USA TODAY articles from September 2008

USA TODAY archives from September 2008

Who will be best-dressed First Lady?(YOUR LIFE)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Now that the Democratic and Republican conventions have wrapped up, a poll of upscale clothes shoppers by the Second Chance Boutique, Bethesda, Md., provides some interesting insights into the presidential race, especially the mindset of the...

Swapping oil for water in Rockies.(YOUR LIFE)
September 1, 2008... In a plan that potentially could destroy large tracts of the Rocky Mountain region, the Bush Administration has announced its draft regulations for opening 2,000,000 acres of public lands in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah for commercial oil shale...

Creeping Christianity damaging military.(YOUR LIFE)
September 1, 2008... An active-duty soldier is suing the Department of Defense, alleging discrimination by the U.S. Army on the basis of his atheism. Specialist Jeremy Hall claims that, for example, he was ostracized by Christian soldiers when he refused to join...

Government mandates hurt housing market.(YOUR LIFE)
September 1, 2008... Testifying on behalf of the National Association of Home Builders, Washington, D.C., before a House Subcommittee concerned with "Climate Benefits of Improved Building Energy Efficiency," St. Louis green builder Matt Belcher cautioned Congress...

Reactor construction continues to lag.(YOUR LIFE)
September 1, 2008... Global nuclear power capacity grew by less than 2,000 megawatts in 2007, a figure equivalent to just one-tenth of the now wind power installed globally last year, reports the Worldwatch Institute, Washington, D.C. Global nuclear capacity stands...

Elementary math is beyond teachers.(YOUR LIFE)(National Council on Teacher Quality )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... A mere 13% of undergraduate education schools require sufficient amounts of relevant math coursework for prospective elementary teachers, according to a report by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), Washington, D.C. The organization...

Back-to-school consumer spending slows.(YOUR LIFE)
September 1, 2008... Consumers maintain that $590 is the average they will spend for back-to-school clothes and supplies, according to a survey conducted by Brand Keys, a Now York-based brand and customer loyalty research consultancy. "It appears that the current...

Rural schoolchildren still left behind.(Your Life)
September 1, 2008... While the Federal government struggles to leave no child behind, many rural schools do not have the resources to keep up, indicates John Hill, executive director of the National Rural Education Association, West Lafayette, Ind., a Purdue...

Texting, testing destroys kids' writing style.(Your Life)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Somewhere out there is the mind that will produce the next great American novel. If, however, that would-be author is under the age of 18, the words he or she writes may be more of "TGGTG" and "SOZ" than beautiful, flowing prose, as a National...

Can "clickers" unstem the low tide in physics?(Your Life)
September 1, 2008... Handheld electronic devices called clickers are helping college students learn physics, suggests a series of research studies at Ohio State University, Columbus. Individuals who use the devices to answer multiple-choice questions during...

Alice in computer science Wonderland.(Your Life)(educational programming tool)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... In today's world, Alice is not in Wonderland; instead, she can be found online. Alice is a teaching tool designed to get middle and high school students interested in the field of computer science, which has seen an estimated 70% drop in...

Parents' kindergarten anxiety is normal.(Your Life)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The school supplies have been purchased and the backpacks are loaded, but the parents still wonder if their child is ready to start kindergarten. This anxiety is normal, but focusing too much on it can affect how well kids transition on their...

Low performance tied to teacher contracts?(Your Life)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Are teacher contracts to blame for rigid work rules and low performance in many of the nation's largest school districts? It is a fair question--one that many critics have asked, with few certain answers. A report from the Washington,...

Getting energized to call 911.(Your Life)(college students' consumption of energy drinks)
September 1, 2008... Over the last decade, energy drinks--such as Red Bull, Monster, and Rockstar--have become nearly ubiquitous on college campuses. The global market for these types of drinks currently exceeds $3,000,000,000 a year and new products are introduced...

Memo to the candidates.(National Affairs)(Essay)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HUGH SIDEY, one of our nation's greatest journalists, wrote in 1979, "Politics, when all is said and done, is a business of belief and enthusiasm. Hope energizes, doubt destroys. Hopelessness is not our heritage."...

Making headway in Basra: the United Kingdom's Prime Minister likes the progress he sees in Iraq, as the British and Americans continue to cede control of the country to the native population.(The World Today)(Excerpt)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] OUR OBJECTIVE is the creation of an independent, prosperous, democratic Iraq which is five of terrorist violence, secure within its borders, and a stable presence in the region--something that firmly is in Britain's...

Rhetoric vs. reality.(STATE OF THE NATION)(Essay)
September 1, 2008... FEW PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS seem to alter the direction of American politics in important ways. One could cite the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and Ronald Reagan in 1980. The others only have brought changes on the margins of...

Big burdens from growth management.(Economics)
September 1, 2008... MEDIAN FAMILY incomes in Raleigh, N.C., almost are identical to those in Seattle, Wash., but a family purchasing a house in Seattle would have to pay more than twice as much as for a similar home in Raleigh. The additional cost almost entirely...

Bush botched it.(WORLD WATCHER)(George W. Bush)(Viewpoint essay)
September 1, 2008... FOR THE PAST EIGHT YEARS, there has not been a U.S. foreign policy--there has been a George W. Bush foreign policy, derived from personal philosophy, motives, prejudices, insecurities, and, well, ignorance. As the presidency has degenerated...

Accomodating the killer.(Law & Justice)(insanity defense)
September 1, 2008... OF ALL OF THE MATTERS that psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers undertake, support of accused criminals', and particularly killers', pleas of "not guilty by reason of insanity" or, in some states, "not criminally responsible," is...

The crippling legacy of the 1936 election.(USA Yesterday)(Essay)
September 1, 2008... WHAT MADE THE field of presidential candidates so timid during the primaries? It was clear listening to figures from both parties that they still believe Social Security is untouchable; this despite the fact that bringing Social Security into...

Candidates need to be "FIT".(POLITICAL LANDSCAPE)(false, irrelevant and tasteless claims)(Essay)
September 1, 2008... VIRTUALLY EVERY POLITICAL campaign loudly and indignantly complains that its opponents engage in the dreaded activity of "negative campaigning,' a practice nearly universally condemned as unfair or, worse, corrosive to the entire political...

Roosevelt's or Reagan's America? A time for choosing.(American Thought)(Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan)(Essay)
September 1, 2008... ON JAN. 11, 1944, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt sent the text of his Annual Message to Congress. Under normal conditions, he would have delivered the message in person that evening at the Capitol, but he was recovering from the flu, and his...

The politics of political films.(Mass Media)(Critical essay)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN THIS VOLATILE ELECTION year, the timing seems right for a piece on pivotal political films. Any article addressing this subject has to start with director Frank Capra's "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939), the...

Raw Nerve! The Political Art of Steve Brodner.(Focus on Politics)(satirical illustrator)(Biography)
September 1, 2008... EXPLOSIVE IS AN APT term to describe the art of Steve Brodner, whose deftly executed drawings cast a spotlight on the American political scene as it unfolds. Working on a national political stage, Brodner perhaps is the most successful,...

Diorama diversity.(Museums Today)
September 1, 2008... THE AMERICAN MUSEUM of Natural History is one of the world's preeminent scientific, educational, and cultural institutions. Since its founding in 1869, the museum has advanced its global mission to explore and interpret human cultures and the...

Bringing oceans to a boil.(Ecology)(global warming)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MARINE BIOLOGIST Chris Rader recalls childhood summers when his father, Environmental Defense scientist Doug Rader, would take him diving in the Virgin Islands: "Schools of butterfly fish and Queen angelfish would...

Dousing the coal-fired plant.(EYE ON ECOLOGY)
September 1, 2008... IN A REPORT COMPILED in early 2007, the Department of Energy listed 151 coal-fired power plants in the planning stages and talked about a resurgence in coal-fired electricity. However, over the next several months, 59 proposed coal-fired power...

Foolishly seeking gender equity in math and science.(Science & Technology)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MATH 55 IS ADVERTISED in the Harvard University catalog as "'probably the most difficult undergraduate math class in the country." It is a notoriously difficult course their does not look like America. Each year, as...

Why so critical?(WORDS IMAGES)
September 1, 2008... CRITICS ALWAYS SEEM to have been with us. The concept of a critic--a person offering reasoned judgment, analysis, interpretation, and observation--goes back to ancient Greece (and there probably were critics before that). We long have valued...

Women remain oppressed.(Religion)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE GROWING political influence of religious fundamentalism in the world has encouraged many of us to revisit the subject of women s rights. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, feminism and liberalism in general were...

Rituals in relationships.(Life in America)
September 1, 2008... WATCH A SMOKER handle a new pack of cigarettes. Better yet, watch that same individual handle several fresh packs. There is a ritual in preparing to smoke: perhaps a tap-tap-tap of the unopened pack on the base of the palm; then flipped and the...

Consequences of globalization: for the emerging stay-at-home movement, globalization has become a pejorative term symbolizing the flawed excesses of American capitalism.(USA Looks at the World)(Essay)
September 1, 2008... FOR MANY SKEPTICS, globalization merely is a transparent euphemism for "Americanization," the global diaspora of American-style capitalism and, with it, the spread of its materialistic values. At best, our culture can be exciting and,...

The days grow short.(SPORTS SCENE)
September 1, 2008... THE DAYS HAVE STARTED getting shorter again; seeing the go down sooner inevitably sends the signal that the pennant s have begun in earnest, an exciting dine to be sure, and one of heartfelt prayer to the baseball gods that perhaps this year...

Help your golf game reach its Apex.(WHAT'S NEW?)(Forefront Holdings, Inc.'s Burton brand)
September 1, 2008... Hey, our final score may land in three figures as a matter of course, but we still treat our clubs like royalty thanks to Burton, Springfield, Tenn., a recognized leader in golf bags that is backed by a 100-year heritage. The company has...

Power skating peels off calories.(WHAT'S NEW?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Inline skating is exhilarating, energizing, and empowering--the modern sport for a healthy lifestyle. Skaters also burn more calories than running with half the shock to their joints. Now, Rollerblade USA, Hamilton, N.J., manufacturers of the...

Take your XChair anywhere.(WHAT'S NEW?)(Global Hammocks Incorporated)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Some products---and people for that matter--have the annoying habit of making the simple complex. Not the XChair--from Global Hammocks Incorporated, Lubbock, Tex.---which is minimalism at its best. There may be a number of other manufacturers...

Toddlers look sharp in Stylease.(WHAT'S NEW?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Ease for the parent; style for the child--one-piece outfits with a layered look that have the convenience and practicality of a romper; now that's a fashion statement. Moreover, because Stylease, Traverse, Mich., cares about your baby's...

Monitoring sick kids from home.(WHAT'S NEW?)(Innovia Medical, LLC)
September 1, 2008... If it's time to go back to school, then it's almost time for something else much less pleasant--flu season. Now would be a good time to stock up on some of the basics--starting with a new thermometer, the Temporal-Scanner from Exergen...

SIC: couture with a conscience.(WHAT'S NEW?)(Smart Is Cool)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... SIC (Smart Is Cool), Brooklyn N.Y., is a fashion company committed to celebrating women's intelligence. SIC's mission is to redefine smart by affecting the most visible part of everyone's personality--their wardrobe. The company's motto is,...

You can look it up: eye-popping dictionaries.(WHAT'S NEW?)(Federal Street Press)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Although there's plenty to be learned, reading a dictionary may not be the most interesting thing you can do in a day, but with stylish new covers, these reference books take on a whole new meaning. Federal Street Press, a division of...

Staples' super eco-friendly products.(WHAT'S NEW?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... With a worldwide movement underway to limit our environmental impact, one place we feel we really can make a difference is with school supplies. Each year, when we pull out the list of materials needed for each child, we're floored by the...

School day snoozing with my NapPak.(WHAT'S NEW?)(My NapPak)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Back in the day, kindergarten was designed to be fun. Children would go in, listen to stories, have a snack, enjoy some playtime, and then take a nap. Nowadays, things are a bit different. With longer days and all the pressure to prepare for...

From main street to Madison Avenue.(What's New?)(Mori Luggage & Gifts)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... There's nothing worse for businesspeople than being stuck with the wrong briefcase when traveling to that big meeting, whether it be cross-country or just across town. For every business venue from Main Street to Madison Ave., the Victorinox...

Smead products work as hard as you do.(What's New?)(Smead Tuff Pockets)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Don't let those oh-so-important project documents overwhelm your traditional file folders. Stuff your bulkiest and heaviest paperwork into durable Tuff Pockets--from the newly expanded product family from Smead, Hastings, Minn. Genuine Smead...

These Tablitz are a cleaning wonder.(What's New?)(Wonder Tablitz )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Can you believe how much cleaning products cost these days, or how much valuable space they take up? No wonder we turned to Wonder Tablitz--new household cleaners and deodorizers that use patented effervescent tablet technology to deliver...

It's fun time-guitars, sports, robots, and cooking.(VIDEO GAMES)
September 1, 2008... Even though it's been a few years since we finished college, we wouldn't know it from today's music scene. Flip on the radio or peak at the concert schedule and it seems like it perpetually is 1980. Who's touring now? Boston? Styx? Journey?...

La Cense Beef simply makes sense.(What's New?)
September 1, 2008... Often, when we think about improving our nutrition, beef can take a beating. Overlooked is the fact that its protein content is a powerful nutrient that strengthens our bodies, and that it is rich in vitamin B12, riboflavin, niacin, iron, and...

Matisse & Jack's: bake-at-home snacks.(What's New?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Now that the kids are going back to school, we can admit that we got caught up in the laid-back attitude of the summer and were a little lax with our diets. We may have stopped the ice cream truck a few times too many and perhaps had a couple...

Corduroy earns his applause.(What's New?)(bear from Don Freeman's tales)
September 1, 2008... One of the most beloved characters in children's literature is Corduroy, the adorable overall-wearing bear from Don Freeman's tales. It's been 40 years since we first were introduced to these enchanting stories and, to celebrate that...

Black & Decker: the work only gets easier.(What's New?)
September 1, 2008... Let's be honest: New Year's may be when all those phony self-improvement resolutions are being bandied about, but Labor Day is the for-real new year that counts: the kids get back to school, businesses get back to well... business, and,...

The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Finding America, Finding Myself.(Book review)
September 1, 2008... THE BEAR WENT OVER THE MOUNTAIN Finding America, Finding Myself BY CARLL TUCKER MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC., NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK 2008, 279 PAGES, $29.95 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] At the age of 50, Carll Tucker drove his...

Happily ever after.(PARTING THOUGHTS)(Essay)
September 1, 2008... "BEING MIDDLE-AGED ROCKS," announces one of my T-shirts. No one my age likes this particular garment. They resist "middle age." I am 45, and my three living grandparents are 89, 93, and 97. At about half their ages, "middle aged" does not seem...