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U.S. Household Debt |
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| According to many experts, the economy is at risk of collapsing under the enormous weight of consumer debt. This theory holds that homeowners owe so much money on their mortgages that it��셲 just a matter of time until they have to cut back on their spending, default on their payments, or both. |
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The Radio Frequency |
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| In the last few years, the electromagnetic spectrum has quietly become a critical part of contemporary life. It enables you to communicate with mobile phones, use remote controls, tune in TV stations, pop corn in the microwave, open your car door without a key, listen to radio stations, and surf the Internet when you��셱e sipping coffee at Starbucks. |
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Business Dress Becom |
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| During the Clinton administration, the White House was a business-casual environment, where people wore rolled-up shirtsleeves and jeans to pizza-fueled all-nighter work sessions. When George Bush entered the Oval Office, he made it clear that anybody who was summoned there had better be wearing a suit. |
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The Military Recruit |
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| According to most reports in the media, the military��셲 biggest personnel problem is a shortage of recruits. The Army fell significantly short of its recruiting targets every month from February through May. It only met its goal for June after it lowered the target. |
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The Patent Epidemic |
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| Back in 2001, something strange happened in the world of patent law. Microsoft, which had been fighting a lawsuit by Priceline, suddenly gave up. The suit, filed in late 1999, claimed that Priceline had patented its ��쐍ame your own price��� auction strategy, and that no one else could use it without a license from the company. Microsoft had been using a similar strategy on its Expedia travel site and had been arguing in U.S. District Court in Connecticut that the auction method was too obvious to be patented. |
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