United States

What’s Easting U.S.? : Michelle Obama’s War on Childhood Obesity

First Lady Michelle Obama introduced a new ambitious national goal to her agenda this past February. Childhood obesity rates have steadily risen in the United States and Obama plans to solve the alarming increase of the disease within the next generation so that today’s children will be able to live adulthood at a healthy weight. […]

REAL ID Considered: Is the REAL ID a Real Solution?

The United States Federal Government has considered the concept of a national identification program for several years and the interest has only increased since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.  The current system, with information of varying quality collected, stored, and utilized by the individual states, is inefficient at best and a significant hindrance at […]

Public Security in Private Hands: American Intelligence Goes Corporate

In 2006, under considerable pressure from the public to provide information about the use of tax dollars in matters of national security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) conducted the first comprehensive study of the use of private intelligence contractors since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Alarmingly, it found that […]

A Little More Conversation: Reshaping the Abortion Debate on Campus

This March, NU Right to Life faced a series of hostile attacks after hosting the University’s first “Respect Life Week”. The organization, seeking to promote a culture of life amongst the student population, found itself under fire from students who felt that Student Activities Fee (SAF) money should not be spent on what they considered […]

Against the Revolted Multitudes: Why A Lie is More Scandalous Than the Truth

Was there ever a time when people trusted politicians?  Given the United State’s democratic system of governance, the men and women that preside over our daily lives are supposed to be the few among us who are capable of leading America toward prosperity.  While mankind is rife with destructive inadequacies and backward tendencies, a select […]

A New Beginning: Balancing Values and Interests in Obama’s Foreign Policy

Promoting and defending human rights has long challenged governments and policymakers. Some hardly bother and others give it their all. All governments balance their interests with their values. The United States has wavered back and forth between vocal and aggressive “democracy promotion” and realpolitik, often within the same administration. Most recent administrations have agreed on […]

Fields Without Fences? Negotiating the Net

In the 1960s, the Cold War was in full swing.  The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) had launched the first artificial satellite into space, giving their country the advantage in space over its major rival, the United States.  For the first time, the threat of weapons, known as intercontinental ballistic missiles, hung over the […]

Let’s Get This Party Started: The Moderate Challenge in Rhode Island

In Rhode Island, a new third party, the Moderate Party of Rhode Island, hopes to challenge Democratic Party dominance with a message of fiscal conservatism and pragmatic policymaking. In a region long seen as bastion of liberalism, with only token opposition representation in the legislature, can it be successful in reigniting and shaping political debate […]

Raising or Razing the American Family? Reforming Parental Leave

Family leave policies in the workplace have traditionally focused on women, reflecting traditional American cultural values that assign a dominant role for mothers in the child rearing process. Recent research shows that this framework neglects the role fathers can play. Parents learn the “maternal instinct” through caring for a child in the initial stages of […]