Summer+2010+Commentary+on+the+Executive

Add you comment on the executive branch below. Feel free to respond to the posts of others.

Leah Wood Obamas Oil Spill silence Actions speak louder than words….that is if you have even spoken the words. President Obama has claimed that the Gull Oil Spill is his top priority but has put little action behind those words. The Gulf Oil spill has been claimed to be Obama’s Katrina. Even if he is doing everything in his power to help the situation, why isn’t he communicating it to the public? And does he even have the ability to get this situation under control? And if he is doing everything in his power to help this situation, why is he refusing help that claims they can fix the leak faster than the current estimated time? The foreign policy reported that thirteen different parties offered their assistance, all within two weeks of the disastrous explosion. So one might conclude that if someone is willing and capable to step up and fix the problem, someone who has the equipment and technology that we don’t have, we would jump at the offer. Wrong. President Obama passed up the assistance and stood by his claim to stop at nothing to fix this sticky leaky mess. Hmmmm seems like to me there was at least one thing that stopped the President, help. So what is behind the Presidents decision to refuse outside help? Possibly the Jones Act, section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, which deals with coastal shipping and requires all goods transported by water between U.S ports be carried in U.S flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens and U.S permanent residents. Although created to protect the U.S. merchant marine industry, this means that the Dutch and Belgian dredgers who have the machinery to fight the oil spill are banned from working in the U.S. They claim it will take them three to four months to clean it up compared to the nine months we claim. We don’t have anything similar to the equipment the Belgian and Dutch have and its too expensive to build our own here in the U. S. But what you might not know is that in times of national emergencies the Administration is permitted to grant a Jones waiver. So why haven’t they granted a waiver? Is this really why Obama is refusing foreign assistance? If so, isn’t it time we put “our pride” aside and act on what is best for the our country, and this situation? And why hasn’t Obama been more open and communicative with the public? Don’t we as the people have a right to know what his plans and options are? After all we are the ones, and I say we lightly, who elected him into office on the grounds that he was out for the greater good of the people? Obama has also conveniently neglected to mention that the Gulf spill has attained its presumed astronomical proportions largely owing to the executive branches delays. The 1994 Federal Response Plan Agreement states the government is supposed to keep clean-up equipment on hand in case of an extensive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Ron Gourget, a former Federal oil spill response coordinator is claiming that if the government had stuck to the plan an estimated ninety five percent of the spill would have been cleaned up instantly. Is our Executive Branch really doing all they can or are they dropping the ball? Ball is dropped if you ask me.

**Obama: Creating Jobs or Creating Chaos?**
 * __Sarah Denney__**
 * Executive Commentary**

The Executive branch is comprised of the President, Vice President, Cabinet, and Executive Departments; its main function is to enforce and implement the laws of the state. The President serves as both the head of the state and the Commander-in-Chief. He also appoints the heads of federal agencies, such as the Department of Commerce. “Fifteen executive departments – each led by an appointed member of the President’s Cabinet – carry out the day-to-day administration of the federal government” ([|http://www.whitehouse.gov]). Other powers the president possesses are the right to “either sign legislation into law or veto bills enacted by Congress” (Congress can override with a 2/3rds majority vote of both houses), issue executive orders to “clarify and further existing laws,” negotiate and sign peace treaties, and grant pardons for any federal crimes excluding impeachment ([|http://www.whitehouse.gov]). Barack Obama, our current leader of the Executive branch, has passed a stimulus package that is supposed to create some 2.5 million new jobs. This package, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), was signed about a month after Obama was elected president (2009). Obama first introduced his plan back when he was campaigning for president in 2008, but so far the plan has not created the amount of jobs the American people would like to see. The current unemployment rate is 9.7%, and even more troubling is the duration of time that many are unemployed is growing. In fact, “Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, with no good news to offer, has predicted that unemployment will remain high for years and that a lot of people are going to be under financial stress” ([]). If this stimulus plan isn’t working in the way that was expected, then the following question remains: What can Obama do to get more people back to work and out of economic distress? At this very moment dozens of economists and professors of economics are debating this very issue. Ideas range from cutting taxes and printing more money, to shrinking the labor force and going against our gut instincts. Tyler Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University, believes that “there is a lot more that we can do to boost employment” ([]). He suggests printing more dollars and mailing them out in the form of vouchers, or cutting the minimum wage. The problem is that printing more money will only lead to greater inflation and cutting the minimum wage creates even more hardship for those who work for such small compensation. As it is, many only making minimum wage are unable to meet the bills necessary to survive. Cowen ultimately blames the “bad local school districts” and lack of a culture that values education as the reasons we have ended up in such economic distress. While everybody is busy blaming everybody else, unemployment continues to rise. Obama’s ARRA focuses on spending obscene amounts of money to create new jobs, which causes the out of control deficit to grow even larger. Even worse, new jobs are not being created. Instead of trudging on and following a plan that is not working, it is time to sit back and assess the situation. When something doesn’t work, you try something new. This is not the first time our country has been in economic distress (The Great Depression). We must learn from our mistakes. As president, Obama should be working together with Congress and listening to the American public in order to put our country back on the road to economic success.

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[|http://curriculum.new-Albany.k12.oh.us/gheselton/documents/Executive-Branch.pdf]

Lindsey Stunson Same Sex Immigration in California

The executive branch of the United States government is responsible for the implementatiion of laws among US citizens. Currently the United States is undergoing and immigration reformation to try and put a stop to illegal immigration into the United States. The US discriminates against same sex couples, which in the process of keeping them out causes families to be seperated. The State Senate of California "passed a resolution with a 23-12 vote that included bipartisan support, endorsing a federal law that would permit U.S. citizens and permanent residents to sponsor a same-sex partner for immigration." The resoultion has put forth a request that congress passes and President Obama signs the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA).

The purpose of this act is to ensure all families reardless of sexual orientation get the safety and security they deserve. Currently U.S. citizens and permanent residents may only sign a petition with an opposite sex partner, with the passing of the UAFA citizens will be able to petition with a same sex permanent part to become a legal citizen of the United States of America!

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**Kathie O'Donovan Executive Branch Commentary**

RESOLVE TYRANNY OF THE MINORITY? **
 * WOULD EXPANSION OF EXECUTIVE POWER

I am wondering if the Executive Branch needs to be expanded to grant it powers that would prevent the Legislature’s rapidly escalating tendency to hold legislation hostage by Filibuster-Power. During the last decade, with increasing frequency, controversial legislation is not being passed by a simple majority as designed by the Constitution. Rather, the simple majority vote is blocked by filibuster. Senate procedural rules make filibusters close to impossible to overcome. The ultimate effect is that the minority, rather than the majority, dictates legislation on controversial issues. Senate procedural rules, which require a supermajority to change, make the situation uncorrectable. Why would the minority pony up the votes needed to change the rules, if doing so would take away their big stick? The resulting Congressional circus defies the Legislature’s purpose, which is to pass legislation supported by the majority.

I am directly affected by the gridlock taking place in Congress over the extension of unemployment benefits. So I wonder if expansion of Executive Branch power would be an effective way to overcome the terminal hostage-taking of legislation desired by the majority.

Just as the President can veto legislation that would require a supermajority of the House and Senate to overcome, perhaps a President should be able to issue an order that passes majority-supported legislation, thereby wresting an unconstitutional power (filibustering) from the hands of the Senate’s minority, giving it back to the majority where it belongs. My notion is that the President could only use this gridlock-busting power during a filibuster. And of course, just as a Presidential veto can be overcome by a supermajority vote of the Legislature, a Presidential edict passing the filibustered legislation could be overturned by a Legislative supermajority vote. The minority position will be free to pursue gaining support for their position, but at least it would take majority-supported legislation out of jail and out it on the books. The dilemma, of course, is the haunting fear of our forefathers that expansion of presidential power opens the door to tyranny.

The developers of our Constitution were justifiably concerned about leaving any cracks or holes in the system that would provide even the remotest possibility for power to become concentrated. The governing structure they designed was masterful in accomplishing that purpose. Looking at it from a cost/benefit analysis perspective, the inherent costs of checks and balances were different in 1787 than they are in 2010. For example, the relative inefficiency that so dogs us now was a small price to pay when put up against the background of a cruel, tyrannical Monarchy taxing the hell out of them, albeit with grand efficiency.

I think an unforeseen outcome of the design of our Constitution is that 220+ years later the potential for tyranny that was such a potent reality then, is profoundly remote now. It’s like it has been purged from the DNA of our country. Is it possible we hold too tight to hyper-protections that have a potency we no longer need? Is the cost of keeping it in place so high now that it is doing more harm than good?

The size of the price of inefficiency has grown with the population of our country. In 1790 there were almost 4 million of us living in a country comprised of 865,000 square miles. The current estimate is that there are more than 300 million of us living on more than 3.5 million square miles of land. Which puts our nation at more risk today: i) an inefficient legislature engaging in pissing contests while our national economy stands on the brink of collapse; or ii) the potential for expanded executive power to reign that problem in throwing us into tyrannical rule? Let’s not forget that to Americans, a monarchic or tyrannical system is ideologically foreign. Anyone who attempts to build a throne would first have to go under the radar and gather an army of people of sufficient size and strength to overthrow the US Military. Our presidents are technically ‘commander in chief’ of the military, but can anyone imagine our four military branches uniting to take orders from a president who is attempting to set up a dictatorship? I’m guessing a president attempting such a strategy may find him/herself wrapped up tight in a white coat and taken to the nearest in-patient mental health facility. And the reality today, in July of 2010, is that we’re suffering a more insidious tyranny of the minority in the Senate. Madison was as afraid of what we have today, as he was of tyranny of the majority.

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__ The Executive __ The Executive branch of the United States government was designed to be the branch that implemented the laws of the land. It is held in check by the Legislative and Judicial branches. There is only one Commander-in-Chief, that one is the President. The national executive is designed with the idea that an energetic executive is central to a functioning government. It is argued that you obtain an energetic executive by having a singular Executive head. Is a singular executive source really energetic, efficient, consistent, and trustworthy of not abusing its powers?
 * __ Pamela A. Morris Staigle __**

The Commander-in-Chief, the President is elected every four years in part by a popular vote but in reality by an electoral college. The reason for the Electoral College is to ensure that the executive office does not merge with the House of Representatives, part of the legislative branch; which is very close to the people and their influence. In order to become the President of the United States of America you must meet certain criteria. From Clause five of the U.S. Constitution “No person except a natural born Citizen or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States.” The Constitution goes on to state “The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from the United State, or any of them.” One should take note that the Constitution does not name any specific qualifications for the position of President of the United States. A person is not required to have attained a certain amount of college, training, military service, or political status. You do not have to have been a governor, senator, judge, lawyer or even a representative on either a state or national level. It truly amazes me that a president does not have to posses any leadership skills or experience in order to be elected to this powerful, influential position.

The current President of the United States, [|Barack Hussein Obama] is a prime example of this. His tenure as a U. S. Senator, from Illinois had only begun in 2005. President Obama has not been a governor of a state, or even sat on a city council, but as stated earlier, there are no stated experience requirements to become President of the United States. According to biographical information on Barack Obama he was born in Hawaii, in 1961. His mother, Ann Dunham was from Kansas and his father, Barack Obama Sr. is a citizen of Kenya. To this day President Obama has not seen fit to provide the people of the United States with a birth certificate. He has gone to great measures to seal records and head off any opposition to his presidency. This includes student status on college applications. There is an activist group known as the __“[|Birthers]”__ who seek to make President Obama’s election, null and void.

Some of the most recent presidents of the United States have been governors of the states they called home. Such as President [|Jimmy Carter], Governor of Georgia, President [|Ronald Reagan], Governor of California, President [|Bill Clinton], Governor of Arkansas, and President [|George W. Bush,] Governor of Texas. Since 1976 the only president not to have been a governor was Presidnet[| George H .W. Bush], who although had not been a governor he had served as a U.S. Senator, Texas for eight years and the Vice-President of the United States under President Ronald Reagan for eight years.

I assume that the lack of qualifications needed to be the President of the United States is what would make the average “Joe” think he too can become the President of the United States. Some presidencies have been very active, such as that of [|Theodore Roosevelt] and some have been quite passive, such as [|William Taft] As an active president the interpretation of powers is broad; meaning if it is not stated specifically in the Constitution that it cannot be done, then it is okay to use that power. Much like being a teenager, it is better to beg for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission. As a passive president you claim only the powers that are specifically noted in the Constitution.

I see the office of President Barack Obama as being a more active/aggressive presidency. The huge bail outs given to certain companies then the takeover of these companies, such as General Motors. Telling a company what they are allowed to pay as bonuses or not. What happened to a company being responsible for managing its own finances? If they run their business into the ground, do they deserve to be bailed out by the federal government and the taxpayers of the United States for making bad decisions? What happened to laissez faire; let it be? I am a firm believer that “a government that is big enough to give you everything you want is also strong enough to take everything that you have” Thomas Jefferson. Todays government is growing at an alarming rate and it appears that what the American people desire or want does not matter to the professional politicians. A politician no longer seeks the will of the people; they seek a personal agenda and an active, well payed career with substantial benefits and retirement. What happened to "The People"?

Refute Obama Care - Michael Nemitz

With roarous applause, the healthcare bill was passed, some knew the implications, others simply feared the worst. As the tide swelled for the oncoming storm of taxes, small business and large companies prepared for the worst. One of the numerous new taxes added with the healthcare bill is the new interest income tax. According to Bloomberg.com, the Democratic Congressional leaders raised the Medicare Interest Income Tax to 3.8%. This increase is expected to generate an estimated 210 Billion dollars to help fund the new bill. This tax would only apply to interest income, dividends, gains, and rent. Most of these are the very means by which people invest for retirement. We may be think, well big deal, it’s only 3.8%. Well, with inflation at roughly four percent, due to the recession and other factors, the new 3.8% interest income tax, and the sad state of the stock market; retirement is going to be pretty hard to come by. And that’s just one of many reasons why Americans have been so unhappy with this particular piece of legislature. According to a Rasmussen Poll conducted on July 1, 2010, sixty percent of American voters believe that the healthcare law should be repealed. In fact, the very same poll has been conducted each of the past sixteen weeks since the bill was passed. In every instance the majority of American voters have expressed that the bill should be repealed with the lowest percentage being 52 percent and the highest being sixty three percent. Americans are tired of having their nest eggs smashed and scrambled by Uncle Sam. We as America shouldn’t’ just sit back and let the Democrats order you to do what they think is best. The time has come for conservative values to return, they are the principles upon which this nation was built. Its time to return to leadership that will give the American people what they want a respectable retirement and not socialized healthcare.

//Health Care Law//. (2010, July 5). Retrieved July 8, 2010, from Rasmussen Reports: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/health_care_law Rowley, R. J. (2010, March 18). //Health Bill Would Add 3.8% Tax on Investment Income (Update4)//. Retrieved July 9, 2010, from Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a6u6BtCNifvw

Nursing Education Opportunities Made Available by United States Department of Labor
 * __Crystal Cross__**
 * __Executive Branch__**

For some time now, health care advocates have been warning Congress of the looming nursing shortage that threatens to endanger the health care of all Americans. As our population ages and requires more complex health care, the shortage could be detrimental, and in August of 2009, Congress finally began to take note of this.

As the House and the Senate were working on Healthcare Reform, they also took into consideration steps to curtail the nursing shortage and the possibility of it becoming worse. At the time the debates over Healthcare Reform were taking place, more nurses were postponing retirement due to the status of the economy and hospitals were having to tighten their belts, making it harder for new graduate nurses to find jobs. However, as the recession lifts, those nurses will be retiring leaving a huge gap in the nursing field to care for a population who is getting older, and when there are not enough nurses to care for patients, quality of care suffers, and so do the patients.

Adding to the consequences of a nursing shortage is the shortage of nurse educators. This is due mainly to the fact that in order to teach in an accredited nursing school, a nurse must achieve a Master’s degree, yet take a job that pays less in salary. Nursing schools turn away thousands of qualified applicants every year because there just aren’t enough faculty to give these aspiring nurses the education and attention that it takes to mold someone into a good quality nurse. Nursing advocates, however, were beginning to become more optimistic, saying that legislation pending in congress could help remedy this situation.

As part of President Obama’s stimulus package that was signed into law in February, 2009, he included $200 million for nursing and other healthcare workforce development and $250 million for job training and placement programs for areas like nursing. He also allocated monies for nursing education and nurse-faculty loan repayment programs and submitted a budget proposal for fiscal year 2010 to fund programs to expand the nursing workforce.

As a result of this, In March of 2010, The United States Department of Labor (part of the executive branch of our government) created the Nursing Education and Placement Program and awarded a $4.7 million grant to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston (UTMB) and its participating partners to assist individuals in obtaining a degree in the field of nursing. The U.S. Department of labor through UTMB, the Gulf Coast Workforce Board, and multiple educational and healthcare facility partners, seeks to recruit, train, employ and retain unemployed/under-employed, dislocated and low income incumbent workers in the counties of: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Walker, Waller, Wharton along with counties with Texas Department of Criminal Justice correctional facilities receiving services from UTMB Correctional Managed Care including Anderson, Angelina, Bee, Brazos, Coryell, Falls, Fannin, Galveston, Harris, Houston, Jefferson, Johnson, Kares, LaSalle, Liberty, Madison, Medina, Polk, Rusk, Tyler, Willacy and Williamson counties. Their target groups consist of: Veterans, Veterans spouses, unemployed, under-employed and those displaced by Hurricane Ike, with greatest preference given to those with the most financial need. The program will also assist with supportive services for student participants and job placement assistance upon completion. This all sounds great until you continue reading.

The educational paths provided for in this program include CNA, LVN, AND/RN and AND/RN to BSN. Upon completion of the program, the applicant has to **be committed to working for one of the identified business partners of the NEPP**, therefore meaning you can’t just go work for the facility of your choice. Many of these places are nursing homes, Hospice facilities, and outer-lying hospitals.

While I think it is great that the government has finally realized that the field of nursing needs help in recruiting new students and that the Department of Labor is offering this grant, I feel as though they should not limit the places of employment after graduation. Nurses are needed everywhere, and Governor Rick Perry (also part of the executive branch of government) has also taken notice. On September 1, 2009, the governor signed into law a nurse staffing bill that requires hospitals to create and implement a written nurse staffing policy, by a committee involving nurses. The Texas bill does not specify mandatory patient to nurse ratios, it instead allows the hospital to set these numbers based on patient needs by unit and shift, and skill of available nurses. The law includes whistleblower protections and prohibits mandatory overtime. But what if you just don’t have the nurses to cover your hospital’s needs at any given time? As a nursing student, I have seen how hard nurses have to work to keep up with patient loads that are too much to handle. On a personal note, I had a friend that was in one of the larger hospitals in the Medical Center after a very traumatic car accident that landed her in the shock/trauma ICU for several weeks. On some days, there could be one nurse taking care of up to four very critical patients at a time. That, in my opinion, is too many patients for one nurse on a critical care unit. A large patient load plus a fatigued nurse has and will continue to equal to mistakes in patient care, especially medication errors.

I don’t want to sound ungrateful for what the Department of Labor has done for the nursing field, but I think they need to realize that the shortages are not just in certain types of facilities. I say put the CNA’s and LVN’s in the nursing homes, with maybe an RN to be charge nurse. Most of those patients are not acutely ill, and when they do get acutely ill, they are admitted to a hospital. They mostly need help with activities of daily living and need to have their medications administered to them. Hospice can also be covered mostly by LVN’s. These patients just need palliative care and family support. However, if someone is an RN or a BSN, put them in the type of facility they are trained to be in - acute care hospitals which are also feeling the crunch of the shortage. I have already had nurses at acute care facilities ask me to please consider coming to work for them once I graduate because they really need the help. The bottom line for me is “quality patient care”, and that will not happen until the nursing shortage is alleviated across the board. I think the Nursing Education and Placement Program is a good start, but I think its progress should be tracked closely by the DOL and the President to see if the program is actually doing what it was set out to do, and perhaps adjustments made when appropriate to ensure that all facilities have enough nursing staff so nursing care can be delivered in a safe manner everywhere.


 * __Whitney Hoffpauir

Texas Real Estate Commision__**

The Texas Real Estate Commission is one example of executive power. TREC is the state’s regulatory agency for real estate brokers and sales persons, real estate inspectors, education providers for real estate and inspection courses, residential service companies, time share developers, and right of way agents. The Texas Real Estate Commission is composed of nine members which are appointed by the governor of the state with the senate’s conformation. Each member of the committee is to serve six terms, three members expiring every two years. The governor designates one member who will serve as the Chairman of the Commission. The current chairman is John Eckstrum. Out of the 9 members of the commission six are licensed real estate agents of brokers who have been active in real estate for more than five years. The other three members are from the general public. These three people are appointed by the governor simply to be the voice of the people.

The commissioner’s main goals are to protect and serve the citizens of Texas. They provide programs designated to educate, license, and industry regulation ensure that real estate providers are honest, trustworthy, and competent. They are here to set rules and implement rules. TREC also requires all real estate agents and brokers to meet and maintain specific levels of education. They also investigate and resolve complaints, taking disciplinary action when necessary to enforce the Commission’s statutes and rules. The Commission has a statutory relationship with three state entities: the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M on research papers and education, it appoints two members to the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending, and they also provide support for the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board. There are a few different divisions in the commission. A few worth mentioning is the Administration and Management Services Division (AMS). The members are in charge of the day-to-day leadership of the agency, and management and implementation of the governing policies developed by the Governor-appointed Commission and Board members. Next there is Education and Licensing Services Division (ELS) which is in place to ensure that education, experience, exams, and applications requirements are satisfied before a license is issued. This division has nineteen staff members. The next division is used to ensure that the citizens are protected and complaints are being processed and taken care of in a timely and fair enforcement.

The agency employs 66 people who work in Austin, and ten investigators who work from their homes in different state regions. In 2005, the agency operated on a budget of about $4.26 million and collected about $18.6 million in revenues primarily from licensing fees. One example of a fee: for a sales person the fee is $232 for initial application fees. This does not include renewal fees. TREC also has the authority to regulate the private real estate schools to ensure that the students have access to a quality education. In 2005 TREC made a change in statute regarding this issue.

This entity must be in place to protect all consumers and regulate all people involved in real estate to ensure the people that we are responsible for our actions.

The VA**
 * Ronald Vavra

The Veterans Administration we know today can trace its roots back to 1636, when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony were at war with the Pequot Indians. The Pilgrims passed a law which stated that disabled soldiers would be supported by the colony. The Continental Congress of 1776 encouraged enlistments during the Revolutionary War by providing pensions for soldiers who were disabled. By the 1920s, the various benefits were administered by three different Federal agencies: the Veterans Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. The establishment of the Veterans Administration came in 1930 when Congress authorized the President to "consolidate and coordinate Government activities affecting war veterans." The three component agencies became bureaus within the Veterans Administration (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Veterans_Affairs). The Department of Veterans Affairs was established as an executive department by the Department of Veterans Affairs Act (38 U.S.C. 201 note). It is comprised of three organizations that administer veterans programs: the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the National Cemetery Administration. Each organization has field facilities and a central office component. The Department of Veterans Affairs was established as a Cabinet-level position on March 15, 1989. President George H.W. Bush hailed the creation of the new Department saying, "There is only one place for the veterans of America, in the Cabinet Room, at the table with the President of the United States of America." It employs over 278,565 employees and has a annual budget of $87.6 billion (2009) The years following the Vietnam War were some of the worst for the Veterans Administration. With little understanding of PTSD (Post Traumatic Syndrome) and a war weary country that didn’t want more money spent on what was seen as part of the war, little help was availably. Veterans who did seek help were locked in psychiatric wards and were not properly medicated. This type of treatment is still fresh on minds today. When you try and help some Vietnam veterans, one of the first they say is that the refuse to go the VA hospital. Procedures and treatments have vastly improved since those days but with the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan resources are again being tested. The process for applying for benefits is long and detailed. Applications for service related injuries can be as long as twenty pages and the questions confusing. Even after the application is completed and submitted it can be as long as six months before the VA sets and appointment to see the veteran and as long as twenty-six months before a decision is made concerning his or her claim. If the claim is dined the veteran can appeal but this process takes five to six years. As stated early the President is responsible for the Veterans Administration. This means he is responsible to the veterans. More Veteran Councilors need to be hired to help with claims. More out- patient facilities built and a more stream line claim process.

Harpreet Singh The Bureau of Ocean Energy Recently the Mineral Management Services was renamed the Bureau of Ocean Energy. Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, remodeled the MMS into 3 different branches to ensure their duty will be faithfully executed. The Office of Natural Resources Revenue is responsible for collecting the oil and gas royalties. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has to oversee the oil company and ensure compliance with safety and environmental rules. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will lease areas where the conventional and renewable energy resources are. The split will definitely work towards eliminating chance for corrupted officials to abuse their power, something that has been quite common in the MMS. The agency has been alleged for drug use, sexual misconduct, and accepting bribes. Much of the media has accused the MMS officials for being too “cozy” with the oil companies, which is quite true. Much of these things have been going on in the agency for a long time. The MMS is part of the Interior Department in the executive branch, but it hasn’t executed the laws quite well. BP was granted permission to drill in the Gulf without having several required permits from another agency regulating endangered species. Also several scientists within in the agency were pressured into changing their environmental assessments and studies to show there was no risk in drilling. Also the agency lets the oil companies police itself, instead of enforcing the laws themselves. The oil company will obviously overlook many safety and environmental rules, since their top goal is profit. Over 300 oil spills in offshore operations have occurred from 2001 to 2007. This shows the carelessness of the MMS officials. The MMS was being run by the interests of the oil company and not the interest of the law, and was a captured agency. It’s scary that it takes a giant oil spill to discover the faults and corruption within our own government. The Obama administration is reacted slowly to the oil spill and people want the government to take a more active role in the crisis, which has been a point of controversy for a long time. Many crises in the past have led to more executive power. The Department of Homeland Security was created after the terrorist attack of 9/11. The EPA was created after environmental crisis. Social Security was created when the elderly population was falling into poverty. These institutions in the executive branch leads to expanded presidential power, a notion that frightened anti-federalists during America’s early years. The agencies make their own rules and regulation, giving the executive branch a level of legislative power. The people want the President to magically cure the recession, the oil spill, and the war, but it can’t be done because of the limits placed on the executive. The limits were put to stop the concentration of power into a single man which would lead to tyranny and abuse of power. One such limit is that the President can’t control the lower level bureaucracy, which also means he doesn’t have much say over how the MMS will be run. He can’t punish the officials directly who did not enforce the rules over oil companies. The Gulf oil spill is a good example of how sometimes the Constitution and the law obstruct things from getting done. The Bureau of Ocean Energy seeks to reform the misdeeds of the MMS, but it is also an indication of the expansive nature of executive power


 * Megan Keesler**

//**Nursing Shortage**//

The executive branch plays a major role in the process of law-making. The nursing shortage has caused an enormous amount of controversy which has led to many new laws being forced into action because of the inconsistency and safety issues regarding nursing staff. The executive branch consists of the President of the United States, which is also the head of state and head of government of the United States, and also the Commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The powers of the President consist of signing in legislation or vetoing bills that have been previously passed by congress. If this is not agreed by upon congress, they can also override the President’s decision with a 2/3 vote in both houses. This allows for the president not to have unlimited power of the decision making process which protects the rights of the citizens and people that this pertains to. The president has taken many actions in resolving the nursing shortage in America. He signed in the Nurse Reinvestment Act, which enforces workforce problems that pertain to the nursing shortage. The first part of the law focuses on nursing recruitment problems and finding new ways to relay information on this problem. Public service announcements were being made, and scholarships were given for persons who worked for at least two years at facilities with critical shortage issues. The second part of the law focused on making the education and practice better for incoming nursing students by offering grants and loans. This offered a higher educational level to focus on the teachings and intelligent factor of nurses caring for our patients. Focusing on making nurses more profound for the well-being of the patients is the goal for this law. In 2002, a 20 million dollar grant was offered to improve advertisements to publicize the nursing shortage, high school education, websites to offer information on nursing programs, and scholarships. Because of these laws and issues pertaining to the nursing shortage, it has offered many more opportunities for nurses to make a larger influence and provide more attention to the needs of the patients. The president’s objective is to implement the laws that have been suggested and passed by congress. In this case, the president has passed these laws in order to provide more care in the health industry, which in turn makes the patients and people happier and healthier. These scholarships and grants have led to greater opportunities for nurses and have provided more education and teaching abilities for these nurses. The president has offered these opportunities to improve health care, but is not the sole reason that these bills are passed. Once the bill has been passed through the executive branch, by the president, it then much go on to the judicial branch to be passed and made into a law. There are many reasons that the president has executive power, and there are also many reasons for the other branches to overrule this power, for the sole reason that executive power is not abused.

__**Jessica Flores Elena Kagan is a Wild Card Nominee**__ How is a candidate a wild card nominee? The wild card in the Supreme Court nomination and confirmation process is for any candidate who has served in the executive branch. Elena Kagan is a wild card nominee who was appointed by former employer President Barack Obama. He announced her as a nominee in his State of the Union speech in January. Obama stated “Kagan has ‘repeatedly defended the rights of shareholders and ordinary citizens against unscrupulous corporations. Last year, in the Citizens United case, she defended bipartisan campaign finance reform against special interests seeking to spend unlimited money to influence our elections.’” But how will this help as a Supreme Court Justice? Elena Kagan has no experience in the judicial branch; all her experience is in the executive branch. The question being asked is if Kagan is a wild card for business. Or should the bigger question be why did President Obama choose Elena Kagan to be the wild card nominee? Because of her nomination, many of the members of the Senate judiciary committee are concerned about her experience in the judiciary branch. Kagan is not well suited for the nomination, but because she worked with President Obama, it gives her a better chance for the nomination. She is in the position of influencing the other nine justices of the High Court, and spreading her liberal judicial activism. Her qualifications to be a Supreme Court Judge are horrible, and if she did not work for Obama, she would not be in the place or position she is in right now. Her lack of knowledge in the branch can do some harm to our courts, both national and state courts. “Kagan could have the possibility to move the court ‘closer to the Bush/Cheney vision of Government and the Thomas/Scalia approach to executive power and law.’” She is going to try to change the amount of power each branch has, and she could be the person to review certain laws or bills and agree even if it will hurt the country. Honestly, Elena Kagan was not the proper candidate for his position because President Obama helped her even though she has little experience, and they should review the Wild Card nominees more so they can improve in the courts.

The Westboro Baptist church has gotten a lot of publicity from their protests at Veteran funerals, they hold up signs that say: “Thank God for dead soldiers,” “Thank God for IEDs,” “Thank God for 9/11”… In the response to these protests, police officers, Governors, and even Presidents have acted to try to tune the Westboro Baptist Church out. In 2006, George W. Bush signed the “Respect for America’s Fallen Heroes Act” into law. This act doesn’t allow protesters to picket within 300 feet of a cemetery and within one hour before or after a ceremony. The Attorney General of Missouri, Jay Nixon, says that he will legally do anything necessary to protect the families of fallen war veterans in Missouri.
 * __Tiffany Summerville__ The Executive Take on the WBC **

A few days ago, the daughter of the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, Shirley Phelps-Roper, was arrested for allowing her 10 year old child stand on a United States flag at a funeral protest in Nebraska. The charge against this woman was delinquency of a minor. Phelps-Roper claims the reason it makes it ‘okay’ is because "We did our duty today to our God and fellow man. Our job is to cause this nation to know her abomination. The thing they worship, the flag, is worthless. It's a piece of cloth." She has a bond of $150. In my opinion, the bond should have been higher. Not on the fact that she was disrespecting the United States flag, but because she was including her 10 year old son to participate in the protest of the fallen hero. A ten year old boy does not have the developed brain to make logical decisions and forcing that child to believe in acts of hatred towards another being before he can make that decision on his own, is sick.

When taking in the executive, most all of the places that the Westboro Baptist Church chooses to target, is an organization which means that it has some sort of executive properties to it. The responses to the protests against these organizations are majorly one of just ignoring the unkind gestures that the Westboro Baptist Church shows toward the way the said organization runs their people. Which is a smart thing to do; responding to the protests would fuel the fire. Although it may be frustrating to keep one’s mouth closed to the close minded people, one can only hope that there will be a day when someone solves the problem of having to tip toe around the constitution.

Nicolas Garza Health Care Bill: Is it Safe? President Barrack Obama is my focus for the executive branch. Because he is our president, he must protect the welfare of the nation, and in return we are to support him. Since the begging of office, President Obama has aimed to change the way our government has run, and therefore causing a lot of questions to his purpose. The heal care bill is something I am going to focus on. First u has to look at the text of the bill itself. It is very hard to understand it all sue to the high level of English it is strategically written in.

“Page 16: States that if you have insurance at the time of the bill becoming law and change, you will be required to take a similar plan. If that is not available, you will be required to take the government option! • Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure! • Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed! • Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process) • Page 42: The "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None. • Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free [|healthcare] services. • Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Health card. • Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer. • Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and [|community] organizer health plans (example: SEIU, UAW and ACORN) • Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange. • Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)”

This is only some of the many provisions in the bill that stand out as harmful. It is though the government is in complete control over your health needs. This is raises question if the power of the executive, and is it getting to be too much? Section 163 of the bill now in Congress allows the government real-time access to a person’s bank records, including direct access to bank accounts for electronic fund transfers. “Obama’s bill is merely an attempt by the government to legitimize its massive snooping under the cover of health care. In addition to deducting medical costs directly from you account, the law will allow the state to monitor all of your financial transactions.” I believe that health care may need to change, but a power shift like this can be very dangerous.