Sunday, July 30, 2006

Why does sex on the Court matter?

I was disappointed in reading this interview between Ronald Kessler (Newsmax.com) and former chief of staff Andy Card.
President Bush selected Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court after a search for other possible female candidates outside the White House began to lag, former White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. "Andy" Card, Jr. said in his first extensive interview since leaving the White House.
"The president was criticized for not nominating a woman when he nominated John Roberts," Card said, as he petted Sophie, his Wheaton Terrier, in the living room of his home in northern Virginia.
"And then when William Rehnquist left, you know, ‘What do you mean you're not going to nominate a woman? You've had two opportunities, and you haven't nominated a woman.' And so he was looking to nominate a woman — not blindly, not any woman, not just to nominate a woman."
As the search committee kept suggesting female candidates who did not seem right, Bush pushed for more selections.

Why? Why not pick the best and the brightest, regardless of sex? Samuel Alito was a terrific pick, as was John Roberts. I was not a fan of Sandra Day O'Connor, but it had nothing to do with her gender. It's politics.

Friday, July 28, 2006

I'm Back!

But I am buried in 150 e-mails, stacks of mail, and a big personal project.

I will be posting on some things next week...

Friday, July 14, 2006

Vacation

I will be gone until August....

Enjoying a much needed vacation.....

No comments will be approved until I get back.....

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Leaving

From our friends at the Senate Site (http://senatesite.com/blog/2006/07/goodbye-to-senate.html) Al Mansell will resign tomorrow. This will create a vacancy in the Senate and Gov. Huntsman can help Wayne Niederhauser get elected in November. Being an incumbent can help against Trish Beck.

So Long Al! (No disrespect, but it sounded better than "So Long Senator Alma Mansell")

The More I Know this Guy, The More I Like Him

So what if Larry Miller was involved in stopping the Real Soccer Stadium. Ok, Ok, I know Miller has denied it, but if he had; what's the big deal? Wouldn't Checketts have done the same thing? This is business.

Would it be the end of the world if Real Salt Lake left? How many games have the won in their one + seasons here?

What about a move to Utah County? That land would be free, but my bet is it won't happen. (http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4046850)

What about a move to Rochester? (http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060713/SPORTS05/607130354&SearchID=73250542642132) Go ahead Checketts. Don't threaten the people of Utah!

Why would Checketts support the use of the hotel tax in building the stadium? Because he hopes the politicians will go with that so they don't tax locals. But that is all wrong. Tourists aren't going to the Real games, it is the locals, albeit just a few of them.

Maybe the problem is the name of the club, what does REAL have to do with Utah? (Ok, that one is a joke, I know about REAL MADRID, but come on)

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Dave Checketts is a baby

Quit threatening us that REAL Salt Lake will move, either put up or shut up. Maybe you should put your money up and build that stadium, or stay at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Your behavior is poor, you put all your chips in the wrong place, now you have to eat your words and actions.

Don't threaten us, if you really want to move the team, go ahead. Your threats are not making you any new friends.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Curtis holds a grudge, Utah hurt in the process

From KSL:

"In the past, being a lame duck didn't hamper outgoing legislators from flying off to taxpayer-funded out-of-state conferences just months before they left office.
This year is different.
Only one legislator leaving office in January is making a trip, and legislative leaders cited special circumstances in his case.
House Speaker Greg Curtis said, "We met as a (GOP) leadership team and decided (House) members shouldn't be attending these conventions if they are leaving" the Legislature.
He said the exception is for Rep. Dave Hogue, who already had made plane reservations for himself and his wife for the five-day
meeting of the National Conference of State Legislators in Nashville, Tenn.,
next month."

From the D-News:
"But Hogue was eliminated in the early May state GOP convention. Hogue said he asked Curtis if he could go to NCSL after his defeat 'because I'm co-chair of a special task force on education technology. I helped found the task force, and the final meeting is at this conference. I'd made my airplane reservations before the (GOP) convention — where I was eliminated — because I felt it was critical to the people of Utah that I go to this convention no matter what.'"
But guess who is not allowed to go! Rep. Dave Ure who holds an influential position on Natural Resources. It seems that Curtis has not gotten over Ure challenging him and Marty Stephens for the Speakership. I do not disagree that hogue should be able to go, but I think Ure should be allowed to as well. He is still in the House, his term ends in January, not today.

Curtis' petty politics hurts Utah because we need Ure's expertise at NCSL. Shame on Curtis!

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Could LDS Affiliation Hurt Romney's Presidential Bid?

I have written about this before, but it has come up again:
"The latest Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll caught many observers by surprise. The surprise came from the high percentage, according to this poll, who say they wouldn't vote for a Mormon for president.
That Bloomberg/LA Times poll of 1,300 adults nationwide finds 37-percent say they wouldn't vote for a Mormon. By comparison, 22-percent of registered voters say they wouldn't support an evangelical Christian. 14-percent wouldn't back a Jewish candidate. Nine-percent wouldn't vote for a Catholic and 53-percent say they wouldn't cast a ballot for a Muslim. "

Interesting, because wasn't one of the reasons Orrin Hatch ran for President was to promote the Mormon faith and "pave the way" for someone to come after?

I swear I heard that said, if someone can find it they win the prize.

Mitt Romney will struggle through South Carolina, but if he can have a strong showing in New Hampshire and Michigan he may survive. I just don't think he could beat John McCain or Rudy Guiliani. The evangelicals will probably go with Huckabee from Arkansas (which may decide the election in 2008, especially if someone named Clinton is on the ballot, they are not as red as some people think)

Saturday, July 01, 2006

HAPPY JULY 4th

I will be gone until after the holidays, but wanted to post this excellent piece from Rushlimbaugh.com

Enjoy, and please listen to the Star Spangled Banner, all the verses!!

The Americans Who Risked Everything


My father, Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr., delivered this oft-requested address locally a
number of times, but it had never before appeared in print until it appeared in
The Limbaugh Letter. My dad was renowned for his oratory skills and for his
original mind; this speech is, I think, a superb demonstration of both. I will
always be grateful to him for instilling in me a passion for the ideas and lives
of America's Founders, as well as a deep appreciation for the inspirational
power of words which you will see evidenced here:


"Our Lives, Our Fortunes, Our Sacred Honor"

It was a glorious morning. The sun was shining and the wind was from the southeast. Up especially early, a tall bony, redheaded young Virginian found time to buy a new thermometer, for which he paid three pounds, fifteen shillings. He also bought gloves for Martha, his wife, who was ill at home.


Thomas Jefferson arrived early at the statehouse. The temperature was 72.5 degrees and the horseflies weren't nearly so bad at that hour. It was a lovely room, very large, with gleaming white walls. The chairs were comfortable. Facing the single door were two brass fireplaces, but they would not be used today.


The moment the door was shut, and it was always kept locked, the room became an oven. The tall windows were shut, so that loud quarreling voices could not be heard by passersby. Small openings atop the windows allowed a slight stir of air, and also a large number of horseflies. Jefferson records that "the horseflies were dexterous in finding necks, and the silk of stockings was nothing to them." All discussing was punctuated by the slap of hands on necks.


On the wall at the back, facing the President's desk, was a panoply - consisting of a drum, swords, and banners seized from Fort Ticonderoga the previous year. Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold had captured the place, shouting that they were taking it "in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!"


Now Congress got to work, promptly taking up an emergency measure about which there was discussion but no dissention. "Resolved: That an application be made to the Committee of Safety of Pennsylvania for a supply of flints for the troops at New York."


Then Congress transformed itself into a committee of the whole. The Declaration of Independence was read aloud once more, and debate resumed. Though Jefferson was the best writer of all of them, he had been somewhat verbose.


Congress hacked the excess away. They did a good job, as a side-by-side comparison of the rough draft and the final text shows. They cut the phrase "by a self-assumed power." "Climb" was replaced by "must read," then must was eliminated, then the whole sentence, and soon the whole paragraph was cut. Jefferson groaned as they continued, what he later called "their depredations." "Inherent and inalienable rights" came out "certain unalienable rights," and to this day no one knows who suggested the elegant change.


A total of 86 alterations were made. Almost 500 words were eliminated, leaving 1,337. At last, after three days of wrangling, the document was put to a vote.
Here in this hall Patrick Henry had once thundered: "I am no longer a Virginian, Sir, but an American." But today the loud, sometimes bitter argument stilled, and without fanfare the vote was taken from north to south by colonies, as was the custom.

On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
There were no trumpets blown. No one stood on his chair and cheered. The
afternoon was waning and Congress had no thought of delaying the full calendar
of routine business on its hands. For several hours they worked on many other
problems before adjourning for the day.