Author: William Blackford

Screaming kids, delays and long lines can make holiday airport travel especially unpleasant. The arguably unnecessary existence of the Transport Security Administration only serves to aggravate this unpleasantness.

Washington state’s gay and lesbian community scored a big win last week with the passing of Referendum 71. The community in Maine, however, was not as lucky. It’s time for everyone to join the 21st century and recognize that everyone deserves equal rights.

The growing tensions in North Korea are moving so rapidly it’s hard to keep up; every day there is a new development. Missile testing, threats, subterranean nuclear detonations and international condemnation are just a few things that have been happening. This is not the first time this has happened, but some of the aspects of these recent events show them in a light that makes them seem like more than what we have seen in the past.

There are many civil servants that help to save the lives of citizens. Police, firemen and emergency medical technicians all come to mind when one thinks about those who help people in danger. In front of all these people, the first in line of defense is the emergency operator.

Most people don’t even know who their mayor is, much less what he or she may look like or their accomplishments. Here in Portland, those who do not know who Mayor Sam Adams is have probably been living under a rock since the beginning of this year.

Back in 2006, over half a million people marched in downtown Los Angeles to protest potential immigration reform. Debates and roundtables on the issue peppered CNN and Fox News broadcasts daily. All this went on as both sides of the aisle fought about the right course of action. And finally … well, nothing really happened.

Most of the time when one speaks about student ethics, they probably mean things like plagiarism and cheating. But student ethics extend beyond classwork—they extend to classroom behavior as well. This behavior requires little more than being considerate of the people around you, yet a number of students seem to have a problem behaving in class.

Anti-smoking legislation has recently been very popular in Oregon. First, smokers are kicked out of bars, then taxes are raised on cigarettes and now legislators want to make it illegal to litter cigarette butts. Cups and cans would remain legally litter-able items, however.

Immediacy has become a staple of our society. Technology allows us to get what we want faster than ever before. No doubt that in many ways this is a great boon to our economy and access to information, but is there a price to pay for getting things as quickly as possible?

It has become somewhat difficult to watch the news or read the paper without seeing at least one story about what has been dubiously dubbed “sexting.” Sexting is the practice of trading lewd text messages and/or taking and sending nude pictures of oneself over the phone. The media has decided to make this issue the current hot button.

The rules of the road exist for a reason: to ensure that all the people using the road are doing so as safely as possible. These rules apply not only to cars but to motorcycles and bikes as well.