by Lisa Rein of the Washington Post
“The president is under intense pressure from gay activists to appoint an openly gay secretary to his cabinet…”
(Astrid Riecken/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST)
Federal employees may know John Berry as the face of the workforce in his role as director of the Office of Personnel Management.
Berry, 53, is now expected to be considered by the Obama administration to replace Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who confirmed early Wednesday that he will leave his post in March and return to Colorado.
Interior secretaries generally hail from the West, and Berry, a Rockville native, does not. But the president is under intense pressure from gay activists to appoint an openly gay secretary to his cabinet, a historic move. And Berry fits the bill.
He also has experience, serving at Interior during the Clinton administration as Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget then moving to direct the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the National Zoo during the second Bush administration. Obama tapped Berry to run OPM in 2009.
Berry told the Post in an e-mail Wednesday morning, “I stand ready to serve this President in whatever capacity that he feels helpful.”
His likely competition includes former Washington state governor Chris Gregoire (D), former congressman Norm Dicks (D-Wash), former North Dakota senator Byron Dorgan (D), former Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) and Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes. A less likely contender is Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.).
Click (HERE) to visit the Post and to Comment
Related Articles
- Breaking News: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to leave cabinet position in March (rtfitchauthor.com)
- Groups Push Raúl Grijalva for Secretary of Interior Slot (rtfitchauthor.com)
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Why is being gay a qualification? Not sure what that has to do with anything. Being from the west never helped with Salazar, so I don’t care where this guy hails from, but gay is not going to help wild horses. Anyone know his stance on the issue?
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I don’t care if whoever is elected is gay or a purple martian from deep space. I just care that he listens to all the people demanding he do the right thing by the wild horses and burros and stop wasting tax payer money.
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Roger that…
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Roger that as well.
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Huge Roger that ALSO !!!!!!!
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Well said. To get them to listen is a really big deal.
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Wow this change came very fast!! Interesting
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I don’t care as long as he is qualified and has the WILL to protect and preserve our Wild Life and our Public Lands and not be influenced by those who do not. This remains to be seen.
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So Grijalva is a less likely competitor? Is it because he would advocate too hard on behalf of our animals?
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no, it’s because he is a relatively newbie on the Hill and doesn’t have the clout to be considered for this post.
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He has Horse advocate Clout !!!! He is the only man fully equipt with all necessary to Manage our Wild Mustangs !!!!! Senator Raul Grijalva…………………………
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I would appreciate this appointment being filled by an animalcaretaker that will help Americans save our wild horses from the greedy corprate farmers a miners. Get them out of those hell on earth hoding pens and create reserves for all of them, plus Stop The Slaughter of our nations wld horses.
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No, it’s because he has stated he is not interested in the position
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If you are referrring to Grijalva saying he was not interesyed; I aske around and he made the statement he would take the job if offered. Please stop spreading this rumor. Altho’ it would seem there are not enough of us to make a dent in a gay cabinet member. Are we making history with the appointment or can we make history with doing the right thing for the wild ones?
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Raul Grijalva wanted this position the last Appointment , when Salazar got it, it is time to put someone in charge who knows the Value of the Mustangs !!!!!!!
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He is not that much of a new comer, and he cherishes the environment. I have wondered whether Representative Grijvala would be reluctant to take the job if it meant that he would have to continue Slytherin Slaughterczar’s brutal round ups and continue to slip our wild horses out the back gate to illegal horse slaughter. According to the Interior Appropriations Bill, the sale of our wild horses for slaughter would cost the BLM their funding.
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I hope the president is under intense pressure to appoint an openly” friendly to the environment” person to the position.
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Well, I don’t know could anyone be worse? I wonder how these other people feel about our wonderful Wild Horses and Burros. At least we now have an idea. Too bad Rep.Raul Grijalva
is the lessly contender. He probably would have been the best candidate based on his knowledge
of the circumstances.
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Congressman Grijalva does not believe that he would be approved by the Senate. I called for him during the campaign and spoke with his office manager. I believe that he would be great for our purposes, but remember the Sec. of Interior deals with a lot more than the Wild Horses. Let’s find out about this guy and give him a chance… I feel like someone who is not a Western governor or Senator could be less influenced by all of the “stuff” that the BLM and Salazar were “in bed with”. I believe that in reality politics, we have a much better chance against the WELFARE RANCHERS than we do against the ENERGY LOBBY (green and oil/gas).
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Don’t know if or when the news will break, but USGS and MMS has mapped out where they know oil and gas exist, places that oil and gas are likely to exist, and places where oil and gas possibly exist throughout our country on-shore and off-shore. Is it a coincidence that one of his biggest donors happens to own some of these areas. Salazar and Reid laid the ground-work, so now it is game on.
These areas are going to open up, and oil stocks are rising. So why some people have been praising Sec. Salazar for his removal of public lands from the public domain, as well as his innovative wind farms and solar energy farms even in unique habitats, even as he has had his bureaus getting “green” investments in North America’s oil have been positioned. Of course, misdirection is the name of the game here.
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We will see…don’t trust a single politician! Money & clout (or wanting some) speak to loudly.
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It might be just as well that Grijalva won’t get the job because I know a few things about the man’s back ground that didn’t look to good when it happened. When the Az. governor signed the immigration law a few years ago that had a number of laws about checking the IDs of illegal aliens that made its way to the Federal Courts and most of it was thrown out. But at the time Grijalva had his office in Tucson and when he found out about the bill being signed into law he went ape sh%T and contacted friends in Calif to boycott AZ. In other words he encouraged the Mexicans to boycott the very state he represented which was nuts in it’s self. He could not stand the idea that his state would dare try to run the illegal aliens out. He had every open borders organization in several states marching and screaming about the new law in AZ. At the time sometime through a rock through one his office windows. It was a big mess.
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Can we get rid of the sexual orientation, the color of his skin, who his stylist is and everything else, and get the person who will do the best job to support the animals and the ecosystem. Way too much focus on the unimportant aspects here (unless, it somehow impacts the person’s management of the animals, etc). We’ve got the horses being run down and stampeded, open season on wolves, all kinds of issues that need to be corrected. Hopefully whomever is in place will be able to make great strides for the better. Just noticed – interesting slogan he’s standing in front of in the picture for this article.
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Amen…
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Good observation. “If we are not part of the change we want to see, it means we are part of the problem. ” ~Unknown.
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Agreed.
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being gay or straight has nothing to do with his his ability to do this job..which is a whole lot more than the wild horses..I have done some research on this guy, but would dig deeper if he was the nominee..he is also being mentioned for another appt. .He has been the director of the National ZOO..I don’t like that,but maybe that shows he as an interest in preserving wild animals– the Smithsonian-alot of dead animals there..but show an interest and appreciation for history, assist to the DOI secretary under Clinton..and basicly The HR manager for federal employees….you would have to know his posistion on issues specifically to judge his posistion on wild horses and public lands and that would come out in his confirmation hearings..perhaps we will hear from people who might have dealt with him when he was under secretary at DOI
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Grijala could be a problem specifically because an appt. which removes a democratic congressman from a red state creates a problem on getting legislation passed and confirmation hearings to come..I can understand that..policies mean nothing if you can’t get them passed..Kerry is a senator out of a blue state and is likely to be repaced by a democrat..we definatly do not want any of the mentioned western govenors…too many ties to the ranchers..I would much rather go with this guy..than a Salazar who claims his legacy is savihg public lands for future generations of ranchers
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http://www.npr.org/2011/10/09/141192281/ten-letters-what-americans-tell-obama….the president recieves 10 letters a day from the 20,000 he receives and he reads them..how to get your letter to the presidents desk
..this was an excellent program with great info about how your ltter can make it..handwritten is a start..don’t make it threatening..tell a good personal story..maybe how you are sacrifising to help the wild horses…tone down the anger. but make it personal..childrens drawings and letters.
It was very informative interview with the author who is part of this..the book used on Amazon is 3.00
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For years, I had my students write an elected official of their choice, and every one who wrote the President received a letter on official White House stationary with a message related to the specific subject they wrote about. Most of this was during the Clinton administration. Wild horse advocates have made three special deliveries to Congress and for the White House, and the only time the President has ever uttered the word horse was when he was made his bayonettes and horses put down or MItt Romney. Do I think my students were special enough that President Clinton read every one of their letters himself? Was that President Clinton’s signature on the letters or was it a stamp or a staffer skilled in reproducing his signature? I don’t know, but the point is that he had people on his staff opening mail from the public because he understood the need to feel that their voices were being heard.
This is one of the reasons that I have had so little patience with the silence on his issue.
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GET WRITING EVERYONE!!!!
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Does anyone know where he stands on the Wild Horse issues?
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I am thinking that not being one of the good ole boys from the west may be a big plus. Perhaps he won’t bow to the cattle and welfare rancher lobby and will actually be good for the horses
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We can only hope.:)
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One thing I like is he’s never been in elective office, so he’s not beholding to special interests … yet.
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He will be beholding to Obama and whatever he dictates.
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I also could only care that whomever is appointed be fair, and realize that the Mustangs are an integral part of America, that requires respect and protection……………….Although i believe all things considered if would have to be Raul Grijalva….. it should be very clear he is the only man that has all to be fair and just and show compassion to the Mustangs !!!!
OPM Chief John Berry: The next interior secretary?
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Federal employees may know John Berry as the face of the workforce in his role as director of the Office of Personnel Management. Berry, 53, is now expected to be considered by the Obama administration to replace Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who confirmed early Wednesday that he will leave his post in March and return to Colorado……..
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I’m not at all impressed with John Berry’s credentials as Director of the National Zoo, because he replaced that horrible woman, Dr. Lucy Spelman, who starved to death a young Grevey’s zebra, euthanized a female orangutan, euthanized a female African elephant, African Lion and other animals. Dr. Spelman was chosen by Smithsonian Secretary, Larry Small, to head the National Zoo. Small was a fund raiser, a crook and was still secretary when John Berry took the job. Does Berry really love animals or are they merely steppingstones? I think the latter. So why not nominate Bruce Babbitt?
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Whoever takes the job needs to care about animal welfare and saving the wild horses on their land that belongs to them and the public not the ranchers!
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I think that instead of speculating, I will write the man a letter and just ask him what his views are on this horrible corrupt mess that is the BLM. And I think I will send a flash drive with video of some of the cruel round ups, the cattle and sheep to horse ratio and other facts such as proof of being native, the genetic viability that the BLM is destroying. Can’t hurt to ask right? Also, if they are talking about Rockville Il. ; that is my home state.
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The President has been under extreme pressure for the last 4 years to do the right thing for the Mustangs and the horses, and he cant even mention them????
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So here is the question. Given that a person’s sexuali orientation or a lack of sexual orientation should not be a factor either in qualifying or disqualifying him or her for a position such as this, why in the heck is the lead in the story?
Zoo work is about preserving a relatively small number of wild animals in habitats supposedly similar to those they would live in in the wild. These are the populations that PZP was originally developed to control—small, high-level of human management involved. Forget the herds of today and yesterday—this is about very limited numbers of highly managed wild horse herds.
If this person worked at the National Zoo, it is likely that he has worked with Dr. Kirkpatrick due to the PZP connection. In addition, the piece about the fisheries brings to mind USFWS who have wrongly labeled our wild horses as alien, non-native, feral, invasive, exotic mammals that have no right to our natural resources.
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The Denver Post editorial of Jan.17 praised Salazar. No mention whatsoever of wild horses or the BLM. While the Post is a left leaning rag, I would have at least thought they might recall the recent incident with Salazar and horse slaughter buyer Davis here in Colorado. As for Obama, he is out of touch with the west in my opinion. He prefers to further his cultural agenda so appointing someone who is openly gay would be the first and foremost consideration. There is already much criticism of his choices, but I don’t think that matters in the least to him since he won’t be running for re-election.
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Yes, Obama has an altogether different agenda than saving horses………………He’s a horse’s patoot.
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http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=omaglqdab&v=001QORyCDlYxyufCAMD9R-EIJAs7_Pz3j4l6rUXIdPHg1SYtk8fVYnv_XuHt-DgHzbn-zcaD1eJkQDeZdV-9jhSvV1ZKYJujTlQuj6Bbqaz8VamjyaePcs5rsr_Cr_GCyatdUqT7xgVsAsW_lT4j03rzw%3D%3D
Many of you will recall that OK has a 1963 law that prohibits the consumption and transferring possession of horse meat for human consumption. OK has now introduced legislation to repeal the law. We will be following this and provide updates as they become available.
Thanks to Hilary Wood of Front Range Equine Rescue for providing the text of the new legislation.
This is the 1963 law:
Click to access Oklahoma_law_-_1963.pdf
This is the recently introduced legislation:
Click to access OK_Pro_Slaughter_Bill_2013.pdf
Speaking of horse meat, while I was off-line while yahoo was reconfiguring the servers, several articles regarding horse meat found in burgers (possibly from US horses) in the UK emerged. Since then, horse meat was also found in other meat. You can read all the information available on RTs blog at this link:
https://rtfitchauthor.com/
Also while off-line, Ken Salazar, head of the Department of the Interior, resigned. Of course, there is a huge push to have Raul Grijalva (AZ) appointed to the position but we haven’t seen his name listed as one of the potential candidates. EWA supports Grijalva 100% and supports all efforts underway to get him on the list of individuals being considered.
Meanwhile, the darkside, Puppymill Patterson in particular, has started a campaign against Grijalva. Below are the comments sent to me that are posted on the darkside’s facebook page:
FOLLOW THIS LINK TO TAKE ACTION TODAY!==> A coalition of environmental, animal rights, and other radical organizations are aggressively pushing for Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, an outspoken and contentious liberal to replace Ken Salazar as U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
Grijalva has lead the charge in Congress sponsoring and promoting legislation that is pro animal rights and anti-private property, anti-animal ownership, and anti-animal agriculture.
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My mare told me that the most important part from a horse’s point of view is someone with gentle hands and a heart that is big enough to fit a horse inside.
Someone who understands that scientific integrity should inform policy instead of creating science to support policy decisions. This administration has been talking the talk, but their actions tell an entirely different story.
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Apathy is unacceptable!! This article should be passed along as a starting point.
http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2012/11/30/what-changes-the-landscape-blm-asks-scientistsbut-be-sure-to-ignore-the-biggest-cause/
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