Where Nature Can Flourish; Habitat-Friendly Backyards, Tribal and Private Lands, Schools
Ferida Wolff and Tam Gray write: A wildlife habitat can be in a backyard, on a roof, in a park or a school — wherever we can put together what is needed to make a nature-friendly environment. The NWF has certified over 150,000 sites across the US. Some states have a WHIP program encouraging homeowners by incentives to create a more elaborate habitat.
John Irving and Suspension of Disbelief
Joan L. Cannon writes: John Irving has attracted plenty of attention throughout his career with his explosive originality and his fearlessness when it comes to convention — from The World According to Garp to the most recent In One Person. Not all his work is created equal, of course, but when I ran across A Widow for One Year, I didn’t expect to be as intrigued as I was.
Pew Polls: Little Voter Discomfort with Romney’s Mormon Religion
Along religious lines, white evangelical Protestants and black Protestants and atheists and agnostics on the other, are the most likely to say they are uncomfortable with Romney’s faith. Republicans and white evangelicals overwhelmingly back Romney irrespective of their views of his faith, and Democrats and seculars overwhelmingly oppose him regardless of their impression.
The Beauty of Flight: A survey of those who flew early and often
"Suddenly that little wedge of sky above Hickam Field and Pearl Harbor was the busiest, fullest piece of sky I ever saw. We counted anxiously as our little civilian planes came flying home to roost. Two never came back. They were washed ashore weeks later on the windward side of the island, bullet-riddled. Not a pretty way for the brave little yellow Cubs and their pilots to go down to death."
Invisible Wounds: Examining the Disability Compensation Benefits Process for Victims of Military Sexual Trauma
"The Department of Defense estimates that one in four women who join the armed services will be raped or assaulted, but that only about 10% of such incidents are ever reported,” stated Rep. Jon Runyan, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. “Even more alarming is that of those few who did report incidents of military sexual trauma, over 75 percent stated that they would not make the same decision about reporting the incident again, due to the consequences it had on their military career.”
Before the Games Begin: Is it Discriminatory for There Not to Be Women's Olympic Canoe Events?
“Ms Rippington does not seek to use this claim to change the 2012 Olympic sports programme. She wants the organisers of these Olympics, who are in the UK bound by equalities rules, to conduct an in-depth examination of the gender bias in the canoeing programme, and, she hopes, in the Olympic sports programme in general."
Gold, Jasper, and Carnelian: Johann Christian Neuber, Master Craftsman and Court Jeweler
Val Castronovo writes: "The one-of-a-kind exhibit of one-of-a-kind objects showcases some 35 gold and bejeweled snuffboxes (steinkabinetts), candy boxes (bonbonnieres), chains, buttons and other accessories decorated with colorful, Saxon gemstones (agate, carnelian, jasper, lapis lazuli), each rimmed in gold and numbered."
Museum Shopping: Noctural and Tide Computer, a Shakespeare Toy Duck, a Mrs. Delaney Pink Botanical Mug,
Since London will be the focus for the Summer Olympics, we thought we'd explore the British Museum Shop's offerings and, yes, there's no end of the intriguing and unusual.
Were You Considering Testing Your Genetic Makeup for Disease Prediction? "The road to efficient genetic risk prediction is likely to be long.”
The Harvard team examined whether disease risk prediction would improve for breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis if they included the effect of synergy in their statistical models. They found no significant effect by doing so. “Statistical models of synergy among genetic markers are not ‘game changers’ in terms of risk prediction in the general population.”
The Marketing of the American Beauty
Advertisers turned to images of feminine mystique to which consumers could aspire (and hopefully emulate) through the purchase of goods and services. Men were also charmed by these images and magazine publishers used the attraction of pretty faces on their covers to boost impulse buying for their all-important newsstand sales.
MADE IN THE USA (from now on): Waiting For the 2014 Olympics
Julia Sneden writes: For me, the problem with the Olympic jackets and shirts boils down to this: Couldn’t our athletes just be resplendent young folk in well-designed red, white and blue outfits? Must they be walking billboards for Ralph Lauren’s company? They are supposed to be representing all of America, not just a single corporation.
Elaine Soloway's Caregiving Series: Four Times Around
Elaine Soloway writes: Just a few months after our first hellos and a sweet romance, little by little, Tommy moved in with me. Dozens of T-shirts, imprinted with running event logos, scooted my Gap T’s along the closet rod. I relinquished one dresser drawer, then two and when his well-worn running shoes jumbled onto the closet floor, my high heels and sandals adjusted.
Fireflies And Summer Rain
Julia Sneden writes: I have never stopped loving fireflies. On evenings after a rain, or when the grass has been freshly cut, we can count on a large number of winking lights, and the woods in the hollow behind our house are often like a fairyland of tiny stars moving lazily about among the trees. I've gotten over being afraid when I hear the first rumbles of thunder, although I still don't enjoy it when there are strikes so near that you can hear the fizz-snap simultaneously with the bang.
CultureWatch Books: Black Gotham and Gods Without Men, Judge John Deed DVD
Jill Norgren and Julia Sneden Reviews: If you respect well-researched history, and crave an account of the footwork, persistent digging, and serendipity required, Carla Peterson's Black Gotham should be one of the next books that you read. Trying to keep up with the characters and periods in Gods Without Men is more than a little daunting, but the pure quality of Kunzru’s writing is brilliant. Judge John Deed, another addictive BBC series continues on DVD.
Realities: Upcoming Tax Changes and the Health Care Reform Act
The Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act argues for a refresher on some of the bill's key tax provisions. We've included the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit planned to help small businesses and small tax-exempt organizations afford the cost of covering their employees.
Losing It: Where Is That Electronic Gadget Hiding?
Rose Mula writes: I just tried dialing a telephone number and couldn’t understand why the call wasn’t connecting, and the channels on my TV kept changing. I finally figured out it was because I was trying to dial a phone number on my TV remote. Doesn’t work. Neither does using the phone to try to change TV channels, which I also do often.
How The Health Law Might Be Changed By The Next President
Change in Age Rating Bands: The ACA prohibits insurers from charging more than three times as much for a policy sold to an older person than to a younger person. (This does not affect people over 65 who are covered by Medicare.) This is a change from current law in most states where there are no limits on how much more insurers can charge older people.
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ThinkProgress: Romney Campaign Incorrectly Trains Iowa Poll Watchers To Check For Photo ID
A new ThinkProgress investigation has found that in Iowa, Romney poll watchers are being trained to watch for voters who show up without a photo ID, even though no voter ID law exists in the state.
In a training video for Romney poll watchers in Iowa, the narrator tells volunteers to be on the lookout for anytime “a voter fails to show a voter ID and they are still permitted to vote.” If that happens, he says, “alert the legal team so they can handle the problem.”
FactCheck.org: Whoppers of the 2012 Election, Final Edition
President Barack Obama claimed Mitt Romney is planning to raise taxes by $2,000 on middle-income taxpayers and/or cut taxes by $5 trillion. Neither is true. Romney claimed Obama plans to raise taxes by $4,000 on middle-income taxpayers. That’s not true, either. It’s also not true that Obama plans “to gut welfare reform by dropping work requirements,” as Romney claimed. Equally untrue is the Obama campaign’s repeated claim that Romney backed a law that would outlaw “all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest.”
Simply Being a Woman is No Longer a Preexisting Condition: August 1st, 2012, Essential Preventive Health Care Services
Previously some insurance companies did not cover these preventive services for women at all under their health plans, while some women had to pay deductibles or copays for the care they needed to stay healthy. The new rules in the health care law requiring coverage of these services take effect at the next renewal date – on or after Aug. 1, 2012 — for most health insurance plans.
A Challenge to Reproductive Decisions Made by Politicians
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Arizona today sued to challenge an Arizona law banning pre-viability abortions on behalf of two Arizona doctors whose patients include women in need of this essential medical care. “Whether a woman decides to continue with a high-risk pregnancy or terminate it, the important thing is that women, families and physicians make these decisions – not politicians without any medical training.”
Smart Systems: Don’t Expect to See the ‘Home of the Future’ by 2020
Editor's Note: We built a new home that has Internet, cable and satellite connections facilitating present and future smart systems. IBM is enabling citizens' smartphones with apps alert cities to the existence of potholes, graffiti, and water issues by taking photos and sending them to city management, where they can be dealt with. Sensors that give readouts about human activity are being embedded in shoes, medicine such as asthma inhalers, and medical exploratory surgery devices.
In Search of a Job: Criminal Records as Barriers to Employment
Amy L. Solomon relates her testimony: I am writing this letter … out of desperation and to tell you a little about the struggles of re-entering society as a convicted felon." Thus began a letter that made its way to me at the US Department of Justice. "I have had numerous interviews and sent out more than 200 resumes for jobs which I am more than qualified. I have had denial after denial because of my felony."
Four Months to Go: Campaign Exhausting But Informative.. Important But Dull
While fewer Republicans than Democrats currently say the campaign has been interesting, GOP voters are more engaged than Democratic voters in the 2012 campaign. For instance, more Republicans are giving quite a lot of thought to the election and more say it really matters who wins.
The Missing Piece: CERN experiments observe particle consistent with long-sought Higgs boson
"Positive identification of the new particle’s characteristics will take considerable time and data. But whatever form the Higgs particle takes, our knowledge of the fundamental structure of matter is about to take a major step forward."
