New direction for this blog
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 | Uncategorized
I’ll be restarting this blog to tackle a new issue, as per one of my university classes: Obama’s presidency. More specifically, I’m going to looking at whether or not he’s doing the job he said he would, and the job that we, the western world, expect him to do. It’s a pretty broad topic, I’ll admit. But I think you’ll find that the entries and the links to other articles/blog entries that I post paint a pretty specific picture of the most famous man in the world.
Is the man often satirically hailed as the Second Coming of Christ actually bringing change to Washington? Or is he falling into the presidential trap of pandering to special interests and effecting no substantial change at all?
Take, for interest, Obama’s latest escapades:
Lobbyists Stew After Being Bounced from Boards
Seems that the sheriff is in town and he’s not taking kindly to no strangers. The gist of the article is that Obama’s decided to limit access to federal advisory meetings by lobbyists, ie. representatives of the special interests. That means that a rep from the Philip Morris Tobacco Company might no longer have a cushy, comfy seat at the table the next time the FDA sits down for a chat.
That’s big news! Take a look at a quote from the article:
Barack Obama ’s drive to limit influence-peddling in Washington, could affect hundreds of lobbyists who serve on the panels, which were created by Congress in the 1970s to provide private-sector advice to the government.
“Private-sector advice to the government.” Now, I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’m a member of the private sector. And you probably are, too. But massive corporations and their reps? Companies that have more world-wide influence than our very own government? Something feels a bit wrong when including them in “the private sector,” like including a wolf in a poorly-covering sheep’s costume in the “lamb club.”
Seems to me that these ultra-influential, mega-rich companies have been abusing their position and the wording of any legislation that allows them to sit in on federal advisory meetings since the 70’s. And Obama’s no slouch; he gets that. So out they go, out of the meeting rooms so that Congress can get some real work done without being tempted by a dollar bill on a fish hook.
Good for you, Obama. Obama pros - 1, Obama cons - 0.
1 Comment to New direction for this blog
[...] House aides working for lobbyists after their tenure in the administration (I wrote about this here) 27. The secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere are being closed (This [...]
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
November 20, 2009