Posted on 12/09/2004 6:55:41 AM PST by STARWISE
Oh my God ... how .. how could this be?
I disagree with the man on several issues, but that doesn't make him either incompetant, nor an idiot.......charges which continue to be leveled here without factual back-up.
Oh, yeah..........just a guess, but YOU are not a Republican, are you?
A fact that doesn't mitigate Mineta's opposing it in the first place. The man demonstrated terrible judgment on this important issue, and that alone is reason to fill his job with someone else. Every day pilots go unarmed because of Mineta's stonewalling is another day Americans are put at unecessary risk.
and Mineta was right in refusing to consider racial profiling. Remember Richard Reid, the shoebomber? He certainly didn't have olive colored skin.
Like I said, I understand that this is the argument against profiling. I'd submit that a portion of non-ME men be searched, but that the majority of those searched should be among the group with a demonstrated propensity to commit terrorist acts.
See my 178 and 184. He's taken some pretty idiotic stances, especially WRT arming pilots.
It's not an argument, more like an example of why racial profiling is counterproductive in the safety of ALL passengers. Since everyone was more concerned about racial profiling middle eastern men, he managed to board the plane because he was some goofy looking white guy.
Norman Y. Mineta
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
Norman Y. Mineta became the 14th U.S. Secretary of Transportation on January 25, 2001.
In nominating him, President Bush said, “Norm made a reputation in the halls of Congress as someone who understands that a sound infrastructure in America will lead to economic opportunity for all Americans.”
“Transportation is key to generating and enabling economic growth, determining the patterns of that growth, and determining the competitiveness of our businesses in the world economy,” said Secretary Mineta. “Transportation is thus key to both our economic success and to our quality of life.”
As Secretary of Transportation, Mineta oversees an agency with 60,000 employees and a $56.3 billion budget. Created in 1967, the U.S. Department of Transportation brought under one umbrella air, maritime and surface transportation missions.
The U.S. transportation system includes 3.9 million miles of public roads and 2 million miles of oil and natural gas pipelines. There are networks consisting of 120,000 miles of major railroads, more than 25,000 miles of commercially navigable waterways and more than 5,000 public-use airports. The transportation system also includes more than 500 major urban public transit operators and more than 300 ports on the coasts, Great Lakes and inland waterways.
In response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Secretary Mineta oversaw the creation of the Transportation Security Administration, an agency of more than 60,000 employees that is truly fulfilling its goal of protecting Americans as they travel across our country. Starting from a blank sheet of paper on Nov. 19, 2001, Secretary Mineta led a team that met 36 mandates set down by Congress – including screening all passengers by the TSA’s first anniversary and all baggage by Dec. 31, 2003 – while developing a fully functioning agency that restored air travelers’ confidence in aviation security following the terrorist attacks. The Transportation Security Administration was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Secretary Mineta also oversaw the Coast Guard’s response to the terrorist attacks, including developing the Sea Marshal Program, Maritime Safety and Security Teams, and expanding the number and mission of Coast Guard Port Security Units.
Prior to joining President Bush’s administration as Secretary of Transportation, Mineta served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Clinton, becoming the first Asian Pacific American to serve in the cabinet. He is the first Secretary of Transportation to have previously served in a cabinet position. Prior to joining the Commerce Department, he was a vice president at Lockheed Martin Corporation.
From 1975 to 1995, he served as a member of U.S. House of Representatives, representing the heart of California’s Silicon Valley. As a member of Congress, Mineta was known for his dedication to the people of his district, for consensus building among his colleagues and for forging public-private partnerships. Mineta's legislative and policy agenda was wide and varied, including major projects in the areas of economic development, science and technology policy, trade, transportation, the environment, intelligence, the budget and civil rights. He co-founded the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and served as its first chair.
Mineta served as chairman of the House Public Works and Transportation Committee between 1992 and 1994. He chaired the committee’s aviation subcommittee between 1981 and 1988, and chaired its Surface Transportation Subcommittee from 1989 to 1991. During his career in Congress he championed increases in investment for transportation infrastructure, and was a key author of the landmark Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, which shifted decisions on highway and mass transit planning to state and local governments. ISTEA led to major upsurges in mass transit ridership and more environmentally friendly transportation projects, such as bicycle paths. He also pressed for more funding for the department’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
After leaving the Congress, Mineta chaired the National Civil Aviation Review Commission, which in 1997 issued recommendations on reducing traffic congestion and reducing the aviation accident rate. Many of the commission’s recommendations were adopted by the Clinton administration, including reform of the FAA to enable it to perform more like a business.
Mineta and his family were among the 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry forced from their homes and into internment camps during World War II. After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, Mineta joined the Army in 1953 and served as an intelligence officer in Japan and Korea. He joined his father in the Mineta Insurance Agency before entering politics in San Jose, serving as a member of its City Council from 1967 to 1971 and mayor from 1971 to 1974, becoming the first Asian Pacific American mayor of a major U.S. city. As mayor, he favored greater control of transportation decisions by local government, a position he later championed in ISTEA.
While in Congress, Mineta was the driving force behind passage of H.R. 442, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which officially apologized for and redressed the injustices endured by Japanese Americans during the War. In 1995, George Washington University awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Medal to Mineta for his contributions to the field of civil rights. In 2003, Secretary Mineta received the Panetta Institutes’s Jefferson-Lincoln Award for his bipartisan leadership in addressing the nation’s challenges and was selected by the Council of Excellence in Government to receive the Elliot L. Richardson Prize for Excellence & Integrity in Public Service.
Mineta is married to Danealia (Deni) Mineta. He has two sons, David and Stuart Mineta, and two stepsons, Robert and Mark Brantner.
A little background.
Ops4 God BLess America!
It is this way becasue george bush is an uber liberal that doesnt give a damn about the safety of americans he only cares about his political power and legacy mineta is as big a danger to every american that flys or works in highrise office buildings as Mohamed Atta was and to every freeper that voted republican this election how much did your vote accomplish exactly?
You say that a person who has an idiotic stance is an idiot, and I say that they just have an idiotic stance.
I know plenty of people who have ideas which I consider 'idiotic' who are far from being either 'nincompoops,' 'incompetants,' or 'idiots.'
I believe strongly in arming pilots, but I still don't think Mineta is an idiot. I believe in at least limited profiling, but his disagreement with that doesn't, in my view make him incompetant.
Difference in perspective, I guess...........but I DO trust the President, whether I understand this decision or not.
That post was just downright stupid.
Either that, or you fell asleep during English class (and logic, as well, I'd say.....)
Either a troll, or an 'idiot'.......if I might borrow that term. :o)
I am starting to have my doubts about some folks. Does anyone actually read things before they post? Try reading taglines sometime.I stopped being in the Republican party(not in mindset), after Bush 1 renegged on his "Read my lips" promise. Neither the Democrats or the Republicans espouse(and follow) the views for what their parties were originally based on.
I'll grant you that. Mineta has an idiotic stance on important issues. Whether or not he's actually an idiot is, I suppose, irrelevant. He should be replaced either way.
Or "all of the above" suffices. :)
no its actually 2 per airline 3 will get you a fine and 4 will get you jail for civil rights violations(im kidding about jail. for now. but since he is still on the job mineta will probably try that this term )
Nonetheless, you, me, and every other taxpayer got new and higher taxes with Clinton in office, despite the fact we probably didn't vote for him. Politicians of every party are going to raise or impose new taxes, I don't care if we're talking about Ross Perot, Clinton, Badnarik, or whomever. In my lifetime, I've never seen a tax lowered or done away with, it's usually the opposite, no matter who's in power.
I know you can read, because you can write.
So far all I've read is the same ad naseum attacks on Mineta's intellect, and not a single post has answered my question, including yours.
Let's move to the War on Terror. If President Bush called you today and asked you for your advice on the next moves he should take in our battle with militant Islam, what would you advise?
AC: Fire U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. Keep excluding the New York Times from all exclusive press briefings.
FP: Could you kindly briefly highlight the reasons why you want Mineta fired? Is it mostly for his failure to implement tough "profiling" at airports after 9/11?
AC: Take out the word "mostly" and you're getting warm.
FP: What do you think about the idea of American President Ann Coulter? Have you ever considered this?
AC: I like the ring of it, but no.
FP: Hypothetically, if you did become president, what are two or three things you would immediately pursue?
AC: 1) Fire Norman Mineta.
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