Talk:Michael Chertoff

It's fairly widely known that Chertoff negotiated a deal with lawyers for John Walker Lindh that involved dropping all but one charges against the young man in return for a) a guilty plea to the remaining one -- which did not involve taking arms against the US or fighting anyone; b) withdrawal of his claim that he had been tortured while in US custodyl and c) acceptance that he would not speak about his treatment during the plea=bargained 20-year sentence negotiated. Several sources: Good one was The Nation, February 14, 2005, citing Lindh's defense lawyer, who was involved in the negotiation with DoJ.

121.44.113.94 (talk) 19:41, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Why were negative articles about michael chertoff from nationalvanguard.org and david dukes web site removed? Should there be pro as well as con articles on Michael chertoff?

There are both pro and con articles there. However, the article doesn't need advertisements for dubious sources. Jayjg ^(talk) 01:30, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Having worked for Homeland Security have an official statement. The upper management of Homeland Security is currupt. They conspire to lie and create a threat to the safety of every US citizen. I performed my job well and to specifications. However Homeland Security continued to lie. Recently they accused me of being arrested but I was never personally or physically arrested and this was the reason they terminated my employment. I've tried everything to get leagal assistance with wrongful termination, yet because of the connections that Homeland Security has in government. I've not been able to ever find a Lawyer. I even discovered many judges to not follow court room procedures and allow me to have council. In fact the power Chertoff has is to undermine the American way of life and freedom. Every day my family discovers that Homeland Security is powerful enough to dictate the fate of freedom and acuse good people of crimes they never committed and have access to fraudulently manufacture false documents and records. I'm living proof of this fact. Any Lawyer desiring to create a federal Public lawsuit against Homeland Security please contact me on this page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.6.138.230 (talk) 08:59, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Russian origin and meaning of his name

Is it worth mentioning that his name Chertoff means "Devil's own" in russian literally? Or will cons jump me --Tigry 03:58, 1 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I don't see any NPOV issue with noting it, but I don't think the etymology of his last name (even if he is of Russian descent) is all that relevant to the article. - Walkiped 12:40, 1 Mar 2005 (UTC)

So we will leave it here. Several sites, including these two [1] [2], say:

Michael's father, Gershon, was the first child of Paul Chertoff from Russia, and Esther Barish, from "Roumania," according to the 1930 U.S. Census. Gershon graduated as a teacher of the Talmud at age 20, in May 1935.

His grandfather was a Jew from Russia, so his name has Russian origin, and has a definitive meaning in the Russian language. Besides a meaning mentioned above, it can also mean smth like "damned" in such sentences as, for example, "this damned Michael ruins everything he does". Compare with Hellman.

Is this comparable to those German names (I recall one literally meant "sewer stench") that were given to Jews by the Prussian state during the 19th century? Or is the meaning of this name in Russian merely an etymological coincidence? --Adamrush 10:11, 13 September 2005 (UTC)

No article on Chertoff can be complete or fair without pointing out that Chertoff has absolutely failed to gain control over the border in a time of terrorism. Moreover, Chertoff supported "comprehensive" immigration reform -- i.e., rewarding millions of illegal aliens with a path to citizenship without controlling the border. That bill was not "stalled," but decisively defeated. Only when that proposed legislation was defeated did Chertoff realize that he might have to begin enforcing the existing immigration law instead of allowing 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants to wander around the country.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.44.153.46 (talk) 23:06, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Swearing-in date

There have been some competing edits regarding the date on which Chertoff was sworn in as secretary of homeland security. Although a ceremonial swearing-in, presided over by Bush, took place on March 3, 2005, [3], he was first sworn into office on February 15 [4]. It was on February 15 that he actually became secretary. - Walkiped 02:12, 4 Mar 2005 (UTC)

---

What's his relation to Ben Chertoff/Benjamin Chertoff, 9-11 "research editor" for Popular Mechanics? Kwantus 22:37, 2005 Mar 6 (UTC)

The only things I ever posted about Chertoff related to the absolute truth that he has failed to control the border (or even seek to) in a time of terrorism. If the only things a person can post about a figure like Chertoff are total, gushing praise, what is the point of anybody posting anything? Also, it looks like defenders of Chertoff are claiming that any honest assessment of his failures is defamatory -- which is simply a ludicrous proposition. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.44.151.35 (talk) 19:28:40, August 19, 2007 (UTC)

Hurricane Katrina

This article seems to be a target for some controversial editing in light of Chertoff's management of the FEMA response to Katrina, and it seems likely given current affairs that this will only increase; this article is probably worth flagging as current affairs and keeping a close eye on. 80.192.5.25 1427, 3 Sep 2005 (UTC)

Most recently Chertoff has directed the FEMA response to Hurricane Katrina which devastated four southern states. On September 3, 2005, several days following the initial strike of the hurricane and subsequent catastrophic floods Chertoff, came under extreme criticism for his agency's perceived gross mismanagement of the rescue and recovery efforts. Charges of ineptitude and indiffference were lodged against President Bush's administration, in part due to FEMAs slow mobilization of rescue/recovery personnel to the affecteded areas, Chertoff was denounced by politicians,(New Orleans Mayor Nagin) news media outlets, (Newsweek) and local citizens (via CNN interviews) when he appeared to be defending the pace and scope of FEMA's response to the nation's largest natural disaster.

You think? Benjamin Gatti

Op Ed moved here - for a little more citation

"It should be noted, that the lack of regional communication was significant. No cell phone towers or electricy existed, and battery operated rescue radios frequently ran out of power only eight hours into any given rescue operation. Secretary Chertoff was relatively dis-connected with the local agencies. In the media onslaught during the hurricane aftermath, Secretary Chertoff was widely recognized as one of the only federal officials who candidly accepted blame, did not seek to place blame on others, and pushed for the continued relief of New Orleans residents."

(text move Benjamin Gatti)

"city"

I italicized city to get the point across--Jaysscholar 04:09, 6 September 2005 (UTC)

"New Orleans Dodges The Bullet"

In the last paragarph I put in a link to a nice site with front pages from all the major papers. Please don't remove it until it becomes clear which paper he was talking about. Right now, the whole "dodging the bullet" thing looks an awful lot like a bald faced lie.

If it turns out to be true, it will then be open for discussion why the feds are using front page headlines for meteorlogical study.

→ It's 'Bold faced lie,' not bald. 70.177.15.225 22:34, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

There is no reason at all to mention his last name's etymology

Unless the author of the article intends to imply that the Russian meaning of his last name in any way has affected his life or his role in the world, it is greatly to the deteriment of NPOV. At the very least more thorough research into why he bears that surname should be done, or preferably it should be removed as it gives us no insight into the man or his life.

If the name "Jefferson" meant "Bringer of Death" it wouldn't be appropriate in an article about Bill Clinton or Thomas Jefferson: William Jefferson Clinton (whose middle name means "Bringer of Death")...

It only implies in the reader's mind that there is a connection between the etymology of the surname and the person's actions.

Let's remove that irrelevant phrase about Chertoff's surname from the article.

What does "Irish born Jersey native" mean?

It's used to describe McCann in the second paragraph of the Public Service section. Was this guy born in Ireland or Jersey? Born in Ireland and brought to Jersey while still a baby?

Section on Gassy Remarks?

Michael Chertoff's "Gut Feeling" remarks seem news-worthy enough to garner intense coverage this week, should that translate to a section in the article?

It's worth a mention, Chertoff is publicly speculating that there will be a terrorist attack on US soil this summer ('07) based on no intelligence report or evidence other than his intuition. This is a far cry from the GOP rallying call that we're safer because they're in power. The criticism of his comments is that they seem like a cynical atttempt to scare Americans or, worse, that he actually thinks an attack will boost support for the US occupation of Iraq and, thus, would be a positive development. The implications of that reasoning are staggering.