Real life over politics dominates the public mind in 1988
In New Orleans and Oklahoma, state lawmakers focus on drought drugs budgets schools and prisons rather than presidential race talk. Voter turnout and fund raising slump as inflation stays tame and more tax cuts loom, leaving many Americans content with work and complacent about politics.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New Orleans
National Conference of State Legislatures
Gary Hart
Jack Kemp
Statehouse
Hart
Kemp
Oklahoma
OPEC
Senate
Michigan Republican Party
Michigan
Bush
Pat Robertson
America
Reagan creates calm politics but hides hard policy choices
Washington Post columnist notes farmers miners and laid off workers cry for relief while Reagan’s calm tone dulls debate. He omits costs and trade offs in his drug campaign and leaves funding questions unanswered as voters disengage, waiting to see midterm plans.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Reagan
South Africa
Merit pay for teachers: value beyond test scores
Iowa State University researcher Norman Boyles finds no proven link between merit pay and higher student achievement after reviewing 76 districts. He argues merit pay recognizes qualities that enrich learning, such as patience and sensitivity, and may spur professional growth even if test scores do not rise. The study suggests intrinsic value and potential future gains justify pursuing merit pay despite unclear measurable impact.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Iowa State University
ISU
Iowa
Boyles
Federal court upholds no ingredient labels for alcohol
A federal appellate court ruled the BATF need not require ingredient labeling on alcoholic beverages. The decision, backed by government arguments, says few drinkers want such information and that ingredients change through distillation and fermentation. Critics warn it leaves consumers to risk unseen health harms.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
BATF
Rediscovering vivid history for children through trade books
Gretchen V. Scibold argues that textbooks dull young readers by sanitizing history and that strong non fiction for children, like Fritz and Meltzer works, bring events to life with human details. She urges teachers and librarians to embrace trade books to spark curiosity, debate, and research beyond formal texts.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jean Fritz
America
Punditry has pitfalls and a para pundit weighs in
A Bloomington graduate asks advice on life choices as 16 pundits in The New Republic advise against punditry. The author mocks the English major path and suggests reading Spenser’s The Faerie Queene is outdated while praising practical TV wisdom from Hawaii Five-O.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Michael C. Sloan
Bloomington
Ind
New Republic
Nicholas von Hoffman
Morton Kondracke
Edmund Spenser
Boston
Spenser
Faerie Queene
Steve McGarrett
Pundit Advice on Life Talks Trade Talks and Dickens
The piece mocks English majors who can’t relate to plumbers and electricians while suggesting sensible life rules. It jests about reading Dickens while sick and notes a young man hoping to “create a niche that doesn’t exist right now” through mail. L.A. Times Washington Post News Service.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Poe
Emerson
John Brown
Faerie Queene
L.A
Also Mentioned on This Page
Vkimat
David Broder
Washington Post Writers Group
Louisiana
Edwin Edwards
J.F. Hladky, Jr
Board of
Joe Hladky II
John Donnelly
John Robertson
Art Heusinkveld
Norman Boyles
National Education Association
American Federation of Teachers
Gretchen Swibold
Paul Revere
Revere
Fritz
Patrick Henry
Henry
Milton Meltzer
Nazi Germany
Meltzer
U.S
Florida
Gretchen V. Scibold
Canton
Conn
Los Angeles Times
Washington Post
Colin McEnroe
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