TAKING A SECOND LOOK, ON SEPTEMBER 2

SORRY, YOU'LL NEVER BE ALONE AGAIN....!

The actress Greta Garbo once famously said, "I want to be alone." So do lovers. honeymooners and a few Congressional pages. But our chances of ever really being alone again are slight to none....!

The New York Times recently called this the problem of locational privacy. George Orwell personified it into Big Brother. Some of us would simply suggest it's technology run amuck. All based on the ancient invention principle: If you can do it, then by all means do it. And so today we have computers and cameras ever at the alert watching us 24/7. Most of the time without us ever realizing it.

The traffic light and cash-box cameras are there for all to see, and to be intimidated by. OK, so far, so fair. But think about all the other cameras tracking you wherever you live and go and maybe even love. They begin with that big camera in the sky, the GPS satellites. Through their eternal lens, anyone can see where you live and work right there on their own Internet screen. Intended to help with travel and directions, its unintended consequences have been a boon to equal parts burglars, snoopers and sex offenders.

No reason to shoot the satellites out of the sky, but good reason to take digital stock of your situation. Consider every time you swipe your credit card in a store, on E-Bay, at a druggist or an ATM -- computer central somewhere has just ID-ed when and where and why you were there. Marketing companies use this data for sales campaigns, which may be annoying but harmless enough. However, hackers find such data a treasure trove of illegitimate opportunities.

Passionate 2nd amendment devotees and mountain-retreat survivalists find our lost privacy a grand conspiracy. Probably not. More likely the genetic habit of humans to ride their latest hobby horse fast and furious right into the ground. After all, we live in a bold new generation of "accessibility."

Give the people a new word, and they think they have a new fact. Like it or not, it's now our destiny to co-exist with this word. Whether it's a good fact or not.

APPARENTLY THERE ARE NO MORE GAYS IN UTAH THAN IN IRAN

Here's an encouraging statistic. For the first time in 25 years, more Americans are reading literature. The survey shows that 50% of adults are now reading literature, up almost 4% since 2000. And among 18-24-year-olds, up almost 10%....!

But then juxtapose these numbers with the words booming out of the state of Utah lately. I mean, if more people are engaged in more serious reading, you'd think (well, you'd hope) more people are thinking more seriously about serious matters.

Sorry!

The dashing governor of Utah, Gary Herbert, recently pronounced his Mormon-ish views on Gays and Lesbians. "Discrimination against them shouldn't be illegal...." Why? The good Christian governor says, "Although I would prefer it if everyone were treated with respect, I don't believe sexual orientation should be a protected class in the way that race, gender and religion are."

Now I assume that most Gays and Lesbians would agree....IF, that is, their place in a homophobic society wasn't continually in need of protection. For instance, Governor, in your state it is still legal to fire someone for being gay or trans-gender!

Footnote: In the stoutly Mormon state, the city of Salt Lake has just granted a license to its very first Catholic radio station. A small step for religious rights...? Well, yeah, only the Catholic Church pretty much agrees with the governor. So much for progress.