In business outreach, Obama mulls lobby group speech

In an attempt to further emphasis the government’s switch to the New Governance Paradigm, which utilizes the relationship between the public and private sector, President Barack Obama is considering giving a speech in January to the Chamber of Commerce, a major business lobby, as part of a new outreach to corporations. Obama’s administration has been accused of having policies that have been portrayed as unfriendly to business. After the November 2 congressional elections, which handed Republicans control of the House of Representatives and decreased Democrats' majority in the Senate, Obama said he had to do a better job of making sure the business community knew they had a supporter in the White House.

-Rebecca Jania

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101120/pl_nm/us_obama_business

Over 95 Percent of 9/11 Workers Approve Settlement

Just over 95 percent of the of the workers that sued the city of new york over 9/11 have approved of a negotiated settlement that would total 625 million dollars in payouts. City workers including firemen, police officers and others claimed in their lawsuits that the city did not provide adequate protective equipment and supervision, which in turn caused them to develop respiratory and other illnesses that affected them later. individual payments will range from $3,250 to $1.8 million. this was agreed upon after a legal battle lasting 7 years.

Tom Millman
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/20/nyregion/20zero.html?_r=1&hp

Young Voters feel abandoned

When Obama won 2 years ago with a historic 66% of the 18 to 30 year old voter group. Now the under 30 voters are feeling disappointed as they had hoped to "play a bigger role in the Obama agenda." Why did Obama only seem to focus on the young voter when beneficial for him? A combination of hard feelings and the midterm effect has made the under 30 group "less involved and more ambivilant." This is an example of the decline in social capital. The under 30 voter group was coherent and mobilized when they believed in the promises Obama made. Now young voters are not doing their part because of "dissipation of trust relations by government."

Aria Greenberg

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/us/politics/01generationo.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=no%20young%20voters&st=cse

Pat-Downs at Airports Prompt Complaints

Airplane travelers have been expressing complaints at the Transportation Security Administration's new, more aggressive full-body searches. Travelers complain of inappropriate contact and comments, and a feeling of powerlessness and humiliation at the new search policy. These complaints are coming in on top of the public's privacy concerns relating to the full-body scanners used at many major airports.

This issue shows the possible difficulties with using direct government as a tool to handle a situation. The TSA is a direct department of the federal government, so its policies are an extension of the executive branch. Direct government is the most effective tool to use when dealing with security issues, but the problem is that the public do not get to have any input in the policies or choose whether or not to follow them. In the case of airport security, direct government is the best option so passengers will just have to learn to adapt to the new standards.

- Stephanie Doctrow

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/business/19security.html?ref=us

F.D.A. Issues Warning Over Alcoholic Energy Drinks

This article talks about the newest controversy in caffeine and alcohol mixed drinks. F.D.A commissioner Margaret Hamburg states "drinks appeared to pose a serious public health threat because the caffeine masked the effects of the alcohol, leading to “a state of wide-awake drunk.” This state of mind can lead to many fatal situations and is being banned all together. The F.D.A has given companies up to 15 days to stop adding caffeine to the alcohol drinks or just stop selling in general. This is related to social regulation, ensuring the public’s safety. The regulation of making caffeine and alcohol mixed drinks illegal is to ensure the well being of Americans.



Elizabeth Sziler

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/us/18drinks.html?ref=todayspaper

Midterms Threaten Obama’s Rail Plans

The Obama administration’s signature transportation initiative is almost always described as “high-speed rail.” But more than half of the $10.4 billion the administration has awarded for rail so far has not gone toward real bullet trains, but to build slower, conventional train lines that it hopes will form the foundation of a nationwide high-speed rail network.

Now, though, that strategy is being tested by this month’s midterm election results, which have halted a couple of the administration’s biggest train projects.

Work on a pair of conventional rail lines in the Midwest is grinding to a stop now that Ohio and Wisconsin have elected Republican governors who are threatening to spurn $1.2 billion in federal rail money that their Democratic predecessors had sought and won. The governors-elect are concerned that the new trains will not be fast enough or transformative enough to convert their state’s drivers into paying railroad passengers.

Now more and more people are lost their confidents on Obama because he didn't finish his promise, I think because of all the publice issue is hard to done, and it is not his problem that the public issue haven't fix well, it's because of the determine of the society, it is a long time for Obama, I think we have to give him some times.

Reid to Push to Allow End of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

In a direct challenge to Republicans who support the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy barring gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the armed forces, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said he would push ahead with a military policy bill that includes language authorizing the Pentagon to repeal the ban.

Senator John McCain of Arizona, the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, led his colleagues in blocking consideration of the bill in September in part because it allowed the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Mr. McCain has not changed his position, and Democrats had been considering stripping the provision to advance the legislation.

But the White House on Wednesday repeated President Obama’s commitment to repealing the ban. In a statement later in the day, Mr. Reid said he would bring the bill to the floor, with the repeal language in place. “We need to repeal this discriminatory policy so that any American who wants to defend our country can do so,” Mr. Reid said.

Some people think " Don't ask, Don't tell" is not care about the soldiers, this policy is hurt soldiers and not supported by the soldiers, they just want to keep this phenomenon secretly so that they can still look good, but I think, if you don't care about the soldiers, how they trust you, and give their lives for you to protect our people?