One Utah

From this morning’s Salt Lake Tribune:
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is once again headed to Iraq today as part of a delegation led by Arizona Sen. John McCain… Huntsman goes to the war-torn region to get his own assessment of the so-called “surge.” I’ll take a wild guess and predict that our governor [...]

My post from Saturday about Kathleen Parker’s sad cry for more virginity at college, got me thinking about connections.
Recently, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy released report detailing their findings with regard to the efficacy of sexuality education programs. The report, Emerging Answers, found that abstinence only programs have no demonstrated effectiveness and [...]

Okay, here’s the deal.  I have ten dollars ($10).  I’m going to pair you with someone you don’t know - call you Ike and Mike for lack of a better name.  I’m going to give the other person the $10 and tell them they have to share it with you but . . . They [...]

It has been two long years since Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA) went public with the truth about Iraq. On November 17, 2005, relaying the private judgment of America’s top military commanders, he declared that “the U.S. can not accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily” and it was time to get our troops out [...]

The Trib today published another hacktackular op-ed piece by another member of the conservative stable of writers who are just offended at the gone to hellness of our world. Kathleen Parker is offering yet another dreary denouncement of what hideous sluts kids are today.
What happened to your dearly beloved? He - and she [...]

With opposition to the Iraq occupation at an all-time high, today Washington politicians offered us more kabuki theater.
A $50 billion Iraq funding bill received a 53-45 vote in the Senate today. Normally that would mean it passed, like Judge Mukasey’s confirmation last week that passed 53-40. But no, it didn’t pass because the [...]

With all due respect to Steve at UA, it is the very real possibility that Ralph Becker’s low key style, his ability to create consensus and to convince people of his positions that scares the bloody bejesus out of Rocky hating conservatives.  Rocky was easy - he was a controversial lightning rod person who was [...]

In Paul Krugman’s Conscience of a Liberal he describes Richard Nixon as a transitional figure in conservative politics.  Nixon pioneered the tactics of conservative politics (everything from the culture war to demonizing anyone who disagreed with him) but when in power actually governed as a liberal.  Nixon wasn’t a movement conservative and instead saw politics [...]

US commanders in Iraq report that indirect fire (rocket and mortar) attacks and IED attacks are declining from previous levels. In October there were 369 indirect fire attacks, the lowest number since February 2006. IEDs are down to an average 25 per day, the lowest since September 2004. Here are two graphs [...]

This is a must listen.
In December 2004, Norman Mailer addressed the Nieman conference on Narrative Journalism at Harvard University.
This is the most lucid, gut-level, expression of how we feel, we who wake up and face each day under the darkness of the Bush Cheney administration. Mailer describes both men perfectly, and explores the myths [...]