I can't wait to see what that "appropriate action" turns out to be.

Ah, Justice.

"What would be appropriate for this administration?"

Private admonishment not to get caught again.

Denial that anything criminal happened (probably true but not relevant)

Vague assertion that the Clinton administration did it.

Privacy laws preclude us from disclosing any personnel action taken.

And, the Medal of Honor!

I wonder if they'll audit all those trips that Tanner went on to Hawaii as well.

Oh, goodie, more implication of Tanner. Obama was sure right to demand that bozo be fired.

i overheard a new attorney saying she was told my SLG to pick places to sue not only based on need, but by where she'd also like to travel. i didnt think much of it when i first heard it, but now...

These Republicans are worse than the French. American Republicans are setting the world record for taking vacations.
We lead the World in the category of
"Vacation time allowed to government officials".

good thing I'm the family member that had the abdominal surgery recently!

this thread is a lot of fun!

EH, see the post from True to the Cause...seems like some localities are picked based on how fun they'd be to travel to. Maybe that explains the lack of cases on behalf of black voters. Who wants to travel to the Mississippi delta when you can hit up Hawaii or Cape Cod?

I see the VSection is out in force this afternoon. Hope none of you are on government computers. Leak safely!

A quote from, of all places, the Moonie Paper from Susana Lorenzo-Giguere, describing why she thought the Voting Section should operate a booth at the Islamic Society of North America's national convention: "This is an important outreach opportunity, and a chance to reach a community that is at once very much discriminated against, and very wary of the national government and its willingness to protect them," Mrs. Lorenzo-Giguere said in an e-mail obtained by The Washington Times. "It would be a great step forward to break through those barriers. And Chicago is lovely this time of year," Mrs. Lorenzo-Giguere said.

Unsurprisingly, the Moonie Paper focuses on the Muslims = terra, terra, terra aspect of the story, and I sure don't want to identify myself with that (though I think the same person may well have leaked both). God knows Arab-Americans are victims of enough discrimination. But the statement "Chicago is lovely at this time of year" is extremely telling.

Firsthander...so that's why I saw Asheesh walking out of the building on Monday with a scowl on his face.

Oh, but this is the tip of the iceberg only. There was so much travel, to so many "good" places, so often, for so long, especially by Tanner and Lorenzo-Giguere. Section Chiefs on election coverage? Now did that ever happen much before? How much can one monitor elections while on the FL beaches instead of at the polls? And can it be true that only the really big cities need intervention for language minorities? Could it be possible that there are other questionable activities OK'd by the chief? Just what were all those vague "meetings" and "library" trips? Did ANY of them pertain to work? Word was, new attorney's were told, if you don't want to use leave, just say you're going to the "library" for the day.

I mean, I bust my hump, day after day, 5 days a week to make sure these snobby, elitist turds get to view imaged documents on their computers. The deputy chief (Yes, the same one taking pleasure trips to Puerto Rico on taxpayer dollars) caught me slacking off one lazy Friday afternoon, looking at a movie trailer on the internet, and she was ready to have me reprimanded for watching porn.

Geez, reading this just makes me want run out and choke somebody. At this point, I'd seriously consider going in tomorrow and hanging a noose in someone's office to get myself fired, but they'd probably applaud the gesture and give me a promotion for doing it....

Joe and the two Bobs wont happen. Becky Wertz, Chris Herren, Gaye Tenoso and Chris Coates at least tell the truth. They aren't natural born liars, thieves and idiots. Integrity is what is missing. Truth and openness have fled. The three or four sycophants running the place need either to give up their secrets to the authorities, leave or be put in jail.

Go gettem guys!

Heh. Actually, I'm a minority UNDER 40. So, according to Tanner's impeccable logic, I've only got one foot in the grave.....^_^

Maybe I'll get killed in a drive-by shooting.

Wow. I haven't had a vacation in three years. Haven't actually had a whole weekend off either. But I don't get paid by taxpayers for government work. I certainly can't pay myself extra for not minding my business for a few days.

This is a patronage job, right? Some party hack? She'll have no problem with reimbursing us then. She's against the whole 'free ride' pinko thing, isn't she?

Nadler is now calling for Tanner's dismissal as well.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5203#more-5203

dag, i meant "how many ARE left under Rivera...2?" not how many left under her...im so pissed im not proof reading right ;)

quis vocaris?

brown v. black, minority v. minority, now thats a real shame! why is your president forcing minorities to fight against each other? Maybe because when you fight against each other you can't fight him!!

Sister,

No question. The Section 5 unit is down to eight analysts, and all of the most experienced ones, all of whom just happened to be black, were driven out by Rivera. Now, we are drowning under a sea of submissions with the '08 cycle coming up, and all of our most experienced staff are gone, replaced by federal career interns, many of whom are well meaning but just don't have the experience to crank out submissions. And there just aren't enough of them. From 23 analysts to eight.

In the meantime, Rivera imposes all kinds of additional requirements for processing the submissions that have nothing to do with enforcing Section 5 of the Act and instead are designed to feed information to Tanner and Lorenzo-Giguere to aid them in their attempts to "help" Latino voters, which even Nina Perales of MALDEF says don't really help Latino voters...http://www.alternet.org/rights/65749/... It may even be illegal for Section 5 analysts to, in essence, enforce Section 203, but that, in fact, is what analysts are being directed to do.

Section 5 stopped Jim Crow in his tracks. Now, Section 5 is being stopped in its tracks by Yvette Rivera, aided and abetted by John Tanner. What is the result of this neglect of civil rights? Bigger Thomas hit the nail on the head: nooses in Jena and at the University of Maryland; all-white jury verdicts in Florida; and suing black elected officials for "violating" the voting rights of that horrendously historically oppressed minority group, white people in Mississippi.

Doubting Thomas,

Committed voting rights advocates see no inconsistencies between protecting the voting rights of African-Americans and protecting the voting rights of Latinos. It is fully possible to do both without ignoring either.

The people who have tried to set minority against minority are von Spakovsky, Schlozman, Tanner, and their ilk. I think both Lorenzo-Giguere and Rivera are clueless enough to believe that what they're doing is actually helping voting rights. Tanner will never admit that he's doing anything other than his job. But he's convinced some small-minded people, whom he has managed to install in big places, that the fight for black voting rights in America is complete and that it's time to move on to other things, which he defines as enforcing Section 203 of the VRA to "help" Latino voters. Of course, if you go to my Alternet link above, you'll see that what the leadership of the Latino voting rights movement believes is necessary to protect Latino voting rights isn't suits under Section 203, which does nothing more and nothing less than guaranteeing bilingual election materials. It's suits under Section 2 for actual representation, usually in single-member districts in which members of minority groups constitute a majority (so-called "majority-minority districts").

Interestingly enough, this is what leaders in the African-American voting rights community also believe is necessary, and leaders in both MALDEF and the NAACP would agree that it is a good thing for DOJ to be filing Section 2 suits on behalf of BOTH groups whenever and wherever they are appropriate.

Of course, when discussing the Section 2-Section 203 question, we're talking only about the Voting Section's litigation role. The Section also enforces Section 5 of the Act, which likewise can be used to protect the voting rights of any minority group in a covered jurisdiction.

There is no disagreement between the civil rights groups or between the affected communities. I agree with you that it's the bad guys who are trying to set the two groups against each other.

I hear Lorenzo-Giguere may be a better DOJ Diva than Shanneta Cutlar. Now that's an achievement! So, former CRD colleauges, which is worse? Voting or Special Litigation?

Look, I just got one more thing to say and I'm going to sleep. A week after I got caught allegedly watching "porn" at work by the Deputy Chief, she sends an e-mail around to everyone in the section about complying with the DOJ's Policies on Internet Usage.

Always remember, watching a movie trailer at work is a serious offense, but taking all-expenses, government-paid vacations to every major city in the 50 states is alright, as long as you're doing it under the pretenses of making sure everyone in America is getting a fair shake at the polling booth!!!

Okay, I'm going to bed this time. Really....

OMG, how could I forget about the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Boy, it's like Star Wars Episode III in the Voting Section right now! Revenge of Bush-appointed Republican Sith! Tanner is Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious, Lorenzo-Giguere is Count Dooku/Darth Tyrannus, and Rivera is Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Only I don't think she ever had any good in her to begin with, like Obi-Wan mentioned about Anakin......

Okay, must sleep now...

Reminds me of Sibel Edmunds after she brought encrypted intercepts to her supervisor's attention

They told her take some time off on the government's dime and finish her degree, and that it didn't matter if she got anything done.

She was told by "friends" with seniority to mellow out and she'd be allowed to retire to northern Italy like they did, and that all her dreams could come true if she would only choose to not do anything to rock the "boat".

Ty,

First, it's wonderful to see such an erudite critic of the CRD brass on this thread. Thanks for your comments. Your courageous stand against Shanetta Cutlar has not gone unnoticed in the Voting Section and elsewhere.

It is true that Tanner and Lorenzo-Giguere are nominally Democrats. However, it is incontrovertible that they have been carrying the water for the likes of Hans von Spakovsky. This is part of what makes what they have done so offensive: the only reason for what they did with respect to voting rights is personal gain.

It's almost easier to forgive Hans. At least he was acting in accordance with his deeply held beliefs, which is something people who have dedicated their lives to civil rights can understand, even if we find those deeply held beliefs repugnant. But to betray minority voters and pervert the most successful piece of civil rights legislation in the history of our country for $64 a day and a chance to sun one's buns on the beach at Cape Cod when you're already a GS-15 (or, in Tanner's case, SES) and making over $130K per year?

IceJustIce,

No disagreement here. I prefer the term "political whores." They're on both sides of the aisle, and the SES is full of them. As is Washington, for that matter.

Ty

Regardless of whether or not the real Ty Clevenger is commenting, it's "refreshing" to see the Section's dirty laundry in the sunlight.

Ty, what else can you tell us about partisan hiring practices at the Department? Do you have a copy of the vetting test you may have had to fill out to post to TPM? Have you ever received any e-mails from a gwb43.com address?

Anonymous,

Nothing more than I've already said, didn't know there was one, and no, respectively. I'm pretty sure I'm me, but you can look up my phone number in the Bryan, TX directory if you want to be sure.

AnonApplicant, I don't know the current temperature of CRD (it's not like anybody in the front office wants to talk to me), but if you got an interview notwithstanding your resume, I'd take that to be a positive sign. I think Emily is a straight arrow. Good luck.

AnonApplicant,

They sure as hell used to vet people. Did they ask you to name a Supreme Court case you agreed/disagreed with?

Email me: icejustice1@gmail.com

"YVETTE RIVERA got a special commendation for her supervisory skills."

Hmmm. Lemme see. This is a lot to work with:

Chasing away the most experienced veteran workers. Check.

Having absolutely NO CLUE WHATSOEVER about what even the lowest people on the food chain do at the Section. Check.

Proclaiming herself the mastermind behind the revolutionary, state-of-the-art, and CONFUSING AS ALL HELL E-SUBMISSION. Check.

Traveling all over the country, to unstable, volatile hot-spots, such as Hartford, CT and San Juan, Puerto Rico, bravely championing the rights of minorities to vote. Check.

Giving me a "Scary Cookie" to eat last week, showing love and compassion to even the poorest Negroes working in the Section! She a regular Mother Theresa of Civil Rights! Check.

I don't see what the problem is here. ^_^

Powkt, thank you for your kind words, but it's people like IceJustIce that are the real heroes posting on here. They are the few, brave and courageous Jedi that have survived "Lord Sidious'" and "Lord Vader's" Purge....

"Important Help!!!": Has anyone there taken a stance and declined an award in support of those who are not getting them?

Pictures!

http://www.abovethelaw.com/2007/10/to_doj_diva_work_is_a_day_at_t_1.php

Is this the same woman who went to a subordinate's home unannounced and scolded the employee for not breastfeeding her newborn? If so, then this woman is completely out of control and lacks the sense to be in law enforcement.

the failing the bar thing was revealed by donna clarke, who retired years ago. not sure facts around it. yvette was in the section in the 1980s and the word is she had to leave since she failed the bar more than once. someone should be able to fact check that. remember, tanner is very retaliatory so those of us with bills gotta be on the low...ask the GA id submission analyst...she is gone now, as are her most recent submissions from the records department...and her last evaluation was SCREWED over...welcome to the GOP Civil Rights Division...

sean o'donnell, voting section litigator supreme, gets a performance award. yes, the same one who was outed on the republican lawyers association page. now, is this for his sexual harassment of the one analyst who worked on the tom delay redistricting submission? thats right folks, i believe he referred to her as a 'rug muncher' based on her human rights campaign posters (the horror!) and 'too pro black' based on her dr king posters (in the civil rights division, no less!). not only is this guy still in the voting section, but he is getting monetary awards! why the hell wasnt he transferred or fired? i think tanner probably gave him a pat on the back and parade after that all went down. is it 2008 yet?

nope, they are not the highest paid analysts. one may be, but the other was a contractor for the section for years before being hired as a fed employee so there are higher paid analysts. they are not the staff who filed EEOs either, one of those staffers transfered, and the other is not an analyst.

Here it is....

wow... if you postulate all of these redicuos theroies about john tanner and yvette river, look i the mirror. you all are the lowest of low in the government if all you have time to do is sit on your computers, most likely government (you all must be too stupid to realize the consequence), and write this shit. damn, no wonder yvette rivera has to go around the country, you all just bring the justice system down. from an outisers view, i would say that your cretinous behaviour far surpasses any wrong doing by either joh tanner or yvette rivera.

I read the complaint. What is the business about an ombudsman on a "detail" to the voting section? How does this relate to the problem discussed?

Let's not forget that this corruption goes straight to the top-- Brad, Hans, Wan, Al-- no one hands are clean. And the newer ones don't appear to be much better since they have yet to oust the incompetents in charge of the Voting Section. OPR is still sitting on the complaint submitted by members of the GA ID submission team two years ago! It’s a shame that none of those employees remain at the DOJ-- they had too much moral authority to stand by quietly. They shouldn’t have been the ones forced to leave, it should have been John and his corrupt family.

Awards in Civil Rights Division. Unfortuantely it is not entirely based on performance and merit. It's more of a suck up award if anything. Individuals are given big bonuses for just kissing up to a boss and/or supervisor and not making trouble. This is particularly common in the following sections from what I've heard from friends who have at one time or another worked in these sections. Thank goodness, for them they are no longer there. The sections include: Special Litigation, Employment Section and Voting Rights. These also are the most trouble sections and had the most individuals to leave within the last 5 years from the top (attorneys to the lower level staff). Judiciary Chair Conyers and Congressional members need to conduct hearing on these three sections and re-vamped the entire sections.

Heck of a job, Susanna???