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POLICY - COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM 101 (and a Bush v. Clinton comparison of sorts)

COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM 101*
*As seen through President Bush's Appointees/Nominees

The table below lists a sample of key appointees of President Bush (as of 2/10/03 we have been able to go through about 50% of the links we randomly saved - so there's more to come). There are a couple of reasons for this table. 
1. Mr. Bush is on record saying that one can judge a person by the company he keeps. Whether or not this is true, it is certainly true that you can judge a person by the company he appoints or nominates. We can simultaneously gain insights into the brilliance of President Bush's proposed policy making apparatus.
2. What better way to understand Mr. Bush's moral and compassionate agenda than through the background of his appointees.

We sincerely hope that all churches and places of worship and all (hopefully compulsory) Catechism classes from Grades 1-12 in the U.S. preach about, and offer eulogies to, the bevy of overwhelmingly compassionate and astoundingly ethical appointees$$ - as reflected by their exceedingly, effusively and astoundingly moral and compassionate positions on a slew of issues ranging from the economy, civil rights, minority rights, women's rights, employee rights, rights of the disabled, health rights, "states' rights", the earth and the environment (that their God has given us), etc. As we explore their positions on these and other remarkably morally uplifting issues, we are forced to applaud Mr. Bush's resounding moral clarity and leadership!# 

In comparison, former President Clinton's atrocities, immorality and uncompassionate, un-conservatism are documented here.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO READ BEFORE PROCEEDING TO THE TABLE!
Note that comments in the table below relating to "CC101" (in red font) indicate the lesson to be taught at Church and in Catechism class when profiling these able candidates. (Note that "pro-" may mean "anti-" in many cases and vice-versa - but this is a minor irrelevant detail that can be ignored).
The remaining comments for each nominee/appointee (in black font except for URLs) appear to be factual and may be ignored if desired - since it is abjectly immoral, uncompassionate, un-conservative and un-American to let facts stand in the way of moral clarity (Sure hope you weren't dumb enough to have *not* known that).

Last Update: 3/4/03

Click on a Category

 

ECONOMY <go back to the top>
 

# Name of Appointee/
Nominee, Post
Some interesting/relevant background about the Nominee/Appointee Current status of 
nominee/appointee
E9 William Donaldson,
Nominee for SEC chief
CC101 Lesson: Pro-investor-rights, pro-family-values

(a) NY Post: NYSE was involved in shareholder fraud using 
unusual trading approaches during Donaldson's reign as chief 
there. Attempts were made to keep this away from the eyes of 
the SEC. 

(b) He was previously CEO at Aetna and faces a class-action lawsuit 
over hiding financial problems
. (Also see Wash. Times). 

(c) Forbes: As head of Aetna, "...Donaldson presided over a company 
that lost $400 million, maintained a corporate governance structure 
that squelched investor dissent in its attempt to repel takeover 
attempts, and he rejected a generous merger offer from Wellpoint 
Health Networks that would have left his shareholders 64% 
richer than they are today.
.."

(d) He has also been opposed to corporate reform 
and full disclosure previously
. He denounced "...the SEC rule that 
mandates fair disclosure of market-sensitive information 
as "terrible" and "crazy" in statements made last year..."

(e) Capital Eye, Forbes: "...As a member of the board and 
compensation committee for EasyLink Services Corp., 
an Internet transaction company, he voted to forgive 
a $200,000 (actually $268000 per Forbes - 3% of the 
company's cash balance) loan to the CEO when 
EasyLink's shares fell precipitously last April..."

(f) Capital Eye: His investment firm DLJ has been a major 
donor to Republicans and Democrats

(f) This one is irrelevant, but interesting for Bush -
NY Post: Had an affair while married, with the wife of 
a Congressman and had a child from that affair. (via P.L.A.)

CC101 Lesson: Pro-civil-rights and pro-minority-rights

(d) Donaldson responded to a slavery reparations lawsuit against
Aetna recently by saying reparations are not needed. Also see here.

Confirmed
E8 John Snow,
Treasury Secretary
nominee
CC101 Lesson: Pro-investor-rights, pro-earth, pro-environment
pro-workers-rights, pro-balanced-budget,  pro-civil-rights, 
pro-minority rights, pro-children's-rights, pro-women's-rights

(a) Mr. Snow is CEO of CSX Corp. - a railroad company. As this 
Citizens for Tax Justice memo
shows: "...In three of the past four 
years, Snow’s company, CSX Corporation, paid no federal income 
tax at all..."
"...In fact, instead of paying taxes, CSX supplemented its $934 million 
in pretax U.S. profits over the four years with a total of $164 million in 
tax rebate checks from the federal government...."
(b) Not to make too fine a point, as Lean Left also mentions, Mr. Snow 
opposed parts of the Sarbanes Corporate Reform Bill, and was a 
part of Mr. Cheney's "Energy Task Force" meetings. 
(c) CSX was subject to a sexual harassment lawsuit in 1997, donated
tons of money to the GOP, is President of the Business Round Table
which opposes the Kyoto Protocol : SRiMedia
(d) Mr. Snow was one of the directors targeted in a securities fraud
class action lawsuit in the early 1990s : Smart Money
(e) Mr. Snow in the past came down strongly as a 
balanced-budget advocate
, but today he is pushing 
supply-side tax-cutting
as the panacea for our economic ills!
(f) Snow responded to a slavery reparations lawsuit against
CSX recently by saying reparations are not needed. Also see here.
(g) Was target of child support suit from ex-wife and had a DUI 
arrest in the past
(via P.L.A.)

Confirmed by 
Congress in Jan 
2003
E7 Michael Powell
Chair of the FCC
CC101 Lesson: Pro-consumer-rights, pro-fairness-and-accuracy
-in-reporting

As FAIR points out, Mr. Powell's opinions have placed him 
fairly as a pro-big-corporation, anti-consumer advocate:
(a) "...
Powell's salient quality as head of the agency is his 
apparent belief that it need not exist, since it's better 
to "let markets pick winners and losers" (TheStandard.com, 6/5/01). 
"The oppressor here is regulation," Powell says (Washington Post
1/23/01).
No wonder his appointment was hailed as 
"an outstanding choice," by National Association of Broadcasters 
president Eddie Fritts (Communications Daily, 1/23/01)...
as 
FCC commissioner, a job he's held since 1997. Powell 
has often criticized rules restricting concentration, and specifically 
questioned the agency's authority to place public 
interest conditions on mergers. Most recently, 
he resisted the idea of requiring AOL and Time 
Warner to give rival companies open access 
to their cable TV systems as a condition of their merger. 
He expounded on that decision at his first 
press conference as chairman (Broadcasting & Cable, 2/12/01): 
"Some say, 'Openness is always good. Why are you fighting?' 
You know why? Because openness isn't always good. 
If openness were always good, nobody would be fighting over 
copyright protection."..."
(b) "...The AOL/Time Warner deal also showcased 
Powell's nonchalant approach to personal conflicts 
of interest; he took part in the merger decision despite the 
fact that his father, Secretary of State Colin Powell, was 
one of AOL's directors, with lucrative stock options in 
the company. (The New York Times' Stephen Labaton 
has also noted [1/23/01] that since Michael Powell 
joined the FCC, "the National Association of Broadcasters 
has been a generous contributor to the foundation 
started by his father, America's Promise: the Alliance for Youth.")..."
(c) "...Would, for example, consumer cable fees, which have 
risen three times as fast as inflation [as cable modem 
prices steadily drop - eRiposte
], be a sign that 
deregulation in that industry was bad for consumers? 
Nah, the increase doesn't bother him, says Powell 
(Broadcasting & Cable, 2/12/01): "Look, Americans like TV, 
and they like multichannel TV, and there are mechanisms 
for them to express their preferences in terms 
of what they are willing to pay."
(d) Favors media consolidation (also see here) preventing 
multiple views from reaching consumers, thereby 
restricting fairness and/or accuracy in reporting.

Still the chief
E6 Harvey Pitt,
SEC Chief
CC101 Lesson: Pro-investor-rights

(a) TPM reporting on NYTimes article: "...Pitt decided to 
appoint former CIA Director and FBI Director William 
Webster to head a new accounting oversight board. 
But Webster headed the audit committee of
a public company, U.S. Technologies, which was 
facing investor lawsuits alleging fraud...Pitt apparently 
told Webster not to worry, that he'd checked, 
and it was okay. (That's what Webster told the Times 
and the SEC doesn't dispute it.) But apparently he hadn't checked 
or even told anyone else at the SEC about it...
"
(b) Backing away from real corporate reform: 1, 2, 3
(c) Preaching for a "kinder, gentler SEC"!
(d) Indulging in continued conflicts of interest by meeting with
individuals from companies being investigated by the SEC - 
including KPMG which Pitt worked for previously

Resigned on 11/5/02
but still running 
the SEC
for whatever
 reasons
E5 Glenn Hubbard,
Chair of the Council 
of Economic Advisors
(CEA)
CC101 Lesson: Pro-balanced-budget, Pro-fiscal-prudence

As pointed out by Economist Brad DeLong, he contradicted 
what he teaches about deficits, claiming they had no impact 
on interest rates (see additional comments by DeLong).

As shown in the New Republic, Hubaard has the distinction now
of tilting the CEA much more towards politicization, and facing
criticism due to his self-contradictory stance on budget deficits.

WSJ reporting that
Hubbard plans to 
leave his post 
sometime in Spring
2003
E4 Lawrence Lindsey,
Chair of National 
Economic Council
(NEC)
CC101 Lesson: Pro-civil-rights and pro-minority-rights stance

Per the Washington Post, "...Lindsey was widely seen as a 
poor manager who held a job that required diplomacy 
to bring disparate economic policies together into 
a coherent package with a clear message...

See here for a quick comparison of Larry Lindsey to 
Clinton's Larry Summers (by Paul Krugman). A more
interesting review is here by John Judis in the New Republic, 
and another one here. Larry Lindsey is a known advocate
of supply-side economics that former President Bush (Sr.)
called "voodoo economics".

Resigned 12/6/02
E3 Paul O'Neill,
Treasury Secretary
CC101 Lesson: Speak your mind (before it changes) above all else 
unless you are profoundly immoral due to hate for tax cuts

Per the Washington Post, Mr. O'Neill, "...has been roundly 
criticized for a series of statements that had 
shaken the faith of international bond markets and 
Wall Street, and he had alienated many conservatives on 
Capitol Hill. In recent days, O’Neill had been feuding 
with Lindsey over the shape of an economic stimulus 
package. Lindsey, with the backing of White House political 
advisers, has been pushing a broad package predicated 
on the need to stimulate the economy, while O’Neill 
has been saying for months that the economy is 
recovering smartly and needed no such package..."

Additionally history on Mr. O'Neill's gaffes, quotations
stock holdings, stance on the IMF and more. An interesting review is 
here by John Judis in the New Republic, and another one here.

Resigned 12/6/02
E2 John Huntsman Jr.
Deputy U.S. Trade
Representative
CC101 Lesson: Pro-trade 

Per Molly Ivins, "...Jon Huntsman Jr., the new 
deputy trade representative, who is hot to trot on a 
new round of trade liberalization under the World Trade Organization. 
Huntsman resigned from the privately owned Huntsman Corporation, 
a familiar name in Bush's hometown. Huntsman is famous in 
Midland-Odessa for its ``upsets,'' burn-offs of benzene, 
butadiene and other carcinogens. Huntsman gets fines even 
under Texas' toothless standards, and has already 
paid millions to the plant's neighbors over ``upsets.''..."

Still at the helm?
E1 Linda Chavez,
Labor Secretary 
Nominee
CC101 Lesson: Pro-labor-rights and pro-illegal-immigrant-rights 

(a) Controversy about her housing an illegal immigrant: CNN, Slate,
and hiding the news from the FBI until the story broke. Showed
her hypocrisy as well - see what she said about Zoe Baird.

(b) On record with extreme anti-labor-unions position - also see here.

(c) On record saying that she opposes affirmative action, job-training
programs, increase in minimum wage - among other things. Her
nomination was opposed as a result by the largest Hispanic 
organization in the U.S.

Nomination 
withdrawn

 

JUDICIARY <go back to the top>

Current nominations appear to be on this U.S.D.O.J. website. Note the remarks by Ralph Neas of PFAW that by 2004, 
all 13 Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal could be controlled by Republican-nominated judges.

For those who think this is merely partisan sniping, Senator Leahy's website shows the record that the Democratic Senate 
has in approving GOP nominees - and it's better that what the Republicans' history during Clinton's years.

# Name of Appointee/
Nominee
Some interesting/relevant background about 
the Nominee/Appointee
Evidence 
provided by
Current status of 
nominee/appointee
J20 Stephen Colloton CC101 Lesson: Pro-family -values 

2/19/03: "...member of former Whitewater independent 
counsel Kenneth W. Starr's team to the U.S. 
Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, based in St. Louis.
 
The nominee, Steven M. Colloton of Iowa, was a law 
clerk for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist..."

Washington Post NOMINATED
J19 Charles Pickering
(friend of 
Trent Lott)
CC101 Lesson: Pro-minority-rights and 
pro-civil-rights, pro-women's-rights

1/18/03: Lied later that his contact with
the Sovereignty Commission related to 
concerns over KKK infiltration

1/12/03: Lied about not having had any 
contact with Mississippi's State Sovereignty 
Commission, his home state's notorious 
anti-black secret police apparatus.

1/11/03: History of blatant anti-civil-
rights, anti-women, anti-minorities rulings

MWO, Joe Conason 
(Salon); FairJudges

The Nation
Independent 
Judiciary
, PFAW
Mississippi 
community leaders
,
List of other orgs.,
NWLC

RENOMINATED

and 

PENDING

J18 Jeffrey Sutton
(clerked with 
Antonin Scalia)

A Director of
Federalist Society

CC101 Lesson: Pro-minority-rights,
pro-civil-rights, pro-disabled-person-rights,
and pro-
compassionate-conservatism

2/19/03: "...Sutton has argued that the federal judiciary 
should have almost unfettered discretion to override 
Congress' empirical findings in support of its legislation, 
which would limit congressional authority to protect 
individuals from violations of their rights 
- such as hate crimes..." 

2/8/03: "...persuaded the Supreme Court to rule 
against a nurse with breast cancer on the 
ground that the Americans With Disabilities 
Act does not apply to state employers..."

1/15/03: Contributions to Bush/GOP

1/14/03: History of fighting cases against 
minorities and those with disabilities. 
e.g., "...argued that victims of 
discrimination must always prove "intent"
to discriminate - an exacting standard 
requiring "smoking gun" evidence 
such as a blatantly discriminatory 
statement. Such evidence is unlikely to 
be uncovered in most cases. Mr. Sutton's 
argument had the effect of significantly 
undercutting enforcement of the landmark 
1964 Act..."

HRC

New York Times

Margie Burns
(BuzzFlash)

Atrios

Justice for All

Independent 
Judiciary

Wampum

ADA Watch

List of other orgs.
opposing Sutton

PENDING
J17 Priscilla Owen

Member of
Federalist Society

CC101 Lesson: Pro-minority-rights,
pro-civil-rights, pro-labor/employee-rights,
pro-women's-rights, and 
pro-
compassionate-conservatism

1/15/03: Contributions to Bush/GOP

1/14/03: History of anti-workers-rights, 
anti-civil rights, anti-reproductive-choice, 
anti-environment and pro-big-corporation
/anti-employee legal rulings.
Blatant ethics violations through 
acceptance of campaign contributions from 
corporate defendants like Enron 
and Halliburton. 

Margie Burns
(BuzzFlash)

PFAW

NOW

Independent 
Judiciary
1, 2

RENOMINATED 

and 

PENDING

J16 Deborah Cook CC101 Lesson: Pro-civil-rights, 
pro-labor/employee-rights, and 
pro-
compassionate-conservatism

2/8/03: "...Deborah Cook, regularly sides, as a 
state judge, with corporations. In one case she 
maintained that a worker whose employer 
lied to him about his exposure to 
dangerous chemicals should not be able to 
sue for his injuries..."

1/15/03: Contributions to Bush/GOP


1/14/03
: History of pro-big-business, anti-
worker, anti-civil-rights rulings/dissents

New York Times

Margie Burns
(BuzzFlash)

Independent 
Judiciary

NARAL

NOMINATED
J15 Miguel Estrada
(the "Hispanic
Clarence Thomas"
according to some)
CC101 Lesson: Pro-minority-rights,
pro-civil-rights, pro-labor/employee-rights,
pro-women's-rights, pro-patient-rights and 
pro-
compassionate-conservatism

2/19/03: Note as Michael Kinsley points out
"...With 42 circuit court vacancies to fill, Estrada 
is the only Hispanic Bush has nominated. 
Clinton nominated 11, three of whom 
the Republicans blocked..."

2/17/03: As The Nation points out
he was one of the lawyers who
represented the Bush/Cheney in
Bush v. Gore. It is stunning that such a
partisan can even get nominated, especially 
one that refuses to answer questions about his
legal positions (imagine if a company hired a 
manager who refuses to talk about his 
experience!). More on this stuff at Best 
of the Blogs
.

2/5/03: Josh Marshall documents what
appears to be a possible case of purgery
by Estrada which should be investigated

1/29/03: NYTimes points out not only
Mr. Estrada's refusal to answer questions
but the limited information that shows he is
driven by an unusually conservative/right-wing
agenda.

1/15/03: Contributions to Bush/GOP

1/14/03: Member of Federalist Society
with history or anti-civil-rights, anti-labor,
anti-patient positions

Also see:

TPM

Margie Burns
(BuzzFlash)

Independent 
Judiciary
1, 2

NOMINATED
J14 Jay Bybee CC101 Lesson: Pro-states-rights

2/19/03: "...In a 1997 law review article, Bybee, 
then a professor, offered an extremely troubling 
view of the landmark equal protection case, 
Romer v. Evans
...
characterized sexual orientation-inclusive 
civil rights laws as nothing more than 
government-sponsored "preferences" 
for "homosexuals."

2/8/03: History of "interesting" positions on
"states' rights", etc.

2/7/03: "...has argued that United States 
senators should be elected by state legislators, 
not the voters. Questions have also been raised 
about whether, as a White House aide, 
Mr. Bybee attempted to suppress 
a criminal investigation of financing of Iraqi 
weapons purchases..."

HRC

PFAW

New York Times

NOMINATED
J13 John Roberts

(former Deputy 
Solicitor General 
to Bush I)

CC101 Lesson: Pro-women's-rights, 
pro-secular-rights and 
pro-
compassionate-conservatism

1/15/03: Contributions to Bush/GOP

1/14/03: Anti-reproductive-choice, 
anti-secular positions in the past and 
has disputed the notion that the current
Supreme Court is "conservative". 
Nominated earlier by Bush I but 
nomination lapsed due to concern over
extreme views as perceived by then
Judiciary Committee

Margie Burns
(BuzzFlash)

 

Independent 
Judiciary

NARAL

NOMINATED
J12 Carolyn Kuhl

Member of
Federalist Society

CC101 Lesson: Pro-minority-rights,
pro-civil-rights, pro-whistleblower-rights,
pro-women's-rights, pro-patient-rights

1/14/03: Anti-civil-rights (e.g., a DOJ 
employee who persuaded others to push 
for tax exempt status for Bob Jones 
University), anti-patient-rights, anti-
whistleblower-rights, anti-
reproductive-choice actions

Independent 
Judiciary

NARAL

NOMINATED
J11 Terrence William
Boyle

(former aide to 
Jesse Helms)

CC101 Lesson: Pro-minority-rights,
pro-civil-rights, pro-disabled-person-rights,
pro-women's-rights

1/14/03: Anti-civil-rights, anti-disabled-
person, anti-women's-rights  positions
and rulings

Independent 
Judiciary
NOMINATED
J10 Timothy 
Tymkovich
CC101 Lesson: Pro-gay-rights,
pro-women's-rights

2/19/03: "...Amendment 2 sought to ban any 
municipality in Colorado from enacting laws that 
would protect gay people from discrimination...
Tymkovich defended Colorado's Amendment 2...
"He describes anti-discrimination laws as 
'special legal protections for homosexuals' 
and 'special rights,' common rhetoric for those 
opposed to equal protection for gays and lesbians."
 
In the article, Tymkovich lumped homosexuality with a 
litany of "immoral" and dangerous behaviors, 
including sadomasochism, cockfighting, bestiality, 
suicide, drug use and prostitution..."

1/14/03: Anti-gay-rights, anti-women's-
rights rulings

HRC

Independent
Judiciary

NOMINATED
J9 William H. Steele

(to be replaced by
William Pryor Jr.?)

CC101 Lesson: Pro-civil-rights

1/14/03: History of anti-civil-rights rulings

Independent 
Judiciary
NOMINATED
J8 William H. 
Pryor Jr.
CC101 Lesson: Pro-civil-rights,
pro-women's-rights, pro-secularism

1/14/03: Host of anti-civil-rights, anti-
reproductive-choice, anti-secular 
positions/rulings

Law.com TBD
J7 Douglas Kmiec CC101 Lesson: Pro-civil-rights,
pro-women's-rights, pro-earth/environment

1/14/03: History of anti-civil-rights, anti-
reproductive-choice, anti-environmental 
inclinations

Independent 
Judiciary
TBD
J6 Dennis Shedd

(former counsel 
to Strom Thurmond)
CC101 Lesson: Pro-minority-rights,
pro-civil-rights, pro-employee-rights,
pro-women's-rights, pro-disabled-person's
-rights

1/14/03: History of actions and decisions
against civil rights, against 
women's/employee rights, and against 
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Justice for All

NOW

CONFIRMED
J5 Michael McConnell CC101 Lesson: Pro-minority-rights,
pro-civil-rights, pro-women's-rights, 
and pro-
Compassionate-Conservatism

1/15/03: Contributions to Bush/GOP

1/14/03: History of anti-civil rights, 
anti-reproductive-choice, and other 
right-wing opinions

Margie Burns
(BuzzFlash)

Independent 
Judiciary

Law Professors

NARAL

CONFIRMED
J4 D. Brooks Smith CC101 Lesson: Pro-consumer-rights,
pro-workers-rights, pro-women's-rights, 
and pro-civil
-rights

1/14/03: Anti-workers-rights, anti-
consumer -rights, anti-women's-rights 
rulings and memberships in controversial 
discriminatory clubs

Independent 
Judiciary

New York Times

AFJ

CONFIRMED
J3 Lawrence Block CC101 Lesson: Pro-earth/environment,
pro-workers-rights, pro-
health-rights

1/14/03: Anti-environmental, anti-health/
safety, etc. positions

EarthJustice

Independent 
Judiciary

CONFIRMED
J2 Lavenski Smith CC101 Lesson: Pro-women's-rights

2/8/03: History of anti-reproductive-choice, 
and anti-women's-rights opinions (was against
Roe v. Wade)

PP CONFIRMED
J1 Paul Cassell CC101 Lesson: Pro-defendant-rights,
pro-constitutional-rights

1/14/03: Anti-defendant-rights, 
anti-constitutional-rights rulings. Has 
also stated that: “No innocent person has 
been executed in this country for 
roughly the last half century.” !

Independent 
Judiciary
CONFIRMED

 

HEALTH/WOMEN <go back to the top>

# Name of Appointee/
Nominee
Some interesting/relevant background about the Nominee/Appointee Current status of 
nominee/appointee
 H16 David Hager,
FDA's Advisory 
Committee for 
Reproductive 
Health Drugs
CC101 Lesson: Pro-women's-rights, pro-life

(a) Anti-abortion believer who participated in a Christian Medical 
Association campaign that attempted to reverse the FDA 
committee's 1996 recommendation that led to approval of 
the abortion pill RU-486. Has condemned birth control pills.

(b) Against emergency contraception. Apparently refuses to
prescribe contraceptives to unwed mothers and has spoken out
against condom use outside of marriage.

(b) He and his wife have recommended "specific scripture 
readings and prayers for such ailments as headaches and 
premenstrual syndrome". 

Sources: WP, FMF, Time, NOW, PP

 
 H15 Joseph B. Stanford,
FDA's Advisory 
Committee for 
Reproductive 
Health Drugs
CC101 Lesson: Pro-women's-rights, pro-life

(a) Refuses to prescribe "contraceptives of any sort." 

(b) He also erroneously classifies some forms of the birth 
control pill as potential abortifacients. (See "Sex, Naturally," First 
things, the Journal of Religion and Public Life, November 1999.) 

(c) Advocates “natural family planning”, e.g. the rhythm method, 
as the only acceptable form of contraception because “…medicine 
is permeated with attitudes toward sexuality and fertility that are 
incompatible with Christian values of the sanctity of life, marriage, 
and procreation, attitudes that both reflect and perpetuate the 
recreational approach to sexuality found in our secular 
culture,” reported HealthScoutNews.

Source: PP, FMF

 

Still at the helm 

H14 Freda McKissic 
Bush
CDC Advisory 
Committee on HIV 
and STD Prevention
CC101 Lesson: Pro-safe-sex, pro-abstinence

"...Dr. Bush is a member of the advisory council of 
the Medical Institute — an anti-condom “research” group — 
and the director of Virginity Rules, an “abstinence-only” 
program (CDC, 2002b; The Medical Institute, 2002b).

Source: PP

Still at the helm 
H13 Louise Oliver
Special Asst.
State Dept. Bureau of 
Population, Refugees 
and Migration
CC101 Lesson: Pro-life, pro-population-control-
without-birth-control

"...She was President of Harvard Law School's Society 
for Law, Life and Religion - a group dedicated to 'defending 
religious values and the sanctity of human life from 
conception to natural death'..." (i.e., a so-called
pro-life group). 

She was part of the team that ended U.S. support for a world 
health plan for population control! "...Louise Oliver, a special 
assistant in the State Department's population office, also said the 
Bush administration objected to such terms as 
``reproductive services'' and ``reproductive health care'' 
because they imply a right to abortion, according 
to a senior U.N. official who attended the session..."

Source: PP, Mercury News

Still at the helm 
 H12  Daniel Troy
FDA Chief 
Legal Counsel
CC101 Lesson: Pro-health-rights, pro-children, pro-people

Salon
 (a) "...in private practice, Troy had successfully challenged 
the agency's power to regulate drug companies -- 
particularly the companies' ability to freely 
promote and market their products..." 
(b) "...Troy has overseen a dramatic decrease in 
the number of drug companies that have been 
reprimanded for running false or misleading commercials 
-- even as the drug ads filling our TV screens and 
magazines have multiplied. Of course, it could just be 
that the drug companies have all joined the Boy 
Scouts and are now being meticulously honest 
and trustworthy..." 

Common Dreams
(c) "...there has been a 60 percent decline since last 
year in the number of all FDA warning letters for 
various types of infractions, from clinical trials to marketing. 
These letters represent the first step in FDA policing. 
The decline coincides with an order from the administration 
last December requiring that Troy's office review all enforcement 
letters before they are sent to ensure they consistently apply 
FDA rules and are legally sound. Critics say the policy, 
combined with Troy's background, has had a chilling 
effect on FDA staff members who monitor drug company actions..." 

Still at the helm 
 H11  Janet Rehnquist
Inspector General
Health and Human 
Services
CC101 Lesson: Pro-health-rights, pro-gun-rights,
pro all-in-all

Daughter of the Chief Justice, she is under investigation 
by Congress on several issues including the shredding 
and destruction of documents by her office. 
"...The General Accounting Office, an 
investigative arm of Congress, was already conducting a 
comprehensive review of Ms. Rehnquist's office after complaints 
from employees who said she had politicized the agency, 
which investigates fraud and abuse in federal programs...

The accounting office was investigating whether Ms. Rehnquist 
kept a gun in her office without authorization, violated personnel 
rules by ousting career employees and ordered delays in a 
federal audit of the Florida state employees' pension fund 
to avoid embarrassing Gov. Jeb Bush.
In its inquiry, the 
accounting office learned of the destruction of documents 
in the office of the inspector general, known as O.I.G. 
It informed Ms. Rehnquist, who informed Congress..."

New York Times, Washington Post.

 

Still at the helm 

 H10 Joseph Jennings
Presidential Advisory 
Commission on 
HIV/AIDS
CC101 Lesson: Pro-AIDS-victims, pro-abstinence

"...Joseph Jennings is a motivational speaker, and former gang 
leader, who travels the country speaking to children about 
drugs and violence. Jennings’ background in HIV/AIDS 
comes mostly from telling teenagers to abstain from sex. 
Jennings is a frequent speaker for Acquire The Fire youth 
conferences
. Acquire The Fire, organized by TeenMania Ministries, 
promotes among other issues, religious conversion 
as a cure for homosexuality and sexual abstinence until marriage
." 

Source: NSD (via Atrios) (bold text is our emphasis)

 

 Nominated

H9 Anita Smith
Presidential Advisory 
Commission on 
HIV/AIDS
CC101 Lesson: Pro-AIDS-victims, pro-abstinence,
pro-gay, pro-women 

"...Anita Smith is the co-founder of the Children AIDS Fund 
(formally Americans for a Sound HIV/AIDS Policy). Smith 
has stated that her organization "believes abstinence is 
the only true prevention
." (Family Voice, July/August 2001). Smith’s 
organization lobbied against including HIV/AIDS status in 
the Americans With Disabilities Act
. The organization has 
also pushed to take money from prevention efforts in 
the gay community and reassign it to less effective efforts. 
Smith has also worked extensively to promote 
abstinence-only programs. Smith has appeared in articles by the 
Concerned Women for America, who have lobbied to keep gay 
men off the council. Referencing potential appointments to the 
council, Concerned Women for America stated: "What we 
have here, frankly, is a power struggle between homosexual 
white men who have used all the government AIDS 
programs fundamentally to fund their subculture and 
political activities, versus the other dominate demographic 
group who’s suffering from AIDS, - namely, black women
." 
(Battle Underway of AIDS Panel, Family News in Focus. 
October 29, 2001).
.."

Source: NSD (via Atrios) (bold text is our emphasis)

 Nominated
H8 Dandrick Moton
Presidential Advisory 
Commission on 
HIV/AIDS
CC101 Lesson: Pro-AIDS-victims, pro-abstinence

"...a man whose background in HIV/AIDS policy consists of 
traveling with his mother as dual motivational speakers 
to promote abstinence for youth until marriage..."

 Source: NSD (via Atrios) (bold text is our emphasis)

 Nominated
H7 Joe McIlaney
Presidential Advisory 
Commission on 
HIV/AIDS
CC101 Lesson: Pro-AIDS-victims, pro-abstinence, pro-safe-sex-myth

 "...Dr. Joe McIlaney is the founder and director of the 
Medical Institute for Sexual Health
(MISH) in Austin, Texas. 
MISH is an abstinence and anti safe-sex organization. Dr. McIlaney is 
most noted for his repeated attacks against the idea of using 
condoms to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases

Among his books, McIlaney co-wrote The Myth of Safe Sex with 
James Dobson, president of Focus on the Family (which runs a 
prominent ex-gay ministry). McIlaney frequently interprets 
medical statistics for his own liking, and those interpretations 
are often used by anti-gay groups

On November 15, 2001, McIlaney testified 
before Congress to promote abstinence. McIlaney also 
enjoyed influence over the state health curriculum 
while George W. Bush was Governor of Texas..."
Also known for promoting falsities about condom efficiency.

Source: NSD (via Atrios) (bold text is our emphasis), PP

 Nominated
 H6  Tom Coburn
Co-Chair, 
Presidential Advisory 
Commission on 
HIV/AIDS
CC101 Lesson: Pro-AIDS-victims, pro-gay, 
pro-abstinence, pro-safe-sex (without use of condoms) 

"...Former Rep. Tom Coburn (R-OK) received a 0% Congressional 
voting rating in all three of his terms from the Human Rights Campaign. 
In addition to his poor record on issues of concern to the gay 
and lesbian community, Coburn consistently voted against needed 
HIV/AIDS legislation
. Coburn also called for the firing of the Director 
of the Centers for Disease Control because the CDC promotes 
condom use to prevent transmission of the HIV virus
. Rich 
Tafel, Executive Director of LCR, has called Coburn’s past votes 
"morally wrong and politically dangerous." (Washington 
Blade, May 07, 1999)

 Source: NSD (via Atrios) (bold text is our emphasis)

 Nominated
 H5  Jerry Thacker
Presidential Advisory 
Commission on 
HIV/AIDS
CC101 Lesson: Pro-AIDS-victims, pro-gay, 
pro-Jesus-Christ (very important)

"...In his speeches and writings on his Web site and elsewhere
Thacker has described homosexuality as a "deathstyle" 
rather than a lifestyle
and asserted that "Christ can rescue the 
homosexual."
After word of his selection spread among gays 
in recent days, some material disappeared from the Web site. 
Earlier versions located by The Washington Post that referred 
to the "gay plague," for instance, were changed as of 
yesterday to "plague
."...
Thacker's promotional 
materials stress the need for compassion toward all people 
with AIDS, and they urge churches to think "Christianly" 
about people with AIDS and to hate the sin, but love the 
sinner. "Be compassionate to those caught up in this 
sinful deathstyle," the Bob Jones summary said. "Only when 
homosexuals know it is a sin can they repent..." (bold
text is our emphasis)

 Sources: WP, Atrios, etc.

 Thacker withdrew
his name from 
consideration 
 H4 Pat Ware
Executive Director, 
Presidential Advisory 
Council on HIV/AIDS
CC101 Lesson: Pro-AIDS-victims, pro-abstinence

Expressed belief that "...gay white men are 
responsible for infecting the African American 
community with AIDS...", "...vocal proponent of abstinence 
as an AIDS prevention method..." 

"...her advocacy that undermines safe-sex education and that 
shifts away money from prevention efforts in the gay community.
 
Ware has been associated with anti-gay organizations
such as 
the Family Research Council and is most closely linked to her 
work with Americans for a Sound HIV/AIDS Policy (ASAP), 
which has since changed its name to the Children’s AIDS Fund. 
ASAP was an abstinence-only organization opposed to most 
HIV/AIDS education and prevention measures. ASAP also lobbied 
against including HIV and AIDS in the Americans with Disabilities Act
.
 
Ware herself is a strong abstinence-only proponent, lobbying 
against any effort that promotes education and protection over 
abstinence. 

Ware is also opposed to condom use. Pat Ware has advocated that 
the government shift away funds from groups that serve 
gays and towards abstinence-only education. At the 2000 
Republican Convention in Philadelphia, Ware referenced the 
"innocent babies" infected with HIV, a comment that 
implied that others are "guilty" victims of the epidemic..."

Sources: San Francisco Chronicle
NSD (via Atrios) (bold text is our emphasis)

Transferred to serve 
as special assistant to 
Claude Allen, Asst. Sec. 
of the Department of 
Health & Human 
Services, 
where she will work on 
minority health issues
due to Thacker flap.
 H3 John Klink
Asst. Secretary of State,
Bureau of Population, 
Refugees and Migration
CC101 Lesson: Pro-women's rights, pro-life, pro-safe-sex,
pro-raped-refugee-rights

Anti-women's-rights, anti-reproductive-choice,
anti-safe-sex (abhors condoms). "...Klink is a former Holy See 
diplomat who, according to the CFFC, has 
opposed the use of condoms as way of limiting 
the spread of AIDS. In one document issued by the 
CFFC, Klink is quoted as saying contraception is, 
“morally unacceptable” and in another document, 
Klink is quoted as saying the, “Holy See in 
no way endorses contraception or the use of 
condoms, either as a family planning 
measure or in HIV/AIDS prevention programs...”
(Klink was against emergency contraception being 
provided to raped women)

Sources: PP, CFCC

Name 
withdrawn from
consideration 
after protests
 H2 *None* (i.e., fired)
White House Office of 
Women's Initiatives and 
Outreach (shut down)
CC101 Lesson: Anti-women's rights

In March 2001, the WH Women's Initiatives and Outreach
Office was shut down.

Source: Denver Business Journal, PP

Shut down
H1 Tommy Thompson
Secretary of Health and 
Human Services
CC101 Lesson: Pro-women's-rights, pro-raped-children's-rights 
pro-scientific-integrity etc. 

Anti-reproductive-choice positions; on advisory board 
of Washington Legal Foundation
(WLF) - which is an extreme 
right-wing organization with outrageous goals (P.L.A).

Additionally, led delegation to U.N. children's summit opposing
special rehabilitation for raped children (including birth control 
and abortions).

Removed scientific statistics from National Cancer 
Institute from HHS websites that showed that breast 
cancer risk does not increase due to abortions. Also removed
fact sheets on condom effectiveness.

Sources: PPPP

 Still at the helm

 

ENVIRONMENT/LAND/ENERGY <go back to the top>
(more to come)

# Name of Appointee/
Nominee
Some interesting/relevant background about the Nominee/Appointee Current status of 
nominee/appointee
E6 Spencer Abraham
Energy Secretary

Member of
Federalist Society

CC101 Lesson: Pro-environment/earth, Pro-conservation

On advisory board of Washington Legal Foundation (WLF)
- which is an extreme right-wing organization with outrageous 
goals
(P.L.A). Very poor environmental record (LCV).

Still at the helm
E5 Mark Rey
Undersecretary for
Natural Resources and 
the Environment, 
Dept. of Agriculture
CC101 Lesson: Pro-environment/earth, Pro-conservation

Extensive history of anti-environmental and pro-timber-
industry positions and jobs. Examples: (a) "...served as 
vice president of forest resources for the American 
Forest & Paper Association, the country’s leading 
advocate for logging in our national forests..." 
(b)
Vociferously opposes the National Forest Roadless 
Conservation Policy, which would prot