The Pill Goes to Class — Obama Gives the Finger to Lobbyists

Obama has Epic First Day.

“As of today, lobbyists will be subject to stricter limits than under any … other administration in history,” Obama told reporters as he signed the new rules. The restrictions included a ban on gifts by lobbyists to anyone serving in the administration.

He also imposed a pay freeze for about 100 White House aides who earn $100,000 or more. Its implementation was unclear, since none of them was on the payroll before Tuesday’s noontime inauguration.

On Tuesday, within hours of Obama’s inauguration, his administration froze last-minute Bush administration regulations before they could take effect.

Among them was an Interior Department proposal to remove gray wolves from Endangered Species protections in much of the northern Rocky Mountains, and a Labor Department recommendation that would allow companies that manage employee retirement plans to market investment products to plan participants.

Well done, sir. Well done.

While I like the idea of Obama’s administration avoiding exorbitant self-reward, I wonder if the pay freeze will harm anyone who relies on that income. I hope Obama took family situations into consideration. Still, less kickbacks = better, in my book.

What do you all think? Are these, along with the plan to close Gitmo within the year, his foreign policy approach, and the economic stimulus, steps in the right direction? Or is he doing anything wrong?

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Aaaand I’m back in the CT multimedia office after getting some story assignments in and tweaking the website. I’m sore as a Mother from my second gym attack this semester, but it’s that silly “good” pain that fitness afficiandos refer to and I suppose I’m a minute or so further from death, so…cheers.

Class Run Down

Judicial Process – I appreciate Hult’s straightforwardness and her thus-far observed penchant for dropping interesting case anecdotes in lecture. The reading isn’t a bear so far and occasionally informative. She stresses that it’s not necessarily a law school indicator class, but I’m excited and it may determine if I bother with that pesky LSAT. Person I know in this class: Gonzo.

Creative Writing – This time around I’ve got Lucinda Roy, a professor from London with four published books and a maternal attitude toward her students. I’ll be grateful for the chance to exercise some writing muscle and she’s just so darn sweet, it’s going to soften the blow of getting up before noon. Person I know in this class: Ilex.

Economics – Well, with David’s help, I registered my iClicker in time to use it for the basis questions. It looks really straightforward and is actually kind of evocative of Spotila’s Rock for Jocks class my freshman year, being in the same room and all. I forsee little difficulty. Person I know in this class: Bear Force One.

Philosophy of Religion – Awesome. At first I thought Olson might be a little too dry, but he has a pretty good streak of humor. The subject matter is fascinating and the reading looks really good, plus his attendance/grading policies seem fair. This coupled with a Bible Study I might be doing in MC will fill the whole “experimenting with God talk” thing I’m trying out. Person I know in this class: Lottie Moon.

Chinese 1106 – I’m back! After suffering miserably in intermediate Chinese and realizing that I had completely lost a grip on my elementary skills, I’ve been allowed to come back. It was refreshing to actually be able to look at a list of Chinese character phrases and, after some concentration and memory recall, understand them. It’ll still be my hardest class, but if I do Chinese sentence drills every. freakin’. day…I should be prepared for next semester this time. Person I (knew) in this class: Delta Delta Delta.

I’m also in two Honors reading groups. One focusing on gender issues and the other on healthcare.
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Currently listening to: “Good Vibrations” – The Beach Boys
Watching tonight: LOST!!!
Thinking of reading: A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Shakespeare

Until next time…Sorry, Caroline, beware the peanut butter, and wish Akon a happy birthday everyday for the next year — it won’t make a difference.