Alcohol Controversy Strikes Again with Utah Legislators
Alcohol has been probably the most controversial issue, besides Prop 8, to ever come up in Utah. Utah is a very conservative state with a lot of influence from the LDS church which does believe in consuming alcohol or caffeinated beverages. Last year Utah passed a law that allowed bars and clubs to be made public (instead of private clubs with membership fees) with the installation of electronic devices to scan I.D.'s. What a milestone in Utah politics that bill was!! This year, however, changes made to the standing alcohol laws is not the alcohol controversy that is making news these days. On January 15, 2010 UT Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack was arrested on a charge of DUI. He was out with lobbysists the night he was arrested, and resigned from the senate the day after his arrest. Senate President Michael Waddoups is questioning lobbyists and demanding to know who else was with Sheldon Killpack the night of his arrest.
Many lawmakers in the state of Utah are Mormon, and their views, positions, votes, and bills they bring forth are often centered around their Morman values. You would be lying to yourself if you did not agree. A few years ago I was lobbying with the American Cancer Society in the state of Utah. I was told by one of their employees that Utah is the hardest place to get a bill passed, and if you can pass a bill in Utah, you can pass a bill anywhere. I have never forgotten that, and the more I think about it the more true it is. Utah isn't a bad state to live in. I enjoy it very much, but sometimes the politics can be a little funny and unconventional.
Mark Walker, hired on January 4, 2010 at the City of West Valley to be their Business Development Manager was in the car that Sheldon Killpack was driving. He worked 3 days for WVC and resigned the day after Killpack's arrest. Walker did nothing wrong. According to city policy he did nothing wrong. He did, however, receive a check for just of $5K for his three days of work because of city policies he received four weeks of pay. WVC requires employees to give a full two weeks notice, but it is up to the city if they want that employee to work those last two weeks. "We really didn't want him to stick around for those two weeks," said City Manager Wayne Pyle.
It just amazes me the controversy that is behind alcohol in the state of Utah. Walker did nothing wrong, and yet because of the media attention he is out of his job. This entire situation seems to be turning into a moral debate, which in actuality nothing wrong has happened legally. Legally, everything has been handled. Killpack received a DUI, he resigned from his position because of his DUI, but it is wrong for so many others to be questioned or feel threatened with their jobs because of Utah Politics and some leaders moral views of alcohol.
Paul Rolly, a columnist for The Salt Lake Tribune, (who also happens to be one of my favorites) wrote a column titled "Booze and Backstabbing at the Capitol." In his column he quotes Senate President Waddoups saying, "If we (legislators) want to go out with them (lobbyists) that's fine, but we want to know if we're associating with someone who might be breaking the law."
Rolly makes the valid point, that even if lobbyists were drinking with Killpack, as long as they were over 21 years of age, then they did nothing wrong. The only person charged with doing anything wrong is Killpack with his DUI. This had turned into quite the controversy in Salt Lake City. As Rolly puts it, there IS backstabbing going on at the capitol. If you are a lobbyist or UT legislator and you admit to drinking alcohol then you are tainted in the eyes of some LDS legislators. Is there really something wrong with drinking alochol? Killpack made a bad decision to drink and drive, but should those that drink alochol and drink responsibly be shunned and backstabbed because of their personal decision? Lobbyists said they are constantly getting asked if they drink alcohol, and if they answer that question "wrong" according to the values of the person asking then they are shunned and viewed as old trash. Is this how legislators should be behaving? Are you really a bad person whom no one wants to do business with if you have one drink a week or even one a month?
It's Not the Years in Your Life, but the Life in Your Years
During and interview with Diane Sawyer, President Obama said he would "rather be a really good one-term President, than a mediocre two-term President." I just LOVE hearing (well reading that) about my President.
Has President Obama delievered the hope I had hoped for after the election? Not exactly. Has he had any success with his healthcare bill? No, not that either. Is he doing the best he can? Yes, I would say so. I think President Obama is genuine in his care and concern for our country. Just like with any job, there are multiple ways to get things done. President Obama is handling the economic situation and the War on Terror the best to his knowledge. Is he doing it different than Sen. John McCain would have? Probably, and President Obama is handling things different than Ex-Presidents Clinton, Bush, Ford, Carter etc. would have, but we have to rely on faith that our President is handling things the best to his ability.
So many senators, representatives, or anyone in an elected position are so focused on becoming re-elected, that they forget the importance of the job they were elected to do. I have met with a few senators and representatives, and some of them have been quite frank with their concern of getting re-elected, not necessarily the concern of the people they were elected to serve. Representative Rob Bishop (R-UT) said in an interview I was present for that he is in Washington because he deserves some time to relax after the years and work he put in before being elected. Rep. Bishop is NOT my representative. He is not a bad guy, but he is not someone who I would ever elect or support after meeting him and talking to him in person. He is not serving his constitutents to the best of his ability, he is only in Washington, or so it seems, for a paycheck.
President Obama is not the least bit concerned with re-election. Instead of focusing his time and energy on the campaign, he is putting forth his best effort to serve the people who elected him and put forth a good term in office. I praise President Obama for making the statement about prefering one good term instead of two mediocre terms. Despite what hasn't been accomplished that we all hoped for, at least we know our President is tackling our nation's problems full-time.
Don't forget to watch the State of the Union Address this week!
Local UT Senator at it Again
I know it's been a LONG time since I have posted anything. With healthcare reform, Sara Palin quitting her job as governor, John Edwards Scandal, Ted Kennedy's passing, Massachussets electing a Republican to fill its empty senate seat, Michael Steele, the list goes on, there was so much to blog about, and I didn't, but I'm back!
January is the time that the part-time Utah legislators come together to mostly waste taxpayer money on hotels and food, destroy what little educational budget is left in Utah, and make a few headlines. Chris Buttars, senator for West Jordan, UT, is at it again. I personally cannot stand the man, and I'm shocked that his constituents re-elect him. Everytime his name is in the news, its ALWAYS for something absurd.
Reading the local news this morning I came across the headline 12th Grade Would Go Away Under Utah Senator's Plan. Natrually this caught my eye and I had to read more. Chris Buttars has designed a plan to cut state spending by $250 million a year by eliminating 12th grade in public schools. His reasoning is that "Almost all the industrial world uses 11 grades...most kids either got one foot in AP classes or running around in PE" ( http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=9420123).
I applaud Buttars for thinking of ways to reform the budget and cut spending, but any type of cuts to education is wrong. Utah already has the lowest spending per pupil in the nation, how can cutting that budget even more be a good thing? Eliminating 12th grade is not the option. The kids who elect to take AP classes are bettering themselves for the future. Earning college credit, saving money on cost of tuition and eliminating 12th grade would stop this. Sure, there might be kids with no intentions of going to college, and just play around their senior year of high school, but these kids are not ready at 16 and 17 years old to have a high school diploma and work fulltime.
In these economic hard times we need to plan for a solution that is not right now, but plan for our future. Eliminated 12th grade would save money now, but how would the state of Utah fare in the long run compared with the rest of the nation? Do we really need to install islands down 1300 East because there is extra money? Does Gallivan Plaza really need to be remodeled right now? Taking away from education will hurt and destroy everyone in the long run. Those in school right now are the ones who will be working to pay for Social Security to the ones who want to take away education funding. What will this leave for our future?
Today Justice David Souter announced his retirement from the Supreme Court. I believe Justice Souter did an excellent job serving our country and I value him for waiting until he knew Justice Ruther Bader Ginsburg's decision on retiring or staying, as well as Justice John Paul Stevens. Justice Souter served for 18 years and served our country well. I wish him best of luck and happy years with his family. Who will President Obama pick to fill the vacancy? A woman? The first Hispanic justice? A big decision awaits Obama, but I do not think this will be his only Supreme Court appointment. I believe our justices serve our country unexplainably well. They are very-well educated individuals and sharp minded. However, I do strongly believe that there needs to be a term limit on justices. They do serve our country and they do a fine job. However, with the oldest justice being 89 years old (Justice John Paul Stevens) I do think he we need some fresh, young blood in the Supreme Court. In his 69 years, Justice Stevens has seen a lot, and in his 18 years of serving the on the Supreme Court, he has had a lot of impact on our American law system. In order to keep the justice system a country by the people, there needs to be more variety on the Supreme Court. A limit of maybe 12 years sounds appropriate, enough to see at least 2 presidents, maybe even 3. As from previous posts, you could see that I am in full support of term limits. No, a justice is not elected by the people, but appointed by our president. I firmly believe that in order to truly be a country of the people, that we need to switch up our representatives to make sure they are truly representing our nation and what America believes in. .
is this what a job has come to?
The blackberry. It lets you receive emails all day and all night long. It controls your life. Everyone I know that has one is ALWAYS on it. Crackberry, that's a better word. When did we come to the age where a cell phone controls our lives. It rings, no matter what you're doing or where you are you answer it. The text message goes off, you have to read it and respond. You get an email. Whatever the email is, it takes your full attention off everything else in the world until you read it through, even it was from an ex girlfriend or boyfriend telling you about their engagement. Your phone controls you. What about your job? Does it control you? Are you sacraficing time from other things to work? When did a job become the most important thing? When did relationships begin to suffer due to a job? Why is it that in America, it's ok to work 10 hours a day and then, still through your phone, you stay connected to work. Your job calls and asks you to fix something or check something, and you drop everything you're doing to fix it. You have a blackberry for work purposes. It controls your life. It's 11 pm at night, the blackberry goes off and you are reading the email and working and doing whatever the email said. When did it become ok to basically always be at work? Is this what corporate America has come to? All work, no play? The job market is bad. If a company is wanting to have someone available 24/7 then it would make sense to hire another person. Two people doing the same job. One does the first half of the day the other does the second half. In europe it is not like this. They get 6 weeks of vacation vs the 2 weeks in America. Work is not a 45+ work week, it's a 35-40 work week in Europe and people enjoy working. Is this what a job has come to? Marriage to your job? Connected at the hip to do its every need--no matter how late--until you retire?
And this explains a lot...
I was reading CNN.com today and came across a very interesting commentary article by Paula Begala titled "Cheney says U.S. can torture but can't heal." In this article it talks about Cheney's views. Former VP Dick Cheney believes that during war, it is ok to ignore the First Amendment and treaties. Cheney also believes it is ok to go into American homes without a warrant (Fourth Amendment). He also believes that it is ok to arrest American citizens on American soil and hold him in prison without charges. He also believes the federal government has the right to listen to phone converstations without a court order. He believes it is ok to ignore treaties and committ torture. This is scary. This man was second in line to run the country if George W. would have died. Cheney does not have typical American views. This more like communism to me. No wonder our country's economy failed. The people in charge were not worried about that. They were more concerned with abusing their power, believing they are above the law, and they got away with it. In 1798 the Alien and Sedition bills act passed which were created to protect the United states from alien citizens and enemy powers from weakening the governement. I believe new laws, similar to these, need to passed. These new laws need to make it a crime to conspire against the Constitution, which is exactly what Cheney is doing. He has made public his opinion and voice about a few of the amendents, and in my opinion, he is showing an attempt to conspire against the constitution. I do not beileve we should have leaders, they they themselves, disagree with the constitution and believe treaties and laws do not apply to them. I voted and welcomed for the change in the White House and I am glad we did it! For more information visit: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/16/cheney.government/index.html?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail
Wow! I am shocked to say the least. Representative Craig Frank, R-American Fork, UT is proposing a caffeine tax, similar to the cigarette tax. Utah, as everyone knows, is a Mormon state. Mormons do not drink caffeine, at least they aren't supposed to. This proposal, right here, is an example of religion ruling politics. First there are the weird UT alcohol laws and now this? Utah is known for being a very conservative, red state. But now this? I believe this is a step too far. I am doubtul this proposal will ever pass legislation, but the thought one of our representatives is considering it makes me wonder. I was once told by someone that if you can push legislation in UT and get it passed, you can do it anywhere. I totally believe this and think that UT politics is a joke sometimes. Instead of pushing the good of the state, UT legislators are trying to push their views and their values onto the state. If you ask me, this is how politics get corrupt. Legislators are not honestly doing their job, but putting trying to push and make their values turn into law. They are being ignorant to the fact of the pressing issues at hand, the economy, the fact that UT has the lowest funding in the entire nation for education. UT needs more funding for education. Why don't the legislators spend more time passing law for education instead of pushing their own values and morals onto the state. Today is the last day of the UT legislative session, and proposals and bills are always a little wacky towards the end, but a caffeine tax? Serious? With the economy in the state it is in, I would like to think that the legislators would focus on these issues more than a caffeine tax. More information can be found at http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_11891484
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