FOX NEWS REPORTS PENDING SHOWDOWN BETWEEN WHITE HOUSE AND MARY FRANCES BERRY

Fox News | The Fox News All-Stars (Brit Hume and panel)

[Howlin]

Brit Hume reports that Mary Frances Berry, chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, is refusing to acknowledge the Bush White House's latest appointment to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.

Ms. Berry sent a letter to the White House Counsel, Al Gonzales, saying that if they do intend to send the nominee to the meeting tomorrow, they best send along the U.S. Marshalls to seat him, as she will not allow it.

Fox reports that the term of one of the Democrats has expired and President Bush is exercising his right to appoint a member of his choice. The Panel on Hume's show said that this has NEVER been done before; that when someone is appointed to fill a term that hasn't been expired, when the term expires, the person leaves the committe. They also report that the woman who is being removed from the commmittee plans to show up tomorrow with a civil rights attorney and claim that she should get a full six year term, not just complete somebody else's.

Ms. Berry contends that the person leaving the committee was appointed for six years, not just to fulfill the term of a member who either died or left the commission (I can't remember which!)

CAUTION: this is typed from memory. Nothing on the news site yet.

[Salvation]

Follow-up article on FoxNews.comCivil Rights Commission Meeting Heading for Circus Tent

[Salvation]

Happening on Friday?

[Salvation]

But Gonzales said in his letter that Wilson's appointment specifically stated her commission would expire Nov. 29, 2001. He said there is no official record of any efforts by Wilson to contact the White House clerk and amend her appointment to a six-year commission term.

BTTT!

[linn37]

any updates?

[MissAmericanPie]

Toasting my egg nog to the tought of a U.S. Marshall nabbing that scum by the back of the neck and hurling her out the front door.

[cake_crumb]

"In her work for the commission, Berry has criticized every president since Jimmy Carter, who appointed her and later got pressure from her over the levels of financial aid for the poor. President Reagan fired her but had to reinstate her after a lawsuit."

Hmmm....I see possibilities...

BTW, everybody, Peter Kirsanow is black. He also happens to be the former chairman of the Center for New Black Leadership, a conservative group.

THERIN lies Berry's real problem.

[Texbob]

He is a patsy when it come to Natl. politics.. Please note, he orders Justice Dept. not to prosecute the Clintons, he leaves most of Clinton appointee's in place still after 11 months, he thinks he is going to convert Daschle and Leahy and other Liberal Democraps, he signs the democrap securtiy bill making air port security people feds giving the demo's thousands of new union voters and give the passengers the kind of security that INS gave us by allowing thousands of terrorist into the country and are still here with expired visa and the INS cannot tell us where these terrorist are living amoung us.

[Intimidator]

Please post a barf alert before posting her picture please

[MissAmericanPie]

You got that right. Her problem is losing her little kingdom of power by having the commission more representative of the general population which is about 50/50 liberal/conservative.

If there is a way to fire her they should go for it.

[gulfcoast6]

Fromn what I am hearing out of Washington, she is getting her advice from one of the Clintons.

[jocon307]

Victoria Wilson...[s]ince 1972.. has been an editor at Alfred A. Knopf, where she was named vice-president and associate publisher in 1988.

Here's some numbers, addressess, e-mail addresses, etc. For Alfred A. Knopf and Random House, it's parent.

Knopf Publicity
299 Park Avenue, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10171
knopfpublicity@randomhouse.com

Random House, Inc.
1540 Broadway
New York, NY 10036 (212) 782-9000
(212) 302-7985 fax

Random House, Inc.
West Coast Publicity Office
2401 Colorado Avenue, Suite 165
Santa Monica, CA 90404-3500
310) 582-8810 (Knopf Publishing Group)

editor@randomhouse.com

More info. should be available at their website. I'd been trying to figure our how to apply pressure in this situation. Embarrasing Wilson is obviously the way to go, since Berry would only take critism as an encouragement.

I can't imagine President Bush is going to let some tin-pot Commission Chair-ette push him, or his nominee around.

Must drop a line to Alfred A. Knopf now.

Regards all,

Jessica

[Miss Marple]

What an excellent idea!! It also would be helpful if pending book deals from those who support President Bush were steered to other publishers.

Who is Tom Clancy's publisher? I don't suppose it's Random House, is it? That would be way too lucky.

[Miss Marple]

Gee, I sure wish he had spent the last 11 months prosecuting the Clintons, fighting with Daschle and Gephardt, and attempting to fire Clinton appointees when the Senate wouldn't move to replace them (not to memntion the Clinton people who are under civil service and CAN'T be fired).

That would have given him such power and clout when he tried to unite the country after 9/11! I am sure he would have gotten the cooperatioin of Congress if only he had followed your lead! Then he should have vetoed that airport security bill, so that the democrats could have talked about how we didn't want safety on planes, and in the process air travel would have dropped off even more!

But hey, none of that matters, does it? I mean, what's really important is not what actually gets accomplished for the nation, but how you FEEL about things, isn't it?

Bah.

[Texbob]

There are many Clinton appointee still in office that do not require Senate action, what is your excuse for these? Instead of crying why doesn't Bush make a slew of recess appointments, they can serve as long as he is in office and he has his people running the admin. not Clinton people. Do you rember Clinton fired all the Justice Dept.'s attys. early in his first year, you devoted republican Senate did nothing about it except run into the corner and hide for the rest of Clinton's time in office.

[Miss Marple]

1. There are many Clinton people whose positions were converted to civil services positions right before Clinton left office. PhiKapMom has the dope on that. They cannot be fired.

2. Fine and dandy to do recess appointments...WHEN WE HAVE A RECESS, which in case you haven't noticed, Daschle has been avoiding for that reason.

3. You were discussing President Bush. Now you are dragging Senate Republicans into this. In case you don't remember, President Bush wasn't even in Washington. When those attorneys were fired by Clinton, George W. Bush was still helping run the Rangers.

4. You are not a Bush supporter and never have been. Your criticism means nothing, because should he do EVERYTHING you suggest, you would just find three more things to carp about.

[VRWC_minion]

She has a point

Sec. 1975. Establishment of Commission

• (a) Generally
  There is established the United States Commission on Civil Rights (hereinafter in this chapter referred to as the ''Commission'').

• (b) Membership
  The Commission shall be composed of 8 members. Not more than 4 of the members shall at any one time be of the same political party. The initial membership of the Commission shall be the members of the United States Commission on Civil Rights on September 30, 1994. Thereafter vacancies in the membership of the Commission shall continue to be appointed as follows:
  • (1) 4 members of the Commission shall be appointed by the
    President.
  • (2) 2 members of the Commission shall be appointed by the
    President pro tempore of the Senate, upon the recommendations of
    the majority leader and the minority leader, and of the members
    appointed not more than one shall be appointed from the same
    political party.
  • (3) 2 members of the Commission shall be appointed by the
    Speaker of the House of Representatives upon the recommendations
    of the majority leader and the minority leader, and of the
    members appointed not more than one shall be appointed from the
    same political party.

• (c) Terms
  The term of office of each member of the Commission shall be 6 years. The term of each member of the Commission in the initial membership of the Commission shall expire on the date such term would have expired as of September 30, 1994.

• (d) Chairperson
  • (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), the individuals serving as Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the United States Commission on Civil Rights on September 30, 1994 shall initially fill those roles on the Commission.
  • (2) Thereafter the President may, with the concurrence of a majority of the Commission's members, designate a Chairperson or Vice Chairperson, as the case may be, from among the Commission's members.
  • (3) The President shall, with the concurrence of a majority of the Commission's members, fill a vacancy by designating a Chairperson or Vice Chairperson, as the case may be, from among the Commission's members.
  • (4) The Vice Chairperson shall act in place of the Chairperson in the absence of the Chairperson.

• (e) Removal of members
  The President may remove a member of the Commission only for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.

• (f) Quorum
  5 members of the Commission constitute a quorum of the Commission

[DallasDeb]

The Commission shall be composed of 8 members. Not more than 4 of the members shall at any one time be of the same political party.

What is the breakout of party affiliation of the commission now? They voted 5-3 to keep the new member off; were all 5 of those Demoncrats? Then one of them should be GONE!

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"What is the breakout of party affiliation of the commission now?"

See reply # 122 for complete details on the breakdown. A number of them, including Mizzzzz Berry are listed as Independents.

[Newbomb Turk]

bump

[linn37]

the democratically controled senate has decided to adjourn instead of recess because of the war effort and to prevent Bush from making any appointments................