REAL CONSERVATIVES

NEVER TOLERATE TYRANNY!....Conservative voices from the GRASSROOTS.

Obama to require steeper emissions cuts...another damned power grab

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Obama to require steeper emissions cuts from US power plants



FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2015 file photo, a plume of steam billows from the coal-fired Merrimack Station in Bow, N.H. President Barack Obama on Monday, Aug. 3, 2015, will unveil the final version of his unprecedented regulations clamping down on carbon dioxide emissions from existing U.S. power plants. The Obama administration first proposed the rule last year. Opponents plan to sue immediately to stop the rule's implementation. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)
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FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2015 file photo, a plume of steam billows from the coal-fired Merrimack Station in Bow, N.H. President Barack Obama on Monday, Aug. 3, 2015, will unveil the final version of his unprecedented regulations clamping down on carbon dioxide emissions from existing U.S. power plants. The Obama administration first proposed the rule last year. Opponents plan to sue immediately to stop the rule's implementation. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — President Barack Obama will impose even steeper cuts on greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants than previously expected, senior administration officials said Sunday, in what the president called the most significant step the U.S. has ever taken to fight global warming.

A year after proposing unprecedented carbon dioxide limits, the Obama administration was poised to finalize the rule at a White House event on Monday. Obama, in a video posted to Facebook, said the limits were backed up by decades of data and facts showing that without tough action, the world will face more extreme weather and escalating health problems like asthma.

"Climate change is not a problem for another generation," Obama said. "Not anymore."

In his initial proposal, Obama had mandated a 30 percent nationwide cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. The final version, which follows extensive consultations with environmental groups and the energy industry, will require a 32 percent cut instead, according to Obama administration officials, who weren't authorized to comment by name and requested anonymity.

Opponents said they would sue the government immediately. They also planned to ask the courts to put the rule on hold while legal challenges play out.

The final version also gives states an additional two years — until 2022 — to comply, officials said, yielding to complaints that the original deadline was too soon. States will also have until 2018 instead of 2017 to submit their plans for how they intend to meet their targets.

But the administration will attempt to incentivize states to take action earlier by offering credits to states that boost renewable sources like wind and solar in 2020 and 2021, officials said.

The focus on renewables marks a significant shift from the earlier version that sought to accelerate the ongoing shift from coal-fired power to natural gas, which emits far less carbon dioxide. The final rule aims to keep the share of natural gas in the nation's power mix the same as it is now.

The stricter limits included in the final plan were certain to incense energy industry advocates who had already balked at the more lenient limits in the proposed plan. But the Obama administration said its tweaks would cut energy costs and address concerns about power grid reliability.

The Obama administration previously predicted the emissions limits will cost up to $8.8 billion annually by 2030, although it says those costs will be far outweighed by health savings from fewer asthma attacks and other benefits. The actual price won't be clear until states decide how they'll reach their targets, but the administration has projected the rule would raise electricity prices about 4.9 percent by 2020 and prompt coal-fired power plants to close.

In the works for years, the power plant rule forms the cornerstone of Obama's plan to curb U.S. emissions and keep global temperatures from climbing, and its success is pivotal to the legacy Obama hopes to leave on climate change. Never before has the U.S. sought to restrict carbon dioxide from existing power plants.

By clamping down on power plant emissions, Obama is also working to increase his leverage and credibility with other nations whose commitments he's seeking for a global climate treaty to be finalized later this year in Paris. As its contribution to that treaty, the U.S. has pledged to cut overall emissions 26 percent to 28 percent by 2025, compared to 2005. Other major polluting nations have also stepped up including China, which pledged to halt its growth in emissions by 2030 despite an economy that's still growing.

America's largest source of greenhouse gases, power plants account for roughly one-third of all U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming. Obama's rule assigns customized targets to each state, then leaves it up to the state to determine how to meet their targets.

Even before the rule was finalized, more than a dozen states announced plans to fight it. At the urging of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, some Republican governors have declared they'll simply refuse to comply, setting up a certain confrontation with the EPA, which by law can force its own plan on states that fail to submit implementation plans.

Yet even in many of those states, power companies and local utility authorities have started preparing plans to meet the targets. New, more efficient plants that are replacing older and dirtier ones have already pushed emissions down nearly 13 percent since 2005, putting them about halfway to meeting Obama's goal.

In Congress, lawmakers have sought to use legislation to stop Obama's regulation, and McConnell has tried previously to use an obscure, rarely successful maneuver under the Congressional Review Act to allow Congress to vote it down.

The more serious threat to Obama's rule will likely come in the courts. The Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, which represents energy companies, said 20 to 30 states were poised to join with industry in suing over the rule.

The Obama administration has a mixed track record in fending off legal challenges to its climate rules. Earlier this year, a federal appeals court ruled against 15 states and a coal company that tried to block the power plant rule before it was finalized. The Supreme Court has also affirmed Obama's authority to regulate pollution crossing state lines and to use the decades-old Clean Air Act to reduce greenhouse gases — the legal underpinning for the power plant rule.

But the high court in June ruled against his mercury emissions limits, arguing the EPA failed to properly account for costs. Federal courts have also forced Obama to redo other clean air standards that industry groups complained were too onerous.

With the end of Obama's presidency drawing nearer, his climate efforts have become increasingly entangled in the next presidential election. The power plant rule won't go into effect until long after Obama leaves office, putting its implementation in the hands of his successor. Among other Republican critics, 2016 candidate and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has said he would drastically scale down the EPA if elected and shift most of its duties to state regulators.

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List of Obama's Czars

As of September 7, 2009:

• Unofficially we count somewhere around 43 Czars in the Obama administration, based on media reports from reputable sources that have identified the official in question as a czar. 

• Since Czar isn't an official job title, the number is somewhat in the eye of the beholder.

  1. Afghanistan Czar - Richard Holbrooke (appointed by Obama, not confirmed)

    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

Royal Trivia: Holbrooke was born to Jewish parents who brought him up in the Quaker religious movement. His third wife, journalist Kati Marton, is also Jewish but was raised Roman Catholic. 

• 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.

  • He believes in the power of negotiations to bring peace and prosperity to an increasingly fractured world. But he says diplomacy will only succeed if the U.S. pursues robust relationships with allies as well as with enemies, especially in places like the Middle East. He has also opposed unilateral action by U.S. officials;
  • Afghanistan – Holbrooke will help Obama execute his Afghanistan plan. Obama plans to bolster American forces in Afghanistan, increase aid to Pakistan, and set strict standards for measuring progress in fighting Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Holbrooke was one of the architects of the plan, though he has maintained a relatively low profile so far.“The exit strategy,” he told the New York Times, “includes governance, corruption, but above all, and this is the single most difficult aspect of what we are talking about today, it requires dealing with Western Pakistan;”
  • H.I.V. and AIDS – Holbrooke has called the rapid spread of H.I.V. and AIDS “the greatest problem we face today,” saying that the disease has destabilized governments and economies across the world.

While ambassador to the U.N., Holbrooke organized the Security Council’s first session on the diseases, a move that helped convince world leaders that AIDS was a security as well as a health problem. He has visited ten African countries and served as chief executive officer of the Global Business Council on H.I.V. and AIDS since 2000;

  • United Nations Reform – Holbrooke has said the U.N. should bolster its peace-keeping abilities and increase the number of staff dedicated to that effort. He has also called on the U.N. to reduce the size of the Department of Information, the organization’s press conference; and
  • Genocide Prevention – Holbrooke is a strong proponent of using multilateral military force to stem violence throughout the world. He has called the U.S. policy in Rwanda a terrible mistake and believes Americans should have engaged sooner.

He led the Security Council delegation to Congo in 1999 after fighting broke out in the country. It was one of the riskiest trips ever taken by U.N. officials. He also supported efforts to enforce sanctions on Angolan rebels in 2000.

2. AIDS Czar - Jeffrey Crowley (appointed by Obama, not confirmed)


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

Royal Trivia: Crowley joined the Peace Corp as a volunteer teacher at the Nsongweni High School in Swaziland from 1988 to 1991.

• 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 [Auto Czars Steve Rattner 2/09-7/09; Ron Bloom 7/09-present]
(appointed by Obama, not confirmed)
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.  Bailout Czar – Herbert Allison, Jr

  • Handle mechanisms for purchasing troubled assets;
  • Determine methods for pricing and valuing troubled assets;
  • Dictate procedures for selecting asset managers;
  • Determine criteria for identifying troubled assets;
  • Oversee securities asset management services;
  • Oversee whole loan asset management services;
  • Oversee custodian, accounting, auction management and other infrastructure services; and
  • Dictate other broad, vague and undefined powers granted by the Treasury.

 5. Behavioral Science Czar – TBD

To establish a social and behavioral sciences research program at the Department of Energy, and for other purposes.

The Secretary shall appoint or designate a Director of Social and Behavioral Research to carry out the program established under this section.

(c) Duties of the Director – The Director shall –

  • Develop a research plan in accordance with section 2;
  • Implement the research program under this section;
  • Work with the relevant Department of Energy program offices to integrate the results of social and behavioral research into their work;
  • Develop tools, practices, and information to apply and integrate the results of social and behavioral research into programs that –

- design, develop, and demonstrate technologies that supply energy and improve energy efficiency; and

- provide information on energy consumption to consumers.

This person will be charged with getting you to agree with government programs, to see why we do what we do and what motivates us….and get us to be motivated to follow government directives. These duties would be set up to identify and understand social and behavioral factors that influence energy consumption to promote the utilization of the results of social and behavioral research to improve the design, development, demonstration and application of energy technologies’ policies and programs.

6. Border Czar * - Alan Bersin (appointed by Sec’ty of Homeland Security)

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)

Royal Trivia: All-star linebacker at Harvard; Rhodes Scholar at Oxford (where he met Bill Clinton); Law graduate from Yale (where he met Hilary Rodham).

President Obama selected Bersin to try to stem the flow of guns and drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border. Bersin's claim to fame is Operation Gatekeeper, a major border crackdown on the San Diego-area border in 1994 that he helped coordinate while working from a similar position in the Clinton administration. The policy diverted immigrant crossings away from San Diego, but also drew harsh condemnation from human-rights groups, which blamed an increase in deaths among migrants on the resultant shift to more remote desert crossings.

• 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.

7. 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

8. Car Czar - Ron Bloom (appointed by Secty of Treasury)

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

Duties:

  • Determine how much loan money each company gets, using the automakers’ requests as a guide;
  • Determine “appropriate measures” for assessing each automaker’s progress in carrying out their restructuring goals;
  • Determine if the car companies are acting in “good faith” if they can’t get restructuring plans in by March 31; and, if their faith is good, give them an extra 30 days to finish the plans;
  • Determine whether to provide “long-term financial assistance” to help make their restructuring plans a reality;
  • Determine allocation of loans, based on the automaker’s proximity of demise, the potential impact of failure on the economy and its restructuring plan;
  • Determine whether the original, seven-year loans need to be extended, and if so, determine the extended repayment plan;
  • Examine any financial books, company records and other data of the companies and those of any subsidiary or affiliate;
  • Approve or veto “any asset sale, investment, contract, commitment, or other transaction” worth $25 million or more (i.e., czar ultimately has final say on any major business move);
  • Determine the “consequences for failure to comply” (i.e., decide how to punish the car companies if they aren’t making adequate progress);
  • Determine whether to take equity (invest) in the car companies using taxpayer money, and if so, decide how much equity to take;
  • Determine what qualifies as exorbitant executive compensation, including inappropriate executive bonuses or incentive compensation and golden parachutes — and prohibit it; and
  • Determine whether he or she needs additional powers, and if so, submit a report to Congress asking for them.

9. 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

10. Climate Czar - Todd Stern (appointed by Secty of State)

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

11   Copyright Czar – TBD

Duties:

  • The IPEC would provide guidance to other federal departments and agencies in their efforts to combat IP infringement;
  • The IPEC would mainly achieve this by chairing an IP enforcement advisory committee, made up of the Office of Management and Budget, the Justice Department, the Commerce Department, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the State Department, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, the Agriculture Department, and the U.S. Copyright Office; and
  • The IPEC cannot control how these agencies investigate or prosecute IP infringement cases–but he or she will guide the development of a “Joint Strategic Plan” the advisory committee is charged to create to combat counterfeiting and infringement. The aim of the strategic plan is to disrupt counterfeiting and IP infringement both in the U.S. and abroad, ensure that enforcement efforts aren’t duplicated by the various agencies, establish a protocol for consulting with private industry, establish international standards for IP enforcement, and help other countries improve their IP enforcement efforts.

12.  Disinformation Czar – Linda Douglas

Actual Title: Communications Director, Office of Health Reform
Presidential Appointment Established: 2009

Duties:

  • Keep track of disinformation on health insurance reform;
  • As legislation takes shape in Congress, will make sure Democrats have a unified message when it comes to controversial issues such as the need for a publicly funded health insurance option; and
  • To make sure the American people understand any big changes to the current system, such as a proposed new national exchange on which consumers can buy insurance.

13. Domestic Violence Czar - Lynn Rosenthal (appointed by Vice President)

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

14. Drug Czar * - Gil Kerlikowske (Obama nominated, Senate confirmed)

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

The position of drug czar is one close to Joe Biden’s heart. Biden sponsored legislation to create the position under then-President Reagan and reportedly coined the term. The new drug czar is Gil Kerlikowske, who previously served as chief of police in Seattle. The Obama administration has promised a new emphasis on rehabilitation for drug offenders, but faces a violent drug war along the Mexican border as well as renewed calls for legalizing pot from camps on the left and the right. Like Obama, Kerlikowske is publicly opposed to legalizing marijuana and other drugs, but his record as police chief indicates at least some leeway on the issue. Right before a 2003 local initiative in Seattle making marijuana arrests “the city's lowest law-enforcement priority” passed, Kerlikowske said that proponents of the referendum, which he opposed, were misleading voters because his police department already considered such arrests to be a low priority. He also has first-hand experience with the ravages of addiction: His own stepson has been arrested on drug charges.

Royal Trivia: In 2004, Kerlikowske decided to get tasered in front of reporters to show that the stun gun was non-lethal.

• 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.

15. Economic Czar - Paul Volcker (appointed by Obama, not confirmed) Also Larry Summers

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

Royal Trivia: Volcker is an avid fly-fisherman: "The greatest strategic error of my adult life was to take my wife to Maine on our honeymoon on a fly-fishing trip," he recounted. He is also known as "Tall Paul" for his height of 6 feet 7 inches.

• 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.

16. Education Czar: Arne Duncan
Actual Title: Secretary of Education
Presidential Appointment Established: 1981

Duties:

  • Establishes policies relating to federal financial aid for education, administers distribution of those funds, and monitors their use;
  • Collects data and oversees research on America’s schools and disseminates this information to educators and the general public;
  • Identifies the major issues and problems in education and focuses national attention on them; and
  • Enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination in programs and activities receiving federal funds and ensures equal access to education for every individual;

17. Energy and Environment Czar - Carol Browner (Executive Order)

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

Royal Trivia: Browner's income is reported to be between $1 million and $5 million, mostly from lobbying firm Downey McGrath Group, Inc., where her husband, Thomas Downey, is a principal. The husband-wife team unsuccessfully pushed for Dubai Ports World to take over U.S. ports. She has received Outstanding Mother of the Year Award, and Glamour magazine's Woman of the Year Award.

• 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.

18. Faith-Based Czar * - Joshua DuBois (appointed by Obama, not confirmed)

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

Royal Trivia: DuBois applied to join Obama's U.S. Senate campaign, but he was first rejected. He went down to Obama's offices and convinced the staff to interview him.

Commemorating the 41 bullets NYC policeman used to kill unarmed Guinean immigrant Amadou Diallo, DuBois stood for 41 hours in front of a Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial in Boston.

Given the headaches religion has caused Obama—Muslim rumors, radical preachers—it's easy to forget that one major source of Obama's political appeal when he entered the scene was his ease with discussing faith and politics. Obama has carried the issue with him to the White House, appointing DuBois as his faith-based czar to head up the office created by former President Bush. Under DuBois, who is just 26 years old, the office is set to shift its mission from helping religious organizations secure federal funds under Bush to running a policy think tank under Obama. This month, the office brought together several dozen religious leaders from a variety of political backgrounds and faiths for a round of briefings with DuBois. According to Time magazine, the group will seek to generate policy recommendations on four issues: "domestic poverty, responsible fatherhood, reducing the need for abortion and preventing unintended pregnancy, and interreligious dialogue and cooperation."

• 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.

19.  Food Safety Czar – Michael Taylor (former Monsanto Executive OR Fox in charge of henhouse)

Actual Title: Special Assistant to the FDA Commissioner for Food Safety
Presidential Appointment Established: 2009

Duties:

  • A single agency accountable for providing consistent and coordinated oversight of food safety, from farm to table;
  • Institution of Pathogen Reduction: HACCP, with performance standards verified by pathogen testing, at every step of food production;
  • Recall authority, access to records, and penalties for lapses in safety procedures;
  • Standards for imported foods equivalent to those for domestic foods; and
  • Food safety to take precedence over commercial considerations in trade disputes.

20. 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

21. Great Lakes Czar - Cameron Davis (appointed by EPA)

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

Royal Trivia: Davis tries to swim in Lake Michigan at least three times a week, but only when it’s warm enough.

• 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.

22. Green Jobs Czar - Van Jones (Resigned After Exposed As Radical Marxist) (appointed by Obama, not confirmed)

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

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

23. Guantanamo Closure Czar - Daniel Fried (appointed by Sect’y of State)

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)

24. Health Czar * - Nancy-Ann DeParle (Executive Order)

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)

Royal Trivia: Married to Jason DeParle, a correspondent at the New York Times' Washington Bureau.

• 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.

25. Information Czar - Vivek Kundra (appointed by Obama, not confirmed)

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

Royal Trivia: Shoplifted four shirts, worth $33.50 each, from J.C. Penney in 1996.

• 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

Technology is so important to the Obama White House that the administration has seen fit to create not one but three czars to be the nation's tech support line. Chopra and Zients, who were announced Saturday, will team up with the already-appointed information czar Vivek Kundra. The trio is tasked with "setting technology policy across the government and using technology to improve security, ensure transparency, and lower costs," according to Obama. Items on their agenda include using social networking sites to facilitate communication between citizens and government, encouraging agencies to share relevant information, and generally streamlining office operations for the federal government. In Chopra and Kundra's case, czar titles are nothing new: Chopra was previously Virginia's tech czar while Kundra was the District of Columbia's. Zients is the founder of an investment firm, Portfolio Logic, and previously led a group of investors that unsuccessfully attempted to buy the city's baseball team, the Washington Nationals.

26. Intelligence Czar - Dennis Blair (Obama nominated, Senate confirmed)

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.

27. Mideast Peace Czar - George Mitchell (appointed by Secty of State)

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

Royal Trivia: Served as an altar boy at St. Joseph's Maronite Church in Maine.

• 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

28.  Mideast Policy Czar – Dennis Ross

Actual Title: Special Advisor for Iran, the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia
Presidential Appointment Established: 2009

Royal Trivia: Ross co-founded the Kol Shalom synagogue in Rockville, Maryland in 2002.

Duties:

  • Trying to integrate policy development and implementation across a number of offices and officials in the State Department;
  • Providing the secretary with strategic advice; and
  • Ensuring that there’s a coherence in our policies and strategies across the region.

29. Nonproliferation Czar – Cary Samore

30. 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

Royal Trivia: Feinberg showed interest in acting at an early age, performing comedy skits in grammar school and starring in high-school plays.

• 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).

31. Regulatory Czar - Cass R. Sunstein * (Obama nominated, Senate confirmed)

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

Royal Trivia: Sunstein brought his dog Rhodesian Ridgeback, Perry, to keep himself entertained on a CNN interview, one of his countless media appearances during the Clinton impeachment hearings. He dated philosopher Martha Nussbaum, and married journalist and writer Samantha Power.

• 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.

32.  Safe School Czar – Kevin Jennings (Obama appointment, confirmed)

Actual Title: Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools
Presidential Appointment Established: 2009

Safe School Czar - As a teacher when a 15 year said he was having sex with an older man, instead of turning in the man—the law for a teacher, he asked how it was going and suggested they use condoms. Held a conference with the MAXIMUM age of 18 to teach homosexual issues like “fisting.” Wrote the intro to the book, “Queering Elementary Education.” Has repeatedly praised and claims to be inspired by Harry Hay, early supporter of NAMBLA, (North American Man Boy Love Association).

Duties:

  • Provide financial assistance for drug and violence prevention activities and activities that promote the health and well being of students in elementary and secondary schools, and institutions of higher education. Activities may be carried out by State and local educational agencies and by other public and private nonprofit organizations;
  • Participate in the formulation and development of ED program policy and legislative proposals and in overall Administration policies related to violence and drug prevention; drafting program regulations;
  • Participate in interagency committees, groups, and partnerships related to drug and violence prevention, coordinating with other Federal agencies on issues related to comprehensive school health, and advising the Secretary on the formulation of comprehensive school health education policy;
  • Participate with other Federal agencies in the development of a national research agenda for drug and violence prevention; and
  • Administer the Department’s programs relating to citizenship and civics education.

33. Science Czar - John Holdren (Obama nominated, Senate confirmed)

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

Royal Trivia: Holdren has written around 300 articles and papers, and about 20 books or book-length reports.

• 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."

34. Stimulus Accountability Czar - Earl Devaney (appointed by Obama, not confirmed)

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

Royal Trivia: Early in his secret service career, Devaney had a scary moment – a deranged woman mistook Devaney for President Gerald R. Ford, and shot at him. She missed.

• 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."

35. 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

Royal Trivia: Gration grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where his parents worked as missionaries. His family was evacuated three times and became refugees during the Congo Crisis in the early 1960s.

• 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

36. 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

Royal Trivia: Allison was nicknamed Herbicides for firing 500 employees, or about 8 percent of the work force at TIAA-CREF (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association - College Retirement Equities Fund), when he became the president of the company in 2002. While at Merrill, he accepted numerous of foreign postings – at Paris, London, and Tehran.

• 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

37. Technology Czar - Aneesh Chopra (Executive Order, Obama nominated, Senate confirmed)

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

Royal Trivia: His parents made him do 20 pages of math problems a day before playing with friends...in first grade.

• 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.

38. Terrorism Czar - John Brennan (appointed by Obama, not confirmed)

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

Royal Trivia: Fluent in Arabic, Brennan once confronted a top Iranian spy in the streets of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

• 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.”

39.  Trade Czar – Ron Kirk (appointed by Obama, not confirmed)

40. Urban Affairs Czar - Adolfo Carrion Jr. (Executive Order, Obama appointed)

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.

41. Weapons Czar - Ashton Carter (Obama nominated, Senate confirmed)

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

Royal Trivia: Graduated summa cum laude in physics and in medieval history from Yale University, Phi Beta

• 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.

42. WMD Policy Czar - Gary Samore (appointed by Obama, not confirmed)

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

Royal Trivia: Samore and his family were staying at Mumbia's Taj Mahal Hotel when terror attacks swallowed the city in November 2008. They barely survived making their way out through the smoke and flames of the burning hotel.

• 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)

43. Cyber-Security Czar – Melissa Hathaway (appointed by Obama, not confirmed) [Resigned in August ‘09]

More Czars Not Yet Vetted

1. Income Redistribution Czar: Not appointed yet.
Actual Title: No information currently.
Presidential Appointment Established: 2009

Duties:

No information currently. Source: NewsMax –

2. Consumer Financial Protection Czar, aka Mortgage Czar: Not appointed yet.
Actual Title: No information currently.
Presidential Appointment Established: 2009

Duties:

No information currently. Source: Yahoo! Finance

3. Land-Use Czar: Not appointed yet.
Actual Title: No information currently.
Presidential Appointment Established: 2009

Duties:

No information currently. Source: BOVARD –

4. Radio-Internet Fairness Czar: Not appointed yet.
Actual Title: No information currently.
Presidential Appointment Established: 2009

Duties:

No information currently. Source: NewsMax –

5. Student Loan Czar: Not appointed yet.
Actual Title: No information currently.
Presidential Appointment Established: 2009

Duties:

No information currently. Source: Glenn Beck Show

6. Voter List Czar: Not appointed yet.
Actual Title: No information currently.
Presidential Appointment Established: 2009

Duties:

No information currently.

7. Zoning Czar: Not appointed yet.
Actual Title: No information currently.
Presidential Appointment Established: 2009

Views: 60

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Comment by Kathryn Ball on August 2, 2015 at 1:53pm

I like the fact that Trump is saying things that we've been saying for the past seven years. I think the result will be some of the TRUE Conservative candidates will start addressing these issues and stop talking in political platitudes.

Every single candidate needs to state CLEARLY HOW they plan to "FIX" what is wrong with America.....STARTING with the traitorous CONGRESS, itself! If these people don't have specifics they probably don't have a clue, either.

I am not nor will I ever be a Trump supporter. He is a pompous blowhard with a TERRIBLE comb over!

He is NOT anywhere NEAR a Conservative...he is pro choice, pro government health care and clearly NOT the man to pull America out of the abyss.

Not positive about which one I favor at this point.....so far most impressed with Cruz, Walker & Carson [though not a politician he is really SMART and understands the Constitution]. Graham, Kasich & some of the others, not so much. The latest entry to the herd of republicans is the former governor of Virginia, [sorry, his name escapes me at the moment] sounds emenently  qualified....too early to tell yet.....

Trump just doesn't do anything for me, sorry.

Comment by Raya @ REAL CONSERVATIVES on August 2, 2015 at 11:06am

.

.

@ Kathryn & Philip

"SWARM?"..."swarm???"

...you mean like this?

http://tpartyus2010.ning.com/forum/topics/the-300-day-swarm-of-scorn

BOMBARD THEM WITH SCORN!!

SIC 'EM, DONALD!

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.

.

Comment by Kathryn Ball on August 2, 2015 at 10:03am

A nation of 325,000,000 is being bullied by fewer then 600 people who hold us in contempt......what' wrong with this picture???????

"Congress" has gone home for 5 weeks of vacation......now is the time to bombard them, much like the TEA Party did in 2010. They begged for the House and we gave it to them.....they put Boehner in as Speaker.....any 'leadership' position should be filled by a LEADER! Not some mushy cry baby who is so busy trying to be popular, he is dumping all over the people who gave him his position. THEN, the pleaded for the Senate.....again we delivered....the Senate made Mitch McConnell Majority Leader.......evidently, they 'misunderstood' what we were TELLING them to do!

Yesterday, I heard Marco Rubio say that they "NEED NOT ONLY BOTH HOUSES but the PRESIDENCY AS WELL"??????? 

Just what in God's Name will they do if it is delivered??????? Will it make a difference or will it be like a dog chasing cars.........not sure how to handle it if they should CATCH one!

Comment by PHILIP SCHNEIDER on August 2, 2015 at 9:26am

We the People, if we haven't been "tricked" or "mesmerized" into watching stuff like "The View", have been witness to devastating changes to our nation without so much as a political whimper.

Obama and the liberal progressive democrat machine have consolidated enough power over the last 7-8 years to create changes to our nation never intended should happen without authority vested in the United States Constitution.

The use of the current system of the federal government whereby it dangles dollars in the face of state governments to force compliance,  has worked so well that legislative changes now ALWAYS contain a compliance clause using the dollar to accomplish what never would happen if only the rules of the constitution were in play.

Attempted use of the judicial branch of this government to thwart/check these changes have been largely ineffective. The system of justice responds too slowly to stop a legislative juggernaut the size and complexity of Obamacare.

The loosers??? . . . . . YOU AND I.

Comment by Kathryn Ball on August 2, 2015 at 9:24am

When he and Michelle stop zipping around on A.F. One like it's a bloody Prius he can TRY to order fewer emissions.............horses' A$$es!!!!! 

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ALLAN

JENNI'S

THE

DANNY MALONE TRILOGY

CLICK HERE:

http://www.amazon.com/Danny-Malone-Trilogy-Mohammeds-Daughter/dp/1432724932

"The Fox, Golden Gate and Mohammed's Daughter"

Paperback

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