After Bush entered office in January 2001, Brown joined FEMA as General Counsel. He was the first person hired by his long-time friend, then-FEMA director Joe Allbaugh^[16], who also ran Bush's election campaign in 2000. Allbaugh later named Brown his acting deputy director in September 2001. President Bush formally nominated him as deputy director on March 22, 2002, and the Senate confirmed him many months later. Soon after, when Allbaugh left government, President Bush nominated Brown again in January 2003 for the directorship^[17]. Brown was sworn in to his position on April 15, 2003.

All of this time about where FEMA should be, whether it should or shouldn't be part of the Department of Homeland Security or an independent agency. Well, I just finished reading the confirmation hearings for Mike Brown's appointment to be Deputy Director of FEMA (his previous title). 42 minutes of shame (led by Senator Lieberman as he chaired the Committee on Governmental Affairs when the Democrats were in charge in 2002).

This hearing, in June 2002, was just before the official enactment of the Department of Homeland Security. So everyone knew that FEMA was likely to be subsumed, but it wasn't law yet. In the statute that eventually created the Department of Homeland Security, Section 803, Subsection (d)(2), Congress allowed for previously Senate-confirmed officers "appointed to fill new offices in the Department whose duties are germane to their original offices may be appointed without undergoing an additional confirmation proceeding."

It appears, then, that Mike Brown suffered 42 breathtaking minutes of serious nothingness (unless Lieberman's withering questioning regarding whether Brown would sufficiently keep the Senate informed --- duh,yes) to become Deputy Director of FEMA. When FEMA was, just a few months later, subsumed into DHS, Brown didn't need to be Senate confirmed as his new position -- technically as Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response -- was "germane" to his old position. Guess that's true. But it means that the four Senators who showed up to confirm a deputy director were, in fact, confirming the head of America's entire emergency management apparatus.

LIEBERMAN BRAGGED ABOUT HIS OWN FEMA RUBBER STAMPING AFTER KATRINA: Lieberman did not just grease the wheels for FEMA’s collapse during Hurricane Katrina by ushering through Brown’s nomination. After Katrina, he actually bragged that he considered his own refusal to perform oversight was standard operating procedure. In an interview with National Public Radio on 9/14/05, Lieberman admitted his reflexive rubber-stamp tendencies, saying: “Our committee conducted a hearing on the nomination of Michael Brown to be deputy director of FEMA. And in the normal course honestly for deputy positions, you normally say, ‘Well, the president, if this person passes all the normal checks, has the right to choose who he wants so long as the person is in an acceptable range.’” [Source: National Public Radio, 9/14/05]

Withdraw Myers

Just three days after Michael Brown resigned as head of Federal Emergency Management Administration because of the botched response to Hurricane Katrina, the Senate held a hearing for another unqualified nominee for a vital position in the Department of Homeland Security. The president’s supporters can look forward to serving in his administration, but certain key jobs ought to be reserved for candidates whose personal connections don’t outweigh their professional qualifications.

Julie L. Myers has been nominated by the White House to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a vast bureau with more than 20,000 employees and a budget of $4 billion. As head of ICE, Myers would be in charge of detaining and removing illegal aliens; investigating alien smuggling, illegal arms exports, and money laundering; fining the employers of illegal aliens (well, actually they don’t bother with that any more); plus many, many other responsibilities. She would be the officer chiefly responsible for protecting the nation against terrorist threats once they have succeeded in infiltrating our borders, which are guarded by a different bureaucracy. Her most relevant previous experience was managing only 170 employees and a $25 million budget while at the Commerce department.

Given the importance of the position and a history of mismanagement in the immigration service, Congress took the unusual step of inserting a statutory requirement that nominees have a minimum of five years of experience in both management and law enforcement. Even a cursory reading of her resume reveals that the well-connected 36-year-old attorney’s background fails to comply with this legal requirement; in fact, she meets the bare minimum only by counting her current stint in White House Personnel, where she manages, by her own account, “up to three deputies as well as support staff and interns.”

[...]

The response of House Republicans to any talk of new immigration programs has been “Enforcement First.” Replacing Myers with a more suitable candidate would signal that the White House takes these concerns seriously. Obstinately sticking to the nomination would send the opposite message.

Julie Myers is 36 years old, a lawyer and a political appointee to the Bush administration with limited executive experience.

Yet, she is slated to become head of one of the nation's most critical security-related agencies, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The Myers appointment, in the wake of FEMA's disastrous handling of the Katrina Hurricane and the resignation of its chief, Michael Brown, is raising the hackles of people on both sides of the political aisle.

[...]

At a Senate hearing last week, rumblings over Myers were apparent, according to the Washington Post, with Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, at one point baldly concluding that Myers' résumé indicated that she is "not qualified for the position."

Voinovich further announced at the time that he wanted to meet with Chertoff to discuss Myers' qualifications. "I'd really like to have him spend some time with us, telling us personally why he thinks you're qualified for the job..."

Oh, give me a ^*&%$# break and a half! This nomination is a monumental political and policy blunder in the wake of the Michael Brown/FEMA fiasco. And I can tell you that contrary to the Miss Mary Sunshine White House spokeswoman's comments, rank-and-file DHS employees and immigration enforcement officials are absolutely livid about Myers' nomination.

[...]

Everything was supposed to change after 9/11. No more business as usual, blah blah blah. But when it comes to immigration enforcement and border security, Bush keeps installing clueless cronies.

[...]

Why the president wants Myers to head ICE at this critical moment in time--and why his supposedly brilliant strategists don't see the stupidity of Myers' nomination--defies comprehension.

The Bush administration is seeking to appoint a lawyer with little immigration or customs experience to head the troubled law enforcement agency that handles those issues, prompting sharp criticism from some employee groups, immigration advocates and homeland security experts.

The push to appoint Julie Myers to head the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, comes in the midst of intense debate over the qualifications of department political appointees involved in the sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina.

[...]

ICE was created from remnants of the former immigration and customs services. It is widely viewed as one of the most troubled parts of the sprawling Department of Homeland Security.

Homeland Security political appointees have come under scrutiny since Michael D. Brown resigned under fire this month as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which he joined with no experience in disaster preparedness. Several other senior FEMA officials were Bush supporters who did not have crisis-management credentials.

Unlike most political appointments, the head of ICE is required by statute to have at least five years of experience in both law enforcement and management.

Many immigration advocates, ICE employee representatives and homeland security experts said they were troubled by the nomination of Myers to take over an agency with so many problems.

The appalling spectacle of hundreds of undocumented workers from New Bedford being herded into planes and flown off to Texas while state and local officials were still scrambling to see whether their kids had anyone to take care of them continues today, with DSS workers following them down to Texas to try to figure out whether their kids are OK. Governor Patrick is exactly right on this.

Two young children were hospitalized yesterday for dehydration after their nursing mothers were taken away, state officials said. Another 7-year-old girl called a state hot line seeking her detained mother. It was unclear last night where their mothers were.

"What we have never understood about this process is why it turned into a race to the airport," Patrick said. "We understand about the importance of processing; we get that. But there are families affected. There are children affected."

The Governor's sharp and totally justified comments sparked this lie from Washington:

Immigration agents "worked closely with DSS both before the operation commenced and at every stage of the operation, to be sure that no child would be without a sole caregiver," Julie L. Myers, the assistant secretary of homeland security, wrote in a letter to Patrick.

Julie Myers ... Julie Myers ... gosh, that name sounds so familiar ...

Oh yeah! Julie Myers, the hack, the well-connected crony with no relevant background who was put in her job via a recess appointment, thereby bypassing Senate confirmation that would have created a nightmarish battle for the Bush administration (because Republican as well as Democratic Senators were going on record with their concerns). Julie Myers, whose appointment to the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement was so obviously inappropriate that it sparked outrage from both left and right.

Here, for the record, is what appears to have gotten her the job (from a September 2005 article):

Myers also was an associate under independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr for about 16 months and has most recently served as a special assistant to President Bush handling personnel issues.

Her uncle is Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, the departing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She married Chertoff's current chief of staff, John F. Wood, on Saturday.

Coincidence, no doubt. Here's a sampling of what the right had to say about her nomination. Malkin:

My fellow conservatives in Washington refuse to learn two vital homeland security lessons, one from 9/11 and the other from Hurricane Katrina.

Lesson Number One: If you neglect immigration enforcement, you will regret it.

Lesson Number Two: If you appoint political cronies in times of crisis, you will regret it.

The Bush administration has barely rebounded from the resignation of horse show organizer Michael "Heck of a job" Brown at FEMA, and yet is pushing forward with the nomination of another inexperienced bureaucrat to a key post at the Department of Homeland Security.

If this is supposed to be a shining example of Karl Rove's political genius, get him some stupid pills quick.

The new crony waiting in the wings is attorney Julie Myers, the White House pick to head the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).

And again,

Oh, give me a ^*&%$# break and a half! This nomination is a monumental political and policy blunder in the wake of the Michael Brown/FEMA fiasco. And I can tell you that contrary to the Miss Mary Sunshine White House spokeswoman's comments, rank-and-file DHS employees and immigration enforcement officials are absolutely livid about Myers' nomination.

National Review:

Withdraw Myers ...

The response of House Republicans to any talk of new immigration programs has been "Enforcement First." Replacing Myers with a more suitable candidate would signal that the White House takes these concerns seriously. Obstinately sticking to the nomination would send the opposite message.

Red State:

I emphatically support the right of the president, any president, to appoint just about anyone he wants to any appointive office.... There comes a time, however, when the ability and the right to appoint persons to an office trends perilously close to abuse of that ability and right.

Julie Myers is a case in point.

And, from the left,

The Bush Administration continues its policy of handing out top Administration jobs based on cronyism. Did it not learn from Michael Brown? Apparently, not.

The latest: A 36 year old Administration lawyer named Julie Myers, who has no immigration experience, has been nominated to head up ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security....

Even the ICE agents' union is unhappy:

It appears she's got a tremendous amount of experience in money laundering, in banking and the financial areas," said Charles Showalter, president of the National Homeland Security Council, a union that represents 7,800 ICE agents, officers and support staff. "My question is: Who the hell is going to enforce the immigration laws?"

And what we're seeing right here, in New Bedford, is the result.

Hackery isn't just wasteful. It actually hurts people. It's actually hurting people right now.

As for the budget, presentations sound great but as with anything, the proof is in th details. Democratic minority leader Tom Saadi was quick to touch on this point last night.

Democratic caucus leader Tom Saadi said he and fellow Democrats will evaluate the budget in detail over the next month, but he fears the final numbers will change if the Gov. M. Jodi Rell's proposed budget is not passed.

"This budget relies on the governor's funds. While that reliance may be 80 or 90 percent right, we are going to have to make up the difference," Saadi said.

The Senate Democrats called for a wholesale rewriting of Gov. M. Jodi Rell's $17.5 billion budget proposal Wednesday, saying they oppose virtually all of her tax proposals and significant parts of her spending plan.

Following their first detailed caucus since Rell announced her proposal last month, the Democrats emerged Wednesday afternoon to say that closer scrutiny of the governor's budget has revealed a series of flaws.

"It turns out that there's a lot less than what meets the eye," said Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, the highest-ranking senator. "This is going to be a very difficult budget year. ... This budget has a lot of flaws that did not reveal themselves immediately."

Standing next to Williams at a press conference at the state Capitol, the co-chairwoman of the legislature's tax-writing committee, Sen. Eileen Daily, D-Westbrook, said Rell's tax plans are "a real gut-punch to the middle class and to the poor."

The Democrats "just couldn't sanction" Rell's 10 percent, across-the-board increase in the state income tax, the repeal of the estate tax, and the phase-out of the popular $500 property tax credit, Daily said. She also cited opposition to the elimination of the personal property tax on cars, and using annual revenues from the casinos to help pay for the car-tax elimination.

CONNECTICUT PROBATION OFFICE MUST ABANDON UNLAWFUL COLLABORATION WITH IMMIGRATION AGENCY, ACLU DEMANDS

Immigrant round-up by Adult Probation Office violates state and federal law.

HARTFORD, CT – The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and the Worker & Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic of Yale Law School today demanded that William Carbone, Executive Director of the Court Support Services Division (CSSD) of the Judicial Branch of Connecticut, order probation officers to cease and desist from interrogating probationers about their immigration status and facilitating the arrests of non-citizens for civil immigration violations by the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The ACLU discovered through a Freedom of Information Act request that the CSSD, which supervises Connecticut’s Adult Probation Offices, has a policy of collaboration with ICE. According to CSSD’s Policy 4.2 – first adopted in May 2003 – probation officers should report any non-citizen or lawful permanent resident probationer to ICE. Probation officers are told to assist ICE in “identifying, locating and facilitating the arrest of” immigrant probationers.

The letter to Mr. Carbone states that the policy violates several Connecticut laws that created the probation system and seek to protect the privacy rights of state residents, and also abridges rights and liberties guaranteed by the state and federal constitutions. The ACLU also emphasizes that this policy is contrary to the spirit and purpose of the probation system, which is intended to rehabilitate, not punish, offenders.

“This is counter-productive,” Renee Redman, Legal Director of the ACLU of Connecticut said. “The fear of being arrested causes many immigrants to refuse to comply with their conditions of probation. We’re not talking about terrorist suspects,” she added. “These are hard-working immigrants who are sentenced to probation - not prison. Their reward for serving their probation is to be taken into ICE custody and imprisoned out of state. This policy is bad for the probation system and bad for the state of Connecticut.”

Criminal defense attorneys fear that this policy will have a negative effect on the state’s criminal justice system. “The Department of Adult Probation, and the state Judicial Department itself, are supposed to be independent from ICE. This policy makes it less likely that non-citizens will accept plea bargains involving probation, thereby increasing the load on the state court system, or, that probationers will simply stop reporting to their probation officers,” said Jon Schoenhorn, President of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.

The ACLU’s demand comes after several immigrants have found ICE waiting to arrest them when, conscientiously abiding by the conditions of their probation, they appeared for meetings with their probation officers. The immigrants were sentenced to probation as a result of DWI charges, an offense for which an immigrant cannot be deported. ICE has accused the immigrants of being unlawfully present in the United States.

Several of the arrests took place in Danbury, where City officials have recently come under fire for instigating a crack-down on immigrant communities. Danbury’s campaign to increase enforcement of federal immigration laws during the past several months has resulted in the arrests of many Danbury residents, who have been charged with immigration violations. Most of the immigrants are imprisoned in other states, far from their families and lawyers.

“These arrests have created fear in the Danbury community. One of the men arrested at probation has a wife and an 8 month old child here. Each arrest by ICE leaves children fatherless and motherless, affecting the youth that are the future of this country,” said Leonel Villavicencio, President of the Danbury Area Coalition for the Rights of Immigrants.

The ACLU is joined by the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic of Yale Law School in its demand that CSSD cease this unlawful and unconscionable practice.

• The lights were turned off in the room so the audience could see the Power Point presentation.

• The reason you're able to see the mayor speak is because my video camera is equipped with a low-light enhancement setting.

• Watch Danbury Live on Saturday and you'll see the difference between my footage of the address and what was captured for the show.

Democratic caucus leader Tom Saadi said he and fellow Democrats will evaluate the budget in detail over the next month, but he fears the final numbers will change if the Gov. M. Jodi Rell's proposed budget is not passed.

"This budget relies on the governor's funds. While that reliance may be 80 or 90 percent right, we are going to have to make up the difference," Saadi said.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7TH

5:30 PM - Ad Hoc Committee: Grenier Airport Property Acquisition Caucus Room: 3rd Floor.
Council members: Ted Cutsumpas (R-At Large), Greg Seabury (R-At Large), Fred Visconti (D-5th Ward)

6:30 PM - Ad Hoc Committee: Keep Danbury Beautiful Campaign Caucus Room: 3rd Floor
Council members: Colleen Stanley (R-At Large), Pauline Basso (R-At Large), Fred Visconti (D-5th Ward)


THURSDAY, MARCH 8TH
6:00 PM - Ad Hoc Committee: Add Charles Ives Authority to Government Entities Caucus Room: 3rd Floor.
Council members: Ted Cutsumpas (R-At Large), Jane Diggs (7th Ward), Paul Rotello (D-6th Ward)

6:30 PM - Ad Hoc Committee: First Night Danbury Caucus Room: 3rd Floor.
Council members: Jane Diggs (7th Ward), Ted Cutsumpas (R-At Large), Paul Rotello (D-6th Ward)
7:00 PM - Ad Hoc Committee: Certification of Funds for Dream Homes Caucus Room: 3rd Floor.
Council memebrs: (Mary Saracino (R-At Large), Mary Teicholz (R-7th Ward), Duane Perkins (D-5th Ward)
7:30 PM - Ad Hoc Committee: Westwood Village - Reduction in Water Rates Caucus Room: 3rd Floor.
Council members: Ted Cutsumpas (R-At Large], James Johnson (R-2nd Ward), Duane Perkins (D-5th Ward)

"I do want to commend the Danbury High students and Tim for leading this project which I found startlingly moving and remarkable and concentrated–a plea for help for the people of Darfur who urgently need it."

"Just because you’re a kid, doesn’t mean you’re helpless as you can see from this video." "There are too few of us now. Get together and build the numbers. Together, let us make a difference and show our leadership that America, the United States, can take the moral high ground. Tell our legislators, our congressmen, our senators we care about the people of Darfur and we want them to take action."