The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars
by: Elizabeth Wright

On November 17, 2008 the Washington Post reported that President-elect Obama ???wooed??? federal employees in seven federal agencies at the behest of American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO President John Gage. The Post stated that the Obama letters provided ???more specifics than he did on the campaign trail??? about changes he would make at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Departments of Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Labor, Veterans Affairs, the Social Security and the Transportation Security Administrations if he became President. Only the Defense Department was not assured of any increase in spending, just a promise to revise the National Security Personnel System, which was the Bush administration's attempt to modernize the DOD civil service system.

The "Not-So-Big-Three" Beg for a Bailout
by: Leslie K. Paige

The so-called ???Big Three??? domestic automakers, General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford have kicked into overdrive to lobby Congress to salvage what is left of their business operations using taxpayer funds. General Motors, which has entered negative cash-flow territory, is widely predicted to go belly-up unless it receives massive infusions of money. Analysts predict that GM's demise would drag the other two down as well. After two days of contentious hearings on Capital Hill on November 18 and 19, auto executives departed without a deal and, at least for now, Congress has slammed the brakes on a straight bailout. Instead, lawmakers have tasked automakers with furnishing a detailed plan for long-term industry ???viability and sustainability??? before any legislative action is taken.

New Grace Commission Needed
by: David Williams

Just five days after his historic election, President-elect Obama vowed to review every Executive Order signed by President Bush during the past eight years. He made it clear that he intends to overturn some of them.