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RickBulow74
12-18-2008, 08:52 AM
http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/google-obamas-residence-linked-to-psl-phone-number/

As I was listening to the radio the host had put out this challenge and he called BS on it, saying that snopes will check this out and have something on this soon.

If it is or not, it shows that some people might have too much time on their hands.

mkemse
12-18-2008, 09:12 AM
That or before the lection and the campaiginig, it mau have been felt that wether his address was isted or not made no real differece nobody real knew who he was 9 months ago
It may also be listed for security reasons under someone elses name for that reason
As far a the phone number same things, plus from what i understand most of his communication is by cell phone not land line, being from Chicago area they talk abou this all tthe time hear and if it is his real addres, the security around his chicago house is tight, there is a 4 block permameter around his street that has the Chicago police thewre 24/7 and if you even live in that area you must present 2 forms of ID to access any of the local street
So assuming that all the info is correct withthe Chicago Police, and Secret Service Protection in that area nobody without Proper ID ect will get anywhere near his house, it is also a NO FLY Zone similar to the White House Area

mkemse
12-18-2008, 10:00 AM
And with the Security Obama now has as he travels and at home, who cares if it is true
This may be a terrible analogy, but even if all the info on Obama posted is true, it is like Fort Knox, you may now here it is and have their phone number, but getting acutaly getting into the Peramter is a whole different game

I agree. someone has way to much time on their hands

DesertDom
12-18-2008, 10:22 AM
Uh,

I think RickBulow is pointing to the fact obama's listed phone number on the google image is atributed to a socialist group.

I jusr did a search using the provided address, got the phone # and then used whitepages.com and got:

Party For Socialism & Liberationwork
2489 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94110-2469

(415) 821-6171

Pretty darn odd that a Chicago address would point to a San Francisco phone number, but with obama, nothing would surprise me. No idea if this true or not, the big Goog has been known to make mistakes, but interesting coincidence to provide a socialist groups # and not a nursery or a school?

Interesting to watch over the next few months, the liberal media won't have Bush to destroy any longer and being bored will start digging into obama a bit. It will be fun to watch the things that come out and how naive voters react.

mkemse
12-18-2008, 10:43 AM
Uh,

I think RickBulow is pointing to the fact obama's listed phone number on the google image is atributed to a socialist group.

I jusr did a search using the provided address, got the phone # and then used whitepages.com and got:

Party For Socialism & Liberationwork
2489 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94110-2469

(415) 821-6171

Pretty darn odd that a Chicago address would point to a San Francisco phone number, but with obama, nothing would surprise me. No idea if this true or not, the big Goog has been known to make mistakes, but interesting coincidence to provide a socialist groups # and not a nursery or a school?

Interesting to watch over the next few months, the liberal media won't have Bush to destroy any longer and being bored will start digging into obama a bit. It will be fun to watch the things that come out and how naive voters react.

I would of thought if dirt wasgoing to do dug out on Obama is would have been BEFORE he was el;cted not after

But who know, let's give the guy a chance to show his stuff
If we don't like him, we can replace him in 4 years, look at the mistake we made in 2000 and 2004, but then again 2000 was a gift from the Supreme Court, Bush never realy won that election, the Supreme Court gave it to him

But let's just give Obama time to show himself and make decions on him AFTER January's Inauguration

Remember he is Inheriting 8 years of mess, he did not craet this mess, but he has to start cleaning it up and it won't be done in 90 days

Just remember evryone on Nov 4th 2008, we did have a choice between Obama and McCain so the election was not "Handed" to Obama

tusayan
12-18-2008, 10:53 AM
Post-1989 Red baiting is laughable.

DesertDom
12-18-2008, 11:18 AM
I would of thought if dirt wasgoing to do dug out on Obama is would have been BEFORE he was el;cted not after




Your kidding here, right? This is sarcasm, I really hope, you can't be this naive.

The constant plea to give the guy a chance can be put away for a while.

I think that most of us here who did not support obama are resigned ( with varying degrees of resignation) to 4 years of him and are not outwardly disparaging him for his deeds yet.

The criticisms that are being reported in the media are coming from the liberal fringe who feel he is not make decisions that meet their extemist goals. They seem always to eat their own, though, so this is nothing new.

mkemse
12-18-2008, 11:25 AM
Your kidding here, right? This is sarcasm, I really hope, you can't be this naive.

The constant plea to give the guy a chance can be put away for a while.

I think that most of us here who did not support obama are resigned ( with varying degrees of resignation) to 4 years of him and are not outwardly disparaging him for his deeds yet.

The criticisms that are being reported in the media are coming from the liberal fringe who feel he is not make decisions that meet their extemist goals. They seem always to eat their own, though, so this is nothing new.

to your first question YES, scarcasm
i dod laos find it very intrestin that over they ears I do not recall am much negative criticism over an President Elect as we now have with Obmama, never heard thids about Bush before he took office, or clinotn, or Carter, or many others, why Obamam??

to the second one, for those who did not care for Obama and still don't they did have a choice of who was elected and 51-52% of the american voters selected Obama
Who knows he might even suprise eveveryone with what he does
At least he has sat on his hoches to start on solutions for some of the issues, unlike our current Adm. woh said "We didn't realize how bad things were going to be"
Kinda like the Captain of the Titanic say . "hey, folks sorry i didn't see the Iceberg
Bush has enough people working for him that SOMEONE should have advised him what was going on, if they didn't forwhat ever they reason he needed better people, I do not blame BUsh I blame his inability to choose people under him that had mor hindesight, as they say you are only as good as those you hire

denuseri
12-18-2008, 05:59 PM
Is this thread about Bush?

Checks the first post again to make sure.....

...nope... I didn't think so.

The link above could be a glitch, but more than likely it comes up that way for a reason.

Eaither ole Barry Hussien Obama (who is probably planning to have air force one painted purple in a few months) is in fact a socialist (as many, myself included tried to point out to you all during the election)or someone has run a bit of a frame job.

Most liberals sound socialist in the first place so its really not a big leap.

Now I happened to reaserch him a little more extensively during the campaign myself and didn't happen to come accross this paticular tidbit , but I did indeed find all sorts of things that proved his socialist (as well as several other disturbing leanings) to me; which is why I changed who I was going to vote for.

<<doesnt have much choice in in giving ole Barry a chance or not, he is in like it or not. I am a full fledged member of the other half of the United States population that was dis-enfranchised buy the election.

Cringes in fact and expects the absolute worst from him so I might be pleasently surprised if he doesnt raise my taxes and or totally ruin the economy attempting patchwork repairs that other presidents used in the great depression that failed; which btw unfortunately we all know he will probably do both.

All I have to say when it happens is:...... I told you so.

mkemse
12-18-2008, 06:29 PM
Is this thread about Bush?

Checks the first post again to make sure.....

...nope... I didn't think so.

The link above could be a glitch, but more than likely it comes up that way for a reason.

Eaither ole Barry Hussien Obama (who is probably planning to have air force one painted purple in a few months) is in fact a socialist (as many, myself included tried to point out to you all during the election)or someone has run a bit of a frame job.

Most liberals sound socialist in the first place so its really not a big leap.

Now I happened to reaserch him a little more extensively during the campaign myself and didn't happen to come accross this paticular tidbit , but I did indeed find all sorts of things that proved his socialist (as well as several other disturbing leanings) to me; which is why I changed who I was going to vote for.

<<doesnt have much choice in in giving ole Barry a chance or not, he is in like it or not. I am a full fledged member of the other half of the United States population that was dis-enfranchised buy the election.

Cringes in fact and expects the absolute worst from him so I might be pleasently surprised if he doesnt raise my taxes and or totally ruin the economy attempting patchwork repairs that other presidents used in the great depression that failed; which btw unfortunately we all know he will probably do both.

All I have to say when it happens is:...... I told you so.

My apologies for thre wrong post in the wrong thread

mkemse
12-18-2008, 06:33 PM
Is this thread about Bush?

Checks the first post again to make sure.....

...nope... I didn't think so.

The link above could be a glitch, but more than likely it comes up that way for a reason.

Eaither ole Barry Hussien Obama (who is probably planning to have air force one painted purple in a few months) is in fact a socialist (as many, myself included tried to point out to you all during the election)or someone has run a bit of a frame job.

Most liberals sound socialist in the first place so its really not a big leap.

Now I happened to reaserch him a little more extensively during the campaign myself and didn't happen to come accross this paticular tidbit , but I did indeed find all sorts of things that proved his socialist (as well as several other disturbing leanings) to me; which is why I changed who I was going to vote for.

<<doesnt have much choice in in giving ole Barry a chance or not, he is in like it or not. I am a full fledged member of the other half of the United States population that was dis-enfranchised buy the election.

Cringes in fact and expects the absolute worst from him so I might be pleasently surprised if he doesnt raise my taxes and or totally ruin the economy attempting patchwork repairs that other presidents used in the great depression that failed; which btw unfortunately we all know he will probably do both.

All I have to say when it happens is:...... I told you so.

He can't do any worse then what we are dealing with now, cleaning up some one elses mess, he did not create the mess we are in and someone will end up paying for all of thisa, so Far Taxpayers have paid out $750 for tese mistakes and they still have no clue what to use it for, how abou using it to help homeowners facing forclosure and using it to bailout banks, oh yes that was the pan til the money was approved then they decided the change therules of the game while it was being played, that's right

mkemse
12-18-2008, 06:34 PM
again, my apologies for placing the wrong post in the wrong thread

MonsterMaster{vg}
12-30-2008, 07:54 PM
Is this thread about Bush?


<<doesnt have much choice in in giving ole Barry a chance or not, he is in like it or not. I am a full fledged member of the other half of the United States population that was dis-enfranchised buy the election.




I am curious in how half (?!?!?!) the country was disenfranchised by the election? Were you kept from voting by threat or subterfuge? Or is it that your candidate did not win. If that is the case you were not disenfranchised, and Welcome to Democracy.

And I love how there is still an unAmerican group in this country that won't stand behind our new President. He hasn't had a chance to do ANYTHING yet and these babies, simnply because their candidate didn't win, are ready to fault him with their lies.

ANd the bar is not set very high. We are coming off the most corrupt administration in the history of this country.

Skyybird
01-04-2009, 05:16 PM
:rolleyes:I think the Propaganda machine is fired up and ready to go!

mkemse
01-04-2009, 07:44 PM
Let's all give him a chance he won't even be in office for 2 more weeks

steelish
12-23-2009, 11:13 AM
Ok, so he's been in office for about a year. Shall we take a look? I know some of people who read and respond to posts here think badly of conservatives, especially anyone who is viewed as "radical", but lets be honest and step back to look with an open mind. Here are ways in which America is different than it was a year ago...in the words of Glenn Beck;

If I told you a year ago, which I did, you won't recognize the country, you will not recognize America a year from now, I said that a year ago;
If I told you instead that there would be a self‑avowed communist, a guy who is speaking anti-cop in prison, he defended a guy who point-blank shot a cop in the head, if I said he would be a high level advisor to the president of the United States, would you believe it?
If I said the president would come out in a speech and say, “I have absolutely no information but the cops acted stupidly” because they caught a friend of the president appearing to break into a home and they secured the man until they could get the facts, the cops didn't act stupidly, they just did their job and the president would never apologize, instead he would invite them all for a beer summit and use it as a learning experience about diversity, would you believe it?
If I would have told you instead of saying you won't recognize this country a year from now, if I instead told you that I was going to be on the cover of Time magazine, would you have believed it?
That I am going to be named one of the ten most fascinating people in 2009, you've got to ask yourself what the hell happened to this country.
If I would have told you instead that the most frequent visitor of the White House, over the Secretary of State and everybody else, is a labor union president who has repeatedly said, “workers of the world unite; and we know we've got a lot of illegal members, illegal aliens in our membership”, and who also said, “but we also represent American workers”, that he would be the most frequent visitor at the White House, would you have believed it?
That the president of the EU would say that 2009 was the year of establishing a global government through the EU and that the climate change treaty would be the next step in one world government, that there would be a call for the end of the dollar as the world's reserve currency by several massive countries
That the leader of Russia would hold up a coin in front of the cameras and say here's a prototype of the new global currency
That in government‑structured bailouts, bondholders would lose their legal status and their investments in favor of labor union payoffs and the courts would say, "Hmmm, yeah, okay."
That you could lose your home and property through eminent domain and eminent domain would expand in staggering ways.
That California would decide to levy a 10% tax on its people and insist it's not a tax; it's just a forced loan.
That California would issue IOUs instead of tax refunds.
That New York would say by the end of the year they would be broke.
That New York would issue retroactive taxes, that a tax fund for the poorest of Americans would not really be a tax refund. Instead those poorest of Americans would find out many months later that they had to pay income tax on that tax refund.
If I told you that the symbol of capitalism, the Empire State building, would be lit in colors of communist China, would you have believed me?
That the hockey stick chart would be discredited as would its founder along with another leader of the global climate change movement who manipulated data, that they deleted e‑mails and information to avoid Freedom of Information Act, that these same scientists would do everything they could to discredit the peer review process to make sure it remained pure for their ideological purposes, and yet the media wouldn't report on it and we'd still be headed to Copenhagen with a president the who was going to present a 17% reduction in carbon.
For our country, that our science czar, John Holdren, would be someone who called for forced abortions and sterilization through the drinking water, who said that the redistribution of wealth would be necessary and it would happen through the environmental movement. That the diversity czar at the FCC, if I just told you a year ago there would be a diversity czar at the FCC, would you have believed me? That the diversity czar at the FCC would say Americans have to decide soon which Americans would have to step down from their positions in order to give others a chance, that this same man said the revolution in Venezuela was incredible and that we should model our FCC and our programs after Venezuela and the revolution. That the U.S. would have a two‑day summit to discuss the role of government in journalism and be discussing a government takeover of journalism and that no journalist would actually report on that. That they would hold a job summit and not invite the Chamber of Commerce, that two uninvited people could get into the White House state dinner, chat with the president, be near the prime minister of the largest democracy on the planet and that the response from the White House would be, yeah, we need to do a better job with security. That a U.S. congressman would tell the American people that it's unreasonable to expect people in congress to read bills, and he would say that because our congress would pass two bills over 1,000 pages, that no one in congress had read. One of bills was over 2,000 pages.
That a job creating stimulus bill would be written, not read by congress but not even written by congress. It would be co‑written by the Apollo Alliance, a special interest group whose New York chief was a co‑founder of the Weather Underground and no one would care!
That people in congress would openly be praising Castro, Chavez, that the president would receive an ‑‑ if I said to you a year ago, "You know what's going to happen next year: The president is going to receive an anti‑American book and a photo op from Hugo Chavez and then he would have a one‑hour private meeting with Vladimir Putin where Vladimir Putin, quoting, would teach the president the history of the Cold War. That our president would give an iPod of his speeches to the queen of England. That he would send the bust of Winston Churchill, which was a gift from the people of England; when the prime minister came over that our president would say to him, hey, by the way thanks, but you can take this back to him now and the prime minister would say to him, no, no, no, that was a gift from the people of England to you and you can keep it in one of your museums; we gave it to you on September 11th. No, no, that's okay, and box it up and ship it back!???

If I told you that there would be hundreds of thousands of Americans gathered in a true grassroots event in a National Mall in D.C. and the media would not only dismiss them but the government, the president and the media would deem them a danger to the United States, that healthcare would be at 36% approval rating, which is lower than Hillary Care but that those in congress and the White House would still be jamming it down your throats. That the chief of the treasury who oversees the IRS cheated on his taxes as would almost everyone else in the cabinet. If I told you a year ago when gold was about $800 an ounce that it would be at $1200 an ounce, would you have believed it? That Dubai which a year ago was bailing out our banks would be going bankrupt. If I told you we're going to lose 4 million jobs and the media would report that the White House has created or saved a million jobs even though in their evidence you have to find their evidence on a $20 million redesigned website where it would show that a good portion of these jobs were in about 400 districts that don't even exist. If I told you that, would you have believed it? Looking at that list, do you recognize the country that you live in? Is this the same country that you lived in a year ago today? I don't think so. I don't recognize it. If I would have told you that there would be a Muslim terrorist and that he would shoot and killed soldiers at Fort Hood, would you have believed it? If I told you then that, yes, the president will make a statement but he will spend two minutes prior to giving a shoutout and talking about the conference he had with the American Indian, would you have believed it? If I then told you after that two minutes he would then say, “oh, and also there's been a shooting of our military but let's not jump to conclusions”. And then his Homeland Security director would be over in the Middle East and she would say, don't worry, we're working on things to stop the violence against Muslims in America, would you have believed it?

MMI
12-23-2009, 05:23 PM
I find it strange that some people regard liberals as extremists. It's like calling moderates, fundamentalists.

denuseri
12-23-2009, 07:52 PM
Well they do that all the time MMI , so the shoe is on the other foot for once and the liberals dont like it apparently.

MMI
12-24-2009, 05:11 AM
Since when has tolerance been radical? It's nonsense with bells on!

steelish
12-26-2009, 02:25 AM
There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with tolerance, MMI. The problem occurs when the tolerance is based upon lies and deceit. I wish everyone were more tolerant of others and had an open mind. Unfortunately, with all the corruption and backstabbing that occurs in our government and the fact that mainstream media refuses to report it, my tolerance is with our top federal officials is at an all time low.

Bren122
12-26-2009, 03:36 AM
Liberals tend to confuse the notions of improvement and change; when the public are asking for a change they actually mean they want an improvement that they can understand and actually does something. Liberals take it to mean that the public want the whole system to be changed. All Obama had to do with Healthcare was copy Britain's NHS or Australia's Medicare but instead he had to try and restructure the whole industry and people didn't want that. Rather than admit they made a mistake the liberals are now saying that opposing their Healthcare reform makes you evil- which is not exactly designed to get a compromise is it?

People voted for Obama in good measure because they supported Health Care reform- somehow he and his buddies have convinced themselves that in the space of twelve months people have changed their minds on the basic premise of wanting reform. They voted in overwhelming numbers for a black President and now his advisors think that Americans are all racists. Rather than admit that they screwed up, Obama and co have decided that they know what is best and the rest of America are idiots or devils.
The same thing is happening in Australia with the ETS; a big complex change for the sake of being seen to be doing something and then cracking up cranky when people start asking hard questions like "Will it work?"

Liberals have no problem with moralising in politics as long as it is in support of their ideology.

denuseri
12-26-2009, 07:04 AM
Sophistry rules the game as ussual where politics are conserned.

steelish
01-06-2010, 11:28 AM
At this point I think the most obvious link to Socialism is the words that have been used by the Democrats and the people Obama surrounds himself with.

Bill Ayers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ayers) if you believe the "bunk" that Obama barely knows this guy, then I have swamp land to sell you.
Rev. Jeremiah Wright (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Wright) I find it hard to believe that Obama was a member of this church for so long and NEVER heard the Reverend do a "hate America" rant. And if he did hear one, why would he continue to attend the church when he planned to be President someday?
Anita Dunn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Dunn)
Janet Napolitano (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Napolitano)

Let's not forget our wonderful politicians:
Diane Watson (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m4alvzhOEM)
Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac Investigation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs)
Good grief, put aside differences and show respect for our pledge! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK_DB36ivy0)
And yes, there are ridiculous Republicans! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfXajmZiG8Y)



"Czars" as of July 20, 2009:

• There are 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 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.

[I]And what a surprise, he resigned in the dead of night after much of this came to light

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.”

I'm thinking this guy didn't do his job very well due to the fact that a terrorist recently tried to blow up a plane. Fortunately, all he succeeded in doing was setting his crotch and some seats on fire.

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)