One Utah

Seemingly endlessly litigated and legislated around, the First Amendment reads simply:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
For [...]

In our society, almost all minority groups face a complicated choice between being fully integrated and between self-segregation. At one time, women’s colleges were the only avenue for women to pursue higher education, same for the historically black colleges. Catholic schools were organized since many public schools openly indoctrinated students into protestantism. [...]

I think we are reaching a nadir in the American consciousness. There are so many indicators both large and small. The surprising populist movement lead by Barack Obama is an obvious one. The changing language and focal points of the Right-Wing are another. Almost no one is left in the media nor in politics [...]

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 [...]

IOW, it’s business as usual on the Hill.
While I’m at it, I’d like to take a moment and thank Strom Buttars for bringing his usual nasty little self out on public display for the people and making what was a boring and technocratic session into yet another nasty gay-bashing fest. FWIW, Chris [...]

Rebecca Walsh is rapidly becoming my favorite local newsperson.  Her article in today’s Trib is yet another perfect example of her ability to accurately record the seriously messed up politics of Utah.
Walsh writes:
As is so often the case, Salt Lake City is acting out, testing the bounds of this big conservative family we like to [...]

It’s impossible to attend the Utah State Legislature year after year as I have without developing a sense of cynicism. The majority of Utah’s legislators strike me as well meaning but useless when it comes to actually effecting changing. The few commonsense proposals that actually make it to the floor are usually killed [...]

Sunday, the Tribune ran this article about declining support in Utah for the Iraq war.  Highlights:
Jeffrey Jones wasn’t surprised to see that a two-year compilation of Gallup polls showed American Mormons, more than any other religious group over that period, believed the United States was right to invade Iraq.
A January poll by The Salt Lake [...]

Governor Huntsman will decide today whether to VETO the anti-gay school clubs bill or sign it into law. While the bill does not specifically prohibit Gay Straight Alliances in Utah public schools, that’s what is is meant to do. Buttars and Tilton have failed in previous years to get such bills passed, so this [...]

For those of you interested, I’ve pulled the audio of the public comments on this years bill attempting to ban Gay Straight Clubs in Utah high schools (HB236). It features Gail Ruzika and at least three of her droids.
I won’t go into the details about the hoops this bill will make schools jump through [...]

I am one of those radical queers that Sen. Buttars and Gayle Ruzicka have been warning you about. I am an advocate for subversive social change. I promote a gay agenda. But this hasn’t always been the case.
I was once a faithful Mormon, and for a short period I was also a volunteer for Gayle [...]

As part of an earlier discussion, Caveat asked:
“How do we steer our ponderous educational contraption towards a more humane and less fundamentalist, path?”
With regard to public education, it’s important to understand that there is a swath of the American public that distrusts public education. To these folks, education is problematic because it teaches things [...]