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. In order to facilitate this effort, Obama unveiled Let’s Move, a national campaign that plans to coordinate public and private efforts in partnership for a healthier America.

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 worst.

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.

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 world. In response to the growing military capability of the USSR, the United States created an agency known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and tasked it with creating a network to provide for the continued command and control of U.S. defense systems. The first iteration of this network, called ARPANET, was the precursor to the modern Internet as it is known today.

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 within the state and throughout New England?

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 development. As with any other job, parenting skills are acquired through experience. As policy makers seek to reform parental leave policies, it is important to consider the important role both parents play in raising families.