Utah's 4th up next week

It seems like the bill that would give Utah a 4th seat in exchange for a seat for DC will be up and pass the House next week.

The legislation - co-sponsored by Rep. Jim Matheson, Utah's only Democrat in Congress - would make the new Utah seat one that is elected statewide, a change from a previous version of the bill that had the seat carved into a specific district.
Congressional aides said last month that tweak was needed to pacify concerns that Utah's current members would have to run for re-election again this year if the bill passes and Matheson's district would change dramatically.
The House Judiciary Committee and the Oversight and Government Management Committee are scheduled to vote on the bill this week.

When you have Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, and local member of the majority party all in support of something in the House, usually it goes through.

The only question is if someone will vote no out of constitutional concerns, or if the law will be challenged in court. I urge everyone in the US to call their representatives and urge them to vote for the bill. Especially urge Judiciary Committee members, like Rep. Cannon and Chairman Conyers, to get the bill out of committee. This bill is good for Utah and the District.

another wasted $3.5 million

Yesterday, I was planning on writting about the ray of hope that Gov. Huntsman's stalling on the high school clubs bill represented, and it is a good thing I hesitated. Today, he signed the monstrosity, creating needless state intrusion and red-tape, all in the name of going after gay-straight clubs. And these clubs will continue to exist fellas.

In other depressing wastes of state resources, it seems we will blow $3.5 million on another primary that no one will vote in and the results won't matter. By placing Utah in the "Super Duper Tuesday" date 11 months from now, we pretty much ensure that our state will be ignored. Why come to Utah when Texas, California, Illinios, and Florida are on the same day? Especially for Republicans, who know that Romney will take the state unless he is so out of the running that it will go to the frontrunner.

In 2004, Leavitt tried a "Western primary" only to see that our state was ignored and Kerry won all of them easily. Even though I was a Clark man, by the time Utah's primary occured, I voted for Edwards because Clark had dropped out by then.

The definion of stupidity, Albert Einstein said, is doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result.

thursday round-up

1. The bill for a fourth seat for Utah will come up soon. "The committee schedule is still being worked out, although the markups may take pace March 14 and 15." Rep. Cannon is on the committee. Lord help us all. "[DC Delegate Eleanor] Norton said Wednesday that she anticipated the House would pass the bill by the end of the month, before the next recess that starts April 2."


2. Here is one great thing about all these candidates running for mayor:
   

   On Tuesday, the City Council voted to direct attorneys to draft an ordinance that could limit such check-cashing businesses from concentrating in certain locations and restrict them based on the city's population.
   [...]
   Councilwoman Nancy Saxton, who is running for mayor, sought the ordinance. She acknowledged it wouldn't stop predatory lending. Nor would it outlaw check-cashing businesses.

   It's not perfect or complete, but its a start.


3. This week's sign that the appocolype is upon us (apologies to Sports Illustrated):
   


4. I had a jury trial yesterday, sorry for not posting. If you still want to go to the blogger meet and great for a SLC mayoral candidate, there is still time, add a comment or email me (both get emailed to me).

Calling all local bloggers...

If you live in Salt Lake City and would like me meet a mayoral candidate one on one, please contact me via this blogger comment thread. A friend of mine is putting together a blogger meet and greet for said candidate. I have yet to make any commitments, but am impressed this candidate is doing blogger outreach.

waiting for wes, part III

Wes Clark, Jr. scolds those of us who fear a Clark candidacy is DOA.

I'm sitting with General Clark right now

He never said he's not going to run and he's not going to commit to a timeline on when he has to announce. The early campaign season is good for two groups of people - the fundraisers and the consultants. The average citizen won't make up their mind until much later in the game.

Good old bomb throwing Wes Jr. is back.

As right as he is about consultants and fundraisers, the winning nominee will have to have even more money than last time. Lots more. This is not only because of inflation and the quality of the Democratic field, but also because the early February Super Tuesday will even more nationalized. California and other big, expensive media states will all be on the same date. And if Iowa and New Hampshire are won by the same person, it will be a steamroller for that winner. If those two states are split, with close second places of different people, then maybe the Super Tuesday states will also be divvyed up.

However, that is an extremely unlikely scenario...even then, there will probably only be 2-3 folks coming out of that situation. One of them will be probably be Obama and another probably will be Clinton. Even if voters aren't focused in this early, the political talent is. Some of them are actually worth snapping up, especially in an organizational state like Iowa.

Needless to say, I am worried for my man General Clark.

waiting for Wes, part II

Wherein I learn how long I have to wait. Susan Putney, one of the three co-founders of DraftClark04.com, asked the General the question on every Clark fan's mind:

I went to see Wes on Friday here in NH where he hosted a fundraiser for Carol Shea-Porter in Portsmouth.[...] After working the rooms thoroughly, Wes was introduced and proceeded to talk about the state of the world, Iran, nuclear threats, global warming, alternative energy, the pros and cons of withdrawing troops quickly from Iraq, etc. He was brillant. He was the old Wes that I had heard on CNN and instantly I knew why I had worked my butt off encouraging him to run and then on his campaign. And those in the room, many who supported Kerry or Edwards in 04, were dazzled by his knowledge and the ease with which he discussed world issues. He got everybody's attention there.

Just before he concluded his talk, he said, "I'm not a candidate for President, but I haven't said I won't run". He asked for questions and I couldn't help but be the first to ask, "Wes, is there any chance during the next 3 months you will declare your candidacy?" Everybody chuckled knowing I had supported Wes in 2004. He said no. He told the room that when you're a candidate, they discount your views on everything. He was very happy to discuss policy with high level people because they took him seriously. He knew that would change the minute he declared. ...

Susan is a Clark fan, but she is also an opportunist. As a founding member of Mass4Clark and of the Draft Wesley Clark movement in general, I know. Susan and a few others got upset that the DraftWesleyClark.com people were getting lots of media attention and decided to start their own website and effort. Some like myself, urged the group not to fracture like this. I said there would be plenty of campaign jobs and jobs in the Clark White House for all of us.

In Boston, we organized a service project day in New Hampshire and tried to get press coverage of it. Yet Susan took all the credit for the effort, despite delivering only herself to volunteer day. We got to see the office she bought for Clark in the sea coast region. It was as nice as any of the other campaign offices, which were right next door (literally). She also took credit for our first 1,000 petitions for him to enter the race, even though she was a mere courier.

But she is loyal and a trustworthy source on this. However, I am with Chris Bowers on this one. I doubt that Clark can be successful if he waits 3 more months to enter. Vilsack's staff will be snapped up. Unless a real contender folds up shop or has a big scandal , I don't see the advantage in waiting. To me, this is like John Kerry's wait-for-it-I-am-not-running announcement. Clark is going to enter the Veepstakes and the high cabinet level-stakes it seems to me. I wish it weren't so, but logic tells me that is what is happening.

So assuming this is true, I am an Obama man. Even my wife, a Wellesley alum and big Hillary fan, is leaning Obama's direction and is annoyed with Hillary's caution. I will still wait for Wes, but I won't hold my breath.

a tale of two speeches

yesterday I was flipping the channels and came across the tail end of Obama's keynote speech at Selma, AL. While he stepped on some of his applause lines, it was a good speech. He talked about civil rights leaders as the "Moses generation" who got us to edge of the promised land but couldn't go there themselves. And he hinted that he was part of the "Joshua generation" of unworthies who who lead the people the last 10% home. This was part of his theme, that he represents a new generation of leadership, one that is not reliving the battles of the 1960s but building upon it. "Don't tell me I don't have a claim on Selma, Ala. Don't tell me I'm not coming home to Selma, Ala. I'm here because somebody marched. I'm here because you all sacrificed for me. I stand on the shoulders of giants," he said.

Obama also talked about the problems facing Black America today. "We have too many children in poverty in this country, and everybody should be ashamed, but don't tell me it doesn't have a little to do with the fact that we got too many daddies not acting like daddies. Don't think that fatherhood ends at conception. I know something about that because my father wasn't around when I was young, and I struggled." He went on to note that if you read his book, you saw he got in trouble because he didn't have a real father figure and it took him a while to get his life on track. Barack spoke about how his greatest fear is that he is becoming one of those fathers by spending so much time campaigning and being away from his daughters.

And it made me think that if someone as brilliant and talented as Obama had brushes with the law and was on a path of self-destruction, what about all those other young Black men who don't have his gifts? It was a profound moment that can get white people of privilege to realize that the project began by Abraham Lincoln and restarted by Martin Luther King, Jr. is still unfinished.

Immediately after his speech, C-SPAN switched to Hillary Clinton's. I was struck by how harsh her tone was, not the words but her manner of speaking. When she turns up the volume to arouse the crowd, she seems to be yelling at them. Obama seems like he is evoking righteous anger, like a preacher. She seems like an angry parent at a PTA meeting that everyone wishes would be quiet. Hillary's trouble is that she married the most gifted politician of our times and is running against another charismatic brilliant orator.

Against lessors, her speeches wouldn't seem so terrible. I remember in 2002, I heard her speak at the DLC National Conversation (their annual convention). She was far and away the best speaker there, compared to John Edwards, John Kerry, Evan Bayh, Joe Lieberman, Greg Meeks, Blanche Lincoln, Tom Daschle, Dick Gephardt, Jim McGreevey, and Mark Warner. She spoke off the cuff and was both funny and good.

These days, Hillary is looking desperate and afraid. She Peppermint Patty-ed herself to a church across the street from Obama's, and even brought down Bill Clinton to march on the bridge with her. I wasn't the only one who thought Obama is having the better of the Clinton's"

In the crowd, one dad who came from Atlanta was sure he was seeing history being made.

"Look at Obama, he's going to be the first black President," said Kenneth Byrd, who proudly took turns hoisting his son, Myles Byrd, 10, and daughter, Erin, up for a look.

McCain's true colors

(Photo Credit: Northrop Grumman)
In 2000, I was so nonplussed about Al Gore and Bill Bradley that I was seriously considering voting for John McCain in 2000. After George W. Bush defeated McCain, it became obvious to me that Gore was my choice.

During the summer of 2001, I was an intern for Congressman Jim Matheson. As part of being an intern on Capital Hill, they have speakers you can attend if you would like. One of these speakers was John McCain [the best one was Jim Trafficant {D-jail}]. That is when my myth of McCain the maverick was shattered. He managed to pander to right-wing Israelis and pretend to care about us "young people" in his standing-room only talk. I have to say, he seemed like the phonyist politician I had ever met during that speech. Then I began to look at how he stood on the issues and almost all of them were opportunistic bait and switches. He would fight like tooth and nail to cut one silly aircraft carrier, but then he would allow 10 similar boondoggles in without so much as batting an eyelash. He would vote against the tax cut when he knew it would pass. He would pass his torture bill and make create noises when he knew Bush would ignore it. He would hug Joe Lieberman and screech about Cap and Trading Carbon emission, comforted that it would never become law.

And now this "Westerner" has placed the last conceivable straw on the camel's back. He claims he is a Goldwater conservative and yet McCain thinks storing nuclear waste out in Nevada is a great idea.

"Oh, you have to travel through states ... I am for Yucca Mountain. I'm for storage facilities. It's a lot better than sitting outside power plants all over America," said McCain, adding, "I don't mean to be sarcastic. I apologize. But I believe we can transport waste safely."


(Photo Credit: Laura Seitz, Deseret Morning News)
After Jon Huntsman endorsed him and held a fancy $150,000 fundraiser for the guy in Deer Valley, this is the thanks Utahns get? That was a big FU to Nevada and Utah, yet he still expects them to vote for him. I know in the general, Utah is a lost cause, but Nevada has an outside chance. I hope some 527 "Nevadans for our future" or some such reminds voters that McCain wants to store high-level nuclear waste for millions of years a 100 miles away from Las Vegas.

the undemocratic branch

no, its not the virtual-life tenured state judiciary, but the Utah state legislature that is undemocratic. Because out-of-state voucher enthusiasts dumped a cool half million on our legislature, we got one of the most expansive voucher bills in the country. But thank goodness someone is going to ask the people what they want:

A coalition of public education advocates on Thursday filed a referendum petition in an attempt to recall Utah's new voucher law, which creates the nation's most comprehensive school voucher program by making vouchers available to all families who do not currently have children in private schools.
The group has 40 days to scrape together nearly 92,000 signatures from all corners of the state to get the issue before voters.
[...]
Education coalition members have been discussing how to challenge the voucher law ever since it squeaked through the Utah House by one vote last month. The group is still mulling a legal challenge but focused first on the voter referendum because of its strict deadlines.
[...]
The Legislature has purposefully made it difficult to recall a law. Getting a referendum on the ballot takes the signatures of 10 percent of all the votes cast for governor in the last general election, or about 92,000.
And that 10 percent threshold must be reached in 15 of the state's 29 counties.
If the petitioners get enough signatures, Huntsman will set the referendum before voters.
And the state could not issue a voucher until voters decide to keep or reject the law.
Legislators who backed the voucher proposal assume the group will get the issue on a ballot, but say they are not worried about the outcome and promised no retribution in future legislative sessions.

Why worry when you have created ultra-safe districts for yourself and you receive dozens of unreported free meals with lobbyists and lots of out of state money in contributions.

Meanwhile, someone has to sue to overturn the EnergySolution bill:

But Charles Judd says the law is unconstitutional because it helps create and protect a monopoly at the expense of other companies in the same industry.
“It's obvious that this is an unfair piece of legislation,” said Judd, who served as president for the radioactive waste company for several years.
“The truth is, they broke the law, and now they want to change the law to benefit one company.”
[...]
[Huntsman's Department of Environmental Quality]has sided with EnergySolutions over the past year, while Judd and other critics challenged the state on its refusal to apply a certain provision of the law to the mile-square disposal site. The provision says if a waste facility wants to grow by 50 percent or more, it must get approval from local elected officials, the Legislature and the governor, as well as regulators.

In other legislative follies, we have the case of the disingenuous "saved by the bell" tactic.

It was close — but a parliamentary snag and time-chewing debate doomed it.
For the third year running, a bill that would have created a felony provision for serious cases of animal torture failed to make it through the Legislature.
But this time it came down to the wire. It wasn't a lack of votes but the ticks of a clock that killed SB190.
After sitting in the House Rules Committee for days, SB190, sponsored by Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake, made it to House floor with just ten minutes left in the session.

This article fails to note that the bill came up with plenty of time but the Republican leadership moved it back towards the end of the calendar to make sure they "just missed" the time needed to pass it. But don't feel bad animal rights people, rabid pro-lifers got similarly hosed:

Early in the legislative session, HB235 was substituted with an outright ban on abortion, with exceptions for rape, incest or extreme medical necessity for the mother. That bill would have set the stage for Utah to lead the way in the challenge against Roe v. Wade, a legal battle estimated to cost upwards of $3 million.
Citing concerns about the cost and timing of the court fight, the House restored the "trigger bill" approach. That's the version the Senate approved late Wednesday, with amendments that stripped the bill of about $1 million in unrelated funding, provided an exception for fatal fetal deformity and made another minor change.
The amendments effectively killed HB235, because they left little time for it to make it back to the House. Still, the Senate would have voted on the bill much earlier in the session, had it been listed as a high-priority item — which it was not.

See? Even in Utah's ultra conservative legislature, this unconstitutional bill is not important to them.

Our long statehood neighmare is over...for now

In other words, the legislature is now out of session and can do no more damage until next year. But they shouldn't take all the blame. Huntsman's shameful pocket non-veto of the Energy Solutions bill was a shining star of politics over people:

Huntsman's inaction means the measure will become law, giving EnergySolutions an easier time at winning approval to nearly double the capacity of its landfill about 72 miles west of Salt Lake City.
[...]
The company is a generous political donor in Utah and says it doesn't apologize for that. It doled out $189,020 in political donations last year in Utah, including money to 75 of 104 legislators, according to filings at the lieutenant governor's office.

And his wife wasted taxpayer money because lobbyists flattered her:

The day the Legislature approved a lucrative $35 million funding plan for the Real Salt Lake soccer stadium, the Major League team sent Mary Kaye Huntsman 35 roses.
[...]
"The truth be told, we would not be standing here without Mary Kaye's insistence that RSL stay here," team owner Dave Checketts said the day the House passed the bill 48-24. In the end, the bill garnered bipartisan support from the majority of the House and the Senate.

One rose for every million dollars they got from state coffers. Those must have been some roses.

partisanship

For some reason, I was a moderate Democrat when I lived amongst and worked for liberal Democrats in Massachusetts. I was also fairly moderate when worked for the DLC, although I strongly disagreed with their advocacy for the Iraq war. But living in Utah again has made me much more partisan, although I was pretty partisan from birth.

I think it is because the Republicans in power in this state--with a few exceptions--are really radically reactionary. All of the Congressional Republicans from Utah carry water for the radical presidency of Bush-Cheney, who has claimed an unprecidented [and unconstitutional] amount of executive privilege and power. Some--like Rep. Bishop and Sens. Hatch and Bennett--have placed this duty above those of their constituents. I dislike bootlickers of all stripes, and Clinton appologists are just as annoying to me [and dishonest] as folks like Hatch and Rep. Patrick McHenry.

For its part, the state legislature seeks to outdo their congressional counterparts in unconstitutionality, partisanship, and ideology over constituents. To me, Sen. Buttars takes the cake. Despite his greatest desires, he probably has homosexual constituents. Yet his whole legislative agenda is to do everything possible to make life worse for them from the moment they come out. Well that's not fair, the rest of his agenda is based on legislating his other religious views, such as the world was literally created in 6 days by God.

If there were more Senators like Scott McCoy, who worked hard to do what was right for their constituents, sought to save taxpayers money by arguing against unconstitutional bills, etc. I wouldn't care about their particular beliefs much.

I have many conservative friends and I respect conservatives at all levels of government who try to do the right thing. But when conservatives use underhanded tactics and dishonest arguments to pass bad laws, I react to condemn their party who fails to condemn them.

I am for solutions to big problems and don't really have a set agenda on how to get there. For example, if someone can convince me that Vouchers really do work, I would love to see it. But so far, for every study that says they are good, there are more studies that say the opposite. And the whole church-state thing makes me uneasy, despite what SCOTUS said. I want to reduce the number of abortions, lower health care costs, raise the standard of living world wide, level the playing field, keep America safe, end/reduce wars, stop global warming, etc. If a free-market or social-conservative approach to any of these problems is shown to work empirically better than social-democratic approach, I will support it. However, all I have seen thus far is that abstinence-only doesn't work, forcing marriage doesn't work, privatizing health care doesn't work, voluntary business compliance doesn't work, discrimination lives on without legislation/litigation, preemptive voluntary wars are disastrous, etc.

But as the masthead says: "truth over balance, progress over ideology."

The Majority means something

Being in the Majority Jim Matheson can finally do things that that are long overdue--like treating National Guardsmen like the rest of the regular military as far as GI bill benefits go. If we are going to ship them over to Iraq with no real training or equipment, the least we can do is give them benefits in terms of education benefits. Another Democrat is offering a bill that would give them Veteran's health care (which looks pretty bad at Walter Reed these days).

Matheson introduced the bill in 2004, after hearing from Utah members of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion Marine Corps Reservists returning from the war. They told him that even though they served 24 months on active duty, they did not qualify for the education assistance they thought they would get because it was not consecutive.

Being in the Majority also allows you to bring great harm and hassle to others:

The tinkering ended Monday with a final compromise among Republicans.
Over the objections of Democrats, the House sent the bill, ...to the desk of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.
[...]
They faced heavy opposition, even from some Republicans, because of the long list of requirements students would have to meet to start a club.
But in a conference committee, Tilton and Buttars agreed to remove many of the proposed regulations. No longer would students have to submit a club application by Oct. 15 and that application would not have to include a constitution or bylaws. Students would have to state the purpose of the club and its budget, if any.
Tilton and Buttars are pushing the bill for different reasons.
Tilton champions the parental consent portion of the legislation...
Buttars, on the other hand, hopes to give administrators the ability to block clubs such as the Gay Straight Alliance without fearing a massive legal bill.
[...]
Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, ...fully expects a school to try to block a club and he expects that group to then sue the school.
He said "the hook" is a requirement that clubs could not violate "the boundaries of socially appropriate behavior." The legislation makes no attempt to define the term.

Insert Spiderman quote here.

How 1948 and 2004 are related

In 1948, Strom Thurmond ran under the "Dixiecrat" party uttering the famous lines: "There's not enough troops in the Army to force the Southern people to break down segregation and admit the Nigra race into our theaters, into our swimming pools, into our homes, and into our churches." Keep in mind, this is 8 years before Brown. And while Strom died in 2003, his legacy of racism, hypocrisy and cowardice lives on.

Rev. Al Sharpton, who was an also ran in 2004 for president as a Democrat, found out yesterday that his ancestors were owned by Strom's. While Rev. Sharpton has no credibility with me on anything after his repeated self-agrandizing kleptomaniac efforts in NYC, he was one of the best speakers of all the candidates last time and is really quick on his feet. So without further ado, let's get to Al's quote:

"It was probably the most shocking thing of my life," Sharpton said of learning the findings, which were requested and published Sunday by the New York Daily News. He called a news conference to respond publicly to the report. "I couldn't describe to you the emotions I have had . . . everything from anger to outrage to reflection to some pride and glory."
[...]
The newfound knowledge that his great-grandfather was a slave, Sharpton added, gave him a new perspective on his life.

"You think about the distance that you've come, you think about how brutal it was, you think about how life must have been like for him. And then you start wondering whether or not he would be proud or disappointed in what we have done," Sharpton said, with his eldest daughter, Dominique, 20, at his side.
[...]
"In the story of the Thurmonds and the Sharptons is the story of the shame and the glory of America," Sharpton said Sunday.

I agree with that last line. It shows us all how far we have come, and yet how far we have to go.

waiting for Wes

About this time 4 years ago, I was trying to find other people who had heard of Wesley Clark, or convince them that he was the one. I had read the article in Time Magazine in the fall of 2002 and his story was intriguing enough (First in his class at West Point, Rhodes Scholar, 4-star General) to ask for his book on the Kosovo campaign for Christmas. I was telling everyone I knew that he would run, and that he would win.

All my friends thought I was crazy. Then I met folks on Yahoo! groups and went to the first Clark MeetUp in April 2003. We were all sure then that Clark's announcement was mere weeks away. It wasn't until I was at MeetUps in Boston and a trip or two to New Hampshire that I was able to witness Clark's announcement in September. Then my friends were amazed at me. But by February, my dream had died because some morons in Iowa thought John Kerry was the most "electable."

Since then, it has become increasingly clear that we need real leadership in foreign policy, someone who has a track record of working with statesmen from other countries to come to difficult solutions. If Wes Clark had been nominated, I believe he would have won. And we would have troops in Darfur and Afghanistan, not an increase in troops in Iraq. The agreement with North Korea would have moved along faster, Israel would be allowed to talk to Syria, and the Middle East peace process would actually be underway.

Last time, Clark didn't get into the race until Bob Graham got out, and he ended up with some of Graham's staff. This time, Tom Vilsack has dropped out. Perhaps now Clark can now start running and take Vilsack's staff (at least for Iowa).

As great of a president as I think he would be, I am growing impatient waiting for Clark to announce one way or the other. The race seems to be a three way one at the moment, with Edwards a distant third. Can Clark raise the millions needed to compete with Clinton's machine and Obama's movement? Can he distinguish himself from the other foreign policy heavyweight in the field (Richardson; Biden is just a blowhard)? Can Clark get the necessary staff? Last time it was all Clinton/Gore people.

Now Hillary is stuck with those clowns. Meanwhile, Obama has the anti-Clinton staff: Daschle's people and Gephardt's people. These are folks who were miffed by President Clinton use of congressional Democrats as foils for his "Third Way." House liberals in particular provided a nice contrast for Bill to seem reasonable and moderate between House Republicans and House Democrats.

A Clark/Obama or Obama/Clark or Obama/Warner/Clark (Clark as Sec. State) ticket would be excellent. Obama has no foreign policy experience other than living in the Philippines as a young child and visiting his family in Kenya (and going to Africa as part of his "book tour" last year).

Chris Cannon is an idiot

(Photo Credit Deseret News)
part 345: The Trolley Square shooter.

Cannon was on KSL News- Radio's "Doug Wright Show" Wednesday morning talking about terrorism and the troop surge in Iraq. On the call-in show, he indicated that peace in the Middle East could mean being able to move away here in the United States from "a kid shouting 'Allah akbar' as he shoots people in Trolley Square," to people thinking more about religion, God and "judgment."
Such changes would lead to a worldwide society that could then have the same opportunities found in the United States, according to Cannon.
[...]
A spokesman for Cannon told the Deseret Morning News the congressman was referring to something he heard on the Fox News Channel, where a host claimed "some witnesses" reported hearing Talovic say "Allah akbar" near the end of the shootout.
However, Salt Lake City police insisted Wednesday no evidence has been uncovered so far that points to Talovic's religion being a motive in the killing spree.

First mistake: listening to Fox News as if it were gospel. Second mistake: opening is big dumb trap. He won't let silly facts get in the way of a good anti-muslim creed.

Internet blogs, conservative talk shows and others have zeroed in on Talovic's religion as the motive for the crime.
Members of Utah's Muslim community said they do not recall ever seeing Talovic or his family at any services. The Muslim Forum of Utah said Talovic lived a "hermit type of lifestyle" and was not known to be religious. The Islamic Society of the Greater Salt Lake said only a few Bosnians and Serbs attend mosque regularly.
[...]
Slavojub Josipovic, with the American Bosnian and Herzegovenian Association, said his wife is Muslim but he is not. He said many Bosnian Muslims are more secular and "don't practice too much."
"They are more open. They lived together with Christians and other religions for hundreds of years," he said. "In Bosnia, we celebrate everybody's (religious) holidays."
Josipovic said the war made things more "difficult."
"They tried to separate us," he said. "By religion, different nationalities. It is so mixed in Bosnia you cannot put borders between people."

So it is probably all the violence Talovic witnesses, not his technical Islamic faith. "It's a possibility that we may never know. Unfortunately, he may have taken that [his motive] with him," SLCPD Det. Robin Snyder said.

ID laws=voter suppression

(Photo Credit Frantz Rantz © 2005)
In a surprise to no one but the New York Times the Old Grey Lady discovered that all these new voter ID laws supported by Republicans and opposed by Democrats actually lowers turnout. [H/T VoteLaw]

States that imposed identification requirements on voters reduced turnout at the polls in the 2004 presidential election by about 3 percent, and by two to three times as much for minorities, new research suggests.
[...]
Tim Vercellotti, a professor at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University who helped conduct the study, said that in the states where voters were required to sign their names or present identifying documents like utility bills, blacks were 5.7 percent less likely to vote than in states where voters simply had to say their names.

Dr. Vercellotti said Hispanics appeared to be 10 percent less likely to vote under those requirements, while the combined rate for people of all races was 2.7 percent.

And who'd have guessed it that Blacks and Hispanics vote for Democrats more often than Republicans?

Why do Republicans hate democracy so much? The amount of fraud surrounding elections , if there is any, is much less than the 2.7 percent for all people, and among Blacks and Hispanics I am sure it is less than 5.7 and 10 percent.

Why does it have to be such a pain to vote? I say, make everyone (men and women) register for the Selective Service (the never-will-be-draft) when they turn 18, which at the same time will register them as a voter. If such registration is good enough for the military for an emergency draft for a war, then it should be good enough for people to vote for their congressmen or president. Such a law would also get rid of the inherent sexism of the current fake draft. Women are just as capable of serving in the military as men. Some women cannot do some jobs, but neither can some men.

Another way of ensuring the integrity of elections (which Republicans claim to care about) while making it easier for people to vote would be a vote by mail system like Oregon has. Oregon also has the highest turnout of any state. Vote by mail would also have the advantage of a paper trail for recounts if necessary. They could all be optical scanner sheets. Everyone in America knows how to fill in bubble sheets. Vote by mail would prevent voter intimidation by race or socioeconomic status. And it would also prevent Democratic operatives from bribing homeless people to vote for cigarettes. Administratively, it will be slower than the current electronic counting system but should be about as fast as the old stock cards and the same speed as absentee voters.

This also would save the state the money and time and hassle of finding and training poll workers. Most poll workers are senior citizens now, and lack of knowledge or training by a couple dozen of them caused the bulk of problems we saw in 2006 and 2004. Moreover, as these folks become too frail for poll working, it will be difficult to replace them given the terribly low wage they are paid and that even government employees have to take a vacation day to do it.

Utah's legislature: double standards edition

Remember how the legislature couldn't spare $1 million for HPV inoculation? Or how they feel too much money is being spent in schools?

A bill asking for $30 million to lower class sizes - consistent with Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr.'s budget request - passed a House Education Committee Monday. But HB94, sponsored by Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay, suffers a political disadvantage compared with the more modest HB149 sponsored by Rep. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights.
That bill carries a $5 million price tag and comes with accountability requirements demanded by some legislators.
Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, has long voiced concerns that class size reduction money comes with no strings attached. He's lamented that some schools still have 30 or 40 kids per class even though the Legislature spent $74 million to reduce class sizes last year.

But they can spare money for a quasi-private, quasi-religious failed business:

A year after Republican leaders slipped a $2 million dollar bailout for This Is The Place Heritage Park into the state budget without discussion or debate, the public-private operation has its hand out again - this time for an additional $100,000 in annual funding.
House budget Chairman Rep. Ron Bigelow, R-West Valley City, was startled to see the $100,000 request on the Department of Natural Resources budget for the park that celebrates the Mormons' arrival in the valley.
[...]
The foundation, which took control in 1998, had convinced wealthy donors to build more than 35 pioneer-period buildings, but neglected to set aside money to maintain them.
The park's attendance has never matched expectations.
The state, which owns the park, found itself in a corner.
The DNR did not want to take over what had become a 450-acre money pit. But any hope of the foundation surviving would require a massive infusion of taxpayer money.
The state already pumps a yearly $700,000 into the park. It also has gotten hundreds of thousands in county Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP) funds.

I am sure that if this park had nothing to do with the LDS Church, it would have been left for dead years ago. Your tax dollars at work, bridging the church-state divide.

Ethics is for suckers. And those suckers are Utah voters apparently.

Today, the Utah House passed a lobbyist gift bill that would require more disclosure of legislators who take gifts from lobbyists paid to influence them.
Rep. Greg Hughes speaks Monday on a measure that would increase disclosure requirements on gifts from lobbyists. The measure passed in the House, but Hughes backs a bill that requires full disclosure.
Rep. Greg Hughes speaks Monday on a measure that would increase disclosure requirements on gifts from lobbyists. The measure passed in the House, but Hughes backs a bill that requires full disclosure.
However, the GOP majority in the House exempted all meals up to $50 from the disclosure measure — a disappointment to the reform-minded lawmakers who want to curtail such gifts.
A Deseret Morning News examination of all gifts given to legislators in 2006, published last month, found that lobbyists paid for $67,196 worth of meals for the 104 part-time lawmakers — or on average $646 per legislator.
But by far most of those meals were less than $50, so lobbyists didn't name which legislators took the free meals.

This week's posturing bill: the Pledge of Allegiance

A resolution, HJR12, which reaffirms the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance unanimously passed the House Government Operations Committee Monday. The intent of sponsoring Rep. Kerry Gibson, R-Ogden, is to ensure that the pledge remains the same as it has been since 1954, when the phrase was added.
"This nation was founded on a belief in God," Gibson said. "This needs to continue to be part of our pledge."

I am glad such an urgent need is being met in the few days our legislature is in session. Since the Founders were Deists, not Evangelical Christians, and since the Pledge is a recent creation to combat those godless communists, and not secularism in America, this is a joke. As a child, I always felt that the Pledge had a very facist feel to it and I never really liked it. And the Supreme Court wussed out on addressing the issue last time, taking the standing angle to avoid having to hold that forcing children in public schools to say "One nation under God" every day does not establish religion.

Shurtleff lies to Washington County

Oh let me count the ways our AG (Aspiring Governor) Mark Shurtleff distorted, fear mongered and lied in his keynote speech for the Washington County Republican Party's Lincoln Day breakfast at Dixie State College.

1. "I'm sad to say that your representative, who likes to say he's Republican in his heart, voted with (Democratic House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi," Shurtleff said. "This Democratic resolution in the House and Senate right now condemns our president and our soldiers." Let's look at the text of the resolution shall we?
   

   Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That—
   
   (1) Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq; and
   
   (2) Congress disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.

   
   Um no before House stated its disapproval with the President's escalation (which by the way something like 60% of the American people disapprove of), they first said that they support the troops and will continue to do so. Might I remind the Republican rhetorics that their party and president has continually underfunded veteran's benefits...and failed to supply adequate armor and protection for the current soldiers. So much for supporting the troops.


2. "There are some good questions about whether we are executing this war properly, and I don't think that we are, but the Democrats are calling for the immediate cessation of hostilities and negotiation of a settlement," he said. Again, let's look at that resolution...or Obama's [calling for redeployment starting in May and ending a year later], Hillary's [redeployment starting in 60 days], Biden [editing the AUMF], and Dodd's [who cares].


3. "Washington County continues to support the president and fight the good fight, and for that I am grateful. If nothing else, when we think of what happened at Trolley Square, it shows us we have to fight a war here (at home), too." Reality check: " a new SurveyUSA poll finds President Bush's approval rating in the Beehive State is 51%, a drop of 10 points from the beginning of the year and 4 percent since just last month.
   
   Meantime, his disapproval is up six percent since last month to 46%. Utah, Idaho (at 52%) and Wyoming (at 50%) are now the only three states in positive territory." This was almost a year ago, since then, Bush's approval rating nationally has gone downhill. More people strongly disapprove of him and his Iraq policy than last year.

Here's a terrible headline: "Homosexual stereotypes may be helpful" with an even stupider topic: the snickers ad.

Matheson might be approving of an at-large 4th district. "If the desire is to move something, you look for the path with the most bipartisan support and the least controversy," says Rep. Jim Matheson's spokeswoman Alyson Heyrend. "That's the path of least resistance."

Utah's 4th will be voted on in two weeks?

The Deseret News reports that "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave her 'unequivocal support' to the legislation" DC Delegate Norton believes that the Utah-DC bill is certain to come up for a vote. DC Vote's Kevin "Kiger said there appears to be enough momentum that movement on the bill would likely come in March." I.e. after the week-long President's Day recess. [side note: isn't it ironic that Don Young is misquoting Lincoln on his Birthday weekend?]

House Republicans from Utah want our state legislature to be able to re-redraw the map (to screw Matheson I guess). Jim is concerned about the cost of a special election in November. A study in constrasts.

Now would you want to put something representation in charge of this bunch of clowns?

But for Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, the real driving force is a desire to allow school administrators to reject clubs they find morally objectionable without the fear of a lawsuit.
He wants schools, such as Provo High, to have the ability to stamp out gay-straight alliances, which he describes as "a place of indoctrination."
Buttars says the bill provides legal cover for such a decision and would require the attorney general to handle any lawsuits.
Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, the Senate's only openly gay member, led the charge against the bill.
McCoy described the bill as too "onerous" because of the requirements to provide detailed club bylaws and schedules to school administrators.
McCoy had no problem with the section that required parental-consent forms, but he tried to remove almost everything else. The House passed a similar version to McCoy's proposal.

McCoy is being very reasonable. Parental consent and information on clubs is fine. What is problematic is writing a bill based off an eroneous belief that gay-straight clubs are cults that brain wash teens into becoming gay. And even if that were true, the only reason Buttars cares is because he hates gay people. Afterall, he can't even call his collegue by his name, he calls him "the gay."

Trolley Square Shooter's Criminal History

The 18-year old that killed at least 5 people Tuesday night's sealed juvenile record was leaked to the Salt Lake Tribune this evening:

At age 12, Talovic was before a judge for allegedly holding a knife over the head of girl while stating, "I'll kill you," according to a source who is familiar with the case.
Two years earlier, Talovic was referred to juvenile court for throwing rocks at a little girl.
About the same time, he threatened his parents' landlord with a knife.
The first girl was not struck by the stones. And the mother of the second girl snatched her up in the nick of time, just as Talovic took a swipe with the blade, according to the source, who has seen court documents relating to the case.
[...]
...Musto Redzovic, the family's first landlord in Salt Lake City, said Talovic pulled a knife on him at their duplex apartment in 1998 or 1999. Talovic would have been 9 or 10 at the time.
"He was just a child," said Redzovic, who brushed the incident off and did not report the incident to police.
Redzovic said he believes Talovic did not recognize him and may have been simply trying to protect his family's property...
[...]
"I used to feel bad for him," said Redzovic, who believes the behavior was a direct result of the war in Bosnia. "That child must have seen some troubling things in Bosnia." The rock-throwing incident occurred on Sept. 23, 1999. During a juvenile court trial, the allegations were found to be true, although Talovic denied them.
[...]
The knife brandishing episode involving the girl occurred on April 24, 2001, and was eventually dismissed because the victim and her mother could not be located.
Talovic was also referred to court for stealing fireworks from a Smith's grocery store on June 22, 2001.
On July 9, 2001, Talovic admitted the shoplifting crime, and it was the last time he appeared in juvenile court, according to the source, quoting court records.
Court officials said they have been unable to find any juvenile court history on Talovic. The source said the records were expunged in October, when Talovic turned 18.

I wonder how much they paid this source and who it is. Whomever it is, what they did is illegal, which is why they are staying anonymous.

Again, this seems to indicate not that Talovic was a Jahidist, but rather a messed up kid. Messed up by the war, or just a violent youth who felt alienated from society? That is the question.

When bigots react

Little Green Footballs (LGF), a nutty right wing group blog, flipped out when the local newspapers didn't mention the Trolley Square shooter's religion every time they referenced him. [The link is not to LGF, because I don't want to promote their commerce in anyway, but I guess you can click through]

The blogosphere erupted with xenophobia as some posters noted that Talovic was Muslim and concluded the rampage was a terrorist act. The Tribune also has been criticized for not mentioning his religion in every story. The assumption, apparently, is that all Muslims are violent.
"I had my suspicions immediately," one YouTube poster wrote. "I'm willing to bet they will find American hating evidence in this guy's home, computer, etc. Am I racist? No. I'm a realist. We are at war folks!"

The result of LGF and like minded bigots is an avalanche of hate e-mail to Bosnians and Utah Muslims, blaming them for the deaths on Tuesday night. We still have no idea what the shooter's motive was.

"No, he was very good," his uncle, Sadik Omerovic, said Wednesday.
[...]
The shooting rampage came as a "very big surprise for me," Omerovic said. "It just happened. We're shocked."
Also a mystery to Talovic's relatives is how he got a shotgun and handgun.
"Nobody knows," Omerovic said. "We don't know who [gave] him the guns."
[...]
Omerovic said Talovic had no history of violence. "He never, never [hurt anyone]. He was very nice person."

Just because he is Muslim doesn't mean he thought he was on a Jihad. After all, a right winger named Timothy McVeigh killed hundreds of people, including infants and children, all because he had such hate for the federal government. He believed what he was doing was justified by all the horrible things the federal government does. You know, like giving social security checks to old people.

These are the same kinds of people that attacked Sikhs because they were dark skinned bearded men who wore turbans. Who cares if they are not Muslim or not even from the Middle East? Such facts were details that got in the way of Operation Infinite Justice. Such thinking is what got us into war with Iraq. Such thinking could lead us into war with Iran. Such thinking needs to stop here and now.

wednesday round up

Sorry for the sporadic posting this week.

• I had a jury trial all day long, and the jury found him not guilty. The worst part for me as the nascent prosecutor was having to call the victim and tell her the bad news. Domestic Violence case on Valentine's, you gotta love the court's sense of irony.


• Good for Jim Matheson for learning from his Iraq vote in 2002 and voting for the resolution against the escalation of the war (the McCain Doctrine)"At a minimum, we owe them [American soldiers] a new approach and a thoughtful approach to the situation in Iraq and the pursuit of a comprehensive strategy for success." Right on. He supports the Iraq Study Group. I have my quibbles with the ISG report, but to the extent they say it is a mess and that 20-40k more troops will only make things worse, I agree.


• Harkening back to my post yesterday about the shooter, we learn new deals that basically affirm my suspicion:
  

  Sulejman Talovic, an 18-year-old fatally shot by police after Monday's rampage, was only 4 when he and his mother fled their village of Talovici on foot after Serb forces overran it in 1993...
  Talovic lived as a refugee in Bosnia from 1993 to 1998, when his family moved to the United States, they said.
  During that period, he spent some time in Srebrenica, the northeastern enclave where up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered in 1995 by Serb forces loyal to late ex-Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic. It was Europe's worst massacre of civilians since World War II.
  [...]
  "...I'm convinced the war did this in Utah," said Murat Avdic, a friend of the family. "There cannot be any other reason."

  
  His aunt disagrees: "We all suffered things in war, but, no, we didn't have anything [lingering psychologically]," Omerovic said. Even if he wasn't in Srebenica when the massacre happened, he most certainly heard about it, and he probably knew people who were murdered by Slobo's goon squads. A year after he got to America, we began bombing Serbs for Kosovars, and on TV there were horrific images of bombings, villages being torched, etc. I don't see how it could have not affected, but it doesn't excuse his behavior, even if that were the cause.


• Is the administration insane? [Don't answer that] Why would you try to make another bogus case for war with a better equipped country when your troops are already beyond the breaking point? And when the American people believe you about as much as a used car salesman in a plaid suit? I am sure they believe Iran is behind all their troubles, but there are no real facts to support it. That is why two sitting Generals with lots of stars have said this is hype. Iran is a big player in the region because of this disastrous Iraq policy, compounded by a failure to admit failure. Arrogance and pride should not be the basis of our foreign policy.

That's it, Happy Valentine's!

A generation raised by violence

(Photo Credit: World Revolution.org)

Everyone in Utah by now knows about the "mall massacre" at Trolley Square: six dead (including the shooter) and four seriously injured.

Killed were:
• Jeffrey Walker, 53
• Vanessa Quinn, 29
• Kirsten Hinkley, 15
• Teresa Ellis, 29
• Brad Frantz, 25

Wounded and hospitalized are:
• Carolyn Tuft, 43
• Shawn Munns, 34
• Stacy Hansen, 53
• Allen Walker, 16

The shooter was an 18-year old Bosnian immigrant, which means he was born in 1989. It also means that if he grew up in Bosnia, he lived through two genocides (assuming he stayed until 1999). He might have seen people being brutally murdered by their neighbors for no real reason at all. I am not saying this to excuse his actions, far from it. I am speculating like this to show the consequences of allowing children to be victims of and witnesses to massive violence and war.

This is the second time in a few months that a young man from the former Yugoslavia acted out with random violent rage. The first time, Salt Lake got lucky, and no one was hurt [the SLC library bombing]. This time, obviously, was far worse.

Those who grew up in many parts of Africa (especially Rwanda 1994 and Sudan now) risk being tomorrow's Yugoslav violent youth. The same holds true for those who are growing up in Iraq and Afghanistan right now.

As awful as last nights shooting was, worse may be still yet to come if we don't stop letting violence raise another generation of young people.

Another hurdle for Utah's 4th

(Cartoon Credit: © 2001 Clay Bennett)
The Washington Post reports that several members of Congress requested a Congressional Research Service report on the constitutionality of the DC-Utah bill, and the CRS report said it was unconstitutional. Here's why this is a big deal:

The report by the Congressional Research Service is not binding, and its conclusions reflect what some prominent legal scholars have been warning for years. But it could carry extra weight because the service generally gets high marks for its nonpartisan advice to the House and Senate.
[..]
The report lands at a time when the D.C. voting rights effort has been gaining momentum. The new Democratic majority in the House has vowed to move quickly on such legislation.

Thomas Mann, a congressional scholar at the Brookings Institution, said the report represents "a creature of the Congress . . . saying this doesn't really pass constitutional muster. That has to be taken seriously and will certainly be used by those who oppose it."

The question, however, is highly debatable. Ken Starr, "a former federal appellate judge and onetime independent counsel [who investigated Bill Clinton for years]," and Viet D. Dinh, a former assistant attorney general, had analyzed the measure and found it constitutional."

It all depends on how you interpret the case law:

One is a clause that limits House membership to individuals chosen "by the People of the several States." Courts have determined that the phrase excludes the District, the report says.

The second relevant part of the Constitution, the "District Clause," grants Congress broad authority over the city. The bill's proponents note that the Supreme Court ruled in 1949 that Congress could use its powers to give D.C. residents the same rights as other citizens.

That case, National Mutual Insurance Co. v. Tidewater, concerned the right to have a federal court hear lawsuits involving people of two states.

But the research service says that ruling was narrow. Six justices wrote that the congressional powers over the District weren't big enough to justify making "structural changes to the federal government," the report says. Giving a vote to the District would be such a change, it says.

So what does this all mean? Well for those who were leaning against voting for the bill, the CRS report gives them another excuse to vote 'nay.' There is no doubt that someone will sue to challenge the constitutionality of the bill, assuming President Bush would sign it.

I would hope that DC residents would protest outside the homes of every Justice to drive home the point that they are American citizens and should be able to have the same voice in Congress that their fellow citizens a few miles away enjoy. Of course, Justices like Clarence Thomas don't live in the District.

How Obama got his groove

Notice there was no "back" in the title. That is because I am talking about how his 2000 primary lost to Rep. Bobby Rush made Obama the rock star that he is today.

The Salon article is written by a reporter who knew him back when he was a terrible politician. Barack was a typical, haughty self-entitled Haaaarvard guy. In other words, George W. Bush without the backslapping ability. He tried and failed to be cool and "black." He talked down to people, let them know that he was making a big sacrifice, that he could be making hundreds of thousands in some big law firm, but instead he tried to fix their city. Obama tried to run on his resume rather than on his personality AND his resume.

But a funny thing happened after only getting 31% of the vote. He learned that he needed to work with people to get things done. He learned from critical reporters and colleagues in the State Senate. He learned how to convey his big ideas without sounding intellectually superior to you, but without "dumbing it down." And he learned to use his natural charm and looks to his advantage, and to use his upbringing in the "white world" to his advantage as well. By 2004, he won a crowded Senate primary easily. By 2006, he was charming the country, raising money for Democrats and selling his second best selling novel. By 2007, he was a presidential candidate. In other words, he learned fast.

From reading his first book, the one he wrote before he was full time politician, you get the sense that this is a very introspective person. And from hearing bits from his second book, it seems he now very carefully examines himself and what he does. He is afraid of going back to that 2000 Barack, he is trying to learn the ways of running for president. Of being a movement candidate who is disconnected from the movement. The man has enormous potential to unite the country and win in a landslide against a reactionary same old Republican nominee. He just needs to be comfortable being who he is, and allowing the masses that want him to be president to carry him to the white house.

Rep. Greg "Icarus" Curtis

(Credit © 1971 Frank Wright)

Lee Benson, identical twin brother of US District Court Judge Dee Benson, makes many excellent points in his most recent Op-Ed column:

[C]ould somebody please explain how Real Salt Lake survived to play another season in Utah while work now begins on its $110 million stadium?
[...]
After months and months of economic due diligence and political leaders behaving like true public servants, following the lead of public opinion polls against the deal, Real was denied taxpayer help with its stadium and thus its future in Utah.
[...]
Overnight, a deal that had been studied upside down and sideways for nearly two years by the county and declared "too risky" by Corroon was declared "a solid investment" by Huntsman.
What was that all about? Other than proof positive that a governor trumps a mayor?
I don't get it. Why is RSL so special? With a few exceptions, the Jazz being the most prominent, other pro sports teams on the verge of collapse have looked for government assistance and gotten basically the same reception as someone trying to butt in line at the airport magnetometer.
And no matter how great soccer is as a sport, no matter how many American kids play it at least until they're 14, RSL is no Jazz and the MLS is no NBA.
Major League Soccer is a second-class league with a reputation for losing money that averages 15,000 fans a game — 2,000 less than when it started 11 years ago — and is hanging its latest hopes on a benchwarmer from Europe married to an aging pop star who is being offered a salary that, with bonuses, could exceed the payroll for the entire rest of the league.
Forget Real Salt Lake, there's no guarantee the league will be around in five years.

Benson puts the blame on the Governor, who flexed his political muscles for this to happen in such a short time. But I think Huntsman was trying to cover for Speaker Curtis, who has been pushing for this from day one. And despite seeing his proverbial wax melt in November and barely survive, he decided that public be damned he was going to waste millions of tax payer dollars on a stadium. And vouchers. And tax cuts on the rich. And an abortion test case. But spend a million to prevent cancer in women who might be sexually active? No way.

I expect that next time, Curtis' most recent trips to the sun will be rewarded with a nice salty bath in the Great Salt Lake. At least I hope that the voters of Sandy will see how unrepresentative of their district and values their Representative really is.

O is for optimism

I just finished watching Barry's speech on C-SPAN, and one of the most striking things was his campaign logo:



To me, the "O" serves as allusion to a rising sun, a new opportunity, and of course his name. My wife said the logo reminded her that Oprah has basically endorsed him, calling on him to run and saying he was her "favorite senator" (poor Dick Durbin).

I wonder, what is going to happen to the logo if he wins the nomination? Will another initial be added for his running mate (OC for Obama and Clinton or Obama and Clark? OR for Obama Richardson?) Or will the logo change like Kerry's from a boring safe logo to an even more boring and safe logo? Every candidate has to use red white and blue, with stripes or stars or both...but at least Obama is trying something different. It is a bit narcissistic however.

As for the speech, he stepped on his applause/chant lines a bit. The crowd was cold and wanted to get into it, and he basically plowed through it. But can you blame him? Here is his schedule for today and tomorrow: Feb. 10 | Presidential Announcement
Springfield, IL, Feb. 10 | Announcement Tour Cedar Rapids, IA | Feb. 11 : Waterloo, IA | Ames, IA | Chicago, IL.

The content of speech was generally pretty good, although sometimes he used too big of words. There was an applause line for a long convoluted phrase that made you know most of these people were trucked in from Champaign-Urbana. But the area was packed with thousands, and he is a good speaker.

Bottom line: people hunger for leadership and change. For 7 years we have had a MISleader (great line by MoveOn.org) who has divided us for electoral success. People are tired of being prayed upon and leveraged for some ideological agenda. And people like the idea of Obama: a man whose life story represents the hope and promise of America. That somehow if you are smart enough, you can achieve greatness even if you are black, or poor, or foreign, or whatever. Obama the man might not be anywhere near the idea of Obama. And the idea that we can move past the debates that we have been mired in for the last 30 years. People are tired of talking about Vietnam even as this generation's Vietnam is well underway. They want leaders who can frame debates beyond Watergate and Vietnam, and Obama's youth (born in 1961) is a big part of the hope. All he has to do is sell that idea.

Buttars the first time

So as I foresaw, Sen. Chris Buttars used his position on the Senate Rules Committee to replace the new high school [GAY] clubs with his old version:

Under his proposal, Buttars said schools would be free from the fear of being sued for accepting or denying a non-curricular student club because the Utah Attorney General's Office could defend schools, freeing districts from legal costs.
Like a similar bill last year, Buttars wants to target Gay-Straight Alliances, allowing school leaders to deny the clubs at the school without the threat of losing resources in a lawsuit.
"In my opinion, I hope they don't allow them, they could, but I hope they don't," Buttars said. "The school would have the authority to make a decision on yea or nay — that part got taken out over in the House, and I am going to put them back in."

You can't draft a bill that targets a group because of who they are, that's a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. See Romer v. Evans. And like that terrible abortion bill, it makes the taxpayers pony up the money to pay for ideologs' battles. Not to mention that the schools don't want this bill. Not because they love their gay students, but because it is an administrative nightmare even if it wasn't unconstitutional.

Buttars may be fanatical about homosexuals, and have no knowledge of the law, but he is no dummy and knows his parliamentary tactics.

2007 Kerry to become 1971 Kerry

Now that he has given up losing to Hillary, Obama, Edwards, and all the rest of them (hopefully Clark soon...but I will get to that later), John Kerry has listened to the young man that famously asked who wants to be the last man to die for a mistake.

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) is embarking on a major national campaign to end the Iraq war and has pledged to spend a considerable amount of his campaign war chest on the effort. On Sunday morning, Kerry will appear on This Week with George Stephanopoulos to kick off the campaign which seeks to have all American troops home within a year....

Kerry will finally use the remaining $7.4 million from 2004 presidential primary account and his Senate campaign account. "He also has $5 million saved away in a special account reserved for legal and accounting costs related to his 2004 general election campaign." And who knows if he can use that for this...I doubt it.

As The American Prospect's Garance Franke-Ruta argues, "it's starting to look like the real [bold leaders] are the former presidential candidates." That is because they don't have to suck up to interest groups any more and they can reveal their true selves. And unlike term-limited sitting presidents, they can't sign last minute executive orders or pardons.

Al Gore's moral authority and persuasive power now comes precisely because he is not seeking any political office. If Gore tosses his hat in the ring, his crusade becomes political message or theme and loses its punch. Plus, he can kiss that Oscar and Nobel Peace Prize goodbye.

Does this mean that Kerry is not running for reelection in two years? Or that he will merely confine himself to being the junior Senator from Massachusetts for life?

East of San Francisco

Former Utah Jazz Center John Amaechi wrote a biography about the great time he had as a closeted gay black man in Salt Lake City. How had how delusional people in Utah (and the NBA) are about all the homosexuals in the midst:

It's hard to overestimate the stranglehold of the Latter Day Saints on the state of Utah. With the majority of the residents, the church had major say in everything from the composition of the legislature to what was considered appropriate attire. Which is why I was astonished that the city is the hippest, gayest place east of San Francisco. (Okay, so there's not a lot in between.)
Frankly, the Jazz fan base isn't all that different from that of Coffee Garden. You can't throw a basketball into a crowd without hitting a gay man or a lesbian. Dozens of season ticket holders who sat directly behind the bench were same-sex couples. I knew they were gay because they'd show up at some of my parties. (One of my guests even turned out to work for Senator Orrin Hatch.)
. . . Yet the Mormon majority seems blithely unaware of this flamboyant minority in its midst. They see same-sex couples walking down the street hand-in-hand. They drive by parts of town where every other Victorian house is festooned with rainbow flags. They see joyfully gay men pouring in and out of bars and clubs.
And at the same time, they don't see it. They're oblivious.

The Salt Lake Tribune, got an advance copy of his book that will be released next week, "Man in the Middle," and provided juicy excerpts.
"Homosexuality is an obsession among ballplayers, trailing only wealth and women," he wrote. "They just didn't like [gays]- or so they insisted over and over and over again. It soon became clear they didn't understand [gays] enough to truly loathe them."

Similarly, a local sports columnist took it upon himself it to point out that that Armaechi was not a good basketball player, as if that was relevant:

John Amaechi remains one of the worst players in franchise history.
I'm not Amaechi-bashing here.
I'm just stating a fact.

On a related note, Jazz owner and homophobic businessman Larry L. Miller (who payed Amachi's salary) regrets blocking 'Brokeback Mountain' from his theaters.

Miller said he probably would allow "Brokeback Mountain" to be shown if the movie was released now, calling his ban a bad decision.
"Not because I got beaten up over it, but because it was a knee-jerk reaction," he said. "You have to choose your spots to draw your lines and I didn't choose a very good one."
[...]
"It was good for me in a couple of ways," he said. "I learned a lot about them with some open and honest dialogue. It didn't change my way of thinking or theirs, but we all realized after talking with each other we have a better understanding of each other.
"I'm still outspoken on issues, but I know I have to look at people's feelings and lives. I'd like to say I'm more understanding now. To say I'm tolerant would be less
accurate, but I am more understanding."

Folks, you tolerate bad tasting food, you understand why Germans voted for Hitler in 1933. Of course understanding and tolerating are not the same as condoning or liking or supporting.

Nonetheless, he is trying.

Utah GOP: life begins at conception and ends at birth

The title of this post was taken from an Ed Bagley cartoon that I posted on my blog a several days ago. But the point is still true.

First, punish women and other taxpayers for your anti-choice views:

A proposal to ban abortions in Utah might also carry with it a criminal penalty for women who get an abortion. Representative Paul Ray thinks it's not just the doctor who deserves to be punished in what he calls "killing babies."

"It's a two-way street," says Ray. "The provider's not forcing the woman to do it - she's opting to go there and to pay for it."

If that weren't bad enough, there's the $4 million price tag for this pointless bill:

Even if both Bush-appointed justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito "were hellbent on overturning it, they don't have a fifth vote," said Pam Karlan, a constitutional law professor at Stanford University. "Right now, on the Supreme Court there are not five votes to overturn Planned Parenthood versus Casey. ... It's absolutely clear that the current court would not permit a state to ban all abortions."
[...]
"If all the lower courts agree that this is unconstitutional, then the Supreme Court would probably react cautiously and not take it," said Robert Bennett, a constitutional law scholar at Northwestern University.

Meanwhile, Utah Republican controlled legislature wants women and girls to die, because they might have had sex:

Introduced by Rep. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights, HB 358 would have given the Utah Department of Health $1 million to raise awareness of the disease and immunize girls and young women against it with the new Gardasil vaccine.
[...]
Many health providers hailed it as a major advancement because it is the first vaccine designed to prevent human papillomavirus, which can cause genital warts and cervical cancer.
Critics have said it is too early to know if Gardasil is effective and questioned whether it might lead to increased promiscuity among adolescents.

HPV is a curable disease and having a shot would not make people want to have more sex. It is not like sex has gone up since HIV has become less of a worry. And who says that these females won't get HPV from their husbands who sleep around? This is a public health issue, and shouldn't be another front in the culture wars.

I would also like to point out that Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) signed an executive order to do the same thing as HB 358. And no one would accuse Perry as being a liberal or disloyal Republican. Of course, the Texas Republican Party is freaking out about that executive order.

Buttars luck next time

(photo credit: Deseret News, © 2006)

I never grow tired of those puns. I am sure you do though. Anyway, it looks like the Utah House bothered to make Sen. Chris Buttar's (R-crazytown) anti-gay bill constitutional and administratively possible. Originally, Buttar's wanted every high school club to submit minutes and [OF THEIR RADICAL GAY] agenda to the principal (or vice-principal) and have copies of such items available for parents prior to any meeting of any [GAY] club, so the parents could pull their kid out of the club [BECAUSE THEM GAYS ARE TRYING TO CONVERT LITTLE EPHRAM SMITH GAY!!! BOO!]. Here's what happened House side:

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Aaron Tilton, R-Springville, now only requires all clubs to have a name consistent with its purpose, that the club can't deviate from its purpose and that a parent must sign a consent form.
The House eliminated language defining human sexuality or allowing administrators to block clubs for moral reasons. Lawmakers also removed a provision requiring the state to cover the costs of lawsuits involving the restrictions of school clubs. And the bill no longer requires clubs to provide the principal with information that would be presented to the club a week in advance so parents can review it.
House members responded to the pleas of Rep. Scott Wyatt, R-Logan, who said the original bill placed a "bureaucratic stamp" on what should be handled on the school district level.

If you really care about what you are pretending to care about, Sen. Buttars, then you will pass this bill as is. But if all you want to do is keep them gays out High Schools, well then you are going to have to kill all the gay Utahn teens, or use your voucher bill to send them all to private gay schools. People are gay because they are born that way, they don't catch it like some disease (or is a disability to be born homosexual). It isn't a cult where you can be convinced you are attracted to the same sex.

All his obsession with gay sex really makes me wonder if he isn't hiding something from himself.

the announcement that wasn't

So I got back information...Clark seems to have pulled back on his announcement plans this past weekend after he got a luke warm reception from the DNC winter meeting folks.

He canceled his Hardball appearance, and never went back on TV. Could it be that one of the candidates talked him into joining their ticket? Could he have decided he couldn't win based on the reception? Could it be that his old donors said their sticking with Hillary or Obama? Who knows.

Clark has a rock-solid NH asset: newly election US Rep. Carol Shays-Porter, who actually worked for Clark in 2004. Will he be able to use it? Will he use it if he can?

It is sad that a man would be a hell of a president and his over-qualified is not considered a front runner because a bunch of party hacks didn't like the way he talked.

disasters in the making

There once was an idea out there to "professionalize" our state legislature by making it year round. If they passed bills like the ones I am going to describe below year round, no thanks. If it would attract saner politicians, I am all for it.

1. the zombie RSL stadium is back:
   

   A bill emerged Thursday on Utah's Capitol Hill that could bring a Real Salt Lake stadium to Sandy and salvage Utah's two-year-old soccer franchise, which is being aggressively courted by investors in St. Louis.
   If the measure passes - it was crafted behind closed doors this week with the blessing of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and legislative leadership - it would snatch at least $20 million for the project out of Salt Lake County coffers, which critics allege could result in a countywide property-tax hike.
   The move to revive a stadium in Sandy spells the end of talk to relocate RSL to the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City or the former Geneva Steel site in central Utah County.
   [...]
   A separate bill - sponsored by Sen. Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, and backed by Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan - threatens to redirect $15 million in annual restaurant taxes from the county to the suburbs.
   Corroon calls the new soccer bill "troublesome" and insists it could gut the county's ability to fund conventions and tourism.
   "It's regretful," he said. "It will end up hurting all the citizens of the county and the state."
   

   Good thing they didn't consult the public who would be paying for it.


2. Rather than an abortion trigger bill, the Utah Legislature wants to be the test case to overturn Roe:
   

   "On its face, it is unconstitutional. But there are a lot of issues that are ripe for the Supreme Court to consider," said Senate President John Valentine, an attorney. "It's the kind of thing the citizens of this state would support."
   And citizens will have to support it - literally. Defending the bill could cost at least $2 million.
   [...]
   The bill provides exceptions in cases of rape, incest or to prevent a woman's death or "substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function." Without allowing public comment on the new bill, committee members sent it to the House floor for debate.
   [...]
   The Attorney General's Office estimates the legal battle will cost taxpayers at least $2 million - double that if an outside law firm is hired. In the early 1990s, the state's abortion ban cost more than $1 million to defend - not including plaintiffs' fees. That law was found unconstitutional.

   Once again, the legislature is going to be wasting the public's money without any input from them.


3. Another dumb bill is the school voucher bill, one that will not help a single poor person go to private school but will give the rich a break on their bill:
   

   After weeks of back-room arm-twisting and spirited lobbying on both sides of the issues, supporters managed 38 yes votes to the 37 opposed -- there were no representatives absent. Surprise supporters included Rep. Brad Last, R-St. George, and Rep. Keith Grover, R-Orem - two former public school officials. Both said they had wrestled with a decision.
   [...]
   HB148 will let parents spend public money on private school tuition. Every Utah family, with the exception of current private school students, would be eligible for a voucher ranging from $500 to $3,000 depending on family income.

   
   "The Parent Choice in Education Act, sponsored by Rep. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, would give families a private school tuition voucher that would range from $500 to $3,000, based on income.
   The bill, which calls for $9.2 million in general, not school funds, would leave per-student spending over and above the amount of the voucher in the school system. So, an estimated average $2,000 voucher still would leave $1,500 in state spending in the school district where the voucher recipient lives for the next five years, unless the student graduates.
   The bill seeks $9.2 million, but the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst also says it would put nearly $4 million back into the schools' budget in the first year. The program would require more funding in the coming years."
   Man oh man...I won't get into this any more, because Utah Amicus and others have written much more and better things about it. Count me in as agreeing with them

Ed Bagley Rocks

Oh and the legislature hates brown people too:

Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Lehi, is again seeking to require voters to prove their citizenship and residency in order to register to vote.
[...]
"I don't want to disenfranchise people who are citizens," Madsen said. "In order to have confidence in the system ... it's worth a little bit of effort on everyone's part."
[...]
"I'm not sure what they're trying to solve," said Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swenson. "It just creates a bit of a hardship for everyone. ... If someone poses as someone else, we should punish that person."

And even though Speaker handout doesn't think it is a big deal, the public wants ethics and campaign finance reform in their state government.

Oh and standing up to RSL and Sandy politicians was a popular move.


For those of you keeping score at home, that 70.5% approval for the RSL move and 67.5% approval of Carroon in general. Unless something goes horribly wrong, like San Fransisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's affair with a substance abusing wife of an aide, he will win reelection in a landslide.

Clark is in?!

Good news for me. It seems that Wes Clark is IN!

So he will probably announce this weekend at the DNC winter conference/on Hardball. With him in, the field goes to 10 (just like 2004). So, let's take a look at the field and see who's up, and who is down (and who should be out):

1. Obama: his timetable legislation is specific and tough, with a date far enough away to be realistic and not 'too liberal' it forces other candidates to either make their time tables sooner (and seem to be followers or 'too liberal') or reject timetables altogether (and be labeled as Joe Lieberman clones).

2. Clinton: she went to Iowa and demonstrated how much press and people she can attract. But some seemed non-plussed with her who weren't already firmly behind her beforehand. And then her big splash in NH got canceled due to a family illness. I hope they get better.

3. Edwards: with Hillary and Barack in, he is a front runner who is running against the media this time who is hell bent on making this a two-way race. Obama timetable outflanks Edwards who cannot do anything other than make a speech. (that's the downside of not being in office). But he can hang out with primary voters and raise money all day long (that's the plus side).

4. Richardson: His Darfur peace treaty seems to be holding up, and his resume is pretty impressive. But the fact that he was part of the When Ho Lee scandal (as Clinton's Energy Secretary), and the rumors of philandering may kill his candidacy before it starts. Plus, he lost NM for Kerry.

5. Clark: he starts off much better off than last time. Like Edwards, he learned a lot by running last time. He now has a real organization behind him (WesPAC/VoteVets/etc.), he has campaigned for candidates all over the country in 2006 by request, just like Obama. His wife, who was against it in 2003, learned to love campaigning in 2004. A general who make a lasting peace in ethnically divided land and ran a competent war (save the embassy bombing) seems like a pretty good selling point in 2007. Now who is he going to hire? Where is his money coming from?

6. Vilsack: he keeps going lower and lower in Iowa, where he was governor for 8 years. If he can't win Iowa, how can he win nationally? Plus, that name is terrible.

7. Also rans (Dodd, Biden, Gravel, Kucinich): none of these guys have a prayer. Dodd said he is competing with the margin of error in polls. A paper replied, you wish, the MoE is 5.4%, you are at 1%. Ouch. Biden made news today by making a racist-sounding "compliment" to Obama. This from a guy whose whole strategy is to convince South Carolinians that he is just as racist as the worst of them (saying that Delaware was once a slave state and wished it could have joined the Confederacy, mean old Maryland and DC where in the way). Gravel will never be heard from. Kucinich is trying to capture the Nader vote, so I guess that is useful, but he is a joke.

To me, the biggest threat to Democrats wanting the White House is no longer John McCain, but ex-AR Gov. Mike Huckabee. He really sounded great on the Daily Show. My wife remarked that she had no idea that he was a GOPer until the label appeared. His anti-fat campaign is something that many Americans can get behind. After all, there are lots of overweight people in America. His story of losing hundreds of pounds is about as inspiring as Obama's to some.

why RSL must die

I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of the political drama of Real Salt Lake and its stupid soccer stadium. Clearly, Sandy's Mayor and representatives in the Legislature (especially the Speaker) miscalculated SLCo. Mayor Peter Corroon. Same with Dave Checketts. They all assumed that Corroon was a normal politican and would bow to their whim because they were "powerful" and "influential."

But Corroon decided that he needed to do what was in the best interest for the taxpayers of the County, and in his judgment, that was not selling the farm to rent a cow to milk. He wanted real hard numbers, and so did the County Council after Corroon led the way. And when those numbers finally came in, it was clear that they were about as forthright and reasonable in their assumptions as Enron's financial statements (or President Bush's Budgets). So Carroon and the Council said no dice.

And guess what? The voters love them for it. And the Speaker almost lost his seat last fall because of this chest-beating exercise.

It is good that someone finally stood up to professional sports teams when they ask cities to pay for their stadiums or threaten to leave. The economics behind such sweet-heart deals just isn't there. That's why Portland's voters said see-ya to the Trail-Blazers. Now the Speaker is going to punish the County while trying to punish Corroon by taking away the hotel tax money.

I would love to see how that turns out. But really, I don't want to hear another story about that soccer team. I am tired of it by now, aren't you?

Utah's legislature: corrupt, male chauvinist pigs

Tribune opinion columnist Rolly notes that "The Utah Legislature has consistently rejected legislation mandating that insurance companies cover birth control for women. At the same time, the Beehive State is the easiest place in the country to get Viagra." Could it possibly have something to with the fact that the average state legislator is male, middle-aged, alumni of the U or BYU, and LDS (90% of them are) with dozens of grandchildren.

Meanwhile, those same legislators who are sexists can't bother be ethical either.

The tickets were so good that [a legislator] took an elbow from Jazz forward Matt Harpring, who was chasing after a loose ball.
[He] accepted the bruise and the gift, as did Senate Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich and Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble.
Bountiful GOP Sen. Dan Eastman rounded out the quartet. But he paid Stokes for the ticket.
The cost: $500.
"Because of the price of this seat, I just thought it was appropriate that I pay for it," Eastman said. "I was always taught to avoid the appearance of evil, and if there is some there we ought to avoid it."
Bramble shrugs off concerns about perception. He says he routinely disagrees with Stokes and that the Jazz game will not buy his vote.

The gift limit is technically $50, but no one will enforce it against Bramble, who wants to eliminate the restriction altogether. Because you know, it won't buy his vote, at least that is what he says. And how dare we citizen's question his morality?