New U.S. Homeland Security head named

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so, what do we know about this guy? aside from the fact that he was a repub Whitewater investigator and hand a hand in the rounding up of Arabic folks in the U.S. in the last coupla years...

― kingfish (Kingfish), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:54 (twenty years ago)

also, i still hate the name "homeland", a word which somehow connotes "fatherland"(yet, curiosly, not "motherland") waaaaayy too much...

― kingfish (Kingfish), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:55 (twenty years ago)

NRO is loving him, which probably says it all. After the Kerik debacle I presume they were looking for someone of a vague moral rigidity ('moral' being open to interpretation).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:00 (twenty years ago)

he was picked because:
a) he fits Bush's bizarre profile that requires someone with macho characteristics for the job
b) there is very little doubt that he will be confirmed - he has been vetted for multiple previous positions

it's a good pick in that the guy is not a wingnut (then again neither was Kerik) and not completely political (then again neither was Ridge). What are his qualifications, though? His U.S. Attorney work is his link to cops, I guess.

The widely-hoped-for pick here was the Deputy Director, James Loy, who was a former head of the Coast Guard and presumably would do more for port security.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

They kept repeating on the TV about his background in heading up prosecution teams in the war on terr'r. I guess that means rounding up a bunch of brown people and fucking up the Moussoui(sp?) case.

― major jingleberries (jingleberries), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:30 (twenty years ago)

They've rounded up another bunch of enemy combatants who they refuse to offer Geneva protection as they are 'foreign fighters.'

'Foreign Fighters' describes the US Military in every conflict since Pancho Villa's adventures across the Rio Grande.

― andy-, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:55 (twenty years ago)

oh, and he's very smart and competent. imagine that having to be specified.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 22:15 (twenty years ago)

He's credited with doing a great job prosecuting the Mafia in the 80s, though that might be a matter the lawyers on this board would know more about. He worked under Rudy -- might have even been hired by hizzoner -- in the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office in the 80s. Clerked under Justice Brennan out of Harvard. Pressed the New Jersey racial profiling case pro bono. I'm not wild about his involvement in drafting the Patriot Act, but there are certainly myriad worse picks Bush could have made. My other worry: given his legal/prosecutorial background he might be a bit of a square peg for a massive administrative job like HS. Seems like he's a more logical fit at Justice or on the high court.

― rasheed wallace (rasheed wallace), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 22:26 (twenty years ago)

Your use of 'whelp' irritates and confuses me.

― luna (luna.c), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 22:57 (twenty years ago)

Also I am cranky and I don't care who the head of homeland security is.

― luna (luna.c), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 22:58 (twenty years ago)

Hi, luna!

― Michael White (Hereward), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 22:59 (twenty years ago)

Also, title is Kaiser von Heimat-Sicherheit.

― Michael White (Hereward), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 23:04 (twenty years ago)

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