Keith B. Darrell's Blog, page 36

A Matter of Trust

Trust lies at the basis of all human relationships. Friend, lover, business partner … All are bonded to you by trust. You willingly enter into such relationships based on the belief that the other party will not misuse, or use against you, anything you share with them. This is the essence of trust. It is a belief in the good faith of another. It is so strong a belief, that in America, we have even inscribed the words “In God we trust” on that which we value most, our money.

Whom, other than Go...

The Fifth Bullet

When Utah resumes executing condemned prisoners by firing squad, four of the five rifles will each be loaded with a single live bullet. But not the fifth rifle. One rifle will hold a special bullet— an “ineffective” round which, unlike a blank, has the same recoil as a live round. Its purpose is to allow each shooter to be able to believe he might not have fired the fatal shot.

Why?

Unlike jury duty, no one is forced to serve on a firing squad. One must volunteer. The shooters must want to kill...

Ready. Aim. Fire.

Utah wants to bring back its firing squad as a means of executing condemned prisoners, so I felt it appropriate that I also resurrect something from that era. Below is an editorial I wrote in January 1977, in response to Utah’s execution of murderer Gary Gilmore. The execution was newsworthy because it was the first in nearly 10 years following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the death penalty did not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against “Cruel and unusual punishment”. Utah law...

Where Angels Tread

The brightest light shines forth through the greatest darkness when angels enter the abyss, braving the gates of Hell, and risking the inhuman barbarity of its minions, to aid strangers in dire need.
Mankind’s inhumanity to man is a staple theme of literature, but one need look no further than history to find countless examples of obscene barbarity perpetrated by perverted, power-drunk thugs against innocent men, women, and children. From before the Spanish Inquisition to long after the Nazis,...

None of Your Damn Business

Some businesses are getting a bit too nosey lately. Take Toys “R” Us and Intuit (maker of TurboTax and Quicken software), for example. The way these two businesses have invaded my privacy this week is downright creepy.
I returned a purchase of a $4 item to Toys “R” Us and the woman at the Return Desk insisted on seeing my identification. She wasn't asking for the credit card I had used to charge the purchase; no, she wanted to see my driver’s license. “Why do you need to see my driver’s licens...

The Sound of Terror

Somehow, I managed to grow up without ever having seen The Sound of Music. However, when I was in my early 20s, I visited Salzburg, Austria, the setting for the film about the von Trapp family in the Nazi era. All I knew about the film was that it was a musical starring Julie Andrews, whom I had liked in her earlier musical, Mary Poppins. I strolled through the Residenzplatz, a lovely Salzburg square where I discovered two things. The first was Mozartkugeln, the chocolate marzipan delicacy na...

Love Potion No. 9

Love spells on eBay? Going once, going twice, sold. Apparently there is nothing that can’t be purchased on the Internet. Although the auction site banned the sale of spells and hexes in September 2012 –  at which time, CNN reported eBay’s Spells and Potions category had “more than 6,000 active listings and happy feedback from quite a few satisfied buyers”  – a quick check of auction listings reveals there are still plenty of spells to bid on.

There’s the “Full E-mail Love Spell” for...

The Fastest Gun in the West

There’s an episode of The Rifleman TV western in which a newspaper reporter files a story for the newspapers back East about a man he calls “the fastest gun in the West.” As a result of the publicity from the news article, a young gunslinger comes to town to challenge “the fastest gun” to a gunfight so he can claim the title and prestige that accompanies it. The young gunslinger outdraws and kills his older opponent. Our protagonist, played by Chuck Connors, tells his young son that he holds...

New for 2015: Issues In Internet Law, 9th Edition

Want to find out more about how the NSA is spying on American citizens? There's an entire brand new chapter devoted to that topic in the 9th edition of Issues In Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law.Here's what else is in this edition:
The 9th edition of  Issues In Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law  has been updated for 2015 with the latest cases and trends in Internet Law. The new edition not only has an expanded glossary and expanded topic, statute, and case in...

The Definition of News

There’s a commercial currently running on TV that irks me every time I see it. It is so insulting and annoying that my 60-inch screen now bears at least a dozen indentations from objects thrown at it whenever this commercial airs. The spot is for a local station’s news show and quite effectively advertises the fact that they have no clue what news is.
I find this particularly insulting because I worked very hard earning a degree in journalism, only to see journalism move from the print medium...