This post requires a bit of explanation. It is one of those "connection things," or in more primitive terms, a "rabbit trail" that acquired symmetry as I chased along it.
I began by asking myself idly, "I wonder how John Negroponte is doing; has he yet settled in as the new Director of National Intelligence?" My first task was to "google" him. I entered "Negroponte" assuming that only he would turn up. Up came Nicholas. "Hmm! I wonder if they are brothers." Next in the search list of hits came: Daily Kos: Daily Kos Negroponte Fact Center. Yes, indeed John and Nicholas are brothers, and both rather high achievers. Nicholas is a computer whiz at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and recently made the news: The $100 laptop is on the way. He answers questions about the project here. Nicholas Negroponte is profiled here on the MIT website. Our friend Wikipedia mentions his best selling 1995 book, Being Digital. He must be very bright.
His older brother, John is very bright also. He speaks several languages fluently. Appointed in April to be the first Director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte, is tasked with coordinating our national intelligence community. He is officially the President's daily "briefer," though I was not able to find out whether he does this in person every day. In the Wikipedia article linked to his name, there are two lines of favorable comments, and 13 of criticism. Director Negroponte seems to have had a controversial role in the Iran-Contra affair. At the CNN.com Cold War site, here is the transcript of a 1999 interview with John Negroponte. It was hard to find out how he is doing these days. I had predicted that he would try very hard to stay under the radar and he has done fairly well at staying out of the news. But I did find these items. This article delves into how he might do in his new DNI position. In recent news articles, he says we need to know more about the Iraqi insurgents, and that the Terrorist Screening Center has helped local officials. Also, Mr. Negroponte is now calling for a fresh look at our spy satellite program. There is also a hint that the DOD may be trying to shield some of its intelligence activities from DNI Negroponte. To summarize, this man of many jobs, who has come up through the ranks, has one of the most difficult posts in all of the federal government. And we are being asked to invest an incredible amount of trust in his integrity. I'll keep watching.
Two other very famous brothers have been all over the news in the past few days. Meet the Bennett brothers, Bill and Bob. Bob's been seen with Judy Miller, who is now out of jail. And Bill's been seen with his foot in his mouth. Attorney Robert S. Bennett has been called a legend in the law. Mr. Bennett has very successfully represented many well-known clients; his latest is reporter Judith Miller in the Valerie Plame case. He also was President Clinton's personal attorney. He is generally seen as an outstanding lawyer, able to avoid verbal blunders, though this last link alludes to one small difficulty. His brother is the former Secretary of Education, William Bennett. His (what I believe are unconsciously racist) comments about black babies and the crime rate generated a firestorm of protest. Here are a couple of blog posts that are representative: Charging RINO on Bill Bennett, and Brown Bag on Bill Bennett. To close my thoughts on this daring duo, I found it fascinating that Wikipedia is completely up to date on Bennett's controversial radio show.
The last two brothers are part of what is known by some as a current American dynasty. Republicans see the Bush brothers, George W. and Jeb, as high achievers, also. I will confine myself to comparing and contrasting their performance in handling hurricanes. This 2004 story is ironic, considering how President Bush couldn't quite remember "how to do this thing" from one year to the next. This blogger seems to think that the performance difference can be explained by the fact that the election year had passed. This Floridian thinks her governor does a pretty good job with hurricanes. I sincerely want our federal government to do well with Gulf Coast hurricane relief, but I am not optimistic.
I see tremendous differences between each of the three sets of brothers. In each case, I think I have more admiration and respect for one brother than the other - Nicholas, Robert and Jeb. I worry that the other three - John, William, and Dubya, might not have their internal compasses set in the right direction. I very much hope I am wrong. After all, who am I to judge? And why would I presume to be judgmental? Well, in each case, these men held or now hold public office. Officials' internal compasses need to be pointed to True North. That is the direction that assures the best chance for us all to stay safe and protected.
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