Irrational Fear Of Olive-Skinned People

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

When you have people like Michelle Malkin and Sean Hannity whipping up frenzy about Muslims in general, and telling Americans to be "on guard" against terrorist plots, it’s not surprising that things like this happen:

A conflict between passengers at Lindbergh Field Tuesday night caused the overnight delay of an American Airlines flight headed to Chicago.

Hmmm.  A conflict.  What about?

Televised reports claimed that the incident involved a group of six to seven Iraqi Americans and another passenger who was apparently uncomfortable that the men were speaking in Arabic.

Six to seven men speaking Arabic.  That was what they were doing — speaking Arabic — and that’s what caused the passenger to freak out, and cause a flight to be postponed until the following day.  Despite the fact that these men (along with everyone else) went through the security measures.

Well, who were these guys?  Imams?  Radical would-be terrorist plane exploders?  What?  Sadly, the article doesn’t say.  Oh, but this one does:

The six Iraqi passengers had been training Marines at Camp Pendleton and worked for Defense Training Systems, a unit of International Logistics Services Corp. of Anchorage, Alaska, said Dave Stephens, the company’s chief executive officer.

Hmmm.  Kinda sounds like they were on our side.

Katrina Doctor Tells Story

Ken AshfordDisasters, Health CareLeave a Comment

The doctor who was accused of murdering patients in New Orleans as Katrina approached (fortunately, the grand jury refused to indict her) recounts the heart-wrenching facts of those days in Time.  A snippet:

In normal triage situations, the sickest people are treated first. But my understanding is that conditions were so bad, you and the other medical staff switched to a reverse triage or battlefield approach. Tell me about this.
The conditions were unbearable. Inside the hospital it was pitch black, with odors, smell, human waste everywhere. It was very rancid. You would take a breath in and it would burn the back of your throat. The patients were very sick. That’s when we had to go from triage to reverse triage because we came to realize if patients aren’t being evacuated, [we had to deal with what we had]. Basically it was a general consensus that we’re not going to be able to save everybody. We hope that we can, but we realize everybody may not make it out.

What were the categories?
We divided patients into groups one, two and three. Patients in category one are able to sit up and walk and are not very sick. Patients in three are critically ill, “Do Not Resuscitate.” The ones in category two were sick, but doing much [better than those in category three]. The triage system was very crude—we’d write the number 1, 2 or 3 on a sheet of paper and tape it across the patient’s chest with their hospital records. There was limited use of flashlights. There were limited batteries. [Parts of the hospital] were pitch black. I’m talking jet black. Very dangerous. It was pitch dark in inner rooms.

What is the reverse triage process like?
Let me tell you, for a patient to be triaged—typical triage isn’t that difficult. Reverse triage is heart wrenching. Absolutely heart wrenching. You place patients into categories. With boats coming and going we could evacuate patients who could sit. There were elderly couples—how do you make that decision who can go when one was sick and the spouse wasn’t? Do you let elderly couples go together as husband and wife? Some of these couples had been married 50 years.

I can’t possibly imagine what it must have been like, as a doctor, to be called upon to make decisions about who is to live and who is to die.

An Unconfortable Experience In The Public Men’s Room

Ken AshfordRandom MusingsLeave a Comment

As a fitting coda to my paranoid post yesterday, I’d thought I’d pass on this post from a diarist at Daily Kos:

Two weeks ago, the kids and I went on a trip to visit friends in San Antonio, Texas.  On the way we stopped at a rest area just off the interstate.  What happened next made me very uneasy…

I was drinking coffee heavily so that I would stay awake and needed to relieve myself pretty badly.  I pulled into a rest area, locked the car doors, left the kids sleeping in the car, and went into the restroom.  When I entered I noticed it was unoccupied except for a pair of sneakers visible under the second stall.

As I unzipped at one of the urinals and began to relieve my burning bladder I heard a voice say "Hey, what’s up?".  I looked around and there was no one else in the restroom.  After a moments hesitation, I answered "Not much".

A little time went by and he says, "What ya doing?".

I didn’t feel very comfortable talking to someone in a stall but I didn’t want to be rude and answered, "Uh…we are heading to San Antonio to visit friends."

"Want to come over?", he says. 

At this point I am really uncomfortable and I finish up and scoot over to the sink to wash up.  "No I don’t think so.", I replied.  Wow, was this something else.  I had never even had someone next to me with a wide stance before and now I’ve got someone in the stall asking me over! 

As I reached for the paper towels to dry my hands I hear, "Hey man, can I call you back?  There’s some asshole in the bathroom answering every thing I say."

Funny.

Progress In Iraq?

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

No, actually.

Iraq has failed to meet all but three of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and military progress, according to a draft of a Government Accountability Office report. The document questions whether some aspects of a more positive assessment by the White House last month adequately reflected the range of views the GAO found within the administration.

Read the whole thing.  What’s surprising is that the GAO — government officials themselves — all but calls the administration and the Pentagon liars. Politely, of course:

The draft provides a stark assessment of the tactical effects of the current U.S.-led counteroffensive to secure Baghdad. "While the Baghdad security plan was intended to reduce sectarian violence, U.S. agencies differ on whether such violence has been reduced," it states. While there have been fewer attacks against U.S. forces, it notes, the number of attacks against Iraqi civilians remains unchanged. It also finds that "the capabilities of Iraqi security forces have not improved."

"Overall," the report concludes, "key legislation has not been passed, violence remains high, and it is unclear whether the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion in reconstruction funds," as promised. While it makes no policy recommendations, the draft suggests that future administration assessments "would be more useful" if they backed up their judgments with more details and "provided data on broader measures of violence from all relevant U.S. agencies."

It’s important to note, as WaPo explains, that this report was leaked.  And WaPo explained the leaker’s motivation: he suspected that this report would be watered down after it went through the hands of the DoD.  In other words, had it not been leaked, it would have been massaged by the Bush cronies to reflect, well, kinda good news. 

Two Years Ago Today

Ken AshfordBush & Co., DisastersLeave a Comment

With a strong nod to Digby…

Katrinasatellitemoisture7AM CDT — KATRINA MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]

7:30 AM CDT — BUSH ADMINISTRATION NOTIFIED OF THE LEVEE BREACH: The administration finds out that a levee in New Orleans was breached. On this day, 28 “government agencies, from local Louisiana parishes to the White House, [reported that] that New Orleans levees” were breached. [AP]

8AM CDT — MAYOR NAGIN REPORTS THAT WATER IS FLOWING OVER LEVEE: “I’ve gotten reports this morning that there is already water coming over some of the levee systems. In the lower ninth ward, we’ve had one of our pumping stations to stop operating, so we will have significant flooding, it is just a matter of how much.” [NBC’s “Today Show”]

11:13 AM CDT – WHITE HOUSE CIRCULATES INTERNAL MEMO ABOUT LEVEE BREACH: “Flooding is significant throughout the region and a levee in New Orleans has reportedly been breached sending 6-8 feet of water throughout the 9th ward area of the city.” [AP]

MORNING — BROWN WARNS BUSH ABOUT THE POTENTIAL DEVASTATION OF KATRINA: In a briefing, Brown warned Bush, “This is, to put it mildly, the big one, I think.” He also voiced concerns that the government may not have the capacity to “respond to a catastrophe within a catastrophe” and that the Superdome was ill-equipped to be a refuge of last resort. [AP]

MORNING — MAYFIELD WARNS BUSH ABOUT THE TOPPING OF THE LEVEES: In the same briefing, Max Mayfield, National Hurricane Center Director, warns, “This is a category 5 hurricane, very similar to Hurricane Andrew in the maximum intensity, but there’s a big big difference. This hurricane is much larger than Andrew ever was. I also want to make absolutely clear to everyone that the greatest potential for large loss of lives is still in the coastal areas from the storm surge. … I don’t think anyone can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not, but there’s obviously a very very grave concern.” [AP]

MORNING — BUSH CALLS SECRETARY CHERTOFF TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION: “I spoke to Mike Chertoff today — he’s the head of the Department of Homeland Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this issue [immigration], so we got us an airplane on — a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I said, are you working with the governor? He said, you bet we are.” [White House]

MccainbirthdayMORNING — BUSH SHARES BIRTHDAY CAKE PHOTO-OP WITH SEN. JOHN MCCAIN [White House]

11AM CDT — MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY REQUESTS THAT DHS DISPATCH 1,000 EMPLOYEES TO REGION, GIVES THEM TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE: “Brown’s memo to Chertoff described Katrina as ‘this near catastrophic event’ but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, ‘Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities.’” [AP]

LATE MORNING — LEVEE BREACHED: “A large section of the vital 17th Street Canal levee, where it connects to the brand new ‘hurricane proof’ Old Hammond Highway bridge, gave way late Monday morning in Bucktown after Katrina’s fiercest winds were well north.” [Times-Picayune]

11AM CDT — BUSH VISITS ARIZONA RESORT TO PROMOTE MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: “This new bill I signed says, if you’re a senior and you like the way things are today, you’re in good shape, don’t change. But, by the way, there’s a lot of different options for you. And we’re here to talk about what that means to our seniors.” [White House]

Katrinabodyafpgetty17661944:30PM CDT — BUSH TRAVELS TO CALIFORNIA SENIOR CENTER TO DISCUSS MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: “We’ve got some folks up here who are concerned about their Social Security or Medicare. Joan Geist is with us. … I could tell — she was looking at me when I first walked in the room to meet her, she was wondering whether or not old George W. is going to take away her Social Security check.” [White House]

8PM CDT — RUMSFELD ATTENDS SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL GAME: Rumsfeld “joined Padres President John Moores in the owner’s box…at Petco Park.” [Editor & Publisher]

8PM CDT — GOV. BLANCO AGAIN REQUESTS ASSISTANCE FROM BUSH: “Mr. President, we need your help. We need everything you’ve got.” [Newsweek]

LATE PM — BUSH GOES TO BED WITHOUT ACTING ON BLANCO’S REQUESTS [Newsweek]

Bush, two years ago tomorrow….

Bush_guitar_830

A Daily Kos diarist writes: “The tragic lesson of Katrina is what will happen when men and women who openly despise our government — who brag they plan to weaken it until they can drown it in a bathtub — are allowed to govern. After telling the nation that they and only they could keep us safe from any and all threats, the neo-clowns were caught off guard by a Weapon of Mass Destruction called ‘water,’ arising from a storm that could be seen lumbering toward the Gulf Coast from the surface of the moon for a week.”

Crazy Sexy Cancer

Ken AshfordHealth Care, Women's IssuesLeave a Comment

KriscarrBest. Documentary. Title. Ever.

Looks interesting too:

Crazy Sexy Cancer is an irreverent and uplifting documentary about a young woman looking for a cure and finding her life.

In 2003, 31-year-old actress/photographer Kris Carr was diagnosed with a rare and incurable cancer. Weeks later she began filming her story. Taking a seemingly tragic situation and turning it into a creative expression, Kris shares her inspirational story of survival with courage, strength, and lots of humor.

With experimental treatment as her only option, Kris became determined to find answers where there were none. She traveled throughout the country interviewing experts in alternative medicine as she tenaciously dove head first into a fascinating and often hilarious holistic world. Along the way, she met other vivacious young women determined to become survivors. Their stories are as poignant and exciting as the women who tell them. As Kris’s amazing journey unfolds, she realizes that healing is about truly living rather than fighting.

Crazy Sexy Cancer is more than a film, it’s an attitude! It’s about rising to the challenge of life, and no matter what, refusing to give up who you are at your core.  This story is as funny as it is frightening, as joyous as it is outrageous. Ultimately, Crazy Sexy Cancer is a thought provoking film about, friendship, love and growing up.

Debuts on The Learning Channel tonight.  Fire up those TIVos.

Also, Kris Carr’s blog is here.

UPDATE:  More thoughts from me here

GOP Woes [UPDATED]

Ken AshfordRepublicansLeave a Comment

Article in The New York Times sums it up:  A Scandal-Scarred G.O.P. Asks, ‘What Next?’

The basic gist is that the GOP cannot win elections if they alienate the Christian Right.  And this constant drumbeat of sex scandals is alienating the Christian Right.  Here are some select quotes:

Scott Reid, GOP strategist: “The real question for Republicans in Washington is how low can you go, because we are approaching a level of ridiculousness… You can’t make this stuff up. And the impact this is having on the grass-roots around the country is devastating. Republicans think the governing class in Washington are a bunch of buffoons who have total disregard for the principles of the party, the law of the land and the future of the country.”

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council: “Exit polls show that was the No. 1 factor in depressing Republican enthusiasm… There is an expectation that leaders who espouse family values will live by those values. And while the values voters don’t demand perfection, I do believe they want leaders with integrity.”

Now, it’s not like the Christian Right is not going to vote Democratic.  They simply won’t vote.  But without them, the GOP cannot hope to be the majority party.

UPDATE:  This post by Professor Dale Carpenter is spot-on, and makes many of the same points I’ve made.

He basically writes that most Republican politicians are, in fact, NOT anti-gay.  He adds that many Republicans themselves are gay, just like the rest of American.  But the party itself is so beholden to the anti-gay Christian Right (a min9ority, but a powerful minority nonetheless), that it cannot afford to alienate them.  So we get a schism (which amounts, in my estimation, to hypocrisy) wherein Republican politicians feel they must demonstrate (to varying degrees) their anti-gay, "pro-family" creds in order to woo that small but influential bloc of prudes.

Democrats don’t feel this pinch:

This doesn’t happen to the Democrats because the party’s public and private attitudes toward homosexuality are fully consistent: acceptance of gays. Their homosexuals feel little need to remain closeted (with the recent exception of Jim “I am a Gay American” McGreevey). Notably, past sex scandals involving gay Democrats, like Rep. Barney Frank (with a prostitute) and Rep. Gerry Studds (with a congressional page), occurred some two decades ago, when the party was less accepting and the men themselves were still closeted.

He concludes:

The only practical way out of this for the GOP is to come to the point where its homosexuals no longer feel the need to hide. And that won’t happen until the party’s public message is more closely aligned with its private one. That will be the day when the GOP greets its gay supporters the way Larry Craig, with unintended irony, greeted reporters yesterday at his news conference: “Thank you all very much for coming out today.”

The Perils Of Not Having A Secret Gay Decoder Ring

Ken AshfordCrime, Sex/Morality/Family Values3 Comments

It looks like Senator Craig is toast, and I’m shedding no tears.  As I stated before, I have no problem with his homosexuality alleged homosexuality.  And while cheating on one’s wife is not moral or honorable, I don’t think that alone should disqualify one for public office either. My problem with Craig is that he advocated social policies which were blatently anti-gay, while (apparently) engaging in homosexual relationships, and then denying it.  So I’m not sad to see a bad senator go.

But there’s a larger issue that concerns me, and it goes outside of politics.  And that is the Craig’s behavior itself.  Unlike other Republicans in the news, he didn’t actually solicit sex.  At worst, he merely exhibited behavior which — if you know the code — suggested that he was available for sex (which, strictly speaking, isn’t a crime either).

From reading the news and blogs, I was directed to this post at a gay group blog called gayorbit.com:

I’ve never had a sexual encounter in a public bathroom. Quite honestly, I think I would have been too scared even if I wanted to. But I know exactly how to get a blow job in a stall if I wanted it. And I always knew.

Tap, Tap, Tap.

Any gay man who is at least my age knows what tapping your foot while sitting on the john in a public toilet means. It means you are available. And here’s another thing. Any gay man at least my age knows the difference between some guy in a stall tapping his foot to the beat of the latest song on his Walkman and a

Tap, Tap, Tap

that means you are “looking.”

Here’s the thing: The cops know it, too. If a man in the stall next door goes, tappity, tap, tap, tappity, tap, tap, the cop knows that the person is not looking. If the person is going

Tap, Tap, Tap

it’s plenty obvious.

I have no doubt about what Larry Craig was doing in the bathroom stall at that airport. And I know the cops knew what he was doing.

And he wasn’t listening to his Walkman. No gay person who is at least my age would argue with that if he was honest. We may not have ever solicited public sex in a bathroom, but we definitely knew how to do it if we wanted to.

(Emphasis mine)

Okay.  I didn’t know that foot-tapping means is a signal for gay sex**.  Apparently, "any" gay man knows this, and cops know this, but being neither, I didn’t know this.

Now, I think I’m not inclined to tap my foot in public restrooms.  I can’t say for sure; it’s not something I think about.  But now it’s got me paranoid.  What if I go in to a public restroom and absent-mindedly tap my foot?

Or… what if I scratch my nose?  What if THAT is a signal for something?

And I worry about this not because I wish to avoid getting hit on by gay men.  Should that (unlikely) event arise, I would simply tell my "suiter" that I’m not interested.  Awkward, but not unbearable.  No, what I worry about is some undercover cop arresting me for public lewdness merely because I tapped my foot (or scratched my nose, or whatever the signal-du-jour is).

Let’s look at a different situation.  Say I go to a bar or hot spot.  There’s a girl at the end of the bar.  She keeps looking at me.  She smiles at me.  She winks at me.  And then she pointedly licks her lips.  (This, of course, doesn’t happen to me in reality, but I bring it up for illustrative purposes).  Is there any doubt what she is interested in?  And more importantly, has she done anything illegal at that point?  She’s giving signals — that’s all. 

Now let’s take the facts of the Craig matter.  What is different?  A public place.  Signals indicating an interest and/or availability.  Same thing.  In BOTH cases, it’s not "solicitation" in the criminal sense.  And I would suggest that foot-tapping, being ambiguous, is far less "lewd" than overt lip-licking.

Sure, an argument can be made that it’s different when you are in a public restroom, as opposed to a public bar.  But what if the fictional lip-licking girl and I were in one of those unisex bathrooms?  Assuming she’s not in my stall, would she be commiting an illegal act?

Given the fact that the lewd behavior was an ambiguous "signal", I can’t help but wonder how much this has to do with gay-ness, as opposed to standards of public decency.

I don’t know.  Maybe it’s best for me to just "hold it" and wait until I get home — at least until we live in a society where people don’t have to engage in cloak-and-dagger silliness in order to identify who they are and what they want. 

** To my credit, I know that if you shake a man’s hand, and his finger is folded, that’s his way of telling you he’s gay.  Learned that in college from a gay friend.  But that was 25 years ago, and I suspect times have changed.

RELATED:  Speaking of bathroom behavior and subtle clues, here’s a quiz….

Why I Support The Idaho Values Alliance

Ken AshfordSex/Morality/Family ValuesLeave a Comment

Not because they are calling for the resignation of (gay? in denial? lying?) Senator Larry "Bathroom Stalls" Craig, but because of this:

One larger issue must be addressed. The Republican Party platform clearly rejects the agenda of homosexual activists. The Party, in the wake of the Mark Foley incident in particular, can no longer straddle the fence on the issue of homosexual behavior. Even setting Senator Craig’s situation aside, the Party should regard participation in the self-destructive homosexual lifestyle as incompatible with public service on behalf of the GOP.

No member of the Republican Party in the 1860s could represent his party and be a slaveholder at the same time. Nor can the Republican Party of today speak with authority and clarity to the moral issues that confront our society and at the same time send ambivalent messages about sexual behavior. It is time for the Republican Party to be the party that defends the American family in word, deed, and by personal example.

Cool.  If you remove all the gays, adulterers, child molesters, abortion recipients, gamblers, drinkers, etc. from the GOP, then you’ll end up with a Democratic majority.

Two Things I Didn’t Know About Ted Nugent

Ken AshfordRight Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

(1)  Apparently, he still is popular enough to give concerts

(2)  He’s batshit crazy.  I mean, I knew he was pro-gun, but I didn’t know that he was off-the-charts batshit crazy.

So Ted Nugent roams a concert stage while toting automatic weapons, calls Barack Obama "a piece of —–" and says he told Obama to suck on one of his machine-guns. He also calls Hillary Clinton a "worthless bitch" and Dianne Feinstein a "worthless whore."

That Nugent, he’s a man’s man. He talks the talk and walks the walk, right?

Except when it was time to register for the draft during the Vietnam era. By his own admission, Nugent stopped all forms of personal hygiene for a month and showed up for his draft board physical in pants caked with his own urine and feces, winning a deferment. Creative!

Ah, but that was a long time ago. Nugent isn’t just a washed-up rocker — he’s a right-wing madman who’s not afraid to call out some of the leading Democrats in language so vile it makes the Dixie Chick Natalie Maines’ comments about President Bush sound like a love poem.

You’d think even someone such as Sean Hannity would dismiss Nugent as a macho clown, desperate for attention.

Yeah, right.

The Coming Pandemic

Ken AshfordAvian/Swine FluLeave a Comment

KisskisI haven’t written in a while about the Avian Flu — mostly because it looked like it was under check.  You know, a bunch of Asians french-kissing chickens.  The virus wasn’t something likely to spread from human to human.

Except…

Oh, crap:

A mathematical analysis has confirmed that H5N1 avian influenza spread from person to person in Indonesia in April, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

They said they had developed a tool to run quick tests on disease outbreaks to see if dangerous epidemics or pandemics may be developing.

Health officials around the world agree that a pandemic of influenza is overdue, and they are most worried by the H5N1 strain of avian influenza that has been spreading through flocks from Asia to Africa.

It rarely passes to humans, but since 2003 it has infected 322 people and killed 195 of them.

Most have been infected directly by birds. But a few clusters of cases have been seen and officials worry most about the possibility that the virus has acquired the ability to pass easily and directly from one person to another. That would spark a pandemic.

The sucker has mutated.  It’s deadly.  There is no known vaccine.

Don’t panic.

A Closer Look At “The Blonde Moment”

Ken AshfordRandom MusingsLeave a Comment

You’ve all seen the video.  Now let’s parse her answer.  Remember the questions was, why couldn’t one-fifth of Americans locate our country on a world map. And here’s how Miss South Carolina responded:

I personally believe that U.S. Americans…

As opposed to U.S. Algerians, for example…

…are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don’t have maps…

Really?  People in America don’t have access to maps?  None in the schools?

…and, uh, I believe that our education like such as in South Africa…

It is clear at the point that she was trying to score points with the judges by mentioning South Africa.  You can tell her friends said, "Listen, no matter what they ask, be sure to mention South Africa.  It shows that you know all about South Africa."

…and, uh, the Iraq…

Same here with Iraq.  Probably should have dropped the "the" though.

…everywhere like, such as…

Let’s see.  Mentioned South Africa, check.  Iraq, check.  Where is she going?  Is she going to work in AIDS?

…and I believe that they should,…

Well, yes, they should.  If only we knew who "they" were (South Africans? The Iraqs? U.S. Americans?) and what "they" should do….

…our education over here in the U.S….

Ah, bring it back to the question.  Good for you, Miss South Carolina.

…should help…

Well, yes.  It sounds almost like a coherent thought.  Our education over here in the U.S. should help…. who?!?  You’re almost there, honey….

…the U.S., er, should help South Africa…

Oooooh.  So close.  Almost made a complete thought with "Our education over here in the U.S. should held the U.S." (not a particularly insightful thought, but a complete one), and then you mess it up by suggesting that the education over here in the U.S. should help South Africa.

…and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries…

Dig that hole deeper.  Now notice that she has used the phrase "the Iraq" again, which makes about as much sense as saying "I live in the South Carolina".  The fact that she used the phrase "the Iraq" twice, shows that she was not just simply suffering from a case of the jitters, but she is, in fact, totally blonde.

…so we will be able to build up our future for our children.

Well, if that’s not a cliche stock answer, I don’t know what is.

So let’s boil it down to its essence:

Question:  Why is it, do you thing, that one-fifth of Americans cannot locate the United States on a map?

Answer:  Because they don’t have maps.  Education of U.S. Americans should help South Africa, Iraq, and Asia, which in turn will build up the future for our children.

Hard to believe she only was thrid runner-up.

The correct answer to the question, by the way, is this: "Fox News"

I Like This, From John Edwards

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

A good idea:

Passing "Brownie’s Law," so agencies like FEMA get the job done: Edwards will enact a new requirement – "Brownie’s Law" – ensuring that senior political appointees actually are qualified to perform the job to which they are appointed. Brownie’s Law will require that heads of executive agencies and other senior officials have demonstrated qualifications in the field related to their job.