Secretary of State

The Secretary of State is the president’s chief arm for carrying out diplomatic affairs. In the New York Times article, Hillary Clinton, the new appointed Secretary of State, is modernizing the position. On Friday morning, she warned North Korea not to test long range missiles. Later that afternoon, she was answering questions posed to her by a Korean student about her love life.

Clinton is mixing security with personal family experiences. She says that she is determined to “make a connection with people in a non traditional way that is not just a staged handshake and photo.” People are excited to see Clinton; she is one of the most famous women in the world. 3000 female students packed Ewha Womans University in Seoul to hear her speak. Clinton wants to connect with people on a personal level. She believes that this in turn can help mold public opinion and influence governments.

I feel that Clinton is doing the right thing. She is a celebrity and is using this for the good of our country. I think that the “personal touch” is just what politics needs, instead of the same old stale approach.

Fight against tax evasion

In the article “U.S. Seeks New Powers to Fight Tax Evasion”, the Justice Department is backing a new Senate antifraud bill to broaden its power to prosecute offshore tax evasion along with other financial crimes such as misuse of government bailout money. If this bill is passed, it would make it easier for the Justice Department to “apply money-laundering statutes” when tax evasion is suspected, especially with offshore accounts. The bill would be known as the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009.

Rita M. Glavin, acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s criminal division, feels this is necessary “due to the rapid globalization of the financial system”. Tax evasion is becoming very common and some of the same methods are very similar to that of money laundering.

I feel this is a very necessary step, especially now with all of the bailout money being given out by the government. If the laws are not “tightened up” around tax evasion, then more and more people are going to try and get away with it. Just look at how many are getting caught now, and things are only going to get worse.