accounts with hundreds of millions of dollars that could serve as collateral, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said today in a statement. The financier used fake addresses and phone numbers controlled by him to mislead the bank, prosecutors said.

The accounts “either never existed or had been closed years before Nemazee submitted the documents referencing those accounts,” Bharara said in the statement.

Nemazee, 59, repaid the loan to Citibank yesterday, a day after he was interviewed by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, prosecutors said. The interview took place at Newark Liberty International Airport as Nemazee was checking in for a flight to Rome.
In an interesting turn of fate, Nemazee is being represented by Marc Mukasey, who is the son of Michael Mukasey, an Attorney General under President Bush.

So, who is Nemazee? He had some key ties to major Democratic party figures, including three candidates for President: John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama. He also was involved in the DSCC, which is run by Sen. Chuck Schumer (via Ace of Spades).

For Democrats who claimed that they would drain the swamp of corruption in Washington, we're finding that they haven't so much drained the swamp, but flooded it turning it into a swimming pool for their excess.

In fact, in a related item, Rep. Charles Rangel was caught underreporting assets once again to the tune of $500,000.
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Stop S384 The Global Food Security Act ...more importantly, stop ANY bill sponsored by Lugar or Kerry!

Update: See GMF ...Genetically Modified Foods - Are you swallowing this?

Source: CapWiz

Stop the Global Food Security Act
Tell Congress: No GM Crops! Organic Food Security Now!
Globally, the tide is turned decidedly against genetically modified crops. Why are the President and Congress using the economic crisis as an excuse to push GM crops on poor countries?
In February, 2009, Friends of the Earth released a report proving that GM crops cannot, and are unlikely ever, to contribute to poverty reduction, global food security or sustainable farming.
On March 22, the Times (South Africa) reported that 280 of the 1000 farmers who bought Monsanto's GM maize experienced crop losses of up to 80%, and on April 2, Reuters reported that Monsanto had paid the farmers $42 million for the failure.
On March 26, Greenpeace announced that Luxembourg was expected to join Austria, France, Greece and Hungary in banning the use and sale of Monsanto's genetically modified maize, the only GM crop that may be grown commercially in the European Union at present.
But, in the United States, the Obama Administration and Congress are cynically trying to make "research on biotechnological advances appropriate to local ecological conditions, including genetically modified technology" a condition of agricultural aid.
On April 2, President Obama announced that United States would "double support for agricultural development to over $1 billion so that we are giving people the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty. ... This is not just charity though. These are future markets for all countries, and future drivers of growth." President Obama's announcement coincided with the passage in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of S. 384, the Global Food Security Act, that would authorize $10 billion in agricultural development aid over 5 years -- with strings attached. While the White House uses euphemistic phrases like "modern technology," "quality seeds," and "private investment in agriculture productivity," S. 384's sponsor Senator Lugar explicitly favors biotechnology:

This new revolution won't succeed without new tools, namely biotechnology and genetically modified (GM) seeds, to meet the enormous demands for increased production. But Europeans oppose most GM technology, despite its proven safety and success in cutting pesticide use, raising output and adapting to adverse conditions. African countries in particular have been intimidated by aggressive European lobbying from deploying biotechnology, widely used in many places, including America - GM varieties comprise 80 percent of our corn crop

Congressional Legislation
The Global Food Security Act
Bill # S.384

Original Sponsor:
Richard Lugar (R-IN)

Cosponsor Total: 11
(last sponsor added 07/28/2009)
9 Democrats
2 Republicans
About This Legislation:

On March 31, 2009, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved S.384 The Global Food Security Act of 2009, which was sponsored by Dick Lugar (R-IN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Bob Casey (D-PA). The bill amends Section 103A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to read:

Agricultural research carried out under this chapter shall

1. take account of the special needs of small farmers in the determination of research priorities,
2. include research on the interrelationships among technology, institutions, and economic, social, environmental, and cultural factors affecting small-farm agriculture, and
3. make extensive use of field testing to adapt basic research to local conditions. Special emphasis shall be placed on disseminating research results to the farms on which they can be put to use, and especially on institutional and other arrangements needed to assure that small farmers have effective access to both new and existing improved technology
4. include research on biotechnological advances appropriate to local ecological conditions, including genetically modified technology.


(The section you're reading is from the U.S. code Title 22: Foreign Relations and Intercourse; Chapter 32: Foreign Assistance; Subchapter 1: International Development; Part I-Declaration of Policy; Development Assistance Authorizations; § 2151a-1. Agricultural research. The change is in bold.)

Press Release on S. 384 Hearing From: U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis

SENATE HEARING ON GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS OFFERS SAME FAILED SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS GLOBAL HUNGER
Stacked Panel Featured Only Industrial Agriculture and Genetic Engineering Apologists

Washington D.C. (March 26, 2009) - The U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis, a group representing various sectors of the food system, including anti-hunger, family farm, community food security, environmental, international aid, labor, food justice, consumers and others, expressed deep disappointment with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on “Alleviating Global Hunger: Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Leadership” held on March 24. The hearing relied primarily on testimonies from “Green Revolution” advocates for the industrial agriculture system, even though it is broken, and failed to address many of the real causes and solutions to the food crisis.

While the Committee summarized well what is at stake, particularly in Africa and South Asia— massive human suffering, political stability and economic development—the analysis and solutions offered by the stacked roster were a rehashing of pro-industrial agriculture technologies and practices that have failed again and again to address this human tragedy. Current reliance on chemical-intensive agriculture and genetic engineering has deepened the gap between the haves and the have-nots, are further deepening the global climate crisis and threatening our planet’s natural resources.

The U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis’s vision for reforming agriculture policy to help end the global food crisis includes the following that were either not mentioned during the hearing, or directly contradicted by the panelists:

• Re-regulate commodity futures markets to end excessive speculation
• Stabilize commodity prices through international and domestic food reserves
• Halt expansion of industrial agrofuels in developing countries
• Direct farm policy, research and education, and investment toward biodiverse, agroecological farming practices

Commodity Speculation and Food Prices
A significant part of last year’s food price fluctuations that led to the increase of hunger for 100 to 200 million people were the result of excessive speculation in the commodities markets by the very hedge funds and investment banks that have helped create the current economic meltdown.

The Senate Committee and panelists failed to acknowledge the large role of the financial sector in destabilizing prices for food. Patrick Woodall of the consumer group Food & Water Watch said, “Any solution to the food crisis must crack down on rampant commodities speculation.

Wall Street poured hundreds of billions of dollars into the under-regulated commodities markets, propelling the skyrocketing prices in 2008. Reigning in excess speculation can help to reduce food prices immediately and for the future.” A recent letter signed by nearly 200 Civil Society groups to President Obama requested decisive support to wring out excess speculation in agriculture futures markets that threatens the food security of millions.

International and Domestic Food Reserves Stabilize Food Prices

Last year’s volatility in commodity prices, driven in large part by financial speculators and not supply/demand concerns, exposes the perilous state of even U.S. food security due to the lack of food reserves. In 2008, a World Bank report highlighted a need for reserves in the global food system to prevent “price shocks.” Ben Burkett, an African-American Mississippi farmer and president of the National Family Farm Coalition said, “Just as Wall Street and financial markets were deregulated in the 1990s and 2000s, so were agriculture commodities. Both here and in Africa and other countries, governments were pressured to get rid of all their food reserves and rely on the “free market” and imports to make up for any shortfalls. If we’re going to alleviate hunger, I hope the U.S. Senate takes a serious look into supporting both the right of countries to have reserves and the establishment of international reserves so we don’t repeat the devastating food riots of 2008.”

Industrial Agrofuels Threaten Food Sovereignty
Another problem not addressed during the hearing that seriously impacts poor countries’ ability to end hunger is industrial agrofuels such as palm oil and jatropha that are skyrocketing in production while driving off the land peasant farmers producing for local consumption. “No serious discussion of the global food crisis can ignore the devastating impacts of foreign land grabs on African communities. Foreign corporations are taking away needed community resources to produce industrialized biofuels, such as palm oil and jatropha, for their own profit,” said Andrea Samulon of Rainforest Action Network

Need to Fundamentally Reorient Agriculture Practices
While the panelists at the hearing emphasized the need to expand commercial agriculture practices, including genetic engineering, the recent landmark report of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), backed by United Nations agencies and the World Bank and over 400 contributing scientists, directly contradicts that vision. Dr. Molly Anderson, a coordinating lead author of the report, said, “The IAASTD is the most authoritative and broad-based resource available on the full impacts of past investment in agricultural development and future options. It showed that “business as usual is not an option” and that commercial agricultural practices are endangering the planet while also failing to rectify the hunger of millions. To reverse this, the report said investments in ecological practices and science that encourages participatory knowledge creation and the integration of indigenous knowledge show more promise for meeting development and sustainability goals than relying on transgenic crops and other chemical-intensive Green Revolution tactics. Hopefully for future hearings on this vital subject, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee can include the perspective of this critical report.”

Genetic Engineering Offers False Promise
The inclusion of Robert Paarlberg, a well-known ideological critic of sustainable and organic agriculture, with no counter-balancing voice, was especially disappointing. Eric Holt-Gimenez, Ph.D., Executive Director of Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy, said, “In its use of specious arguments to justify industry’s biotechnological assault on the agricultural systems of the developing world, Professor Paarlberg’s recent book, Starved for Science: How Biotechnology Is Being Kept Out of Africa, epitomizes everything that is wrong with agricultural development. It is appalling that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee allowed Dr. Paarlberg to testify with no counter witnesses who have a very different vision on how we can help Africa and the rural poor feed themselves.”

Report on S. 384 Hearing From: Jill Richardson, La Vida Locovore
More Non-Help for Africa, Courtesy of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

On March 24, 2009, the Senate Foreign Relations committee held an absolutely heinous hearing on global hunger. It was very specifically focused on hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Here are the true things they said (most of the rest after this is B.S.):

• There are 800 million to 1 billion hungry people in the world and 2/3 of them are in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
• The world's population is growing.
• Many of the hungry are farmers in Africa, many of whom are women, uneducated, and powerless.
• Farmers in Africa lack water for irrigation, petroleum-based fertilizer, GMO or hybrid seeds, pesticides, electricity, and any machinery whatsoever. 70% also live more than 30 minutes walking distance from the nearest road, effectively cutting them off from any markets.
• Global hunger is not just a moral issue, it's also a national security risk.
• White House leadership will be critical in any effort fighting global hunger.

After that, we started to get into chemical-ag-public-relations land.

Robert Paarlberg, Professor of Political Science, Wellesley College, spoke about some people (like the UN, perhaps?) who want Africa to farm organically. He says right now they are de facto organic and that hasn't worked so "it's time to get beyond these rigid ideologies." I believe this plays into the idiotic notion that organics is merely the lack of using GMOs, pesticides, fertilizer, etc.

Organics, done right, means crop rotation, mulching, building up animal habitat to attract species that will eat pests, cover crops, and more. While current African agriculture may be certifiably organic according to our USDA, that doesn't mean it can't be improved using organic methods. I think it's telling that the farmers are uneducated and malnourished - could that be part of the reason for their low yields?

In the question and answer period, Kerry asked about organics and brought up the dead zone in the Gulf that is caused by fertilizer run-off. His idea for organics was promptly dismissed by the panel (and Lugar too), who told him that Africa would have no problem with fertilizer runoff because they would use less of it than the United States.

Kerry said, in asking his question about organics, "It seems to me, that's not something we oughta dismiss casually." He recognized the major organic movement in the U.S. and said, "You push that aside, is that wise in this battle not to honor and respect that movement... and fashion policies accordingly?"

Unfortunately, after Paarlberg shot him down, he replied, "So it's really the balance more than anything else?" Oh Senator Kerry.
Detailed, up-to-date bill status information on S.384.
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The Guardian... Sure they hate Jews...and they lie a lot!

Source: Google Reader
See also: More Lies From The Guardian


CiF Watch: A Very Good Blog, Indeed

Bless these folks for documenting the vile Jew hatred that The Guardian happily hosts. That "publication" is a sewer for the worst kind of incitement to violence.

Well, cyber warriors have documented it all. And will do it daily. Evil unmasked! We love that.

CiF Watch Website Launched to Combat Antisemitism on the Guardian newspaper’s ‘Comment is Free’ blog

New York, NY – August 24, 2009 – CiF Watch (www.cifwatch.com), a website dedicated to monitoring and exposing antisemitism on the Guardian newspaper’s ‘Comment is Free’ blog, announced its launch this week.




Created to address the endemic problem of antisemitic discourse on the Guardian newspaper’s ‘Comment is Free’ blog, one of the most popular mainstream blogs of its type, CiF Watch documents manifestations of antisemitism both “above the line” in the Guardian-approved articles and “below the line” in the post-moderated comment threads.

The proliferation of antisemitism in mainstream media platforms has become a growing phenomenon as media outlets like the Guardian attempt to reinvent themselves in the online world” says Hawkeye, founder of CiF Watch. “CiF Watch has been launched as a consequence of the complete and utter failure of Guardian management to adequately confront the problem of antisemitism on ‘Comment is Free’, this despite the submission last year to the UK Parliamentary Committee Against Antisemitism of the report on antisemitism at ‘Comment is Free’ compiled by Jonathan Hoffman.”

CiF Watch primarily functions as a blog that provides a platform for discussion of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish articles posted on ‘Comment is Free’, free from Guardian censorship. At the same time, CiF Watch features separate areas where antisemitic writings of both contributors and commenters alike are documented.

About CiF Watch

CiF Watch (www.cifwatch.com), dedicated to monitoring and exposing antisemitism on the Guardian newspaper’s ‘Comment is Free’ blog, is a grassroots, unaffiliated group that strives to hold the Guardian newspaper accountable for proliferating antisemitism over the internet. To learn more about CiF Watch, please visit www.cifwatch.com/about/.

Do The Math! ...34,000 years to pay off Obama debt

Source: Free Republic

Ariz Rep Trent Franks: 34,000 years to pay off indebtedness trillions wrought by Obama
8/23/09

Posted on Sunday, August 23, 2009 8:54:27 PM by Liz

US Rep. Trent Franks, R-Arizona, held a townhall meeting in Kingman, Arizona. Some 950 people attended the boisterous event in a local church. Franks said it would take 34,000 years to pay off the indebtedness incurred by the Obama administration.

He said that Obama's eligibility was one of the hottest topics that included concerns about national defense, stimulus spending, health-care bills and the "cash-for-clunkers" program.

Franks is considering a lawsuit to establish Barack Obama's eligibility for the presidency. Franks said there is conflicting evidence on the question of Obama's status as a "natural born citizen."

His allusion to the possibility of a lawsuit forcing release of Obama's original, long-form birth certificate is as far as any member of Congress has gone on this issue. SOURCE: WorldNetDaily (FR Posted by RobinMasters)

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Monday, August 24, 2009

America...give me a few minutes


And you thought Hitler was bad...Obama will soon top the list of World's Worst Dictators

Click on picture to enlarge.
(see list of current czars below...note: If you want to sharpen your research skills check out those that are members of the CFR)
Obama’s Union Car Czar Gets Big Promotion
Ron Bloom, the former United Steelworkers (USW) union bigwig appointed by President Barack Obama as “car czar” earlier this year is now poised to oversee ALL American manufacturing.

That’s right, a union boss whose forced unionism dogma destroys jobs, crushes employee free choice, and cripples the country’s competitiveness will soon be in charge of America’s entire industrial policy.

Bloom’s appointment and pending promotion are just pieces in the pattern of Obama’s shameless payback to the union bosses who got him elected.

What’s so troubling about Bloom’s ascendancy is the obvious connection between forced unionism and the debacle of General Motors and Chrysler in Detroit.

After the United Auto Workers (UAW) union bosses systematically crippled Detroit for decades with asinine and wasteful work rules and stifling union monopoly contracts that made it virtually impossible for America’s automotive industry to compete, the Obama Administration turned around and rewarded these UAW bosses with substantial ownership in the automakers they destroyed.

The appointment of Bloom suggests President Obama wants to impose Detroit’s catastrophic forced unionism model on all American manufacturing workers.

Read more about Bloom’s expected promotion on the National Right to Work Foundation’s blog.


Union Car Czar Poised to Dictate America's Manufacturing Policy




Regular Freedom@Work readers may remember Ron Bloom, a former Steelworker union operative charged with running the American auto industry from Washington. Now that car manufacturers are doing so "well," Bloom is about to get a promotion:

The Obama Administration may elevate Ron Bloom, head of the government's auto task force, to a job that would set U.S. manufacturing policy more broadly, people familiar with the matter said.

Bloom's responsibilities at the new position? They're extensive, to say the least:

As the chief policy maker on manufacturing, Bloom would be charged with reviewing U.S. competitiveness in the global economy. His job would likely encompass trade, taxes and other economic issues . . .

Just what American industry needs: another "czar" whose relevant work experience involves running struggling companies into the ground and exploiting their workers. We're sure industry leaders across the country are thrilled at the prospect of taking orders from a union czar.

The result of this personnel move seems likely to be more forced unionism, less American competitiveness, more job losses, and ultimately more bankruptcies and taxpayer-funded bailouts of corruptly run union pension plans.


Current Czars Courtesy of Glenn Beck

List of Obama's Czars

August 21, 2009 - 5:26 ET

As of July 20, 2009:

• The Brainroom counts 32 czars in the Obama administration, based on media reports from reputable sources that have identified the official in question as a czar.
• In addition, President Obama has said that he will create the position of cyber czar, and there have been media reports that there could be a health insurance czar and a copyright czar. When and if those positions are filled, that would bring the total to 35.
• Since czar isn't an official job title, the number is somewhat in the eye of the beholder.


NOTE: positions that also existed under previous administrations are indicated with an *.


1. Afghanistan Czar - Richard Holbrooke

Title: Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State


• Will work with CENTCOM head Gen. David Petraeus to integrate U.S. civilian and military efforts in the region.
• 45 years of experience have made him a fixture of the Democrats' foreign policy establishment.
• Was U.S. ambassador to U.N., 1999-2001
• Brokered the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia
• Also served as Assistant secretary of state, East Asia and the Pacific (1976 to 1980); worked in foreign service (1962 to 1976)
• From 1972 through 1976, was the editor of Foreign Policy magazine.


2. AIDS Czar * - Jeffrey Crowley

Title: Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy
Salary: $102,000
Reports to: President Obama (as part of the Executive Office of the President’s Domestic Policy Council)
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services


• Coordinates HIV/AIDS policy domestically and internationally.
• Senior Research Scholar at Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute and a Senior Scholar at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center.
• Was Deputy Executive Director for Programs at the National Association of People with AIDS
• Has Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health


3. Auto Recovery Czar - Ed Montgomery

Title: Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Larry Summers, the president's top economic adviser, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Labor


• Will work to leverage government resources to support the workers, communities and regions that rely on the American auto industry.
• Was Deputy Secretary and Chief Economist at the Labor Department (1997 to 1998)
• Is Dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland (2003 to present)
• Has PhD in economics from Harvard
• In 2008, made $1,200 in political donations, all of which went to Obama’s presidential campaign.
• Wife is the granddaughter of a General Motors worker from Portland, Mich.
• Drives a 2000 Lincoln


4. Border Czar * - Alan Bersin


Title: Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
Appointed: April 2009
Agencies that might have handled similar issues: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)


• Will coordinate all of the department's border security and law-enforcement efforts.
• Essentially had the same job under President Clinton; served as Attorney General Janet Reno's special representative on border issues, a job that he held while retaining the position of U.S. attorney for San Diego.
• This time, boss will be Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who will expect him to handle illegal immigration and drug violence issues along the Mexican-American border
• Previous experience: Chairman of the San Diego Regional Airport Authority (2006 to 2009); Secretary of Education for California (2005 to 2006); Superintendent of San Diego Public Schools (1998 to 2005); U.S. Attorney for San Diego (1993 to 1998)
• Graduate of Harvard and Yale Law School
• Talking about border security shortly before he was named Clinton border czar in 1995, said he wanted to focus on suspected smugglers of both drugs and people and was not interested in prosecuting “economic migrants.”
• Often tied to the 1994 border policy called “Operation Gatekeeper.” The policy shifted the U.S. focus from the arresting of immigrants who actually crossed the border to an increased border presence designed to stop border crossing in the first place. When Bersin left the position in 1998, border arrests were on pace for an 18-year low of just more than 200,000. Latino groups complained that Operation Gatekeeper was immoral, saying the program monitored the border near San Diego but simply forced illegal immigrants to other, more dangerous areas.
• Has given more than $50,000 to political campaigns since 1999, almost all of it to Democrats.


5. California Water Czar - David J. Hayes

Title: Deputy Interior Secretary
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
Appointed: June 2009
Confirmed by Senate (as Deputy Interior Security): May 20, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Interior


• Charged with coordinating federal agencies to ease California's water shortage
• Graduate of Stanford Law School; clerked for U.S. District Court for the D.C., has been a partner at two big D.C. law firms
• Was deputy interior secretary under Bruce Babbitt during Clinton administration
• From 1993 to 1995, was chairman of the board at the Environmental Law Institute, a non-profit research center.
• As a lobbyist, represented the Southern California Metropolitan Water District in 2001
• In August 2008, wrote a policy report while working at the Progressive Policy Institute accusing the Bush administration of leaving a “damaging legacy” in their natural resource management policies
• Donated $2,300 to Clinton during 2008 campaign; after she withdrew, donated $2,300 to Obama


6. Car Czar - Ron Bloom

NOTE: on July 13, 2009, Bloom took over as head of the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, replacing Steven Rattner

Title: Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council head Larry Summers
Appointed: July 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury


• A leader of the White House task force overseeing auto company bailouts; worked on restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler LLC.
• Was special assistant to president of the United Steelworkers union from 1996-Feb 2009
• Has negotiated restructuring deals for more than 50 companies, getting major concessions from unions and companies.
• Was raised in New York in a pro-union family, which included a schoolteacher mother and unionized relatives.
• After working for the Service Employees International Union, got an MBA from Harvard University because he thought unions lacked business smarts, he said in a 1996 interview in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• From 1985 to 1990, he worked as an investment banker with Lazard Freres & Co., which specializes in mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring, before co-founding the investment-banking firm Keilin and Bloom.


7. Central Region Czar - Dennis Ross

Title: Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for the Central Region (encompasses the Middle East, the Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia)
Salary: unknown
Reports to: National Security Adviser Gen. James L. Jones
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State


• Spent 12 years in the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations trying to create a permanent agreement between the governments of Israel and the Palestinian territories
• In 1981, was named to President Ronald Reagan’s national security staff as the director of Near East and South Asian Affairs.
• Was director of the State Department’s Policy Planning office during President George H. W. Bush’s term.
• 1993: appointed to the position of Middle East coordinator, making him the top negotiator for peace between Israel and Palestinian territories
• After he left government in 2000, headed up Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a hawkish think tank with a pro-Israeli bent


8. Climate Czar - Todd Stern

Title: Special Envoy for Climate Change
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency; State


• Responsible for developing international approaches to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Served in the Clinton White House from 1993 to 1999; Was Head of the Initiative on Global Climate Change (1997 to 1999) and Adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury (1999 to 2001)
• As a top aide to President Clinton, helped negotiate the Kyoto and Buenos Aires climate pacts, both of which fell apart partially because of a lack of U.S. support during Bush administration.
• After Bush was elected to office, went to the Wilmer Hale law firm, where he is a partner in the regulatory and government affairs division.
• Was most recently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he focused on climate change and environmental issues.
• Has written extensively on climate change, and has called on the American government and the international community to take a series of steps to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Supports a national cap-and-trade system that would limit carbon emissions and reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil
• Has law degree from Harvard


9. Domestic Violence Czar - Lynn Rosenthal

Title: White House adviser on Violence Against Women
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama and Vice President Biden
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services


• Will advise the President and Vice President on domestic violence and sexual assault issues.
• 2000-2006: served as the Executive Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence
• Was an advocate for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2000 and 2005 and has assisted states and local communities with implementation of this federal legislation
• Was director of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence


10. Drug Czar * - Gil Kerlikowske

Title: Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: March 2009
Confirmed by Senate: May 7, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Justice


• Directs drug-control policy in the U.S.; is expected to shift drug policy to intervention, treatment and a reduction of problem drug use.
• Was police chief for the city of Seattle from 2000-2009
• Was Deputy Director of the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (1998 to 2000); Police Chief for the city of Buffalo (1994 to 1998); Police chief of Fort Pierce, Fla. (N/A to 1994)
• A strong gun-control advocate, urged both the Washington legislature and the U.S. Congress to pass an assault-weapons ban and has worked to close the loophole that doesn't require background checks at gun shows
• 2003: admitted that busting people for personal marijuana possession was not a top priority of the Seattle police department.
• As Seattle police chief, assigned an officer full-time to the drug court, which commuted sentences of drug users who complete medical treatment in lieu of going to jail.


11. Economic Czar * - Paul Volcker

Title: Chairman of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
Salary: Volcker reportedly isn't paid for his advice.
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury


• Charged with offering independent, nonpartisan information, analysis, and advice to the President as he formulates and implements his plans for economic recovery.
• Some reports say he's been marginalized by Larry Summers.
• Former Federal Reserve chairman (1979-1987)
• Was Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs, Department of the Treasury (1969 to 1974); Deputy Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs, Department of the Treasury (1963 to 1965)
• Gave Obama campaign $2,300 in 2008.


12. Energy and Environment Czar - Carol Browner

Title: Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
Salary: $172,200
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: EPA


• Coordinates energy and climate policy, emphasizing regulation and conservation.
• Was Environmental Protection Agency administrator in the Clinton administration (1993-2000)
• Was Florida Secretary of the Environment (1991 to 1993)
• Founded and continues to serve as a principal of The Albright Group LLC, a global strategy firm led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Also a principal of Albright Capital Management, an investment advisory firm that concentrates on emerging markets.
• Worked on the Socialist International's Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which argues that the global community must work collectively to address environmental policies
• Described Bush administration as the "worst environmental administration ever"
• While orchestrating private discussions between the White House and auto industry officials on vehicle fuel efficiency standards, kept the talks as quiet as possible. Mary Nichols, the head of the California Air Resources Board, said, "We put nothing in writing, ever."
• 2003: A federal judge held the Environmental Protection Agency in contempt for destroying computer files during the Clinton administration that had been sought by a conservative legal foundation. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth also ordered the EPA to pay the Landmark Legal Foundation's legal fees and costs because the agency disobeyed his order to preserve the electronic records of Browner, the former EPA chief.


13. Faith-Based Czar * - Joshua DuBois

Title: Director of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Salary: $98,000
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services


• Acts as a liaison between faith and secular community groups and the White House, often partnering with them to tackle social issues. Helps these groups apply for federal grants available to them.
• Is 26 years old
• Has master’s in public affairs from Princeton University; served as associate pastor
• Worked for Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) as an intern and then as a fellow for Rep. Charles B. Rangel (DN. Y.).
• Hired as a legislative correspondent in Obama’s Senate office in May 2005
• In 2008, at the age of 25, was appointed director of religious affairs for the Obama campaign.


14. Government Performance Czar - Jeffrey Zients

Title: Chief Performance Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by the Senate (as deputy director for management for the OMB): June 19, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB


• Charged with cutting costs and finding best practices throughout government.
• Has never worked in government before
• Was a chief executive and former management consultant
• Was founder of Portfolio Logic (2004 to present); Partner of the Washington Baseball Club (2004 to 2006); CEO of the Advisory Board (1998 to 2004)
• Has donated just over $90,000 to political campaigns since 1999, almost all of which went to Democratic candidates


15. Great Lakes Czar - Cameron Davis


Title: Special advisor to the U.S. EPA overseeing its Great Lakes restoration plan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson
Appointed: June 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency


• Oversees the administration's initiative to restore the Great Lakes' environment.
• President of the Chicago-based environmentalist group Alliance for the Great Lakes
• Was a litigating attorney and served as an adjunct clinical assistant professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School.
• Served with the United Nations Environment Program in Nairobi, Kenya, where he worked on the Montreal Protocol to protect the Earth’s ozone layer, and U.S. EPA’s Office of Regional Counsel in Chicago.


16. Green Jobs Czar - Van Jones


Title: Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Head of Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley
Appointed: March 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency; Labor


• Will focus on environmentally-friendly employment within the administration and boost support for the idea nationwide
• Rose from near obscurity in the Oakland, Calif., grassroots organizing scene to the leader of a national movement to spur the green economy.
• Founded Green For All, an organization focused on creating green jobs in impoverished areas
• Also co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Color of Change, which includes Bay Area PoliceWatch, a group devoted to "protect[ing] the community from police misconduct"
• Published New York Times best-seller The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, in October 2008
• Started career as a prison-reform advocate in Oakland, Calif., lobbying for reform of the juvenile justice system and youth-violence prevention programs
• Has law degree from Yale
• 2007: worked on the Green Jobs Act with then-Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), who co-sponsored the bill in the House
• 1993: was arrested at the Los Angeles riots that followed the acquittal of cops in the Rodney King beating. "I was arrested simply for being a police observer," says Jones, who had just graduated from Yale Law School and was working with the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco.
• 1999: was arrested in the 1999 Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization
• Excerpt from a Nov. 2005 interview in the East Bay Express:
Jones had planned to move to Washington, DC, and had already landed a job and an apartment there. But in jail, he said, "I met all these young radical people of color -- I mean really radical, communists and anarchists. And it was, like, 'This is what I need to be a part of.'" Although he already had a plane ticket, he decided to stay in San Francisco. "I spent the next ten years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary." In the months that followed, he let go of any lingering thoughts that he might fit in with the status quo. "I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th," he said. "By August, I was a communist." In 1994, the young activists formed a socialist collective, Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement, or STORM, which held study groups on the theories of Marx and Lenin and dreamed of a multiracial socialist utopia. They protested police brutality and got arrested for crashing through police barricades. In 1996, Jones decided to launch his own operation, which he named the Ella Baker Center after an unsung hero of the civil-rights movement.


17. Guantanamo Closure Czar - Daniel Fried

Title: Special envoy to oversee the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Justice; State


• Works to get help of foreign governments in moving toward closure of Guantanamo Bay, in fulfillment of Obama's promise to close the prison within a year of taking office.
• Was Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, State Department (2005 to 2009); Director for European and Eurasian Affairs, State Department (2001 to 2005); U.S. Ambassador to Poland (1997 to 2001)


18. Health Czar * - Nancy-Ann DeParle


Title: Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform
Salary: $158,500
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services (HHS)


• Coordinates the development of the Administration's healthcare policy agenda.
• Experience: Managing Director, CCMP Capital (since 2001); Adjunct professor (focusing on healthcare policy), Wharton School of Business (since 2001); Commissioner, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (since 2001); Fellow, Harvard Institue of Politics (2000 to 2001); Director, Healthcare Financing Administration (1997 to 2000)
• Has law degree from Harvard
• Served as the OMB’s representative on health-care reform during Bill Clinton’s first term
• As head of the HHS Health Care Financing Administration under Clinton, ran the largest health insurance provider in America, overseeing $600 billion in payments annually to 74 million recipients of Medicare and Medicaid
• 2001: left government to take a year-long fellowship at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, where she was part of Harvard’s Health Care Policy Forum and led a weekly study group on reforming Medicare.
• During Bush administration, sat on the boards of many health companies, from medical treatment producers to hospital systems
• In September 2008, donated $2,300 each to Clinton and Barack Obama.


19. Information Czar - Vivek Kundra

Title: Federal Chief Information Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag
Appointed: March 2009
Agencies that might have handled similar issues: other federal agency CIOs


• Basically in charge of overseeing other federal agency CIOs and for setting technology policy across the government.
• Head of a federal technology budget that amounts to $71 billion annually
• Operation is housed in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and will likely have authority to question how money in departmental technology budgets is used
• Formerly head of the District of Columbia's technology operations
• Shortly after he joined the OMB, federal authorities raided his old District government office. They arrested two technology office managers and a subcontractor, charging them with a bribery scheme that allegedly defrauded the city out of at least $500,000. Kundra was not a suspect in the case, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
• Has a masters from Maryland in information technology.
• Experience: Washington, D.C. Chief Technology Officer (2007 to 2009); State of Virginia's Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Trade (2006 to 2007); CEO of computer security firm Creostar


20. Intelligence Czar * - Dennis Blair

Title: Director of National Intelligence
Salary: $197,700
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Confirmed by Senate: January 28, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: CIA


• Nation’s top intelligence official.
• Retired four-star admiral.
• Graduate of the United States Naval Academy, 1968; sixth-generation naval officer
• Lacks professional roots in the world of intelligence
• Held a number of prestigious Washington posts, including the Pentagon’s top liaison to the CIA and director of the Joint Staff.
• Ran the non-profit Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), which focuses primarily on issues related to national security, and does a lot of work for the Defense Department. Left IDA under a cloud of controversy in mid-2006.


21. Mideast Peace Czar - George Mitchell

Title: Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State


• Works to maintain the shaky peace between Israel and Hamas after recent hostilities
• Senate majority leader from 1989 to 1994
• Was special envoy to Northern Ireland during the Clinton administration and lead investigator into steroid use in Major League Baseball.
• 2000: led a fact-finding committee to study violence in the Middle East; 2001's Mitchell Report formed the basis for the road map for Middle East peace


22. Pay Czar - Kenneth R. Feinberg

Title: Special Master on executive pay
Salary: reportedly receiving no compensation for his work.
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury


• Named to examine compensation practices at companies that have been bailed out more than once by the federal government
• Oversaw the payouts to the families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks
• Was the chief administrator to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, which commemorates the students who died in the April 2007 shooting rampage at Virginia Tech
• Founder and managing partner of Feinberg Rozen LLP (1992 to present), law firm specializing in mediation
• Was Chief of staff for Sen. Edward Kennedy (1978 to 1980)
• While working with the Feinberg Group, donated over $150,000, nearly all of which has gone to Democratic candidates and political action committees. In 2007, donated $2,300 to 2008 presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani (R).


23. Regulatory Czar - Cass R. Sunstein *

Title: Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Office of Management and Budget head Peter Orszag
Appointed: January 2009
Nomination was sent to Senate on April 20, 2009 - no action yet taken
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB


• Will be responsible for reviewing draft regulations and assessing their costs and benefits
• Is a Harvard Law School professor; prior to that, was a professor at the Univ. of Chicago Law School (1981-2008)
• Academic specialties: constitutional law, administrative law, and regulatory policy
• Obama: "Cass is not only a valued advisor, he is a dear friend"
• Known for advancing a field called "law and behavioral economics" that seeks to shape law and policy around the way research shows people actually behave; though embraced by conservatives, critics say it fails to account for the sometimes less-than-rational aspects of human behavior.
• In his 2002 book, Republic.com, discussed the drawbacks of limitless choices on the Internet that allow people to seek out only like-minded people and opinions that merely fortify their own views; he talked about the idea of the government requiring sites to link to opposing views. He later came to realize it was a "bad idea."
• In his 2004 book, Animal Rights, suggested that animals ought to be able to bring suit, with private citizens acting as their representatives, to ensure that animals are not treated in a way that violates current law.
• In a 2007 speech at Harvard he called for banning hunting in the U.S.
• The American Conservative Union started a website, Stop Sunstein, in an effort to keep him out of the White House.


24. Science Czar - John Holdren

Title: Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: December 2008
Confirmed by Senate: March 19, 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Energy


• Top adviser to Obama on science and technology, issues that are increasingly relevant to other issues such as homeland security, energy and environmentalism
• Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy and Director, Program in Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (1996-2009); Harvard University Professor of Environmental Science and Public Policy (1996-2009); University of California, Berkeley Professor of Energy and Resources Emeritus (1996 to present)
• Studied aerospace engineering and plasma physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — where he earned his BS and MS — and Stanford University, where he received his doctorate in 1970
• Is an outspoken advocate of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and believes the United States should sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty.
• In a 2008 New York Times op-ed, Holdren called climate change skeptics “dangerous” members of a “denier fringe.”
• In 1971, co-authored a paper in Global Ecology suggesting "some form of ecocatastrophe, if not thermonuclear war, seems almost certain to overtake us before the end of the century."
• Some conservative media outlets have called attention to a book Holdren co-authored in 1977 titled Ecoscience: Population, Resources, and Environment. The book reportedly includes this statement: "population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution." Holdren's office says he "does not now and never has been an advocate of compulsory abortions or other repressive measures to limit fertility."


25. Stimulus Accountability Czar - Earl Devaney

Title: Chair of the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Vice President Biden
Appointed: February 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB


• Leads oversight board that monitors money spent by the stimulus package
• Experience: Inspector General at the Interior Department (1999 to present); Director of criminal enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency (1991 to 1999); Special Agent at the Secret Service (1970 to 1991)
• During his tenure at Interior, uncovered the shady dealings of disgraced ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, an investigation that eventually led to Abramoff's imprisonment and the resignation of Interior's no. 2, J. Steven Griles, for lying under oath about his own role in the scandal.
• On July 8, 2009, the U.S. General Services Administration issued a press release announcing an $18 million contract for a new recovery.gov web site, which quoted Devaney as saying, “We are pleased that another major milestone has been achieved."


26. Sudan Czar - J. Scott Gration

Title: Special Envoy to Sudan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State


• Will coordinate U.S. role in the aftermath of the genocide in Darfur
• Experience: Supreme Allied Command, NATO (2004 to 2005); Air Force assistant deputy undersecretary for international affairs (2003 to 2004)
• Commanded all air operations during the Iraq war in 2003
• 2006: left Air Force position to join Obama’s staff after traveling to Africa with the then-Senator from Illinois, even though he was a Republican
• Has won a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, a Defense Superior Service Medal and 16 other awards
• Is a fluent Swahili speaker who grew up in the Congo
• Has called on the Obama administration to incentivize participation by the Sudanese government in peace talks by lifting sanctions, a position that is controversial. Also worked to position himself as the principal negotiator between the Sudanese government and its adversaries in Darfur, and is planning an international conference for September 2009
• Has M.A. in security studies from Georgetown


27. TARP Czar - Herb Allison

Title: Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury


• Leads the government's $700 billion financial rescue program in the office of financial stability
• Veteran Wall Street banker and interim head of the mortgage-finance company Fannie Mae
• Worked at Merrill Lynch for 28 years, reaching position of president and COO
• Was CEO of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association College Retirement Equities Fund (2002 to 2008); CEO of the Alliance for Lifelong Learning (2000 to 2002)
• Has undergraduate degree from Yale and MBA from Stanford
• 2000: was John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign finance chairman
• In 2008, donated $2,300 to Obama's presidential campaign


28. Technology Czar - Aneesh Chopra

Title: Chief Technology Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by Senate: May 21, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Commerce


• Will lead in the effort to eliminate wasteful government programs
• Will probably work to increase broadband access nationwide and computerize medical records
• Was Virginia’s secretary of technology (2005-2009)
• Has degree in public health from Johns Hopkins, Master's from Harvard in public policy
• Worked at Morgan Stanley as investment banker; also worked at Advisory Board, a health-care research and consultancy firm
• Has donated more than $24,000 since 1997 to various campaigns. With the exception of a $1,000 donation to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) in 2004, all of Chopra’s contributions have gone to Democrats. From 2007 to 2008, Chopra donated $2,750 to Obama’s presidential campaign.


29. Terrorism Czar - John Brennan

Title: Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
Salary: $172,200
Reports to: National Security Adviser James L. Jones
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Homeland Security


• Under Obama's plan the homeland security adviser’s office would be eliminated, and the National Security Council would take over those duties. Brennan would be responsible for guarding against natural disasters and terrorism.
• Has called for increased integration between the Departments of Commerce, State and Defense
• Graduated from Fordham University in 1977 after a year of intensive Arabic and Middle Eastern studies in Cairo. Earned his J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin before joining the CIA as an intelligence director in 1980.
• Is a CIA veteran and fluent Arabic speaker
• Was CIA deputy executive director (2001 to 2003) and National Counter-Terrorism Center, Chair (2004 to 2005)
• Worked at Analysis Corp, (2005 to 2008);
• Staunch supporter of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Program; defended the use of extraordinary rendition, saying it is “an absolutely vital tool.”


30. Urban Affairs Czar - Adolfo Carrion Jr.

Title: White House Director of Urban Affairs
Salary: $158,500
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Housing and Urban Development


• Job entails coordinating transportation and housing initiatives, as well as serving as a conduit for federal aid to economically hard-hit cities.
• Has undergraduate degree in world religions from Kings College; became an associate pastor at a Bronx church; earned his master’s degree in urban planning from Hunter College
• Was Bronx Borough President (2001-2009); President of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (since 2007); City Council member (1998 to 2000)
• Many reporters say he has higher ambitions and will probably run for New York City mayor in the next ten years.
• Was an active campaigner for Obama, travelling across the country to speak on his behalf. He focused particularly on states with large Hispanic populations.
• The NY Daily News reported numerous developers made tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations to Carrión around the same time he was considering approving their projects in the Bronx.


31. Weapons Czar - Ashton Carter

Title: Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by Senate: April 23, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Defense


• Will coordinate the Pentagon's acquisitions, technology and logistics for weapons.
• Will oversee a weapons-buying system that Obama has placed at the top of his list of federal programs he wants to fix and will be asked to quickly weigh in on difficult decisions concerning at least 10 major defense programs, while also instantly dissecting the procurement system’s ailments so he can advise the administration on its Pentagon acquisition reform agenda
• Is a physicist and Harvard academic whose only previous Pentagon stint was in a mid-level policy post from 1993 until 1996 under the Clinton administration
• Graduated from Yale summa cum laude; studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar and earned a doctorate in theoretical physics.
• Chair of Harvard’s International Relations, Science & Security Area International Security Program within the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy (1993 to 1996); Director of the Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School (early 1990s)
• Has donated primarily to Democratic politicians since 2000. He donated $6,900 to then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in 2007 and 2008. He gave the same amount to then Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) during that same span.


32. WMD Policy Czar - Gary Samore

Title: White House Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction, Security and Arms Control
Salary: unknown
Reports to: National Security Advisor Gen. James L. Jones
Appointed: January 2009
Department or agency that might have handled similar issues: NSC; Defense; State


• Will coordinate issues related to weapons of mass destruction across the government. His portfolio includes proliferation, nuclear and conventional arms control, threat reduction, and terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction.
• Position sits within the National Security Council.
• Is a veteran arms control negotiator.
• B.A. in sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his PhD in government from Harvard University in 1984.
• After brief stints with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the RAND Corporation, joined the State Department during the Reagan administration in 1987. Held several positions there, including director of the Office of Regional Non-proliferation Affairs; special assistant to the Ambassador-at-Large for Non-proliferation and Nuclear Energy Policy; and deputy to Ambassador-at-Large for Korean Affairs Robert Gallucci. Helped to negotiate the 1994 U.S.-North Korea Framework Treaty
• Joined the Clinton administration’s National Security Council in 1995 as an adviser on nonproliferation. Coordinated U.S. policy on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
• Was Director, Council on Foreign Relations (2006 to 2009); Vice President for Global Security and Sustainability, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (2005); Researcher, International Institute of Strategic Studies (2001 to 2005)

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