Tedious academic chores like collecting vast numbers of names cause one's mind to wander and entertain irrelevant questions, like "What should I name this project?" It should be something cool (in both meanings of the word) and mysterious, yet with a haunting sensibility. For some reason, I kept thinking "EchoLand," and couldn't think of an alternative both as interesting and oblique as that. So that's the name of the overall book project: "Operation EchoLand" - which will also be the name of this diary series from now on, although I'll continue numbering from this point.
But because it's not enough fun just to name the overall project, I thought I would also name the sub-tasks - specifically the one I'm currently on, generating a list of all Bush appointees and staff. This I've decided to call "Project Gnomon." Pretty cool, eh? Eh? Well, I think it's cool, so there.
Anyway, I'm finding it frustrating working out the appointment process for some of these more obscure offices. For instance, there are boards of trustees for various institutions, and some of them are partially appointed by Presidents, with the rest designated by the House, the Senate, or more elaborate ways such as the President choosing from a list selected by the Senate. In some cases it's difficult to decide whether someone really qualifies as a presidential appointee. As my deepest criterion is relevance, I've had to extend my definition of "Bush appointee" to include people appointed by Cabinet secretaries and their top staff.
I am, however, glad that webranding had brought the Federal Yellow Books to my attention in the previous diary, as it seems this will go great lengths in clarifying some of these structural issues. Unfortunately, it seems I'll probably have to drag my ass over to the UCLA library to have access to these materials, which is not close, and figure out a practical and cheap (i.e., free) method of copying the information en masse. That is, a method I as a non-student will be allowed to use, since I'm guessing, based on my experiences at UC Berkeley, that UCLA likewise requires student ID to use their computers.
Let me just say that again - Operation EchoLand - man that's cool. Don't you feel cooler just reading it? So, I am pleased to report that Project Gnomon is proceeding apace, and Operation EchoLand is on schedule (because there is no schedule, ha!). Please let me know what you would have named this Operation and Project, so that I can laugh at your silly ideas and bask in my own comparative brilliance.
BTW, yes I do realize the seriousness of the subject matter, but I can't stay angry 24 hours a day, so I have to make a game of this. I'm not trying to trivialize the work. And furthermore, I have no illusions about how interesting any given one of these updates will be to people - I'm posting them for my own amusement and for posterity, because I sincerely believe I am going to write a major historical work. Even if I fail, this diary series will at least be a testament to the folly of ambition.
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Previous installments in this series:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...