Blog Archives

Drunk driving — should it be so easy to get a license?

4/30/2013

Is anyone surprised by the results of a recent survey that showed nearly a quarter of teenage drivers admitting they have been behind the wheel while high on something — alcohol, marijuana or prescription drugs, to name a few substances?

OK, I’ll admit to being

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West Valley City shooting — how did he get a gun?

4/29/2013

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“Suicide by cop” is a part of our everyday language now. Wikipedia says that is a fairly recent phenomenon, dating to the early 2000s, although it appeared in headlines as far back as the 1980s.

But it’s likely the act itself has existed for a long, long time. Desperate, suicidal people, sometimes aided by mood-altering substances, lack the nerve to kill themselves but want to goad police into killing them, instead.

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FAA delays, gridlock — Dillinger wouldn't fit in this era

4/24/2013

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This is not the second Great Depression. That much should be clear by now to anyone worried about the painfully slow economic recovery.

They had bread lines. We have long lines at airports and hour-long waits on tarmacs.

It’s a different sort of challenge — one fitting for a more privileged age.

The differences were brought home to me last weekend during a quick trip to Indianapolis. With some time to kill before my flight home,

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FAA furloughs: Are they really necessary?

4/24/2013

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The automatic budget cuts in Washington, known as sequestration, have hardly been a secret. Average people, however, tend not to pay attention to such things until they hit them in ways they can’t ignore. That happened this week when the Federal Aviation Administration said the cuts forced it to furlough air traffic controllers, resulting in flight cancellations and long airport lines.

Suddenly, people everywhere are angry and demanding answers.

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Cinnamon challenge: Why do people do stupid things?

4/23/2013

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The question is whether the medical community and mainstream media outlets will be able to reach the teenagers who feel compelled to stuff teaspoons of cinnamon down their throats.
Doctors say it's important. Cinnamon, taken in such quantities, could cause permanent lung damage. This is because people who try this stunt tend to gag immediately, then inhale. The combination of cinnamon’s caustic chemicals and undigestible cellulose matrix makes it particularly dangerous. If it ends up in the lungs, it won't be expelled naturally.
A new report in the journal

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Provo got lucky with Google rescue

4/18/2013

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UTOPIA has reacted to Google’s decision to take over Provo’s public fiber optic network by touting it as a vindication of its own business model. It “validates the vision our member cities have been working toward…” a statement on the consortium’s web site says.

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Iran's nuclear reactors and earthquakes - reason for worry

4/17/2013

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Even in an age saturated with instant information, recent earthquakes in Iran have been buried.

There are sound journalistic reasons for this. North Korea’s bellicose young leader, Kim Jong-Un, has been hogging a lot of oxygen with his threats of nuclear attacks against Western interests. And the horrific bombing at the Boston Marathon gave a laser-like focus to public attention. Real death and threats of imminent death have a way of doing that.

But the earthquakes had the potential to perhaps rival a nuclear attack, thanks to Iran’s rickety nuclear energy reactor.

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Boston Marathon bombing — officials have warned of sporting event dangers

4/15/2013

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The Boston Marathon bombings, horrific and tragic as they were, should not have come as a huge surprise to people who have made preparing for terrorism their business. Ever since 9/11, officials have periodically warned that an attack might come at some large sporting event.

This 2006 FBI alert (click here to read account) warned of a possible suicide bomber attacking some event, although the alert wasn’t specific. It referenced an Internet posting on an extremist message board. An ABC news report said:

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Tax burden falls heavily on the rich

4/12/2013

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The United States has the most progressive income tax system in the industrialized world, and the wealthiest 10 percent here pay a greater share of the tax burden than do the wealthiest 10 percent in other nations that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

That includes nations such as France, Italy and, yes, even Sweden.

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Mitch McConnell, Ashley Judd and the ironies of politics

4/11/2013

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Politics is full of irony.

As I understand it, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is in trouble because someone secretly recorded him and his campaign advisers discussing ways they could attack actress Ashley Judd, should she decide to run against him next year.

The tape makes McConnell and his folks look mean and nasty because, hey, it’s

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<<Previous

Drunk driving — should it be so easy to get a license?

West Valley City shooting — how did he get a gun?

FAA delays, gridlock — Dillinger wouldn't fit in this era

FAA furloughs: Are they really necessary?

Cinnamon challenge: Why do people do stupid things?

Provo got lucky with Google rescue

Iran's nuclear reactors and earthquakes - reason for worry

Boston Marathon bombing — officials have warned of sporting event dangers

Tax burden falls heavily on the rich

Mitch McConnell, Ashley Judd and the ironies of politics

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