Full Version: Bernard Kerik
Rumor has it (well, it's all but confirmed now though) that Bernard Kerik, former police commissioner of NYC will succeed Ridge as Homeland Security Chief.
Joe over at The Moderate Voice Blog has the story.
He was the Police Commissioner of NYC for 16 months and lead extremely well during the 9/11 attack. Prior to that he was the City Corrections Commissioner and after he left the Police Commissioner post he went to Work in Iraq to train the Iraqi police force.
He seems to be a pretty solid choice to me.
He also seems to have at least a bit of Bi-Partisan support:
Ah, but there is more:
I think he is an excellent choice.
So,
Bernard Kerik, Good or Bad Choice?
Joe over at The Moderate Voice Blog has the story.
QUOTE
Bush To Pick NYC's Former Cop As The New Tom Ridge
It looks as if President George Bush is poised to make a solid selection as the new Homeland Security chief -- New York City's Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik.
He'll become The New Tom Ridge (but can he fill Ridge's impeccable huge suit, can his face TOTALLY fill the screen like Ridge's?) And although like anyone in public life he surely has some ill-advised statements that may come back to haunt him, overall he's an impressive choice.
It looks as if President George Bush is poised to make a solid selection as the new Homeland Security chief -- New York City's Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik.
He'll become The New Tom Ridge (but can he fill Ridge's impeccable huge suit, can his face TOTALLY fill the screen like Ridge's?) And although like anyone in public life he surely has some ill-advised statements that may come back to haunt him, overall he's an impressive choice.
He was the Police Commissioner of NYC for 16 months and lead extremely well during the 9/11 attack. Prior to that he was the City Corrections Commissioner and after he left the Police Commissioner post he went to Work in Iraq to train the Iraqi police force.
He seems to be a pretty solid choice to me.
He also seems to have at least a bit of Bi-Partisan support:
QUOTE
New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer issued a statement of support for Kerik, whose position must be confirmed by the Senate.
"Coming from New York, Bernie Kerik knows the great needs and challenges this country faces in homeland security. He has a strong law enforcement background and I believe will do an excellent job in fighting for the resources and focus that homeland security needs and deserves in our post-9/11 world," Schumer said.
"He replaced the merit system with his own favoritism system," said another. Kerik has been lauded for the plunge in both inmate violence and staff overtime during his tenure. But subsequent investigations have turned up several situations that happened under the combined watch of Kerik and his hand-picked successor, William Fraser, that rank-and-file naysayers consider stains on his legacy.
"Coming from New York, Bernie Kerik knows the great needs and challenges this country faces in homeland security. He has a strong law enforcement background and I believe will do an excellent job in fighting for the resources and focus that homeland security needs and deserves in our post-9/11 world," Schumer said.
"He replaced the merit system with his own favoritism system," said another. Kerik has been lauded for the plunge in both inmate violence and staff overtime during his tenure. But subsequent investigations have turned up several situations that happened under the combined watch of Kerik and his hand-picked successor, William Fraser, that rank-and-file naysayers consider stains on his legacy.
Ah, but there is more:
QUOTE
Critics of Bernard Kerik -- and there still are a number in city law enforcement circles -- said privately Thursday that any valid U.S. Senate confirmation process would have to turn an especially skeptical eye on his legacy here as top jail official until 2000.
One non-fan, a Correction Department veteran, sarcastically asked if former three-star chief Anthony Serra, who rose up the ranks during Kerik's tenure but is now under indictment for misusing public resources, would become commerce secretary.
Source (NY NewsDay)One non-fan, a Correction Department veteran, sarcastically asked if former three-star chief Anthony Serra, who rose up the ranks during Kerik's tenure but is now under indictment for misusing public resources, would become commerce secretary.
I think he is an excellent choice.
So,
Bernard Kerik, Good or Bad Choice?
It's official now, of course. Kerik is Homeland Chief.
I approve of well-trained 'mustangs' working up into National management. There should be more of it. Too many in administration have never done the job - just played liaison between the workers and Command.
Since Kerik is not an insider, that suggests his role is actually to run DHS. Too often, the real role of appointees is to act as some kind of place-holder, a blocking-pawn, or a media-buffer.
Kerik looks good, and he's a good sign.
I approve of well-trained 'mustangs' working up into National management. There should be more of it. Too many in administration have never done the job - just played liaison between the workers and Command.
Since Kerik is not an insider, that suggests his role is actually to run DHS. Too often, the real role of appointees is to act as some kind of place-holder, a blocking-pawn, or a media-buffer.
Kerik looks good, and he's a good sign.
QUOTE
Bernard Kerik, Good or Bad Choice?
This is from another topic. I moved it here since it doesn't really apply to the topic it was in and is more appropriate for this one.
I could not read the entire article, as every time I open that page It would stay open for a minute or so before an error message would come up and I would have to close the window. (Did you hear black helicopters?
).
However, when I asked for proof, I was looking for something a little more substantial then hearsay and an opinion piece.
If the man is dirty, where is the evidence?
QUOTE(Antny)
...He [Bernard Kerik] has a history of being conspisciously involved in money laundering schemes and has been a hot topic of debate from the liberal circles. He is yat another addition of a same-sided opinion. He was a prison guard. He'll run America like a prison, not a free country.
QUOTE(Overlandsailor)
OK, if you are going to make a claim like a connection to money laundering, then you'd have to provide a source, fact, or something to back that up besides "Liberal Circles".
QUOTE(Antny @ Dec 6 2004, 07:55 PM)
I could not read the entire article, as every time I open that page It would stay open for a minute or so before an error message would come up and I would have to close the window. (Did you hear black helicopters?
).However, when I asked for proof, I was looking for something a little more substantial then hearsay and an opinion piece.
If the man is dirty, where is the evidence?
I won't address why Kerik has removed himself from consideratio(hiring an illegal nanny) but will confine my remarks to concerns about him. The Center for American Progress has an entire page dedicated to the man's alleged "offenses" or items that should disqualify him from the position. For one, he was fined for using on duty police officers to conduct research for him while he was writing his new book. When he was helping the Iraqi police, he promised to stay on for six months, but left after three, leaving the job undone. This is no big thing in and of itself, but a person shouldn't claim three months on a job as success when they haven't really changted thing substantially. Military guru John F. Lehman criticized Kerik's role in firefighter infighting during the 9-11 clean up effort. For all the talk about how well he handled it, this former Reagan official feels otherwise. He was also accused of forcing prison guards to do political work for the GOP in their off-duty hours in 1999. All of this and more can be found here. I don't necessarily believe that these accusations or the current problem of him hiring an illegal should disqualify him for the post. For one, it just means that he needs to be observed, and that our immigration laws need changing. Just my two cents for what it's worth. 
QUOTE(overlandsailor @ Dec 9 2004, 07:03 PM)
This is from another topic. I moved it here since it doesn't really apply to the
I could not read the entire article, as every time I open that page It would stay open for a minute or so before an error message would come up and I would have to close the window. (Did you hear black helicopters? ).
However, when I asked for proof, I was looking for something a little more substantial then hearsay and an opinion piece.
If the man is dirty, where is the evidence?
I could not read the entire article, as every time I open that page It would stay open for a minute or so before an error message would come up and I would have to close the window. (Did you hear black helicopters?
).However, when I asked for proof, I was looking for something a little more substantial then hearsay and an opinion piece.
If the man is dirty, where is the evidence?
My father works for the NYC Dept. of Corrections...and told me a lot. He said Kerik never should have gotten the job. Supposedly he has more skeletons in his closet than you could believe. You honestly belive that an illegal alien as a nanny is the reason he withdrew the position? Come on. The fact is that he had no idea how scrutinized his record would be. Most of the situations are still under investigation but its all there. It's not "liberal circles" that are trying to defame him...there is a lot of stuff that we havent heard of yet. Why do you think Rudy Giuliani said that Kerik's decision was correct? Kerik was Rudy's right hand man when he was mayor. Rudy probably knows.
I liked Kerik for the sole reason that he was a cop...not a politician. But he was not right for the job. Everything is just too suspicious. I mean...just 15 years ago he was a rookie street cop. He moved up the ladder pretty well i would say...
It is interesting to me whenever a person nominated for a presidential appointment is brought low by the housekeeper or nanny who is an illegal worker. In this case, Kerik was going to be placed in the top Homeland Security job when he was entrusting his own residence and family to someone who isn't here legally. It might be that this woman is very competent and wouldn't hurt a fly, but she made it into the household of a powerful figure.
As long as "the little people" continue to make their lives run smoothly and don't get in the way, the wealthy don't think about them. This disregard for the people who make up the "servant" classes contributes to the Third World hatred of wealthy property owners.
If Kerik couldn't hire a housekeeper who is here legally or couldn't be bothered to check it out beforehand (even though she was taking care of his kid(s)!), he does not deserve the job.
My, my, it's so hard to get good help these days!
As long as "the little people" continue to make their lives run smoothly and don't get in the way, the wealthy don't think about them. This disregard for the people who make up the "servant" classes contributes to the Third World hatred of wealthy property owners.
If Kerik couldn't hire a housekeeper who is here legally or couldn't be bothered to check it out beforehand (even though she was taking care of his kid(s)!), he does not deserve the job.
My, my, it's so hard to get good help these days!
The illegal homekeeper thing is just too funny! Of course, the White House didn't know about this little problem. However, it is for legalizing illegal aliens, and so that sort of fits. Might as well make cheap illegal labor legal to help the economy.
And then you have to wonder about intelligence again. How come the WH didn't know? It should have, you know. I mean, don't these appointments come with a list of questions? How hard is to ask of the top security chief:
Kid, have you ever been arrested?
And:
Kid, have you ever done anything illegal?
And even,
Kiiiidddd, ever hire an illegal alien?
And then you have to wonder about intelligence again. How come the WH didn't know? It should have, you know. I mean, don't these appointments come with a list of questions? How hard is to ask of the top security chief:
Kid, have you ever been arrested?
And:
Kid, have you ever done anything illegal?
And even,
Kiiiidddd, ever hire an illegal alien?
Like leder, I doubt that the nanny issue is the real reason that Kerik is stepping aside - or, at least, far from the only reason. In addition to what John Lehman called his "failures of leadership during the terrorist attack", his deployment of two police officers to Ohio to help research his best-selling memoir, his conflict of interest with with Taser International (which has earned him $6.2 million so far), the civil suit in which he was named as forcing prison guards to work for Republicans in their off-hours, his inadequate screening of recruits for the Iraqi police force, and his abandoning of that post four months into his six-month tenure, to which nebraska linked, we have bribery, sex scandals, and mob connections! This guy is a nightmare.
Now, to me, this doesn't speak as ill of Kerik (corrupt police commissioners are almost a cliche) as it does of the Bush administration. Don't these clowns do background checks? The press and a few bloggers have turned up more on this guy in a week than the White House could with all the resources of the FBI and, dare I say it, the Homeland Security Department behind them. As Rep. Peter King said, the White House seemed to have been caught off guard. That is simply not good enough. It was not good enough on September 11, 2001, and it sure as hell is not good enough over three years later.
My confidence in this administration, sadly, remains unchanged.
Now, to me, this doesn't speak as ill of Kerik (corrupt police commissioners are almost a cliche) as it does of the Bush administration. Don't these clowns do background checks? The press and a few bloggers have turned up more on this guy in a week than the White House could with all the resources of the FBI and, dare I say it, the Homeland Security Department behind them. As Rep. Peter King said, the White House seemed to have been caught off guard. That is simply not good enough. It was not good enough on September 11, 2001, and it sure as hell is not good enough over three years later.
My confidence in this administration, sadly, remains unchanged.
Yesterday's LA Times asserted that one of the skeletons in Kerik's closet was a (hmm, what's a G-rated term 
) "screw pad":
And that he had some dabbling wit da mob:
And there's some rumbling about financial disclosure, "dubious dealings with shady characters*" etc. It cracks me up that they're picking at this man's carcass after he already withdrew. I'd save the investigative energy for the ones who get accepted that are really dirty.
*heck, I thought that would be part of the job requirement!
) "screw pad":QUOTE
On Monday, the Daily News also alleged that Kerik had carried on two extramarital affairs — one with Regan, the other with Jeanette Pinero, a city corrections officer. The paper said that Kerik had met with the two women in a Battery Park apartment rented for such purposes. LA Times
And that he had some dabbling wit da mob:
QUOTE
As the city's corrections chief in the late 1990s, Kerik allegedly interceded with the city's Trade Waste Commission to get a license for a company suspected of having mob connections...
And there's some rumbling about financial disclosure, "dubious dealings with shady characters*" etc. It cracks me up that they're picking at this man's carcass after he already withdrew. I'd save the investigative energy for the ones who get accepted that are really dirty.
*heck, I thought that would be part of the job requirement!
The only place that had more skeletons in their closet was your local cemetery.
More negative things (each day) keep coming out about Kerik. It is hard to believe that the Bush adminstration would ever nominate someone of his caliber.
Just think this man was to lead our Homeland Security. In that case I believe the citizens of the USA would have needed someone else to protect us from Kerik.
I assume that Bush nominated Kerik because they are great buddies and both of them emulate the same great moral values and intergrity of honesty.
The only thing in doubt about Keriks history is how many times was he married(2 or 3 or 4) and how many affairs did he have(2 maybe more) and how many people he bullied to get where he is.
More negative things (each day) keep coming out about Kerik. It is hard to believe that the Bush adminstration would ever nominate someone of his caliber.
Just think this man was to lead our Homeland Security. In that case I believe the citizens of the USA would have needed someone else to protect us from Kerik.
I assume that Bush nominated Kerik because they are great buddies and both of them emulate the same great moral values and intergrity of honesty.
The only thing in doubt about Keriks history is how many times was he married(2 or 3 or 4) and how many affairs did he have(2 maybe more) and how many people he bullied to get where he is.
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