Articles Index

Obama Builds His Cabinet
President-elect Obama has rolled up his sleeves and gotten to work on his Cabinet. Here, in order of presidential succession, is how the job is going. Mentioned and actual nominees for President Obama's Cabinet secretaries.

Obama-Biden Administration Job Questionnaire
To help pre-screen applicants for jobs within its administration, the Obama-Biden presidential transition team prepared a very revealing questionnaire of 63 questions covering virtually every aspect of the applicant's life. Rule One? Never embarrass the boss.

HHS Launches Effort to Prevent Youth Bullying
According to the Department of Education, 1 in 4 children who act as bullies will have a criminal record by the age of 30. Now the Department of Health and Human Services has announced a new campaign to educate Americans about how to prevent bullying and youth violence -- behaviors, says HHS, that can have tremendous negative impact on children's success in school and overall well-being.

Presidential Security Briefings
Within 48 hours of being elected the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama received his first presidential security briefing from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). What did they talk about? What happens during daily presidential security briefings?

The Presidential Transition Process
As one of its proudest achievements, the U.S. government's presidential transition process stands as an example to be followed by emerging democracies around the world. An unfailingly peaceful and respectful transition of power at the highest level of government stands as a key to the ongoing survival of a free democracy.

Had Clinical Chemistry Existed in 1776, We Might Not be Voting
Getting all excited about the presidential elections? Well, consider this: new research suggests that the U.S. may never have rebelled against Mother England in 1776 if King George III could have been treated for a blood-related mental disorder.

About Time! Daylight Saving, That Is
About daylight saving time. Dates to set clocks and the history of daylight saving time.

The Electoral College System
Every fourth November, after almost two years of campaign hype and money, over 90 million Americans vote for the presidential candidates. Then, in the middle of December, the president and vice president of the United States are really elected by the votes of only 538 citizens -- the "electors" of the Electoral College.

Would You Rather Vote on Saturday?
The argument has often been made that since more Americans have the "day off" on Saturday than on Tuesdays, holding presidential elections on Saturday would allow and encourage more people to vote. Is that right, or would holding elections on Saturdays simply create a different set of excuses for not voting?

Money for a Small Business
The U.S. government does not currently provide grants for starting or expanding a small business. However, the government does offer plenty of free help in planning how to start or improve your business and in securing low-interest SBA-backed small business loans. In addition, many states DO offer small business grants to individuals.

The U.S. National Incident Management System
Whenever a major emergency, like Hurricane Katrina requires local responders to call for help from state and federal government, everybody who shows up absolutely must be working from the same game plan. To make sure that happens, the Department of Homeland Security, along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, developed the National Incident Management System, or NIMS.

Summaries of the President's Cabinet-level Agencies
Brief summaries of all 15 U.S. Government agencies that make up the President's Cabinet.

Protecting Your Right to Vote
No American who is qualified to vote should ever be denied the right and opportunity to do so. That seems so simple. Unfortunately, it has not always worked that way. Today, four federal laws, all enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice, work in concert to ensure that all Americans are allowed to register to vote and enjoy an equal opportunity to cast a ballot on election day.

How to Report Voting Rights Problems
Due to the protections of four federal voting rights laws, cases of qualified voters being improperly denied their right to vote or register to vote are now rare. However, in every major election, some voters are still improperly turned away from the polling place, or encounter conditions that voting difficult or confusing. Some of these incidents are accidental, others are intentional, but all should be reported.

Obama and McCain on Campaign Finance Reform
Where do the presumed candidates in the 2008 presidential election, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois) and Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), stand on campaign finance reform? Predictably, in much the same place.

Welfare Reform in the United States
From the Great Depression of the 1930s, until 1996, welfare in the United States consisted of little more than guaranteed cash payments to the poor. Monthly benefits were paid to poor persons -- mainly mothers and children -- regardless of their ability to work, assets on hand or other personal circumstances. As a result, many people remained on welfare for their entire lives. In 1996, Congress passed a law that resulted in sweeping welfare reform.

How to Get a Federal Tax ID Number
At some point, your business will need a federal tax ID number, also called an Employer Identification Number (EIN). Here's how to get one.

Bad Ballots Cause Bad Elections
Several things can be done -- accidentally or intentionally -- in designing ballots to actually influence the outcome of elections, disenfranchise certain groups of voters or both.

TSA Expands Whole Body Scanner Searches
The Transportation Security Agency (TSA) has been expanding its fleet of whole body scanning devices capable of "seeing" right through passengers' clothing to detect prohibited dangerous items. TSA assures that the whole body scanners, soon to be in service at at least 24 airports nationwide, will be operated in manner that ensures the privacy of passengers selected to "bare it all."

DOE Ups Yucca Mountain Cost Estimate
Want to see how fast you can run? Thank a Nevadan for "agreeing" to let the government bury the nation's radioactive waste outside of Las Vegas at Yucca Mountain. Then tell them how much it's going to cost, and start running.

Election Day: Why We Vote When We Vote
Find out why all federal elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Stopped Driving? It Could Cost You
By the summer of 2008, gas prices had gone sky high, so you parked your car in the garage and soon discovered you were saving some serious money. Well, don't spend your savings too soon. In the long run, you may have to pay it back, and then some.

The End of Oil?
A series of recent events suggests that our nation's long-held definition of "oil independence" may be changing from independence from foreign oil to independence from all oil. Has the cumulative affect of shrinking oil supplies, rising gasoline prices, and the imminent possibility of a climate we just cannot live with brought us to the beginning of the end of the golden age of oil?

Federal Court Deflates Tire Industry Secrecy Ploy
In a lawsuit stemming from the massive Firestone - Ford tire recall of 2000, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that the U.S. tire industry cannot use the as a cloak of secrecy over Congressionally-required reports of potentially deadly tire defects.

About the Presidential Power to Pardon
Where does the President of the United States get the power to pardon criminals? Are there legal limitations to presidential pardons?