Word: public
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...long-term goals, beyond hoping for a "kinder, gentler" nation, have been lost in a miasma of public relations stunts. The President's recent "education summit" with the nation's Governors produced some interesting ideas about national standards but little about how to pay the costs of helping public schools meet them. His much trumpeted war against drugs was more an underfinanced skirmish. Bush told voters last year that he is an environmentalist, but the most significant clean-air proposals put forth this year -- stringent new standards on automobile emissions -- were adapted from California's strict limits for the 1990s...
...consequences of such government paralysis are most apparent in California, where the 1978 Proposition 13 ballot initiative sparked the antitax revolt that swept the country. Now, with the state government hobbled by tax restrictions and unable to respond to public pressure, citizen initiatives have mushroomed. California had 29 propositions on its ballot last year on matters ranging from limits on auto insurance to new tobacco taxes. William Zimmerman, who helps organize such voter initiatives, admits that they are not the best way to handle complex issues. But, he says, "if the alternative is no action, I'll take the flawed...
...nation's leadership often hears what it wants to hear, but few have seemed quite so deaf to the public's demands as East Germany's rulers. Thousands flee the country, protesters stage hunger strikes in churches, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev offers a gentle lecture in person -- none of it seemed to make a difference. But last week as the cries for democratic reform reached a crescendo in cities across East Germany, the leaders in East Berlin demonstrated that their hearing faculties were intact -- and that they were distressed by the rising noise level...
...undergraduate at Harvard University in the late 1960s, Sancton formed the Black Eagle Jazz Band. When he went on to Oxford for graduate work, he ^ toured briefly with several European jazz groups before putting the horn aside to complete his doctorate in European history. He did not play in public again until two years ago. Earlier this month, Sancton cut his seventh album, accompanied by pianist David Paquette and drummer Cornelis (Pam) Pameijer. It will be released next year by G.H.B. Records...
Optimism about the country's future is weak in crucial areas, such as the economy. However, as relations with the Soviets have improved, 52% of the public is now very optimistic about prospects for peace. The absence of fear of war boosts Bush's standing. Criticism that he is too cautious to respond to Moscow's olive-branch overtures registers with few Americans...