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N O V E M B E R 1 9 9 8  Government 
November 3: Election Day. More House incumbents will be running unopposed by
major-party candidates today than at any other time since 1958, in part because
of decisions by both parties to focus on close races. A number of ballots will
contain questions pertaining to animal rights. For example, Missouri and
Arizona voters will decide whether to outlaw cockfighting. This activity is
legal in only five states, although Hawaii recently considered legalizing it,
as long as the roosters wore boxing leg mitts in the ring. 30: The permanent
provisions of the 1993 Brady gun-control law are scheduled to take effect
today, replacing interim measures in force since 1994. Buyers of all guns, not
just handguns, will now undergo background checks through an FBI database. The
checks will in most cases be almost instantaneous; they will replace the
five-day waiting period to buy a handgun, except in states whose own laws
require a waiting period. Some fear that local and state documents, such as
mental-health records and restraining orders, may be overlooked, and argue that
the wait may prevent some suicides and crimes of passion.Food 
November 5: Starting today the Food and Drug Administration will require that
all unpasteurized juice products bear a label warning that they may contain
harmful bacteria. Although the vast majority of juice sold in the United States
is pasteurized, a process that kills most pathogens, some manufacturers,
especially cider makers, have resisted pasteurization, because it can alter
taste. Some cider mills are exploring flash-pasteurization, which briefly
exposes juice to extremely high temperatures and has less effect on flavor.
Small manufacturers, ill equipped to afford pasteurization technology, fear
that the rule could put them out of business. The rule comes in response to a
1996 incident in which 66 people became ill, and one died, after drinking
unpasteurized cider contaminated with E. coli.Health & Safety 
This month Medicare will begin mailing information to consumers, phasing in a
toll-free information line, and providing other services to help beneficiaries
understand the new Medicare+Choice program, mandated in the 1997
Balanced-Budget Act. The program is intended to expand the options of Medicare
recipients and to encourage them to take greater responsibility for their
health care. It represents the most comprehensive change to Medicare ever,
allowing recipients to choose from many types of plans and instituting sweeping
measures to protect their rights. Among the plans that will eventually be
available are medical savings accounts. Those who choose an MSA will be
enrolled in a plan that carries a high deductible, for which Medicare will pay
the premium; Medicare will also make an annual deposit into the recipient's
MSA. The deposit may be used to help pay for services provided before the
deductible has been met and services not covered by the policy.Demographics 
This month the U.S. Postal Service will begin setting up systems in 12
metropolitan areas to monitor the progress of mail with radio-transmitter tags,
in the hope of increasing efficiency. Tucked inside envelopes planted among
batches of letters, the tags will give information to tag readers in local and
regional post offices. When "pinged" by a reader, a tag will provide the ZIP
codes of a batch of mail's origin and destination, the date the mail entered
the system, and its precise travel time. Systems are expected to be fully
operational in New York City, Boston, Dallas, and Tampa in time for the holiday
rush, and in the eight other cities by next summer. The project, expected to
cost $6 million, is a prelude to nationwide implementation -- and the technology
it employs could one day render obsolete that time-honored dodge "The check is
in the mail."The Skies | ||||||||||||
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Related Link: Daily information on the skies posted by Michigan State University's Abrams Planetarium. |
November 4: Full Moon, also known this month as the Beaver Moon and the Moon
When the Bucks Lose Their Horns. 17 and 18: The Leonid meteor shower peaks on
these mornings, probably between 2:00 A.M. and dawn. Though notoriously
unpredictable, the Leonid may be worth watching for this year. Roughly every 33
years it produces a dramatic meteor storm, with thousands of shooting stars per
minute; the last big show was in 1966.Arts & Letters November 15: The first comprehensive survey of Japanese art from the Edo period (c. 1600-1868) to be shown in the United States opens at the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C. The exhibit, garnered from more than 75 public and private collections, consists of nearly 300 works, including painted scrolls, porcelain, gold-leaf screens, wood-block prints, Noh and Kabuki costumes, and samurai helmets decorated with such things as a giant rabbit's ears and an upside-down rice bowl. Many of the items in the exhibit are classified as national treasures and have never before left Japan. The exhibit will run through February; the National Gallery will concurrently host a lecture series and a performing-arts festival. | ||||||||||||
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From the archives: "I was in the mood to accept work of any kind that would take me into the mountains, whose treasures I had tasted the previous summer in the Yosemite region." |
100 Years Ago
John Muir, writing in the November, 1898, issue of The Atlantic Monthly:
"In my first interview with a Sierra bear we were frightened and embarrassed,
both of us, but the bear's behavior was better than mine. When I discovered
him, he was standing in a narrow strip of meadow, and I was concealed behind a
tree on the side of it. After studying his appearance as he stood at rest, I
rushed toward him to frighten him, that I might study his gait in running. But,
contrary to all I had heard about the shyness of bears, he did not run at all;
and when I stopped short within a few steps of him, as he held his ground in a
fighting attitude, my mistake was monstrously plain. I was then put on my good
behavior, and never afterward forgot the right manners of the wilderness."Illustrations by Noah Woods Copyright © 1998 by The Atlantic Monthly Company. All rights reserved. The Atlantic Monthly; November 1998; The November Almanac; Volume 282, No. 5; page 14. |
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