Hip Young Things

I am always behind on entertainment and after more than ten years, I am finally watching the West Wing. I had never really thought I would like the show much and only started watching it when I friend I trust told me I should. I particularly like the writing for many of the characters.

In the episode I just watched it was season two and once again it was what they refer to as “Big Block of Cheese Day.” A day on which people who would normally never get to meet with high level White House staffers are allowed to discuss their issues with the people who have the President’s ear. This always leads to situations like what happened when the Organization of Cartographers for Social Equality talks to C.J. They are there to tell her that the president should support legislation that makes every school use a specific map that will promote Social Equality better and show the true size of each country. This wouldn’t have been as funny to me if it wasn’t for the part where they flip the map of the world upside down. She tries to protest that you can’t just do that, and when asked why not, this usually composed staff member tells them that it’s freaking her out.

It is writing like this that makes me want to just grab a United States map and travel to Hollywood. I would love to be able to see some of these scripts as they are being put together. For me it is not the actors who become my heroes in shows like this, it is the great team of people behind the scenes that give the actors something to bring to life. I would love to be able to meet with some of them and find out where they get their ideas from and how they manage to find all the right words. That is something that really gives a show like this an extra spark.

The U.S. Patriot Act was signed into law along with the Executive Order 13224, both of which grant new means and tools to enforcement agencies which are intended to assist in the combat against terrorism.  The law holds the financial institutions to responsibilities that they did not have previously.  Banks and financial institutions world wide are now required to monitor new and pre-existing accounts and clients, and they must share information they learn about their clients with other financial institutions as well as with the United States Government.  Transactions are forbidden with shell banks.  Shell banks are institutions that are not physical institutions.  Some shell banks are under the provision of banks that do exist physically in the United States, this is the only exception.  Foreign banks must also comply to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Patriot Act.  All companies that dedicate themselves to the end of corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing are subject to the laws as well.

The United States government has also addressed these concerns by initiating the creation of task forces and new law enforcement agencies.  Operation Green Quest is one such development.  OGQ operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Treasury Department.  The Secret Service, the IRS, FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the U.S. Customs Service are all encompassed within the collective fight against crimes involving financial institutions.  Together hundreds of arrests have been made.  The Terrorism Financial Group has also become responsible for the identification, the investigation, and the prosecution of terrorist cells, dismantling and disrupting their activities.  These groups have worked together and with organizations from other countries in the combined effort to interrupt the flow of funds to those intending to do harm not only to the citizens of the United States, but to the citizens of the countries world wide.