Casserole Bar

Zionus Exitus

2006-02-01T13:24:00.000-08:00

Like a splinter that the body eventually purges itself of, I now find myself being pulled from the index finger of this pretty, great state, with hopefully plenty of metaphorical blood and pus left behind to demonstrate that I got my hooks into things while I was here.

I told myself that I was going to wash my hands of Utah blogging when I moved, so if I choose mental health, I shall cease to dilate on the political and social goings-on in Utah. They say you have to hit rock-bottom before you realize that things have to change, so I wanna give a shout out to the Utah Lege for helping me come to that realization.

So, if anyone cares, here's some things I would like to say before I get out:

Thanks to Ethan for being the glue that holds the fledgling Utah blogosphere together.

Thanks to Alta Ski Lifts Company for givin a fellow a place to get above it all.

Thanks to the University of Utah for doing the seemingly impossible - being a beacon of reason and a cultivator of critically-thinking minds in a state bound by dogma and go-alongism.

Thanks to the City Weekly for its efforts to poison the minds of Utah's youth.

Thanks to Rocky Anderson for showing us what real values-driven leadership looks like.

And before I go, I'll humbly ask the brethren to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ more and those of Boyd K. Packer less. You've got alot of people that listen to you and I think if you allow people to follow the dictates of their own conscience more, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how perfecting the Saints begins with their own individual moral reasoning.

Peace.

No Taliban comparisons here. None. Zip. Zilch.

2006-01-18T10:44:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems that Paul Mero got some takers. Although this is an official government resolution that establishes a preference for (at the very least) a monotheistic religion and relegates women to wifery and homemaking, we should not draw any similarities between between this and the policies of the Taliban. None. We should also refrain from noting that polygamy flourished under the Taliban as it does in Southern Utah. Furthermore, if any Taliban comparisons made, we must always shoot the messenger.

"I said everything I had to say when I pulled the movie. OK? Anything else you want to know?"

2006-01-17T11:14:00.000-08:00

Since we have to glean what Larry Miller "said," I'll take the first stab:

"Ladies and Gentlemen:

Many of you have voiced your discontent with my decision to pull Brokeback Mountain from my family-friendly theatres. My reason for this is simple: films that portray homosexuals or those with homosexual leanings as sympathetic and human figures are immoral. Many have pointed out that past features shown at my theatres have included homosexual characters and, to some degree, depictions or descriptions of homosexual acts and have used this to illustrate inconsistency or even hypocrisy in my judgment. What these people have failed to realize is that for years Hollywood could be relied upon for producing homosexual characters that are flamboyant, one-dimensional freaks created solely for the purpose of superficial entertainment. With Brokeback Mountain, it is clear that homosexual characters are now being portrayed realistically and placed in situations that causes viewers to self-reflect and to ponder new ways of attaining a heightened morality and developing compassion for their fellow man. Since I have an ardent desire to become more Christ-like, it should be obvious to everyone why I pulled Brokeback Mountain."

"Others have attempted to paint me as a moral hypocrite by pointing out that while Brokeback was cancelled, Hostel and other films that glamourize murder and other violent acts were permitted to be screened. The contention made here is fallacious. It is widely known that violent films have no effect on the actions of individuals, specifically children and teenagers. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about films involving homosexual subject matter. Upon witnessing the ridiculously giddy and glamorous ending enjoyed by the characters in Brokeback, our young men would be tempted and likely corrupted into the homosexual lifestyle. As a pillar of this community, I have an obligation to ensure that the youth of Zion never think for themselves and perish in the inevitable personal destruction that would result."

"Please soften your hearts and consider the 0% financing I have to offer on our new '07 SUV's. Innenamajesuschristamen."

See it then comment on it

2006-01-11T10:36:00.000-08:00

"Gay," "cowboy," "love story." All words enough to make everyone cringe. It's alot like "polygamists," "desert," and "green Jell-O." Buzzwords that are sensationalistic, demeaning, and nowhere near accurate in describing the subject matter they're ascribed to.

Thing is, the film and the short story aren't nearly so one-dimensional. Annie Proulx's grasp of rural language and behavior are reason enough to read/see Brokeback Mountain. If you grew up in the rural West, it's alot like going back home to Randolph, Elko, Duchesne, Loa or wherever. The "gay" thing, as Proulx and the movie have constructed, is simply an observation of a seemingly foreign element disrupt how things seemingly should be.

More Utah "morality"

2006-01-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple of family-friendly flicks you can catch at Jordan Commons:

Hostel. In this uplifting and enlightening film, we witness two backpackers who grow tired of the drugs and whores that Amsterdam has to offer and take off for a resort town in Slovakia that promises stronger drugs and cheaper whores. There, they are subject to the macabre enjoyment of a sadistic hostel owner of which the film doesn't skimp on in terms of graphic depictions.

The Ringer. Here, Johnny Knoxville fakes being mentally retarded (are you laughing yet?) in order to rig the Special Olympics. The mocking of those with mental and physical abilities is the primary source of knee-slapping, gut-busting laughs.

What you won't see is Brokeback Mountain. Based on a short story by rural author Annie Proulx, Brokeback is a film depicting two kids who find themselves with an "unnatural" attraction and grasp everything they can to lead normal, fulfilling, and heterosexual lives. The acting is superb, the dialogue golden, and the subject matter prone to inflict philosophical and moral rumination on its viewers.

But in Utah, we are all about morality on the surface. What good is morality if you can't use it to wag your finger in the face of others? Real morality, where you seek to become a better person based on the dictates of your own concience and ability to reason, is hard. It's just so much easier to wear certain "morals" on your sleeve rather than instill them in your heart. Just ask Larry Miller.

If only we could grow soybeans in alkili flats

2005-12-23T09:45:00.000-08:00

For a while now, Steve Urquhart has been talking about how federally-owned land in Utah would solve all of our fiscal problems if only those greedy feds would give us "our" land back. Putting the 75% the state that is federally-owned land into private ownership would, as the logic goes, increase total property tax revenue. Unfortunately, more land on the assessor's rolls does not equal more property tax revenue.

Iowa is the state with the most amount of privately-owned land. As such, it pulls in some $3.3 billion in property tax revenue, divying it up to some $1,118.51 per corn-fed, salt-of-the-earth Iowan. Compared to Utah's $751.91 per person, it would seem that more privately-owned land does bring in more dough. However, Nevada, the state with the most federally-owned land in the lower 48, brings in somewhere near $930.88 per person. Idaho, similarly situated, does $889.62. With the vast majority of private property in Nevada being in Clark County (Las Vegas), it seems that tax performance in the West largely relies on assessments in urban areas. Furthermore, Iowa's tax receipts are what they are because it is a flat, wet, and arable state that has more (traditionally) economically productive land.

The way we make land perform in the west is getting the most value out of the scraps of habitable land that we do have. There are a myriad of ways to do this, but the most effective way is to increase density. Mr. Urquhart has identified the lack of land in places like Washington County as a need to "homestead" the federally-owned red dirt around St. George. What is more striking to me, however, is the under-performing real property in the historic heart of St. George. Density increases in Downtown SG would increase property values while hopefully giving it somewhat of a pulse. Unfortunately, with the St. George beltway proposal, it looks like we're on our way to covering the red rocks with pre-fab, ranch-style dwell-pods. And, as an added bonus, it looks like we might be using the same strategy with Legacy (but gee, federal judge, we spent all our money on the freeway already!) to compel the feds into letting us chip away at BLM land. Whatever the case, we've got to be smarter about land development and stop relying on the proven unsustainability of mindless land consumption.

Below is a graphic of federally-owned land in Alaska and the lower 48. It's kind of pretty, dont you think?

Bad spending = bad air

2005-12-21T21:26:00.000-08:00

Out West we like to think that our big open spaces insulate us from the need for effective environmental protections. To some extent, that's true in a lot of places, as the 500 miles of desert and mountains between major Western cities allows us to dump our crud into the environment without alot of immediate consequences.

Unfortunately, that's not the case along the Wasatch Front. Our water ends up in a dead sea that, when embedded in an exposed lakebed, conjures up dust clouds full of mercury and other toxic shit that finds its way into our modest rivers and streams. What we put into our air is often shoved in our faces and down our lungs as the mountains around us hold our air in the valley and, as they are older and wiser than us, seemingly seek to make us immediately realize the consequences of our collectively crapping into the air.

What a coinkydink, then, in the same day the Tribune publishes one article about a medium-city's failure to comply with EPA air standards, another one shows up about Senate leadership poised to build more roads. It appears that the gentlemen in the Senate are not listening to what the mountains are telling us. More roads equals more particulates.

For those that think that clean air is just a bone-headed hippie rallying cry, chew on this: roads are more expensive and less efficient than transit. So Lyle Hillyard has a constituent that wants "freeway to drive on." Does he really feel that this "family state" should spend its money on a damn freeway - which just generates its own traffic anyway due to its inducement of land development - rather than making sure that its children/elders/health-deficient can go outdoors on certain days?

Roads are expensive and they are bad for your health. So why is a cash-strapped state government, with a modest growth rate, pedal-to-the-metaling on their construction?

Godless judge sticks finger in Chris Buttars' eye

2005-12-20T11:09:00.000-08:00

Judge John E. Jones of the Federal Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has ruled that "intelligent design" is unconstitutional. Not surprising, but a stunning blow to the "my god or the highway" crowd nonetheless.

More interesting, however, is this quote from the opinion: "The citizens of the Dover [Pennsylvania] area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID [Intelligent Design] Policy," Jones wrote."

Assuming for a moment that this judge is the not a liberal-activist-god-and-freedom-hating heathen that he is, his quote, by extension, would mean that the citizens of UT Senate District 10 are currently being "poorly served." Thank God, however, that he is a liberal-activist-god-and-freedom-hating judge, because if he weren't, then we would have to accept that Chris Buttar's constituents are "poorly served."

Wow, Chris Buttars is really stupid

2005-12-16T10:35:00.000-08:00

I've always regarded Buttars' adventures as a quirky diversions into the 13th Century ("divine" design, anyone?) that are, by the magnitude of their sheer stupidity, relatively harmless. But waging war on innocent teenagers is really a sign that someone has fallen of their rocker - and for real this time.

If you've ever heard Buttars speak, you know that he is incapable of avoiding grammatical errors and couldn't enunciate to save his life. Usually, this isn't a sign of someone's true intelligence, but with Buttars, he talks like a hick because he is stupid.

If you've ever seen Buttars in a debate, you know that ignorance, for him, is something to be proud of. A couple of years ago, on Rod Decker's show, there was a debate between Buttars and Robert Lane, President of Humanists of Utah, on whether our Founding Fathers intended the US to be a Christian nation. Lane brought up the Treaty of Tripoli, which unequivocally states that the "the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." Buttars' reply? "Well, I never heard 'a that!" To most people, not being aware of a crucial piece of evidence in a debate would be death knell. For Buttars, however, his not hearing "a' that" provided the needed insularity to hide himself from his breathtaking stupidity.

Buttars is the type of guy that plagues Utah's ascension into normalcy. He is ignorant, intolerant, self-righteous, insular, and unaware of how backwards he is. Most people would use these same adjectives to describe Utah. We know that that perception is, for the most part, untrue. But as long as we have Buttars around, we'll always be taking 2 steps back.

Shit. So that's what seniority does.

2005-12-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I hope Pete can weather this.

Really, with Orrin, in whatever means necessary, managed to kill the nuke dump. Well, it's comin' on election time and well, this is hard to compete with.

Quirky backwater? Where do they get that idea?

2005-12-08T07:19:00.000-08:00

When you read this, remember that it's not The Onion.

More on this later.

Kos Hearts Ashdown

2005-12-01T13:48:00.000-08:00

Uh oh. Once a candidate is featured on Daily Kos, they run the risk of receiving substantial amounts of campaign contributions from progressive organizations all over the country. This could be bad news for Orrin, for once he's outspent, he he has few things to rely on, like his moral outrage. With that being recently susceptible to rank hypocrisy, he could be in a spot of trouble. As for the seniority thing, Utahns are increasingly wondering just what this seniority is being used to promote.

Utah's top-red status is always pulled out as a reason as to why Ashdown could never succeed, but as Kos has demonstrated, the perceived redness of voters does not always guarantee a waltz to victory for Republican candidates.

Summit County: Thanks for your invaluable contribution to the community, Blair, now get the hell out.

2005-12-01T13:32:00.000-08:00

Let's face it, Park City and Summit County would just be a glorified resort and a collection of hick towns if it weren't for KPCW. However, Summit County Commissioner and local grouch Ken Woolstenhulme thinks that Blair Fuelner should happily contribute to the community without any assistance. Let's hope that Ken sets an example and forgoes his salary for his once-a-week job, which, interestingly enough, is about equal to what KPCW is set to receive under the RAP proposal.

To the citizens of Summit County, I put this to you: for $45k, would you rather have KPCW or Ken Woolstenhulme?

Poor Paul Mero

2005-11-29T16:49:00.000-08:00

Paul Mero, the head gasbag at the Sutherland Institute for Gasbag Policy, was just recently heard on KCPW lamenting the fact that no cities seem to be takers on his prized "families first" (or something to that effect) initiative. "It troubles me. There seems to be a cognitive dissonance [due to the fact that Amendment 3 passed].."

It seems that when something that seeks to limit the rights of "those people," more ruminative and more accountable bodies seem to reject this "family values" garbage than private, confidential voters.

Who will take the courageous stand for bigotry?

Downtown

2005-11-29T13:48:00.000-08:00

Before I get into this, I wanna get out the last bit of gratitude left over from the last holiday so I can make room for the greed of the next one. Ethan's been kind enough to link to this lame blog and I often do bite the hand that feeds me, so props to Ethan and his magnanimity.

Okay, the Downtown thing.

As tempting as it is to lay the current state of Downtown at the feet of the sitting Mayor, the Downtown issue is more attributable to things demographic and things economic. As for the Mayor's hand in things, you've got to consider that Downtown was not exactly booming in 1998 or ten years previous. The real issues, which unfortunately cannot be resolved in an election cycle, are growth in suburbs that used to be exurbs and that Utah-sized families are not apt to living in a noisy, two-bedroom flat. As the Salt Lake Valley and the Utah Valley continue on their way to morph into each other, the economics of geography will inevitably lead to a shift in the location of jobs, shopping (IKEA!), housing, and institutional facilities. Yes, there are ways to mitigate this, and, in the case of Canadian cities and Portland, Oregon, ways to eliminate it altogether, but the fact of the matter is that in this state growth is occurring where the land is and there's nothing a 70-square-mile municipality 15 miles away can do about it. Over the hill in Denver, however, we are seeing a booming downtown coinciding with suburbs hell-bent on reaching Kansas City. But Denver has two things that SLC considerably lacks: transplants and childless professionals. Although there is a trickle of transplants and a handful of hipsters here, it's nothing compared to what you'll find in states like Arizona or Colorado. Salt Lake is growing, but Denver and Phoenix are exploding.

It is possible to see a silver lining (except during inversions) for Downtown, as it is currently experiencing a small revitalization. We just have to accept the fact that it's not gonna turn itself around at the breakneck speed that corresponds to mega-growth cities. The transplants and the yuppies will come, but alot of other things - slow, slow things that I'll reserve comment on - will likely have to come first.

What I was getting at with the roads

2005-11-27T22:39:00.000-08:00

Utah is ridiculously wasteful when it comes to spending on roads. The Legacy Highway debacle, which we all have been instructed to blame the environmentalists for, is testament to this. Legacy was never meant to be just a transportation solution but a catalyst for land development. The use of belt routes for the suburbs-on-steroids growth is as old as the hills, and in the misguided supply-side economics approach to improve this state's schools, roads - and the unsustainable development they bring - have been hailed as the ticket to economic prosperity. Somehow, someway, the Lege has determined that more strip malls and more subdivisions will equal unprecendented prosperity that will line Utah's public schools with the cash to fund us into educational utopia.

We're now seeing Legacy II played out in Southern Utah. The proposed St. George belt route, according to the Purpose and Need statement in the EIS, is needed to provide a reliable transportation connection between the cities of St. George, Washington, & Hurricane. What's interesting, though, is that this "connection" includes a detour way out into the desert. There are a thousand ways to meet the needs of Washington County that are alot cheaper than a brand-new, limited-access highway. An access road to the new airport, a beefed up SR 9 through Washington & Hurricane ( a limited access parallel perhaps?) , and a modest increase on I-15 would certainly fill the demand in the next 30 years, during which time the needed density increases could occur to hand the transportation issue over to mass transit. But the solution always has to be a new freeway and when it comes to UDOT's project management, the Lege is always gracious enough to give them carte blanche.

Rolly fails to follow the script

2005-11-27T15:30:00.000-08:00

His piece today outlines the various policy initiatives near and dear to the Mayor and the lack of substantive criticisms of the actual policies. It's all about that bleeding heart bastard of a Democrat who dares challenge conventional wisdon.

Rolly's failure to follow the script is disturbing because he is breaking ranks with his own newspaper. Heather May, along with her counterpart Brady Snyder at the D-News, has consistently delivered us the juvenile, craptacular articles on the Mayor that seek to plunge the debate into a Melrose Place style of name-calling and eye-poking. We know that food fight articles sell papers, but is a fat bottom line for the NAC worth the fact that, when it comes to Rocky, the public is woefully uninformed?

Meanwhile, you have Republican legislators like Bill Hickman who say "we get to pollute his air, clog his roads, those are great treats for us." When Republican puts his foot in his mouth solely to be mean-spirited, that gets ignored. A Democrat, however, whose confrontational style is arguably a product of his convictions, is portrayed as a loon and an enemy of Utahns. It's what's necessary to sell the script.

The Support System

2005-11-22T11:11:00.000-08:00

A Trib editorial today attributes the dropping minority enrollment numbers at the U. to the failing of Utah public schools. Unfortunately, this is where the much-vaunted family "support-system" is showing cracks. When confronted with the lowest per-pupil funding in the country, most legislators proclaim that Utah's strong families are there to fill the void. That's great when you've got two parents who themselves are high school graduates and have the wherewithall to navigate the public education system. However, as many other cities before us that have experienced growth, leaving the disadvantaged behind results in ghettos and crime.

Utah is at an advantageous situation because we don't have whole lot of rich people and not a whole lot of poor folks, either. We're decidedly middle-class. That's why we have low crime rates, that's why our State government is more competent than other states (because the salaries in the public sector are somewhat competitive to those in the private), and that's why we basically avoid many of the social ills that other states have. Unfortunately, an emerging underclass has been showing up on the radar lately and we can't just keep relying on the family, young men's/young women's, and a familiarity with Utah society to keep filling the void. Surely someone will come up with the rhetoric of how it doesn't matter if you're black, white, brown, green, we're all the same, blah, blah, blah, but we've seen what a do-nothing approach does. The French for a generation have relied on fraternitè to bring the non-white underclasses into mainstream French society and we know what the results have been. The longer we wait, the bigger the problem gets, then the more difficult - and draconian - the solution will be.

Oversensitivity

2005-11-21T15:33:00.000-08:00

Political discourse in this town often gets dicey when you point out the obvious. Over at Ethan's I had to respond to responses to what I thought was a pretty tepid post about the Dist. 3 Council race. My point: people who go to church together establish personal relationships. People who have personal relationships with a particular candidate often vote for them.

However, when thrown into hyper-drive hyper-sensitivity, I somehow become Dick Boggs. The whole thing reminded me of a gem of a quote from then-D-News columnist LaVar Webb:

“This is about people who hate the church finding an opportunity to kick the shins, gouge an eye and thumb their noses at the biggest, most powerful institution in the state … Unfortunately for the mayor, he’s now the champion of the ACLU and the Mormon haters.”

No, the quote above was not referring to Mayor Anderson's assault on the Saints at Haun's Mill. It was referring to the months of compromise-searching that resulted from the 10th Circuit's decision on the complicated and poorly-lawyered Main Street Plaza case. The plaza deal, no matter how you slice it, was, at least from a strictly legal standpoint, a precarious thing to begin with. It was obvious that it was back to the drawing board and the Mayor's office is charged with making sure that the City's interests are protected. Unfortunately, what's good for the Presiding Bishopric is not always what's good for the City. A reasonable view, I'd submit. However, in over-sensitivity hysteria, this view somehow is construed to be one of "mormon-hating."

The point is that over-sensitivity, not bigotry, is often the root of this so-called divide that we face here in this state. It's pretty ludicrous to think that if someone is a member of a church that happens to have business before a civic body that one is a member of, that person will have absolutely no bias towards that church. Even if it isn't overt, there is a trust factor there that doesn't necessarily exist for non-members. However, just because it's there doesn't mean it isn't benign to the point of irrelevance. In any case, if we don't acknowledge the elephant in the room, then we can't be assured that the bridge over the divide can support its weight.

My Right to a Cigar Bar in the Moss Courthouse

2005-11-21T12:26:00.000-08:00

I've always thought a cigar & whiskey bar in the Frank Moss courthouse would be a lucrative endeavor. However, my entrepreneurial desires have been unduly restricted by the fact that the Courthouse is the property of the United States Government. It has also been mentioned to me that cigar smoke could conceivably create adverse impacts on those that use and own the courthouse.

Thanks to Mark Habbeshaw, I now believe that the above-state limitations on the Casserole Bar Cigar Bar are an illegitimate intrusion of the Federal government into my local, country-boy affairs. And the fact that I live near the courthouse and the fat cats in Washington didn't seek my comments before they outlawed a Cigar-smoking enterprise chaps my hide even further. I am sick and tired of East Coast liberals telling me what I can and can't do in my own backyard.

Rocky Gets Props from Franken

2005-11-16T10:14:00.000-08:00

The Al Franken Show is broadcasting from Boulder, CO today. Franken and Boulder Mayor Mark Ruzzin just had a somewhat lengthy conversation about Rocky Anderson and his environmental initiatives. Ruzzin had nothing but nice words about Rocky's greening acheivements and commented on how they are all the more commendable given the political climate Rocky has to operate in.

What in the world does Ruzzin mean by that?

It couldn't be, say

-Legislative Republicans calling the Sierra Club and Utahns for Better Transportation "terrorists;"

-The Mormon majority, who controls all levers of power in Utah and can't help themselves to complain about how much they are discriminated against, all the while seeking to oppress gays, lesbians, women, and anyone else who doesn't fit the new-and-improved Mormon version of "the family" (apparently now it features just one wife!);

-The Mormon newspaper going after the Mayor's expense account solely because it contained charges for alcoholic beverages (meanwhile, no other politician's expenses are scrutinized because they presumably stick to Diet Cokes);

-The Republican-orchestrated kangaroo court that tried to paint the (privately funded) traditional diplomatic activities between Olympic host cities as corrupt;

-The highest approval rating in the country for a President that has committed some of the most grave errors in American history;

-A senior Senator who admonishes everyone who holds different views than him as being "immoral" yet gleefully votes for the torture of non-convicted detainees.

Hmmm, torture. Stamping out dissent and labeling it as immoral. Attacking those who challenge the status quo. Sounds pretty Talibany to me.

Contemporary Standards of Decency

2005-11-14T09:39:00.000-08:00

Political hysteria claims countless victims and mandatory sentencing laws for drug violations are no exception. Weldon Angelenos, the poor bastard who got nailed with a statutory minimum of 55 years in a federal prison for selling pot while in possession (and "brandishing") of a handgun, really makes one wonder what kind of society we're living in. Apparently we're living in a contemporary society, as the quote from U.S Atty for Utah Paul Warner below lays out:

"Addressing the epidemic social problem of armed drug distribution with increased punishment and deterrence is consistent with contemporary standards of decency."

The funny thing is that this "contemporary" standard seems more fitting to pre-revolutionary France or Draco's Athens. Hopefully a decision from the 10th Circuit will give us somewhat of a post-17th Century definition of what a contemporary standard of decency is.

Urq's Out?

2005-11-09T09:06:00.000-08:00

That's what Paul Rolly says. Was it because he was cowed by Hatch's bold stance on torture? Or was it, possibly, that it was made clear to him that life within the Republican party would be much easier if he set his sights on Speaker of the House?

It looks like Ashdown is the our only hope of taking down the torture-king.

Rocky's Letter

2005-11-06T21:45:00.000-08:00

This letter, for me, sums it all up.

Everyone knows that Eric Jergensen is a big weiner. It's not just that he looks like one, but publicly lambasting the city's book club because a book (the type we like to burn) contained the fuck-w_rd is the height of self-righteous weinerdom.

But the bigger issue is that the Council is made up mostly of weiners. We have screech-hag Nancy Saxton, pussy Dale Lambert, and other council members that apparently have forgot that Salt Lake City has a strong-mayor system. Let the Mayor do his damn job - after all, he ran for the office and got elected. He's the executive branch so let him have his sword and please, please, stop with the tripe of having to temper the Mayor's actions in order to please the legislature. The legislature will always be the primate house in state politics and no amount of city council pussyfooting will change that.

And Ethan, seriously man. You're in one of the most breathtaking cities in the world. Shilling for Weiner Jergensen should be the last of your concerns right now. Take it all in and gain a new perspective. You'll be a better man for it.

A Word to Democrats

2005-11-04T22:41:00.000-08:00

Remember how opposing the Iraq war made you O'Reilly's bitch? Yeah, we anti-war freaks were just crazy weren't we?

Maybe psychos like Rocky Anderson are the ticket, eh?

The Weiner Factor

2005-11-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

SLC's got a reputation that it doesn't necessarily deserve. No, what people usually think of SLC is really more like Provo. And that's unfortunate because people who pay $300K to live in a 2,100 sq. ft. bungalow deserve more.

Now let's factor out the, um, issues and stuff and let's cast a vote based purely on the candidate's looks!

"Preesheeyate ya."

"I can do things you've only dreamed about. I'll rock your world."

That should settle it.

Simonsen for District 7

2005-11-04T10:43:00.000-08:00

Thundering from the mountaintops, The Bar hereby endorses Soren Simonsen for City Council District 7. As many of you in the fan club know, The Bar is located in Sugarhouse (not to be confused with The Bar in Sugarhouse, the official name of what otherwise is known as the Tap Room, which is not to be confused with the official Tap Room, which is often referred to as the NEW Tap Room) and the day-to-day functions of our staff make decision-making in Sugarhouse hit close to home.

Simonsen is the planning candidate and Gordon Poulsen is the law and order candidate. Sugarhouse has become something of a Valhalla for petty thugs and the neighborhood, with its high levels of petty crime, has the highest incidents of reported crimes in the City (take that Glendale!). However, crime in Sugarhouse is an annoyance rather than a true threat. Furthermore, increasing the police presence will not adequately reduce crime here because petty thugs operate safely below the surface. If you want to break into a car, chances are you can. Even if you were to double the number of officers in the neighborhood, petty thugs then would, what, be reduced to having a partner to provide the "lookout?" The best defense against petty crime is, well, insurance, but beyond that, it's creating a stable neighborhood in which we all look out for each other. As Sugarhouse continues along its path to gentrification, it is crucial that development becoming of the neighborhood triumphs any ill-conceived attempt at economic development. And housing. God, we need housing in downtown Sugarhouse. Not only will more housing increase the modest street activity, but it will likely deter any non-drug-related criminal activity. Only then will be people be able to buy and sell weed with piece-of-mind.

Challengers are so cute.

2005-11-03T16:44:00.000-08:00

"However, we hope House will make another run for public office in a few years."

Ah, Janneke, you cutie. You're only 23 and you're running for office! Thanks to the Trib, you now know that you doesn't have enough "life experience" to be a City Councilgirl. You know, my nephew the other day - he, he was wearing a stethescope 'round is neck and he said that he'd make Uncle Shawn's cough go away! Oh, it was so fuhreakin cute. I responded, "I'm sure you can, m' boy. You'll make a great doctor - when you add a few feet!"

Oh, did I mention that Carlton Christensen is a business analyst? I know, I know, I, too was like what the freakin heck is that? You must have to have a PhD from Harvard or something to do something like that. That other lady - maybe she could bring cookies to the Council meetings!

Religion and Why It Matters

2005-11-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

The script tells us that religion should never enter into who you should vote for.

Defenders of Eric Jergensen say that we should not consider his religion when considering which candidate to vote for because religion doesn't matter in day-to-day City Council business. If this is true, why did Jergensen and the other active Mormons on the council seek to undermine the Mayor's office in negotiations with Church following the 10th District Court ruling? Is it because Jergensen honestly believed that giving up the city's easment on Main St. free and clear was the best thing for the District that arguably will be the most affected by it? I have no clue. But one thing I know is the Church requires loyalty of its members, especially those who hold or have held ecclesiastical leadership positions.

In the sacred temple endowment ceremony, members make a covenant with God in which, among other things, they promise to devote their lives to building the Kingdom of Zion (aka the LDS Church). This is held as one of the most important things a Member can do, far eclipsing any matters of a temporal nature. My point here is not to embarrass the church or its members, nor is it to expose the sacrosanct ritual of temple endowments. Rather, it is to cast a critical eye on the belief that members of the Church will always - always - vote in accordance with the interests of their constituents when those interests are in conflict with the building of the Kingdom.

Many have said that agreeing with the Mayor on key issues is tantamount to being his lackey. I'll withhold comment on whether that is true with Janneke House. But it seems to me, as an advocate of separation of church and state, it is better for a candidate to align oneself with ideas that stand on their own merits rather than those that flow from religious doctrine.

Wikipedia on Rocky

2005-10-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

To know that this Wikipedia article was written by a bona fide Utahrd, all you have to do is read until the third paragraph:

"He is an ardent opponent of tobacco use and has supported legislative measures limiting smoking. Ironically, he has been viewed as one of the state's most outspoken supporters of alcohol use."

An outspoken supporter of alcohol use? This is Utahrdism at its finest. Advocating for a vibrant nightlife and normalization of Brigham's blue laws- which ostensibly is what this phrase is referring to - makes you a booze advocate. Why didn't the author also include a phrase stating something like "in addition, he has attacked traditional Utah sensibilities offering vociferous support to dining outside of the home, attendance of non-televised performing arts, and freedom of speech."

And how is it ironic? Smoking is very bad for your health. Moderate drinking is good for it. But I guess to a Utahrd, smoking and drinking are both intrinsically bad and are suited to be lumped into the same category from which "irony" ensues.

The bulk of the article then goes on to describe the significant insignificant non-issues of the day like the DesNews "bar tab," the Torino trip, and other trivia as if they have been the hallmarks of his administration. I know the Utahrds would like it to be, but unfortunately an encyclopaedic portrayal of the Mayor will have to be somewhat objective.

I started to edit the article but gave up after I realized I'll probably have to rewrite the whole damn thing.

District 3 is Rocky Country

2005-10-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

Over at Ethan's there's a discussion goin' on about whether or not Janneke House is Rocky in a skirt. For the sake of discussion, let's assume she is. My questions is, who better represents the people of the Avenues and Capital Hill? Rocky or the Stake President?

Salt Lake City is not Provo. Let President Jergensen put his skills to use somewhere where they can be appreciated.

Erin Jensen and the Demon Bean

2005-10-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

"The minutes noted Jensen's visit to a bakery to get coffee during a teacher's meeting, rumors of witchcraft and her affection for Halloween, but no other criticisms. "

If you drink coffee in Sevier County, your likely to be practicing witchcraft. If you drink beer at a soccer game, you're immoral.

Remember, Utah's backwardedness is attributable to Rocky, not the actual backwardarians that have undue influence in this state.

Rutan fails to follow the script.

2005-10-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

Rocky is an unhinged fanatic who has engaged in unethical and possibly illegal behavior. Why does Ed Rutan fail to follow the script?

"Rutan noted that 'Deputy Mayor Rocky Fluhart consulted the city attorney's office on a variety of legal issues related to the delivery of the message to Torino. With respect to reimbursement of the expenses for the non-city employee members of the team, we advised that it was legally permissible to do so.'"

Maybe the trip would have been on firm ethical ground if it was funded by one of James Evan's cash advance businesses. That way, the moral act of charging a 500% interest rate would render the trip as ethical.

Beer = Immorality

2005-10-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

Ah, the Deseret News:

"Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts' conflict about whether to serve alcohol at the team's soccer stadium in Sandy comes down to money versus morals."

This is a great example of Utah morals. Morality is what beverage you choose to drink. Whether or not you use four-letter words. What day of the week you do your shopping. It must be nice to hold oneself to superficial moral standards that do nothing to assist your fellow man.

I'm beginning to think that the people who throw around the word "morality" have no sense of what morals truly are.

Ski Bingham Canyon? Hell Yes.

2005-10-13T17:31:00.000-07:00

I've always looked at the wooded nooks hidden up there in the Oquirrhs above all Kenecott's yit yat and thought that "damn, there just may be (skiing) gold in them thar hills." There are beautiful stretches of pines and aspens up there even though Utahns are trained to think the Oqirrhs may as well be on Tatooine. But having a ski hill up there would do wonders in making the West bench seem more than a place to dump our toxic crud.

Skiing on the East, Skiing on the West. Is there anything more beautiful than that?

Lord Help Us All

2005-10-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

James Evans for Mayor in '07? Oy. If the cash-advance king, who makes his money by charging 500% interest rates for those poor enough to have no credit, seriously thinks this city, who values politicians with heart and has suffered from his legislative shenanigans, will elect him, then maybe he is delusional enough to believe that a privately-funded goodwill trip is an unethical and illegal affair.

(My apologies to my past English teachers about my run-on sentences).

Stadium of Ire

2005-10-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

It seems that most everyone wanted the RSL stadium downtown. So, naturally, Utah power brokers didn't put it downtown.

I'm a Salt Lake City resident and I never really cared about where the stadium would go. One of the main reasons is that we already play host to more than our share of events that draw a statewide audience. Don't get me wrong, I like having people come to town and take in a Jazz game or the symphony. I even enjoy sitting in traffic at the north end of Downtown trying to make it to my parent's house in Davis County on Sunday morningsand wathcing the armies of white shirts flood the Conference Center (or as I like to call it, the great and spacious building). My point here is that people are good, but giant, sterile, monolithic structures are bad for an urban environment.

During the modernist boom in the 50's and 60's, many downtowns, including SLC, sacrificed a century of organic growth in order to bring about the artificial convention center/skyscraper/megafreeway/parking!parking!parking!/stadium van der Rohe hellscape that was considered progress in those days. Now, what used to be blocks of storefronts, restaurants, and people (on the sidewalks) are occupied by banks, office space, parking lot rackets, nazi parking enforcement, and the unbearable heat that a conspiracy of July sun and vast tracts of paved area will perpetrate on any poor soul caught without his air-conditioned Escalade. Slowly, slowly, slowly, like evolution itself, downtown SLC is remorphing into a leafy, livable place that nurtures instead of denigrates the soul. I say, let it grow as it will. A stadium that floods cities with people for a few hours does not create vibrant downtown. Rather, it creates a few hours of Potemkinesque flurry that leaves the city even more anemic than it was before.

Pickin' those Nits

2005-10-12T08:59:00.000-07:00

I believe one of two things is behind Megan Risbon's support for an investigation into Rocky's Torino expeditures. Either she is distancing the party from Rocky and attempting to reform it into a soulless vanilla ideological paste ala Frank Pignanelli or she is waiting for James Evans to shoot himself in his dipshit foot for raising a ruckus over nothing.

I'm willing to bet on the latter. City Council members have only questioned Rocky's selection of the Torino "team." In other words, they've found that it is appropriate for the Mayor to use his budget to send himself and a team of "ambassadors" to Italy. However, the team happened to include personal friends. That part is definitely open to question, but to portray as a Nancy Workman level of scandal is laughable.

A Proposal for a Message Bill

2005-10-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

The Utah Lege loves their message bills. It doesn't matter if the thing is blatantly unconstitutional or not because it's stickin' it to those bastards who think abortion should be legal. Morality, morality, morality, we do it all because of morality.

Rather than taking shots at terrified teenage girls who find themselves in an impossible situation or people who have had to spend their lives being told they will be responsible for armegeddon, lets not make the upcoming Lege session about how freakin moral we are by vilifying pro-choicers or gays. For once, let's do something that's truly moral. The kind of morality where you don't get to take the high ground and tell everyone how wicked they are while you slink around in your self-rigteous slop. No, I'm talking about the kind of morality where one is compelled to right the wrongs that the more unfortunate among us are forced to endure merely because they were born into an unfavorable situation.

What I'm proposing is a State immigration bill. If you want to escape extreme poverty in Mexico or Central America, then you can come here and work. We will allow you to work. We will allow you to open bank accounts. We will allow you driver's licenses. We will let your taxed wages go to our schools, where your children will be allowed to attend. We will allow you to call the police if someone is causing you harm without the fear of being deported. We will allow you to quit your job if your employer is screwing you out of your paycheck.

All we ask is that you come here for a probationary period, at the end of which we will grant you residency and then citizenship.

Yes, we know that our Federal government calls the shots on immigration. But what are they doing about it? Nothing. Meanwhile, people are suffering and they shouldn't be. So, screw the Feds on this one. We, as the State of Utah, will take matters into our own hands. We will create our own registry of immigrants upon their submittal of a residency application and Matricula Consular card. We will provide the American dream when the rest of America fails to provide it. It's the right thing to do. And while we accept that it is unconsitutional, we can say that we committed a truly moral act.

Utah's Relentless Oppression of the White Mormon Male

2005-10-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

This Onion article so made me think of the plight of the white, Mormon, male in Utah and their struggles against the powerless who sometimes disagree with them.

Flat-Tax

2005-10-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

The Guv's tax plan looks to be blissfully simple and a tad less regressive than Lege-led flat-tax proposals. I'm actually agreeing with Curt Bramble on something - holy cats - and thinking that the overall proposal looks digestable. Some tweaks I'd make are as follows:

Kill the sales tax on food altogether or eliminate it on basics like produce, meats, grains, and other health-sustaining items.
The current proposal limits dependent deductions to five kids. It's gotta be scaled back to three to make any fiscal sense.
The proposed tax rate tops out at at 7% for households that make more than $70k. There really should be another bracket for $150K+.

An unrelated tax topic that I've gotta get off my chest: a real-estate transfer tax (RETT). Most states in the West have it. It basically is a nominal tax that accompanies real estate transactions. It should go exclusively to fund education. Why? Because, arguably, real-estate transfers are a relatively accurate indicator of a growing school-age population. This way, when you have exurbs on steroids like Saratoga Springs or Stansbury Park, we can get a head start on funding education for the kiddies who will be occupying the majority of these real-estate starter homes. Also, a RETT is not an undue burden because it only taxes those who can afford to purchase real estate and even then, it is a relatively nominal amount of money and is based on a percentage of the total value of the real estate being purchased.

My plan to get a RETT effort going is to somehow convince Rocky Anderson to vocalize opposition to it. See, the strategy is take advantage of the knee-jerkiness of the Lege and get it a bill introduced without out any legislator actually thinking about it. I bet I could even get Chris Buttars or LaVar Christensen to sponsor it as morality legislation. The "Rocky = Satan Foamed Mouth Reaction Tax Bill."

Discrimination

2005-10-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

I'm getting the impression that some people in this state have never really been truly discriminated against. Hell, in some cases, I don't even think they've had their views challenged before the Mayor was elected. As a center-left, secular humanist living in Utah - who is routinely blamed for everything wrong with society by morally "upstanding" politicians, I'm starting to wish for their form of discrimination instead of the one I usually get. Light-hearted analogies from a single politican published in a foreign newspaper? Bring it on. Sounds like a day at the beach.

Anti-Mormonism

2005-10-04T13:28:00.000-07:00

It's not too often that a group that dominates all things in a given society charges that it is the victim of discrimination. In Utah, LDS folks control the laws, they control the majority of business, they control most of the banking and capital investment, and they make up the largest single cultural group. For some 150+ years, they've enjoyed the relative isolation that limits challenges to the accepted values that have fermented over that time. Bigotry usually occurs when a minority group is the object of unfounded prejudices and the resulting exclusion from the benefits and participation in society.

It seems curious then that LDS folks can seriously level charges of anti-Mormon bigotry at someone in a relatively powerless position like Rocky Anderson. It seems, rather, that the majority of the people that think Rocky is anti-Mormon isn't because of truly bigoted statements, but because he says things that many rank-and-file Mormons don't like.

Gays and Lesbians are entitled to equal rights.
Churches should not use their special place in society to influence government and public policy actors while enjoying tax exemption.
Alcohol consumption is not intrinsically immoral.

Somehow, the ideas stated above are met with intense hostility when they come out of Rocky's mouth. I think it's because Utahns aren't used to having the above stated ideas expressed as acceptable in our society, much less by a visible politician. What is occuring here is that a dominant culture is attempting to stamp out ideas from a minority voice that the dominant culture deems as unbecoming of moral individuals.

I wrote a letter-to-the-editor to the Daily Utah Chronicle to this effect sometime ago during the brouhaha over perceived anti-Mormon bias on campus. In it, I reasoned that many LDS folks never had their worldview seriously challenged before and it's human nature to react with hostility to ideas that challenge long-held cultural norms. Under the sun, this phenomenon has happened a billion times over and it is not surprising to see it happening with an openly non-LDS politican.

Women are not fit to hold positions of ecclesiastical authority.
Women are to devote themselves to the raising of children and not careers outside of the home.
Pre-marital sex is morally wrong.
American Indians are descendants of ancient Jewish people from the Middle East. However, they are dark-skinned because of transgressions their ancestors committed against God.
Ten percent of your income must go to a particular religious institution in order to gain salvation.
Homosexuality is a concious choice made by immoral people.
Polygamy shall be practiced in afterlife.

These ideas above are deeply offensive to me. I understand, however, that they are deeply held convictions and bring happiness to many people. However, they are not ideas that are beyond reproach in a free society. Whenever they present themselves in a public context, I think a person of free will should be allowed to discuss his/her agreement/disagreement with them.

How can we reconcile this with the script?

2005-10-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

The City (the one that Rocky is the Mayor of) and the Church are on the same side of this lawsuit in which they emerged victorious. But the script tells us that Rocky is supposed to tear down the Church every chance he gets. But he's on their side in the Main St. Plaza case. What the ...?

What are we to do? Surely we can't change the script!

2005-10-03T09:04:00.000-07:00

On KCPW last Friday, Rocky, explaining the Council's drafting of their own domestic benefits ordinance, claimed that the Council was trying to "trump [him]." I have to admit, at first, it sounded like he was just pissed because Nancy and the Gang were stealing his thunder. Looking at the run-up to his executive decision however, I would have to agree that that truly was their intent. When he and Jill Remington Love were collaborating on the extension of benefits, it was agreed that the first step was to determine whether it would be an executive or a legislative decision. In other words, they punted the issue to the City Attorney's office to decide whether the Mayor could extend benefits through an executive order or if it would indeed require the passing of a City Council ordinance. The former was found to be the proper avenue for such a policy change and onward it went.

It was probably inevitable that one of the Lege's resident idiots - in this case LaVar Christensen - would begin the homophobic saber-rattling. Equally as inevitable, the Council began to kowtow. Thus, they cast a net so ridiculously wide that it would dilute the fact that it snared some dirty homosexuals along with wholesome beneficiaries like elderly parents and adult children.

Look, I'm all for extending benefits as far as they can be extended. It's the right thing to do in a country that does not have universal healthcare. But to do it simply to cater to homophobic tendencies makes it less than noble.

Clearing the Air

2005-09-30T10:06:00.000-07:00

I'm listening to KCPW right now and it's interesting to hear the Mayor's explanation for the various issues of the day. What's interesting is how his explanations differ to the selected quoting of Heather May. Why, he almost sounds reasonable.

Why does the Mayor fail to follow the script?

Wine, Horrors! Beer, Horrors!

2005-09-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

Rocky's comments about this particular issue are pretty acidic - and appropriate. This has got to be one of the dumbest issues that Heather May feels is worthy of newsprint real estate. Thank God we have Nancy Saxton and Dale Lambert to weigh in on the issue. Saxton says Rocky should "ante up" and pay for Richard Daley's beer. Three cheers for leadership, Nancy.

Watch for "Rocky Boozehound/Taxpayer Money/Limousine Liberal" letters in the two dailies.

Salon Covers the Diamond Fork Rave

2005-09-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

Most of the arrests made that night were for disrespecting police officers. Interesting.

SLC Rank-and-File Fail to Follow the Script

2005-09-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

It appears that 80% of the employees in the Mayor's Office are "satisfied" with their job. Well, dog my cats, maybe Deeda's account of working there isn't representative of how things work as a whole. Funny thing - the people who are dissatisfied with the way Rocky treats all happen to be appointed officials. What's up with that? It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that these people have higher profile positions and all the entitlement issues that go along with that, could it?

Paul Rolly has noted that during the last two Mayoral campaigns, Deeda has routinely shopped around for candidates that would give her the best gig. She's a well-connected gal and probably has well-honed skills when it comes to establishing beneficial alliances with SLC politicos. The problem with this is that these type of folks develop a sense of entitlement that sometimes overshadows their obligation to serve at the pleasure of their appointer. She has served on the City Council and held several positions with Rocky's administration and it's not entirely implausible that she may have felt she was in somewhat of an elevated position. Rocky's claim that she threatened to conjure a media storm upon her termination is indicative of this type of mindset. She probably felt that she was a power to be reckoned with and that some aspects of her on-the-job performance were beyond reproach. Rocky's definitely gone through appointees like toiletpaper, but it's important to remember that appointed officials often have an agenda of their own. It may be something as benign as a resume-builder or a plank to bigger and better things, but most appointees don't take the job simply because they need the paycheck. They seek the recognition, the prestige, and the power that comes with being in a politician's inner circle. Unfortunately, the people who really fall victim to the workplace abuse aren't in a position to have Heather May take down each and every juicy tidbit - no matter how embellished - to embarass their former boss. And given the amount of meat Deeda has thrown to Rocky detractors, she'll no doubt have plenty of new job offers. Hey, that brings up a thought: there isn't a Mayoral election coming anytime soon, is there?

A View from Across the Pond

2005-09-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

For all those who have grown tired of the saccharine-bomb portrayals of N.O. refugess in Utah - mainly brought to us by our local media - here's a rather decent article that can be found in today's edition of The Guardian (UK).

That Crazy Mayor

2005-09-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

If you've ever worked for a local government agency, you know that, when it comes to community development, there's two types of cities- the accomodating and the resistant. The former will usually have a separate department called something like "development services" that is separate from the city's planning, building, engineering, and public works agencies. The purpose of this department is to coordinate development projects and shepherd them through the process and various departmental reviews in order to provide some reasonable expectation of when a development project will be permitted. With close to $2 billion's worth of development slated for downtown and the myriad of permitting that would accompany it, hiring a Downtown Building Coordinator would seem like a logical thing for a city government to do. For those who scoff at Rocky's portrayals of the City Council as a nest of naysayers, please explain this.

Dear Leader in Action

2005-09-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

Below are photos of Bush during times of national crises. In the interest of brevity, I have limited these photos to events where more than 1,000 people died.

9/11:

The Iraq Quagmire:

The Destruction of New Orleans:

The Price We Pay for Electing an Idiot

2005-09-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

So, it appears that FEMA is loaded with Bush cronies who have no qualifications other than their ability to fundraise. Whether or not you agree that a PDB entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike within the United States" was enough information to put in protective measures to prevent 9/11, it is now becoming clear that this administration is so incredibly incompetent that we now have to measure the actual level of ineptitude by the thousands of people that have died under their watch. 3,000 in 2001, 1,800 and counting in 2003-2005, and in N.O., a number to ghastly to even fathom right now.

Those who continue to blindly support Bush will be regarded by history as the enablers for the worst presidency EVER. No one can seriously deny that the disaster in N.O. is not a direct result of this administration's no-holds barred efforts to compromise what would otherwise be the world's most capable government. Impeachment must being NOW.

No Deeda of Trust

2005-08-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

Rocky shit-cans Deeda Seed, and suddenly she starts throwing meat to his opponents. He's anti-Mormon! He hates being Mayor! He cusses! He's unhinged!

The Mayor's quoted as saying that she "has an agenda," and I don't have a clue if there's any credibility to that statement, but her behavior doesn't quell any suspicions. If she has legitimate grievances with Rocky, you'd think that the most effective way to address them is NOT to start blabbing to Heather May.

Oh, and how can I end a post without commenting on May's wonderful reporting. She describes the incident where Seed released the Mayor's emails about the Bush protest as "he 'blew up' at her over the release of public records about responses to last week's protest of President Bush." A politician's government-issued email account is technically "public record" or "public information," but that does not mean it is wholly available to the public. If a formal request is submitted for the Mayor's emails, it cannot be denied unless they contain information relating to a pending lawsuit or personnel issues. A Mayor's Staffer releasing emails without his knowledge or consent is highly unorthodox if not extremely suspect. But May knows that if she uses "public records" instead of "emails" then it will make Rocky look like he's trying to hide something. Yes, from the woman who brought us a front page story about phantom business owners swearing off relocation to SLC because of the Mayor, we get a juiced story about crazy paranoid Rocky.

Everyone knows that ravers aren't punctual!

2005-08-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

Salt Lake City Parks close at 11pm. So, according to Utah County Prosecutor Kay Bryson, if you are in the park at 8pm you can be cited for being in the park after hours because, as experience tells us, you might stay after 11pm.

Utah County only requires a mass-gathering permit to be approved at the County Commission level if you have more than 250 attendees for more than twelve hours. So when the hours of the Diamond Fork Rave are 9pm to 7am, that puts you outside of this category as a simple reading of the ordinance would suggest. However, Bryson says that "a large number of people, which they should have anticipated, would go beyond the time mentioned in the ordinance." I apparently was unaware that Utah County employs Pre-Cogs like those in Minority Report.

Welcome to Kay Bryson's America, where you are innocent until assumed guilty.

Free Advice for Highway Projects

2005-08-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

Back in the 1960's, when ultra-leftist President Richard Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act, a new way of embarking on transportation planning was established. Bascially, under NEPA, a transportation problem has to be identified along with several possible solutions which are then analyzed in an Environmental Impact Statement. Within this analysis, which requires public input, the best alternative in terms of not only environmental impact - but fiscal as well - is identified as the preferred transportation solution. It should be noted that this is meant to be an empirical process and that it cannot work backwards.

And that's exactly the problem with the Legacy Highway proposal. In the early 1990's, Gov. Leavitt held a press conference in a West Weber pasture and proclaimed that a great roadway shall strect majestically from Brigham City to Payson. This meant that the required EIS for the transportation problem in southern Davis County had to conform to an already established-conclusion. The alternatives offered in the proposal consisted only of other road alignments and was rightly rejected by the 10th Circuit Court for failing to adequately conform to the NEPA-required consideration of alternatives. Most notable was the absence of transit in these alternatives.

Rather than address the fact that they had purposely drafted a really crappy EIS, UDOT instead ommitted a provision in their contract with Flour, Ames, & Kramer that would suspend the life of the contract in the event of litigation. How could an Appellate Court rule against UDOT if so many dollars were at stake? Unfortunately for UDOT, a poorly written contract backfired as a litigation tactic and Utah politicos, always stalwart in their quest for accountability, blamed the Plaintiffs.

Now we find out that while the Plaintiffs though they were in good faith negotiations, UDOT was actually seeking to circumvent the process. The Sierra Club and Utahns for Better Transportation definitely have cooler heads than I, for if it were me leading the negotiations after all of UDOT's shenanigans, the negotiation table would be overturned and a full-throttle legal battle would begin.

So my advice to UDOT, Orrin Hatch, the Lege, and everyone else who thinks the way to get ahead is to play dirty is this: Your actions will come back to bite you in the ass, regardless of how much political will you can put behind your unabashed chutzpah. Although I am enjoying watching you guys shoot yourselves in the foot everytime you think you're being sly, I really hope you'll get a clue.

Pot-Stirer of the Trivial

2005-08-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

I've always admired the utter uselessness of Heather May and her Pavlovian ability to sell papers. "Anti-Mormon!" "Rocky hate church!" "Rocky, gays!" This is the sub-heading of the top story on the Trib's site:

"Bad for business? A firm's co-owner says the outspoken mayor made them shy away from SLC."

Then in the body of the article, we find out that no one's heard of this dewd, his firm, or its plans to expand in Utah. Then another business owner - whose apparent shrewdness is manifested by his decision to move a whole company based on what the Mayor said - is quoted. Problem is, this business cannot be found anywhere as the article sheepishly mentions. But we can always count on May to come up with a juicy front-pager even if she has to make the issue up.

REO Hearts Kooky

2005-08-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

What's all this I hear about Mayor Anderson playing with REO Speedwagon? Gawd, doesn't he have anything better to do (like a run a city) than preen with a bunch of known dope-smokers? It's time he concentrate less on being seen with famous people and more on dealing with the issues that face the city.

The Passion of the Rock

2005-08-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

Alot has been said about Rocky's involvement in not only yesterday's war protests, but the Mayor's high-profile advocacy on issues like global warming, the drug war, and frank comments about the role of the LDS Church has netted his fair share of critics. However, something I think is lost on alot of these folks is that Rocky isn't the only person in the State of Utah that feels this way about these particular issues. In fact, I think that a majority of Salt Lakers are, at the very least, in silent agreement with what the Mayor says and does. I may be blinded by the insulation that my progressive Sugarhouse neighborhood provides against the conservative chill, but I have seen very few outspoken critics of the mayor that actually live within the city limits (besides some rantings in the Public Forum section of the Trib).

A couple of years ago, my good friend's elderly mother called SLC Public Works to complain about a broken storm drain cover in the street in front of her house. No help came from the bowels of the City-County building, so she then contacted the Mayor's office. To her surpise, the Mayor himself came on the line and had the drain replaced the next day. I felt that this was the rule rather than the exception for Rocky, because I spotted him in the grocery store late one night and indulged in a 20-minute rant about the atrocious design of the new Walgreen's on 400 South. He listened, offered a gentle explanation of the shortcomings of the planning process and land entitlements and then profusely thanked me for bringing my concerns to his attention. This guy is known to work 18-hour days on end and much to the chagrin of some over-powdered advisors, expects the same from his staff. What's baffling then is to hear that the Mayor in only interested in his own publicity and that he should be attending to the needs of the city.

Equally confusing is how some folks complain about how Rocky is an embarrassment to this state and how, in particular with the VFW convention, he is going to scare away economic development. I do not know how this jibes with the fact that the two largest economic events in this state are the Outdoor Retailers Convention and the Sundance Film Festival. I was in Colorado Springs over the weekend and spoke to a couple of folks in the community about the Christian Right's attempt to make their fair city the world capital of Evangelical Jesus-screeching. "That will never happen," my wise Springs-mover-and-shaker acquaintance said, "because the business community will never let it happen. We do not want the same image problem that Salt Lake City has." After enduring the obligatory digs about how many wives I had and if the first drink I'd ever had was the one I was holding right there and then in Colorado, I explained that SLC had a strong liberal base and that it was starting to spill over in the rest of the valley, and will probably start chipping away on the State' monolithic power structure. It seems that everyone agrees that SLC is a beautiful place with ridiculously great skiing, but the "Mormon thing" will always stifle any substantial investment here.

So to those who seethe at a politician who is not afraid to do and say things that aren't in keeping with traditional Utah "pleasantness," you may find that a lively civic dialogue will do more to make us a stronger community than keeping in lockstep with the presiding brethren. After all, anything else would be......communism.

Eric Jergensen, the best SLC Councilman Davis County ever had.

2005-08-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

And apparently on his way out, much to the delight of his constituents I'm sure. Back when Jergensen was running against Polly Hart, she had the audacity to point out that her views were more in line with those living in the Aves and Cap Hill than her LDS counterpart. Jergensen than built the rest of his campaign on "Polly Hart is an anti-Mormon bigot." We were told that religion did not matter when representing the district, as the will of the people would surely be the driving force of Jergensen's decisions, not his personal beliefs.

With the Main St. Plaza and other issues involving the interests of the LDS Church, Jergensen has shown that he is a company man. He lashed out against swear words in the City's book club selection. Swears! Horrors! All-night dancing? Horrors! More than two bars on a city block? Horrors! Benefits for the partners of gay employees! Horrors! Fighting the bishops and their Davis County Highway? Horrors! Now, to all those reading this, think of your friends and/or neighbors that live in the Avenues and Capitol Hill. Do they think this way?

Sheehan's prolly a French name!

2005-08-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

There's a few posts around the Utah blogosphere that are fulfilling their patriotic duty by intsensely scrutinizing the mother of a dead Iraq war soldier. My question is have you or anyone you know lost anyone in their lives? Has anyone, when they've lost someone, every fallen into an irrational frame of mind when grieving, especially when making sense of their loss?

Chris Hitchens and the rest of the detached, drunk (especially in Hitchen's case), and over-powdered punditocracy are a truly decadent bunch tossing out weasely criticisms of a private citizen who has experienced a very real loss for the benefit of her countrymen. Does Cindy Sheehan have a political agenda? I don't have a clue. But anyone who feels that it's a appropriate to slime a parent who had to bury her child while the cause of his death goes unnaccounted for has a serious moral lapse.

A lurk over at Urq's

2005-08-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

Steve Urquhart has a really lame post about "shrinking the federal government." When I hear Republicans mention "smaller government" or "fiscal responsibility" I always put on my hypocri-goggles. That's because the way you reign in government spending, according to Urquhart, you know, is to eliminate the Dept. of Education. Big, Bad, DOE. See, in order to be a Republican, you have to believe - or pretend to believe, I don't know which is worse - that a relatively miniscule department like DOE is the culprit of big and bad government while allowing the Dept. of Defense to waste trillions on crappy defense contracts that go nowhere and do nothing except line pol's pockets. You also have to ignore the fact that the Coalition Provisional Authority cannot account for 8 billion dollars. And say nothing about the pork-packed energy and highway bills.

There is another pol that has really honed his skills with such silly duplicity in the last few decades. That's why I am from now on going to refer to Urqy as "Orrin II."

Pete Ass-Clown

2005-08-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

K, wingnuts, there it is. I came up with it first. No one else gets to use it or I'll sue your ass-clown.

Numbers of our Lives.

2005-08-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already emailed Sen. John Valentine, now would be a good time to thank him for slowing the Task Reform's stampede toward regressive tax reform. Increasing the tax burden for lower income brackets while giving breaks to the rich and corporations is unconscionable. The only way you can do this in a representative democracy is to keep the public in the dark. Sure, a big part of the public's unawareness is due to the seemingly complex nature of tax law, but you don't see this task force bending over backwards to open up people's business to the people. With tax reform impacting everyone in this state, there should be a massive information campaign to get everyone in the know about what's going on with tax reform. Then we'll see if the Jones-Mascaro plan is as easy to bury.

Guess the Quote

2005-08-04T11:08:00.000-07:00

Below are two quotes. One is from Senator Chris Buttars and the other is from British Biologist J.S.S. Haldane. Guess who said what.

"I will give up my belief in evolution if someone finds a fossil rabbit in the Precambrian."

"I believe the president believes exactly as I do. I believe he believes in God, and the story found in the scriptures: We are children of God and created in his image. We didn't wait for some ape to evolve."

After you match the quote to the person, decide then who has more authority on what should be taught in biology class.

2005-08-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I just took a tour of UFIRE's website and the first thing I noticed was this:

See that lady above? She was the first one to welcome the millions of (white) immigrants to this land. That was back when we allowed immigration into this country.

But the main thing I took away from this site is that this group should probably call itself UFIE. There's no talk of reform anywhere. Lots of talk about "those people" and terrorists trying to obtain voter registration cards, but no proposed solution other than to kick the brown people out.

I would love to be convinced that anti-immigration folks aren't all racist crazies, but this group just reinforces the fact that they are.

Fat guy snubs crazy guy

2005-08-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

It's nice to see Chris Cannon directing some of that good ole Cannon family arrogance at someone who probably deserves it:

"On behalf of UFIRE, Bluffdale City Councilwoman Martha Speed invited Cannon to debate [Colorado Congressman Tom] Tancredo at an event in Provo on Aug. 24, but Cannon said he will be indisposed. "Congressman Cannon plans to spend the 24th at home working on his irrigation system...”

Tancredo is a true nutcase. Why do people in SW Denver keep electing this guy?

The Forbidden Mountains

2005-08-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

It looks like the Uintahs have swallowed up another boy scout.

Worldliness

2005-07-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

Coming back from a long weekend, I noticed that the last comment I posted was regarding Hellewell's efforts to further theocratize public schools. The Tribune's reports over the last few days over the declining Mormon population in Utah will hopefully rightly relegate Hellewell and like-minded folks to batsh_t crazy Utah Valley zealot garbage.

What I think was the most interesting tidbit from this reporting was the fact that Utah County, which is a large, urban county, is still like %75 LDS. So does this mean that a new homeland is in the midst and that Salt Lake County has been written off by the faithful? Has the center of Zion become too worldly? Are good upstanding LDS folk fleeing the stench of wickedness that lies between the Wasatch and the Oquirrhs?

Because the Non-Mormon Kids Aren't Feeling Sufficiently Awkward.

2005-07-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

Well, we can at least take comfort in that this will be an easy target for the ACLU. Just when you think you've safely dodged Hurricane Buttars, T.S. Hellewell looms.

Just Figured It Out

2005-07-19T14:41:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows or should know that no one in the White House of any importance will actually be held accountable for what they do. Karl Rove is no exception. My prediction: Bush's flip-flop on Rove (only convicted felons get the boot) will buy him at least another year or two before an indictment is handed down by Fitzgerald, then the trial will ensue for about another year, and when it's all said and done, it will be lame-duck pardoning season. Then Karl can continue orchestrating evil campaigns.

I mean, think about it. You really think the man (yes, the, as in singular, man, and no, not Bush, not Cheney, but Rove) who has managed to conquer three branches of government is going to let himself be subjected to the laws of the common people?

We are not making this up.

2005-07-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

"It's unfortunate that Mr. Dean would politicize [the Schiavo] family's tragedy."

-Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo.

Think of the Children

2005-07-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

The party-line vote over extending benefits to non-married couples is a complete letdown, however Scott McCoy's comments do offer a silver lining:

"The younger generations are absolutely in favor of this," he said. "By fighting the fight, we're making the future come faster."

The ridiculousness of the gay marriage/civil union debate, demonstrated by the SL County council and repeated countless times across the country, is something that younger folks can cope with by relying on the liklihood that it will die with the older generations that are currently in power. In fact, I think we can expect a complete backlash against the current parochialism that has brought us religious bigotry and corporate corruption in government. Being the first generation to experience mass-market media, baby-boomers have not developed a strong-enough resistance to the pop-culture b.s. and have therefore latched on to all sorts of meaningless causes. They have confused their lives with those that are portrayed on TV and are more concerned about superficial endeavours like the so-called moral issues than things that really matter like progressive taxation, energy independence, and the social, political, and economic effects of emerging globalization.

So the reason we're not extending benefits to non-married couples is because of our moral values. Couples that are struggling to build a life together are not deserving of a break. The people who buy this are those that wear morals on their sleeves, not in their everyday actions. Helping families, who, in the reality-based community, come in all shapes and sizes, is morality in action. Denying the rights families are entitled to based on a shallow, "show" morality is the mark of a facile, decadent culture.

Did I mention I have gay friends?

2005-07-12T08:46:00.000-07:00

Please take a minute to enjoy CassBar's kerrraaazzy new game,

"FUN WITH DISCLAIMERS!"

Just finish each sentence - it's easy and fun!

1. "I'm not racist, but _________________________________________________"

2. "As you know, I'm totally color-blind, but I can't help to notice that __________________"

3.* "I hope I don't sound bigoted, but _________________________________"

*Provided by David Wilde, Salt Lake County Councilman

How We Got Into This Mess.

2005-06-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

The temptation to comment on World and National affairs is usually avoided here, as many other blogs are far more profound in their discussion of such issues. But the President's speech last night has made comment about the Iraq war, at the very least, created a need for a venting chamber before we all explode here at The Bar.

History, provided that it has a command on observable fact unlike the news media, will likely depict the Iraq War as a high-minded experiment that was always doomed by the insularity of its makers. Back in the giddy 90's an outfit called the Project for the New American Century had a grand idea - establish what is essentially a powerful American protectorate in the Middle East to keep MidEastern countries in line, ensure a dependable flow of crude, keep China from expanding its sphere of influence into South Asia, and give American business a century's worth of new contracts. It's easy to paint the architects of the war as amoral corporate plunderers but these folks most likely have convinced themselves that their actions will benefit mankind and offer economic prosperity as a byproduct. Like most great ideas, however, the plan to invade Iraq would ultimately wither under scrutiny (before its implementation), especially under that of the American public, which, inconveniently, elect the leaders who have command of the country's military. It's probably clear where I'm going with this and the baiting-and-switching of the American public will be relegated to an evil action committed by evil people. But just like how calling the terrorists "evil" is stupid and inneffective in understanding and thus, dealing with the terrorist threat, so is affixing the evil label to Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, and Donald Rumsfeld and the rest of the PNAC crew. No, their actions in their eyes are morally defensible when undergirded by the right philosophy, in this case, the philosophy of Leo Strauss. The Straussian justification goes like this: most human beings, of which the American public is made up of, are weak. Too weak, in fact, to weigh the pros and cons of truly important matters like war. Therefore, their intellectual superiors must take it upon themselves to be the stewards of big-deal decision-making. If such decisions were left to Joe Citizen, he would most likely be blind to the nation's best interest and protect his own personal interest. That is why, before the war, Wolfowitz cited the WMD justification as the reason "we all could agree on." How could Joe Citizen oppose the war if his own survival was at stake?

In case you didn't notice, we just took a pretty funky route to arrive at our conclusion that the Iraq war is a good thing. Had our leaders had the benefit of peer review, we would have discovered that the insurgency would have the vigor to take out 1700 troops and counting, that oil revenues would not cover the costs of war, and that invading a sovereign MidEastern country and killing its innocent citizens would inflame Muslim public opinion and put the terrorist-making machine in overdrive. And, as a result, those of us who didn't get to make the decision to go to war will pay dearly.

Big shoes to fill.

2005-06-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

How intriguing it was to see a headline about a Rocky-anointed successor. But Keith Christensen? I'll withhold comment until it's more clear what a Christensen Administration would look like. Also, at the risk of sounding like a tokenist, isn't about time that we had a female or minority (or both) Mayor?

The other prospects are less than exciting. Dave Buhler, Nancy Saxton? Another run by Frank Pignanelli? I know it may seem like Rocky's heart is in another place, but I don't see anyone worth taking the reigns yet.

Is there anybody out there?

2005-06-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

Found this recently, the closest thing to a Utah blog I've found.

Take a Number, NSL

2005-06-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Davis County has no shortage of anti-Rocky shills, and Kay Briggs is no exception. But seriously, does he really think that the Mayor intends to do something with this parcel other than preserve it as open space? I mean this is Rocky, the most unabashed environmentalist - and therefore anti-family - figure in the state.

As with anything that has to do with Rocky but is none of the state's business, expect some sort of legislative intervention with this.

2005-06-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

Props to Pandagon's observations on how Dems treat their young. I don't think that aspiring liberals necessarily expect walk-in closets and fitness centers, but some curbing of the begrudging attitude that established Dems often have when encountering fresh-faced world-changers would definitely be worth its weight in gold. I remember asking Donald Dunn about getting involved at a community event once and you woulda thought I was asking to borrow rent money or something. All I got was some half-hearted drivel about the difference between the Young Democrats and the Young Professional Democrats and a increasingly rapid pace (we were walking together at the time). Maybe their going for the "I'm too cool" strategy, like they're the velvet ropers at some new club.

Allow me to attempt a correlation here. The reason why folks like Howard Dean and Rocky Anderson are so popular among younger voters is because they embody inclusion, unpretentiousness, and open contempt for power-drunk conservatism. And guess what, you can actually go up to Rocky in the grocery store and shoot the breeze - no glances at the wristwatch, no canned talking points, no "this org does that, talk to them" - just a real guy talking about his real ideas and his real convictions. Believe me, I've done it and it was like 11 at night and he was buying detergent (he uses Tide with Bleach). I've attempted the same thing with Ralph Becker and I'll just say that it wasn't the same type of experience (I even dropped some names, but to no avail).

Establishment Dems, both National and State, would have us believe that Dean and Rocky are to be placed on the backshelf as political abberrations and not out on display. Do that and you'll be playing Republican Lite forever. When Frank Pignanelli says that the Democrats only option is to kowtow to Mormon sensibilities, he's saying that we should ignore the undercurrents of young and disenfranchised who make up like 40% of the population and are growing, growing, growing. Do you know how many people I know that cast their first vote ever cast it for Rocky? Do you know how many people live in apartment buildings and Sugarhouse bungalows and don't vote because they are so far removed from political goings-on that emulate the wispy Pignanelli strategies? People are angry here. They are sick of not being able to buy a bottle of wine on Sundays, they are sick of being told that they are not moral people, they are sick of "message" bills, they are sick of sales tax on food, they are sick of resources going to Eagle Mountain over Salt Lake City, they are sick of it all. Tap into this anger, man, and you've got a formidable political force. You'll knock the shit out of whackos like Chris Buttars and Gayle Ruzicka and faint-hearts like Dave Buhler and Pignanelli. We'll have something that resembles a two-party system here. We'll get real bills passed in the Lege and not waste our time on another unconstitutional abortion bill or porn czar. But if people like Pignanelli have their way, we will continue to evolve into the Party of Crazy-lite.

Alco-Steria!

2005-06-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

"We feel that if we don't prohibit alcohol and close businesses on Sunday, it will harm our community. It will bring in more crime, more automobile accidents, more accidental injuries, more damage to property, more problems with our teenagers, because they're a high-risk population, and so we don't want to bring all those problems in."

And so goes the debate in Draper, Highland, Alpine, Cedar Hills, or wherever this is happening in the Ruzicka-belt.

What He Said

2005-06-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

It seems that Utah's chief busybody, Gayle Ruzicka, is no longer satisfied with snooping into people's lives and pronouncing judgment on them. Now she claims the godlike power to decree reality, without bothering with that troublesome process of examining facts and making a logical interpretation of them, the process known as science. Gayle Ruzicka is so certain of her infallible insight that she demands it be taught to all public school children in the state and represented as science. For those of us who are not convinced that Gayle Ruzicka is the final authority on all matters legal, moral, religious and scientific, Utah's world-renowned fossils and blatantly obvious stratigraphy offer proof that life has changed over time, and that earlier life forms were strange and simple, gradually changing into the familiar, complex forms of the present day. Gayle Ruzicka and her minions would have us believe that Utah's fossils and landscapes are all part of an elaborate ruse perpetrated by God, just to test our faith in - Gayle Ruzicka and her minions. It is time for Utahns to stop paying attention to Gayle Ruzicka, and stop satisfying her lust for power over us.

Mark Novak
Salt Lake City

The Small Government Party

2005-06-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

Remember the Republican Country Club that was Salt Lake County? A Grand Old Place for the people of the Grand Old Party where you always had a new SUV with a full tank and cushy jobs for you and your buddies, all paid for by Salt Lake County taxpayers? Unfortunately, Salt Lake County voters threw these guys out on their asses. What is a useless Republican flunkie like Greg Curtis supposed to do now? Well, when it comes to taxpayer dollars, Curtis always remembers to share the wealth. With his fellow Republican insiders, that is.

Dick the Cock, Chickenland's Happiest Rooster; A Children's Book

2005-06-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

Feel-good legislation, especially that involving sex or porn, usually makes for bad public policy. Such is the case here, where the net is so big that artists, bookstores, and people who live in a post-Victorian society may be casualties in this State's War on Naughtiness. Everyone agrees that little kids shouldn't have ready access to Tracy Lord's nether regions, but seriously, are we doing this to protect the children or to demonstrate our righteousness to ourselves? And for a place where the marketplace ostensibly is king, don't ISP's have enough of an incentive to block images from the frenzied porn-crusading citizenry? Do you really think Eddie Elder's Quorum President or Ruth Ann Relief Society 2nd Counselor would hesitate to cut off an ISP that let their zitty-faced children look at zitless people with their clothes off (or people with their clothes off at zit-fetish sites)? Parents have plenty of constitutional tools already that will let them think that their kids don't look at or don't want to look at porn.

Surprise! Middle Class Folks Don't Want New Taxes.

2005-06-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

A D-News poll finds that Utahns strongly oppose a new sales tax for services like health care, attorneys, and haircuts, so I guess we're going to have to wait for another dumb idea to offset a proposed phase-out of the gargantuan 5% corporate income tax. Meanwhile, Utahns overwhelmingly want the elimination of sales tax on unprepared food. I guess Corporations can't get a break (except for the gigantic ones in the Federal tax structure).

Buttar-Churning Windmills

2005-06-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

Judging from today's public forum at the Trib, it does not look like Chris Buttars is getting any takers in his quixotic attempt to get Utahns to attach themselves to Kansas' laughingstock. Unfortunately for Buttars, we have a relatively high percentage of college grads here that do not jerk their knees against science and the hypothetical process. Furthermore, evolutionary theory does not lie in direct contradiction to the teachings of the Church, which means that for now, such as when we beat Mississippi in per-pupil funding, Utah will not be dead last in political credibility.

Jane Marquardt, We Hardly Knew Ye

2005-06-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

So, it does not look like we're going to get our first lesbian City Councilor. That's too bad, because the 3rd council district (Aves, Capitol Hill) could use a lesbian City Councilor. You see, lesbians(and gay men) in the 3rd council district (and in other neighborhoods) could really use someone other than male, white, Mormon folks to represent them, and judging by Eric Jergensen's squeamishness to naughty words, it would seem that white, male, mormons probably do not value the same things that people who choose to live in Salt Lake City proper do.

But I can understand Jane's reluctance to put herself in the public eye. Who wants to become the lesbian City Councilor so that Heather May can write stupid drivel about the "unspoken lesbian/non-lesbian divide?" Who wants to take their happy, family-and-friend-filled lives only to have them shot down by Gayle Ruzicka's ignoramus-ray? Who wants to push for landscaped traffic medians only to have people question in their minds why lesbians are so fascinated with earthy causes like flora-laden roadways?

I wonder if Jane's decision-making process went a little like this: "Would I do more good in the world if I was a devoted companion and mother or if I was a novelty-freak that provided rhetorical fodder for Ruzicka and Chris Buttars?" Rather than steal thunder from Buttars' crusade against the evil science-teacher agenda, she probably opted for the family gal life. That's too bad, because I have heard that Jane's a warm, intelligent person who has alot to offer her community. Unfortunately, the current state of gay-plague hysteria will limit what she has to offer the world to her immediate family. Eric Jergensen will continue to amplify his role as Elder's Quorum President and be the best Salt Lake City Councilor that Davis County ever had.