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..."

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

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

PENDING

A Director of
Federalist Society

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

Atrios

Justice for All

Independent 
Judiciary

Wampum

ADA Watch

List of other orgs.
opposing Sutton

Member of
Federalist Society

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. 

PFAW

NOW

Independent 
Judiciary
1, 2

and 

PENDING

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

Independent 
Judiciary

NARAL

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

TPM

Margie Burns
(BuzzFlash)

Independent 
Judiciary
1, 2

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

(former Deputy 
Solicitor General 
to Bush I)

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

Independent 
Judiciary

NARAL

Member of
Federalist Society

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

NARAL

(former aide to 
Jesse Helms)

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

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

Independent
Judiciary

(to be replaced by
William Pryor Jr.?)

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

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

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

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

NOW

1/15/03: Contributions to Bush/GOP

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

Independent 
Judiciary

Law Professors

NARAL

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

New York Times

AFJ

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

Independent 
Judiciary

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

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.” !

(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

(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 

"...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

"...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

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..." 

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 

"...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

"...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)

"...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)

 "...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

"...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)

"...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.

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)

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

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

Source: Denver Business Journal, PP

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: PP, PP

Member of
Federalist Society

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).

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 protect 
the last 1/3 of our nation’s wild places from 
logging, mining, and other destructive activities.
and many many more... also see page 8 of this EarthJustice report.

An individual with a history of (a) anti-environmental
positions/jobs and actions including an interest in
partially gutting the Endangered Species Act,
(b) He "...top guy at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association 
and represented the grazing interests in lawsuits 
against the policies he will now be enforcing..." (Molly Ivins)
(c) "...Publicly opposed important environmental policies, 
including the National Forest Roadless Conservation Policy, 
wolf re-introduction in Yellowstone, and grazing fee 
reforms. Myers also supported and vigorously defended 
the slaughter of bison adjacent to Yellowstone National Park..."
(EarthJustice)   

An individual with a history of (a) destroying environmental
laws, (b) playing openly for oil, gas, energy and 
mining companies, and (c) flagrant 
conflicts of interest/ethics violations. History is
too detailed to provide but see Friends of the Earth for a
detailed summary.   

Member of
Federalist Society

(a) Pro-"states'-rights" (i.e., slavery)
(b) History of severe anti-environmental, pro-pollution,
pro-oil/gas/energy company positions and actions: See 
Alternet for instance: "...is compiling a record as 
perhaps the most anti-environmental Interior 
Secretary in history – even worse, perhaps, than notorious 
Reagan Interior Secretary James Watt, who resigned from 
his post after trying to cede public lands to 
special interests and losing the confidence of the 
American people...Norton is an ideological extremist who 
worked for two decades to dismantle the very laws the 
Interior Department is sworn to uphold. Before becoming 
Interior Secretary, she espoused the "right to pollute" and 
other extreme positions, including support of laws allowing 
polluters to police themselves. As Colorado attorney general, 
she was hostile to environmental protection and took a 
head-in-the-sand approach to polluters. She stood by, 
for instance, as cyanide leaks from the Summitville gold mine 
killed wildlife in 17 miles of the Alamosa River. As a lawyer, 
she represented the oil industry, loggers and miners. She 
was a senior attorney at the arch-conservative Mountain 
States Legal Foundation under its founder, the bombastic Watt...
She has politicized the Interior Department by filling 
numerous key positions with executives and lobbyists from 
resource-extracting industries. Together, they have moved briskly 
to open more fragile public lands to oil and gas drilling, 
mining and off-road vehicles – sometimes even refusing to 
conduct environmental reviews mandated by federal law. 
Government scientists who object have been silenced or ignored." 
(c) On advisory board of Washington Legal Foundation (WLF)
- which is an extreme right-wing organization with outrageous 
goals (P.L.A). Also see Common Dreams.

Strong "deregulation" believer who did not believe in intervening 
in the markets even during power crisis in California and other 
states, that was that was significantly due to market 
manipulation by energy companies like Enron. Enron was lobbying
FERC extensively during this time. The facts are in dispute whether 
Hebert asked Ken Lay of Enron to support his continued chairmanship 
or whether Ken Lay essentially threatened Hebert 
that he would not support the latter if Hebert did not support Enron. 

Per Consortium News, Hebert may have been forced to resign 
because of two positions of his that conflicted with then Enron CEO
Ken Lay's desires and the fact that Ken Lay held major sway over
the Bush administration.

As CLW points out, Bolton was a Vice President at 
the American Enterprise Institute, with stints in the 
Reagan Justice Department and Bush Sr. State Department. 

(a) "...Bolton has opposed many of the programs that would fall 
under his jurisdiction, including the Anti- Ballistic Missile 
Treaty, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban 
Treaty and the International Criminal Court..."

(b) "...At a 1994 panel discussion sponsored by the World 
Federalist Association Bolton claimed "there's no such thing 
as the United Nations," and stated ''if the UN secretary 
building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a 
bit of difference.''..."

(c) Stated that "..."Support for the International Criminal Court 
concept is based largely on emotional appeals to an abstract 
ideal of an international judicial system." House 
International Relations Committee, 07/07/00..."

(d) "...As a young lawyer Bolton in 1978 Bolton helped Sen. Helms' 
National Congressional Club form Jefferson Marketing "as a 
vehicle to supply candidates with such services as advertising 
and direct mail without having to worry about the federal laws 
preventing PACs, like the Congressional Club, from contributing more 
than $5,000 per election to any one candidate's campaign 
committee" (Legal Times). He later defended the club against charges 
from the FEC that led to a $10,000 fine in 1986. As a reward for his 
service Sen. Helms "helped the career of John Bolton" by 
supporting him for his Department of Justice and State positions 
(Legal Times)..."

(e) "...At the Justice Department, Bolton acted as the Department's 
"no man" refusing to provide congressional committees documents 
on Supreme Court nominees William Renquist, Antonin Scalia and 
Anthony Kennedy. He also refused to provide information, 
including his personal notes regarding the Iran-Contra 
scandal, and aided congressional Republicans who 
attempted to stop investigations of Contra drug smuggling..."

(f) "...After leaving the State Department under the first Bush 
Administration, Bolton headed the National Policy Forum which 
"reportedly pursued money from overseas" for the RNC (Los 
Angeles Times). The NPF defaulted on a $1.3 billion loan guaranteed 
by Hong Kong businessman Ambrous Young, who's lawyer claimed 
his willingness to absorb the debt was "contingent upon Mr. Young 
getting something in return," namely "business opportunities." 
The Taiwanese government 
"served as an intermediary for a $25,000 contribution" to the 
NPF (Washington Post). At his confirmation hearing Bolton 
acknowledged that he had received $30,000 from the 
Taiwanese government for writing a series of papers..."

(g) As Hoover points out, he was one of the key lawyers who 
represented Bush in Bush v. Gore.

As Fortune points out:
"...Kean appears to have a bizarre link to the very 
terror network he's investigating--al Qaeda.
Here's how the dots connect: Kean is a director of petroleum 
giant Amerada Hess, which in 1998 formed a joint venture--known 
as Delta Hess--with Delta Oil, a Saudi Arabian company, 
to develop oil fields in Azerbaijan. One of Delta's backers is 
Khalid bin Mahfouz, a shadowy Saudi patriarch married to 
one of Osama bin Laden's sisters. Mahfouz, who is suspected of 
funding charities linked to al Qaeda, is even named as a 
defendant in a lawsuit filed by families of Sept. 11 victims. 
True, Hess is hardly the only company to cross paths with Mahfouz: 
He has shown up in dealings with, among others, 
ultra-secretive investment firm Carlyle Group and BCCI, 
the lender toppled by fraud in 1992. Kean, who was unavailable for 
comment, may not have been aware of the Mahfouz connection. 
But Hess spokesman Carl Tursi did reveal another 
interesting coincidence: Three weeks before Kean's 
appointment, Hess severed its ties with Delta.

As Wayne Madsen points out, "...Lehman was Navy secretary 
from 1981 to 1987 and presided over 
Ronald Reagan's buildup to a 600-ship Navy. 
But Lehman also presided over one of the worst cover-ups in 
the Navy's entire 227-year history. Long before the Roman Catholic 
Church pedophile scandal, the U.S. Navy experienced one 
of its own. It involved at least one U.S. Naval Academy 
graduate, P-3 Orion naval pilots with access to nuclear 
weapons (the P-3 Orion is an anti-submarine warfare aircraft), 
personnel with top-secret clearances, and officers in leadership 
positions of trust akin to those of clergymen. The Navy's pedophilia 
scandal broke in the quiet and serene Oregon coastal town 
of Coos Bay on Sept. 11, 1982, when the commanding officer 
of the U.S. Naval Facility, a classified submarine tracking 
station, was arrested by local police for involvement in child 
pornography and lascivious acts with minors, including sodomy. 
The arrest followed a 2-month-long investigation involving the 
FBI and the Naval Investigative Service. At a general courts-martial 
held later that year, the commanding officer, a U.S. Naval Academy 
graduate and P-3 Orion pilot having both Critical Nuclear Weapons Design 
Information and top-secret communications security clearances 
was found guilty of 16 counts of sodomy and lewd conduct. 
Immediately after the Coos Bay arrest, Lehman's Navy 
Department bureaucracy went into cover-up mode. Reporters 
from the local NBC television affiliate in Coos Bay were 
barred from both the naval base and the dependents' housing area...."

As The Nation states, while laying out Kissinger's record:
"...Asking Henry Kissinger to investigate government malfeasance 
or nonfeasance is akin to asking Slobodan Milosevic to 
investigate war crimes. Pretty damn akin, since Kissinger has 
been accused, with cause, of engaging in war crimes of 
his own. Moreover, he has been a poster-child for 
the worst excesses of secret government and secret warfare. 
Yet George W. Bush has named him to head a supposedly 
independent commission to investigate the nightmarish attacks 
of September 11, 2001, a commission intended to tell the 
public what went wrong on and before that day. This 
is a sick, black-is-white, war-is-peace joke--a 
cruel insult to the memory of those killed on 9/11..."

As the WP wrote: "...the appointment had also prompted a 
steady stream of objections, including some from relatives 
of victims in the terrorist attacks. They questioned Kissinger's 
reliability and urged him to disclose his client list. Kissinger 
met with 11 members of victims' family groups Thursday, telling 
them that he did not believe he had any conflicts of 
interest and promising to provide the families personally 
with details. But, according to several of the meeting's participants, 
he indicated he did not intend to release the information publicly.
Stephen Push, a leader of Families of Sept. 11th, said yesterday he 
found Kissinger's resignation "very puzzling." "He told us 
that he had no conflicts, yet he's apparently resigning from 
an opportunity to serve his country so his clients can 
remain anonymous," Push said. "It's disturbing that 
we've had two high-profile resignations in a row."

Member of
Federalist Society

(a) Was a key participant in the activities surrounding the 
Ken Starr investigation of Bill Clinton - even representing 
discredited liar and so-called witness David Hale. (See Murray 
Waas (TAP). Lied about his involvement and 
fabricated lies about then-President Clinton. See MyDD (1 and 2)
and Salon (1 and 2) as well.  
See TNR: "..."If any single figure in Washington embodied the 
effort to undermine Clinton it was Ted Olson," write Joe Conason 
and Gene Lyons in their encyclopedic The Hunting of the President. 
"Olson didn't seek publicity…but he had played a part in 
almost every assault on the president." Among the examples 
Conason and Lyons cite are Olson's representation of former 
Arkansas judge David Hale, whose testimony was central to 
Ken Starr's Whitewater inquiry; writing nasty (and pseudonymous) 
articles for The American Spectator comparing Clinton, 
unfavorably, to Richard Nixon and Don Corleone; 
and convening meetings of various Richard Mellon 
Scaife-funded Clinton foes at his law offices 
in Washington--meetings that eventually led to the creation 
of the Spectator's infamous "Arkansas Project."..."
(b) Was a key lawyer for Bush in Bush v. Gore, 2000.
(c) Ultra-right wing conservative.
(d) Responsible, along with Mr. Ashcroft for reinterpreting
second amendment in favor of the NRA.

Negroponte was, "...one of Ronald Reagan's key Central American 
officials during the secret Contra wars that nearly destroyed 
the Reagan presidency. He was Ambassador to Honduras 
at the time and allegedly turned a blind eye to 
Honduran military atrocities....Negroponte’s embassy deliberately 
withheld the details of human rights atrocities from the 
State Department, from the US Congress, in order not 
to provide a political tool to opponents of the Contra war..."
Also see Bear-Left (via PLA)

As the American Prospect says, he is "...an extreme right-wing
 ideologue who, in the service of pushing his agenda, won't hesitate 
to warp reality, using classic psychological warfare tools of 
disinformation and innuendo. Digging into Reich's activities of 
the past 20 years, it's difficult to prove his critics wrong; 
from stints as an Oliver North associate during Iran-Contra 
to lobbying for Bacardi to helping write the dingy 
Helms-Burton Act (which props up a 40-year anti-Cuban 
embargo the rest of the world sees as bizarrely petulant) 
and being a shill for sweatshops, Reich's entire career 
looms as a monument to an almost sublime fusion 
of skillful spinning and right-wing advocacy..." In other words, a
liar extraordinaire who would do anything to justify the ends.

(a) FAS: "...John M. Poindexter -- Indicted March 16, 1988, 
on seven felony charges. After standing trial on five charges, 
Poindexter was found guilty April 7, 1990, on all counts: 
conspiracy (obstruction of inquiries and proceedings, false 
statements, falsification, destruction and removal of 
documents); two counts of obstruction of Congress and 
two counts of false statements. U.S. District Judge 
Harold H. Greene sentenced Poindexter June 11, 1990, 
to six months in prison on each count, to be served 
concurrently. A three-judge appeals panel on November 15, 
1991, reversed the convictions on the ground that 
Poindexter's immunized testimony may have influenced the trial 
testimony of witnesses. The Supreme Court on December 7, 1992, 
declined to review the case. In 1993, the indictment 
was dismissed on the motion of Independent Counsel..."
Note: The convictions were reversed by a 2-1 verdict with
Laurence Silberman and David Sentelle voting for Oliver North
and John Poindexter. Silberman and Sentelle played a critical
role in the cooked-up Whitewater scandal and in the right-wing 
conspiracy to destroy the Clintons (see the 
books by Joe Conason/Gene Lyons or David Brock) - also see 
Consortium News.
Also see Bear-Left (via PLA)

(a) "...Controversial political appointee in the Reagan administration 
who later pleaded guilty to lying to Congress regarding 
the Iran-Contra scandal, has also opposed the Oslo peace 
process and called for Washington to "stand by Israel," 
rather than act as a neutral mediator between Israel 
and the Palestinians...He was indicted by the Iran-Contra special 
prosecutor for giving false testimony about his role 
in illicitly raising money for the Contras but pleaded 
guilty to two lesser offenses of withholding information 
to Congress in order to avoid a trial and a possible 
jail term. He was pardoned by President George 
H.W. Bush along with a number of other 
Iran-Contra defendants in 1992."
(b) "...frequently and angrily with mainstream church groups 
and human rights organisations, including Human Rights 
Watch and Amnesty International, who often accused him 
of covering up horrendous abuses committed by U.S.-backed 
governments, such as El Salvador and Guatemala, and 
rebel forces, such as the Contras and Angola's Unita, 
while, at the same time, exaggerating abuses by U.S. foes..."
(c) "...His credibility for truth-telling was so low 
that at one point he was required to take an oath 
before testifying before congressional committees. 
Most analysts here believe that he was given 
an NSC post by the new Bush administration because 
any other position would have required Senate confirmation...
(our emphasis)"
(d) His law license was suspended
See Alternet, Tom Paine, Bear-Left and DC Bar (via PLA)

Member of
Federalist Society

2/8/03: Do we even have to say anything?! Well if we must, 
then read this and this (slavery support = "states rights"), 
here (civil rights), here (REAL states' rights), here (women's rights) 
etc.

One controversy after another - see Village Voice, 
Washington Post (1, 2), USA Today, The Nation:

(a) Held Enron stock after promising to dump them to 
avoid conflicts of interest, 

(b) Spoke to Enron buddies before Enron's public 
implosion and sold a ton of stock before implosion, 

(c) While Vice-Chairman of Enron Energy Services, his 
division engaged in several illegal practices that are the 
subject of investigations, 

(d) Used military jet for personal use, 

(e) At Enron he lobbied the army for energy deals and 
once in the army he was pushing to get deals for 
private energy companies

1/27/03: While we have generally had a "nice guy" impression  
of Tom Ridge so far, we came across this article (through Atrios) 
in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that states that Tom Ridge, 
when he was Governor  of Pennsylvania, grossly 
(and repeatedly) exaggerated the sales and 
job benefits to PA from his foreign trade missions.

Quoting Molly Ivins:

(a) "...According to The Wall Street Journal, Williams won 
a case that could jeopardize the government's attempts 
to crack down on corporate tax havens. The decision allows 
two companies to post the same loss when one sells a 
money-losing unit to the other. Sure, that's fair, just the way you 
get to double your deductions, right? If the decision 
stands, it is expected to cost the IRS $10 billion in annual revenue..."

(b) "...In another case, also reported in the Journal, 
B. John Williams (beware the man who parts his initials 
on the wrong side) tried to justify disputed tax credits 
taken by his client, Shell Oil Co. He did so by hiring a 
private investigator, who provided false information to destroy 
the credibility of the government's expert witnesses. One 
witness later sued for defamation, a case that was 
settled out of court, the settlement paid for by Shell..." 
Also see CFO.com: "...Court files obtained by the Journal 
provide extensive details of the case, says 
the paper, and suggest Williams was an active participant 
in the effort to discredit the IRS witnesses in Shell's case....
Connaughton eventually filed his defamation suit 
in 1996, naming Williams as one of the defendants..."