Talk:Tom Ridge
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Do we really need the section on a horse at a state fair? james_anatidae 03:58, Dec 3, 2004 (UTC)
Could someone add some qualifications, if any, to lead Homeland Security? Did he have any background in espionage, counterterrorism, or middle-eastern studies? Did he ever work in, on, or around personal or corporate security (e.g., Pinkerton Agency), law-enforcement, civil defense, or emergency management? What was his role in Vietnam? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.222.243.78 (talk • contribs).
If Tom Ridge was in office during Hurricane Katrina, we would not have had the mess we did. If we're lucky, someone will convince him to run for president in 2008. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.7.1.55 (talk • contribs).
[edit] Manipulation of terror alerts by Bush administration
I would suggest the addition of this section, and the corresponding citation:
On May 10, 2005, Ridge reveals that virtually all of the six terror alerts issued by DHS between the time of the first alert (February 12, 2002) and the November 2 election were based on the flimsiest of evidence, and had been issued primarily for polictical purposes. Ridge's protests over the lack of credible intelligence and the political uses of the terror alerts were routinely overruled by other administration officials, most notably Attorney General John Ashcroft. "There were times when some people were really aggressive about raising it,"Ridge recalls, "and we said, 'For that?'" Of course, at the time, Ridge was quite compliant towards the administration's wishes for terror alerts, as when he said of the thoroughly unwarranted August 1, 2004 alert, "We don't do politics in the DHS." And Ridge spent plenty of time consulting with GOP political operatives and stumping for Bush on the campaign trail.
USA Today, May 10, 2005, "Ridge Reveals Clashes on Alerts," http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-05-10-ridge-alerts_x.htm
Al Franken, The Truth, With Jokes, ©2005 Dutton
If there are no objections, I will add this shortly. -- Black Max August 6, 2006
[edit] Vonage
I was just reading up on the prospectus of Vonage, the broadband telephone company that's going through the final stages of their IPO process as I speak, and I noticed that "Governor Thomas J Ridge" is a Directory of that company named in the prospectus. I think it might be useful/informative/etc if both this page and the Vonage page were updated to that effect, since we mention Home Depot here, and there is a "Key Persons" on the Vonage entry, but the connection isn't shown on eithre at the moment. The connection of such a strong political figure to an up and coming tech company going through an IPO is significant (and a connection between a former homeland security guy and phone company could raise privacy concerns for some consipracy theorists). I leave these edits to others, I don't feel up to the task. The prospectus where I found the link is:
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1272830/000104746906007477/a2169686zs-1a.htm
