For nearly the past fifteen years, I, along with the rest of the immediate family, make the annual trek to grandma and grandpa’s house just outside of Twin Falls, Idaho. Over the years I have noticed three unique, but I suspect related, observations: The trip from Salt Lake to Tremonton [...]
With Thanksgiving weekend behind us all politically interested people can look forward to the Senate opening work on the healthcare bill. According to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:
. . . senators {will} work on weekends if necessary to hammer out compromises on thorny issues like a government-run insurance plan, [...]
As clamor continues to rise around the possibility of raising the food tax, one has to wonder why Republicans are eager to reinstate this regressive tax.
In an oh so unofficial poll issued by Fox news of “political insiders,” some 68 percent of Republicans (presumably legislators among them) say that they [...]
As clamor continues to rise around the possibility of raising the food tax, one has to wonder why Republicans are eager to reinstate this regressive tax.
In a oh so unofficial poll issued by Fox news of “political insiders,” some 68 percent of Republicans (presumably legislators among them) say that they [...]
It’s a busy holiday time so I’ll spend more time quoting and less time expounding. Back in May, Jim DeMint expressed the very opinion I still hold about How Republicans Can Build a Big-Tent Party by holding to one key principle:
There is a question Republicans do need to ask: [...]
One of my favorite parts of blogging is getting comments and discussion. I really like the tone of discussion that we have here, and sometimes I get comments that really make an impression on me. I finally decided to find a way to show those “best of the best” comments [...]
It’s never safe to focus so much on the present that we lose sight of the future. This seems to be what is happening with the push by some to codify a purity test within the GOP. If you have not [...]
As the state is staring down a $1 Billion deficit, some difficult decisions have to be made regarding how we are going to balance our budget while still providing for the needs of the citizens of the state of Utah.
To be sure, cuts are going to have to be made [...]
When the TARP bill was first being discussed I made a statement that I would like to repeat about the TARP money:
[T]his should not be used as a windfall by Congress to fund some pet projects.
We have come to the point [...]
I agree with the sentiment in this Deseret News article that the environmental impacts of proposed Utah Lake bridge should be discussed.
{Sam} Rushforth has been studying at {Utah Lake} for 35 years and said there needs to be an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) conducted while the bridge over the [...]
Gene Healy wrote about what he called Obama’s phony federalism but what he was really talking about was a relatively universal perspective on federalism:
Not yet a year into his administration, Obama’s record on 10th Amendment issues is already clear: He’ll let the [...]
I wonder if our country would be in better shape if we spent more energy in a war on bad arguments rather than a war on terror (or poverty, or drugs, . . . or prosperity). Just a thought.
As an example, we see the often repeated argument by abortion advocates [...]
There are two political cultures that we need to change in order to have a healthy “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” in this country. The first is the culture among the voters as defined by how thy [...]
For the two of you who are Young Dems, read this blog, and don’t subscribe to the YDU email list – take note!
The Young Democrats are taking applications for various board positions for next year. All positions, aside from national committeewoman, last for a year. To apply, click here.
YDU [...]
The majority of the people in the room were stunned to hear Michael Otterson issue an official statement from the LDS Church stating that, officially, the Church had no objection to the Nondiscrimination ordinance being discussed that eventing. To be sure, this statement represented a policy shift within the Church.
It [...]
Kyle Mathews shares eight steps he believes would produce a more functional congress at the League of Ordinary Gentlemen. It is an interesting list including ideas I’ve heard before and a few new ideas. There is also some good discussion in the comments. I thought it would [...]
If a Utah policeman pulls you over and suspects you of DUI, chances are the officer will ask you to perform a “couple of routine tests.” What he really means is, he’d like to gather evidence that you’re driving drunk; he’s going to take notes and use this against you [...]
One year ago today I pointed out that [...]
The kernel of the idea is to hit Congress in the wallet - where it hurts - for the egregious budgets they pass from year to year like kidney stones in the national economy.As Congress finds new and ever more inventive ways to spend money (both real money and imaginary [...]
Hit F5 to receive updates – Please note that quotes are not accurate as I don’t have a playback option, however all quotes are in the spirit of what the speaker wished to say.
7:00 – Council members greet the near packed chamber building. All the big wigs of the GLBT [...]
Jim Matheson voted against the health care bills – that’s old news already. Some Democrats have, with varying degrees of seriousness, questioned whether they should run or nominate someone else for his seat – that’s not really fresh news either. The news that I am following is that along with [...]
When I read Jay Hutchinson’s post about Why Capital Punishment is wrong I could not sit still without sharing the opposite perspective so that some people can recognize that the issue is not one sided or clear cut. I am not one [...]
Every week as Saturday night approaches, people ask me: What should I do if I get pulled over and have had something to drink. The first rule is, don’t panic. Stay calm, stay alert, and be polite. Beyond that, I’ve created a Utah DUI cheat sheet which gives you [...]
It seems as though Representative Jim Matheson has ensured an intra-party fight at next years state Democratic convention with his promised no vote on HR 3962 – the front running heath care reform bill going before the House Saturday.
In the past, I have been understanding of Representative Matheson’s tenuous position [...]
When I wrote about a legislator’s role as an information analyst the comments initially centered on Sen. Bob Bennett because of a quote I had used despite my desire to not single anyone out. Later in the comments on that post I made this statement that deserves to [...]
This was written by Isaac Higham, who was kind enough to let me repost it here.
To the girl who sat two rows behind me in class today,
Don’t think I didn’t hear you. The professor was going along in his lecture discussing socioemotional development in early adulthood when he made [...]
Tuesday’s predictably abysmal voter turnout once again shows that people fundamentally don’t care about our democracy.
I grow tired of the excuses of “I had something else to do” or “I am not informed enough to vote” as they only further this point. We ask our citizens to vote twice a [...]
Today, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, asks the Supreme Court of the United States to reverse an 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling which states “immunity does not extend to the actions of a County Attorney who violates a person’s substantive due process rights by obtaining, manufacturing, coercing and fabricating evidence before [...]
When I learned that Dede Scozzafava dropped out of the NY-23 race, and even more when I learned that when she dropped out she endorsed the Democratic candidate rather than the Conservative candidate, it really got me thinking about what parties [...]
Although I had never heard it before, this quote in Utah Policy really captured the essence of some of what I have been trying to convey in posts and comments on what makes an ideal legislator:
“A popular Government, without popular information, [...]
Don’t forget that there is, in fact, an election tomorrow. Though there are hundreds of municipal elections around the state, I am going to focus on the races in Salt Lake City proper.
If you don’t know where to go to vote, click here. Remember, you now need two forms [...]
Soon after the election last year in the Wall Street Journal, Gerald Seib wrote about the opportunity presented by the financial crisis for Barack Obama. Perhaps he was simply reacting to Rahm Emanuel’s statement that, “you never want a serious crisis to [...]
