Obama Names FCC Transition Team

President-Elect Picks Panel To Aid In New Agency Selections

(CNET)  President-elect Barack Obama's transition team on Friday announced who will lead the transition project's review of the Federal Communications Commission, the office of the United States Trade Representative, and a number of other agencies, departments, and executive offices.

The new team members will review the agencies and offices to aid the new administration in its planning decisions. Obama's transition group first announced the formation of the teams on Wednesday.

Susan Crawford, a communications law and Internet law professor at the University of Michigan, is a leader of the FCC review team. Crawford was until recently on the ICANN board of directors. Kevin Werbach, an assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, is the other FCC review team lead. Werbach organizes the annual Supernova technology conference and formerly served as counsel for new technology policy at the FCC.

Jim Kohlenberger, who served as senior domestic policy adviser to Vice President Al Gore and helped pass the Telecommunications Act of 1996, is a leader of the National Science Foundation review team. He is executive director of the Voice on the Net Coalition, which represents the voice over IP industry, and is a senior fellow at the Benton Foundation, which aims to ensure media and telecommunications serve democracy.

Henry Rivera, who represents the telecommunications sector for the firm Wiley Rein, is the other National Science Foundation review team leader. Rivera served as an FCC commissioner and is a past president of the Federal Communications Bar Association.

Anna Gomez, vice president of government affairs for Sprint Nextel, is a leader of the United States Trade Representative review team. Gomez served as senior legal adviser to FCC Chairman Bill Kennard and held a number of other positions in the FCC, including chief of the network services division. She also briefly served as counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee's telecommunications subcommittee.

Peter Cowhey, the other leader of the United States Trade Representative review team, served as chief of the FCC's international bureau and is now associate vice chancellor and dean of the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego.

Christopher Putala, who will lead the reviewal of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, previously served as senior staff to Vice President-elect Joe Biden on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Putala was executive vice president for public policy at EarthLink, an Internet service provider, from 2005 to 2007, and was vice president for congressional relations at CTIA, the wireless trade association.

A number of other advisers named Friday have experience or expertise in telecommunications and other technology sectors. For instance, Susan Ness, who leads the Federal Trade Commission review team, is a former FCC commissioner. Gloria Parker, who is leading the National Archives and Records Administration review team, was the Department of Housing and Urban Development's first chief information officer and is a director at the Computer Sciences Corporation.

Updated November 16 to correct Mr. Werbach's name, which is Kevin, not Ken.

[deathofusa]

Hillary should think long and hard before she gave up
a powerful senate seat that is hers for the asking for
as long as she wants it, for the most tenuous job in any
new administration. Now, why would the first African
American president want to appoint his biggest political
rival Secretary of State, knowing full well it would
effectively end Hillary Clinton''''s political
career, and give the African American governor of
NY, by default, the opportunity to appoint anybody
he chooses, Colin Powell, for instance, to fill her
vacant senate seat? I mean, Hillary could hardly come
back in four or eight years and realistically challenge
a sitting fellow Democrat for her old seat, now could she?
I hear the Big O is retiring her talk show, maybe Oprah
would like to be the Junior Senator from NY? For a man
that always warns everybody else to be on their guard against
racism, Barack Obama plays the politics of race very, very
well.
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Posted by skuareoff at 03:18 AM : Nov 17, 2008


OB knows Hillary will be a thorn in his side if she remains in the Senate. She can make him pay. Lol. I love it.

[prudentvoter]

If he is going to chaeck out anybodys past, he should take a long hard look at the Clinton history. It stinks.

[libra217]

Donations were fraudently made to the Obama campaign by people who did not give their real name, which is a violation of that particular campaign law.

Posted by nojoy01 at 11:54 AM : Nov 16, 2008

The same thing happened with some of McCain''s campaign contributions. I suppose you just ignore that inconvenient little fact.

[libra217]

You notice there was never any mention of his illegal alien aunt living in squaller in Boston.

Posted by lrryerc6 at 03:44 PM : Nov 16, 2008

If there was "never any mention of it", how come you (and I) know about it ? Mmmm ?

And "no dead grandmother" ? Your hatred is BLINDING you.

[somnilocus]

"Now that you mention granny. Was there even a funeral for granny? Hmmmm. How weird that no one covered it if there was one. How''''''''s that? Anyone else curious? What did they do with granny?"

Some people are un-frickin-believable. Just because you didn''t hear about it means that it never happened and there''s a huge conspiracy blah blah blah? Try Google before you speak.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/11/obamas-grandmot.html

Oh, I''ll be damned, look at that.

And apparently some idiots decided to picket at it. Isn''t that lovely? Perhaps that''s why it was kept fairly quiet: because people are ignorant a-holes.

[deathofusa]

Why don''''t you go find out and then report to us.

For those of you who find it convenient for this can you tell me if you can plan death, you idiots are really far fetching. I am sure they held a private funeral where no one knew about it. But I guess that would be to hard for you people to understand
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Posted by DJ_IL at 05:25 PM : Nov 16, 2008


Just one more of those things you cant confirm with Obama. Not ONE news outlet covered ANYTHING about a funeral for granny. Give me a break. Either granny died some time ago or she is still alive. You guys are sooo gullable. I know you want to believe but please wake up, open your eyes.

[deathofusa]

Ask his dead Grandmother - convienient)? Posted by kerick913 at 08:34 AM : Nov 16, 2008


Now that you mention granny. Was there even a funeral for granny? Hmmmm. How weird that no one covered it if there was one. How''''s that? Anyone else curious? What did they do with granny?

[lrryerc6]

I wouldn''t hang around with a racist, unless I was one too.

[lrryerc6]

There is no dead grandmother.It was ploy to get sympathy votes.If there was anything to it the left wing media would have been all over it. You notice there was never any mention of his illegal alien aunt living in squaller in Boston. Wonder what else our socialist media didn''t tell us.

[nickpr53]

wow this is a bit crazy... why not have a 9 page questionnaire that asks for your views on critical questions and then say that any statements made by you that contradict your declarations could lead to a dismissal? Anyway I''m not pleased with this at all and I hope it''s clarified... otherwise obama will take a hit at http://www.spinwhip.com/obama

[citizen08]

Obama sounds like the next Hitler to me (and I hope they document me for this comment). Why is it that a person who will not even disclose his university thesis or records (or information about many of his past associations) demands to know whether someone owns a gun or has posted anti-Obama info on the Web. This man is dangerous for America.

[nojoy01]

mr22587

The top site I seen is newsmax which is not a credible source because they don''''t cite their source. Again try looking for the FEC statistics

Posted by DJ_IL at 12:04 PM : Nov 16, 2008

22587, give it up. DJ ain''t interested in the truth. Your sources will all be ''unreliable'' and suggesting that you are ''hiding'' something and, in general, discredit the messenger so the message will be ignored. It is a great tactic, it was used in Germany in the 1930s. Works really well too.

[nojoy01]

These were donations to Obama''''s campaign. Obama is to cheap to donate his money.

Posted by mr22587 at 11:47 AM : Nov 16, 2008

mr22587;

Do you mind explaining to me what you are trying to prove, besides that he donates money to schools and business?

Posted by DJ_IL at 11:45 AM : Nov 16, 2008

I see, mr DJ_IL that you have not grasped what the press had been reporting for weeks/months before the election. Donations were fraudently made to the Obama campaign by people who did not give their real name, which is a violation of that particular campaign law. OF course, if it were republicans ''hiding in the closet'' and donating to Obamas'' campaign, I can understand why they would lie.

[nojoy01]

Hey guy? As paranoid as Obama is appearing to be, I wouldn''''''''t say things like this. You are going to find two NSA agents at your door, at the very least. Freedom of speech is now gone. Remember that.

Posted by deathofusa

You wish!! Nice try but there was no law passed yet

Posted by DJ_IL at 11:26 AM : Nov 16, 2008

Just an observation. Any law passed restricting free speech would ''probably'' be ruled unconstitutional. IF someone in the White House (not just the presicent elect, but any past or future) wanted to eliminate free speech, what would probably happen is that you would find yourself under investigation by the various law enforcement agencies of the executive branch. The FBI, ATF, IRS, SS(Secret Service)(counterfeiting, death threats), and many more not so well known agencies. And nobody is so perfect in their personal professional life that SOMETHING could not be found and turned into a crime. That is how the First Amendment would become irrelevant. Personally, I do not think that is going to happen w/this president. Or has happened (well, maybe nixon)

[seah5]

Is this saying he will not hire people like himself?

Or that he is looking for people like himself?

He lied about his family, He lied about each and every friend he had, he lied about Acquaintances. He went to other nations behind the backs of Americans and told them he was lying to the American people.


He got the assistance of a friend under federal investigation of felonies to assist in buying his house.

Can the people he already has placed in his cabinet pass his application to work for him?

How can he judge others by what he does himself.

[Stratmaster7]

Posted by deathofusa at 10:36 AM

you mean good Morning America? Yeah, that was the interview where he said that a relationship between him and Obama was a myth. He also said he hadn''t even met Obama when he agreed to hold a coffee fundraiser and that Obama attended about 20 of them in 20 different homes that day. He did it at the request of another politician. He said he knew Obama like "thousands of others" and he wished he could say he knew him better. The interviewer kept pushing him and pushing him and still couldn''t establish any meaningful connection.

[deathofusa]

Really? Because ABC has 2 stories on Ayers on the 1st page of their politics section on the web site today, and both of them quote Ayers as saying any connection was a "myth".

You can quit lying now, really! The election is over.
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Posted by Stratmaster2 at 10:33 AM : Nov 16, 2008


He was ON ABC on either Thursday or Friday of last week when he said it. Maybe you can check their program archives. Not the paper. The television show in the morning with Diane Sawyer.

[Stratmaster7]

Not CBS, ABC news.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by deathofusa at 10:24 AM

Really? Because ABC has 2 stories on Ayers on the 1st page of their politics section on the web site today, and both of them quote Ayers as saying any connection was a "myth".

You can quit lying now, really! The election is over.

[deathofusa]

Duh...He said the exact opposite. you obviouslt didn''''t see the interview, and you must not be able to read either, as the article clearly states the opposite.
------------------------------------------------------
Posted by Stratmaster2 at 10:17 AM : Nov 16, 2008


Not CBS, ABC news.

[Stratmaster7]

Posted by deathofusa at 10:11 AM

Duh...He said the exact opposite. you obviouslt didn''t see the interview, and you must not be able to read either, as the article clearly states the opposite.