Can't stop us now

Last night I watch the much ballyhooed Wes Clark, Jr. Interview. [Warning: video] And it is everything it was cracked up to me.

I remember back in February of 2004 when Clark's own hired guns whispered that Clark was withdrawing to kill the candidacy after he only won one state on Super Tuesday. By the way, he did a lot better than Edwards or Dean at that point, but some how Clark wasn't allowed to continue. Even then Wes Jr. was vivid, saying lots of bad things about the ex-Clinton ex-Gore ex-Graham staffers. And rightfully so, those clowns did nothing for Clark but make him look worse.

Clark made two big mistakes, one that lead to the other: getting in so late and as a result skipping Iowa. Iowa proved to be wide open and receptive to the kind of candidate Clark was.

Even though Wes Jr. can't imagine his dad running again, one has to wonder why else he was in Iowa last weekend. Is he running for VP instead, given that his son thinking that it will be a Hillary vs. Gore or Warner race? Is he running for Secretary of State? No he is running for president.

And it looks like if he follows his heart and his son's advice, it will be a great show. No more DC consultants, just the unvarnished truth. If junior had his way, Democrats would be winners because they would swing back hard. Someone has to call BS and someone has to speak truth to the system.

Americans are desperate for two things from their leaders (beyond actual leadership): honesty and togetherness. Clark believes in both and can achieve both. Watching his son's 45 minute slaying of Democrats and Republicans made me think of all the Rage Against the Machine songs I loved in high school.

I didn't care for the Marxist messaging as much as the power of the music. Some people will call Wes Jr. (and maybe his dad) angry or crazy or unstable. But there is good reason to be angry and those coward politicians are too big a bullies to actually address Wes Jr.'s points.

Perhaps Wes Jr. was a bit crass and vulgar, but he has tapped into his and many others ritegous indignation, their rage against the [political] machine.

quote of the day

Speaker Dennis Hastert, ex-wrestling coach, definding the 72 billion tax cut that went overwhelmly to the wealthy:

"Well, folks, if you earn $40,000 a year and have a family of two, you don't pay any taxes. So you probably, if you don't pay any taxes, you are not going to get a big tax cut."

[H/T AmericaBlog]
Um no, my family of two earns less than $40K, and we pay payroll taxes (Medicare/Medicaid, FICA, etc.), property taxes, taxes (or "fees" in Republican speak) on our cable/heating/cooling/electricty, gas tax, state taxes, and capital gains taxes. We might get a rebate back from the Federal Government from our income tax, but we still pay taxes Mr. Speaker.

Everywhere you turn, working families are being nickel and dimed by taxes and fees, both at the state/local level and the federal. State taxes and fees have gone up under Bush because he is cutting aid to the states and piling up unfunded mandates (NCLB and national security amoung the cheif culprets).

I will say it again, Republican Congresses under George W. Bush have raised your taxes. The net effect of all of their actions has been tax increases for the working and the poor while the ultra-rich have gotten a massive reduction in taxes. It isn't fair and it isn't American. Talk about class-warfare.

story of the day

sloppy cut-and-paste job dooms regressive flat tax.

"We screwed up," [Tax Commissioner Pam] Hendrickson said prior to a Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee hearing.
"In laypersons' terms, the economist 'cut and pasted' the numbers from the wrong spreadsheets. The magnitude of the error, however, is unacceptable," she told legislators.

Who's head will roll for this silly mistake? I know I am not a detail-oriented person at times, but when you are doing something as important as calculating the cost of your boss' key campaign pledge, better double check before you send it off to the legislature.

quote of the day

Goes to Ed Kilgore, a extrodinary writer and thinker over the DLC. "But when it comes to the House GOP, which is getting even more revved up in its nativism, his "come let us reason together" rhetoric last night was the functional equivalent of offering an olive branch to a wood chipper. He's falling between two stools, heavily."

Maybe I am just easily charmed by folksy Southern sayings but I just love the olive branch to a wood chipper visual.

tax reform is code for

In Utah, like in Washington, "tax reform" is code for making the tax code more regressive. That is, the burden of the tax base is shifted down to the middle class or lower-middle class, loopholes for big business and super-rich are Mack Truck sized, and the results are eventual cuts in popular social programs.

Utah's Governor Huntsman is trying to help out his fellow billioniares with his flat tax proposal. Thankfully, at least three versions so far have been killed. The latest idea? "Huntsman and some House members are already floating a "dual track" tax-reform scheme that would allow taxpayers to choose to file under either the existing tax code, with its myriad deductions and credits, or a flat tax of 4.8 percent with no deductions."

For me, tax reform means making the tax simplier and fairer. More simple by combining tax credits and deductions and having someone who speaks English write the forms. It shouldn't take an econ major to fill out the worksheet for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), or someone at H&R Block. Taxes should be clear enough that unless you have secret bank accounts, you could easily do your taxes without tax prep firms. [Sorry Accounting friends] By more fair, I mean that everyone pay a share proportional to what they can afford and how it hurts them. That means eliminating the cap on payroll taxes, so Bill Gates pays the same percentage as tomato pickers in California. It also means thinking about getting rid of payroll taxes all together and just raising income taxes and capital gains taxes accordingly. It means thinking about John Edwards' proposal to make capital gains tax equal to your income tax level. It means keeping the Paris Hilton Tax (aka Estate Tax) for those who don't one a family farm or small business.

That's a progressive tax reform proposal I would like to see, no more of these no billioniare left behind bills.

can you hear me now?

I went up to my parents house for Mother's Day. Sadly, my father wasn't much help as far as dinner etc. went, but that isn't that surprising. What surprised me was that he didn't think the latest NSA eavesdropping scandal was a big deal. Maybe it was because he listened to the erroneous media reports that say they are only collecting the number and length of calls (billions and billions of them). Or maybe because he was swayed by that sham Washington Post snap poll, which has been refuted by the USA TODAY one which asks more accurate questions and get a totally different result (51% disapproval of the program over 60% want an investigation and oversight). The establishment media really tried to kill the story on Washington Week, my saying it was no big deal and it will actually hurt Democrats (BOOO! Go away oversight, or probing minds!)

Meanwhile, there were lots of stories this weekend how about pissed off (and rightfully so) the LDS Church is about the media coverage of Warren Jeffs. Appearantly, the media can't tell the difference between a small break-away sect and a mainstream religion of millions of Americans. There are lots of people out East that still think LDS folks have plural wifes, even though the practice has been baned since 1890. The images on channels like CNN Headline News use the FBI most wanted picture of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs with the Salt Lake Temple superimposed in the background. This isn't just lazy, it is dishonest misleading and bigoted. The President of the LDS Church used to work in their PR department, so he knows how bad this looks and he and his team are trying to scream as loud as they can about this crap.

I say, welcome to the party, LDS Church. The media have been oversimplfying to the point of misleading the public for a long time, and their main whipping boy has been the out of power party (the Democrats since 1994). It seems now the leaders of the LDS Church have been good about clearing up the media and social myth that a Good Mormon can't be a Good Democrat, so maybe they will help bring attention to the braindead East-Coast Establishment, too-many-cocktail-weenies Traditional Media.

Friday round-up

Quote of the Day: "There's definitely an anti-incumbent feeling and I absolutely agree with it," says Roy Chapman, a [Utah Republican State Convention] delegate from Tooele. "The White House, the Senate and the House are Republican-controlled. And yet our country is in a mess. We have to blame the people who are in there." --SL Trib, on Rep. Cannon's chances in the convention. How come is he endangered? He had the audacity to say this: "We love immigrants in Utah. We don't make distinctions between legal and illegal."

That's right, Cannon faces a $1M self-funder who is anti-immigrant, and ex-Rep. Cook, who seeks a more moderate approach to immigration reform (penalize the companies). Remember, if Cannont can't get 65% of the delegates, there is a primary between the top two. Who will it be? If it was based on money, it would be Jacob and Cannon:

Jacob is basically self-funding his race; all but $8,112 of his $253,112 comes from the candidate. Jacob has spent $246,500 on the race up to the convention. He has $6,500 in cash but clearly can write checks himself if he gets into a primary.
Cook, meanwhile, is not spending much on the convention race.
Cook, who has spent more than $3 million on his own races and causes over the years, has given his campaign just $5,000. Other Cook family members have contributed, also. And the anti-illegal immigrant PAC, Team America, gave Cook $5,000, for a total raised of only $27,035, Federal Election Commission reports show.
Meanwhile, Cannon, who historically doesn't raise nor spend much money on his re-elections, has gone all out this year. He's raised more than $462,000 and spent $465,000 since his 2004 re-election.
Should Cannon be forced into a six-week primary battle with either Cook or Jacob, the incumbent has only $27,737 in cash to start that primary campaign. Cannon has loaned his campaign about $18,000, records show.

The amount Cannon has spent and raised, along with that quote above from our Tooele [pronounced Tool-will-ah for those of you not from the Beehive State] gives Democrats great hope for retaking the House (and maybe the Senate) this year.

Speaking of the U.S. Senate, there is a primary challenger to Orin Hatch (which happens routinely because Hatch is far too "liberal" for some delegates), Mike Ridgeway. But get this, the guy is so nuts appearantly that a Judge gave a restraining order against Ridgeway.

An anti-stalking injunction against candidate Mike Ridgway has been issued... It orders Ridgway to stay away from Republican Party activist Mark Towner and members of his family.
Towner lost his bid for the party's nomination to a state Senate seat after Ridgway distributed an anti-Towner letter among delegates of Senate District 2 at the Salt Lake County convention.
Ridgway reportedly then had confrontations with Towner and members of his family, which provoked Towner to seek an injunction ... since 2002, Ridgway has confronted either him or his wife at least 15 times...
The injunction orders Ridgway to stay away from areas where the Towners frequent, including their home, their work, the University of Utah and Republican events.
That means Ridgway, who has been involved in several confrontational incidents this campaign season and has been escorted out of his own precinct caucus by a security guard, might be in violation of the court order if he attends the convention on Saturday.

Talk about an incumbent protection program! [ba-doom-ching] Thank you I will be here all week.

Utah getting a 4th District

Even though it likely means another GOP rubber-stamp vote, I still think the appearant swap of 4 districts for Utah in exchange for DC's vote in the House is a good idea. Here's why:

1. DC will get a vote in the House. Again, even if the DC was GOP dominated, which it isn't I think it is only fair that they have a right to vote in Congress especially when Congress is so directly in charge of the city. They basically can overrule the mayor and city counsel at will with impunity.



2. Utah will get an at large district, which means the resulting GOPer could be a moderate. Just think, Huntsman and Walker were fairly moderate for Utah, and they we both elected statewide (Walker for LG, Huntsman for Gov). I wonder who will run in this food fight. Will Walker stage a comeback? Enid Greene? Nolan Karras? Merrill Cook? On the Democratic side, will some one convince Scott Matheson, Jr. to run again? Or Bill Orton? What about Karen Hale? Patrice Arnet? Would Jim jump from the second to this new 4th?



3. Jim Matheson's seat is still just as safe. In fact, even under the 4 normal districts scenerio, Jim could win in that new 4th too (which was drawn around Taylorsville, where Jim did really well in 2000). Giving Jim an opportunity to truely run statewide for Congress wouldn't be that much of a change. The ad buys wouldn't change, he would need more yard signs, but statewide he is loved. The addition of the Avenues, west side (WVC, Magna, etc.) Taylorsville, and Carbon County would more than outweigh the addition of Utah County. Plus then Jim would make a smooth transition to a Senate run when Hatch or Bennett retire in 2010 or 2012.

DLC Press=attack quotes

I used to work for the Democratic Leadership Counsel, back when I first graduated from college. The people there are great, smart, and genuinely trying to do the best thing for the Democratic Party. So too are the elected officials they court and trot out at events.

But the sad thing is, the only time any DLC/PPI (Progressive Policy Institute) event gets coverage is when Will Marshall or Al From or Bruce Reed or some elected (like Lieberman or Bayh or Vilsack) critique their party. Even when these folks are trying to engage the Party in a discussion, the part that gets quoted is the "Democrats need to stop...[negative GOP talking point] instead they should...." sentence. Buried in these reports is the vision, and when it is described it is also negatively described. Marshall is quoted as saying the party needs to be like Truman again, the press implying that the Demcorats are like Mondale or McGovern I guess.

Democrats disagree about whether to or when to pull out of Iraq, or if it was a bad idea to go in the first place, or how to talk about it. But in doing so, Democrats, especially New Dems should avoid couching their advice in negative terms towards the Party at public events. How about "Democrats can regain the advantage we held on national security issues for 80 years by..." instead of blaming their liberal collegues' ideas or purported ideas?

The press are idiotic drones looking for the same old story: Democrats are weak and divided and Republicans are strong and unified. So don't give them an inch, or in this case, a word, that will allow the press to print another "fight" story. This goes double for those chickenshit unnamed sources who are whiny Democrats. New Dems can say something like "While I may disagree with Sen. Finegold about setting a deadline for troop withdrawal, we all can agree that this situation in Iraq cannot go on indefinately." This isn't painting a Potemkin village, this is stating the facts: DLC Democrats and Wellstone Democrats agree about 80-90% on Domestic Policy and probably like 60-75% on Foreign Policy.

I know those politicans crave quotes and stories, but part of the DLC training and part of the messaging advice should be don't say anything that sounds like you are picking a fight with your party. Disagree? Fine by me. Suggest a different course? Cool. But really, you should be picking a fight with the Republicans about all the bad stuff they have done and the bad stuff they do to you.

Democrats seem weak to the American public because they appear to cater to polling rather than their gut reaction [supported by facts of course]. Not just on questions of war and peace, but on when an opponent picks a fight or slimes you. Fight back with some dirt of your own by saying "I find it ironic that X's surrogates are calling me a Y without any proof when X has done..." or "Only a coward and a bully throws mud when faced with almost certain defeat, and make no mistake X is a coward trying to bully me. Ladies and Gentlemen, I won't stand for it." Then have your press people leak the complex truth that refutes X's smear.

Either DLCers don't realize how their being played (and have no clue how to fix the problem) or they are seeking the press come hell or high water, or they really are RINOs like some in lefty blogostan believe. I hope it is the first, but fear it is the second.

coin-operated tourism

This appearantly is going to be Utah's choice for the back of the quarter, according to leakers in the Governor's office. This will help people learn about Utah's role in history as the place where the Golden Spike was hammered in, but won't really get that many people out to Promontory Point I bet. Why not focus on the mountains, the red rock formations? Most people have no idea that Utah is home to the Sundance Film festival, dozens of great national parks, dozens of great ski resorts, and the host of the 2002 olympics.

The two other options were that of a beehive or that of a snowboarder. Of the three, the snowboarder would be my vote given the criteria I just mentioned. The Beehive has religious overtones obvious only to those you know about the LDS religion and is confusing to everyone else. Again, tourism is not going to be big for trains. But skiing and other outdoor recreation is. Why not have a skiier/snowboarder on one half of the coin and a hiker near delacate arch on the other. "America's playground" could be the motto, if you are looking for one.

In other Utah news, someone is not running for reelection: Rocky wants $20K for his portrait (5k more than Deedee paid) AND a $4.6M property tax hike. Good luck on that one.

meet Kanab's most "natural family"

[Photo Credit:Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune]
The Trib found Kanab's most natural family: married in an LDS temple, male breadwinner (a family-practice physician), mother/homemaker (even churns her own butter), and a "full quiver" of children (seven preteen kids - including triplets). And yet, unlike their mayor, they don't think anything less of the "unnatural" family's, in fact, they have greater respect for them than the traditional family:

"We're really lucky to have the family we've got," Jonathan [Bowman, 38] says. "But we really admire people who don't have the personal structure of a family, for the efforts they make to raise their kids and do the best they can."
[snip]
"Part of the resolution . . . is [men] are supposed to be home builders. Well, I'm a barn builder," he says with a laugh.

You see, Jonathan understands what it is like to be a social outcast. After all, when he did his residency, people thought it was odd that he had (at the time) 5 children. His wife Donna (also 38), understands why some are taking offense at the resolution "People feel very defensive if they feel they are under attack or that they are being judged," she says.

Moussaoui wakes up

Moussaoui Asks to Withdraw Guilty Plea. The paper of record has the goods from the hearing:

Mr. Moussaoui told Federal Judge Leonie M. Brinkema that he claimed to be a member of the plot "even though I knew that was a complete fabrication."

Mr. Moussaoui told Judge Brinkema, in what appeared to be a futile motion to withdraw his plea, that he had not trusted the American legal system because he was not assigned a Muslim lawyer, and that his days in solitary confinement had provoked him to fight that system.

The jurors' decision to spare his life made him look at his situation anew, Mr. Moussaoui said. He said he would welcome a trial where he could show he was not part of the 9/11 plot "because I now see that it is possible that I can receive a fair trial even with Americans as jurors."

The reporter here termed the effort futile...is that because the statutory deadline already passed for withdrawal of the a guilty plea? Someone who knows Federal Senencing Laws would really be a hero here in the comments. Or is this just a bit of personal views inserted not so subtley?

Assuming Mousaoui can withdraw his plea (given the jury sentence etc.), this would a terrible setback for the DOJ's end of the War on Terror ™ ...The only guy they have nailed so far was nailed because he was crazy enough to plead guilty without anything in exchange (like no death penalty, or automatic no appeals death for radical muslim would-be marytrs).

This is quickly turning into a landslide loss by the government. Is it becuase the attorney's are Michael Brown-esque? Torture? Lots of inadmissible evidence? No real evidence? What is the deal here.

Utah Congressional Roundup

The 3rd District GOP primary looks to be interesting. The issue that will define the race is immigration. Rep. Cannon is being challenged by the right on this one, where he faced a primary on the issue last time (before it was nearly as prominant of an issue as it is this year). ex-Rep. Cook is also challenging him from the center-right. They debated their ideas for the Deseret News and the others who were in attendence:

Jacob suggested taking away the "incentives" for illegal immigrants, to encourage more legal immigration. At the same time, Jacob touted stricter enforcement of existing laws.
Cannon referred to legislation he is currently involved with that would strengthen U.S. border security, as well as measures to help "innocent children who were dragged here by their parents" to obtain an education while in the United States.
Cook stressed forcing employers to adhere to existing immigration laws, instead of looking the other way. Cook said if employers do that, the number of illegal immigrants coming to America will decrease.

I actually agree with the businessman Cook on this one. If you really want to stop illegal immigation, the only real solution besides helping to improve the economies of the sending countries is to more strictly enforce punishments against companies that hire illegals.

Rep. Matheson, who seems safe despite being in one of the most (probabbly top 5) Republican district in the country, decided to play it even safer this year. In a move that is garnering him much flack from liberal bloggers and go-gos, Matheson voted for the weak loobying reform bill. The idea I guess was to avoid an attack ad, like when Matheson voted for the Medicare bill. Of course, that is not how he explained his vote to the Salt Lake Tribune.

While noting he wished the bill “did more” to reform the laws, Matheson said in an interview, “I think what plays into the decision is, something is better than nothing.”
“If we were less partisan around here we would accomplish more,” he added, But “if there's an opportunity to vote on something, I'm going to vote for it.”

It is true, something is better than nothing. But sometimes something bad is worse than nothing at all. We will see if this bill will delay the necessary reform process or if it is just an intermediate step.

Who will be the next mayor of SLC?

Because it sure as heck won't be Rocky. "The results of a Dan Jones and Associates poll, commissioned by the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV, showed that 39 percent of city residents say the mayor deserves to be re-elected, and another 57 percent think it's time to give someone else a chance." Of course, the same poll give him a 52% approval rating.

Yet like Bush, he is a divider, not a uniter: "Only 4 percent of "strong Republicans," for instance, said they would support a third term for the incumbent. But of the "strong Democrats" polled, 84 percent supported his re-election." Similarly, "Anderson's strongest supporters self-identify with Catholicism, Protestantism or no religion. Among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Anderson's approval ratings and support for re-election hover at 26 and 12 percent, respectively."

While the sample size of the sub-groups makes these numbers suspect, there is a vague grain of truth to them. Members of the city council think they have a shot at being mayor, so do county coucil members. I personally don't like Eric Jergensen my councilmember, because he never responded to my email. What kind of constituent service is that? I mean, how many emails do SLC councilmembers get anyway...well maybe the Aves get more than most. You know, all those prayer flags, end the war lawn signs, and drum circles add up.

Meanwhile, Utah's other prominant Democrat, Rep. Jim Matheson is doing all he can to make a fuss and drag is feet to stall the testing of bombs out in the Nevada desert near Utah. This is one of those issues where Matheson doesn't have to look at poll or wonder about campaign contributions or GOP attack ads, because he doesn't care what anyone else thinks. This father died of cancer because the government lied to us about the same kind of testing. It's just that simple.

Porter Goss and Hookergate

UPDATE: The Center for American Progress has much more details on the links between ex-Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-jail) and Goss. A sudden, unexpected resignation on a Friday afternoon smacks as being part of a bad news dump.
a href="http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/05/05/breaking-porter-goss-resigns-as-cia-chief/">BREAKING: Porter Goss Resigns as CIA Chief:

"Breaking news being reported by MSNBC: they have confirmed that Porter Goss has resigned as Director of CIA. Rumor has it that Francis Townsend may be the President’s new nominee for the position. NBC saying that they do not expect for a replacement to necessarily be named today."

The key here is that Porter's deputy (executive director) Billmon has more:

It seems Foggo's procurement duties were originally what made him such a welcome guest at Chez Wilkes. As director of the CIA's forward logistics office in Germany, he helped Wilkes (a boyhood buddy) get to first base with the agency, winning a $2-3 million contract to supply water and first aid kits to CIA agents in the field in Afghanistan and Iraq....The alleged amount of the contract under negotiation? Close to $300 million, I've heard.

How far down the um rabbit hole do we want to go on this one? "No where!" says the Traditional Media. "All day long!" says the lefty blogosphere. "[crickets]" says the rightwing blogospere.

The announcement on the resignation ought to be made today."

Friday round-up

Wherein I cull all the best tidbids from around the blogophere.

• “The official team bus to be used by the United States during the World Cup will not bear a flag for security reasons. The 32 official buses were presented Thursday in Frankfurt and the other 31 buses have large national flags of the teams painted on rear sides.”--The only one. Why don't we put a Canadian flag on our bus like all the tourists have to do with their backpacks? [hat tip Center for American Progress]



• Following up on Rep. Kennedy's exploits: "Kennedy: I Wasn't Drinking. I Was High." On what you ask? Why Ambien of course! Isn't that the stuff that makes you eat while you sleep? But then again we have this juicy nugget from an employee of the Hawk and Dove (great Bar) "He was drinking a little bit."
  
  [hat tip TPM] Patrick's statement:
  

  "Last Tuesday, the Attending Physician of the United States Congress treated me for Gastroenteritis," a stomach illness. According to Kennedy, the attending physician prescribed Phenergan, an anti-nausea medication, which in addition to treating gastroenteritis, "I now know [it] can cause drowsiness and sedation."
  
  "Following the last series of votes Wednesday evening, I returned to my home on Capitol Hill and took the prescribed amount of Phenergan and Ambien, which was also prescribed by the Attending Physician some time ago and I occasionally take to fall asleep. Some time around 2:45am, I drove the few blocks to the Capitol Complex believing I needed to vote.
  
  "Apparently, I was disoriented from the medication. At that time, I was involved in a one-car incident in which my car hit the security barrier at the corner of 1st and C St, SE. At no time before the incident did I consume any alcohol."




• Crime doesn't pay, in fact, it costs you lots...in attorney's fees. "Ohio Republican Rep. Ney, struggling to survive Abramoff link, used campaign funds to pay lawyers more than $200,000; now he taps legal defense fund. Montana Republican Sen. Burns also considers using campaign account despite re-election battle. Federal Election Commission permits such spending if alleged wrongdoing relates to official duties." [hat tip Washington Wire] Can some one tell me why we let people raise $2,100 checks for their "reelection" and then let them turn around and fork that over to a criminal defense lawyer? Doesn't seem right to me. As a donor, I would ask for my money back. But I guess the people that give to these crooks know what they are buying. Oh and don't forget the token Democrat: Rep. William Jefferson (LA) wasted $34k of his donors money on defense lawyers, and that will probably go up since someone just pled guilty to bribing Jefferson. I say throw all the bums out and the DCCC and unions better not be giving to this crook.



• In local news, Sandy won't give up keeping [it] Real: "Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon argues the numbers "don't work," so Sandy officials are going to work on those numbers. The goal: See if they can salvage a Major League Soccer stadium."



• Does somebody have a book to sell? We wouldn't want anyone [else] to profit from a tragedy/crime! "Appearing on "Larry King Live" with her father, Ed Smart, [Elizabeth] Smart answered questions about the kidnapping and her life after it. Today, Smart works as a bank teller and has a boyfriend. At high school, she is treated pretty regularly, she said."

insert Drunken Kennedy/Irish joke here

Hotline asks us to "Picture it.":

This morning at 2:45 a.m., "a Member of Congress nearly smashes his car into Capitol Police officer's vehicle. Member 'staggering' out of car. Allegedly says he's late for a vote. Cap. police sergeants show up. Member is apparently given a ride home. Cap. police patrol officer's union protests. Roll Call gets wind of the incident."

And Roll Call names names "Police labor union officials asked acting Chief Christopher McGaffin this afternoon to allow a Capitol Police officer to complete his investigation into an early-morning car crash involving Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.)."

Why do House incumbents do this sort of thing, and why does Patrick Kennedy in particular do this sort of idiotic behavior every so often? There is something wrong with the House and its de facto ten year terms. Well over 90% of all House members win their reelection by overwhelming margins. Is it because they are especially skilled or likeable? Look to Patrick Kennedy to answer that one.

It is because of redistricting. In order for Democrats to recapture the House, they need 15 seats. That alone will reduce those high-reelect numbers and hopefully will be helpfull for democracy.

And drunk driving

Carroon is no Marroon

The Salt Lake Tribune Headine: No deal for Real.

"Real Salt Lake's aspirations to tap hotel-tax money to build a soccer stadium in Sandy are dead, after Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon announced Wednesday that the 'numbers just don't work' for county taxpayers."

The $35 Million tax subsidy of the team is not 100% dead. "Corroon's bold move...[could be counteracted if] [v]oters...approve stadium funding - through a property-tax increase - if the County Council or Sandy agreed to place that question on November's already-crowded ballot."

Carroon went against the powerful mayor of Sandy, the House Speaker (also from Sandy) and one of the most popular governors in the Union. "We must have tried 20 iterations of how to do this deal," the County Mayor told columist Holly Mullen, "what it would look like if we did this or did that. It always came back to the same thing. We couldn't find a fiscally responsible way to make it work."

"It struck me that day," Mullen said about RSL's season kickoff and announcement about the Sandy Stadium last fall, "as slightly tacky and even politically risky that Checketts et al pulled Corroon onto the dais almost as an afterthought. He was the man who, as it turned out, the rest of them really, really needed. And his name was last on the thank-you list. "

As much as I like soccer and as sad is I would be to see RSl go if they did leave for Phoenix as they have threatened, I say good riddence to taxpayer subsidized sports and whiny idiotic sports management.

And to Carroon, if he keeps this up, he will be reeelected in a landslide. A Democrat that stands tall and calls it like it is to save his constituent's money? That's a winner.

hello kettle, it's me, Dick Cheney

Vice President Dick Cheney today said that "the government has unfairly and improperly restricted the rights of her people" and that other "counterproductive" actions could "begin to affect relations with other countries." "No legitimate purpose is served," Mr. Cheney said, to the use of oil and gas as foreign policy weapons, he added. No, he wasn't talking about the United States silly, he was talking smack to Russia. What ever gave you the idea he was talking about his own administration?

Next thing you know, he will go to China and critize them for torturing people.

The moral high ground to critize countries for their lack of democracy, protections for minorities, human rights, foreign policy, abiding by international treaties and laws, energy policy, and torture was all washed away by the Cheney Administration.

How did these clowns get into office? Well this might be an answer: A TV Guide poll finds that 35% of American Idol viewers believe their votes count as much or more than voting in a U.S presidential election.

Kanab we all just get along?

The little story that wouldn't die now hits the big time: the old grey lady has taken up the Kanab Natural Family Resolution. The latest twist, some stickers businesses are displaying have little rainbow people, which some in the town insinuate to mean little gay folks are welcome. To make sure no one gets that mistaken impression, the august mayor is proposing every business have a "Everyone is welcome here" sign minus the little rainbow people. By the way, the local Shilo Inn lost $14,000 in March.

photo credit: George Frey for The New York Times
"A natural family is a fundamental part of our infrastructure that we need to protect and promote," Mayor Lawson told the Times. Yes the "natural family" is under attack in a city of a little over 3K.

Kortney Stirland, a pharmacist who describes himself as a conservative Republican and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, displays the sticker and opposes the natural family resolution, which he has twice asked the council to rescind. He says he has also been offended by people in the community who have told him that a person cannot oppose the resolution, as he does, and still believe in traditional values.

"Originally it was a religious issue, then it became a gay and lesbian issue, but for me now, it's economic," Mr. Stirland said.

Originally it was a stupid idea, then it became a stupid idea because it necessitated intimidation, then it was a stupid idea becuase it divided the town, now it is a stupid idea because local businesses have lost revenue. I really hope this resolution is A) repealled and B) the Mayor loses in his next reelection campaign.

Hat tip State of the Beehive.