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.