Think Progress

Under the Radar

ADMINISTRATION: BUSH'S NEW USAID NOMINEE: HISPANICS ARE 'LAZY': President Bush plans to nominate Henrietta Holsman Fore to head the U.S. Agency for International Development "to replace Randall Tobias who resigned after his name was linked to an escort service." Fore is currently the State Department undersecretary for management. When Bush nominated her for this position in 2005, The Progress Report noted that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) grilled Fore over previous comments in which she suggested blacks prefer pushing drugs on the street to working in factory jobs. Fore's remarks came from a speech she gave at Wellesley University in 1987. In a Feb. 12, 1987, article, the New York Times wrote, "But in a letter to the college newspaper, Ms. Holsman reiterated her statement that she had trouble keeping black assembly-line workers from going 'back to the street to earn more money' selling drugs. In her lecture, Ms. Holsman also said she had found Hispanic workers to be lazy, white workers resentful of having to work with machines, and Asians, while very productive, likely to move on to professional or management jobs." In a July 13, 2005 letter, Fore promised Obama that she "would work with the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in identifying the best practices that can be used to strengthen diversity in the State Department" [AP, 7/19/05]. But as Raw Story reports, CBC members confirm that the committee has not had any contact with Fore in the past two years. Although Fore met with Latino legislators on two occasions, the content of the meetings was not disclosed. Additionally, the "State Department's own accountability reports show little change in the make up of the workforce since Fore took over in 2005."

IRAQ -- 0.1 PERCENT OF COMMERCE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO BUSH'S PLEA TO MOVE TO IRAQ: In a January address announcing his escalation plan, President Bush unveiled a broad new plan to recruit U.S. government officials to move to Iraq to aid in reconstruction efforts. "We will double the number of provincial reconstruction teams. These teams bring together military and civilian experts to help local Iraqi communities pursue reconciliation, strengthen the moderates, and speed the transition to Iraqi self-reliance," Bush said. In an effort to carry out Bush's call, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez sent an e-mail to employees last week. "I am asking all Commerce employees to consider supporting this important effort. The Department of State is seeking highly motivated, action-oriented, resilient people with a strong desire to assist in the Iraqi rebuilding effort. Volunteers must demonstrate willingness and ability to work in a difficult foreign environment under challenging circumstances with access to few amenities," he wrote. Gutierrez received a dismal response. Of the 39,000 Commerce employees who received the e-mail five days ago, just 40 people responded, and the department refused to note how many of those were "yes" answers. Such a response has been typical. The Washington Post noted in February that the administration's recruitment efforts have been met with "outright refusal to fill certain vital posts" by several other departments. For example, so many State Department employees refused Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's call to serve in Iraq that she was forced to request an already overstretched U.S. military to fill their positions. As the New York Times notes, "The reluctance highlights a problem with the administration's new strategy for Iraq...when the lack of security on the ground [in Iraq] makes it one of the last places people, particularly those with families, want to go." See Gutierrez's e-mail to the Commerce Department HERE.

CIVIL LIBERTIES -- ARMY SENDS THREATENING E-MAIL TO CRITIC OF BLOG POLICY: On May 2, Steven Aftergood told Wired News that new Army regulations requiring soldiers to "clear content" in personal blogs and e-mails with a superior officer were "outrageous." Aftergood, an expert on government secrecy for the Federation of American Scientists, then posted a copy of the new regulations document on his website, Secrecy News. Two days later, he received an e-mail from Cheryl Clark of the U.S. Army Publications Directorate telling him, "You have Army Publications hosted on your website illegally, there are only 5 Official Army Publications Sites. You are not one of them, you can link to our publications, but you cannot host them. ... Please remove this publication immediately or further action will be taken." Aftergood responded with his own e-mail, informing the Army that he would not comply with their request. "You indicate that we have posted Army documents 'illegally.' That is not true. The posted documents are 'works of the United States Government under 17 U.S.C 101. Such items cannot be copyrighted, as explained in 17 U.S.C. 105," wrote Aftergood. "Nor to my knowledge is there any other law that would prohibit posting of such documents on a public or private web site." Aftergood did agree to add a disclaimer to his website's Army doctrine web page indicating that the collection of Army records is not an official Army source. Wired News, which also offers the Army document on its web site, told ABC News on Tuesday that the Army had not asked them to remove it. "I don't know if it's a clumsy attempt at intimidation, but it's not persuasive," Aftergood told ABC News of the e-mail.

Think Fast

Tony Blair, a man "whose decade of achievements have faded into the shadows of the Iraq war," said Thursday that he will step down as British prime minister on June 27. As the war "turned from a military cakewalk to the nightmarish years-long aftermath, Blair's popularity ratings dived; they stand at just 28 percent today," the same level as President Bush.

"The Pentagon has placed unprecedented restrictions on who can testify before Congress, reserving the right to bar lower-ranking officers, enlisted soldiers, and career bureaucrats from appearing before oversight committees or having their remarks transcribed."

59 percent: The proportion of black respondents who described their lives as "disrupted" more than a year after Hurricane Katrina, "double that of whites who said the same (29 percent)."

Congress plans to "introduce a bill this morning that would increase by at least 20,000 the number of Iraqi refugees eligible for resettlement in the United States in 2007 and 2008. It would also admit 15,000 'special immigrant status' Iraqis and their families for each of the next four years." 

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz was given until Friday evening -- two additional days -- to make his case in writing against charges of misconduct before the Bank board decides his future. In the meantime, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been lobbying European foreign ministers, expressing her support for Wolfowitz.

A report released by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) yesterday revealed that four Education Department officials "who helped oversee a federal reading program for young students have pocketed significant sums of money from textbook publishers that profited from the $1 billion-a-year initiative."

The House Armed Services Committee is considering a measure would cut $160 million from funds for President Bush's missile defense program. A statistical analysis conducted by the Center for American Progress bolsters the case for funding cuts, finding the threat from ballistic missiles has steadily declined over the past 20 years.

And finally: Yesterday, President Bush toured tornado-ravaged Greensburg, KS. The AP reports that in the midst of the solemnity, Bush was able to joke around. "He briefly grabbed a chain saw, ripping it into action for the cameras and other media that accompanied him. 'How are you all?' Bush asked as he moved among residents. 'Stylish looking hat,' he joked to a man in a green fedora."