Kwanzaa is often viewed as an African-American response to Christmas and Hanukkah, and in some ways it is. The celebration is based on seven principles for living, and these provide a balance to the rampant consumerism in this holiday season.
Dozens of publications are offering you their lists of the best music of 2003, filled with big names and big records, from Radiohead to OutKast to White Stripes, but at the Reader, we prefer the sounds less heard.
• The recently passed, two-pronged "Endow Iowa" legislation, sponsored by the Iowa Council of Foundations, allows citizens to utilize philanthropy as a catalyst to build local endowments at community foundations and improve the quality of life in the community.
Starting next month, all police agencies in Illinois must begin tracking the race of drivers in traffic stops, but the four-year state study might not provide much information on whether racial profiling is a problem in the state.
For many of us, Christmas can be a stressful time due to the strain on finances that gift-giving can cause. We look for bargains and value-added without sacrificing quality. Well, as luck would have it, this year brings a new Quad Cities enterprise that provides all of the above and much more.
• The federal 2004 Omnibus Appropriations bill contains $400,000 for Davenport's River Music Experience (RME). The museum, a center that combines interactive and interpretive exhibits that explore and celebrate the journey of American roots music through the Mississippi River basin and the world, is expected to open in June 2004.
One of the many issues on which President George W. Bush and Texas Governor Rick Perry see eye-to-eye is open records. Both men seem to have a gut instinct against public disclosure of the operations of government.
• The Scott County Board of Supervisors has revised its Tobacco-Free Workplace Policy. The policy applies to all employees, vendors, visitors, and citizens conducting business within county facilities or vehicles.
Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle identified with pinpoint accuracy the key stumbling block in Medicare-reform legislation before the bill's passage by the House and Senate last week. He repeated that Democrats want to add prescription drug coverage to Medicare, but added: "If we're going to change the character of Medicare itself, that's too high a price to pay.
The Medicare "reform" legislation just passed by Congress sends the program on a path to destruction. Crafted in the heady days of the Great Society, Medicare has worked reasonably well for almost four decades for seniors and disabled Americans, many of whom are unable to buy health coverage in the private market.

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