Link Round-Up 8-28-11

Health
Local schools are serving funnel cakes, among other sugary items, for breakfast

Here's a good visual as to why obesity is such a difficult policy problem: just look at the sheer number of factors that influence obesity

Education
America lags behind peer nations in math achievement; two writers argue that teaching HS math in task-oriented chunks rather than the current out of context progression can help us catch up

Politics
Despite being written off by national media, Ron Paul is currently faring better against Obama than Michelle Bachmann in the latest poll . . . though advocating for the elimination of FEMA during a hurricane may not make him the most popular man in some areas right now

This is a couple weeks old now, but after Rick Perry's entrance into the field (and surge in the polls) the WSJ led a stream of news outlets questioning whether the best possible Republican candidates are currently running . . . meanwhile, the latest poll shows the Republican voters are coming to terms with the candidates -- only 30% now report that they're dissatisfied

So-called "super-PACs" with unlimited donations are playing a large role in the upcoming Presidential race and are transitioning from issue-focused organizations to pseudo-campaigns supporting one candidate.

Other
The mayor of NYC ordered all coastal areas evacuated, but a number of residents are stayed put anyway

The new Vanderbilt coaching staff is pounding greatness into the heads of its players