These are the kind of people…

The Drug Czar’s “blog” (yes, I went there again and I’m giving them yet another link to increase their stats…) excitedly lists some names:

Congratulations to the newest members of the President’s Drug Free Communities Support Program Advisory Commission!

Ooh, i can’t wait!
So I looked at the list — don’t really know any of them, but it looked like the usual cast of characters: politicos, treatment pimps, etc. Then I saw one that was listed as “Freelance Writer.” Interesting. I wondered what kind of freelance writer would want to get involved in the PDFCSPAC. So I did a little looking. Shouldn’t have been surprised at what I found.
Camille Q. Solberg is a politically active Republican whose father was a political appointee under George H.W. Bush. She’s President of the Coalition for the Preservation of Traditional Marriage and Outreach Chairman for the Wisconsin Federation of Republican Women. She’s married to John Solberg, Executive Director of the Rawhide Boys Ranch – a juvenile boot camp and treatment center. (source, source)
And the freelance writing part? Apparently that refers to articles like this love letter to President Bush published in the Christian News, where she actually “reported” the event as if John Solberg wasn’t her husband:

About 1,500 people attended the Fond du Lac event, including the publisher of Wisconsin Christian News, Rob Pue and his wife. This event differed in that local residents had a chance to ask the President questions. John Solberg, Executive Director of Rawhide Boys ranch asked the President about his Faith Based initiative.

Gee, I wonder if that was spontaneous…
I don’t know how common the name Solberg is, but it seems I’ve heard it before. Ah yes, Mary Ann Solberg is the ONDCP Deputy Director. Mary Ann’s from Michigan. Camille and John are from Wisconsin. Coincidence?
The point is that these are opportunistic ideologues — and that is generally their entire qualification for the position.
On the other hand, I’m confused so far by the choice of the academic in the group — Keith M. Humphreys is an Associate Professor at Stanford School of Medicine, and while not exactly on our side, oddly seems somewhat qualified (although I really don’t know much about him).