USA TODAY articles from September 2004

USA TODAY archives from September 2004

Swimmer's itch pegged to parasites.(Your Life)(parasites in Michigan lake cause of cercarial dermatitis)
September 1, 2004... Lois Verbrugge takes her research personally. When she built a home with her husband on a northern Michigan lake, her scientist's curiosity was piqued by the irritation her skin developed every time she went swimming. "I started to swim...

Direct sunlight promotes Vitamin D.(Your Life)
September 1, 2004... Vitamin D is manufactured in the skin after direct exposure to UV light--accounting for 90% of the daily recommended intake. Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, are finding this often-ignored, bone-building...

Repel ticks, skeeters when hiking.(Your Life)(how to prevent Lyme disease and West Nile virus)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... If you plan on hiking or camping while the weather is still warm, remember to take along insect repellent and long pants, advise doctors at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. A repellent, preferably one containing...

Outdoor food prep can be risky.(Your Life)(how to prevent meat contamination)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Summer--even this late in the season--means hamburgers and hot dogs sizzling on the grill. It also offers challenges in safe food preparation and storage. According to a recent national survey, 56% of outdoor chefs do not know the proper...

Is dengue fever headed for U.S.?(Your Life)
September 1, 2004... The reported number of dengue fever cases in Sonora, Mexico, has been increasing in the last several years, and the disease appears to be moving north toward the U.S. The dengue fever season in Sonora peaks in mid October after the summer rainy...

West Nile virus threatening wildlife.(Your Life)(rare and endangered birds are particularly threatened)(report from University of California)
September 1, 2004... West Nile virus could pose a serious threat to some species, especially rare and endangered birds, and officials are encouraged to broaden existing monitoring efforts to track the virus' movement, states a report re leased by wildlife health...

Heatstroke fatalities down in football.(Your Life)(report from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... For the second year in a row, researchers found no deaths due to heatstroke among young football players during the 2003 season, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study shows. Between 1995-2001, 21 players died from heatstroke. ...

How to survive a boating accident.(Your Life)(tips from The Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Are you safe enough when you head out on wafer? The Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety says you can up the odds of surviving a boating mishap by never boating alone; remembering to file a boat plan; and carrying a noise-producing device...

Homeland security expands abroad.(Your Life)(Homeland Security Industries Association)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Focusing on the need for continuing cooperation among international private sector interests in developing and building defensive technologies and methodologies in the global war against terrorism, the Homeland Security Industries Association...

Uncle Sam may draft employees.(Your Life)
September 1, 2004... Talk of reinstituting a national draft largely has been muted by election year politics, but it is an issue that is likely to be in the forefront for the nation's employers, who could see their current and future ranks decimated by mandatory...

Will millions of votes be lost again?(Your Life)
September 1, 2004... Four relatively simple and inexpensive steps can be taken to ensure that voting procedures in this November's presidential election are as accurate and reliable as possible, say experts in voting technology from the California Institute of...

Can terrorists postpone election?(Your Life)
September 1, 2004... Though the law is somewhat ambiguous on the subject, the power to postpone November's presidential election as a result of terrorist threat or attack lies mostly with individual states, maintains University at Buffalo (N.Y.) School of Law...

Both candidates want to add jobs.(Your Life)
September 1, 2004... A statistical anomaly that favors both presidential contenders shows that industries expected to benefit from a John Kerry win in November currently are adding more jobs than industries expected to benefit from the reelection of George W. Bush....

Disenfranchisement's threat to democracy: there is a real danger to the Republic when large segments of the population never make it to the polls while politicians "gerrymand" the boundaries for those who do vote.(National Affairs)
September 1, 2004... THE AMERICAN SYSTEM, so heralded since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, has disenfranchised women, marginalized and massacred Native Americans, and selectively persecuted various ethnic and minority groups since its inception...

Bush vs. Kerry: what is at stake?(State Of The Nation)
September 1, 2004... IT IS DANGEROUS to take the rhetoric of a presidential campaign seriously. Every four years, we hear from both sides that the stakes never have been higher and this is the most important election of our generation. Perhaps that was true in 1860...

Greenspan fiddled while the economy burned.(Economics)(Alan Greenspan)(Biography)
September 1, 2004... HOW DID Alan Greenspan rise to become one of the most powerful men in America? How did he survive two decades as Federal Reserve Board chairman when practically every, president who reappointed him really wanted to replace him? How did the man...

Reflecting on the days of Reaganomics: Pres. Ronald Reagan brought financial greatness back to America by reducing regulation, government spending, marginal tax rates, and inflation.(USA Yesterday)
September 1, 2004... WHEN THE NAME Ronald Reagan is uttered, a multitude of images and impressions of one of the most popular presidents of all time immediately come to mind. Though some may not choose to remember Reagan as the greatest president ever to grace the...

Tax shelters for you and me: it is a well-worn myth that a majority of tax breaks are awarded to the rich. The middle class is doing just fine, thank you.(Economic Observer)
September 1, 2004... THINK ONLY THE RICH guys get all the tax breaks? Wrong, deduction denier! In fact, most of the big tax breaks go to middle income earners like you and me. We do not call them tax shelters, but that really is what they are. The pros call these...

John Hinckley: the judge should have just said "no".(granted unsupervised day trips)
September 1, 2004... U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE Paul L. Friedman has ruled that John W. Hinckley may take short, unsupervised--at least by the state or any other official organ--trips around Washington, D.C. This rifling comes after 21 years of Hinckley's not being...

Avoiding the four deadly sins of performance development.(Business & Finance)
September 1, 2004... IT IS MUCH HARDER than it looks. Most organizations grossly underestimate the influence required to motivate a successful, mature, adult professional to change his or her behavior. Influencing a permanent change is even more difficult. Yet, if...

Pell grants vs. advanced placement.(Education)(Column)
September 1, 2004... IN HIS 2004 State of the Union address, Pres. George W. Bush proposed to "expand Advanced Placement programs in low-income schools." The President's subsequent budget for fiscal year 2005 calls tom" $28.000.000 in additional funding for the...

Dead zones increasing in world's coastal waters.(Eye On Ecology)
September 1, 2004... SUMMER BRINGS to the Gulf of Mexico each year a giant "dead zone" devoid of fish and other aquatic life. Expanding over the past several decades, this area now can span up to 21,000 square kilometers, which is larger than the state of New...

A glorious harvest.(Focus on the World)(exhibition of photography in honor of curator and editor Michael E. Hoffman)
September 1, 2004... PHOTOGRAPHY arguably is the most important visual medium of modern times, and certainly is the most widespread. The breadth of contemporary photography and the accomplishments of one of its greatest promoters are celebrated in the exhibition...

Van Gogh & company.(Museums Today)(Van Gogh to Mondrian: Modern Art from the Kroller-Muller Museum)(ensemble of paintings created by Helene Kroller-Muller )
September 1, 2004... WITH A SIGNIFICANT group of some 20 paintings and drawings by Vincent van Gogh as its core, the exhibition "Van Gogh to Mondrian: Modern Art from the Kroller-Muller Museum" tells the fascinating story of perhaps the 20th century's greatest...

From Homer to the Harem: the art of Jean Lecomte du Nouy.(Museums Today)(Critical Essay)
September 1, 2004... IN HIS DEPICTION of subjects from classical myth and literature, Jean Lecomte du Nouy (1842-1923) followed the tenets of the neo-grec (new Greek) movement, whose pioneers included both Charles Gleyre and, most importantly, Jean Leon Gerome, one...

Getting real with Reality TV.(Mass Media)
September 1, 2004... EVERY YEAR, television networks vie to create cutting edge programming. New shows promise more drama, suspense, and laughter while pushing the envelope of what is morally and socially acceptable, funny, thrilling, and, of course, entertaining....

All the news that fits our views.(Words & Images)(bias in news media)(Column)
September 1, 2004... IT USED TO BE SO EASY. The division between news and editorial commentary was clear and unbreakable in the TV world of the 1960s. The news was presented by a reliable anchor (reaching its pinnacle with Walter Cronkite and Chet Huntley-David...

Why we need a federal marriage amendment.(Law & Justice)
September 1, 2004... "We must draw a line in the sand and preserve marriage once and for all between one man and one woman." ALTHOUGH FOR DIFFERENT reasons, same-sex marriage advocates and some states' rights proponents oppose amending the Constitution to...

Broadway: the great American musical.(Entertainment)(documentary filmmaker discusses production of movie about Broadway theater)(Column)
September 1, 2004... "... The musical theater pieces staged in these few blocks have mirrored nearly every social phenomenon that ever has swept the nation.... No matter what is happening in America, it is reflected back in the stories acted out upon those stages."...

James Dean: comedian and impersonator.(Reel World)(Biography)
September 1, 2004... NEXT YEAR WILL MARK the 50th anniversary of the death of Hollywood's signature antihero, James Dean. Perhaps it is time for a revisionist biography of the actor that attempts to present a more balanced picture of Dean--versus the overplayed...

How Hitler reached the final solution.(Literary Scene)(Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany)
September 1, 2004... "... The Nazis were fantasizing--basically planning to redesign the demographic map of Eastern Europe by moving all sorts of populations from here to there and eliminating those they thought superflous...." AMONG ALL THE HORRORS of human...

The faces of Germany.(The World Yesterday)(portrait photographer August Sander)(Biography)
September 1, 2004... ONE OF THE MOST ambitious undertakings in the history of photography, "People of the Twentieth Century" occupied August Sander for some 40 years, from the early 1920s until his death in 1964. He took portraits of countless German citizens and...

In search of an American foreign policy.(World Watcher)
September 1, 2004... HIS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH was superb. A tone of strength and military readiness was set. In fact, this emphasis was almost overwhelming. It certainly overwhelmed any sense of foreign policy, let alone considerations of "it's the economy" that...

The perfect mouse for little hands.(What's New?)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Face it. Kids today are born using computers. There's a huge industry of computer games geared towards the youngest of children. Commercials for cereals, yogurt, games, toys, and animated shows all entice youngsters to check out product...

X-Games marks the spot.(What's New?)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... They once were used just by hikers and campers, or those longhaired college grads determined to trek across Europe to "find" themselves. Then schoolkids jumped on the bandwagon. Now, even businessmen aren't above toting around backpacks. Ogio...

Seafood burgers perfect for grilling.(What's New?)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... With all the scary nutrition reports that seem to come at consumers on a daily basis, it appears that what is not in the food we eat is more important than what is. That's what drew us to the seafood specialists at Omega Foods, Eugene, Ore....

Creativity for kids: just add imagination.(What's New?)
September 1, 2004... If ever a line of products was aptly named, it's the Creativity for Kids line from Faber-Castell USA, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. For years, consumers and their children have enjoyed the plethora of innovative and imaginative arts and crafts ideas...

Spider-Man, SpongeBob finally join forces.(What's New?)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Spider-Man and SpongeBob SquarePants have joined the stable of kids' products from Overbreak LLC, Sun Valley, Calif., just in time for the back-to-school rush. The Rainbow Art Spider-Man Digi-Draw ($19.99) allows youngsters to trace anything on...

A place for everything ...(What's New?)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Whether you need to organize your desk for the fall semester or get things in place in the office, the Mesh Collection from Eldon, Madison, Wisc. (a division of Newell Rubbermaid) is a must-have. This line of sleek, affordable desk accessories,...

Salad days are here again.(What's New?)
September 1, 2004... As we have been enjoying the harvests from our summer garden, we've found the perfect tools from Zyliss USA, Foothill Ranch, Calif., to help make all those vegetables as presentable as they are delicious. For the lettuce crop, we love the Easy...

Penmanship counts, even today.(What's New?)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
September 1, 2004... For good reason, we're known as a disposable society. Nothing lasts long. Everything is designed to be tossed after an abbreviated lifes-pan. Bucking that trend, however, is BIC USA Inc., Milford, Conn., distributor of stationery products,...

Seaport supreme: a historic Seaport and fascinating Aquarium await visitors in the quaint surroundings of Mystic, Conn.(What's New?)
September 1, 2004... We like it low-key--well, at least I do. Off-season vacations are the only way to go. But, once you have kids, summertime--in other words; prime time--is vacation time. Yet, what with swimming lessons, bible camp, baseball practice, birthday...

Outdoor daylight comes inside.(What's New?)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... There's more to proper indoor lighting than meets the eye. John Ott, who helped perfect time-lapse photography for Walt Disney, is the mastermind behind the Ott-Lite VisionSave Captiva Collection from Ott-Lite, Tampa, Fla, which can help reduce...

Museum memo.(What's New?)(Calendar)
September 1, 2004... What's new in museums around the country? Among the more interesting exhibitions on view are: Matisse, Picasso, and the School of Paris. North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh. Oct. 10-Jan. 16, 2005. Aaron Siekind: Centennial...

Four Corners.(Book Review)
September 1, 2004... FOUR CORNERS BY DEBRA BLOOMFIELD UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PRESS, 2004 151 PAGES, $45.00 The old saw has it that "A picture is worth a thousand words." This collection of photographs of our scenic American Southwest bears out that truism....

Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement.(Book Review)
September 1, 2004... OJIBWA WARRIOR Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement BY DENNIS BANKS WITH RICHARD ERDOES UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS, 2004 362 PAGES, $29.95 Dennis Banks is a name few will recognize, although the publicity for the...

The Submarine: a History.(Book Review)
September 1, 2004... THE SUBMARINE: A History BY THOMAS PARRISH PENGUIN GROUP, 2004 576 PAGES, $29.95 This may not be the definitive book on submarines, but it sure comes close. The author, a specialist in military history, gives readers an absorbing account...

The creative human mind.(Parting Thoughts)
September 1, 2004... "WELCOME TO MY WORLD" is a popular country western song composed by Hank Willliams. What the song implies is that there are different worlds, and in truth, such is the case. All humans dwell in two. One is the world of nature that we share with...