Category Archives: State

Political Sacred Cows

Whenever someone assigns one thing as unassailable – whether it’s HAFB, the importance of seniority, the idea that all elected officials are crooks who should be replaced, or even the original text of the U.S. Constitution – it eventually leads them to make decisions that are undesirable in the long run. Continue reading

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Endorsing Dan Liljenquist

Dan Liljenquist goes about the business of solving political problems the way it ought to be done. Orrin Hatch represents the failed methods of the past that need to be put behind us. Continue reading

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Perspective on Palin Endorsing Hatch

I was a little surprised at the news that Sarah Palin had endorsed Orrin Hatch. It’s not that I had expected her to endorse Dan Liljenquist, just that I would not have expected her to see an entrenched, entitled incumbent … Continue reading

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We Need a New Generation in Washington

Investors Business Daily has a pro-Hatch propaganda piece up that deserves a few tweaks. First, the headline says that republicans must gain control of Congress for the economy to recover. Do we really need to remind everyone that Republicans had … Continue reading

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Addressing Abysmal Voter Turnout

Would non-partisan runoffs be a possible solution to address our declining levels of voter participation in Utah? Continue reading

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Redistricting in Ut(opia)

I have been watching the redistricting process with interest although I have not been able to be as vocal in the discussions as I might have wished. This late in the process we can see the forces at work and … Continue reading

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GRAMA Answers – A First Pass

I really appreciated the 36 questions that came out of the first meeting of the GRAMA working group and wanted to offer one perspective on a first pass at answering those questions. I will say upfront that the answers provided … Continue reading

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The Straw Man of Teacher Pay

photo credit: 2create I saw a post on Facebook, and later an email, with a title about how overpaid teachers are. The post went on to show mathematically that teachers are not overpaid by any reasonable measurement. Teachers and their … Continue reading

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Selective Enforcement of Law

photo credit: ThreadedThoughts In a not-particularly-surprising move, Arizona passed a very strict law giving police broad powers to crack down on illegal immigration. Equally unsurprising is the backlash from those who worry that rights will get trampled in the enforcement … Continue reading

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Repeal vs Lawsuit vs Nullification

photo credit: Smabs Sputzer Ever since the passage of that rancid piece of legislative sausage labeled health care reform Republicans have been talking about repealing the bill. Some even talk about “repeal and replace” as their goal. Alongside that rhetoric … Continue reading

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