[jblum315]

Apparently Julia Pierson, who headed the Secret Service until her resignation yesterday, worked as a Disney character during high school and she thought (and said) that the Secret Service ought to be more like Disney. Friendlier, more approachable.
WTF?

[Patty55]

Originally Posted by jblum315

Apparently Julia Pierson, who headed the Secret Service until her resignation yesterday, worked as a Disney character during high school and she thought (and said) that the Secret Service ought to be more like Disney. Friendlier, more approachable.
WTF?

HUH? I guess it is a small world after all.

[redwitch]

You just can't fix stupid.

(Patty said it all.)

[Bizdoc]

Dumbest thing ever done was the creation of the Department of Homeland Security with more senior level political appointees as managers than any other department. Look at the problems in Secret Service (ex Treasury), ICE (ex-State and Treasury).

Know what the difference between Homeland Security and the Girl Scouts is? The Girl Scouts have responsible adult leadership.

[billjay23]

Originally Posted by billethkid

this is what one gets when they DO NOT hire the very best person for the job.
When it is a political.....POLITICAL.....appointment it does not matter one bit whether a person is qualified or not.

Just look at the people who have passed through the last 6 years and who they were, the jbs they had and their past experience. Not a one was qualified for the job.

Also every infraction by a high ranking member of the Obama team is always....ALWAYS.....followed by him making a statement the next day about the confidence he has in the individual.

This is what we get when politics rules the methodology. We are not getting the best people as the country deserves.

Maybe we the people will learn a lesson. Maybe in the next election we will actually look at a person's qualifications.........IT STARTS AND ENDS AT THE TOP.

Please get your facts right! The resignation and what came before it aside, she was not a political appointment -- She had thirty (that's 30) years in the Secret Service, rising through the ranks to the top job. She was in this job for less than two years.

[BarryRX]

Originally Posted by billethkid

this is what one gets when they DO NOT hire the very best person for the job.
When it is a political.....POLITICAL.....appointment it does not matter one bit whether a person is qualified or not.

Just look at the people who have passed through the last 6 years and who they were, the jbs they had and their past experience. Not a one was qualified for the job.

Also every infraction by a high ranking member of the Obama team is always....ALWAYS.....followed by him making a statement the next day about the confidence he has in the individual.

This is what we get when politics rules the methodology. We are not getting the best people as the country deserves.

Maybe we the people will learn a lesson. Maybe in the next election we will actually look at a person's qualifications.........IT STARTS AND ENDS AT THE TOP.

I did just what you suggested. I looked at the last 6 directors of the Secret Service. I read their resumes and found all of them to be supremely qualified. For anyone else interested, here are the last 6 Directors and the years they became Director:
Eljay Bowron 1993
Lewis Merletti 1997
Brian Stafford 1999
W. Ralph Bashan 2003
Mark Sullivan 2006
Julia Pierson 2013
The first 3 were appointed by Pres. Clinton, the next 2 by Pres. G.W. Bush, and the last one by Pres. Obama.
Please tell me which ones you think were unqualified and your reasons for thinking that.

[Bavarian]

I think it is similar to a sports team, if they don't do well, you fire the Manager. She did not help here case with her Congressional testimony either.

[Rags123]

I think the attached link does a good job in pointing out much of the problems with this organization, and I think this one brief note sort of spells out the current problem with the director.

"“I respect Pierson’s service, but she hasn’t been on a protective mission in two decades,” said one supervisor who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “She doesn’t know anything about security planning in a post-9/11 world.”

Pierson failed to provide fresh start for Secret Service that administration wanted - The Washington Post

And for those that worry consistently about politics (I never understood how it was still POLITICS once you were elected, but) here is one time both parties seemed to agree....

"Lawmakers were also annoyed by the administration’s budget request for this year for an agency that has claimed to be chronically underfunded.

Homeland Security requested $1.49 billion in operating funds for the Secret Service, a $60 million dip from last fiscal year. But even spending-conscious Republicans said that was too much. So Congress instead agreed to a rare increase over the administration’s request, giving the agency $1.53 billion. "

[billethkid]

Originally Posted by billjay23

Please get your facts right! The resignation and what came before it aside, she was not a political appointment -- She had thirty (that's 30) years in the Secret Service, rising through the ranks to the top job. She was in this job for less than two years.

and your point is.....longevity = qualification?
Not in the real world.

My point was/is she was not qualified to manage the comlexity of the job. The proof is overwhelming.

[dbussone]

Back in the day, when I was in college, I went to see Hubert Humphrey speak. I was there early to see if I could see him close up. I guess I got a little too close because one of the SS agents gave me a quick well placed elbow in the solar plexus.

I wonder sometimes if that is why I haven't voted for a certain party since?

In all seriousness though I know a number of former high up SS agents. They were really tough guys and extremely upset about what has been going on for the last couple of years.

[graciegirl]

And I am eager to see what Carl from Tampa has to say. Not only because he always has good information, well researched and I tend to agree with his thoughts but because he was in the Secret Service for many years.

Carl???

[janmcn]

This woman's job was finished when she failed to testify to congress that an armed felon was allowed to ride the elevator with the president. This comes under the heading, 'what was she thinking'?

Did she think this would never come out? This fact was never mentioned to the investigative committee in congress or to the White House staff, until just before the story was to be published.

This comes on top of the White House break-in and shots fired at the White House. Ms Pierson had less than a stellar career in her time as director.

[TexaninVA]

Originally Posted by jblum315

Apparently Julia Pierson, who headed the Secret Service until her resignation yesterday, worked as a Disney character during high school and she thought (and said) that the Secret Service ought to be more like Disney. Friendlier, more approachable.
WTF?

Ms Pearson, during her testimony to the Congress, commended the agents for using proper "restraint." When I heard her say this, my first reaction was ....hmmm, sounds like she's an idiot and in over her head

Then I asked what should be an obvious question ... when an intruder penetrates the White House fence and is running towards the building, how come no one dropped the guy with 1 or 2 shots??

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by TexaninVA

Ms Pearson, during her testimony to the Congress, commended the agents for using proper "restraint." When I heard her say this, my first reaction was ....hmmm, sounds like she's an idiot and in over her head



Then I asked what should be an obvious question ... when an intruder penetrates the White House fence and is running towards the building, how come no one dropped the guy with 1 or 2 shots??

Amen to that! The standard should be 1.

[dbussone]

"Lawmakers were also annoyed by the administration’s budget request for this year for an agency that has claimed to be chronically underfunded."
Perhaps if they were not so busy babysitting all the pols and appointees who consider themselves so important they could do the job required of them. Try moving through DC without being pushed aside by some self-important person with a SS detail.