Category Archives: politics

Orrin at the Bully Pulpit

As soon as I read the title, D.C. voting act is best way to ensure that Utah gets its 4th seat, I knew we were in for more misinformation. To then go to the article and find that it was … Continue reading

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Federalist Nos. 47 – 48

I had never really considered the interplay between the concept of separation of powers and the concept of checks and balances between branches of government. Here Madison explores the limits on the separation of powers (Federalist No. 47) and the … Continue reading

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Score One for Buttars

I was surprised this morning to see an article that showed Senator Buttars in a positive light. Eric Ethington and Elaine Ball, founders of the grass-roots, service-oriented Pride in Your Community, stopped Republican Sen. Chris Buttars in his driveway on … Continue reading

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Inauguration Day

After reading/hearing news coverage of today’s activities I have come to a couple of conclusions. First, I have made a goal to attend a presidential inauguration – not just the parade, but the actual swearing-in ceremony with the inaugural address. … Continue reading

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I Call Theme

A link posted on KVNU’s For The People blog leading to this this WSJ article fired off my pattern recognition neurons. From the article: Whatever the cause, it is a dangerous beginning. Mr. Obama can currently afford to do some … Continue reading

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FOCA

My sister-in-law suggested that her generally apolitical blog was not the place to engage in aΒ  debate on abortion. She’s probably right, but such a debate fits just fine here. In many ways the debate on abortion is settled. An … Continue reading

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Orrin Depends on Sloppy Journalism

The news media is supposed to help us make sense of the world around us, but to a large degree most news organizations have relegated themselves to being nothing more than data streams. A perfect example today comes with the … Continue reading

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News and Government

I have been reading Breaking The News and consequently thinking about the role of the media in disseminating information and the effects of that process in the political arena. I don’t know that my thoughts are fully formed here, but … Continue reading

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Legislative Accountability

John Florez has a good perspective on what constitutes True government accountability and the forces that work against citizens from receiving the benefits of that accountability. I thought his comparison of the legislature to a corporate board of directors was … Continue reading

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Annapolis Convention

It was not so long ago that I became aware of the Annapolis Convention of 1786. Though I had started reading the resulting report before I got my pocket Constitution I was very excited to see that it was included … Continue reading

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