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Din breaks loose when the press fails

Don Rogers

The sound of one hand clapping has nothing on the frustration of putting out a paper that doesn1t print remotely on time.Yes, we1re trying to be philosophical about two days of printing press hiccups. And we know those of you who have called to raise, well, you know, have been less so in your remarks.The 3sky is always sunny optimists among us take heart that so many people are so eager to get ahold of each day1s edition.The grumps quickly note that those calls are coming because no one can get their X$%&! paper!As happens with that occasionally unhappy intersection of humans and machines, our press had major breakdowns each of the past two days, leading to late delivery. The mechanics are hard at work fixing the press as quickly as they can to avoid repeats of Wednesday and Thursday1s delays.In the offices, where we worked long and hard to get a paper, folks are really frustrated. Not only are we fielding phone calls from unhappy customers, but our work went for naught, or so it seemed.We apologize for the inconvenience, and we realize painfully that not getting your paper when you want it really is inconvenient.Black box for cars?Conversation among the seven U.S. senators in town for Democratic candidate Tom Strickland1s fund-raiser tonight no doubt will touch on the campaign finance reform Congress approved after a decade of talk.Cynics in this corner, we just see that 3soft money finding other channels to the candidates, no real reform. We1re not really going to kid ourselves about this, are we?No, we1re more fascinated by some back page stuff, this matter of black boxes for cars.Strange how even with our worries about shoe bombers and such afoot, airliners are by far the safest means of travel. So why do planes bear these boxes, while cars<a much more dangerous way to get around<do not?The Wall Street Journal tells us that General Motors and Ford vehicles have the ability to capture certain precrash data, and it would be easy enough for all new autos to be outfitted.Think of all the safety information that could be gleaned if investigators could rely on data rather than skid marks. Dead people tell no tales, and the clues to their demise can be confusing. Wouldn1t a computer tracing of speed, when the brake was tapped, how the steering wheel turned and when, those sorts of things in the seconds before impact<wouldn1t that help?Then again, here1s a reform that would actually be effective. And what would attorneys and insurance companies do then?


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