Is LaVar breaking the law?

(Images from LaVar for Congress.com)

Do you remember the LaVar Christensen? Last cycle, Jim Matheson crushed him to the tune of 59% to 37%, despite LaVar's "America Needs Utah" slogan. Currently, he is trying to regain his seat in the Utah House of Representatives.

A source informed me that LaVar is currently an LDS singles ward Bishop somewhere in Sandy and has been conscripting his parishioners into doing things like stuffing envelopes for his state house campaign at his aforementioned singles ward. (Apparently, he tried to pull a similar stunt by using taxpayer money to produce pro-LaVar propaganda for school children) For someone who wishes to be a lawmaker again, he sure seems ignorant of the law.

The LDS Church, like other religious organizations in the U.S., are organized as tax exempt non-profits under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. To gain its tax exempt status, the Church was "required to make certain representations, including a representation that it will not participate in any political campaign on behalf of, or against, any candidate for political office." Branch Ministries, Inc. v. Rossotti, 40 F. Supp.2d 15, 19 (D.D.C. 1999), aff'd, 211 F.3d 137 (D.C. Cir. 2000). If a church engages in political activities, the IRS can revoke that church's tax exempt status (not withstanding the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause). Id., 40 F. Supp. 2d at 20, 24-27.

Naturally, the Church leadership repeatedly admonishes its members and lay ministers not to use Church facilities or supplies for political activity. Remember when some Mormon thought using a BYU alumni list to raise money for Mitt Romney was a good idea? The Church came down hard on that one. Currently, they are attempting to thread the needle on the issue of gay marriage in California.

They may be willing to test the bounds of the definition of "political activity" over the issue of gay marriage and the Church's official level of participation in this fall's ballot inititive to overturn the Califorinia Supreme Court's decision. But I highly doubt that they are willing to risk their non-profit status for someone like LaVar "Tolerance is the religion of people who no longer believe in anything" Christensen.

Oh, and LaVar, if God really wanted you to be in the state legislature (as you claim), he wouldn't have told you to drop out of the House so that you would get beaten like a mule by Jim Matheson in 2006.

captive audience

Have you ever filled up your tank and been forced to watch an ad? I did once while driving in another state, and I thought it was incredibly annoying. But I guess it is all the range in lots of states, since you know, those oil companies are only making $12 billion a quarter (or $1,500 a second).

Anyway, Barack Obama is trying really hard to keep Florida in play. Even though he has spent millions more than John McCain (who has spent zero in FL since the primaries) in the state already, John McCain has a significant lead in the Sunshine State. So Obama's new tactic? Do an ad attacking John McCain on energy (and touting Obama's energy plan) on those gas pump TVs.

Here's the ad:


Interesting strategy. In 2004, George Bush advertised on cable channels that fit is supposed voter demographics, like the Golf Channel. He even managed to get himself on some bass fishin' show. Liberal bloggers believe that such microtargeting is a smart tactic that helped Bush win, and that Democrats should mimic this technique. Are Americans sorting themselves by what they watch to such an extent that it is better for Obama to get his mug on those cardboard coffee sleeves than place an ad during American Idol? Not yet, and I don't think it would be a good idea to place political ads in the theaters either, even if it is during another Michael Moore "documentary" or the Passion of the Christ 2: the resurection.

UPDATE: Many gas stations refused Obama's ads because they attacked oil companies' contribtions to John McCain.

Washington Oil Party

(a play on the idea that this is the GOP's version of the Boston Tea Party)


(Image courtesy of the U.S. Department of the Interior)

Rep. Rob Bishop (1st-District) prides himself on being a former history teacher in Box Elder County, a man of "family values." I used to think that family values was code for pro-life anti-gay-rights, and in Utah, a hint that you went on an LDS mission while your opponent has strayed from the faith (or never was a member in the first place). Now I am really confused.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, has one son getting married next Tuesday and another leaving on an LDS mission the day after. So he had planned to take advantage of Congress' August recess to spend the week weeding and preparing his home for expected guests.
Instead, he now is flying back to Washington to join a GOP protest about taking that five-week vacation without first voting on GOP legislation designed to help lower the cost of oil.
"We will go on the House floor, and talk to whoever is there. We do not think it is right to go on vacation until we have dealt with this issue," he said Monday.

That's right, the same guy who voted 18 times during the past 90 days to adjourn the House, now wants a special session to vote on drilling offshore so we can save 1% when we fill up our tank in 2030. So was it a political stunt the first 18 times, or just the last two times when you held a slumber party on the House floor? Even the President, who wants offshore drilling badly, even Bush won't ask for a special session on off-shore drilling. But it is more important to be in Washington right now if you are a non-partisan get-things-done kind of guy...it's not like one of your sons is getting married or another son is going on a two-year mission. Sounds like some one is paying their dues to get in the good graces of their fellow party members.

Lee Davidson calls the stunts "spontaneous" protests, when anyone paying attention (especially somehow who getting paid to pay attention for his readers) would know that this was a coordinated effort between the White House, the McCain campaign, and the Republican leadership in Congress to harp on off-shore drilling, since the polling arguably shows the public might favor it.

"I was truly amazed at what I saw there. There was a unique feeling or spirit. You usually don't see that kind of energy on the floor. Usually, you are talking to a lot of empty chairs. But the floor was full, and the galleries were three-quarters full. All the tourists were responding plausibly for what we were doing," he said.
[...]
"Since even pre-Civil War times, I don't think anything this spontaneous and dramatic has happened before," he said.

Now maybe that bolded word is just a typo or mistranscription and Bishop actually said "positively"--Lord knows I have a pretty big glass house on the typo front--or maybe this was a Freudian slip.

In any event, as a history teacher, Bishop doesn't have to look that far back to see examples of political stunts, in fact, he can just look back to the past 18 votes he cast over the last 90 days.

the crazies: a preview

Friends of mine inexplicably get the Deseret News every day, despite only asking to get Sunday only. One of their favorite things to read in the paper is what they call "the crazies" --the letters to the editor. There is even talk by my friends of starting a blog dedicated exclusively to deconstructing the insanity. To encourage such an effort, I hereby give my readers a taste. Here's one, in full.

Energy beliefs are naive
Published: July 31, 2008
It's disheartening to read the naive beliefs expressed in many of the letters regarding energy. The sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow; therefore they are not reliable energy sources. Electricity doesn't spring magically from the ground.
It's created by generators. Without a waterfall, fire is the energy source that powers generators. Fire comes in two practical forms: fossil fuels and nuclear power. The Green Gestapo blocks any effort to utilize these potential fire sources. Still, they insist we must switch to electricity. The ambiguity, contradiction and plain silliness of this reasoning is maddening to anyone with half a brain.

Ron Russell

Salt Lake City

Let's see here, belittling group you disagree with by calling them naive, check. Next, using alliteration to belittle, check. Comparing them to Nazis' Gestapo (short for Geheime Staatspolizei: "Secret State Police"), who murdered millions of Jews, Homosexuals, and disabled, check. Oh and I forgot, projection, check.

You see, electricity that is generated via renewables like solar and wind energy are not all used as they are being produced. Rather, there is this thing called a "battery" where electrical energy can be stored, maybe you have heard of those new gizmos? When you search for solar energy storage, you get nearly 3.5 million hits, including news stories of the latest storage technique discovered by scientists at MIT (wind energy storage generates a measly 1.06 million hits). And if anyone can explain what Mr. Russell was talking about with regards to "fire," I am all ears.

Our friend Mr. Russell also uses the straw man technique to suggest that environmentalists demand that we exclusively use solar and wind to supply 100% of our electricity needs immediately. Nobel Laureate Al Gore (So named to peeve Mr. Russell) has proposed a path to achieve the goal of switching to renewables exclusively within 10 years. Former Swift Vote Vet for Truth funder T. Boone Pickens has invested serious cash in building wind farms in Texas and promoting the idea of moving towards wind power generation. Currently, Germany generates something like 20% of its electritiy from solar, thanks to some serious incentives. The U.S. hundreds, if not thousands of acres of uninhabited land where the wind is fairly constant and the sun does shine alot--certainly a lot more than in Germany, whose whether is more like Seattle than San Diego.

If we can improve battery technology, improve transmission lines so that less energy is lost when moved, lower the costs of producing solar and wind energy, and reduce our consuption via increased efficiencies, Al Gore's plan is possible...and preferable to listening to idiots like Mr. Russell.

You know what really grinds my gears? Giving people a soapbox who don't know what they are talking about.

Shouting into the void?

(Talking to the multitudes at Utah State)

When a politician pounds a podium when the cameras are turned off, did it make a difference?

he House officially adjourned, Rep. Rob Bishop scuttled back to his rented Washington apartment Friday afternoon to finish laundry and prepare for his trip back to Utah for the August break.
He didn't get too far.
Called back to the floor by colleagues, the Utah Republican, wearing flip-flops, khaki cargo shorts and a collared shirt, joined other Republicans on the darkened House floor for rotating speeches pleading with the Democratic leadership to return to session.
The C-SPAN cameras were off and the television lights shuttered, but that didn't stop Bishop and about 40 cohorts from complaining that the Democrats had skipped town without offering any help to an American public suffering from high gasline prices.

Rep. Bishop is willing to do pretty much anything for his party, including showing up the House floor in attire unfit for a country club rambling on to no one.

However, on Friday afternoon, Obama expressed a willingness to consider offshore drilling if Republicans would vote for increased fuel standards etc. I am sure Bishop and his colleagues believe Obama caved (as do I) and they will therefore be even less willing to compromise with Democrats on their ideas--solar, wind, fuel standards, efficient appliances/windows/doors, etc.

I am not spam

Google is trying to ward out spam blogs. I did not know there was such a thing. And who would read it? But in any case, how did I become a suspect spammer? By being a blogger before Google owned blogger?

This post will be delayed until I am deemed a human being/non-robot and my muzzel is removed. Thanks Google.

people don't want to give props

The other day, property tax notices went out in Salt Lake County. And people at work in my office were mad and in shock. "$900 more?" One exclaimed, "I will have to sell my home!"

Some proposed increases are huge. The biggest is a 293 percent hike for Clarkston, Cache County. It would cost an extra $465 a year on a $250,000 home there, if approved. (Town leaders did not return numerous phone calls seeking reasons for that increase.)

Some proposed hikes are tiny. For example, Payson is proposing a 0.2 percent hike that would cost just 27 cents a year on a $250,000 home.

News of the hikes come in big, required-by-law newspaper ads and notices mailed to homeowners this month showing the assessed value of their property. (The notices and ads also include the time and place of hearings about those proposed hikes.) A list of all proposed hikes is also on deseretnews.com (click on graphic "Truth in taxation, 2008").

Utah's "Truth in Taxation" laws require public hearings and newspaper ads any time local governments propose to raise overall property tax revenues (not rates) beyond what they collected the previous year (not counting money coming from new growth).

The State Tax Commission compiled a list of 85 governments going through that Truth in Taxation process for hikes this year, all of which will be holding hearings during the next month or so as they decide whether to impose the proposed increases.

This is one of the "ironies" of this economic downturn. Prices on fuel and food are rising rapidly (and others gaining more slowly) while home prices tumble and wages stagnate. Yet property taxes are increasing.

This story helps make my case the other day for keeping earmarks around, albeit in a more transparent form. If people go nuts about the rate hikes now, imagine if you got rid of earmarks and reduced federal income tax accordingly (which would have a relatively minor impact on filers' bottom line) but jacked up property taxes to make up the difference in each locality. People would go ballistic. And maybe they should, but it just shows how impractical such a proposal is to implement.

the modernizing of Utah's liquor laws

(Utah State Liquor Store hours, by Don Nunn.)

[Note: there is a bill in the state senate to end the election day ban of liquor sales, as well as a push to end the ban on Sunday sales...so far, neither has been successful.]

When my college friends came out to Utah for my wedding (or any other time out of staters come to visit me), I had to sit them down and explain to them that a "private club" was really just a bar and that a "temporary membership fee" was just a mandatory cover charge, as well as the near impossibility of bar hopping. I also had to give them a summary of the "sidecar" rule and about Utah's falsely labeled "weak" beer. They looked at me with confusion and disbelief. Could it really be so Byzantine, they wondered? What a farce, some said. Others compared it to South Carolina's mandatory mini-bottle rule. Our state's laws with regards to alcohol are so counter-intuitive that the tourism office has a whole page dedicated to explaining the particularities of the Beehive State's liquor laws on their website.

First, the legislature did away with the sidecar last session, simultaneously making a Utah shot the same as a shot anywhere else in the world.

Second, it seems that "private clubs" might soon become bars and the usual meaning of word will return to Utah.

The state moved slightly closer to eliminating private club memberships, with members of the liquor commission requesting that legislation be drafted that would do away with the applications and fees now required of patrons.
But there was division among the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission members over whether the change sought by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is needed to accommodate drinkers, especially those just visiting the state.
[...]
Huntsman hopes to persuade the 2009 Legislature to eliminate private clubs. The LDS Church, which counsels its members to avoid alcohol, has yet to weigh in on the issue.

The Church's opinion on such matters is key. If the Church is persuaded that changing the rule is wise, then it will pass. If they oppose, the bill is dead in the water. But if they remain neutral, my bet is that teh proposal will be kicked down the road again.

Gov. Huntsman also wants to get rid of the "Zion Curtain" --the rule that there must be a physical barrier (these days, a piece of fogged glass usually does the trick) between the dining and drinking portions of a restaurant that wishes to have a bar inside. But that one, he agrees, must take a back seat to the private club fight, and will be shelved for another year.

Huntsman's push for ending private clubs means of all of the proposed reforms, this one stands the greatest chance of passage. The election day bill is sponsored by Sen. Scott McCoy, who is a Democrat from the Avenues who is openly gay...which means he has a tough time getting bills passed. And the Utah Restaurant Association is pushing Sunday sales as well as the private club bill, but they will need to wine and dine the mostly non-drinking legislators more to get these changes through (pun intended).

operation keep it close

Some of my Democratic friends are worried. Despite all of John McCain's screw-ups, he seems to be still within striking distance of winning. And if he taps Romney, they fear, Michigan and a few other Kerry states might fall into GOP hands. And so goes the presidency. But lets look at the facts.

1. Of the top ten best-funded House candidates who are challenging incumbents, nine of them are Democrats. The better funded the challenger is, the greater the likelihood that they will defeat an incumbent. And I am not even counting open seats, where 27 of the 29 House open seats were vacated by a Republican, and the top 15 contests feature 1 Republican with more money than the Democrat. In other words, the House is not only going to stay Democratic, but also the Dems will likely gain 10-20 seats, some of which will come from the following swing states: NC, PA, VA, OH, NM, MN, WA, MI, MO, FL and yes AK. With the large money advantage that the Democratic cogressional campaign committees hold over their GOP rivals, this means more money spend on turning out Dems and Dem-leaning independents all over the map, which can only help Obama.


2. The number and type of swing states favors Democrats. The most recent poll says Obama trails McCain in North Carolina by a mere 4 points (the margin of error was 3.4 percent). And PPP was pretty accurate on NC during the primaries...the Pollster.com average for this state is a mere two point McCain lead. On to Alaska, where McCain leads by less than 8 points according to Pollster. Or North Dakota, where McCain's lead is less than 3 points. Ditto for Montana. Two points in Colorado according to Pollster, but FiveThirtyEight.com, who got the most accurate results estimates in the primaries, thinks Obama is still narrowly ahead. Even narrower leads for McCain in these states: .8 in Florida, .7 in Missouri, and .6 in Indiana. Obama has an eight point lead in New Mexico, an 6.5 point lead in Iowa, and 6.1 point lead in New Hampshire. What do all of these states have in common? They all went for Bush in either 2000 or 2004 (or both). I didn't even mention the tight races in Nevada, Virginia, and McCain's "home" state of Arizona, or the Alaska-like closeness in Georgia. The only Kerry state--other than New Hampshire--Obama has to watch closely is Michigan, where he is up 7 points (or if you believe the conspiracy theories, Ohio, where Obama has a 3.5 percent lead). In other words, McCain is forced to defend many more states than Bush ever worried about in 2000 or 2004, and McCain's offense is limited to NH and MI because Obama has shored up the previously shaky states like OR, WA, PA, WI, and ME. There lots of ways Obama can get to 270+ electoral votes, but McCain can't without holding onto Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, and Nevada, as well as pulling Michigan AND either Iowa or New Hamsphire back into the fold (or add Missouri to McCain's collum and you need Colorado and New Mexico instead of Iowa or New Hampshire). Try out the scenerios for yourself at 270toWin.com. Why do I mention states like Alaska and Georgia? Because Obama can afford to spread the field wide and keep lots of states close (which helps lots of down ticket House and Senate races in places like Alaska), rather than hunkering down on a few states and working on his triple bank shot like Democrats mised in 2000 and 2004.


3. Obama's trip went well. If politics is watching TV with the sound turned off, then the images of him looking tough with Gen. Patreaus, talking and talking with various important heads of state, as well as a crowd of 200,000 Germans with people waiving US flags certainly trumps McCain standing in front of a German House or spilling apple sauce in a grocery store. And the polling confirms it: his lead has jumped back up to its highest levels against McCain since Obama came home.


4. The enthusaism gap. Here's how the Hotline explains the latest Pew poll:
   

   John McCain's supporters believe Barack Obama is the candidate with new ideas (58% to McCain's 24%). McCain voters also say Obama is more likable (45% to 34%).
   
   [...] Just a quarter of [GOPers who backed another Republican for President] supports McCain strongly, compared with 57% who support him only moderately. Herein lies the chief quandary for McCain. How does he generate enthusiasm from his base and court the precious swing voters he needs to win?

All in all, Obama is still rightfully the odds on favorite to be the next President, but it is by no means a lock.

in defense of earmarks

[The imfamous Bridge to Nowhere, artist's rendering courtesy of Anchorage Daily News]

With news that apparant Congressman-to-be Jason Chaffetz is against all earmarks, I wanted to point out that earmarks in and of themselves are not bad, only the Congress critters that exploit them are (I am looking at you, Alaska delegation).

An after-school learning program in West Valley City, transportation projects in Provo and a nursing program at Utah Valley University are all recipients of federal earmarks that Jason Chaffetz says should have never been funded.
The earmarks are among $9.4 million U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, helped secure for local projects that were slipped into appropriations bills through an earmark process that's frequently criticized as pork barrel spending.

Chaffetz defeated Cannon in a June Republican primary and says he doesn't care if the money would benefit his district or the state — he wants no part of earmarks.

"Until there's reform, I will not ask for them. They're a cancer within the system, and I want to extract them," Chaffetz said by telephone from Washington, D.C.

I suppose if one is going to crusade against earmark abuse and for earmark reform, one has to forego earmarks in one's own district. Yet I don't think kids in West Valley should have to suffer for this cause.

Those earmarks are for fine projects, Chaffetz said, but they shouldn't circumvent the executive branch's competitive-based selection process.

"I think there are ways to get appropriations done for worthwhile projects. It shouldn't be done through the cloak of darkness," he said.

This of course assumes that those in the executive branch in charge of the selection process don't make backroom deals or play favorativism with requests from members of Congress from their political party. And given this Administration's illegally partisan hiring and promotion practices at the DOJ, the conviction of a guy in charge of purchasing policy for the entire government for obstruction of justice and lying to protect his Abramoff-connected buddies (the conviction was overturned on proceedural grounds a month ago), I wouldn't place as much confidence in the executive branch to do the right thing as Chaffetz does.

Earmarks can be a sign of a members power and ability to horse trade, but they can also be a sign of projects that need to be funded at a certain level lest kids in West Valley decide to join gangs rather than shoot pool at an after-school center, for instance. And let's remember this chart as well, and also remember who was in charge of Congress from 1994 until 2006.

(Graphic by the Washington Post, based on Congressional Research Service data)
The first step to curbing Congress' addiction is not to cut off cold turkey, but to reign in abuses and have the people kick out the biggest abusers. If polls are to be believed, Rep. Don Young and Sen. Ted Stevens (Rs-AK)--two of the biggest offenders--will not be a part of the 111th Congress. As long as Congressman/woman's names are attached to their earmarks, and they aren't jammed into phone-book-sized bills at the last minute, we have a good shot at stopping the insanity.

The American Dream

(Photo Credit: Paul Fraughton/The Salt Lake Tribune)

To me, what makes one an American is not where you were born or who you were born to (that's citizenship) but rather, whether you strive to make your family's lot in life better. The American Dream isn't limited to 2.34 kids with a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence. It trying to make the Haratio Alger myth a reality.

Abdulkarim Abed Hasan and his family endured war and hardship in their Baghdad home for three years before moving to Syria. After two years there, the family was admitted to the United States as refugees and into an Avenues apartment in Salt Lake City in June.
If the parallel [to the story of the Mormon Pioneers] seems a bit strained, 49-year-old Abdulkarim would be the first to admit it.
"When I came here I saw that Mormons are very good. No drinking. No drugs. Better here than Las Vegas," he said. "But the past [of Utah], I don't know much about."
No matter. The Hasan family embraced its first Pioneer Day.

Adul-Karim is right, but I will add two more things Islam has in common with the LDS faith (one which he implied): believing that gambling is a sin, and that women should dress modestly. The forbidding of eating pork, charging interest, and eating with the left hand, of course do not apply (along with the other obvious ones). So who's to say that they won't feel at home in Utah, which is also a desert?

The Hasan family embraced its first Pioneer Day. Abdulkarim took his wife and five children to the Steiner Aquatic Center for a swim the day before, a luxury they have long missed since Baghdad's recreational centers were left destroyed or neglected. They gathered on the lawn to watch the evening's fireworks, then ventured downtown the morning after for celebrations. The parade was nice, but the fireworks impressed.
"When I see fire in my country, people die," Abdulkarim said. "This was different."
The family members count themselves among the lucky few who have left the violence and chaos of their home country to make it into the United States. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) estimates the war and its aftermath created more than 4 million Iraqi refugees. Half remain uprooted inside Iraq; the remainder live in Syria or Jordan where they are denied work.

A sobering fact. Let's hope their country (and the region) can be stabilized and that the next president will allow more refugees come to share in the promise that is America.

The family is loath to name a sectarian allegiance. "We are Muslims," said 10-year-old son Abdulrahman. "There is no Sunni or Shia."
Not content to sit at home, Abdulkarim said he is searching for work as a translator for construction companies rebuilding Iraq.
"Next year I'd like to see all Iraqis living here go to the [Pioneer Day] celebration together," he said. "Because we live in Utah, and benefit from life here, we must say thank you and celebrate with the community."

I am sure I speak for Utahns when I say, "You are welcome and welcome here."

Neither gaffes nor mistakes

When John McCain has made false statements, like mixing up Shia with Sunni, saying Iraq instead of Pakistan when talking about the boarder area where Al-Qaeda/Taliban remain, saying that Iran is allowing Al-Qaeda [in Iraq] to move about freely across their boarder, or saying the Surge is responsible for the Anbar Awakening, he is not (as some have claimed) confused or senile or ignorant of foreign policy .

Rather, it appears that these are intentional mistatements, ones designed to convey a message: that we should attack Iran, stay in Iraq indefinitely, and beef up in Afghanistan.  (Where all of the troops and equipment necessary for such efforts would come from, he never explains.)  

The misstatements are perfect precisely because they can be chalked up as mistakes.  This gives McCain the ability to claim that he didn't mean what he said when  fact checkers call him on it, but when not confronted with reality, he can get his message across to those who don't follow the details.

The whole thing is a revival of the Bush Administration's tactics to get us into war with Iraq...to say things to suggest more than even their flimsy evidence would support.  But the literal meaning of the statements allowed them to wriggle out of what they had hinted at. [Like the famous 16 words, "The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."]

Oh and my verdict on McCain repeatedly saying Czechoslovakia instead of the Czech Republic? Force of habit, like some older people who still say the now passe version of words like "Asian" "African-American" "Russia" and in McCain's case "Vietnamese"

Kanab-ing tax dollars for nepotism

First suspicious stuff in Kane County tourism board, now their economic development board?

Kelly Stowell, son of Sen. Dennis Stowell, R-Parowan, was hired last week as a special consultant/executive director for southwestern Utah's Center for Education, Business and the Arts, located in Kanab. Sen. Stowell represents Kanab and surrounding counties and supported the funding for CEBA.

In addition to his [$80,000 per year] base salary, Kelly Stowell can earn another $20,000 if certain goals are met over the next year, said Christina Schultz, chairwoman of CEBA.

A number of state senators received an e-mail Tuesday complaining about Kelly Stowell's hiring. A July [16] story in The Spectrum, a St. George newspaper, has on its Web site a posted comment that makes the same allegations as the e-mail: that Kelly Stowell is unqualified for the position and that Sen. Stowell helped get CEBA a $125,000 grant funded by the 2008 Legislature that provided the money to hire a new consultant/executive director.

That's right by using 'the Google' I discovered that the Deseret News got the wrong date. Oh and the CEBA people say Kelly's the right son man for the job, even though he "is probably about 25 years old."

It seems the whole state is rife with examples of, at the very least, appearances of impropriety of actions that could be seen as quid pro quos involving members of the legislature.

four-days a week

Governor Huntsman's innovative idea (I think Burmingham, AL might have proposed it first, but Utah is the first state to adopt it) to switch to a 4-day work week is already popular with state government employees:

Employees were asked a series of questions to measure their attitude toward the new schedule. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. announced the workweek as a way to save an estimated $3 million annually in energy costs by closing many state buildings on Fridays.

Fifty-six percent of those responding said they preferred working four 10-hour days to the traditional five-day workweek. Under the governor's plan, on Aug. 4 about 23,000 employees will begin working from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Most respondents said they anticipated the new schedule would have no impact on meeting child-care needs, using public transportation, holding second jobs or attending school.

More than 40 percent said they believe the shorter workweek will have a positive impact on their personal activities outside of work, while nearly 31 percent said the impact would likely be negative.

But more than 60 percent disagreed with the statement that there were many negatives associated with the new schedule that could not be overcome. Nearly as many disagreed that working four 10-hour days would be very inconvenient.

The results are similar to those found by another recent survey, which was conducted by the Utah Public Employees Association. The four-day workweek was favored by 75 percent of the state workers who took the association's e-mail survey, the UPEA reported.

The quasi-union likes it, the state-sponsored survey like it, it saves energy, both public tax dollars and private fuel costs. What's not to like? The only drawback is trying to get any state government related chore done on a Friday. But then again, you can use Utah.gov's online services to do things like renew a driver's license or vehicle registration...that saves time and stamps.

bury that lede

Occationally, I read a headline that makes me laugh, other times it is the lede (aka the opening lines of an article) that intregues. This time it is the later.

Rep. Chris Cannon has a reputation as a wonkish legislator working on the intricacies of intellectual property, technology and financial issues.

Really? According to whom does Chris have such a reputation? Chris Cannon and his staff? Because as far as I can tell, Cannon has a reputation of being a party stalwart and guy who says stupid things. In other words, the exact opposite of a wonkish legislator. Unless by "wonkish" he means "got a lot of campaign contributions from those industries." If that is the case, I agree.

The rest of the article is about his admirable efforts to create prize money to cure a rare form of cancer. But I had to include this last bit of ridiculousness found at the end of the article.

Cannon decided he is principled. He also doesn't consider himself a politician.
"That's why it is not uncomfortable for me to be out of touch with my constituents," he said.
Still, he wouldn't rule out a return to elective office or Congress, saying it was "very possible" he would run again if the political landscape changes and he had a shot at rising into House leadership.

Yes, a "wonk" who "isn't a politician" but is instead "principled" would want to seek a leadership post of his party, requiring ultra-partisanship and political skills to sway hundreds of his fellow House Republicans to promote him to be their leader. Cannon just reaffirmed my assessment of his reputation.

a good Samaritan

(Courtesy of Liberty News)

Yesterday driving home from my working vacation in Idaho, I had both incredibly bad and then good fortune. This parable from Luke's gospel sums it up.

And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
--Luke 10:30-37 (King James version)

Sure, I was going from Sun Valley to Salt Lake, and it was the family from Phoenix and not a Samaritan. But the message is the same.

One of my tires' treads blew off my car while I was going (ahem) 80 miles an hour on the freeway. First off, thank goodness no one was near me, because I swerved as I tried to regain control of the far. Second, thank goodness I was only a mile from a rest stop and only 14 miles from Snowville, UT (basically at the border), a town that had a couple of gas stations and hotels etc.

And most importantly, a family stopped at the rest stop and offered to help. First by lending me their iPhone to call AAA (Sprint had no coverage out there). It soon became obvious that AAA had no idea where I was and wasn't going to be able to help at all for at least a couple hours, so they changed my tire. Yes, I am completely useless on the handyman end of things (just ask my wife). Also, thank goodness that I had a half-way decent spare, of course, it was practically flat. So we crawled to Snowville and put in a quarters into a machine to inflate the tire. Then we drove 55 mph all the way back to SLC...about 110 miles.

But enough of our harrowing tale (check your tires), I wanted to say thank you to all those who offer to help strangers in the middle of nowhere out of the kindness of their hearts. Drive safely everyone.

a working vacation

No, not that kind. I will be in Sun Valley all the rest of the week for Continuing Legal Education (CLE). (And I thought school was over!) So doubt I will keep up with all of the latest news, polls, and scandals. But hey, I'm on vacation.

Have a great week/weekend.

nuclear waste storage is Yucca

On the heals of news that the proposed nuclear waste storage site Yucca Mountain--90 miles from Las Vegas--will cost $20 billion more than expected, Rep. Jim Matheson reiterates his proposal.

Yucca site is seeking a license to store some 77,000 tons of the radioactive leftovers.
Between 87 percent and 95 percent of that waste would travel through Utah en route to the southern Nevada facility, and Utah could again be looked at as a potential storage site for spent nuclear fuel.
Rep. Jim Matheson wants to take another route: leaving the waste where it was created.
The Utah Democrat pushed the Department of Energy official and others Tuesday about a bill he introduced in 2005 to have nuclear power plants hold onto their waste at reactor sites and for the DOE to take charge of them.
"The transportation of nuclear waste across the continent creates more problems than leaving it where it is," Matheson said, noting he does not oppose nuclear energy. "I just don't think moving the waste to Yucca Mountain really solves the problem. Even if we were to magically open Yucca Mountain today, we wouldn't have enough room for the waste we have."

Congress critters who don't live in Nevada or Utah don't see what the big deal is, because they aren't in the path of potential disaster and they don't want their waste anywhere near them.

That concern was shared by Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., who argued Yucca Mountain makes the most sense because it is remote and "there's no one around."
"If we can't put it in the desert, under a mountain, we just can't put it anywhere in this country," Shimkus said.
[...]
"A delay doesn't work for anyone's benefit," said Rep. Charles A. Gonzalez, D-Tex., who added that a lack of a clear storage plan is an "argument against improving our reactor capacity."

Au contraire, Congressman Gonzalez. A delay works to benefit of people in Utah and Nevada.

the truth about Oil

Rep. Rob Bishop decided to let out his old partisan ways (he was, after all, speaker of the Utah House before he was the 1st District's congressman) on the issue of high gas prices.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, led a GOP attack Thursday against Democratic House leaders, complaining they are refusing to address high oil costs while they piddle instead with minor bills this election year.
"We're not dealing with the real issues that affect people," Bishop told the House. "We're dealing with the small stuff, the trivialities. ... This is like junk food. It's like cotton candy. It's there. It's fluffy. It's airy. But it is not filling. It has no fiber. It gives the illusion of activity, but in essence we're dealing with a cotton-candy agenda."

Bishop led the Republican attack as the House debated a bill to designate a national historic trail from Rhode Island to Yorktown, Va., marking the path taken by George Washington and the French Army during the Revolutionary War.

On message even if off-topic. The current policy prescription for high gas prices by DC Republicans is

1. Drill in ANWR
2. Drill offshore CA and FL
3. Have a gas tax holiday
4. Create a myth that China and/or Cuba is drilling in the Caribbean

First, the portion of Alaska's North Slope currently part of the wildlife refuge does contain some oil to be sure, but not that much--about 200 days worth. Even supporters note that it would take 5 to 10 years to get the oil flowing to America. So this would have zero impact on today's prices, which look as far out as 6 months.

Second, the same problems occur offshore drilling as with ANWR. High cost of recovery, risk of spilling, long time frame to get the oil out, and relatively small amounts of oil and natural gas.

Third, a gas tax holiday will not lower gas prices, they will only serve to increase oil company profits and reduce money available to build/repair roads.

Fourth, China is not drilling off the coast of Cuba, no matter how many members of Congress repeat the claim. Even VP Dick Cheney admitted that his earlier claim was false.

Not that the Democrats' are much better. Their plans might promise long-term solutions (like switching to solar and wind power, reducing consumption, etc.) but offer little in the way of fixing the problem now. Imaginary taxes, regulations and investigations are not going to lower the price of gas that much. Heck, the Democrats can't even pass this year's budget, how are they going to get those three things through Congress?

The real answer is that not much can be done right away. The oil companies stopped building and even went to so far as to sell or shut down as many refineries as possible to set up this whole "bottleneck". Now to be fair, some of the blame falls on NIMBY--people that didn't want an oil refinery near their home. And until Americans driving habits--including the type of car they drive--change, our demand will continue to rise. Another part of the problem is out of our control: China and India's explosive growth has lead to more people with more money, meaning more oil consumption (and more pollution). But no politican can pass up a chance to promise something that people want, or to blame the oposition for the problem.

Gift Idea

Today after church I was watching my favorite TV time waster: some top whatever nostalgia show on VH1. (Man, have they cornered the market on that crap or what?) Anyway, I saw an ad two or three times and I thought to myself, "Now I know what to get Rudy Giuliani for Christmas!"


Check it out in all of its glory here (warning, the ad runs immediately with sound) [H/T Democratic Underground]

9+11=20, get it? How mindbogglingly exploitative. Thanks Liberian government! Can some one please explain to me who buys these coins/metal dollar bills and why?