Utah
updated
9:48 p.m.
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Yesterday, the Salt Lake Tribune published an op-ed from Bishop John C. Wester of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City in which the Bishop claims: More and more, I get the distinct impression that the voice of religion is not welcome in the public square. Even more troubling, it seems to me that the [...]...
One Utah - Sun 6:03 p.m. - 13 clicks 
Redistricting in both states are done. Maine drew a relatively fair map where Michaud's district got a hair less Democratic and Pingree's district got a hair more Democratic. In Utah, they tried again to get rid of Rep. Jim Matheson (D). They scrambled his district and added their new UT-04. Matheson in the end opted to run in UT-04, which is one point less Republican tha...
DailyKos (Utah) - Sun 9:47 a.m. - 11 clicks
I am shocked and saddened by the recent statements made by two members of the Republican Caucus of the Utah Senate. By now, you may have seen the Senate Majority Leader, Scot Jenkins, outburst on the outlandish thought of exempting military personnel from having to pay property taxes while serving on active duty (click here for [...]...
Blue in Red Zion - Sat 10:46 a.m. - 77 clicks
Rep. Keith Grover, R-Provo, is running a bill, HB370, that would require students to take a one-semester class on the free enterprise system before graduating from high school. According to the bill, areas of instruction would include private property ownership; competition and regulation; profit and loss; and "the impact of government spending, regulation, taxation, and monetary and trade polic...
DailyKos (Utah) - Thu 9:21 a.m. - 17 clicks
I recently read a hatchet job in the Salt Lake Tribune on Doctor Nicola Riley in Utah who is currently in trouble with the law in Maryland regarding the very real and needed female medical procedure aka abortion. I was moved to see so many positive responses in the comment section of that article regarding a very good person and a very good doctor much maligned by the "Moral" Industrial Me...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 14 - 8 clicks
RT @theleftshow: Did The Not Real @TheRealStanLee stop by @Hold322 this weekend to record with @sifujc, @JMBell and Bob? #comics #marvel #dc # RT @theleftshow: Did The Not Real @TheRealStanLee stop by @Hold322 this weekend to record a bit? http://t.co/K7mfGCp1 #comics #marvel #dc # RT @utahhousedems: Mayor Becker, @CharlieLukeSLC and other city co members are [...]...
JM Bell - Feb 12 - 2 clicks
Join us this Friday when we welcome not one, but two candidates for Salt Lake County Mayor. Senators Ross Romero and Ben McAdams are both seeking the seat. Both are good candidates, and while this won’t be a debate, each candidate will have the opportunity to tell us why they think they’re the best candidate [...]...
Drinking Liberally of Salt Lake City - Feb 9
For any who may be reading this series for the first time : this is a thought experiment where I try to see what would happen if the size of the House of Representatives were doubled to 870 members from 435. And yes, I know Republicans have the trifecta in Utah, and there's control in Nevada. This entire series is theoretical to begin with, gimme a break. Both of these states went from 3 to...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6
A new literary and cultural movement is beginning to take shape in two unlikely places: Idaho and Utah. Instigated by a young generation at odds with their conservative upbringings, yet also disenchanted with today's usual "counterculture" outlets and traditional literature, the movement is a reaction to both the apathy and the dogma of modern American culture. In an America torn apart by extr...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6
When I think of Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park, I envision its beautiful rock spires (also known as “hoodoos") reaching into the sky. I think of it as an amazing place to visit and hike, one of our country’s beautiful national parks famous for its stunning vistas, and for its unique plants and animals. It’s a place I’d love to take my young daughter someday, to show her the wonders of our Wes...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6 - 2 clicks
Within seconds of the unfortunate death of a homeless man in Pioneer Park, the Utah freak-show cheered in unison; "SEE? We told you! The Salt Lake City occupiers are all homeless, drug addicts!" For many Utahns, it was better than if the historicity of The Book of Mormon were provable. I got pissed. I grabbed my video camera and went down to the new camp at Gallivan Center. I inter...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6 - 3 clicks
(Also at The Nevada View & Nevada Progressive ) Earlier this week, Henderson's Convention Center was host to the latest battle in the ongoing war for rural Nevada and Utah water. And while the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) got some high profile support at the BLM (federal Bureau of Land Management) hearing in Henderson this week (even if they were still outnumbered...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6 - 2 clicks
In 1968, Phillip Morris introduced cigarette brand, Virginia Slims. The catchy slogan was, You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby. Yes, nothing says women’s equality and equal rights like lung cancer. Aside from the lung cancer issue, it did feel as though there was real progress being made in the late 60′s and early 70′s to create some parity for women. ...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6 - 2 clicks
This will be a very short diary because I only want to point out what should be a well known fact among people who follow the news, but apparently isn't. US Attorneys are recommended by the US Senators from the state in which they will serve. The President then nominates the US Attorney pre-selected by the state's Senate delegation. ...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6
Updated: Rocky will announce at 9:30 am on Chuck Todd. I think I just eye-witnessed the spontaneous birth of a new political party and in the most unlikely of places - Utah. But, hey. Why not Utah? Are we not the home of political mavericks? Did we Utahns not replace a senior, sitting senator at convention (Bennett R-UT) with an insane, tea-party nobody? Did we not also deliver t...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6 - 2 clicks
Didn't see this coming. But it's here. Crap. Try not to run into one of these football field sized trucks on their trip through your neighborhoods, k? Heads up roads between Illinois and Utah. Merry Christmas! This one already shipped in from California in July, 2011. The nuclear steam generator is about 80 feet long, twelve feet wide and weighs more than 300...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6 - 2 clicks
I was working on another piece for this week, but a poltergeist in the computer had other ideas. Instead, here's a sort of GFHC trick-or-treat for Halloween weekend. :-) I suppose most every family has its stories of ghosts or other odd phenomena. This one belongs to the latter category. Utah Lake, a 150 square mile body of water in north-central Utah, has a rich tradition of monsters an...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6 - 2 clicks
Worker misclassification is not a small or regional problem. It is a national epidemic wherein workers are incorrectly labeled as independent contractors so that companies can avoid paying them overtime or giving them proper benefits. Misclassification was recently exposed in Utah by KSL 5 News , which took a look into how Utah companies were cheating construction workers out of their fair wa...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6 - 2 clicks
What with all the positive hoopla surrounding Obama's (@ BarackObama ) call to action today, I checked out a few cleverly titled news articles on the subject. I happened to come across this tweet by Utah Senator Mike Lee (R) ... SenMikeLee Mike Lee Those who will be impacted most by Obama's reckless spending should tweet him to #compromise & support a BBA, but they haven't been bor...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6 - 2 clicks
In 1996, President Clinton made a bold and controversial move, declaring 1.9 million acres of land in southern Utah a National Monument. The designation turned almost the entire southern portion of the state - already heavy with National Parks - into Federal land. The monument was to be bordered on the East by Capitol Reef National Park and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (a...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6 - 2 clicks
Yes, Iowa passed marriage equality and we can marry in the country’s capital, and now Utah has elected Jim Dabakis as the first openly gay man to state office. I’m sure the irony is not lost for those in California, given the millions of dollars the Mormons raised to pass PropH8. ...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6
In a real life David vs. Goliath battle, there’s an active and very aggressive effort by a major corporation to prevent the publication and distribution of a book by the former spouse of one of the founders. The Goliath is Nu Skin, a Provo, Utah based MLM. The David in our story is one Adam Baker, ex-husband of Sandie Tillotson, company co-founder. Baker’s book is called Formerly Filthy Rich ...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6 - 2 clicks
Yet another poll has showed Representative Jim Matheson competitive in the Utah Senate race, particularly against Representative Jason Chaffetz, who is set to take on Senator Orrin Hatch in the Republican primary. Matheson hasn't made any declarations, but with more than one poll showing him in good position, it's very possible that he's considering the race. He's no novice to run a tough race a...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6 - 2 clicks
Since roguemapper recently compiled 08 presidential data I decided to see how Democratic a district I could get out of Utah and the results surprised me. Not only is it an Obama district, but also a safe one at that for any conventional liberal, which would free up Jim Matheson (unwillingly) to run statewide (and probably lose). Don't worry, the whole thing is contiguous and doesn't ...
DailyKos (Utah) - Feb 6 - 2 clicks
One issue that has always mildly bugged me has been that lawmakers receive retirement benefits similar to long term state employees if they simply put in enough years at the state legislature. Currently, if a lawmaker manages to stick it out for ten years, they receive the same benefits as a full-time state employee may receive after [...]...
Blue in Red Zion - Feb 6
Over the past year, there have been numerous anti-government protests across the nation, and though I have been highly critical of some of the movements, I none the less support the right for them to petition their government. Well, it appears that Senator Margaret Dayton (R – Orem – District 15) doesn’t feel the same way. Her [...]...
Blue in Red Zion - Feb 6
The Utah Legislature will be considering a bill aimed to save marriages. The mandate will require couples to attend a “divorce education class” before filing for divorce. The bill will make the course free of charge and available online. The proponents say this will help teach marriage survival skills that might turn some away for [...] ...
Utah Legislature Watch - Feb 6
Efforts to seize the land in Utah that is protected from development by the Federal Government are continuing by Utah legislators and others. Morgan Philpot is planning to run for Governor in Utah. According to an article in Utah State University’s the Utah Statesman, Philpot is adamant that Utah needs to demand the feds to [...] ...
Utah Legislature Watch - Feb 4
So, I am just going to say it now and get it out of the way, watching Senator Casey Anderson (R-Cedar City, District 28) propose legislation is a bit like watching clowns continually come out of a car labeled “mind numbingly bad.” Just for kicks, you could even add the word “Express.” I have already told you Anderson’s brilliant idea to [...]...
Blue in Red Zion - Feb 3
I don’t want you all to think that I am biased towards Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck (D – Salt Lake, District 24) simply because she happens to have ranked number 1 last year for best representing my interests…or because she just so happens to be my actual representative on the hill; but the honest truth is, I am [...]...
Blue in Red Zion - Feb 3 - 2 clicks
Join us tomorrow tonight for a regular Drinking Liberally meeting. As always, we’ll be in the back room of the Piper Down beginning at 6:30. With the legislative session underway, the Florida primary and soccer riots in Egypt, we really need a few drinks! Don’t forget, on February 10th we’ll have Salt Lake County [...]...
Drinking Liberally of Salt Lake City - Feb 2 - 2 clicks
One of the reasons I have always liked Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck (D – Salt Lake, District 24), is that she has always fought to expand the rights of voters in Utah. She has been a strong advocate for modernizing our democracy while still holding true to is roots. I point to HB 119, Study of Signing Petitions [...]...
Blue in Red Zion - Feb 2
THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 1, 2012 The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Utah and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by a severe storm during the period of November 30 to December 1, 2011. Federal funding is available to state and eligible local ...
Utah Amicus - Feb 1
What a fun night we had last week with Geeks Who Drink! Thanks to all who came out, Geeks Who Drink, and especially to our sponsors for the event, Salt Lake County Mayoral candidates Ross Romero and Ben McAdams and U.S. Senate candidate Pete Ashdown. Check out the Geeks Who Drink recap about halfway down [...]...
Drinking Liberally of Salt Lake City - Jan 27
The Utah House Democrats have posted a survey for people to take on the 2012 Legislative Session. Please consider taking the survey! ...
Utah Legislature Watch - Jan 25
Earlier today, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman dropped out of the Republican nomination race. I like to think this is a sign from the universe that if there is going to be a Jon-with-no-h president, it should be me. More likely it's because Huntsman had no money, no momentum, and virtually no support. Even Mormons have turned their back on him: They support Romney over Huntsm...
DailyKos (Utah) - Jan 16
Join us tomorrow night at 6:30pm for another night of Drinking Liberally. We’ll be talking about things like the New Hampshire primary, Salt Lake City being named the gayest city in the US by The Adocate, and plenty more. We’re just one week away from Geeks Who Drink Liberally. Join us on January 20th as we [...]...
Drinking Liberally of Salt Lake City - Jan 12 - 2 clicks
Kudos to skibum59 for actually doing a politically feasible version of this , but with this map I decided to push it to the limits. Jim Matheson gets a district where he is favored and the new 4th district should be consistently won by Democrats. Both Republican districts are more Republican than any current district in existence! Note, all districts are contiguous, though the 1st...
DailyKos (Utah) - Jan 12
This gives one district for a liberal Democrat and preserves a second one for Matheson. Both the GOP districts went over 70% for McCain. I actually managed to pack the 3rd over 80% McCain, just to see how high I could get it, but it was a little uglier, so I opted for this. Its not like we were winning the 1st anyway. Plus, this will keep Saratoga Springs mayor Mia Love o...
DailyKos (Utah) - Jan 11
The state- Ut-1 OB-49 MC-47, 17.9 hisp, Likely D, Salt City to Provo Ut-2 OB-40 MC-56, 18.1 hisp, Likely R, Ogden and parts of Salt Lake County Ut-3 OB-24 MC-72, 7.6 hisp, Safe R, Utah county Ut-4 OB-23 MC-73, 8.3 hisp,Safe R, Rest of state ...
DailyKos (Utah) - Jan 11
RT @HuffPostPol: NH Republicans accuse Gingrich campaign of making illegal robocalls. http://t.co/LWUA2Lsh # RT @ethanmillard: Dear Utah, glad to see you're enjoying the political drama this week. Don't forget you're not invited to any of it. # @ryanmer – Zyrchers? # @ChrisStewart4UT – GOP Rep @jasoninthehouse set the precedent to make district traveling in UT [...]...
JM Bell - Dec 18 - 2 clicks
Apparently you can fool mother nature if you are a giant Walmart parking lot. Bird experts said it was the largest bird downing they had ever seen with thousands dead and at least two thousand rescued after migrating birds crashed into a Utah Walmart parking lot mistaking it for a large body of water. Thousands of migratory birds died on impact after apparently mistaking a Wal-Mart...
DailyKos (Utah) - Dec 14 - 15 clicks
JC and Forrest bring extra, extra special guest Robert Gehrke to the Defenestrate Media studio to discuss the news of the week, as it were. I lift the Herman Cain ban and we get all juvenile talking about THAT train wreck. Joe Lieberman has been spending too much time with Orrin Hatch, chatting about the [...]...
JM Bell - Dec 8
RT @WendyLiebman: I've already broken my 2012 resolutions. # Check out @PianoGuys new video, Cello Wars! http://t.co/ZcSw8qI9 # RT @RobertGehrke: @PRIDEinUtah @JMBell @davjamestv What have I gotten mysef into? # RT @melissapierce: You will not shame me into following you by putting me on an auto updating list entitled… (cont) http://t.co/8POzWiPR # HEAR! RT @davjamestv: [...]...
JM Bell - Dec 4
