Stephen Maurer Creates Unique Web Portal to Review ‘Experiments of Concern’

Nature News, February 4, 2009 by Erika Check Hayden
http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090204/full/457643a.html

“There is an instinct in the community that if you think you’re talking about an experiment of concern, you should ask someone — but biosecurity people are scarce on the average campus,” he says. The portal is designed to be a help, rather than a burden, in these situations. “People have enough layers of paperwork in their lives,” says Maurer. “The idea is to make this as painless as possible.”

Jacob Hacker Believes Healthcare Reform Crucial in Down Economy

The Christian Science Monitor, February 3, 2009 by Jacob S. Hacker
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0203/p09s01-coop.html

“The task is more pressing because the problems in job-based health benefits will only grow worse as the recession deepens: Businesses will continue to drop coverage and shift costs onto workers, and more and more Americans will lose their homes and their life savings because they lack insurance or their insurance doesn’t shield them against runaway health costs.”

Ann O’Leary Applauds Obama’s Signing of Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

KPIX-TV, January 30, 2009 by Joe Vasquez
http://cbs5.com/video/?id=45378@kpix.dayport.com

“It was a bit of a ridiculous notion that you would have to sue from the moment in which you were discriminated against, even though you had no knowledge whatsoever that you were being discriminated against…. One of the things that I was really heartened by today was that First Lady Michelle Obama made very clear that this bill was really just the cornerstone of their agenda for trying to help working women.”

David Onek Believes Next San Francisco Police Chief Must Embrace Change

San Francisco Chronicle, January 29, 2009 by C.W.Nevius
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/29/BA8615IU2U.DTL&type=printable

“This is not a case where we say, OK, is the new chief going to buy into this or not?” said David Onek, a new appointee to the Police Commission. “We want someone who has experience in implementing these kinds of changes…. I think we need to look at a five-year term for the chief. If he serves at the will of the mayor, he will figure he will be removed as soon as the major leaves.”

John Yoo Criticizes Obama’s Decision to Close Gitmo and Limit CIA Interrogations

The Wall Street Journal, January 29, 2009 by John Yoo
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123318955345726797.html#

While these actions will certainly please his base—gone are the cries of an “imperial presidency”—they will also seriously handicap our intelligence agencies from preventing future terrorist attacks. In issuing these executive orders, Mr. Obama is returning America to the failed law enforcement approach to fighting terrorism that prevailed before Sept. 11, 2001.

Charles Halpern Applauds Obama’s Focus on Empathy as a Criterion for Judges

Daily Journal, January 29, 2009 by Charles Halpern
http://www.dailyjournal.com (requires registration; go to G:\Law School in the News\News Clips for article)

Rarely have qualities of heart or empathy been articulated as criteria for the selection of judges. It is not surprising that Obama would commit himself to this new criterion. He is a man who has identified “cultivating empathy” as one of the important values in his life.

Mary Ann Mason Warns of Brain Drain in Academia

The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 27, 2009, by Mary Ann Mason
http://chronicle.com/cgi2-bin/printable.cgi?article=http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2009/01/2009012701c.htm

Unless the old academic culture—which discourages family formation at all levels but is particularly unfriendly to graduate-student parenthood—radically changes, we are in danger of losing many of our best and brightest minds to other professions. There has been some movement to accommodate new faculty parents, but by then it is already too late to capture many disaffected graduate students who have already found careers elsewhere.