On second thought...

Numerologists have had a lot to think about lately. Put some extra aluminum foil on your antenna hat and stay with me here:

First, Herman Cain concocted his 9-9-9 plan for tax reform.

Then, a bunch of protesters took to the streets in cities all across the country, claiming that 99 percent of the nation is powerless.

As if that wasn't eerie enough, a new poll by CBS News/New York Times finds that Congress has an approval rating of 9 percent.

Then last Friday, the national unemployment rate dropped to exactly 9 percent

If the hair on your arms isn't rising yet, consider that this coming Friday will be 11-11-11 on the calendar.

Add it all up and what do you get? Well, I don't know, either, but I'll bet it has 20-20 vision.

The only question I have is whether the 9 percent who approve of Congress are the same 9 percent who are out of work.

I'm pretty sure the staff of Herman Cain never sat down with the candidate and said, "Look, if this sexual harassment thing ever goes public, make sure you look nervous, act defensive and deny everything. That will make it easier later when you have to acknowledge what really happened."

Isn't it funny how fast we forgot about that strange Cain campaign guy who blew cigarette smoke in an ad?

Oh course, if you put that guy next to some mirrors, you could pretty much sum up the Cain strategy for handling the sexual harassment story.

Four young rattlesnakes were discovered at Weber State University last week. No word yet on whether this is a sign the university is getting ready to open a law school.

Recently, a JetBlue flight to Newark, N.J., was diverted because of a snowstorm and forced to sit on a tarmac in Connecticut for seven hours without food, water or working toilets. You don't have to be a right-wing fanatic to see that this sort of thing wouldn't happen if inspectors didn't confiscate guns before people got onboard.

Here's a travel tip. If you're going to Roosevelt, and planning to do the Haka dance, you might want to wear a gas mask and watch for flying batons.

A thorough in-house review by the police department in Roosevelt found that officers did nothing wrong when they used pepper spray and batons on people doing the Haka after a recent high school football game. Why do I think the police force didn't really have a written Haka policy in place?

No word yet on what might happen if you Haka in a Hookah Bar.

Jay Evensen is associate editorial page editor of the Deseret News. Follow him on Twitter @Jayevensen.