When predicting the future, don't forget the obvious trends
|
|
Fifty years ago, Isaac Asimov wrote an op-ed predicting what 2014 would be like. He was accurate on many points, but he missed some trends over the past 50 years that are startling.
Unfortunately, people today tend to overlook these now-obvious trends when predicting the future, too. Click to read more |
Other recent opinions
Click on "Opinions" button to peruse all posts
Utah's jailhouse hotels may soon be getting a little cheaper
For years, Utah's local jails have been able to charge inmates "rent" for every day they are locked up. They typically end their sentences owing a lot of money, which the jail can't really collect, anyway.
Now a judge has ruled this is wrong. Click to read more Trying to make sense of a Utah mother killing six of her children as babies
Megan Huntsman has admitted to killing six of her own babies soon after they were born and disposing of them, plus a seventh who was stillborn, in cardboard boxes in her garage.
As disturbing as this is, it's not an unheard of crime, and that makes it even harder to come to grips with. Click to read more Could it get any worse than the current income tax system in the U.S.?
Just about anyone can advertise themselves as qualified to help you file your income taxes, and just about 60 percent of them will make a mistake.
But then, just about half of those who do it themselves make mistakes, too. Click to read more Best to keep one eye in the sky looking for drones
Rarely does new technology force us to come to a full stop at the intersection of civil rights, efficiency and convenience. Just because drones are a great way to stop crime and deliver pizza doesn’t mean a free society ought to let them zip around without restrictions.
But by the same token, government needs to carefully consider whether it can keep private companies and citizens from using them without interfering with commerce or basic freedoms. Click to read more Ignorance and conspiracy theories may bring back old diseases
In 1963, 4 million Americans contracted measles. While only 400 of them died, many others suffered serious side effects.
That was the year vaccines were approved. Parents were relieved. But now the disease is a problem again. Click to read more Are you ready to boot up at home and choose the next president?
Are Americans finally ready to allow their elections to be held online?
No. But that day is coming, and in Utah the state is busy studying exactly how it will be done. Click here to read more School reforms won't really succeed unless kids get excited about learning
Indiana has decided to drop out of the Common Core standards for public education. It was one of the first states to adopt the Core, so this is no minor decision.
For many years now, public education has adopted a variety of reforms in various states, and the federal government has chimed in with No Child Left Behind and the Race to the Top. These have had incremental success. Kids are doing a little better than they used to on tests. But real progress will take radical changes, a redesigned system that excites children's innate desire to learn, and a good dose of local control - with "local" being defined as your kitchen table. Click here to read more A little cigarette smuggling is worth it to reduce smoking rates
Four years ago, some Utah lawmakers warned that an increase in the state's cigarette tax would lead people to smuggle smokes in from other states.
Advocates of the tax said it would reduce the numbers of smokers in the state. They both were right. Click here to read more Why doesn't Ed Snowden start snooping on the Russians?
Ed Snowden just dropped another attention-grabber. Turns out the NSA can collect every phone call made in a foreign country and rewind them at its leisure.
That's interesting, but so is the fact he's living in a country that not only suppresses its people, it has aggressively occupied part of Ukraine. Click here to read more Spend more on rehabilitation, less on traditional prisons
In many states, politicians are spending less on corrections and more on programs proven to rehabilitate. As a result, both the rate of incarceration and the crime rate is falling.
Click to read more George Will and Chicago's lovable losers on the north side
As a conservative pundit, George Will is hardly someone people think of as gushy or sentimental, and his new book doesn't threaten that image.
Click to read more The straight line from Nixon on Laugh-in to Obama on Between Two Ferns
President Richard Nixon, so far as I can tell, was the first presidential candidate to willingly appear on a silly comedy show as a publicity stunt. Barack Obama has taken things to a new level.
This says more about the culture than about the presidents. Click here to read more A chicken in every pot and an iPad in every backpack
Utah House Speaker Becky Lockhart failed badly in her attempt to get money to give every public school student an iPad or other tablet device. But the problem was her inability to persuade and build consensus, not in the idea of technology in education.
Click here to read more Why take the daylight saving hour away from our Sunday sleep?
Let's be humane; make the time change in March take effect at 4 p.m. on a Monday. Presto! Time to go home.
Just don't let states decide for themselves or the nation could end up a confusing collection of unique time periods. Click here to read more If you're broke, Utah's capital city beckons
I new ranking of cities finds that, if you're broke, you could do worse than to move to Salt Lake City, where the cost of living is high, but wages are even higher.
What happened to all the talk about low wages in Utah? Click here to read more Utah is one state that gets property taxes right, so don't mess with it
I've yet to meet anyone who likes property taxes. People generally hate all taxes, but they especially dislike one that threatens to take away their home.
In Utah, a law called Truth in Taxation has kept property tax rates steady, and low, for nearly 30 years. Now state lawmakers are trying to mess with it to avoid a direct tax increase for schools. Click here to read more The 1980s are calling, and this time Obama ought to pick up
During the debates in 2012, Barack Obama tried to score points by attacking Mitt Romney's suggestion that Russia posed a big threat to the United States. " The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back,” he said.
Now it appears only one of the candidates had a clear picture of how the U.S. should view Russia. But while the election is long over, the time has come for the Obama administration to understand that Vladimir Putin doesn't want to be friends. Click here to read more In Utah, citizen initiatives have always had to struggle
When the Count My Vote initiative ended with a legislative compromise, it may have angered a lot of people, but it proved that citizen initiatives still have some power in Utah. That is remarkable, considering the history of the last 114 years.
Click here to read more Has life in Utah gotten worse since 2008?
We can all hope the guy sitting on this ledge doesn't think life is hopelessly bad. He's probably awed by the natural wonders of Utah.
But at least one national ranking has measured the well-being of folks in the Beehive State as coming down over the last six years — although it's still much better than in most states. Click here to read more E-cigarettes — cancel the commercials while scientists study their safety
Watch the commercials and you might think there is nothing wrong with an e-cigarette. It doesn't contain tobacco or tar, and it doesn't stink.
All it has is nicotine, formaldehyde and who knows what else. And that's the point. No one really knows what is in them and what it might be doing to people. Click here to read more Debunking the notion that large families burden society
You often hear the argument that large families burden education systems and taxpayers at-large because each child is a tax deduction. But there is another important side to that argument.
Click to read more Slavery did not die with the 19th century
Most of us were taught that slavery ended with the Emancipation Proclamation, the end of the Civil War and the passage of the 13th Amendment. That's just when it all was forced underground.
The truth is there are more slaves in the world today than every during Abraham Lincoln's day. An arrest last week in Utah shows how all parts of the United States have to come to grips with the problem, as well. Click here to read more Giggles and scorn get in the way of serious morality discussions
Pornography is a massive problem affecting the rising generation, women's rights and the future of families. But Americans apparently can't discuss this because they keep making jokes.
Click here to read more Patriot or traitor? It's time for Edward Snowden to explain himself
Edward Snowden has told us a lot about how the U.S. government gathers information secretly.
What he hasn't done is give us any context or perspective. Click here to read more Do we still need to honor the freedom of religion?
A lot of Americans seem confused on the subject. They act as if religious devotion ought to be confined to churches or synagogues and kept behind closed doors, not paraded through the public square where it might influence public policy or current events.
But it was the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King who said religion “must be the guide and critic of the state.” We ignore this to our own peril. Click here to read more Legal gambling is a losing bet for the United States
Look at the photo of New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia smashing slot machines in 1934. Back then, politicians wanted the publicity of being on the side of morality and against the vice of seeking something for nothing.
Today, anti-gambling activists are seen as oddballs who haven't a chance at stopping the flood of legal gambling from washing across the nation. Click here to read more Still saving lives with loans
 Muhammad Yunus (Deseret News photo)
Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus came by the office again this week, still preaching the virtues of solving poverty through entrepreneurial enterprise. His words about profit motives, however, may make Westerners uncomfortable.
Click here to read more |
The Mormon Moment
 Brigham Young on Temple Square (J. Evensen photo)
The "Mormon Moment" may have ended with the defeat of GOP candidate Mitt Romney, but interest in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues. Here are links to some recent media stories of interest:
Internet missionaries
The Huffington Post reports on the stunning success of missionaries who serve full-time online.
Link: Hook of Mormon LGBT boycott in Oregon
A Mormon woman who is opening a natural foods store in Oregon faces a boycott because of comments she made on Facebook in defense of traditional marriage.
Link: Gay activists aim to shut down health food store Fascinated by dress rules
Business Insider Australia reports on dress and grooming standards suggested for young members of the Mormon Church and for missionaries.
Link: Here's how Mormons are supposed to dress Let us clear up confusions
The "Book of Mormon" musical hit Durham, N.C., and Mormons there told the Herald Sun what it's like to really be a missionary.
Link: In reality, being a missionary is hard The viral anti-porn video
Time Magazine did what other online publications haven't done. It contacted BYU-Idaho's president to ask questions about the video that has gone viral, producing silly over-reactions by people who ignore pornography's destructive powers.
Link: University president explains WWI anti-porn video An ex-Mormon's lark
In England, a former church member is trying to charge President Thomas S. Monson with fraud, claiming parts of the Mormon faith are demonstrably false. Legal scholars say the claims have no chance.
Link: Mormon Church president charged with fraud Missionary work expands
Lucky Severson reports on the expansion of Missionary work since The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lowered the minimum age for serving.
Link: Mormon Missionary Expansion Watch video below (hit full-screen for best experience). School choirs and church
The ACLU is complaining that it is wrong for Montana public school choirs to sing in a community Christmas celebration to be held at a Mormon church. Even though the schools have said singing in the event is voluntary, the ACLU says it gives the appearance that the schools are endorsing a religion.
Link: ACLU complains HS choir to sing in concert Navajos and Mormons
The New York Times reports on how many Navajo tribal members are joining the LDS Church, seeing it as a link to true Navajo values.
Link: For some, path to Navajo values weaves through the Mormon Church. Women and priesthood
The Pew Research Center says Mormons overwhelmingly oppose women in their church being ordained to the priesthood. Interestingly, women oppose it to a larger degree than men.
Link: Big majority of Mormons oppose women in priesthood Are religion jokes funny?
Bob Fischbach of the Omaha World Herald explores religious humor and "The Book of Mormon" musical.
Link: Are religion jokes funny or offensive? 'Lois Lane' still feels guilt
Amy Adams, who plays Lois Lane in the new Superman Man of Steel movie, was raised in the LDS Church. She no longer attends church but told The Sun she still can't have a good time without feeling guilty.
Link: Mormon values still with me Good, clean, animated fun
The New York Times reports on BYU's computer-animation program, which has won several awards and has caught Hollywood's attention.
Link: When Hollywood wants good clean fun An unusual conversion
If Liza Hemingway of Boston hadn't gone to see "The Book of Mormon" musical, she might not have become curious enough to investigate the church she now has joined.
Link: Made me want to know more Undocumented missionaries
The website Fronteras reports on the church's struggles with sending out missionaries who are undocumented U.S. citizens.
Link: Mormon missionaries without papers Church ads in Britain
The "Book of Mormon" musical has hit Britain, and so have ads the church has bought to capitalize on the attention. The ads are similar to the ones that have followed the show in the United States, and they are getting media attention abroad, as well.
Link: Book of Mormon sparks church activity Now read the book
Lewis Lazare of the Chicago Business Journal writes about the LDS Church's marketing campaign involving ads in the playbill for the Book of Mormon musical.
Link: Mormons see marketing opportunity |
Welcome!
This is the Web site where you'll find everything written and published by Jay Evensen, as well as links to interesting things. Look around. If you have comments, drop me an email at even@desnews.com
Search this site
The Author
Jay Evensen is the Associate Editorial Page Editor of the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has 30 years experience as a reporter, editor and editorial writer in Oklahoma, New York City, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. He also has been an adjunct professor of journalism at Brigham Young and Weber State universities.
Ha! Ha! Ha!
Everyone likes to laugh, or to occasionally groan from a painful pun. On Second Thought is a feature published every Monday in the Deseret News. Go to the Second Thoughts page and read the lighter side of current events. Then submit your own. They might end up in print.
|
