First Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tom Ridge to Join Global Affairs Panel!

The Connecticut Forum Announces:

Tom Ridge to be a Panelist at
Global Affairs
Saturday, October 1, 2011

Following the events of September 11, 2001, Tom Ridge became the first Secretary of the newly created Department of Homeland Security, heading the largest government reorganization since the Department of Defense was created in 1947. One of the first Vietnam combat veterans to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, Ridge was twice elected Governor of Pennsylvania, where he served as the state’s 43rd Governor from 1995-2001.

During his tenure with the Department of Homeland Security, Ridge worked with more than 180,000-plus employees from a combined 22 agencies to create an agency that facilitated the flow of people and goods, instituted layered security at air, land and seaports, developed a unified national response and recovery plan, protected critical infrastructure, integrated new technology, and improved information sharing worldwide. Ridge resigned from the position in 2005 and later wrote The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege…And How We Can Be Safe Again, which recounts his experiences in the department.

Ridge graduated with honors from Harvard in 1967 before earning a law degree from The Dickenson School of Law. He has served as a senior aide to Republican Presidential candidate Senator John McCain, and was considered by some as a possible running mate for McCain, as well as a frontrunner for Senate Candidacy in 2010. He currently heads Ridge Global as the company’s President and CEO.

If you’re interested in learning more, you can watch him on "The Daily Show"

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Tom Ridge
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

or you can check out his book, The Test of our Times.

Reactions from Around the World

The world responds to the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of The United States.

Forget About the Debates - Just Take Me Out To the Ballgame.

By Jamie Daniel, Advancement Associate at The Forum

When I want to know where my October went, I ask that you remind me of these two things: baseball and politics. They have more in common than you might realize at first. Both can as easily excite and rejuvenate you as break your heart. Both have the power to bring us together, but can just as easily be the wedge that drives us apart. Politicians and ballplayers both leave it all on the field in October. And both force us to ask the difficult questions: Which candidate can better handle these economic problems? Whose character qualifies them to be President? How will we raise the kids - Red Sox or Yankees?

As a baseball fan, the excitement of my team making the playoffs is accompanied by the expectation that I won't be getting much sleep as long as they keep winning. Add that to the sleepless nights brought on by the troubled economy, and October promises no rest for the weary.

I wonder: how does the disappointment of a political party's loss compare to the anguish of, say, a Cubs fan? After all, no major political party has been out of power for one hundred years.

It seems to me that most of America must have their political minds made up by now; I, for one, am just waiting to vote. We've been inundated with messaging from both campaigns for so long that the MLB playoffs provide more authentic, juicy conflict than the recycled storylines of the campaigns. Baseball fans this October are asking: Will Manny come back to Boston to prove himself as a Dodger? How will the perennial power of the Red Sox fare against a young, upstart team of energetic rookies like the Rays? Would anyone watch a Tampa Bay-Philadelphia World Series, or is that only the stuff of a Fox executive's worst nightmare?

I'm tired of the long campaign, and everything I hear from the candidates these days just sounds repetitive - so repetitive, that throughout the debate last night, I found myself wishing there was a game 5 somewhere to take the edge off. In comparison to this political season, baseball feels like the more pure contest, and I'm finding the crack of the bat more alluring than the twittering of pundits during these long, October nights.

Half-Time

By Katlyn Knox, Executive Associate of The Connecticut Forum

Intermission is a VERY busy time backstage...check it out!

Forum volunteers sort thru your many questions

Moderator Michel Martin prepping on the stairs for the second half

YOUTH Forum member Ornella Thompson looks on
as she prepares to welcome the crowd to the second half

Elizabeth Edwards enjoying Ornella's speech

One Nation under...Paris Hilton?

Last week Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain approved a TV spot entitled "Celeb" that labeled Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama "the biggest celebrity in the world" and juxtaposed his image with those of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.

Well needless to say, that glimmer of media spotlight ignited a spark in Paris Hilton, and now things are getting hot!

Check out her videotaped reply.

Paris…for President?