Muslim Americans are optimistic despite discrimination, new poll says

Muslim Americans are loyal to the US and positive about their future even as they face high levels of discrimination, a Gallup poll finds.

A poll released Tuesday revealed curious contradictions in the Muslim-American community, which is more enthused about its country and president than any other religious group, yet is the least politically active and faces the greatest discrimination.

The Gallup poll on American religious groups offers a counterpoint to the stereotype that Muslims in the US lead isolated lives because they do not feel comfortable fitting in or associating with mainstream American culture. Moreover, it also offers insights into the Muslim-American experience – from how dramatically the election of President Obama affected them to how little they trust the activists who work on their behalf.
In total, the poll paints a picture of a community characterized by optimism but still seeking acceptance among its fellow citizens.

For instance, 93 percent of Muslim Americans say they are loyal to America. They have the highest confidence in the integrity of US elections (57 percent), and they are the most hopeful about their lives over the next five years, compared with other groups.
Yet 48 percent of Muslim Americans report they experienced some kind of racial or religious discrimination, a finding that places them far ahead of Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Mormons, and atheists/agnostics.
One reason for the optimistic outlook despite discrimination could be that Muslim Americans see their financial fortunes improving. Some 64 percent of Muslim Americans in 2011 reported their standard of living got better, compared with 46 percent in 2008.
But the presidency of Mr. Obama has arguably had an even more powerful affect on Muslim Americans. Muslim Americans give him the highest approval rating – 80 percent – of any religious group. American Jews are a distant second, giving Obama a 65 percent approval rating.
The number is even more striking when compared with Muslim American support for George W. Bush in 2008, which was 7 percent.



The shift in leadership in Washington was “truly transformational” for US Muslims in how they viewed their loyalties to democratic institutions and the nation at large, says Dalia Mogahed, director and senior analyst of the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center, based in the United Arab Emirates.

After the 9/11 attacks, Muslim Americans faced intense scrutiny, both individually and from federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Obama is credited with helping smooth tensions through his outreach to the US Muslim community and his effort to end the Iraq war responsibly. The poll shows that 83 percent of Muslim Americans – more than any other religious group – say the war was a “mistake.”

Despite the positive signs, “there are still obstacles” for Muslim Americans, Ms. Mogahed says.
“They embrace American values and democratic principles but aren’t sure if the rest of American embraces them,” she says.
Some 56 percent of Protestants said American Muslims had no sympathy for Al Qaeda, the lowest number of any faith group. By comparison, 63 percent of Catholics and 70 percent of Jews thought Muslim Americans had no sympathies for Al Qaeda.
“That’s certainly a challenge for the [US Muslim] community – to have their loyalty questioned by such a large number of their fellow Americans,” Mogahed says.
Those challenges, however, have not led Muslim Americans to try to affect change at the ballot box. They are the least likely religious group to vote, with just 65 percent of Muslims in America are registered. One reason is age: The average age of a Muslim-American is 35, while the average American Protestant is 55. Younger people tend to be less politically active, Mogahed says.
Another reason is affiliation: Poll findings show that the majority of Muslim Americans say that none of the leading Muslim organizations in the US, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations or the Islamic Society of North America, represents their interests.
With the 2012 election around the corner, Mogahed says political parties that want to reach out to Muslim-American voters might be better off establishing partnerships with local mosques than focusing on winning endorsements from national advocacy organizations. This is especially relevant considering that Muslim Americans who attend a religious service once a week are two times more likely to be politically active than those who attend less frequently, the poll found.
“The mosque should be more the mobilization engine” for get-out-the-vote drives than it has been in the past, she says.
The poll surveyed 2,482 adults, 475 of whom were Muslim. For Muslims, there was a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 7 percentage points. 

America's Safest Airports

We did the math to determine America's safest airports, where a smooth landing is practically guaranteed.

It's official: flying is safer than ever.

Sure, you may still encounter air rage and sleepy controllers, but when it comes to accidents on the runway, airplane safety is at an all-time high. Last year's accident rate was 0.61 percent—one for every 1.6 million flights.
                                                                                                                            Chalk those numbers up to improvements the FAA has made over the years. In 2000, U.S. airports recorded 67 serious runway incursions that could have easily led to injuries or fatalities. According to FAA spokesperson Tammy Jones, the total dropped to only six last year, while the number of serious incidents specifically involving commercial aircraft plummeted from 34 a decade ago to three in 2010.

Even so, several major U.S. airports continue to grapple with safety issues, and several medium-size airports still have downright shameful records. So where will you find America's safest airports? We analyzed FAA data and gave each airport a score based on its safety record. Read on to discover which airport has made so much progress that it's now the safest in America.

# 7 San Diego Lindbergh Field International (SAN)

Score: 0.85

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 4

Safety Innovations: Skimming low over Balboa Park and downtown San Diego, the final approach to Lindbergh Field is about as white-knuckle as it gets at major U.S. airports. But this hair-raising landing belies the fact that Lindbergh Field is still very safe. It's one of only four U.S. airports that already have their Runway Status Lights system deployed and undergoing operational evaluation.

Orlando International (MCO)

Courtesy of Orlando International Airport

#6 Orlando International (MCO)

Score: 0.75

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 13

Safety Innovations: Like nearby Disney World, MCO has benefited from a surplus of cheap land in central Florida, allowing for aggressive expansion and parallel runways that greatly enhance safety. MCO is scheduled to have its new Runway Status Lights system deployed in August 2011, giving pilots real-time information on current and anticipated runway occupancy.

Portland International (PDX)

Courtesy of Port of Portland

#5 Portland International (PDX)

Score: 0.73

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 9

Safety Innovations: PDX is nearing the end of a three-year improvement program that includes the expansion of one runway, the complete reconstruction of a second runway, and new taxiways. It's not only one of the safest but one of the most picturesque American airports, along the south bank of the Columbia River in the shadow of snowcapped Mount Hood.

Pittsburgh International (PIT)

Courtesy of Amy Strycula / Alamy

#4 Pittsburgh International (PIT)

Score: 0.70

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 6

Safety Innovations: A state-of-the-art snow- and ice-removal system makes Pittsburgh one of the safest airports in the world during severe winter weather. Among its innovations are front and rear de-icing teams, runway sensors that relay real-time snow and ice conditions, and direct radio communication between the snow-removal crews and the FAA control tower.

George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)

Courtesy of Houston Airport System

#3 George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)

Score: 0.68

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 19

Safety Innovations: The airport master plan calls for the creation of a perimeter taxiway system that will allow arriving or departing aircraft to loop around active runway areas rather than crossing them. And it can't come soon enough. By the end of 2011, IAH will be one of only four airports around the globe with direct flights to all six inhabited continents.

Memphis International (MEM)

Courtesy of Daniel Betts

#2 Memphis International (MEM)

Score: 0.59 (rounded from .588)

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 10

Safety Innovations: The FAA is building a state-of-the-art, $61.5 million control tower and an expanded terminal radar approach control at MEM. Memphis boasts an outstanding safety record, especially considering that it's been the world's busiest cargo airport for most of the last 20 years, and it shares runways with the Tennessee Air National Guard.

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)

Courtesy of Bryan Correira

#1 Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)

Score: 0.26

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 4

Safety Innovations: Major enhancements have included a new underground transportation system and a third north-south runway. The airport's safety record is nothing short of phenomenal. In the last three years (2008–2010), CVG has experienced just one runway incident of any kind, and it had no immediate safety implications.  

NASA launches spacecraft Juno toward Jupiter

  NASA on Friday launched the billion-dollar solar-powered spacecraft Juno on a five-year journey to Jupiter aiming to discover what makes up the solar system's biggest planet.

The unmanned satellite observatory was propelled into space aboard a 197-foot (60-meter) tall Atlas V rocket, blasting off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 12:25 pm (1625 GMT).

"Ignition and liftoff on the Atlas V with Juno on a trek to Jupiter, a planetary piece of the puzzle on the beginning of our solar system," said a NASA television commentator.

Some 53 minutes later Juno separated from its carrier rocket, heading off solo into space.
The launch of Juno showed "NASA is still open for business and leading the world in space exploration," said NASA chief Charles Bolden, just over two weeks after the last ever shuttle flight landed back on Earth and the program was mothballed.
"The largest planet in our neighborhood is about to reveal its secrets, and everything Juno finds will help us understand more about the origins and evolution of our solar system. This is exciting stuff," Bolden wrote on the NASA website.
Once it arrives in July 2016, the spacecraft will orbit the poles of the gas giant, which has more than twice the mass of all planets in the solar system combined and is believed to be the first planet that took shape around the Sun.

Named after the wife of the Roman god Jupiter, the $1.1 billion spacecraft is NASA's first mission there since it launched Galileo in 1989, and it aims for 30 orbits over a period of one year.

Juno will get closer to Jupiter than any other NASA spacecraft and will be the first to undertake a polar orbit of the planet, said Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator and scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.
"One of the primary goals of Juno.... is (probing) the origin of Jupiter and the origin of our solar system," Bolton said Friday just before the launch.
"Juno is set up to learn about that early part of the solar system and learn how Jupiter formed, and by measuring the ingredients we are really looking for the recipe of planet formation."
NASA's Galileo, an orbiter and probe that launched 22 years ago, entered the planet's orbit in 1995 and plunged into Jupiter in 2003, ending its life.
Other NASA spacecraft -- including Voyager 1 and 2, Ulysses and New Horizons -- have done flybys of the fifth planet from the Sun.
Juno will spend the first two years of its mission going around the Sun, then will return for a flyby of Earth which will give a gravitational boost to accelerate Juno on a three-year path toward Jupiter.

When it gets there, Juno -- orbiting around 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) above the gas giant -- will make use of a series of instruments, some of which were provided by European space agency partners Italy, Belgium, France and Denmark, to learn about the workings of the planet and what is inside.

Two key experiments will gauge how much water is in Jupiter and whether the planet "has a core of heavy elements at the center, or whether it is just gas all the way down," Bolton said at a press briefing last week.

Scientists also hope to learn more about Jupiter's magnetic fields and its Great Red Spot, a storm that has been raging for more than 300 years.
"One of the fundamental questions is how deep are the roots to that red spot? How does it maintain itself for so long?" said Bolton.

Juno is carrying a few toys as part of a campaign to raise awareness among young people about math and science.

Three 1.5 inch figurines made by LEGO toys are on board -- a likeness of the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei who discovered four of Jupiter's moons, the Roman god Jupiter and his wife Juno.
Back in 2003, when plans for Juno were being crafted, NASA briefly considered using some sort of nuclear fuel to power the spacecraft, but engineers decided it would be quicker and less risky to go with solar.
Juno is part of a series of new planetary science missions, to be followed by Grail, which is headed to the moon in September, and the Mars Science Laboratory set to take off in November.

"These missions are designed to tackle some of the toughest questions in planetary science, all about our origin and the evolution of the solar system," said Jim Green, director of the planetary science division at NASA headquarters in Washington.

Men who buy sex commit more crimes, U.S. study finds

Men who pay for sex are more likely than men who do not pay for sex to commit a variety of offenses including violent crimes against women, according to research conducted in the Boston area.

The study, released this week, was based on interviews with 202 men conducted by the nonprofit group Prostitution Research and Education and was led by Melissa Farley, a clinical psychologist and anti-prostitution activist.

Buyers and non-buyers of commercial sex from the Boston area were paired by age, education and ethnicity to compare their perceptions of women after voluntarily joining the study. About half the men paid for sex and the other half did not.

Men who paid for sex were more likely to report having committed felonies and misdemeanors, including crimes related to violence against women and those related to substance abuse, assault and weapons, the study found.

The study was designed, among other things, to test attitudes of men who buy sex. It found that as a group, they share certain attitudes and behavioral tendencies different from their non-buying peers.

Almost three in four of the sex buyers reported they learned about sex from pornography, whereas only 54 percent of the non-buyers did so.

The two groups also held significantly different attitudes regarding whether prostitution was consenting sex or exploitation. Men who bought sex were significantly less empathetic toward women working as prostitutes.

Two thirds of both groups concluded most women prostitutes had been lured, tricked or trafficked into the work.

But sex buyers "seemed to justify their involvement in the sex industry by stating their belief ... that women in prostitution were intrinsically different from non-prostituting women," the study's authors said.

The majority of both groups, 61 percent of sex buyers and 70 percent of non-buyers, currently had a wife or girlfriend.

One Simple Way to Get Americans Back to Work

One number should be in the minds of all Democrats seeking reelection next year, including President Barack Obama: 9.2 percent. That’s the current U.S. unemployment rate, and as many prognosticators have already noted, it is several points above the historical threshold for reelection. If Democrats and Obama have any hope of job retention in 2012, voters need some good job news over the next 15 months.

Yet Democrats have few realistic options to goose the economy and create jobs. They can’t spend more money on an economic stimulus because Republicans will block any new spending. Assorted tax cuts on income and home buying could help, but they would be equally tough to pass and unlikely to have much impact in such a condensed time frame.

But there is one policy Democrats could pursue to spark the economy, create jobs and cut the deficit. They’ll just have to work side-by-side with Republicans, who are pushing a very specific tax cut.

Republicans want companies that make money overseas to bring cash back to the U.S. without paying the high 35 percent U.S. corporate tax rate. These companies reason that the money was made overseas and already taxed overseas, and if Uncle Sam insists on taxing it again, this money will remain overseas. U.S. companies have parked some $1.4 trillion overseas but they would bring much of it back home were it not for the additional high tax rate. In 2005, Congress created a tax holiday which resulted in an estimated $300 billion returning to the US taxed at 5.25 percent.

Unions and (some) Democrats have argued against a similar tax holiday by calling it a “corporate giveaway” and pointing to data that the prior holiday just created bigger profits without much benefit to the economy. They also note that the Treasury Department says a tax holiday would only expand the deficit. The reason being is that it is a loss of theoretical tax revenue. This money will never come back if it is subject to the high US tax rate.

But Democrats can be a bit more clever this time around by tying the tax holiday to a company’s increase in U.S. investment or jobs. Under this approach, a company wanting to repatriate a billion dollars from overseas would pay a smaller tax (say, five to ten percent) – if it increased its U.S. capital spending or full-time work force by defined percentages. Another twist on this idea is to require companies invest a portion in an infrastructure bank, as Reed Hundt, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, recently argued.

Under this plan, the economy would surge from the real stimulus of added investment and jobs. More people employed also means less government spending and more government tax revenue.

Treasury’s argument that a tax holiday would be a net revenue loss to the government assumes companies will one day bring back the funds and pay the taxes. This is fallacious. Instead they will simply invest abroad, build foreign plants and hire foreign workers.  So the IRS gets 35 percent of nothing, and Americans don’t get jobs.

Wouldn’t it be much better for the federal government to get five to ten percent of something, reduce the federal deficit, hire Americans and spur the economy?

This plan will help not only big companies, but smaller companies like Audiovox who successfully sell abroad.  The plan would put Americans to work, cut the deficit and provide an area of agreement between the two parties at a time when few other good options have any chance of passing.

A healthy economy is good for all Americans, but it is especially good for President Obama and the Democrats seeking reelection. It’s now a question of whether Democrats can do what’s right and put more Americans back to work.

Japan beats US to win Women's World Cup

Their country’s misery was never far from their hearts.

Thousands dead or missing. Villages erased. Homes destroyed.

The players on Japan’s women’s World Cup team invoked the slow recovery from a devastating tsunami and earthquake time and again. Whatever they could do, they vowed, they would.

True to their word, the gleaming World Cup trophy will ride back on the plane with them—a prize, they hope, that will lift the gloom, even if only for a short while.

“Before we went to the match tonight we had some commentary on television and we heard comments on the situation in Japan,” coach Norio Sasaki said after Japan upset the Americans for the World Cup title in a riveting final Sunday night, 3-1 on penalty kicks, after coming from behind twice in a 2-2 tie.
“We wanted to use this opportunity to thank the people back home for the support that has been given.”
This was Japan’s first appearance in the final of a major tournament, and it hadn’t beaten the Americans in their first 25 meetings, including a pair of 2-0 losses in warm-up games a month before the World Cup. But the Nadeshiko pushed ahead, playing inspired soccer and hoping their success could provide even a small emotional lift to their nation, where nearly 23,000 people died or were reported missing in the March 11 catastrophe.

Following each of their games in Germany, the players made a solemn parade around the field with a banner that read, “To our Friends Around the World— Thank You for Your Support.” Before Japan upset Germany in the quarterfinals, Sasaki showed his players images of the destruction to remind them of their higher purpose.
“They touched us deep in our souls,” star Aya Miyama said about the photos at the time.
And they responded in kind. Joyous fans wearing Japan jerseys hugged and sang in Tokyo as they watched the players hold the trophy aloft, confetti swirling around them and flecking their hair with gold. Special newspaper editions were printed by the national papers and handed out to pedestrians in Tokyo on Monday morning, while scenes from the game were replayed constantly on television.
It was the first World Cup title won by an Asian country.
“If any other country was to win this, then I’m really happy and proud for Japan,” Carli Lloyd said. “Deep down inside I really thought it was our destiny to win it. But maybe it was Japan’s.”
As the Japanese players celebrated, the Americans watched in stunned silence. Through every comeback, to every last second, they believed they were meant to be World Cup champions after their rocky year—needing a playoff to qualify, a loss in group play to Sweden, the epic comeback against Brazil.

They simply couldn’t pull off one last thriller.

“The players were patient. They wanted to win this game,” Sasaki said. “I think it’s because of that the Americans scored only two goals.”
The Americans squandered countless chances before Abby Wambach scored in the 104th minute of overtime to give the U.S. a 2-1 lead.
But Homare Sawa, flicked in a corner kick in the 117th to tie it. It was the fifth goal of the tournament for Sawa, who led all scorers in her fifth World Cup.
“We ran and ran,” Sawa said. “We were exhausted, but we kept running.”
The Americans had beaten Brazil on penalty kicks in a quarterfinal, but they didn’t have the same touch Sunday. Give feisty goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori credit for some of that. Chirping and yelling, she showed no fear as she faced the Americans. Never mind that she is just under 5-foot-7, and the goal is 8 feet high and 24 feet across.
Shannon Boxx took the first U.S. shot, and it banged off Kaihori’s right leg as she dove. After Miyama made her penalty, Lloyd stepped up and sent her shot soaring over the crossbar. As the crowd gasped, Lloyd covered her mouth in dismay.
After Kaihori’s impressive two-handed save on a shot by Tobin Heath, Mizuho Sakaguchi converted Japan’s third kick. One more, and Japan would win the title.
Wambach made her penalty kick, but Saki Kumagai buried hers and the rest of the Japanese players raced onto the field.
“This is a team effort,” Kaihori said. “In the penalty shootout I just had to believe in myself and I was very confident.”
It’s been 12 years since the United States has won the World Cup, and these players were certain they were the ones to break the drought. They’d needed to beat Italy in a two-game playoff just to get into the World Cup, then lost two games in a three-month span, an unusual “bad streak” for the defending Olympic champions.
After easy wins in their first two games in Germany, the Americans lost to Sweden—their first loss ever in World Cup group play.
But they rallied with one of the most riveting finishes ever in a World Cup game—men’s or women’s—against Brazil in the quarterfinals. Down a player for almost an hour and on the verge of making their earliest exit from a major tournament, Wambach’s magnificent, leaping header in the 122nd minute tied the game.
The Americans beat Brazil on penalty kicks and, just like that, a nation was hooked.

Hollywood celebrities, pro athletes, even folks who don’t know a bicycle kick from a Schwinn were captivated by the U.S. women and charmed by their grit and can-do attitude that is proudly American.
The final set the record for tweets per second, eclipsing the wedding of Prince William and Kate and the death of Osama bin Laden. The exciting climax drew 7,196 tweets per second, according to Twitter. Paraguay’s penalty shootout win over Brazil in a Copa America quarterfinal later the same day came close to beating it with 7,166.
The previous record of 6,939 was set just after midnight in Japan on New Year’s Day. Other spikes include bin Laden’s death (5,106 per second) and the Super Bowl in February (4,064).
President Barack Obama was a fan, taking to Twitter on Sunday morning to wish the team well, and his staff posted a tweet after the loss.
“Couldn’t be prouder of the women of (hashtag) USWNT after a hard-fought game. Congratulations to Japan, Women’s World Cup Champions.”
The U.S. fell to a team to whom the victory meant so much more than just a title.
“It just seemed like all of Japan suffered so much,” Wambach said. “It seemed like their country needed them to win more than ours.”

America's Five Most Underrated Cities

America's cities are averaging more than 10% growth, but some of its coolest towns just aren't getting the love.
According to the 2010 Census, U.S. metro areas on the whole grew by 10.8% from 2000 to 2010. That was great news for pre-housing-crisis Las Vegas, which grew 41.8% last decade, and for Texas towns including Dallas, Houston and Austin, which saw their populations swell 23%, 26% and 37% respectively. That comes as little relief to Detroit, however, which shrank by 25% during the same span.
The overall growth masks an unfortunate truth for American cities well beyond Detroit, however. Fourteen of the 15 biggest cities in 2000 lost population or slowed their growth by 2010, according to Census data. Philadelphia was the only standout, boosting its ranks 0.6% after posting declines for the past 50 years.

Several of the cities that saw their populations dwindle since 2000 are in much the same position as Philadelphia a decade ago: Struggling with the demise of manufacturing, watching its residents flee to the suburbs, failing to draw younger residents to replace them and trying to show what was good about their city to a broader audience. Part of Philadelphia's growth comes from drawing people who appreciated the city's culture, art, nightlife and affordability compared with Northeast Corridor neighbors such as New York and Washington, D.C., and it's a big part of the reason Philadelphia's median age dropped from 36.5 in 2000 to 34.2 in 2010. Combine that with a GDP that jumped from $309 billion in 2006 to $335 billion last year without any recession slump, and you've got the blueprint for a cool city's comeback.
TheStreet thumbed through the 2010 Census numbers and found five cities that are a lot more fun and vibrant than their declining numbers suggest:

Chicago
Population in 2000: 2,896,016
Population in 2010: 2,695,598
Decline: 6.9%

As Chicago shrinks in population is it losing some appeal?

Chicago was easily the biggest U.S. city to lose numbers within the past decade and the biggest surprise after holding steady since 2006. The city's median household income was up almost 25% in that same period and the city's GDP rose from $498 billion to $508 billion in the past five years (including a nearly $15 billion recession-fueled drop-off in 2008). What's the problem?
The suburbs play a big role, as Chicagoland grew 4% since 2000 while the city itself shrank. Suburban growth is part of the reason the growth of the Hispanic population dwindled from 38.1% from 1990 to 2000 to just 3.3% in the past 10 years and why the black population has dropped 17.2% during the same period.
It also has a lot to do with who's moving in, as lakefront apartments and condos in Bucktown and Ukranian Village aren't being filled by families, but by single young professionals and empty-nesters. That's bringing in more expendable income, but shrinking households and driving up the median age from 31.5 in 2000 to 32.9 today.
It also means that cash has to go somewhere, which is why residents who answered Travel+Leisure's America's Favorite Cities survey still rank it No. 4 in the country for museums and galleries such as the Art Institute of Chicago and the Pilsen art district, No. 4 for theaters such as Steppenwolf and No. 4 for big-name restaurants such as Alinea and Charlie Trotter's. There are still great bars and restaurants within walking distance, five major sports teams to root for and the Taste of Chicago, the Chicago Jazz Festival and Pitchfork Music Festival every summer. There are just fewer people to share them with, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Pittsburgh
Population in 2000: 334,563
Population in 2010: 305,704
Decline: 8.6%

Pittsburgh's producing more grads and the economy is improving.

For a city with a population whose growth started slowing in 1910 and has been outright declining since 1960, an 8.6% drop not only isn't bad -- it's the lowest loss rate the city's seen in 50 years. It's not ideal, but compared with Rust Belt neighbors such as Detroit, Cleveland and Youngstown, Ohio, Pittsburgh is not only surviving but thriving.
The city's GDP grew from $103 billion five years ago to $111.6 billion last year and held steady through much of the recession, thanks largely to its transition from manufacturing dependence to a multifaceted approach to economic stability. Carnegie-Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and its medical center provide most of the job base, and while U.S. Steel and PPG Industries still provide an industrial presence, finance companies such as PNC Financial Services and 1,600 tech companies including Google are taking the city out of the steel age.
There's still a chance it could go wrong, as Pitt's closure of a local hospital last year reminds us, but the city's got one big advantage going for it: youth. The median age in Pittsburgh dropped from 35.5 in 2000 to 33.2 last year, and it's not just because more students are going to Pitt, Duquesne and the seven universities within a walk of downtown. It means more of those kids are home-grown product; the Chicago Federal Reserve noted that Pittsburgh's percentage of adults who graduated high school jumped from 55th in the country to third, while its rank for college graduates matriculated from 69th to 37th.
It's not a bad place to party, either. The South Side, the Strip and Station Square are still packed with bars and the young crowd that fills them, and -- as BestPlaces.net found out last year when it named Pittsburgh one of the best places to move to -- they're paying about 12.2% less for their beers than the rest of the country, thanks to a low cost of living and low average home prices. While it's still better known for Pittsburgh Steelers football, Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, Iron City Beer and french fry-stuffed Primanti Brothers sandwiches, institutions such as the Andy Warhol Museum remind newcomers that the Steel City's not to be underestimated.

New Orleans
Population in 2000: 484,674
Population in 2010: 343,829
Decline: 29%

The Big Easy is shrinking but it hasn't lost its edge.

Yes, Hurricane Katrina did a number on the city, but there's a lot more than record crowds at Mardis Gras this year, the return of the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four next year and the Super Bowl the year after that to remind the world New Orleans' spirit remains.
That 29% drop looks pretty bad, but compared with the 288,113 people who were in New Orleans when the Census came around post-Katrina in 2007, it's an improvement. Consider that the Bureau of Labor Statistics says jobs in New Orleans have risen 3.5% since 2006, the GDP inched up from $66 billion to $68 billion in that span, the Census says the city's Hispanic population grew by 35,000 post-Katrina and, according to the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, tourism has returned as New Orleans hotels filled to 97% capacity during Mardi Gras this year.
The tourists downing hurricanes in the French Quarter aren't the best measure of this city's draw, however. Visitors as well as locals ranked New Orleans No. 1 in the country for local joints and cafes, according to Travel+Leisure and tops in the country for people watching, cocktail hour and the singles/bar scene -- in fact, No. 1 in more categories than any other city in the country, including former No. 1 New York.

Milwaukee
Population in 2000: 596,974
Population in 2010: 594,833
Decline: 0.4%

Despite a smaller population, the typical denizen is younger.

Milwaukee's been losing population since the 1960s, but the release valve's shutting quickly as the losses trickle to less than a percent -- the best population news Milwaukee's received since the city grew 16.3% during the 1950s -- and the city gets younger.
You don't have to set foot in the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion at the Milwaukee Art Museum, place a complicated order at Alterra Coffee, buy rounds of organic and gluten-free beer at Lakefront Brewery or see the city's starring role in Bridesmaids to realize that Milwaukee's changed quite a bit in the past decade. Those may, however, be some of the best indications of the city's youth movement that dropped the median age from 30.6 in 2000 to 30.3 last year, well below the nation's average age of 36.8.
As a result, the town once known for dying breweries and Happy Days reruns is ending up in some fairly enviable places, including the Daily Beast's list of the Best 50 Cities For Love and No. 9 on Forbes' list of Best Cities for Singles. A city rivaled only by Las Vegas for most bars, clubs and restaurants per capita, Milwaukee's GDP has grown enough to keep the taps flowing with a boost from $78.9 billion in 2006 to roughly $83 billion today behind growing companies such as Manpower and a reduced dependency on traditional employers such as MolsonCoors' Miller.
Though the Brewers aren't blowing the retractable roof off Miller Park and the Bucks have teams fearing the deer a little less in recent seasons, a Super Bowl win by a certain team in the suburbs is enough to give local fans something to cheer about. With all the museums, galleries, music venues and watering holes to visit, however, it's tough to fit the local teams into the schedule.

Buffalo, N.Y.
Population in 2000: 292,648
Population in 2010: 261,310
Decline: 10.7%

It's inexpensive to live in Buffalo - where they're are lots of singles.

Buffalo hasn't gained more than a percentage point of population since the 1920s, so it's understandable why people would think everyone just shy of the Bills are leaving -- and even they skip town for Toronto every so often.
Like Pittsburgh, however, Buffalo may have found its sweet spot as a smaller metro area. Buffalo's universities and burgeoning tech, tourism and health care industries help keep its median age below the national average at 34, but other factors are making it a much sweeter place to stay. Folks who decide to make Buffalo their home enjoy a cost of living 14.4% below the national average and home prices also below what their neighbors throughout the rest of the country are paying.
At that discount, Buffalo residents get a thriving art scene with more than 50 art museums and galleries and two festivals -- the Allentown Art Festival and the Elmwood Festival For The Arts -- a system of 20 parks designed by Frederick Law Olmstead (of Central Park fame), a smattering of music venues and a ton of bars and clubs on West Chippewa Street and in Allentown that are open until 4 a.m. It's so deceptively cool that Forbes put it at No. 18 on its list of the Top 40 towns for singles, ahead of Las Vegas and Miami, but even cooler is that its 7.6% unemployment rate is well below the national and allows more of its residents to see what the other cities are missing.

Military members march for San Diego gay pride

A group of U.S. service members marched in a San Diego gay pride parade on Saturday, in a demonstration organizers touted as an unprecedented step for gay and lesbian military personnel under the Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

The military contingent in the parade numbered about 250 people, and the former Navy operations specialist who brought the group together said many are currently in the military, while the rest are veterans. They dressed in civilian clothes.

Marine Corporal Will Rodriguez-Kennedy is on active duty and said he looks forward to next year's parade, when he believes it will be possible to march in "dress blues."

"One of my friends here has been back from Afghanistan for three days, and when he heard about the parade he said he served in uniform and he should be able to march in uniform," said Rodriguez-Kennedy, 24.

It was unclear exactly how many members of the San Diego gay pride parade's military contingent were on active duty. Several participants who spoke to Reuters had recently left the armed services.

Under the military's existing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, service members are barred from saying they are gay or lesbian, and that has until now discouraged some members of the military from participating in gay pride parades.

Organizers said the San Diego contingent, which included straight supporters also in the armed services, represented the largest group of members of the military to ever march in the city's gay pride parade, or any similar U.S. event.

Gay service members have been known to march in other pride parades, but usually in a low-key manner without calling attention to themselves.

COURT DECISION

The march came a day after a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily reinstated the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gays, but blocked the Pentagon from penalizing or discharging anyone for being openly gay. The decision marked a reversal from an earlier order to immediately end the policy.

President Barack Obama signed legislation in December to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," but the bill gave the Pentagon an unlimited time frame to implement the change, leading up to a final "certification" of the repeal.

That certification is expected within weeks.

In a parade that featured drag queens costumed as nuns and men dressed as pirates with G-strings, the military contingent of mostly men in their 20s and 30s marched in markedly more conservative clothing.

They wore green or grey t-shirts emblazoned with their military branch, and each carried in hand a small U.S. flag.

"This is my first time here, out as who I am: a gay man in the Army Reserves," Dale Smith, 50, told Reuters. "It's a great day for me and for all the gay people who've chosen to serve their country."

A Pentagon spokeswoman said U.S. Department of Defense regulations do not prohibit marching in parades while wearing civilian clothes, and that participation "does not constitute a declaration of sexual orientation."

The military contingent in the San Diego parade was organized by Sean Sala, an openly gay 26 year-old man, who left the Navy in June after six years.

"When we were walking, every step of the way it was standing ovations from the crowd," Sala said. "My mom was with me and it made her cry."

San Diego, California's second-largest city, has a large military presence. The nearby Camp Pendleton is the largest Marine Corps base west of the Mississippi River.

Most Affordable Colleges in America

For the first time ever, the government is ranking American colleges and universities by affordability.
Using a new interactive tool launched by the Department of Education, students and parents can search public and private colleges by not only their published tuition prices, but also by their "net price" -- the average costs after tuition, room and board, book fees and financial aid are all taken into consideration.
The tool, called the College Affordability and Transparency Center, was mandated by education reforms passed by Congress in 2008, and is meant to reveal the true costs of going to college.
Each individual college self reports its data and has had several opportunities to revise their numbers if needed.
 
Here are the 10 cheapest schools, ranked by net price for the 2008-2009 academic year -- the most recent data available. We included only colleges in the 50 U.S. states with undergraduate enrollments of 5,000 or more.

Courtesy: South Texas College

South Texas College
Net price: $1,317
Tuition: $2,366*
Undergrad enrollment: 26,338
Freshmen with financial aid: 86%
Location: McAllen, Texas

Courtesy: University of Texas-Pan American

University of Texas-Pan American
Net price: $1,646
Tuition: $4,304*
Undergrad enrollment: 18,337
Freshmen with financial aid: 87%
Location: Edinburg, Texas

Courtesy: Indian River State College

Indian River State College
Net price: $2,138
Tuition: $1,983*
Undergrad enrollment: 17,110
Freshmen with financial aid: 66%
Location: Fort Pierce, Fla.

Courtesy: California State University-LA

California State University-Los Angeles
Net price: $3,263
Tuition: $3,658*
Undergrad enrollment: 20,619
Freshmen with financial aid: 77%
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.

Courtesy: Palm Beach State College

Palm Beach State College
Net price: $3,490
Tuition: $1,820*
Undergrad enrollment: 28,017
Freshmen with financial aid: 56%
Location: Lake Worth, Fla.

Courtesy: Lehman College

CUNY Lehman College
Net price: $4,335
Tuition: $4,340*
Undergrad enrollment: 12,195
Freshmen with financial aid: 90%
Location: Bronx, N.Y.

Five myths about the American flag

Americans love our flag. We display it at concerts and stadiums to celebrate, and at times of national tragedy to show our resolve. We have our schoolchildren pledge allegiance to it; we have consecrated it in our national anthem; we have a holiday to honor it — Tuesday, in fact. Yet the iconography and history of the American flag, especially its early history, are infused with myth and misrepresentation. Here are five of the most prevalent myths.

1. Betsy Ross made the first American flag.
The Betsy Ross story is the most tenacious piece of fiction involving the flag. There simply is no credible historical evidence — letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, bills of sale — that Ross (then known as Elizabeth Claypoole) either made or had a hand in designing the American flag before it made its debut in 1777.
The story cropped up in 1870, almost 100 years after the first flag was supposedly sewn, when William Canby, Ross’s grandson, told the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia that his grandmother made the flag at George Washington’s behest. Canby’s sole evidence: affidavits from family members. The iconic 1893 painting of Ross sitting in her Philadelphia parlor with the sun beaming down on the flag in her lap is a scene invented by Charles H. Weisgerber, the artist and entrepreneur who profited from the Betsy Ross legend.
While Ross did make flags in Philadelphia in the late 1770s, it is all but certain that the story about her creating the American flag is a myth.
As President Woodrow Wilson, who presided over the first official national Flag Day on June 14, 1916, is said to have replied when asked his thoughts on the story: “Would that it were true.”
 
2. The red, white and blue colors symbolize American sacrifice.
No federal law, resolution or executive order exists providing an official reason for the flag’s colors — or their meaning. The closest thing to an explanation are the words of Charles Thomson, the secretary of the Continental Congress, who was instrumental in the design of the Great Seal of the United States. Thomson’s report to Congress on June 20, 1782, the day the seal was approved, contained a description of the colors, the same as those in the flag: “White signifies purity and innocence. Red hardiness and valour and Blue . . . signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice.”
Various official documents and proclamations — including one by President Ronald Reagan marking 1986 as the “Year of the Flag” — have echoed that reasoning.
But the colors do not have, nor have they ever had, any official imprimatur. Historians believe that the use of red, white and blue in the Stars and Stripes has to do with the simple fact that they were the colors of the first flag of the American colonies, the Continental Colors. And there is little doubt where the red, white and blue of the Continental Colors came from: the Union Jack of England.
 
3. The Pledge of Allegiance has long been recited in Congress and other governmental bodies.
The pledge was written by magazine editor Francis Bellamy in 1892 for a nationwide public school celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s landing. In 1898, during the Spanish American War, New York became the first state to mandate that public school students recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of each school day. Many states followed suit, and the pledge remained a staple of the daily routine in many schools until 1988, when it became an issue in the presidential campaign.

Vice President George H.W. Bush criticized his opponent, Democrat Michael Dukakis, for vetoing a bill as governor of Massachusetts that would have required the pledge to be recited in public schools. Dukakis said he did so after being advised that the law was unconstitutional.
At the height of the campaign, on Sept. 13, 1988, the pledge was recited on the floor of the House of Representatives for the first time. Republican members of the House, who were in the minority, offered a resolution to that effect, and it was accepted by Speaker Jim Wright, a Democrat. Wright ruled that from then on, the pledge would be recited at the start of business each day that the House was in session.
 The Senate did not begin daily recital of the pledge until June 24, 1999. Since then, the pledge has become part of the opening rituals of nearly all state and local governmental bodies.


4. It is illegal to burn the American flag.
It was illegal until 1989, when the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 in Texas v. Johnson that burning the flag is a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment. The case involved Gregory Lee Johnson, a member of the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade, who had burned the flag during a protest at the 1984 Republican National Convention. He was convicted of violating Texas’s flag-desecration law, fined $2,000 and sentenced to a year in jail. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the conviction, ruling that Johnson was exercising his First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
The Supreme Court’s decision invalidated a 1968 national flag-desecration law, as well as similar laws in 48 states (all except Wyoming and Alaska). In response, Congress passed the Flag Protection Act, but that law was also challenged and wound up in the Supreme Court. The court in 1990 essentially affirmed its earlier ruling, stating that any law banning flag burning violated free speech.
Those decisions led to a national movement to amend the Constitution to make flag desecration illegal. The leading voice in that effort has been the Citizens Flag Alliance, which was founded in 1994by the American Legion. Proposed amendments have come up regularly in the House and Senate since then but have yet to receive sufficient support.
 
5. It’s okay to wear a Stars and Stripes T-shirt.
The U.S. Flag Code frowns on the use of the flag “for advertising purposes.” It goes on to warn against the sale or display of any “article of merchandise . . . upon which shall have been printed, painted, attached, or otherwise placed a representation of” the flag to “advertise, call attention to, decorate, mark, or distinguish the article or substance on which so placed.”
In other words, when you wear a flag T-shirt or hat while reclining on an American flag beach towel near your American flag camping chair, you are violating the Flag Code. The code, which was drawn up at the first National Flag Conference in Washington in 1923, is part of the law of the land. But it is not enforced, nor is it enforceable. It is merely a set of guidelines, letting Americans know what to do — and what not to do — with our red, white and blue national emblem.
There is no Flag Police. You will not be arrested for wearing a flag-embossed T-shirt on Flag Day — or any other day of the year.