Unit 4 Bureaucracy

"The Whistle-blower Protection Act"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-d-gerber/whistleblower-protection_b_5510792.html
4/24/16



Summary:
VA Hospitals have been falsifying records regarding their medical treatment and what has been provided for patients. A whistleblower is an employee who releases information exposing any misconduct happening at their workplace. The Whistle Blower Protection Act protects those employees who release the information. It states that the employer cannot punish the employee in any way such as firing or decreasing pay. Doctors, nurses, and other staff at the VA hospitals have released information that has put the VA hospitals under the microscope of the Federal government. OSHA is a federal agency, that is under the federal bureaucracy of the Department of Labor, that is in charge of protecting the whistle blowers. Supposedly for years now OSHA has not been doing their job, they have been slacking on investigating and reporting misconduct happening at the VA hospitals. The people working for OSHA who are bureaucrats have been treating the employees like they are the ones to blame for the misconduct.



 Analysis: The federal bureaucracy "OSHA" follows by regulations that give them the right to protect employees who release the information about their employers. If OSHA doesn't do their job this allows employers to get away with things that should be brought to the governments attention and reported. Federal bureaucracies have a lot of power, and are given this power for a reason.

Unit 4 Executive Branch

Emma McSherry
4/2/16

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/international/obama-in-cuba
"Obama Visits Cuba"



Summary:
President Obama traveled to Cuba to meet with Cuban leader Raul Castro. No sitting president has visited Cuba since 1928. For many years Obama set a policy agenda stating that he wanted to repair relations with Cuba. Obama announced that he would be visiting Cuba to "advance our progress and efforts that can improve the lives of the Cuban people". Obama wants to end the trade embargo and encourage a change in the regime in Cuba. Obama not only met with Castro but a wide range of civil society leaders as well. Many of those people are Conservative and do not agree with Obama's decision to restore relations with Cuba. But, there were many communist people who once followed Fidel, who enjoyed and approved of Obama's speech. One communist man said that the communication between Obama and Raul is fundamental and very important for changing Cuba for the better after all of these years.



Analysis: When President Obama met with Raul Castro in Cuba, he fulfilled the expressed role written in the Constitution of being Chief Diplomat and meeting with other foreign leaders. Meeting with Raul Castro was very beneficial to the United States and to Cuba. Relations between the two countries has not been stable for many years, and repairing relations will allow trade between the two, and allow American citizens to travel there. Considered to be the fourth branch of government, the media had a field day with the POTUS trip to Cuba. The Belgium bombing happened while Obama was in Cuba, and it did not stop him from achieving all of his goals in Cuba.