It’s no surprise that the over-fed, sedentary children of the United States need urgent help. Their weight and health has changed rapidly—and not for the better—over the past three decades. In the late 1970’s, only 5% of children were considered obese. Now, according to a White House report that fit-as-a-fiddle Michelle Obama unveiled on Monday, one out of every three (33%) American children is now overweight or obese. Obesity places them at greater risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, and cancer in their lifetime, while also placing tremendous stress on our already fragile healthcare system. Some experts also predict that, due to obesity, America has raised the first generation not expected to outlive their parents.

Fortunately, according to the ambitious First Lady, there is some good news, “We don’t need new discoveries or new inventions to reverse this trend. We have the tools at our disposal to reverse it. All we need is the motivation, the opportunity and the willpower to do what needs to be done.” She said.

The 120-page White House task force report Obama presented, called, “Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity within a Generation,” reveals how to take the country’s rate of juvenile obesity back down to what it was in the late 1970’s by 2030. According to the report, this can be achieved by following 70 rather simple and obvious recommendations. Some of those recommendations include educating mothers on the benefits of breastfeeding, improving school lunch programs, limiting “screen time” spent in front of the TV and helping kids get more regular exercise at school.

Instituting these simple changes is likely to prove challenging—especially since it is so difficult to motivate just one person to change. Still, if Americans want to remain strong and vital, they’ve got to step it up! Hopefully, the First Lady can help lead the way.

Ehud Barak is happy to still have the U.S. at is back

Today, Obama reassured that U.S. support for Israeli security will continue regardless of the rising tension regarding a Jewish settlement being constructed in East Jerusalem. Robert Gibbs, one of the president’s spokesman, said that Obama expressed his determination to establish peace in the Middle East to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, while they attended a meeting at the White House with U.S. National Security Adviser, James Jones.

James Jones feels remorse for his tasteless joke

Such comments have been long awaited since Israel’s municipal officials claimed that the government had essentially frozen any settlement construction that would be carried out in the discordant East Jerusalem. Though U.S. officials had no prompt comments on this issue, settlement building had been a major issue in Washington last month, when Israel announced an enormous housing development plan for East Jerusalem, during one of Vice President Joe Biden’s recent visits.

P.J. Crowley, State Department spokesman refused to discuss what Israel was reporting to the U.S. in regards to Jewish construction. He explained how both sides are being asked to rebuild trust and facilitate enough momentum to really gain some ground for peace talks. Perhaps the trust was shaken by a recent joke about a “Jewish merchant,” made by James Jones, which managed to stir up some critical distraction after many expressed explicit offense to the off-the-cuff comedic blurb. Fortunately, for the sake of inflating a touchy subject, Jones’ speech was not a presidential event, meaning that there was no stenographer present to record the U.S. Security Adviser with a not-so-kosher foot in his mouth.

Technorati Tags: east jerusalem, Ehud Barak, israeli security, James Jones, jewish settlement, obama

An honorable man, a hopeful president

President Obama attended a somber event on Sunday (April 25) in Beckley, West Virginia, where he delivered a eulogy for the 29 miners who were killed in an explosion earlier this month.

He offered words of wisdom as he urged the mourning to say their final goodbyes, and to remember those they have lost as they continue on with their lives. He sought to offer a sympathetic understanding on behalf of the entire country, as his way of consoling the families who suffered a loss from this tragic event. One by one, he read off the names of the 29 lost souls, suggesting “the face of God, who quiets our troubled minds, mends our broken hearts and eases our mourning souls” to a teary and emotional audience.

A memorial statue for the Beckley Miners

He changed his somber tone into one of action as he turned his attention toward the regulation failures that led to the explosion, and promised prompt federal investigation to uncover the true causes behind the accident.

The four-hour ceremony wound down as the family members entered the convention center with helmets, which they perched atop 29 white crosses that stood across the stage. At the close of the memorial, the headlamps on each was turned on, to symbolize the light that would shine beyond the lives of those who were lost.

Technorati Tags: beckley, eulogy, explosion, miners, obama, west virginia

Pete Rouse in the Oval Office

Knowing that Obama-care will not effectively reduce high medical costs without some direct implementation, President Obama has turned to some of his best for another push forward. Pete Rouse, one of his most trusted White House advisers, is just one of the talented individuals that he’s personally asked to help him construct an intricate model meant to expediently press the new health care laws into action.

Obama is really close with Katherine Sebelius

Nancy-Ann DeParle,  the individual who often stood at the forefront of legislative effort in the health sector, has also been employed to manage the construction of the mechanism that will extend coverage out to 30 million presently uninsured Americans, while ultimately achieving the law’s long-term goal of cost containment. Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services (and previous insurance commissioner), has undertaken the difficult task of re-introducing regulations for Medicare, Medicaid and private health-care providers. In doing so, she has already reorganized the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services so that space is available for a new center intended to find more efficient ways of reimbursing providers that improve patient care and reduce government spending. And, to make matters even more hopeful, the president has ensured that any of the secretary’s brilliant ideas will be free to expand nation wide, without the permission of Congress.

Some, including David M. Cutler – Harvard economist and Obama’s chief campaign adviser on health policy – believe that the president is ushering in one of the largest government transformations since World War II. Seems like a really good thing; after all, isn’t about time that 50-year-old health policy gets an upgrade?

Technorati Tags: adviser, health care, law, obama, pete rouse, white house

A few Tax Party opinion signs

Announcing his 2011 budget proposal back in February, President Obama asserted that the government cannot spend as if deficits go without consequence, nor as if American tax-dollars are “Monopoly money.” But, as tax day arrives, many are questioning whether the president will keep his word, or default on a promise. While Tea Party supporters shout “Taxed Enough Already” until their voices crack, some are utterly stupefied by how such people ignore the figures surrounding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – aka the stimulus package -which recieves partial credit for for 2009’s record-breaking tax refunds, and a sixty-year low in federal taxes (a figure put forth by William Gale, co-director of the Tax Policy Center and director of the Retirement Security Project at the Bookings Institution.

Wrong, the budget crises is no kryptonite.

So, what does Obama have planned for our hard-earned money? Well, by the close of 2010, Americans are likely to see: A raise of the top two income tax brackets from 33 to 36 percent, and 35 to 39.6 percent; A raise in the capital gains tax rate from 15 to 20 percent – along with an increased tax on dividend income from 15 to 20 percent – for married couples with incomes exceeding 250k.

From these figures, it’s difficult to understand where the protestors get their information; after all, Gerald Prante, a senior economist for the non-partisan research organization, Tax Foundation, admitted that the increases will only reflect upon 2 to 3 percent of the year’s total tax returns.

Technorati Tags: budget, president obama, tax, tea party

Obama spots a distant rainbow over the horizon

Though president Obama may be creeping toward victory in a tortoise fashion, his recent decision to grant same-sex couples hospital visitation rights proves that those steps are firm, and consistently progressing toward equality for  homosexuals, without the ignition of widespread cultural tumult. As it stands, some of the fiercest supporters for dramatic change are enraged with this decision, while other political activists encourage the baby-step style approach to reshaping government rules and regulations on behalf of the homosexual population of America.

This victory leads to one common goal.

The blitz began soon after the president’s election, when members of the Human Rights Campaign presented the transition team with a lengthy checklist, documenting 70 actions that the president could carry out without permission from congress. Over the next few months, activists remained in the transition’s headquarters, as not-yet appointed officials (in the departments of State,Human Services, Health, Labor and Justice)  rotated for discussions; gradually, the administration began incorporating the group’s recommendations, including: State-issued embassy ID cards for same-sex partners of diplomats; stopping the discrimination in housing-assistance programs; and an HHS pledge to change their policies regarding HIV-positive visitors and immigrants. However, the hardest task came to the surface when a phone call arrived from the White House; charged for change by a heart-wrenching story, top White House officials spoke to HRC about the best legal approach for HHS to address the issue of hospital rights for married homosexuals. And, though it will take six months for the Department of Health and Human Services to implement Obama’s order, this Thursday marks a small step for Obama, and a giant leap for American homosexuals.

Technorati Tags: equality, homosexual, hospital visitation rights, president obama, same-sex couple

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