FRIENDSTER FLASH: DHS Political Appointee Surprisingly HipThe Bush administration continues its fight for the rights of the inexperienced by appointing them to important positions in DHS. The most recent example is Douglas Hoelscher, a 29-year-old former White House staffer with no management experience who was recently tapped to run the Homeland Security Advisory Council. AT HSAC, he’ll be managing 20 different panels, comprised of senior industry officials and other mucky-mucks, which advise the administration on homeland security issues.
Shane Harris, who broke the story for National Journal magazine, noted that Hoelscher had a Friendster profile. Readers tell us it has since been taken down. But someone slipped us a hard copy, and — surprise — despite being a White House appointee, Hoelscher’s surprisingly with-it!
He likes “reading in coffeeshops,” “wine tasting,” “watching college football” and “sleeping in on Saturdays,” among other things. His favorite movies are Moulin Rouge and Best in Show (a TPMmuckraker favorite). He likes the Simpsons, along with Law & Order, Sex in the City and Will and Grace. Strangely, he doesn’t mention 24.
He listens to Eminem and Offspring, but also Dolly Parton. (She was great at the Oscars.) And as Harris noted in his article, Doug says “I’m usually fairly quiet in a group setting — I am not a talker but a pretty good listener.”
