Word: bigs
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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There are a lot of ways to divide the world--rich and poor, east and west, industrial and agrarian. Now add one more: smoking and nonsmoking. In the U.S. and other developed countries, Big Tobacco is on the run, chased to the curbs by a combination of lawsuits, smoking bans and high taxes. Fewer than 20% of Americans now smoke--the lowest rate since reliable records have been kept. President Barack Obama recently signed laws boosting federal cigarette taxes from 32¢ a pack to $1 and giving the FDA the power to regulate cigarettes like any other food or drug...
...pickled herring being pulled apart by two art critics represented as skulls. Perhaps because he never expected his work to be accepted, he could pursue it to its furthest conclusions. But then - surprise - the honors started coming his way anyway. Museums began acquiring his art and offering him big shows. In 1929, Belgium's King Albert I even named him a baron, which makes you wonder if Albert had ever seen Ensor's etching of a king defecating on the heads of the people. By the time Ensor died, in 1949, he was a national treasure - which can only mean...
Despite what you may have heard, Congress is a "tremendous force for good," argues Representative Henry Waxman in a readable new book packed with supporting evidence. Beginning with the dramatic 1994 hearing at which seven Big Tobacco CEOs famously swore they didn't think nicotine was addictive, the 18-term California Democrat recounts three decades of slugfests over public health. Waxman's legislative trophy case--bolstered by numerous bipartisan victories--is impressive. Among the highlights are battles to secure funding for HIV/AIDS research at a time when at least one colleague still favored quarantining the nation...
...between the U.S. and other countries, recommended that school districts "strongly consider" a seven-hour day and a 200- to 220-day academic year, which would hew more closely to the schedules in higher-performing Europe and Asia. Although the practice has yet to go mainstream, there's a big push to add school hours in underperforming urban districts. One champion of this movement is Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, who on July 8 introduced the Time for Innovation Matters in Education Act, which would provide federal grants for states and districts to "expand learning time in high-need, high-poverty...
That said, Christian audiences will laugh at anything, since they are either so nice or so unaware of any entertainment other than Seventh Heaven. Puns proved to be a big hit, as was anything involving eating or pooping. My troupe mates were impressively funny within those boundaries, but after a while, I couldn't take the comedy shackles. During a version of the game Jeopardy!, someone shouted the answer "Milk!" to which I nervously buzzed in with "What is a movie they'd never play at this church?" To my relief, this got a laugh. So when...