Full Version: Ridge Resigns
QUOTE
Ridge submitted his resignation in writing to President Bush on Tuesday morning, said officials who confirmed the departure only on grounds of anonymity.
Among those mentioned as possible candidates for Ridge's replacement are Bernard Kerik, interim Minister of the Interior for Iraq and former New York City police commissioner, Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Allbaugh and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Mike Leavitt and White House homeland security adviser Fran Townsend. Others are also believed to be interested in the job, including Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security in the Homeland Security Department. Sign On San Diego
Among those mentioned as possible candidates for Ridge's replacement are Bernard Kerik, interim Minister of the Interior for Iraq and former New York City police commissioner, Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Allbaugh and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Mike Leavitt and White House homeland security adviser Fran Townsend. Others are also believed to be interested in the job, including Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security in the Homeland Security Department. Sign On San Diego
Well, he certainly didn’t last long.
I'm not sure that the "Department of Homeland Security" is anything more than just a color-coded paper tiger, but then again, I'm a cynic.
I'm sure they wouldn't abolish this useless (imo) bureaucracy, so I guess the next best thing is to appoint someone who might actually DO something worthwhile with the post.Who is the best choice to replace Ridge as Secretary of Homeland Security?
Who is the best choice to replace Ridge as Secretary of Homeland Security?
My choice would be Bernie Kerik. I've always been impressed with his appearances on TV in the aftermath of 9/11, and other times that I've heard him on C-SPAN.
I'm not sure of his politcal affiliation, but guess he leans conservative.
Kerik would be a man who knows what the job would entail and the costs associated with it. Not just another political appointee......as if we need another.
His resume from Link
Mr. Kerik is a Senior Vice President at Giuliani Partners and is Chief Executive Officer of Giuliani-Kerik LLC, an affiliate of Giuliani Partners. Mr. Kerik most recently served as Iraq’s interim Minister of Interior and as the Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Presidential Envoy to Iraq’s Coalition Provisional Authority.
Mr. Kerik served as the 40th Police Commissioner of the City of New York. During his sixteen month tenure, Mr. Kerik's leadership resulted in dramatic reductions in crime through innovative and creative management. Mr. Kerik was also a principal member of the Mayor’s cabinet overseeing the rescue, recovery and investigation of the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001. He also served as the First Deputy and Commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction.
Mr. Kerik began his professional career in the U.S. Army’s Military Police Corps serving in Korea. Mr. Kerik was also assigned to the 18th Airborne Corps at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, and he later spent nearly four years working on various security assignments in the Middle East. He went on to serve as the Commander of Special Weapons and Operations and Warden of the Passaic County Jail in New Jersey before launching a career with the NYPD.
Mr. Kerik holds a B.S. in Public Administration from Empire State College (SUNY). He presently serves as a member of the Academe and Policy Research Senior Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Criminal Justice Advisory Council of St. John’s University in New York City.
My choice would be Bernie Kerik. I've always been impressed with his appearances on TV in the aftermath of 9/11, and other times that I've heard him on C-SPAN.
I'm not sure of his politcal affiliation, but guess he leans conservative.
Kerik would be a man who knows what the job would entail and the costs associated with it. Not just another political appointee......as if we need another.
His resume from Link
Mr. Kerik is a Senior Vice President at Giuliani Partners and is Chief Executive Officer of Giuliani-Kerik LLC, an affiliate of Giuliani Partners. Mr. Kerik most recently served as Iraq’s interim Minister of Interior and as the Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Presidential Envoy to Iraq’s Coalition Provisional Authority.
Mr. Kerik served as the 40th Police Commissioner of the City of New York. During his sixteen month tenure, Mr. Kerik's leadership resulted in dramatic reductions in crime through innovative and creative management. Mr. Kerik was also a principal member of the Mayor’s cabinet overseeing the rescue, recovery and investigation of the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001. He also served as the First Deputy and Commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction.
Mr. Kerik began his professional career in the U.S. Army’s Military Police Corps serving in Korea. Mr. Kerik was also assigned to the 18th Airborne Corps at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, and he later spent nearly four years working on various security assignments in the Middle East. He went on to serve as the Commander of Special Weapons and Operations and Warden of the Passaic County Jail in New Jersey before launching a career with the NYPD.
Mr. Kerik holds a B.S. in Public Administration from Empire State College (SUNY). He presently serves as a member of the Academe and Policy Research Senior Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Criminal Justice Advisory Council of St. John’s University in New York City.
Who is the best choice to replace Ridge as Secretary of Homeland Security?
Several names are being tossed about:
I also watched an interview where Mr. Kerik was being asked about the possibility. He was very - shall we say diplomatic in his responses. Mr. Kerik did a wonderful job in NY. I'm not quite sure how successful he was in Iraq, but nonetheless, I would support him in that position.
Analyst are saying it will go to an "insider".
Several names are being tossed about:
QUOTE
Asa Hutchinson, the undersecretary for border and transportation security.
Homeland security adviser Frances Townsend, whose experience includes stints in the Coast Guard and the White House.
Mitt Romney, the governor of Massachusetts, is also among possible contenders. He took over the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and was credited with turning around the scandal-ridden group.
Mike Leavitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, will also draw consideration. He was governor of Utah during the Olympics and played a hand in security preparations there.
Homeland security adviser Frances Townsend, whose experience includes stints in the Coast Guard and the White House.
Mitt Romney, the governor of Massachusetts, is also among possible contenders. He took over the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and was credited with turning around the scandal-ridden group.
Mike Leavitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, will also draw consideration. He was governor of Utah during the Olympics and played a hand in security preparations there.
I also watched an interview where Mr. Kerik was being asked about the possibility. He was very - shall we say diplomatic in his responses. Mr. Kerik did a wonderful job in NY. I'm not quite sure how successful he was in Iraq, but nonetheless, I would support him in that position.
Analyst are saying it will go to an "insider".
Who is the best choice to replace Ridge as Secretary of Homeland Security?
How about this for a crazy idea - Donald Rumsfeld! This, of course, would mean the abolition of the bloated bureaucracy we call the Department of Homeland Security.
Hop in my AD Time Machine with me and let’s go back to September of 2002 when the DHS was merely a consideration and not yet a reality - and when I debated with some frequency
. (Keep in mind, this is before America’s Debate had any real rules; we were only a month old then). Too Much Government
I’d like to think I made very good arguments at that time on why we don’t need a DHS and that any homeland security issues that may arise should be handled by the Department of Defense. Afterall, the DoD exists to DEFEND us here in the homeland, does it not? Maybe it is time for us to switch Rumsfeld’s department back to it’s old name - the Department of War (but that’s material for another thread).
I will never-ever, never-never support the existence of the Department of Homeland Security. It is a complete waste of resources. I say nominate no one and consolidate departments. It’s all about efficiency.
Edited to add: A local radio talk show host was talking about this today so I emailed him my ideas. He read the email on air in full (mispronounced my name and thought I was a male) and then proceeded to call my ideas stupid. Any wonder why we started AD? Personal attacks suck.
How about this for a crazy idea - Donald Rumsfeld! This, of course, would mean the abolition of the bloated bureaucracy we call the Department of Homeland Security.
Hop in my AD Time Machine with me and let’s go back to September of 2002 when the DHS was merely a consideration and not yet a reality - and when I debated with some frequency
. (Keep in mind, this is before America’s Debate had any real rules; we were only a month old then). Too Much Government I’d like to think I made very good arguments at that time on why we don’t need a DHS and that any homeland security issues that may arise should be handled by the Department of Defense. Afterall, the DoD exists to DEFEND us here in the homeland, does it not? Maybe it is time for us to switch Rumsfeld’s department back to it’s old name - the Department of War (but that’s material for another thread).
I will never-ever, never-never support the existence of the Department of Homeland Security. It is a complete waste of resources. I say nominate no one and consolidate departments. It’s all about efficiency.
Edited to add: A local radio talk show host was talking about this today so I emailed him my ideas. He read the email on air in full (mispronounced my name and thought I was a male) and then proceeded to call my ideas stupid. Any wonder why we started AD? Personal attacks suck.
I couldn't agree with Jaime more. Call me stupid, too, I guess. 
The DHS is the most useless apurtenance this government has yet come up with - well, apart from "the war on terror" itself. I actually admired the Republican Party a bit more when they were ignoring the Democratic movement to institute such a department (this was before they decided it was their idea - and a good one, at that 
).
If they're not going to abolish this ridiculous waste of money and resources (and, as the Bush administration is clearly infallible, they're not), then why not give it to Rudi Giuliani? They've got to do something to groom him for his presidential candidacy in 2008. It's been a while since he was a hated mayor - and even longer since he was a decent federal prosecutor - and something tells me that being an investment banker and losing a senatorial race to Hillary Clinton (in another two years) won't be the best resume - especially as the American public will probably have forgotten his single other distinction (being somewhat less cowardly than our president in the aftermath of the September 11 attack) by then. What not give a useless man a useless title in a useless department? At least it's got a bit of profile.
The DHS is the most useless apurtenance this government has yet come up with - well, apart from "the war on terror" itself. I actually admired the Republican Party a bit more when they were ignoring the Democratic movement to institute such a department (this was before they decided it was their idea - and a good one, at that ).If they're not going to abolish this ridiculous waste of money and resources (and, as the Bush administration is clearly infallible, they're not), then why not give it to Rudi Giuliani? They've got to do something to groom him for his presidential candidacy in 2008. It's been a while since he was a hated mayor - and even longer since he was a decent federal prosecutor - and something tells me that being an investment banker and losing a senatorial race to Hillary Clinton (in another two years) won't be the best resume - especially as the American public will probably have forgotten his single other distinction (being somewhat less cowardly than our president in the aftermath of the September 11 attack) by then. What not give a useless man a useless title in a useless department? At least it's got a bit of profile.
Who is the best choice to replace Ridge as Secretary of Homeland Security?
I see the DHS in it's present form as less of an additional government bureaucracy since the majority of it existed before and more of an organizational unit designed ideally to promote efficiency and productivity. Bascially the idea was to take the various entities involved in the various aspects of homeland defense and put them under a single umbrella. I think it was and is a good idea.
Keeping that in mind my candidate for the post would be a person with demonstrated success at organization, a CEO or the head of a large organization of some sort. The first name that comes to my mind would be Lee Iacocca or secondly, Peter Uberroth (former head of the LAOC). Each of these men brings a proven record of being able to make a large organization run efficiently and thus successfully. They in effect make people "play well together" towards a common goal. One of those two, or someone similar would be the person I would choose.
I see the DHS in it's present form as less of an additional government bureaucracy since the majority of it existed before and more of an organizational unit designed ideally to promote efficiency and productivity. Bascially the idea was to take the various entities involved in the various aspects of homeland defense and put them under a single umbrella. I think it was and is a good idea.
Keeping that in mind my candidate for the post would be a person with demonstrated success at organization, a CEO or the head of a large organization of some sort. The first name that comes to my mind would be Lee Iacocca or secondly, Peter Uberroth (former head of the LAOC). Each of these men brings a proven record of being able to make a large organization run efficiently and thus successfully. They in effect make people "play well together" towards a common goal. One of those two, or someone similar would be the person I would choose.
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