The Four Most Overpaid White House Staffers
By on Jul 11th, 2006 at 4:52 pm
The Four Most Overpaid White House Staffers
Today the National Journal published a list of salaries for the 403 White House staffers. Here are the four most overpaid:
| Deborah Nirmala Misir | Ethics Advisor | $114,688 |
| Erica M. Dornburg | Ethics Advisor | $100,547 |
| Stuart Baker | Director for Lessons Learned | $106,641 |
| Melissa M. Carson | Director of Fact Checking | $46,500 |
And yes, there is a White House Director for Lessons Learned. We aren’t making this up.
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LOL none of these positions look useful to the current admin. since when have they been interested in facts, lessons learned, or ethics? way too many jokes here.
July 11th, 2006 at 4:54 pmEthics Advisors? In this Congress? Are they all related to DeLay or something?
July 11th, 2006 at 4:55 pmthey need a director of useful idiots and useless eaters.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:00 pmHoly crap … ROFLMAO!
Anyone know how long “Director of Lessons Learned” has been around?
July 11th, 2006 at 5:00 pmCan you please update this with some background and responsiblities of the “DLL”??
July 11th, 2006 at 5:01 pmHa!
A WH ethics advisor! Are they deaf, blind, or both?
July 11th, 2006 at 5:02 pmis this an april fool’s joke? they do not have two ethics advisors…no, that isn’t possible.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:02 pmCan we get a refund?
July 11th, 2006 at 5:03 pmIn defence of these people: It is not their fault if they did their job, and nobody listened. Further, shouldn’t the director of fact checking be a higher paid job? I mean, it is an important research function if the President is going to… oh, sorry. Decider no likey facts.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:07 pmWell, we know she isn’t doing her job at all.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:07 pmWH staff meeting:
Let’s move on to Ethics. What do you have?
Nothing.
That’s 876 days in a row!
Correct sir.
Great. Lessons learned?
Still nothing sir. If we ever learn a lesson I’ll let you know. Yesterday I thought we learned one but turned out to be another false alarm.
Facts?
No facts to check sir. I keep checking my inbox. Is my email working?
Well, we just don’t use a lot of facts around here that need checking. OK, before we get to the Director of Making Shit Up, let’s take a break. YOu know how he goes on and on….
July 11th, 2006 at 5:10 pmDeborah Nirmala Misir
July 11th, 2006 at 5:10 pmErica M. Dornburg
Stuart Baker
Melissa M. Carson – -
People not bigger than the job they have to do and grateful for every day theu get to do it.
Where can I get one of these jobs? Sounds like a great deal. Doesn’t matter what you do, because they’re not going to pay attention to you anyway.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:11 pmHere’s another joker from the link:
This guy has been giving Bush the same speech, with a different title, for 5 freakin’ years!
July 11th, 2006 at 5:11 pmEthics? You’ve got to be kidding!
Lessons Learned? Give me ONE concrete example!
Fact checking? Why not just name the position for what it is?
This administration is nothing but the ass end of a seriously sick joke!!!
July 11th, 2006 at 5:13 pmHow about this title:
?????
Does this person remind Bush who the hell he has appointed?
July 11th, 2006 at 5:14 pmThen there is this over paid person:
Why the hell does a clerk make $132k a year?
I know, it is all of the overtime spent shreading documents.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:16 pmI like the Director of Making Sh*t Up. That was freaking funny. I bet he/she makes more than all the rest put together!!!
July 11th, 2006 at 5:19 pmIs this the guy that trained Bush how to properly fall off his bicycle?
July 11th, 2006 at 5:19 pmGoogle master?
July 11th, 2006 at 5:20 pmThe person responsible for making sure all televisions are set to Fox News.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:21 pmPerson responsible for deciding which of Dick Cheney’s e-mails to delete.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:22 pmDirector for Lessons Learned???????? Couldn’t come up with a better fake title?
July 11th, 2006 at 5:23 pmPerson in charge of setting all radios to Fox News Radio.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:24 pmNaughton, Peter N. Gift Analyst $30,000 – - This job involves pointing your thumb up or down.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:25 pmGuy who tracks down and deletes images of Bush and Abramoff.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:25 pmPerson who coordinates Jeff Gannon’s visits to the White House.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:26 pmI bet every single one of those desks has an inch of dust on them, and the plants have died.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:27 pmlessons learned? wtf? obviously that pos (piece of sh..) isn’t doing is job well or———-maybe he is.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:28 pmTogether they all ad up to 26 million dollars a year. Most of it wasted tax payer money.
That was fun.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:29 pmI’d like to see a comparison between other administrations. It would be interesting to see if others had so many dumb ass positions.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:36 pmI hate to disagree, but ethics advisors in this administration must be the hardest-working people on earth.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:38 pmI hate to disagree, but ethics advisors in this administration must be the hardest-working people on earth.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:38 pmWell,
July 11th, 2006 at 5:41 pmBased on her track record, I’d say “Melissa M. Carson, Director of Fact Checking earning $46,500/year” is way, WAY overpaid, but it also illustrates the administration’s denial of reality.
Democrats could turn a million reds to blue if they only had the FRICKIN’ brain capacity to know they should trumpet the “director of lessons learned” story 24/7. I mean it. this story and its timing are perfect.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:45 pmSure a White House Ethics Advisor might not make much for the D.C. area, but it helps that they can supplement their salary through lobbyists.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:45 pmI used to think being a weatherman would be the greatest job because you could be wrong 70% of the time, now I am thinking of becoming a ethics advisor.
Toda folks the midwest is overcast with slight chances of ethic and in the DC area we have a a 70% chance of no ethics whatsoever…
July 11th, 2006 at 5:46 pmWhat you bet these are all ghost employee’s and the money is actually going into Darth Cheney’s Caiman Island account?
July 11th, 2006 at 5:47 pm[...] Think Progress has more on The Four Most Overpaid White House Staffers. [...]
July 11th, 2006 at 5:48 pmDoubleSpeak with Matthew and Peter Slutsky
July 11th, 2006 at 5:49 pm
I’d like to see the Director of Lessons Learned and the Ethics people come out and have a press conference or two. The other side of the coin, especially in this secretive outfit, is that the department has learned its lessons and is governing just the way they want.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:50 pmWere these jobs also in existence for Clinton?
July 11th, 2006 at 5:51 pmToo funny… I love these comments.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:53 pmThis could quite possible be the funniest TP thread EVER …
July 11th, 2006 at 5:53 pmGary,
I would like to know the answer to that question myself. I have a feeling some of these positions are given to loyal staffers, or other contributers.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:55 pmDebra: Hello Erica?
July 11th, 2006 at 5:55 pmErica; Yes, speaking.
Debra; What’s a ethic?
Erica; Call Stuart [cik]
Debra;K, thanxx. [clik]
Debra; Hello is the office of fact checking?
Stuart: So they say.
Debra: Whats Ethical and what isn’t?
Stuart; Well, that is a difficult problem, I don’t have all the facts call abramoff. [clik]
Debra; MmmK [clik]
Abramoff; Helloo?
Debra; Hello Mr Abramoff,– what is ethical?
Abramoff; Send me a few million and we will lobby congress to create a study and we will find out
Did anyone happen to see how much I am slated to pull down? Because I just don’t remember….
–
July 11th, 2006 at 5:57 pmWere these jobs also in existence for Clinton?
You mean Clenis?
July 11th, 2006 at 5:57 pmSo whose relatives are these?
Cheers,
July 11th, 2006 at 6:06 pm#47
ahmad, my man!!! how have you been? remember those nights sipping cosmos on the casbah and touching small iraqi boys together? me, writing about wmd and driving the us to invasion of iraq, and you, lighting cigars with 100 dollar bills?
those were the best of times, ahmad…
you were making $340,000 a month until you became baggage to the crime family… but, i likes your baggage and hope to see you when you are next in lower-manhattan…
love and kisses,
judy…my aspens are wide open, baby!
July 11th, 2006 at 6:16 pmAt least Baker is qualified for Director of Lessons Learned:
He previously served as General Counsel for the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. Prior to that, Baker served as General Counsel for the National Security Agency (1992-1994)
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stewart_A._Baker
July 11th, 2006 at 6:17 pmReport from Clinton’s Director of Lessons Learned:
1. Take the dress to the dry cleaners
July 11th, 2006 at 6:20 pm2. Don’t lie under oath
A news organization should be asking the questions raised here today in public, as it prints this list of taxpayer expenditures, and demand a job description for them.
July 11th, 2006 at 6:22 pmIsn’t this the party of less government? Sounds like this adninistration is doing more than its share of interfering in the lives of Americans. We need to start pounding the war drums of Flipflopper-in-Chief!
July 11th, 2006 at 6:24 pmmarie,
i would think that ted kennedy would have a good speech on the senate about these four…he has been trying his best on the subject.
July 11th, 2006 at 6:30 pmIf we look at this in an Orwellian way the ethics advisors probably advise how to get around ethics rules, the director of “lessons learned” is supposed to make sure that when the BUsh admin is shut down or busted an they learn from that lesson how to avoid such an embarassing incident next time, and the fact checker checks to make sure no facts slip through to the public where distortions should be.
July 11th, 2006 at 6:31 pm“Lessons Learning” lessens earning … when Bush can’t admit a mistake.
July 11th, 2006 at 6:32 pmOtherwise the guy could be worth billions.
Report from Bush’s Director of Lessons Learned:
1. Invade unarmed countries, watch as they fall into caos, claim democracy is on the march, and 40% of the people will still support you.
July 11th, 2006 at 6:34 pm2. Sneak Jeff Gannon into the Royal Bedroom 13 or more times and no one will care that the Emperor plays for the same team.
3. Watch as Mother Nature wipes an entire Gulf Coast off the map and you can still go to a fundraiser to sing and play a guitar – you don’t have to show concern for your fellow humans by being anywhere near something called a “Command Center”.
4. Rush back to the “Command Center” when a woman with a mostly dead brain gets a second chance at life when one of your chief supporters in Congress attempts to pass legislation to “save” her. People will see no discontinuity between #’s 3 and 4.
I’ll admit it. I’m an errant pedant. And I daily lament the passing of the hyphen, not because it’s useless, but I guess it’s because it’s too hard to write prose that can’t be misunderstood. Without the needed hyphen, your headline can equally well be interpreted as follows: The Four Most Overpaid White (i.e. race) House (i.e. Congress) Staffers. I’m afraid that even a term as well know as the White House needs to be hyphenated when it’s used as a modifier.
July 11th, 2006 at 6:35 pmWhat an insult to the real workers of the world.
These people earn their salary by covering their eyes, ears and mouth…see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. But let the truth be told…they are all EVIL!!
The mot disgraceful regime in mankind.
Everyone…let’s remember, KARMAN ALWAYS COMES BACK IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER. Their judgement days will be in the company of Satan himself!!!
Let them burn, let them burn, let them alll burn…
July 11th, 2006 at 6:46 pm[...] LINK [...]
July 11th, 2006 at 7:03 pmHush money.
July 11th, 2006 at 7:03 pmWhere do I apply??? Are there any openings??
July 11th, 2006 at 7:04 pm[...] Thanks to the National Journal, we know now the salary of White House staffers, and thanks to the Journal’s research, we now know the most overpaid staffers, too, and know that there’s a Director of Lessons Learned. This fellow is being paid over a hundred thousand dollars to do nothing at all. It satirizes itself, like this news. The State Department is recovering from large-scale computer break-ins worldwide over the past several weeks that appeared to target its headquarters and offices dealing with China and North Korea, The Associated Press has learned. Investigators believe hackers stole sensitive U.S. information and passwords and implanted backdoors in unclassified government computers to allow them to return at will, said U.S. officials familiar with the hacking. These people spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the widespread intrusions and the resulting investigation. The break-ins and the State Department’s emergency response severely limited Internet access at many locations, including some headquarters offices in Washington, these officials said. Internet connections have been restored across nearly all the department since the break-ins were recognized in mid-June. [...]
July 11th, 2006 at 7:04 pmSeems to take a lot of government employees to make a smaller government
July 11th, 2006 at 7:04 pmEthics advisors? Definetly way overpaid.
July 11th, 2006 at 7:14 pmCommon Helen. You really want certain people to burn?
July 11th, 2006 at 7:21 pmI wonder if the ethics advisors used to work for Duke Cunningham? After all, those former staff members need to make a living, don’t they?
But how can there be a need for a position of ‘lessons learned’, since the Administration feels they make no mistakes?
July 11th, 2006 at 7:21 pmWould you guys like a White House staffer to make minimum wage? Oh, that’s not fair, maybe three dollars over minimum wage. And, what’s the price to get a staffer with a security clearance. Maybe ten dollars an hour. Oh, don’t forget, cost of living wage allowance. DC is a cheap place to live. NOT!!!!! Okay eleven dollars an hour?
July 11th, 2006 at 7:26 pmYou can make twice what I do checking non-existent facts? Where do I sign?
July 11th, 2006 at 7:27 pmI just noticed that the name of Lessons Learned guy is Stuart Baker. I wonder if he’s any relation to James Baker, the former Secretary of State, who helped Bush steal Florida in 2000.
July 11th, 2006 at 7:27 pmI tried phoning the Director of Nepotism but the line was busy.
Getting a good job in DC usually depends on who you know. Unless you have special talents.
July 11th, 2006 at 7:31 pmI wonder what congressional staffers get paid?
July 11th, 2006 at 7:33 pmIt just hit me that the top White House staffer’s salary of $114,688 doesn’t have a typical American name.
July 11th, 2006 at 7:38 pmUsing Google — Ms. Nirmala Misir works for the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, Office of Immigration Litigation:
http://pview.findlaw.com/view/3256704_1?noconfirm=0
July 11th, 2006 at 7:53 pmDoes that justify her salary or dispute it? She has a spy name Diamond…
July 11th, 2006 at 7:58 pmOk … this stuff is going to be all over late night tv tonight. I can’t wait. ROFL.
July 11th, 2006 at 8:03 pmThis whole story is a joke. Instead of going after issues, let’s go after White House staffers. Hell, I wonder how much the assistant chefs make in the WH?????
July 11th, 2006 at 8:09 pmlessons learned? ethics advisors? I would LOL if it weren’t such a sick joke. These dipheads have the ethics of a weasel.
July 11th, 2006 at 8:26 pmMs. Dornberg, Staff Attorney, Department of Veterans Affairs
http://www.zoominfo.com/directory/Dornburg_Erica_887370970.htm
Stewart A. Baker (the National Post has his first name wrong) is spying on you:
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/security/0,39044215,39243144,00.htm
As best I can tell, he is NOT related to Bush Family Consiglieri James A. Baker III. (For someone of such national power and prominence, I’m having trouble finding a complete list of James Baker’s eight kids — I’m sure it’s out there, but I have better things to Google)
Ms. Carson is less prominent, but I think it is this lady:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/02/28/kerry_speech_blasts_bushs_unilateral_preemption/
I someone else pick up the slack, if you want it. I just heard Syd Barrett died on Friday, checking that out.
July 11th, 2006 at 8:31 pmNotice the ‘Director of Fact Checking’ is apparently considered the least important position, as it draws the lowest salary among those listed. That’s the Bushies, for ya!
July 11th, 2006 at 8:54 pmThe best perk of the fact checker’s position is the 52 weeks per year of paid time off.
July 11th, 2006 at 9:08 pmOf course they need these people, two ethics advisors to make sure they know the best ways to avoid ethics, and a Director of Lessons learned to be sure they don’t get caught in the same trap again.
July 11th, 2006 at 9:10 pmHave you experts ever lived in DC? It would take at least a $100K to make me think about it and keep me out of the hood.
July 11th, 2006 at 10:01 pm#24–No, the Director of Radio is the guy that sends the daily talking points out to Rush and Dildo Rielly, et al.
July 11th, 2006 at 10:07 pmGiven the Loose ethics…
spin against the facts…
lack of lessons learned…
these people are not earning their salaries…
But then again neither is Bush Cheney Rumsfeld either…
July 11th, 2006 at 10:31 pmjokes aside about the fact checking and lessons learned director
can some one tell me what the @#$% do these people do.
Olson, Theodore Bevry Board Member $548 per diem
Raul, Alan C. Vice Chairman $582 per diem
Dinkins, Carol E. Chairman $582 per diem
Davis, Lanny J. Board Member $548 per diem
Taylor, Francis X. Board Member $548 per diem
what is this a board of/for?
July 11th, 2006 at 11:35 pmjust wondering
OK… Here’s a list of people in the Bush WH you SHOULD see – but won’t.
Ben Dover —–> Director of What “Everyone but the Rich” feels in the BushII Era
The Law Firm of Pi, Lem, Hire and Deeper —–> Advisors on Iraqis and the U.S. Military
(Also the Firm responsible for “Statements released to the Talking Head” (currently, Tony Snow’s position)
Lucy Fir —–> Karl Rove’s Personal advisor (Also the advisor to Dick Cheney)
Stu Pidphuck —–> Director of Keeping “Red-Staters” voting Republican
…
I saw this on the Internets so it must be tue.
Of course, it was on some government site, and before I could print off all the pages – and the salaries – I suddenly got kicked off the site, and couldn’t get back to the page i was on when I saw these.
Oh well. :-D
July 12th, 2006 at 1:38 am$47K/year for fact checking? And that’s one of the top four highest-paid female positions?
What an amazing gap that is.
And that Director for Lessons Learned? Way overpaid. The Bush administration hasn’t learned jack.
July 12th, 2006 at 2:28 amOhDave,
July 12th, 2006 at 2:58 amLoved your White House meeting. Really funny, thanks!
” Report from Clinton’s Director of Lessons Learned:
1. Take the dress to the dry cleaners
2. Don’t lie under oath
Comment by Unholy Moses ”
No one died from that blow job. Hundreds of thousands have died from the blow job in the white house today.
July 12th, 2006 at 8:23 amThink “OUTSOURCING”.
July 12th, 2006 at 8:51 amThink “BOLLYWOOD”.
Greed A. Lot – COLA Calculating Advisor – $1,000,000.00/week.
July 12th, 2006 at 9:13 amGod, maybe I’m getting old, or the creative juices aren’t flowing like they used to…
July 12th, 2006 at 9:18 amI keep trying to make a joke out of this that surpasses just looking at the list. Unfortunately, the list is more telling (and more hilarious) than anything I can come up with. Oh wait, I got something! Even more funny than these stupid jobs are the people who decided that they had to hire them.
“Let’s see, we need some ethics advisors. How about two? Oh yeah, and when we f**k stuff up, we’ll need someone to tell us how we f**ked up, so we don’t f**k up again. How about a ‘Director for Lessons Learned’? But wait, doesn’t that mean we’ll also need some ‘Assistants for Lessons Learned’? I mean, how can you have a director without anyone to direct? Hmm, maybe we’ll just throw in a fact checker somewhere- after all, we need someone to provide donuts and coffee. Damn, this is getting expensive! Glad it’s not my money!”
Btw, Canuck Stuck in Muck, that should read ‘well-known’. An errant pedant; at least you got both halves right.
el kanukistani–
Um … you may wanna mix in some decaf. It was a joke.
Sheesh …
July 12th, 2006 at 9:39 amMoney earned,
Lessons learned;
Bush should know the worm has turned.
No wrath can match a people spurned.
Make us peace,
Not Holy War.
Don’t try to prostitute a whore.
History taught all these before.
Check the facts,
Clean up the acts,
Bush can’t cover up his tracks,
Before this whole staff gets the ax.
White House staff,
A motly gaf;
It isn’t funny, though we laugh.
This whole administration needs a bath.
Time to run!
July 12th, 2006 at 9:59 amThe sinking sun
Lets me know the day is done.
It’s good to know George has no son.
It is interesting that one of the ethics advisors middle name (Nirmala) is a Sanskrit, and I believe Hindi, word meaning “without evil” or “without badness”. I guess it reflects the way the administration wishes to view itself. I’m suprised that their xenophobia didn’t stop them from hiring someone with a name so obviously of a foreign type, but King George probably thinks it’s something else…
“Get that “Normal” girl in here I got a question on torture! Can we twist a testicle, long as we don’t twist it off? What does it say in them Genovese Contortions? I like getting my info from a normal girl. They can’t argue with that!”
Also, the last person on the list is probably severely underpaid. Anyone could check actual facts but to fact check fantasies and come back with the “required” result has got to be difficult and stressful. I feel Melissa’s pain. We should throw her a few bucks.
July 12th, 2006 at 11:02 amBy the way, what are they paying at the Ministry of Silly Walks these days?
July 12th, 2006 at 11:06 am[...] Courtesy of ThinkProgress: there is an actual, factual “Director of Lessons Learned” on the White House payroll. He makes $106,641 dollars a year. [...]
July 12th, 2006 at 11:20 amheckuva jobs
July 12th, 2006 at 12:41 pm#98 By the way, what are they paying at the Ministry of Silly Walks these days?
Comment by DrJ — July 12, 2006 @ 11:06 am
Standard POTUS salary.
July 12th, 2006 at 12:56 pm[...] [via: Think Progress] Andra bloggar om: politik, usa, löner, vita huset, arbete [...]
July 12th, 2006 at 12:57 pm[...] Yesterday, the good folks at Think Progress were having a little fun with the White House payroll. Drawing on a list of White House salaries published in the National Journal, the TPers determined the four most overpaid White House staffers. Tucked away between ethics advisers and White House’s Director of Fact Checking (no doubt a very lonely job in an administration that uses the phrase “reality based†to dismiss critics) was Stuart Baker, Director for Lessons Learned. Leaving aside for the moment the very All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten quality of his title, yesterday brought further evidence that Mr. Baker, who pulls down $106,641 a year, may well be the most useless member of the executive branch. [...]
July 12th, 2006 at 1:10 pmIf these are the overpaid, how much do they pay the rest?
Guess you get what you pay for!
July 12th, 2006 at 1:40 pm[...] Think Progress – The Four Most Overpaid White House Staffers [...]
July 12th, 2006 at 1:45 pm[...] First up, from the “Conservatives-want-smaller-government-my-arse” file… Today the National Journal published a list of salaries for the 403 White House staffers. Here are the four most overpaid: [...]
July 12th, 2006 at 5:23 pmBy the way, what are they paying at the Ministry of Silly Walks these days?
Comment by DrJ
July 12th, 2006 at 6:43 pm=============
Lol! You,too, are a Monty Python fan,I take it?
IF the B#%H administration had listened to its Ethics Advisors and perhaps paid the Director of Fact Checking more, the office of “Lessons Learned” would have been redundant. Instead I see a lot of money that has gone to waste.
July 12th, 2006 at 6:44 pmWonderful job everyone with your posts. This thread is so funny.
I want to repeat an earlier question. What do the “board members do?’
These guys are getting paid $548/per day, or $2,740 per week (5 day work week)
Multiply that by 52 weeks you get $142,480.00 per year.
July 12th, 2006 at 7:53 pmThe only thing I can think of is that they must be the directors of BUSHCO. A company devoted to enriching Haliburton and other preferred “vendors” at the expense of middle-class taxpayers’ life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
MEMO from lessons learned dept.- no vacations after terrorists warning to attack America, also do not stay to read my pet goat after country is under attack
July 12th, 2006 at 9:11 pmIt would be interesting to know what connection Stuart Baker has to former Bushie Sec of State Baker and of the 2000 voting scam. The administration continues to reward those in its favor and punish those it disagrees with….
July 12th, 2006 at 9:41 pm[...] Yesterday, Think Progress noted four White House staffers (three making over $100,000) with peculiar job titles: two Ethics Advisors, a Director of Lessons Learned and the Director of Fact Checking (who makes just over $46,000). Think Progress deemed the Fantastic Four as the “most overpaid White House staffers.” [...]
July 12th, 2006 at 11:56 pmThis help answer to the questions about the Director of Lessons Learned: The U.S. Homeland Security Dept. has a branch named Lessons Learned Information Sharing. Perhaps Mr. Baker is the Director of that group?
July 13th, 2006 at 12:12 amGrumpy:
Thank you for the link. Very interesting. Here is my questions.
What lesson did the Dept. of Homeland Security learn that lead to the following edict.
“Lighters are forebidden on airplanes so as to stop terrorsits from setting off shoe bombs. Matches are O.k. to take on board your flight”
I am a somewhat smart guy but I do not think that even Einstein could figure this one out.
July 13th, 2006 at 1:05 pmThis thread will definitely surpass Shakespeare’s works as the best Comic-Tragedy in history. Aptly, all of the 2050 history books will be wet and fungal from climate change.
July 13th, 2006 at 1:47 pmSince Republicans are the fiscally responsibility party, how do these salaries compare to the last Democratic Administration?
July 13th, 2006 at 2:40 pmI don’t know if he’s the same “lessons learned” guy, but there’s a Stuart Baker who’s held various NSA and Homeland Security jobs in between private law practice…and apparently is the guy who signed off on the Dubai port fiasco!
July 14th, 2006 at 11:41 amHere is the mini-info from White House website re Stewart Baker whom we assume is the same guy who is the Director of Lessons Learned. You can cut and paste the link to go to the site.
The President intends to nominate Stewart A. Baker, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Policy). Mr. Baker is currently a Partner with Steptoe & Johnson, LLP in Washington, D.C. He previously served as General Counsel for the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. Prior to that, Mr. Baker served as General Counsel for the National Security Agency. Earlier in his career, he was a law clerk for Justice John Paul Stevens, U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Baker received his bachelor’s degree from Brown University and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/07/20050713-8.html
July 14th, 2006 at 12:36 pmStuart Baker, who works in the White House, is different from Stewart A. Baker, who works in the Department of Homeland Security.
July 15th, 2006 at 2:58 pm[...] Earlier this week, the Chicago Tribune posted an article discussing Rahm Emanuel’s critique of the Bush administration’s fiscal responsibiltiy in general, and specifically paying $100k a year for a “White House Director of Lessons Learned”. [...]
July 15th, 2006 at 7:05 pmYou are all a bunch of idiots. You all make it seem like the ethics advisors should be doing more. That is completely wrong. We’re doing as badly as we are in Iraq because of the ethical restraints imposed by our horrendously biased, liberal media, which will not allow us to send more troops, threaten terrorists at all (considering what they do to us), or get anything realistic done. The world is not perfect. Fighting the current and trying to completely the realistic instinctually- and naturally-driven tendencies of our opponents (and us; in fact, all humans) will not work. How do you think Patton beat the Japanese? Worry about ethics we did not. The ethics counselers are paid too much because they have TOO much influence and do too much (as of course they are goaded by the idealistic newspapers around them). The lessons-learned job is also important. Obviously, we need to learn something from Iraq and save the next 2 trillion dollars that we spend on a Middle-Eastern war. The third job, fact checker, is admittedly not as important. However, accuracy and scientific fact is requisite in a world of increasing subjective “feel” and “hunches.” We are too sensitive. We guess too much. We are wrong. Look at the world around us. Are they all nice people that want our help and will help us in return? Generally, no. If we help Iraq and then just leave, they will turn on us. We need to give them democracy now that we’re in there. The newspapers will not forgive the fact that we made a huge mistake in going into Iraq (lesson learned) and you rustics who watch the Daily Show do not realize that our war on terror is real. And you think it’s going to go away? If anything, it’s worsening—just look at the war Israel just started with the entire Middle East. AIM me at shoe1maukertuvvi
July 15th, 2006 at 7:25 pmI found the board
July 15th, 2006 at 11:13 pmsomething tells me that they haven’t met to discuss any new business
or had any conversations with the director of lessons learned
So now, when Bush makes a comment like, “It was instructive”, he can add, “Because the Department of Lessons Learned said so.”
July 16th, 2006 at 7:02 pmHey WOW
In a previous life, you were Joseph Gobbels, head of Propaganda and Lesson’s LEarned for Adolph, Righ?
Here is a Lesson Learned that will not cost the taxpayer anything.
Iraq is a fiasco, Get out.
July 17th, 2006 at 12:23 pmI had forgotten that Patton developed the atomic bomb.
But maybe the director of lessons learned is actually earning their money since we haven’t invaded Iran (yet).
July 17th, 2006 at 1:37 pmThere’s no “liberal media” only bought and paid for right wing “swift boating” neo cons parroting the hate.
July 17th, 2006 at 4:09 pmWow, Patton fought the Germans, not the Japanese. I see why you didn’t think the fact checker was important.
July 18th, 2006 at 12:25 pmIf you (anyone) are making $5.15 in this economy, THAT IS ALL YOU ARE WORTH. Legislation will not make you worth more. It will only put your job at risk. Go back to school … learn a skill … take a risk … that is how you get ahead; not by just declaring that you want more. Stupid liberals.
July 23rd, 2006 at 9:19 pm[...] So either the ol’ Stewie, the Director of Lessons Learned, is starting to earn his $106,000 salary or Bush is reading the tea leaves on the pulse of Americans over the war and hedging his bets. My guess is the latter. [...]
August 6th, 2006 at 11:25 pm[...] So either the ol’ Stewie, the Director of Lessons Learned, is starting to earn his $106,000 salary or Bush is reading the tea leaves on the pulse of Americans over the war and hedging his bets. My guess is the latter. [...]
August 6th, 2006 at 11:34 pm[...] A more apt tune: When will they ever learn?  Blumenthal cites the irony of The Office of Lessons Learned and its apparent need to do more research. I can’t find any official listing of an Office of Lessons Learned, but there has been much ado on the web regarding the Director of Lessons Learned (nice work if you can get it), Stuart Baker, and he was once on the staff of Katrina Lessons Learned (ha ha), and there is a Center for Army Lessons Learned (that also has its work cut out for it) that Baker doesn’t have anything to do with. [...]
August 8th, 2006 at 12:32 pm[...] Page Summary: Carson – -People not bigger than the job they have to do and grateful for every day theu get to do it. Sounds like this adninistration is doing more than its share of interfering in the lives of Americans. Hundreds of thousands have died from the blow job in the white house today. Aptly, all of the 2050 history books will be wet and fungal from climate change.read more | digg story [...]
October 27th, 2006 at 2:24 am