Simple Utah Mormon Politics

We do need a revamped Government Records Access Management Act (GRAMA), but not like this. House Bill 477 codified legislative secrecy into law--that's what was wrong with it. I agree with Senator Steve Urquhart, Republican of St. George, Utah, who said that ""It is my opinion that we simply messed up. It was no one's fault but ours." I'm glad it was repealed. Now, let's do it right.

Article VI of the Utah Constitution requires among other things that "A person is not eligible to the office of senator or representative unless the person is...a resident of the district from which the person is elected..."  In one way, Representative Craig Frank of Legislative district 57 is clearly not in compliance with this requirement.  But in two other ways he clearly is. Two out of three indicators suggest that Craig Frank should be seated as the District 57 representative when the Utah Legislature convenes on January 24th.

How should society handle a situation where someone's life is completely ruined through being not only falsely accused of murder, but also tried and hung by the public beforehand, and then turned back into society with not much more than an "Oops! We're sorry!"?  Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky has the answer. It requires much more than apparently Utah law will allow.

United States Supreme Court The United States Congress still abides only partially by the concept of "one person, one vote".  While the House of Representatives is apportioned according to population, every state, regardless of population, has two United States Senators.  It makes no sense to me, then, that the Supreme Court would have let this "disparity" stand while striking down similar disparities in several States in the 1960's.

At one time, Utah was in dire need of legislative ethics reform. I've written about it on Simple Utah Mormon  Politics more than once .  Out of such a dearth, the Utah Ethics Initiative was born.  Whether or not the impetus came from the recently proposed Initiative, the Legislature has now remedied or will soon fix most of problems that were identified in the Initiative's text. The Utah Legislature still needs further ethics reform.  But it no longer needs an Initiative to spur it on.  Because of recent improvement in ethics laws, the Utah Ethics Initiative is largely redundant of existing Utah law.  Utahns should, therefore, oppose the potential Legislative Ethics Initiative for which signatures are now being gathered around the state. Ethics Commission.   Utah's legislature does not have an independent ethics commission--not yet anyway. That's about to be fixed.  The proposed Initiative states that Forty states have some form of an ind...

No they didn’t really break out of the state pen. But those who support an amendment to the Utah Constitution to allow the legislature to limit the number of appeals of death row inmates are apparently afraid that such an event is likely to occur. There are better ways to solve this problem than the "now I'm really REALLY mad" approach. The Deseret News reported recently that "Our current justice system is broken. The death penalty in Utah has become a myth. Death row inmates are winning a war of attrition," [Utah Attorney General Mark] Shurtleff wrote Tuesday in his personal blog on the attorney general's Web site. Oh? Which war is that? Are they back on the street so they can If Utah judicial officers really ARE ignoring the law, then don’t you think they should be impeached? Okay, then. Let’s not clutter up our constitution with unnecessary refuse. murder again? I haven’t had to experience the murder of a family member by someone who is still on dea...

Utah has, for the last several years, been one of the best fiscally managed states in the country. Accepting $1.7 billion of federal money to help fix what Utah has done a masterful job of taking care of on its own would precipitate a financial catastrophe. Utah should reject the so-called stimulus out of hand. The computer project budget Have no fear, though--the federal government is coming to the rescue. Yes, that federal government. The one that couldn't bail itself out of a wet paper bag, let alone anyone else. for my company was slashed by 20% this year. Some of that was compensated for by sweeping funds forward from 2007 and 2008 that had not been used. There is none of that left now. This year, everything looks fine, but for 2010, all bets are off. Budget cuts are looming--unless we can get a government bailout. Just kidding. A government bailout would be the worst thing that ever happened to my company. It would be the worst thing that could ever happen to Utah as w...

A racist comment about a black baby. A crusade in favor of a Christmas KGB. You probably recognize those faux pas positions as being held by Utah State Senator Chris Buttars. It couldn't possibly get any worse...could it? Uhhh, yep; it could. Yesterday Chris Buttars compared gays and lesbians to terrorists. Yikes! Should he resign? I don't think so, but I wonder what those people were thinking who voted him back into office last fall. And I especially wonder what they're thinking now . In an interview with KTVX TV channel 4, Chris Buttars's unconscionable statement went something like this : Sen. Chris Buttars believes gays and lesbians are "the greatest threat to America going down," comparing members of the LGBT community to radical Muslims. "I believe they will destroy the foundation of the American society," the West Jordan Republican said in a recent interview with documentary filmmaker Reed Cowan. "In my mind, it's the beginning ...

It all depends on what you mean by the term "civil union". I fully support the existing Utah Marriage Amendment to the constitution, as well, which doesn't allow marriage of same-sex persons or anything like unto it. It appears that that's the same thing that Utah Governor Jon Huntsman supports. Utah Conservatives need to stop worrying about a stealth campaign to destroy traditional marriage in Utah. In some states, civil unions are the So when Governor Huntsman talks about supporting civil unions, he can't possibly mean that he supports something akin to marriage. I suspect that would be an impeachable offense to support a violation of the Utah Constitution...wouldn't it? same thing as domestic partnerships. In other states, civil unions are the same thing as marriage. In Utah neither domestic partnerships nor civil unions could possibly be the same thing as marriage, because of the third amendment to Article 1, Section 29 of the Utah Constitution (th...

I oppose homosexual marriage because of its effect on children. Some people seem to be opposed to a lot more things that I think homosexuals should be allowed to do. They seem to be afraid of giving an inch, but having a mile taken from them. That has never been a good reason to oppose the rights of another. I don't think that homosexual marriage is a right. As I have discussed in various articles elsewhere , something that is almost sure to have a profoundly detrimental effect on children should never be considered a right. However, there are a lot of things that homosexuals are not now legally allowed to do that they should be allowed to do. Equality Utah commissioned a I don't think that homosexual marriage is a right. However, there are a lot of things that homosexuals are not now legally allowed to do that they should be allowed to do. survey in January 2009 that asked the sentiments of Utahns regarding various homosexuality rights issues. Here are a few of those ...

In an atmosphere of environmental catastrophe brought on by greed (mostly) in high places, I think that maintaining the order of Utah's economic house must be our highest priority. Not far behind, however, is an issue closely related to the first--ethical lapses in high places. Rampant ethical laxness in the Utah legislator reflects very poorly on the predominant religion in Utah, especially because LDS lawmakers comprise a higher proportion of the legislature than My state Representative recently The current state of ethics in the Utah legislature should be profoundly embarrassing to all of us. Apparently, according to recent polls, ethics reform is finally on the radars of about 75% of Utahns. sent out a mailer to gauge his constituents' views on various subjects. In the section labeled "Ethics Reform" he listed 5 or 6 issues and asked us to rank them in priority order. Here's how I ranked those six issues: 1 1 1 1 1 and 1 It doesn't matter necessarily ...

Utah Senator Chris Buttars may be a well-meaning individual, but his actions often don't come out that way. His latest lament, with accompanying legislation that businesses use the phrase "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays", is at least the third case in point that I am aware of. First, we were entertained by the faux pas made by the Senator in the 2008 Utah Legislative session, when referring to an In reality, America has a Judeo -Christian heritage, so maybe Senator Buttars should change his legislation to "encourage" businesses to advertise with " Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas"...? analogy of a human baby, of declaring that " this baby is black ". Then there was the attempt to help a friend develop his property in Mapleton, Utah, by using the force if his legislative office . Let's see if we can top that... Who cares that businesses hock their Christmas wares by using the term "Happy Holidays"? I...

When I first read about the accusations against Utah State Republican Representative Greg Hughes, my first reaction was to ignore the fact that the allegations were brought up right before an election, and to think he was guilty. Since Hughes has been cleared of all allegations by a bi-partisan committee, it appears that I should have not ignored that timing. Hughes, after nearly three weeks of negative press, was cleared of all charges. Phil Riesen, Democrat Utah State Representative, was the one who made the allegations public. Riesen, rightly, will now be the next legislator to have a personal political proctology exam. For the last few years, I have thought of former news anchor and current stage legislator Phil Riesen as a man of great Hughes can be a bully, according to a former Republican legislator. But what Riesen did is much worse. integrity. No longer. The latest failed ploy against a Republican legislator proves that the Utah Democrats are at least as unethical as t...

Perhaps more important questions than "who are you going to vote for as Utah treasurer" are these: (1) Have the latest allegations of impropriety against Walker affected your decision as to who to vote for on June 24th? (2) Was Lt. Governor Herbert's decision--to delay his findings about the allegations until after the primary election--the correct one? It's hard to say what actually happened in a recent meeting between Mark Walker and Richard Ellis, Republican candidates for Utah state treasurer. Ellis recently alleged that Walker offered to increase his salary by 53% if he dropped out of the race. Walker It appears that Herbert has come to a conclusion on what happened. He should share it--before the primary election. said he didn't. That part doesn't bug me so much as this: Utah Lt. Governor Gary Herbert, whose job it is to investigate and report on such issues, has stated that he doesn't want to release his findings until after the primary. That...

Do unmarried-partner households account for the lion's share of domestic violence? I think so, but it's hard to know for sure. There don't seem to be many statistics tabulated on the subject. Hopefully in Utah, with Senate Bill 242, that is about to change. In 2000, there were just over 54 million households in the United States that contained married couples , and there were about 5,500,000 households in where there were unmarried partners. The percentage of unmarried-partner households in 2000, then, was about 9 percent. About 7 or 8 years ago, after a presentation on domestic violence, I asked the police officer who had given the presentation what percentage of domestic violence occurred in unmarried-partner households. He told me that they didn't keep those kind of statistics, but that if he had to estimate based on his experience, 70% of domestic violence occurs in unmarried-partner households. If that's true, it definitely pays to make a marriage commitm...

Do I think Chris Buttars is a racist? Yes. Based I what I've heard him say about homosexuals, I think his statement that "this baby is black" was a racist comment. I think it was a faux pas of gigantic, Freudian proportions. I think it reveals what is inside Chris Buttars' heart. I think the apology given for his statement will be hard to take seriously. Do I think Buttars should resign from the Utah Senate? No. Let's let his constituents decide that one in the next election. I have no proof that Chris Buttars is a racist. But how in the world could he come up with a statement like the one he uttered, and not be at least a racist of the closet variety? So I'm pretty sure he is. In days gone by, it was fairly common for Utahns to be racist. I think it was more out of ignorance and lack of association with people of other races, more than anything. Chris Buttars, however, seems to be a throwback to that otherwise hopefully forgotten era. We know very...

Senate Bill 34 in 2008 is the recapitulation of a bill that was introduced in the Utah legislative session of 2007. Like last year, it would allow confidential notification of bad driving. It is wrong to not let a driver be confronted with the witnesses of his or her supposedly bad driving. This is bad law. It should be voted down again like it was last year. Some have said that the word Nazi is used too cavalierly. But even Nazism started with relatively innocuous ideas that many people supported. Senate Bill 84 in 2007 ("CONFIDENTIALITY OF REPORTS TO DRIVER LICENSE DIVISION") was sponsored by Senator Allen Christensen. In 2008, a bill ( SB 34 this time ) with the same title is being sponsored by the same Senator. It failed last year in the Senate by a vote of 10-18 with 1 senator absent. Admittedly, Senate Bill 34 is an improvement over last year, because it no longer allows anonymous notification and it clarifies that the person notifying the driver license divis...

Hindu leader Rajan Zed has offered several prayers recently--in the US Senate, and in various state legislatures. This has prompted some people to claim that the United States is a Christian nation, and that such things as Hindu prayer in government or other public gatherings should not be allowed. Do you agree? I sure don't. Apparently in some states, legislative bodies have prohibited the invocation of the name of "Jesus Christ" in legislative session prayers. This has some people in those states frustrated that Hindu leader Rajan Zed has been allowed to cite the Hindu " Om " in his prayers in various legislative bodies. I contacted the person at the Utah legislature who coordinates prayers in the Utah House and Senate, and I was very impressed with Utah's policy. Utah invites members of various denominations to offer prayers, and no judgment is made as to the content of the prayer. In keeping with this policy people have not been prevented from endin...

Mixing bad apples with bad apples will accelerate the ruination of the entire bunch. The United States, even though it has wandered far from its Constitutional moorings, would be dragged into despondency by joining the Strategic Partnership for Prosperity Security and Prosperity Partnership. The people of Mexico and Canada are great people, but their governments, including the people who run them, suck. They will only be prosperous when they realize and rectify this fact. These are the reasons why I support the Utah Senate's call for the United States to exit from the misnamed "Security and Prosperity Partnership". Except for the riches and control that will accrue to the elite few if it is passed, there is no prosperity nor security in such a partnership. The Utah Senate is correct to encourage the United States Senate to reject the SPP, because it is, instead of being a recipe for prosperity, a prescription for disaster. The first problem with the SPP is that it i...

Currently it is legal in Utah to discriminate against someone in the workplace because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. I personally think it's a choice rather than an orientation, but I don't support discrimination against it either way. To respect someone's sexual orientation or gender identity does not encourage or condone public displays of homosexuality any more than it encourages public displays of heterosexuality. For this reason I support the healthy changes that are included in Utah House Bill 89. Currently, as well, cohabiting couples are legally prohibited in Utah from adopting a child, regardless of any other circumstances. I think that the courts should be able to consider those other circumstances. Cohabiting couples, regardless of sexual orientation, are not necessarily unfit to be adoptive parents. Measures are already in place to ensure that any unfit adult will not be considered as fit to adopt a child. For this reason, I also suppor...