Creighton wrote: “In order for teaching to become a profession of prestige and respect in our society, we teachers need to be held accountable for the effectiveness of our teaching, in return for which we need to be rewarded with a respectable living wage commensurate with our performance.”

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton appeared via tape on David Letterman’s “Late Show,” in which the writers are back a work.

Debra Saunders of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: “It’s not just a matter of winning, but a question of what kind of tone will emanate from Washington in 2009. . . . Without a serious majority, the next president — whoever he or she may be — will walk into the White House hobbled. If it’s a 51-49 vote, almost as many people who elected the next president will have a stake in undermining the new commander in chief’s success.”

Their efforts have received mixed reviews from the philanthropic community, which questions the accuracy of gauging charities just by numbers. Nonetheless, not only does it give investors a clear view of where their money is going, the service adds an element of accountability in a hard-to-regulate climate of giving.

A study by Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research predicted that unmarried “women may play the same role for Democrats in 2008 that white evangelicals played for George Bush and the Republicans in 2004.”

The key to these women’s hearts would be promises to lighten their financial load in a real way. Single women often bear the same collection of bills and financial concerns as married couples, yet with just one income and fewer options.

Sanchez writes, “As anyone can attest who has ever watched a bargain-seeking woman plow through a sale rack, women will go to great lengths if they know the effort will bring value to their lives. Candidates who convince women their platforms are worth the effort just might earn a valuable token of an unmarried woman’s love: her vote.”

The bank found that some 74 million migrants move from countries of extreme poverty to countries just slightly better off economically in hopes of providing for their families, sending back a collective $18 billion to $55 billion a year.

“South-to-south migration is not only huge, it reaches a different class of people,” said Patricia Weiss Fagen, a Georgetown University researcher. “These are very, very poor people sending money to even poorer people, and they often reach very rural areas where most remittances don’t go.”

On the other hand, there can be even nonreligious benefits to a moment of silence, such as helping students refocus. “My one friend was really angry because he liked having that moment to think about his life. He’s going through a tough time. His parents are getting divorced. His brother’s not very nice to him,” said the student bringing suit. “It’s hard, because I understand he has rights. But so do I.”