U.S. First Lady Leads Charge against Obesity

U.S. health officials have leveraged the star power of first lady Michelle Obama to roll out a new campaign against obesity, a preventable condition that drains billions of dollars from the economy. (1/28/10 ABC News, JoAnne Allen) … Read Article

1. The Surgeon General’s report lists recommendations for preventing obesity. Discuss the Surgeon General’s recommendations for preventing obesity.

2. First Lady Michelle Obama created a White House garden with local school children. Discuss the intended message of the garden as it relates to obesity.

The Health Risks of Rising Obesity

A drop in smoking has meant an increase in life expectancy for many Americans, but some of those gains may be overcome by increasing levels of obesity, making French fries a possible 21st century version of the cigarette, a new study suggests. (12/4/09 ABC News, Joseph Brownstein) … Read Article

1. Discuss the lifestyle factors that can contribute to obesity.

2. What, according to Susan Stewart, are the risks of obesity?

Obama’s Plan to Create Jobs

President Obama announced today a proposal to establish a $33 billion tax credit to encourage small businesses to hire more workers and increase wages. The plan is one of several the president is pushing to help bolster employment in a country where one in 10 Americans no longer receives a paycheck. (1/29/10 ABC News, Alice Gomstyn) … Read Article

1. Discuss what the critics are saying about the proposed small business tax credits.

2. According to economist John Schmitt, what are the potential problems with community banks extending loans to small businesses?

College Students Grade President Obama

In the first year of his presidency, Barack Obama has faced two wars, the worst recession since the Great Depression, a raging debate on health care and angry demands that he close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp — to name a few crises. Obama’s approval rating among 18- to 24-year-olds stood at 61 percent last week, down from 80 percent last winter, according to ABC News/Washington Post polls. (1/27/10 ABC News On Campus, Julia Aubuchon) … Read Article

1. According to Danny Hayes a political science professor at Syracuse University, it is a common thing for presidents’ to start losing support after the first few months in office. Discuss why the enthusiasm seem to wane.

2. Discuss why, according to Syracuse’s Hayes, young Americans are concerned about health care cost.

(Video)American Schools Report Card

Educators all across America are eager to turn schools around and change the system. Russ Mitchell reports “Where America Stands” on education and lays out the challenge ahead. (1/30/10 CBSNewsOnline, Russ Mitchell)

1. Discuss the problems facing education system in the U.S. as identified in the video.

2. Discuss the solutions proposed by Michelle Rhee, Chancellor of Washington D.C. schools.

(Video)American Food Safety Report Card

Despite a decade marked by a number of food safety scares, most Americans are somewhat confident in what they eat. As Bill Whitaker reports, what can be done to make our food safer? (1/9/10 CBSNewsOnline, Bill Whitaker)

1. Discuss the solution some farmers have implemented to improve food safety.

2. Discuss the proposed changes by Congress to improve food safety.

PoliSci Students’ Opinion on Campaign Finance

In a recent poll we asked MPSL students if corporations should be allowed to  make campaign contributions. The result: 32% said yes, corporations should be allowed to make campaign contributions; 58% said no; while 10% is not sure whether corporations should be allowed to make campaign contributions. Results were retrieved on 1/31/10, 8:00 PM PST.

Some critics believe that campaign finance reform is dead as a consequence of the Supreme Court’s ruling to allow corporations to make contributions to election campaigns. What do you think?

Foreign Money in American Politics?

Some election lawyers believe that last week’s landmark U.S. Supreme Court opinion may have opened a new avenue for foreign money to enter the American political system, and that the justices are inviting a repeat of the 1996 Chinese money scandal that bloodied the Clinton administration. (1/24/10 ABC News, Matthew Mosk) … Read Article

1. Discuss the constitutional basis of the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission.

2. Discuss the reason some critics oppose the Court’s decision.

Mississippi Delta Earthquake: America’s Haiti Waiting to Happen?

In 1811 and 1812, the New Madrid fault zone that zig zags through five states shook so violently that it shifted furniture in Washington, D.C., and rang church bells in Boston. … Geologists consider the New Madrid fault line a major seismic zone and predict that an earthquake roughly the magnitude of the Haiti earthquake (7.0 on the Richter scale) could occur in the area during the next 50 years. (1/23/10 ABC News, Suzi Parker) … Read Article

1. Discuss how the Mississippi Delta is similar to Haiti.

2. What effort is being made to mitigate the threat of  a disastrous earthquake in the Mississippi Delta?

California is First State to Mandate Green Buildings

California continues to take the national lead in environmental protection. The California Building Standards Commission voted unanimously this week to approve the first statewide green building code. (1/24/10 ABC News, Daniel B. Wood) … Read Article

1. Discuss the Sierra Club’s criticism of California’s new building code.

2. Discuss what the new code requires from builders.