Zurab Tatanashvili, a university lecturer, said the fighting prompted people to make tough decisions about whether to stay at home or try to find a safer place.

CNN: War puts Georgian civilians on edge

My oldest especially, has changed from a child who hated school and would try to pretend to be poorly to stay home, to one who loves school, can't wait to tell me what he's learned that day, enjoys his homework, and gets upset if he is poorly and he can't go.

BBC: NEWS | Have Your Say | Are children's reading skills good enough?

As a tactical matter, the Romney campaign was smart to jump on this and try to make it look like Democrats are attacking conservative stay-at-home moms.

CNN: Not another Mommy War

The overleveraged ones will cut back spending as they try to stay out of bankruptcy, and even solvent consumers will react to their shrinking home prices by saving more, Rosenberg says.

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