Department of Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security's mission is to "help prevent, protect against, and respond to acts of terrorism on United States soil."

Functions:
1. To prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks.
2. To protect the American people, our critical infrastructure, and key resources.
3. To respond to and recover from incidents that do occur.
And a very vague
4. Continue to strengthen the foundation to ensure our long-term success.

-Ellen

Sarah Palin/Troopergate Poll

Sarah Palin has been under investigation for the firing of Walter Monegan. She had been pressuring him to fire her former brother-in-law, Mike Wooten, from the state troopers. Wooten had been involved in a messy divorce from her sister and had, according to Palin, made a death threat against her father, hunted illegally, and tasered his 11 year old step-son. There had never been any direct statements to Monegan to fire Wooten, or any complaints apart from those made by the Palin family. Todd Palin, Sarah's husband, was also deeply involved, saying to Monegan at one point, "Wooten shouldn't be a state trooper." In fact, many say Todd Palin was too involved, at one point calling a meeting in the governor's office, without Sarah, to address Wooten's employment. An Alaska legislative committee released a report on Friday stating that Sarah Palin had abused her power and was in violation of state ethics laws, but upheld her authority to fire Monegan. However, the committee did not have the authority to sanction her for her ethical misconduct. That is up to the state Personnel Board, which has yet to release their findings.
-Ellen

Some info on the Russian missile tests conducted on Sunday

Russia test-fired three long-range missiles on Sunday and pronounced its nuclear deterrent strong in a show of force that experts said had not been seen since the days of the Cold War. Some say this demonstration is the result of US missile defense plans in Eastern Europe and the moves to expand the NATO alliance into sphere of Russian influence. Military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said, "the exercises reflected Russia's determination to prepare for major military conflict." Furthermore Felgenhauer even said, "This was a dry run for a war with the United States," in reference to the missile tests.

Department of Energy

Mission Statement: "The Department of Energy's overarching mission is to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States; to promote scientific and technological innovation in support of that mission; and to ensure the environmental cleanup of the national nuclear weapons complex."

Goals:
1. Energy Security: Promoting America’s energy security through reliable, clean, and affordable energy
2. Nuclear Security: Ensuring America’s nuclear security
3. Scientific Discovery and Innovation: Strengthening U.S. scientific discovery, economic competitiveness, and improving quality of life through innovations in science and technology
4. Environmental Responsibility: Protecting the environment by providing a responsible resolution to the environmental legacy of nuclear weapons production
5. Management Excellence: Enabling the mission through sound management

-Harbhajan

State Department

The U.S. Department of State is the agency which deals with foreign affairs for the U.S. Government. The head of the State Department is called the Secretary of State and is one of the President's Cabinet members. The current Secretary of State is Condoleezza Rice. She uses her expertise in diplomacy to ensure that the U.S. maintains friendly relations with other countries, and her credentials as an expert on the former Soviet Union ensured that the U.S. was well-prepared in dealing with the Russian invasion of Georgia. Ha-ha. But seriously.....

FUNCTIONS:
-primarily: advancing U.S. interests globally through the implementation of the President's foreign policy agenda
-negotiation with other nations
-protecting and assisting U.S. citizens abroad
-assisting U.S. business internationally
-organizing and assisting the international programs of other agencies
-informing the public on U.S. foreign policy

U.S. Opening Nuclear Trade with India Poll

Though most of the attention on the political world lately has been aimed at the financial bailout bill, the Senate has also approved a bill which will officially open U.S. nuclear trade with India. It is the Senate's hope that the bill will help India, where energy demand is rising, and will open up a highly profitable opportunity for the U.S.. The bill was also passed because of India's growing power in the world, and that it might help to have India as an ally in the future. But, there are concerns as well, considering the fact that India has never signed the the Nonproliferation treaty. This means that India is in no way limited to the amount or extent of nuclear tests it performs, nor to the amount of nuclear weapons produced and held by the Indian government. The Senate passed the bill, which President Bush has strongly backed, in the hopes that India's dependency on the U.S. for nuclear energy technology will influence the Indian government to limit their nuclear testing, and that if the Indian government does another test nuclear trade would be cut off.
-Christie

The Necessity for a Presidency

Within the lifespan of the current teenage generation, the notion of a “strong” leader has been at the very least, debatable. However, this concept is nothing new, for in fact it was a vital component of the thoughts of our founding fathers which is encapsulated within the Constitution. What is it then that makes a leader a good one? In a democracy, what is a leader? And what powers do they contain? These questions have been thought about through great length in America. We are a unique country whose ideals consistently remain in accordance to freedom and the power to choose. Yet, without some form of leadership, anarchy will prevail, which is why the founding fathers came upon the agreement of the presidential office. This unique job could be argued to be what defines America: a country with power and freedom, while still maintaining control over the populace on some level.

In today’s government, it is impossible for others in Washington to do their job without the consent and assurance of the president. In Article 46 (“Presidential Power” by Richard E. Neustadt) , this notion is very much stressed. It explains that the president faces demands from several areas: executive officialdom, Congress, partisans, the citizens at large, and from abroad. With this in mind, one can agree that the office of the president is anything but easy. Neustadt then moves on to say that the president’s demands and power will most likely not change, unless an unlimited war or deep depression occurs. However, this article does not elaborate on the possibility of such occurrences. What would then happen? The reason why this notion is stressed is because of the current economic status of the United States. Many politicians now sense that a depression is not a far-fetched concept and therefore we must consider this notion a real possibility.

What Article 46 does not explain, Article 51 (“Presidential Powers in Times of Emergency: Could Terrorism Result in a Constitutional Monarchy?” by John W. Dean) elaborates on. Essentially, it explains that a constitutional dictatorship is possible in a time of turmoil. While this article uses the war on terrorism as the possibility, the current economic crisis is what makes this concept even more frightening. Democracy, it explains, works best during times of peace. This is because there can be debate, compromise, and deliberation, creating a fair and equal government. When a crisis occurs within a country that endangers the people in any way, they hide inside of their leader, so to speak. Because of this, a leader can essentially be given whatever power they ask of. This is what makes this concept so terrifying. While Article 51 barely glosses over the dictatorships that have arisen in other countries, one must view these to understand the possibility. The Nazi reign in Germany just may be the best example. However, what John Dean is most emphasizing is the possibility of a dictatorship in America. Finally, he concludes that the possibility of a constitutional dictatorship is not a far-off concept and is very much a possibility. Such major crisis’s as the Civil War, the two World Wars, and the Great Depression have created stronger, more powerful presidents. Dean explains this by saying, “Past presidents- principally Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt- by exercising their powers in time of emergency, have expanded their authority as necessary to meet the emergencies they faced.” (“Presidential Power In Time of Emergency: Could Terrorism Result in a Constitutional Monarchy?,” Woll, p. 304) Luckily, America has not faced such a problem that would develop a dictatorship however there is a possibility for one in the future.

This article displays an interesting concept that is not often thought about for many Americans. Dictatorship is generally a notion that is associated with one of the two extremes: fascism and communism, both of which America has fought against. However, one must always consider the possibility, especially when it is believed that the empire of America has been crumbling slowly during the past few decades. What will come next?

We must then think about what leaders to choose to prevent such a catastrophe. The next question that we come to ask is what makes a leader, or more specifically a president, good? Article 47 (“The Presidential Character” by James David Barber) explains simply that it is the personality of the president that is most important. While this notion may sound simple, the article moves on by giving a list (a tactic that Barber appears to like) of why the personality “shapes performance.” First, a president’s personality is important in connection with his behavior as well as nontrivial matters. Second, his personality is patterned, meaning that his most important aspects which include character, world view, and style all correlate. Third, personality is important in terms of the power and expectations he faces. And finally, the best way to predict his character, world view, and style is to see how they were all originally put together in the first place. While Barber does bring up an interesting point on how to choose a president, when trying to actually do this, it seems impossible as well as trivial. What makes the modern American choose a president is not exactly based on these four concepts. It is by his overall beliefs and stances and what will benefit the people the most. The article then moves on to explain the four personality types of a president (active-positive, active-negative, passive-positive, and passive-negative). Activity and Passivity explain how much energy a person invests in the presidency, while Positive and Negative explains how he feels about what he does. According to the article, these are important characteristics of a president. However, this list is yet even more insignificant. Any voter will assume that their preferred candidate will spend as much time as possible attempting to fix or better the country and enjoy it. Therefore, while it may be interesting to view in history, these lists are overall irrelevant for the modern voter. In today’s world, choosing a president is for the most part fairly simple; one decides on the candidate based on their beliefs.

Article 48 (“Leadership by Definition: Reflections on George W. Bush’s Political Stance” by Stepehn Skowronek) gives us an interesting concept that is not necessarily the primary reason why a voter would choose a candidate, but has a very large effect. Skowronek plays with the notion of “definition.” He explains, “Definition conveys certainty and self-confidence. The posture is that of a man of set mind, one who knows what to do and leads by doing it.” (“Leadership by Definition: Reflection on George W. Bush’s Political Stance”, Woll, p. 281) Skowronek uses this example through the presidency of George W. Bush. Essentially, he explains that what Bush lacks in smarts, he gains in certainty and self-confidence. He is a stalwart, or someone who stands firmly by their beliefs. However, Skowronek does leave out a little information that could elaborate on this notion, for example, Bush’s former 2004 presidential election opponent, John Kerry. Kerry was known as being “wishy-washy” on certain topics. He lacked the firm stance on his beliefs that Bush was easily able to stick with. Some may argue that this is what cost him the presidency. Skowronek also leaves out much critique on Bush, almost leaving the reader to wonder what exactly his stance is on the president. While he does dabble in his opinion, for example he states, “I do not mean to ignore the irony that Bush’s vow introduced a book that was in fact, put together by others” (Leadership by Definition”, Woll, p. 280) he could have elaborated more, thus explaining the gullibility of the people. It sounded as though he was trying to get at that point, however did not quite get there.

The presidency is a complicated matter, whether it be choosing the president or choosing his powers. What is most important, and as Alexander Hamilton explains in his “Federalist 70’ (Article 44), is the president represents unity. While it is an imperfect system, it is an essential one. And as we have learned through the notion of a “democracy,” an imperfect system is not necessarily the wrong system.

-Emma