Lately, there is a lot of buzz swarming the air, both radio and television, about czar this and czar that. This is not a history lesson about the word czar. It is a list of those who have been appointed to positions that hold Obama's czar title. Who they are, and what qualifies them to hold the position or not.
Please keep in mind that the majority of the information provided here is from their bios on Wikipedia. It is not an in depth analysis of each czar, but just a few interesting facts.
Determine for yourself if these are who you want making decisions in the area they are responsible for.
Aneesh Chopra - Technology Czar
Secretary of Treasury for Virginia
Majority of his career has been spent in the health care industry.
Gil Kerlikowski - Drug Czar
B.A. and M.A. in Criminal Justice
Had a long career held in law enforcement.
TBD - Copyright Czar
Carol Browner - Energy Czar
Administrator of the EPA during the Clinton Administration.
Member of Socialist International
Has a long career tied to environmental issues.
Is married to Thomas Joseph Downey, which is head of a lobbying firm that is heavily involved in energy policy.
Ed Montgomery - Car Czar
Dean of University of Maryland
Served as Chief Economist of US Department of Labor, then as Deputy Secretary of Labor.
Gary Samore - Terrorism/WMD Czar
Served as Senior Director of National Security Council.
Was a veteran arms control negotiator for the Clinton Administraion.
Nancy Ann DeParle - Health Care Czar
Director of the Health Care Financing Administration under the Clinton Administration.
She then served on corporate boards where she was paid more than $6 million by companies that faced federal investigations that had a stake in health care reform.
TBD - Education Czar
Paul Volcker - Economic Czar
Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 - 1987.
Has a history of being chairman of numerous investment banking firms.
TBD - Mortgage Czar
Adolfo Carrion - Urban Affairs/Housing Czar
Holds a full career of city-level work.
Daniel Fried - Guantanomo Closure Czar
Career laden in foreign affairs/policy.
Cameron Davis - Great Lakes Czar
Leader of a Chicago-based environmentalist group, Alliance for the Great Lakes, that was appointed by head of the EPA, Lisa Jackson.
Earl Devaney - Stimulus Accountability Czar
Started his career in law enforcement, that led him to become Secret Service Special Agent-in-Charge of Fraud Division.
Melissa Hathaway - Cyberspace Czar
Spent the majority of her career in cyber security.
Alan Bersin - Border Czar
Served as Attorney General's Southwest border representative from 1995 - 1998.
Was appointed to Superintendent of Public Education in San Diego City Schools in 1998.
In 2005, was appointed as California's Education Secretary.
Admiral Dennis Blair - Intelligence Czar
Highly decorated Naval Admiral.
Cass Sunstein - Regulatory Czar
A legal scholar specializing in constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, and behavioral economics.
Has written many books, some of which are looked at as controversial.
Kenneth Fiendberg - Pay Czar
Specializes in mediation and alternative dispute resolution.
Dennis Ross - Iran Czar & Mideast Policy Czar
Was a Middle East envoy under the Clinton Administraion.
Has a long history of foreign policy experience.
Herb Allison - TARP Czar
Served as President and CEO of Fannie Mae.
Was an associate in the investment banking division of Merrill Lynch before becoming a director of the New York Stock Exchange.
George Mitchell - Middle East Peace Czar
As Senate Majority Leader from 1989 - 1995, he helped reauthorize the Clean Air Act, North American Free Trade Agreement, and help form the World Trade Organization.
He has lobbied on behalf of Big Tobacco companies, and led the investigation on steriod use in baseball.
John Holdren - Science Czar
Holds a PhD in Plasma Physics.
He has written numerous papers and articls,and lectured extensively on climate change.
Van Jones - Green Jobs Czar
President and founder of GreenForAll.
Was a founder and leader of Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement(STORM).
He is a self-proclaimed communist and activist.
Richard Holbrooke - Afghanistan Czar
He has a full career of foreign policy work.
He also was considered a candidate for Secretary of State by both Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton.
J. Scott Gration - Sudan Czar
Has a long, highly decorated career in the Air Force.
Vivek Kundra - Information Czar
She is recognized for working in developing programs to spur open source applications, as well as cloud-based web applications.
Jeffrey Crowley - AIDS Czar
According to the White House, his primary area of expertise is in Medicaid/Medicare policy including Medicaid prescription drug policy.
Joshua DuBois - Faith-Based Czar
He is a political activist turned minister.
He has worked in the office of Representative Charles Rangle, and worked as a Senate aide to then Senator Barack Obama.
Todd Stern - Climate Czar
He acted as the senior White House negotiator at the Kyoto Protocol, which aims at controling greenhouse gases.
Well, there you have it. Who they are, and what qualifications they have, or don't have, to handle their appointed positions.
If you ask, many people would be alarmed as to how UNqualified the majority of these appointees are, let alone why we need some of them anyways. However, when you really think about it. This could be the sort of job creation President Obama has promised.
What's more scary is that he may not be done creating Czar positions.
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Please keep in mind that the majority of the information provided here is from their bios on Wikipedia. It is not an in depth analysis of each czar, but just a few interesting facts.
Determine for yourself if these are who you want making decisions in the area they are responsible for.
Aneesh Chopra - Technology Czar
Secretary of Treasury for Virginia
Majority of his career has been spent in the health care industry.
Gil Kerlikowski - Drug Czar
B.A. and M.A. in Criminal Justice
Had a long career held in law enforcement.
TBD - Copyright Czar
Carol Browner - Energy Czar
Administrator of the EPA during the Clinton Administration.
Member of Socialist International
Has a long career tied to environmental issues.
Is married to Thomas Joseph Downey, which is head of a lobbying firm that is heavily involved in energy policy.
Ed Montgomery - Car Czar
Dean of University of Maryland
Served as Chief Economist of US Department of Labor, then as Deputy Secretary of Labor.
Gary Samore - Terrorism/WMD Czar
Served as Senior Director of National Security Council.
Was a veteran arms control negotiator for the Clinton Administraion.
Nancy Ann DeParle - Health Care Czar
Director of the Health Care Financing Administration under the Clinton Administration.
She then served on corporate boards where she was paid more than $6 million by companies that faced federal investigations that had a stake in health care reform.
TBD - Education Czar
Paul Volcker - Economic Czar
Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 - 1987.
Has a history of being chairman of numerous investment banking firms.
TBD - Mortgage Czar
Adolfo Carrion - Urban Affairs/Housing Czar
Holds a full career of city-level work.
Daniel Fried - Guantanomo Closure Czar
Career laden in foreign affairs/policy.
Cameron Davis - Great Lakes Czar
Leader of a Chicago-based environmentalist group, Alliance for the Great Lakes, that was appointed by head of the EPA, Lisa Jackson.
Earl Devaney - Stimulus Accountability Czar
Started his career in law enforcement, that led him to become Secret Service Special Agent-in-Charge of Fraud Division.
Melissa Hathaway - Cyberspace Czar
Spent the majority of her career in cyber security.
Alan Bersin - Border Czar
Served as Attorney General's Southwest border representative from 1995 - 1998.
Was appointed to Superintendent of Public Education in San Diego City Schools in 1998.
In 2005, was appointed as California's Education Secretary.
Admiral Dennis Blair - Intelligence Czar
Highly decorated Naval Admiral.
Cass Sunstein - Regulatory Czar
A legal scholar specializing in constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, and behavioral economics.
Has written many books, some of which are looked at as controversial.
Kenneth Fiendberg - Pay Czar
Specializes in mediation and alternative dispute resolution.
Dennis Ross - Iran Czar & Mideast Policy Czar
Was a Middle East envoy under the Clinton Administraion.
Has a long history of foreign policy experience.
Herb Allison - TARP Czar
Served as President and CEO of Fannie Mae.
Was an associate in the investment banking division of Merrill Lynch before becoming a director of the New York Stock Exchange.
George Mitchell - Middle East Peace Czar
As Senate Majority Leader from 1989 - 1995, he helped reauthorize the Clean Air Act, North American Free Trade Agreement, and help form the World Trade Organization.
He has lobbied on behalf of Big Tobacco companies, and led the investigation on steriod use in baseball.
John Holdren - Science Czar
Holds a PhD in Plasma Physics.
He has written numerous papers and articls,and lectured extensively on climate change.
Van Jones - Green Jobs Czar
President and founder of GreenForAll.
Was a founder and leader of Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement(STORM).
He is a self-proclaimed communist and activist.
Richard Holbrooke - Afghanistan Czar
He has a full career of foreign policy work.
He also was considered a candidate for Secretary of State by both Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton.
J. Scott Gration - Sudan Czar
Has a long, highly decorated career in the Air Force.
Vivek Kundra - Information Czar
She is recognized for working in developing programs to spur open source applications, as well as cloud-based web applications.
Jeffrey Crowley - AIDS Czar
According to the White House, his primary area of expertise is in Medicaid/Medicare policy including Medicaid prescription drug policy.
Joshua DuBois - Faith-Based Czar
He is a political activist turned minister.
He has worked in the office of Representative Charles Rangle, and worked as a Senate aide to then Senator Barack Obama.
Todd Stern - Climate Czar
He acted as the senior White House negotiator at the Kyoto Protocol, which aims at controling greenhouse gases.
Well, there you have it. Who they are, and what qualifications they have, or don't have, to handle their appointed positions.
If you ask, many people would be alarmed as to how UNqualified the majority of these appointees are, let alone why we need some of them anyways. However, when you really think about it. This could be the sort of job creation President Obama has promised.
What's more scary is that he may not be done creating Czar positions.
