Darts & Laurels 7/9/14
July 9, 2014If you’re reading this, congratulations: You haven’t been struck by lightning! But then again, the summer is young, and many more sudden thunderstorms are waiting to ruin your shoes/hair/day.
If you’re reading this, congratulations: You haven’t been struck by lightning! But then again, the summer is young, and many more sudden thunderstorms are waiting to ruin your shoes/hair/day.
A bizarre and nearly inexplicable trend is spreading across the country, and it’s destined to deal a blow to progressives and environmentalists throughout the U.S. It’s known as rolling coal, and it might the dumbest protest movement in the history of our great nation.
On June 29, an older man in a red Jeep laid on his horn behind a Jimmy John’s bicycle deliverer on University Avenue.
In 2006, Florida voters showed overwhelming support for Article X, a state constitutional amendment that granted funding for a comprehensive tobacco education and prevention program. Article X would later birth Tobacco Free Florida, a hugely successful anti-tobacco campaign whose ads continue to make us cringe. If you haven’t seen the TV spots or billboards, the campaign uses graphic imagery — a girl drinking a beaker of formaldehyde, another girl peeling the skin from her cheek as payment for a pack of cigarettes and testimonials from cancer-stricken adults who were lifelong smokers — to drive home the message that a small action like smoking can harm yourself and others.
Two months ago, PBS’s “Frontline” chronicled the conception of the National Security Agency and how the institution continues to affect our daily lives in a must-see documentary called “United States of Secrets.” While watching this special, one automatically envisions the Orwellian future illustrated in “1984.”
Words have power. This power is the reason “f**k” needs to be censored. It’s the reason being called a “whore” hurts. It’s why phrases like “That’s so gay,” and “Don’t be such a f****t,” are offensive.
In an effort to save American democracy from the evil tyrant, “King Obama the First,” Speaker of the House John Boehner revealed that he plans to sue the president for overstepping his constitutional authority.
It’s Summer B 2014, and freshmen desperation is in the air: You can find them moving in herds of 50 across Midtown, clogging the Starbucks on campus and wearing head-to-toe orange and blue. This isn’t a dig, though, class of 2018. We were in your (brand-new) shoes at one point, and we’re imparting some wisdom to you: Nobody is too cool for an umbrella. Carry an umbrella. And call your mom once a while.
Christian conservatives call the Supreme Court ruling granting three family-owned businesses the right to refuse to pay for certain forms of contraception for their employees based on their beliefs a victory for religious freedom.
I always look forward to my annual doctor’s appointment. I went to one a couple weeks ago, and it was a welcome reminder that my blood pressure is good and my allergies still suck. It was enjoyable, that is, until my doctor insisted on running a pregnancy test.
America is suffering from what political scientist Greg Weiner calls “narcissistic polity disorder.”
Two weeks after adopting Archer, our eight-week-old boxer puppy, my boyfriend and I came home from the UF Small Animal Hospital without him.
Here it is, y’all: Your Summer-A-is-over-and-all-I-have-is-this-stupid-editorial edition of Darts & Laurels.
Iraq, a country that for mind-boggling reasons the U.S. invaded in 2003, is in a state of disarray. In recent weeks, a terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has taken control over large swaths of the country, including Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city.
On Friday, Gov. Rick Scott passed HB 1047, which stipulates that pregnancies may not at any time be terminated in the state of Florida if doctors determine that the fetus could survive outside the womb.
A house divided cannot stand. If this is true, why should a homeowner, in order to strengthen his or her house’s foundation, rip out its beams, floorings and piers?
When you tell someone you write about sex, you can expect a few standard responses: What do your parents think? You should write about me. Why sex?
When my parents first came to America in the mid-1950s, higher education was an option rather than a necessity. By the time I attended the University of Florida in the early 1990s, times had changed and a college degree was vital to securing a well-paying job.
On Tuesday, the Alligator ran a column titled “‘Pull and pray’: Yay or Nay?” singing the praises of the pull-out birth control method. We realize that the piece didn’t emphasize a few key pieces of information: That, like all birth control, the pull-out method isn’t for everyone, and furthermore, the study quoted in the article stipulated that the pull-out method should be used in conjunction with other forms of birth control.
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama outlined key changes to how millions of Americans repay their student loans. After years of typical political talk about student loan reform, someone finally took action on a growing issue that seriously threatens our economy.