The Duker Review » The Duker Review

Is your presidential candidate insulting your intelligence?

Bob — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 01:24:20 +0000

As I sit here, watching the news coverage of the GOP candidates, I am struck by the rather blithe coverage of what must seem to politicians as a way of life, but to me it seems somewhat surreal. The newscaster and pundits refer to one candidate or another as having trouble “Appealing to the conservative …

Hedging your bets in 2012? (The cowardice of timed political endorsements)

Bob — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:07:02 +0000

Normally, when you hear from someone today about the Republican Presidential candidates, you you hear hedging and equivocation until very close to the end of the primary season. Why? Because nobody wants to be seen on the losing end and lose the public image of being an authority on all things political. Why else would …

Hospital of Horrors

Bob — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:32:13 +0000

I must say that I was until now, blithely unaware that here in the Treasure Valley there was such a huge disparity between our two major hospitals, St. Alphonsus and St. Lukes. I recently had the opportunity to evaluate the hospital care of both. What did I find? Massive differences, and some very troubling problems. …

A question of service: A look at Military service and citizenship

Bob — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:18:50 +0000

A question was raised to me recently that I have heard before often enough and it deserves a little time and attention to explore a few of its twists and turns: Should we force all of our young to serve in the military? Other countries do it, and some think that doing this would cause …

Yogurt: A weighty subject

Bob — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 21:22:16 +0000

I recently visited a new Yogurt shop here in Eagle that sells frozen yogurt self-serve by the ounce. Now let that sink in a moment and consider the pro’s and cons of this arrangement: While you ponder, let me walk you through my own recent visit. The selection of flavors and toppings is quite generous, …

Occupy [your city name here] Powerful movement for change, or pointless whistling in the wind?

Bob — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 10:13:05 +0000

Perhaps at some point when they (the Occupy Movement) begin to make actual sense and can articulate something other than “Rich people, bad. Give me their money!” Someone might take notice for some reason other than to fill a slow news day. So far, all I’ve seen during countless interviews is malcontents that have no …

Unpatriotic youth today? Really? In Idaho?

Bob — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 05:51:15 +0000

My letter to the Mayor of Eagle, Idaho: Dear Mr. Mayor, I am sincerely disturbed to learn that not a single day after being elected as the Mayor of the City of Eagle, you have already expressed publicly your ignorance of the community whom you serve. I am deeply saddened that you publicly regard …

The wolf at your door. Is it your own employer?

Bob — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:10:17 +0000

A look at today’s job market from the inside: You’ve worked for one company for more than ten years and even in hard times it seems to continue growing. The pay is good; extremely good, until one day your email stops working. You call in to troubleshoot and find your account has been turned off and …

An Iphone for an eye…

Bob — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 07:21:47 +0000

Yes, there are indeed far too many smart phones running amok these days, and I really do hate to be jumping up onto the Apple bandwagon (it’s a cart, really), but I have to say that Apple’s iPhone 4 is by far the best product out at the moment. I’ve tried a few of the …

Home Warranty: A good deal, or ripoff?

Bob — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:21:19 +0000

Buy a home and you’re likely to be offered the safety of a home warranty to make you feel better about taking a chance on buying someone’s existing house. The chances are also good though, that the whole thing is worth less than you expect and becomes far more troublesome than simply having the work …