Blog Archives - Jay Evensen

Americans need to do a little more slow, careful thinking

9/27/2017

So, what happened to all the scary clowns?

You remember, don’t you? A year ago we were hiding our children from clowns who were accused of doing evil from New Zealand to Utah. An elementary and a middle school in Ogden locked their doors after someone in clown paint made threats on social media. Orem police tweeted the need to “have a serious talk about clowns” with parents.

The story behind THE VOICE on FrontRunner trains

9/26/2017

If you have been a passenger on any FrontRunner train in recent weeks, you have heard THE VOICE.

Deep, resonant, not unpleasant, and with a distinct accent – a recording of THE VOICE comes on between stops and carefully tells you where exits are located and what to do in the unlikely event of an emergency.

We have become so accustomed to monotone Midwestern English, devoid of any distinguishing,

Think the U.S. should cut its foreign aid budget?

9/20/2017

How much of the U.S. federal budget do you think goes toward foreign aid? One third? A half?

Perhaps more importantly, do you think the money is well spent?

The real answer to the first question is about 1 percent. However, opinion polls tend to show Americans think the percentage is much higher, and in any case they think it’s too much.

A Rasmussen Reports poll in March found that 57 percent of likely voters thinks the nation is too generous.

The answer to the second question may not be what you expect, either.

The story that never seems to penetrate the nation’s collective knowledge is that the world now has disease and preventable childhood deaths on the run in Third World countries. The United Nations and many other organizations are making this

Trump won't end the Bears Ears controversy; here's why

9/20/2017

Seven months ago, after a bitter public hearing on Utah’s Capitol Hill was cut short because Republican lawmakers didn’t like how the boisterous crowd expressed its support of President Obama’s version of a Bears Ears Monument, I made a prediction.

Turn the issue around and you would find the players changing sides and adopting each other’s lines, like some dramatic exercise in an acting class. “The American political landscape has become a

4 Utah cities make 'best places to live' list; so?

9/18/2017

Four Utah cities — Orem, Sandy, Lehi and North Salt Lake — made Money Magazine’s new list of the top 100 places to live in the United States, although none made it into the top 10.

The list is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it is somewhat, as the magazine puts it, contrarian. The editors decided to focus solely on cities with populations between 10,000 and 100,000, which means mainly suburbs. The trend right now is for

Don't be too anxious for another Salt Lake Olympics

9/13/2017

Utah officials seem determined to bring the Winter Olympics back to Salt Lake City, perhaps as early as 2026. Mayor Jackie Biskupski has said, “It makes total sense.”

It’s as if none of them follows the news.

Like many Utahns who were here 15 years ago, I have fond memories of the games, the daily interaction with happy foreigners and the general party atmosphere that enveloped the Wasatch Front for more than two weeks.

But those were the polished surface finishes of the games, the sweet frosting of a cake that, for the host city, can taste bitter, indeed.

Remember the bidding scandal? There is little to suggest that much has changed as far as how the International Olympic Committee goes about its business.

Last week, Brazilian and French law enforcement officials said they had uncovered a vote-buying and

Utah GOP needs to drop its opposition to reforms

9/13/2017

“We’re going to have to do this together and row the boat in the same direction.” — Utah GOP Chairman Rob Anderson, as quoted in the Deseret News.

Nearly 400 years ago, the Swedish Navy set sail on the maiden voyage of the Vasa, its latest and most impressive-looking warship to-date, carrying 64 bronze cannons. It sank 20 minutes later, less than a mile from the dock, after a wind tipped it.

A few years ago, researchers began to better

Utah ranks second for happiness, which can be depressing

9/11/2017

Utah has finished second in a WalletHub survey of the happiest states in America, behind Minnesota.
Kind of depressing, isn’t it?

And if you think finishing second is a reason to be happy, consider that Utah is second in a nation that finished 14th in this year’s World Happiness Report. Yeah, that’s right. Do the math. Let that sink in and see if a happy meal still looks good for lunch.

WalletHub used 28 metrics to rank the states, including income growth, the rate at which people participate in sports and, yes, depression.

By the way, Utah was not among the highest states for depression, even though it ranked poorly (46th) for its suicide rate.

Utah finished first in the nation in volunteerism (no surprise there), its divorce and separation rate

The next fiscal crisis will be difficult to overcome

9/6/2017

Congress and the president seem to have come to terms with raising the debt limit — the umpteenth chapter of a never-ending cliffhanger series. But the deal, if it holds, would be good only until the end of the year, when more difficult fiscal decisions await.

But while we sit back to enjoy the fun on television, maybe more of us ought to be considering our own debt ceilings. That is decidedly less fun, I know, but not doing so could prove disastrous, and in much shorter order than it will take Social Security to run out of money.

Imagine the nurse's arrest without any video

9/5/2017

If the arrest of University of Utah Hospital nurse Alex Wubbels hadn’t been recorded by a video camera, would we know about it?

Would the police chief, the mayor and the chief of the university’s Department of Public Safety have publicly apologized and vowed to make changes? Would the district attorney have launched a criminal investigation? Would the detective involved and his watch commander have been put on leave?

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