One Utah

I’ve been thinking for a long about the issue of sexism in Utah politics. Jenny Wilson rightly pointed out that she was asked questions that none of her male counterparts were asked during the Mayor’s race. At the same time, Gayle Ruzicka is incredibly influential in Utah politics - sure, she’s nasty and [...]

This very clever and enjoyable video has over 1.3m views SO FAR!

GOP Arizona Rep. Rick Renzi — the co-chairman of Sen. John McCain’s campaign in Arizona — has been indicted this morning:
Republican Rep. Rick Renzi (REN-zee) has been indicted for extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other charges related [...]

During last night’s debate, I heard something from Senator Barack Obama that I hadn’t heard before. The candidate and his staff are in touch with some members of the military, and listening to what they say. This is a necessary quality for anyone who wants to do well in the job of Commander [...]

Remember when Americans were outraged that the military was buying toilet seats and hammers for six hundred dollars and passing the bill onto the taxpayers. Ah, the good old days!
I set my alarm clock to the Diane Rehm show on NPR at 9:00 a.m. every morning. If you live in Utah, it is one of [...]

In Harper’s, Scott Horton writes about The Great Guantanamo Puppet Theater. The problem with the military commission trials is that they are really political tribunals controlled by Vice President Dick Cheney. The trials of six “high-value detainees” linked to the attacks on 9/11 are timed to coincide with the 2008 election, and the [...]

Sen. Chris Buttars listens to Cristy Gleave, of Salt Lake City … (Scott Sommerdorf/The Salt Lake Tribune)

For the edification of those convinced lynching is some term from the spaghetti westerns - it’s not all fun games kids.
 

Photos from “Without Sanctuary“.  From 1882 to 1930 - 48 years - more than 1 African American was lynched each and every for a total of over 2500 murdered by mobs.  In the same era, [...]

I knew he could do it. President George W. Bush has beaten Nixon’s low approval rating (23%) and Harry Truman’s all-time record low (22%). He’s the least popular president since polling began, with a 19 percent overall approval. It’s in the latest American Research Group poll.
Ironically, Bush scored the highest approval rating [...]

Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army may be about to go to war against Iraq’s Maliki government and the US forces occupying Baghdad. From the Associated Press:

Sheik Salah al-Obeidi, a spokesman for al-Sadr in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, said that if the cleric failed to issue a statement by Saturday saying the cease-fire was [...]

Over at Orcinus, Dave takes on the ongoing effort of Republicans and conservatives to convince the world that they’re really not racists at all - history recent and not be damned. Dave writes:
It’s been kind of amusing watching conservatives reposition themselves on racial issues in anticipation of their upcoming electoral battle with Barack Obama, [...]

From Kristen Thompson at A Soldier’s Peace:
We finally finished our documentary of Sgt. Marshall Thompson’s 500-mile walk through Utah. We were able to interview peace activists Martin Sheen, Cindy Sheehan, Daniel Ellsberg, M.C. Hammer, Rocky Anderson, and many more. The film explores the cost and effectiveness of peace activism, apathy regarding the war, and the [...]

Over on Foreign Policy Forum, Nicholas Berry has a concise essay that ought to be the last word on Iraq and Afghanistan. As if!
Analyzing how wars are won has taken a back seat to measuring the level of violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, as if a mere downturn in violence is the key path [...]