We're Not Energy-Vampires: A Personal Report Card
Roberta McReynolds writes: The Energy Index for our home was 834; we had used 39% less energy than similar homes, which our utility estimated saved us about $530 last year. This has made me even more conscious of turning off those light switches and making a glass of ice tea instead of turning on the air-conditioner this summer. The next time we meet, if you notice my blouse is a bit wrinkled, you’ll know it’s not because I’m lazy ... I’m just trying to get good grades on my next report card. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
A Denver Destination Vacation: Spun, Adventures in Textiles
Whether as warming layers that comfort us during sleep, decorative furnishings on our walls and floors that enhance our waking hours, or shields providing protection from the elements or evil spirits, textiles are present throughout all moments of our lives.
Bills Introduced: Abortion, Child Abduction & Protection, Workplace Discrimination, Breast Cancer Patients, Sexual Assault in the Military
For instance, a bill to eliminate discrimination and promote women's health and economic security by ensuring reasonable workplace accommodations for workers whose ability to perform the functions of a job are limited by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. A bill to raise awareness of, and to educate breast cancer patients anticipating surgery, especially patients who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups, regarding the availability and coverage of breast reconstruction, prostheses, and other options. A bill to provide for the assignment of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners-Adult/Adolescent to brigades and equivalent units of the armed forces.
Utterly Unsuitable: Choosing a Swimsuit for an Older Woman
Julia Sneden writes: With older women and men all across the country doing water aerobics and swimming laps, wouldn’t you think the bathing suit manufacturers would twig to the idea that there’s a huge market out here? Not only do we seniors buy suits; we buy suits more often than even the teenagers do, because we’re harder on them. No clean surf ‘n sand for us, no lying still on a beach blanket for hours, or languidly standing around the lifeguard’s chair. No, we are up to our clavicles in health club pools full of chemicals, stretching our suits (and our bodies) to all sorts of outrageous extremes, sweating inside them even though the water is cool.
How the IRS's Nonprofit Division Got So Dysfunctional
Checks and balances once in place were taken away. Guidance frequently published by the IRS and closely read by tax lawyers and nonprofits disappeared. Even as political activity by social welfare nonprofits exploded in recent election cycles, repeated requests for the IRS to clarify exactly what was permitted for the secretly funded groups were met, at least publicly, with silence.
Life's Little Mysteries Such As: Why do Ads and Commercials for Medicines Always Advise Us to "Call Your Doctor"?
Rose Madeline Mula writes: Why are restaurant tips calculated as a percentage of the total bill? Is it harder for a waiter to serve a fifty-dollar fillet than a five-buck burger? Do today's tech-savvy kids really believe in Santa Claus ... the tooth fairy ... the Easter bunny? You don't think they've Googled them all? I saw my first bikini on a beach in Nice during my first trip to Europe, back in the ‘60s. I couldn't believe how brazen its wearer was! Today that bikini would look positively Victorian.
A New Analysis of the Contents of Lipstick and Lip Gloss May Cause A Pause Before Puckering
High use of these makeup products could result in potential overexposure to aluminum, cadmium and manganese as well. Over time, exposure to high concentrations of manganese has been linked to toxicity in the nervous system. The study authors say that for most adults, there is no reason to toss the lip gloss in the trash, but the amount of metals found do signal the need for more oversight by health regulators. At present, there are no US standards for metal content in cosmetics.
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Poison lips? Troubling levels of toxic metals found in cosmetics
By Sarah Yang, Media Relations | May 2, 2013
BERKELEY —
A new analysis of the contents of lipst…
A Different Lens for Grief: The Solace of the Familiar
Joan L. Cannon writes: Like everyone in my place, I’m enjoined repeatedly to dwell on happy memories. We all try, but now it’s struck me that our experience as we recall it is as distorted as the present — as if we view it in reverse magnification. If we can manage to look at a photograph, either it brings us to tears or it resembles someone we might have encountered casually once and now no longer recognize. The familiar is all but unrecognizable from the viewpoint of extreme grief.
Jackie Speier: Proposing Legislation to Change the Military Justice System’s Treatment of Cases of Rape and Sexual Assault
"It is time for us to roll up our sleeves and do something real about this. We have got to stop just kind of nibbling around the edges in an effort to try and fix a broken system. 121 members have joined me as co-authors of legislation that would take the reporting of sexual assault out of the chain of command, keep it in the military, but place it in a separate office, staffed by persons who are experts in investigations, experts in prosecuting these crimes. And until he we do something like this, the numbers of sexual assaults will continue to rise in the military. The number of unrestricted reports will not rise as fast as the number of restricted reports."
Herb Planting, Groundcovers, Re-Growing Romaine Lettuce and Other Vegetables
Ferida Wolff writes: There are a variety of reasons to plant groundcover. A steep incline can be kept from losing soil with a covering of St. John’s Wort, for instance. Shady spots that could use a little color would look nice with a covering of blue Ajuga leaves. There is a plant for almost every need. Plus, I think, groundcover plants add an air of sophisticated neatness to a garden. Herbs have subtle tastes but their presence always makes me take notice. I think they will be a good reminder to pay attention, to be in the present while eating, a very Yogic concept.
Touring a State Capitol 'Dungeon' and Other Renovation Stories
Stephen Fehr writes: The Oklahoma Capitol is one of many statehouses around the country that need fixing. Visitors enter the building under scaffolding so they don’t get bonked on the head by falling rock. Minnesota Gov.Dayton and Pennsylvania Gov. Corbett have called for money to repair their declining capitols, as have officials in Alaska, Colorado, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon and Wyoming. New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin have refurbished parts of their statehouses in the last few years, and major restorations are winding down in Illinois and Kansas.
CDC: Among Women in Their Early '60s, Suicide Rates Increased By Nearly 60 Percent
Traditionally, suicide prevention efforts have been focused mostly on youths and older adults, but recent evidence suggests that there have been substantial increases in suicide rates among middle-aged adults in the United States. Suicide deaths have surpassed deaths from motor vehicle crashes in recent years in the United States.
Perilous Crossings and Pedestrians At Risk: Permitted Left Turns Complicated by a Hodgepodge of Confusing Signals
"Some people walk because they choose to do so. Some of these may have chosen not to own a passenger vehicle. Others may have vehicles available but choose to walk for some of their travel. On the other hand, there are people who walk because they have little choice of alternative modes. These are largely captive walkers. While risk of riding in a passenger vehicle has been declining considerably over the last several decades, it is the captive walkers who have been adversely affected by the increased exposure to vehicle traffic." The Fatality Risk of Walking in America
Connections
Julia Sneden writes: Children need to be assured that they are their own persons, no matter how much they look like someone from the past. It’s entirely possible that personality types are inherited as easily as the shape and color of eyes, but unlike the physical traits, personality is surely influenced by the nurturing dynamics of each immediate family. It seems to me that those dynamics create what we call character.
Bills Introduced: Protecting Crime Victims' Righs, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Reporting, Human Trafficking of Children
Last week Congress introduced these bills: Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA, a bill to ensure access to high-quality child care for homeless children and families, and for other purposes. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-LA, a bill to permit health plans without a deductible for prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum care to be treated as high deductible plans with respect to health savings accounts. Rep. Gene Green, D-TX, a bill to provide for 12-month continuous enrollment of individuals under the Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program.
Frances Perkins' Speech: The Roots of Social Security
Frances Perkins speaks: One thing I know: Social Security is so firmly embedded in the American psychology today that no politician, no political party, no political group could possibly destroy this Act and still maintain our democratic system. It is safe. It is safe forever, and for the everlasting benefit of the people of the United States.
