Gone Fishing

[Legislature] The worst fears of anglers are coming true on Capitol Hill in the form of a just-filed bill that purports to take away river access recently granted by the Utah Supreme Court.

The “Recreational Use of Public Waters” bill written by Rep. Ben Ferry, R- Corinne, not only undoes this summer’s 5-0 decision granting the public recreational use of state rivers, it would make river access worse than before the ruling. So complain the Utah Rivers Council and the Utah Council of Trout Unlimited, which are gearing up to fight the bill.

“We don’t want the Legislature to take away what the court has given,” says Bob Dibblee, chairman of the Utah state Trout Unlimited chapter. He’s hoping a healthy showing of some of the state’s 400,000 anglers on Capitol Hill will help lawmakers see that House Bill 187 isn’t the compromise between private-property rights and river access Trout Unlimited thought it was negotiating with lawmakers.

HB 187 and a companion bill would rewrite state trespassing law, making fisherman criminals for crossing some lands traditionally used for gaining access to rivers. Many currently-fished river sections would be made inaccessible by that provision alone. The bill also says fishing won’t be allowed on rivers within 500 feet of homes.

The widest restrictions come in a provision of HB 187 that purports to limit public river access to 17 river sections throughout the state. Few river forks or tributaries are included on the list.

Critics argue that undoing the Supreme Court’s decision misses the boat on new money-making tourism opportunities, not to mention the hundreds of millions the state Division of Wildlife Resources estimates anglers already spend each year in Utah. (Ted McDonough)

The Big Liquor Law Flip-Flop

[Liquor Laws, Again] While driving to work this morning, I heard Salt Lake Tribune political reporter Robert Gehrke  on KSL radio's Doug Wright Show. Wright had invited Gehrke to defend his reporting on this story, dated Feb. 3. Why? Because the night before, on KSL's Nightside Project, Senate President Michael Waddoups did a 180-degree reversal on his earlier position supporting a bill to establish a statewide database of information culled from bar patrons' drivers licenses. 

Waddoups told Nightside Project co-host Ethan Millard the notion of scanning bar codes on drivers' licenses and storing personal data on people for law enforcement purposes is something "we're not even talking about yet," and that "no one's even buying into it at this point."

Lie.

It was a complete flip from his comments two days earlier to the Trib's Gehrke. In that interview, Waddoups discussed the possibility of even extending the data base to restaurants--so they could cross-check information with bars and private clubs to help regulate overserving liquor.

When asked about the varying accounts of his position in the Salt Lake media, Waddoups responded: "Let me give you a bit of advice. Don't believe everything you hear in the press."

Today the public learned that both Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, and Waddoups have dropped their as-yet unwritten proposals on establishing a drinkers' database.

With KSL's Wright, Gehrke stood by his work on the liquor law stories, and said he quoted Waddoups accurately earlier in the week. 

Whew. 

What I like most about all of this chaos in the past few days is that the watchdog role of the press on this issue worked. It worked like a charm. Valentine and Waddoups conjured up a very bad idea for a law. Members of the local press found out about it early enough in the legislative session to write about it and write some more. The idea that government would have private information on where citizens choose to spend their legal, free time on some database gave people the creeps. It enraged them. Because if there's one common thread between the left and the right, it's that government has no right to snoop into people's personal lives while they're behaving legally.

This is exactly how the press is supposed to do its job. The legislators saw this thing for the potential quagmire it is. They flipped. (BTW, Waddoups has a record for doing so on liquor laws.) Thank god it happened early in the session, when citizens could actually express their rage with it all. Otherwise, we'd have the thing crammed down our throats.

One final note: Gehrke is one of the most thorough and professional reporters in this state, and it's quite clear that Waddoups hung him out to dry. (Holly Mullen)

The Economy Sucks? Seriously?

[Legislator Disconnect] I'm still a bit agog at the way state Senate President Michael Waddoups summed up Utah's so-called life in opening remarks this week at the Legislature:

"I prefer to look on the bright side. Things aren't as gloomy as some would have us believe. Revenues are down a little, but we can still eat, we can have homes, we have health care, we have color TV ... and most still have jobs."

A letter writer to today's Salt Lake Tribune got the same uneasy feeling, and put it in words.

Waddoups, owner of a successful property management company, has no fear of how he'll find his next meal. I wish he could stroll down our little stretch of Main Street, between 200 and 300 South sometime. Bunches of people on the sidewalk outside my City Weekly office window have no health care, color TV or jobs.

Two nights ago, I called the SLPD to intervene when two street people got into a loud scuffle near the TRAX Gallivan Plaza stop. The man and woman were both seriously impaired--weaving around, her screaming at him, him ignoring her. He had taken her black handbag. She was screaming for him to give it back. He kept on walking, crossing into traffic, with her about 20 feet behind. Commuters on the train platform stood and stared. Did anyone pull out a cell phone and call the cops? Nah.

Ten minutes later, Reese the police dispatcher called me back at my desk. Officers had found the man, with the handbag, walking through Gallivan Plaza. But they couldn't find the woman. I couldn't give a great description of her--I had seen her from my second-floor window, but only from behind. She wore a red parka, was about 5-foot-3. She had black hair.

In spite of our Republican lawmakers' glass-half-full world view, there is plenty of pessimism to go around on this little city block. Perhaps Waddoups, as the most powerful man in the state Senate, could help all his cheery prosperity trickle down to these parts. (Holly Mullen)

Greg Curtis Sprints Through Revolving Door

[Ethics-Schmethics] Holy shit. Former Utah House Speaker Greg Curtis, whose legislative seat is still warm from his loss in November, is now a registered lobbyist for Phillip Morris USA, the tobacco giant. So much for standing up for the Word of Wisdom (among other questions about the man's judgment) in your professional life.

Please Legislature, what more proof do you need about lousy political ethics in this state? Wouldja just pass all ethics reforms bills (which include a "revolving door" lobbying ban on former legislators) in the hopper, like now? (Holly Mullen)

Gay People are Not "Dirty Shirts"

[Your Utah Legislature] Last night, in his State of the State address, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. offered the typical laundry list an executive hands off to the legislative branch. Fund some new roads (though this was a surprise, given all highway projects had been put on hold last fall when the economy tanked). Support health care reform. Go for green energy projects.

And be kind to others. Help your neighbors in need. Help neighbors you don't even know. Be decent.

Funny. Just a few hours earlier, the Senate Judiciary Committee slammed to the ground the first in a rational package of gay-rights bills to the ground--right along party lines, of course. Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, sponsored the measure as part of what gay-rights activists are calling the "Common Ground Initiative." It would have allowed financial dependents to sue if a breadwinner suffers a wrongful death. The law would have covered same-sex, long-term partners as well as anyone else in a family who relies on someone for financial support--grandparents or siblings, for example.

Republicans on the committee, of which Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, is chairman, were in fine form. They pulled out the "slippery slope" argument--as in, if we pass this bill, gay people will soon be nabbing our children off the street. (Don't laugh. I don't even want to know how many legislators actually believe it.) Another senator fretted that McCoy's bill is a "dirty shirt" in a laundry basket of marriage rights that would lead to legalization of same-sex marriage. Even though the state of Utah amended its constitution in 2004 to ban same sex-marriage.

McCoy and others who support Common Ground (and recent polls show most Utahns do), promise they'll work the other bills in the package and not give up. It's going to take the patience of those who fought for civil rights for blacks and for suffragists who battled for equal rights for women. It's going to take forever.

That said, will our elected leaders in this state ever, ever rise to a higher level of debate on this matter? Hate-filled speech, ugly analogies, unkind and fear-based arguments overshadow every discussion about gay rights at this Legislature. Their own Republican governor has implored them to practice basic human kindness to others. Still, comparing the gay and lesbian civil rights fight to a "dirty shirt?" Just sad. (Holly Mullen)

A Bribe by Any Other Name

[Legalese] Did you know we actually have a state law, to which former GOP legislator and state treasurer candidate Mark Walker pleaded guilty today in Salt Lake City Justice Court called "Inducement Not to Become a Candidate?"

It's a class B misdemeanor. The charge was based on allegations that Walker offered his Republican primary opponent Richard Ellis $50,000 to drop out of the race in 2008. Walker says he only promised that if he were elected, Ellis would stay on at the treasurer's office.

Hmmm. Inducement Not to Become a Candidate. In the real world--that is, a world not managed by lawyers--don't we call that a bribe? (Holly Mullen)

LDS Leaders on Liquor Laws

[Liquor Law Zaniness] Republican legislative leaders met yesterday with Mormon Church officials to discuss possible liquor law changes in the upcoming 2009 session. It's a customary meeting, according to church spokesman Scott Trotter. And it's a meeting of equal opportunity, apparently--church leaders lunched last week with Democratic legislators. The church is registering a bit of an open mind on liberalizing some laws, including support for doing away with the silly private club membership, as Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. recommends.

By far, my favorite line from mainstream media coverage of the private church/state vetting session comes from Deseret News political writer Lisa Riley Roche, who added this last paragraph to her story:

The Senate president (Mike Waddoups) said the legislative leaders were told "not to expect them to give us an opinion on every issue that we're dealing with." (Holly Mullen)

You, Too, Can Lobby for Gay Rights

[Utah Legislature 2009]Equality Utah, eager to see the 2009 Utah Legislature adopt its "Common Ground Initiative" of six gay rights bills, will sponsor an evening of citizen lobbyist training Thursday.

The free workshop runs from 6 to 8 p.m. in Room 445 of the State Capitol. Anyone interested in lobbying for human rights issues in Utah is enthusiastically encouraged to attend, says Keri Jones, program manager with Equality Utah.

State Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, and Rep. Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake City, will be on hand to advise the best ways to approach lawmakers and to discuss the Common Ground Initiative--which includes proposals for fair housing, workplace and inheritance rights for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people. Equality Utah will also be running a gay adoption bill again.

Salt Lake City Democratic Reps. Jennifer Seelig, Christine Johnson and Rebecca Chavez-Houck will also discuss the Common Ground bills they are sponsoring.

I asked Equality Utah's Jones why Utahns sympathetic to gay causes should even attend, given the openly hostile environment toward GLBT folks from so many neanderthals on the Hill. And why should they care, given the fact that Utahns did their own big part to fund the passage of Proposition 8 in California.

"Largely because of the marriage debate [in Hawaii and later California], Americans are now faced with questions of what protections should be available to loving [same-sex] couples. Utah hasn't answered that question and it's time for us to do so," Jones says.

Some of the bills in question will require widespread legislative support and "may not pass this year," says a hopeful Jones. "But we remain optimistic and ready to work hard."

Whether you're gay or straight, you may want to give these folks a hand. Strength in numbers and all of that. They'll save a chair for you Thursday night at the Capitol. (Holly Mullen)

Incest in a Turkey Baster

[More Utah Polygamy] After spending yesterday at the state Legislature's interim judiciary committee hearing, I'm still shaking the ol' noggin.

This being the Thanksgiving season, I can tell you the meeting was a regular cornucopia of surreal experiences only Utahns can truly believe.

The topper was testimony from Elend LeBaron, a businessman from Delta and son of polygamist Ross LeBaron, Jr. Ross is a member of the infamous LeBaron polygamist clan and brother to Ervil LeBaron, who ordered the assassination of Rulon Allred, a member of another Utah polygamist sect whom Ervil considered a rival, in 1977. Ervil was convicted in the murder conspiracy, and died in prison in 1981.

Still with me?

Elend testified yesterday that his father, who with his own sperm via artificial insemination, has impregnated two of Elend's sisters. Elend claims that five of his nieces and nephews are products of his father's sperm and sisters' eggs and thus, victims of incest. Elend knows this because about a year ago, acting on suspicions he and two other brothers have had for some time about incest in their family, he secretly collected DNA samples from the children by swabbing inside their cheeks. Genetic tests matched the two children with Ross and another brother, Elend says.

Utah law defines incest as the result of sexual intercourse. So, Elend claims, in order to protect other sisters (he comes from a family of 12 children), he is working through the law to reveal his father Ross' actions and to extend the definition of incest to include artificial insemination. The committee heard from Elend, Iron County assistant prosecutor Troy Little and University of Utah genetics expert Dr. John Opitz--who gave a fascinating--if truncated--lecture on the physical and mental maladies associated with first-degree matings (parent to child; sibling to sibling). The committee passed on to the full Legislature a bill that would allow prosecutors to use genetic tests to frame incest cases, and would increase the reporting period for incest from four to seven years.

And if you aren't entirely creeped out by now, Elend LeBaron detailed the reasons his father and sisters claim they are making an incestuous family in--where else--Southern Utah. Ross, Elend says, bought up several tracts of land in and around Iron County several years ago.

"The primary motive is to produce children," Elend told the committee. In his father's eyes, "my younger brother and younger sister are producing children together to advance God's kingdom," he said. Elend said he believes his father is "trying to replicate a virgin birth. Because this is the way Jesus came about (with no sexual intercourse), this is something [Ross] wants to accomplish."

After the hearing, Elend and I spoke for 30 or so minutes in a state Capitol hallway. He told me that last year, after getting the results of the paternity tests, he diagrammed for his sisters on a dry-erase board a classic heredity chart. He cited classic studies on genetic disorders caused by incest and hoped he could show them the risks to their children. "Their reaction was 'this might happen to other people, but it won't happen to us.' They believe God wants them to do this. The rest of the population might be hurt by incest, but they are sure God will protect them."

Uh, yeah. Right in our back yard, people. (Holly Mullen)

It's No on Judge Hilder

[Checks and Balances...Not] The state Senate just voted against confirming 3rd District Judge Robert Hilder for the Utah Court of Appeals. It went as most legal types expected. A man with a long record as a fair and professional district court judge went down in flames.

The vote was 16-12, including the anticipated rant from Sen. Chris Buttars, (R-West Jordan) questioning Hilder's temperament. Questions had also surfaced during earlier hearings about the judge's moral character because he has been married, divorced and married again.

Another stinking sign of your Legislature at work. (Holly Mullen)

Ethics on a Deadline

[Legislative Sleaze] In the ongoing contest over which Utah legislator is more unethical--Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, or Rep. Phil Riesen, D-Salt Lake City--it's looking like the calendar will win this one.

Rep. Todd Kiser, R-Sandy, and co-chairman of the House Ethics Committee, says he must follow a legislative rule and keep an upcoming hearing surrounding Hughes and Riesen closed to the public. Lawyers for Hughes and Riesen would like a court ruling to open the hearing, which was originally scheduled for later this week at the State Capitol. But both attorneys concede that cost and time are working against them.

The original charge in question focuses on an allegation that Hughes in 2006 offered then-Republican Rep. Susan Lawrence $50,000 to change her vote on the school vouchers bill from no to yes. Riesen got hold of documentation about the alleged bribe, and leaked the information to KSL-TV reporter John Daley last week. Now Hughes faces ethics charges for the alleged bribe. He's arguing Riesen breached legislative ethics rules and brought disrepute on the body (!!) by leaking the story to the media. Most Republican legislators, including House Speaker Greg Curtis, are painting the whole thing as an election season stunt orchestrated by Democrats.
While it's gratifying to see a little grease applied to the rusty spokes of legislative ethics in Utah, don't hold your breath waiting for an outcome. Hughes and several other Republicans who tried to force-feed vouchers on Utahns are locked in very competitive re-election battles this year. Kiser told The Salt Lake Tribune yesterday the task of getting to the bottom of this story will be terribly laborious:

"I think it could be a very long and drawn out committee meeting that lasts many days."

Translation (for those of us who didn't just tumble off the turnip truck):

"Uh, with only 29 days till the election we could really string this sucker out!"

(Holly Mullen)

No Ethics Violations Here, Move Along People

[Political Scandals] Rep. Mark Walker was not to be seen at this morning's House Ethics Committee meeting, where members gathered to determine whether enough evidence existed to pursue allegations of ethics violations against the 32-year-old Sandy Republican.

He must have been out somewhere nursing two arms that GOP leaders broke over the weekend.

That's because it turned out Walker abruptly resigned Sunday night, turning over a letter "explaining" his decision to House Speaker Greg Curtis. (The gist: his wife and family can no longer take the ugly turmoil and attacks others have brought upon him.) So, when the ethics panel convened at the state Capitol, ready to investigate allegations that Walker tried to bribe his GOP opponent for State Treasurer, Richard Ellis, into quitting the race, there was no longer anything to discuss. Committee Chairman Rep. Todd Kiser, a fellow Sandy Republican (Walker, Kiser, Curtis--all Repubs from Sandy--are you seeing a pattern here?), announced the lawmakers now lacked jurisdiction to pursue the case any further.

Criminal charges may be forthcoming; the case rests with the Salt Lake County District Attorney Lohra Miller, also a Republican.

The case boiled down to charges that Walker had offered Ellis a job and a substantial pay increase at the treasure's office if he would drop out before the GOP primary. Ellis, an assistant in the current treasure's office, held his ground. Then late last month, an e-mail surfaced backing up Ellis' claim about Walker's alleged bribe. The House Ethics Committee took up the matter--only the third time in 22 years the group has addressed such a violation.

I talked to Ellis, who beat Walker in the primary, after the 11-minute meeting was adjourned. "I'm suprised [at the outcome]," Ellis said. Ellis showed up with a stack of documents and other paperwork regarding his testimony--he apparently didn't get the resignation memo. "I was subpoenaed to be here today," he said. "Essentially I was prepared to discuss my affidavit with the committee, which is public record." Ellis said he'll stand by his account of events with his opponent, and is ready to testify in any criminal case, should it go that far. Meanwhile, he said, "I'll just pursue my election."

The Democrats on the committee, naturally, were not apprised of the sudden turn of events. "Pretty anti-climactic," is the way Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay, described the morning.

Rep. Roz McGee, D-Salt Lake, has announced she won't seek resignation, having spent two terms as a lone voice in the wilderness on political ethics issues. She spoke with the freedom of a lame duck today.

"I'm disappointed," McGee said afterward. "It's a committee that's only met twice in all these years; I think it shows the emphasis this body puts on ethics. It's a different story out in the community. Members of the community who follow these issues, and they do, have told me they feel these matters are important. They want some accountability in this [legislature].

(Holly Mullen)

DABC To Ponder Private Club Membership

[Liquor Laws] If members of the Utah Hospitality Association thought Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.’s endorsement of their plan to see an end to private club memberships in Utah meant DABC commissioners would rubber stamp it, they were sadly disillusioned.

This morning, the five-member DABC took up the issue at its monthly board meeting. The liquor control czars heard how well the state’s liquor stores were doing – sales and profits are up more than 11 percent. Then commissioner Bobbie Coray motioned for “a thorough analysis” of the requirement that bars charge private club membership. She said she had long sought to eliminate laws “that had no compelling reason.”

Commissioner Kathryn Balmforth, however, rose in stout defense of the private club restriction on bars, anchoring her position in the rights of what she termed the "non-drinking majority of Utah." She argued there appeared to be an attempt to “create an impression of a public groundswell” in favor of doing away with forcing bars to label themselves clubs and charge a $5 cover fee. “Maybe there is,” she said, “I just missed it.”

While some might sneer at Utah’s liquor laws for being different, she continued, those who wanted a drink could get one. “There’s nothing small-minded about the majority not being forced to pay for the costs of the societal abuse of alcohol.” Part of the DABC’s mandate, Balmforth reminded the audience of mostly bar owners, was to be aware of those who didn’t want liquor.

After complaining that only one side of the issue was being explored, Balmforth cited one reason why private club status was of value: record keeping. If a drunk left a bar and hit someone with his or her car, there would be a record of where and what that offender drank.

While Coray pointed out that private club membership was an issue she had long been concerned with, Balmforth appeared to find some back-door politicking going on. “We were all appointed by the governor but this is a legislative question,” she said. “I don’t think we have to carry his water on this particular debate.”

The commission voted, with the exception of Balmforth, to address the issue, including holding several public hearings. One commissioner noted, “This is the beginning of a long process.”
A number of unhappy UHA members walked out after the vote, one muttering about moralizing.

But UHA spokeswoman Lisa March McGarry said significant progress had been made. She said the UHA had been told that, for the first time, the Legislature and the DABC were willing to receive information from bar owners, the UHA, and other interested parties.

McGarry's concern, however, was that if and when private clubs were eliminated, additional elements might be added to the bill. One she described as a worrying “long shot” would require converting the entire penalty code currently used by the DABC to a criminal one, which “would be outrageous.” The main thing, she added, was the majority of commissioners had listened to tavern owners’ concerns.

Afterward, Coray said she didn’t think there was opposition from her own board to eliminate private club status. Rather, she said, “The concern is that we do it right.” (Stephen Dark)

Brains TK

[Legislative Afterglow] The Republican majority at the House of Representatives just sent us its official news release outlining the "significant progress" of the 2008 legislative session. It reads, in part:

“It was one of the calmer and more productive sessions I’ve been able to lead,” said [House Speaker Greg] Curtis. “I’m especially heartened by our continued progress improving education funding."

But what's this? Looks like the speaker's staff hit the "send" button a bit prematurely, before double-checking final info. with the boss.

"During my time as speaker," Curtis said, "I’ve seen an unprecedented increase of X billion in education funding, with this year continuing that trend.”

(Holly Mullen)

It's SUWA's Fault

[Politics as Usual] You already know that the Utah Legislature's hayseed Cowboy Caucus hates the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and holds the environmental advocacy group 99.9 percent responsible for locking up millions of acres of federal lands from oil, coal and nuclear power interests.

Betcha didn't know this: SUWA is also the culprit behind the disproportionately high energy costs people of color pay to drive their cars and heat their homes.

No word yet as to whether SUWA has any weapons of mass destruction hidden in its downtown Salt Lake City office, but if Reps. Mike Noel (R-Kanab) and Aaron Tilton (R-Springville) can find a link, they'll be all over it.

I just returned from a press conference at the Capitol in the waning hours of the 2008 Legislature. Noel and Tilton, both of whom have well-publicized personal and business interests in diverting Green River water to develop at least one, and perhaps two nuclear power plants in Southeastern Utah, hosted. Yesterday, Noel sent a letter to SUWA, signed by 45 legislators (42 of them Republicans) demanding the private not-for-profit interest group to produce information related to securities fraud convictions of two board members last year.

Former SUWA board member Bert Fingerhut and former treasurer Mark Ristow are serving 24-month and 20-month federal prison sentences, respectively, for their criminal private securities dealings. SUWA director Scott Groene has stated that an independent audit of the organization shortly after the charges were filed has determined no SUWA involvement in their cases.

The Salt Lake Tribune's Patty Henetz and I tried to get the boys to more fully discuss their ties to the nuclear project they're pushing for the red rock of Emery County, but Tilton quickly brushed us off. "We didn't come here today to talk about that," he blurted. Noel added: "We can talk about that later if you want."

Today, Noel began the show by introducing Niger Innis, spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality (Core). "When the energy companies get the sniffles, my people get the flu," Innis said.

Innis said the poor and urban black populations pay a disproportionate amount of utility costs in this country. No argument there. Therefore, he argued, every last bit of public land should be available for energy exploration to keep oil and gas prices in check. "I'm an environmentalist," Innis said. "But I'm not an extreme environmentalist."

Earlier this legislative session, House Republicans were all agitato during floor debate about New York Rep. Maurice Hinchey's involvement in protecting public lands in the West. They reasoned he had no right to do so. He doesn't even live here.

Niger Innis flew into Salt Lake from CORE headquarters in--wait for it--New York City.

No irony here, people. Nope, not a whit.

Disclosure: My husband, Ted Wilson, is vice chairman of the SUWA Board. (Holly Mullen)

It Ends Tomorrow

[Legislative Decorum] So much has been written and said this legislative session about "decorum" and the breach of such, Salt Blog thought you might enjoy a little exchange between a constituent and Rep. Curtis Oda, R-Cleafield. Oda has been the point man this year on most gun-related issues, including a controversial bill to allow people to carry loaded weapons in the open on public university campuses.

BTW, the 2008 Lege. of Champions ends tomorrow. Courage, people.

----Original Message-----
From: Curtis Oda [mailto:coda@utah.gov]
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 3:08 PM
To: Douglas James Parkin
Subject: [SPAM] Re: guns on campus

Mr. Parkin,

Guns are already allowed to be carried openly in the House Chamber. So, assuming you are a professor, who obviously has no clue as to the laws, Bye!

-----Original Message-----
From: "Douglas James Parkin"
To: Oda, Curtis

Sent: 3/3/2008 2:51:50 PM
Subject: [SPAM] guns on campus

''Why haven't the professors left yet? That kind of befuddles me," he said. If they fear the law abiding citizen, then I say, 'Bye.'

Mr. Oda,
Until guns are openly allowed in the Utah House of Representatives, may I suggest that you keep your asinine opinions about the attitudes and motivations of public school professors to yourself!

>>> "Douglas James Parkin" 3/3/2008 3:53 PM >>>
Yee! Haw! Wild West.
Shoot'em up! A gun in every hand!

Actually, I am not a professor. I am a student with a voice and a vote. I don't need a gun. You make me sick.

-----Original Message-----
From: Curtis Oda [mailto:coda@utah.gov]
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 4:44 PM
To: Douglas James Parkin
Subject: [SPAM] RE: guns on campus

Good, i hope you choke on your vomit! Go crawl back under that rock you came from.

(Holly Mullen)

He's Got a Friend[s]

[Buttars Watch] As of this moment, some 312 supporters have signed an online petition backing celebrity beleaguered state senator, Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan.

Most of the names don't register in Salt Blog's sharp-as-a-trap mind. We're assuming most are neighbors, church members and a few constituents like petition signer #34, who's identified as Wendell Gibby, MD. Gibby has been on the sweet receiving end of Buttars' land use and eminent domain law largese. He also writes a mean Buttars defense, quoting on the petition from a favorite LDS hymn (that's Official Hymn #235 for those following at home).

Buttars made nice with one faction of Utah's black population (as if there were only one!) on Sunday by visiting Salt Lake City's Calvary Baptist Church and seeking the congregation's forgiveness for his "ugly black baby" slur earlier in the month.

And while many of his friends on the pro-Buttars petition stress they know only a man who hasn't "a racist bone in his body," they might want to check the vita of petition signer #36. That would be Eli Cawley, the new director of the vehemently anti-immigration Utah Minuteman Project. Now that's a friend.

And for those who cannot resist channeling their opposing political rage online, go here to sign an anti-Buttars petition. (Holly Mullen)

Viva the Guv!

[Immigration] KCPW Radio is reporting today that Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. vows to veto the package of harsh anti-immigration bills that are fast-tracking through the state Legislature--including denying in-state college tuition for children of illegal immigrants and revoking driver privilege cards for the undocumented.

Huntsman spoke out at his monthly KUED news conference.

You go, Guv. Finally, after three years in office and after waiting for Huntsman to stand up and wield his political muscle (the man has statewide approval ratings of better than 75 percent) he has picked a big, worthy battle with the mean-spirited bunch on the Hill. It's going to be bruising fight. Can't wait.

(Holly Mullen)

Utah's Star Chamber

[Utah Unigovernment] Every so often, it's reasonable to remind Utah's power-crazed GOP legislators that theirs is the party of Theodore Roosevelt. You remember him--that madman president who had the audacity to create the national parks system and to push for protection of America's wilderness. A regular flaming enviro, that Republican Roosevelt.

But then, Teddy was more in the moderate vein of John McCain. Today he would be drummed straight out of the party. Besides, everyone knows McCain is secretly a rabid liberal, certainly not worthy of Utah Republicanism.

Yesterday, Sen. Margaret Dayton (R-Orem), interrupted Stephen Bloch, staff attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, as he testified before the Senate Natural Resources Committee. Dayton told Bloch he would have to take an "oath" to speak the truth because, according to Patty Henetz of The Salt Lake Tribune, "someone had raised concerns that his previous testimony before the House [on another bill] was inaccurate or false." Henetz, however, checked a few additional facts in writing her piece--and learned that the Bureau of Land Management had neatly fudged numbers in reporting the amounts of tar sands and oil shale available should Utah's wildnerness lands be opened to drilling and other energy exploration. Read all about it here. The Legislature's anti-environment bloc AKA "The Conservative Caucus," or "Cowboy Caucus") frequently uses the BLM's questionable numbers in justifying their bitching about federal jurisdiction over public lands that belong to all Americans.

BTW, Bloch was quite a decent sport. He complied with Dayton's "request."

Where to start here? When did our citizen Legislature become its own homey little version of the Star Chamber? As Henetz points outs, no other panel witnesses besides Bloch were required to take an oath before testifying. Reps from the oil, mining and farming industries gabbed away, free of interruption.

And who was this "someone who raised concerns" about Bloch? None of your beeswax. At the Legislature it's perfectly fine to build a whisper campaign against an adversary, and let it snowball into the scene that took place yesterday. If Bloch were appearing in a state or federal court, at least he'd have the right to know and/or face his accusers.

And again, it's worth noting, people keep electing these folks. Over and over and over again.

(Holly Mullen)

HB241 Keeping Undocumented Kids Uneducated

[Legislature] Rep. Glenn Donnelson's (R-Ogden) HB241 that moves to repeal in-state tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants now awaits the yea or nay of the state senate before getting passed onto the Guv's desk.

If there is any sound principle that stands out from the pissed-off rhetoric on both sides of this issue, it is the plea recently issued by the LDS church. This thing needs to be considered in reference to real impact, today and more importantly tomorrow, with compassion.

In essence HB241 is a message bill--but with teeth. It would deprive children of undocumented immigrants with a chance at affordable higher education, even if they've spent all of their high school career in Utah. The message Donnelson hopes to send is one to the federal government, that if the Feds can't fix a federal problem than it will be up to individual states to craft policies that will ultimately motivate federal policy.

But could there be other "messages" we could send? Ones which might not be as defiant, but might actually have more impact?

Why not draft legislation that would help relieve the difficulties and backlogs on legal immigration? Why not draft legislation that would allow better education and resources for foreign consulates to help guide people naturally through the immigration process?

Whatever we do in the meantime, why take away a great opportunity for children of undocumented immigrants? Fairness to taxpayers you might say. Well there's actually interesting evidence to suggest that the current system brings in more revenue for the state by bringing in students to higher ed who would not have otherwise attempted to go into college if they had to pay out of state tuition. Check out page 34 of this study done by a team of Utah researchers.

And lastly why do you have to deny in-state tuition to these kids because they can't legally work when they graduate? What about if they want to start their own business. What if they want to go into the arts? The greatest benefits of a college education aren't always what make you "marketable." There is a world of perspectives, history, philosophy, forums for civic engagement and community service that college can provide to young people that they cannot find anywhere else.

Finally even if the feds decide that they will even with a new president put off comprehensive immigration reform for another year. If you have a student who graduates from a Utah school and then is forced to go back to their home country and apply and wait for citizenship, wouldn't you prefer that when this person does come back to the U.S. that they already have an education? (Eric S. Peterson)