Predatory payday lenders have found a way to sneak around federal law to target the United States’ service men and women.---
Top of the Alty World
“On Victory Drive, Soldiers Defeated by Debt”—ProPublica
Early polling for 2016 shows the Benghazi scandal has hurt Hilary Clinton’s favorability with voters.—Slate
The Root asks why don’t Americans care more about the mass shooting at New Orleans’ Mothers Day Parade?—The Root
Two suspected terrorists who were placed under witness protection how now escaped custody, likely out of the country.--Wired
Top of Alty
Utah Attorney General John Swallow is being investigated by state investigators from Salt Lake and Davis Counties.—Utah Political Capitol
Mitt Romney has a new home in Salt Lake County.—ChrisVanocur.com
A survey finds most low-income Salt Lake City residents lack telephone and Internet access, hurting their ability to receive aid.—Salt Lake City Weekly
A student group is rallying for a law in the next legislative session to allow people to report overdoses to the police without fear of being prosecuted for related drug crimes.—Salt Lake City Weekly
Rantosphere
Utah Policy’s Bryan Schott fantasizes about the evil he could do if elected governor.
“Once a year, suspend all firearms laws in one Utah city for a week -- Utahns love their guns. Why not create a week-long festival where gun laws are null and void in one city? Think of the tourism potential alone. Creating a place where gun lovers could go without the heavy hand of government for a week could bring millions of dollars to our already robust economy. Think of Sturgis bike week, but with guns! It would be like Somalia, but with running water and electricity!”—Salt Lake City Weekly
The Long
View Vice considers “sisa,” a designer drug plaguing Greece, a country struggling under severe economic austerity.
“Whatever’s in it, in many ways sisa is the epitome of an austerity drug. The majority of its users are poor, often homeless, city dwellers reeling from the psychological and physical impacts of a country in the grip of total economic collapse. In a country so broke that upper-middle-class families reportedly ate their Christmas dinners in unheated homes so they could afford a turkey, many users’ habits have become unsustainable. Addicts who’ve been priced out of using smack, crack, and meth have turned to sisa, which costs as little as two euros a hit.”—Vice