One Utah

Barack Obama promised “change,” and he has delivered on that promise. We wanted Obama to change Washington, and instead he’s inexplicably changing his policy positions to accommodate the Bush administration and the far right. The most immediate problem: a proposal to make unconstitutional changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Senator [...]

Only 15 senators voted to block the FISA bill: Biden (D-DE) - Boxer (D-CA) - Brown (D-OH) - Cantwell (D-WA) - Dodd (D-CT) - Durbin (D-IL) - Feingold (D-WI) - Harkin (D-IA) - Kerry (D-MA) - Lautenberg (D-NJ) - Leahy (D-VT) - Menendez (D-NJ) - Sanders (I-VT) - Schumer (D-NY) - Wyden (D-OR). Senators Clinton, [...]

Men die, but ideas live forever. It sounds nice, anyway and even provides a good storyline for movies like “V for Vendetta”, but centuries ago, pharos histories were removed from stone by vindictive or insecure proprietors of power. An ancient “Freedom of Information Act” would have preserved a much richer understanding of history then we [...]

Remember the Bush administration’s Big-Brotherish Total Information Awareness (TIA) program? It was the brainchild of Admiral John Poindexter, who is probably best known for his part in the Iran-Contra conspiracy. When TIA became public knowledge, it was immediately obvious that everything about it was unconstitutional and even totalitarian. In February of 2003, [...]

Alright, I wasn’t prepared for this. President Bush pumped up the fear all week, he cried wolf again and again. He repeatedly made the claim that “the lives of countless Americans depend” on whether Congress gives him and his partners in crime an immediate get-out-of-jail-free card for breaking the FISA law to do [...]

Brilliant editorial in today’s NY Times:
The C.I.A. contracted out its inhumanity to nations with no respect for life or law, sending prisoners — some of them innocents kidnapped on street corners and in airports — to be tortured into making false confessions, or until it was clear they had nothing to say and so were [...]

In an interview with Texas Monthly, former White House communications chief Dan Bartlett talked about the nature of right-wing blogs: they reach Bush’s base (emphasis added).
That’s what I mean by influential. I mean, talk about a direct IV into the vein of your support. It’s a very efficient way to communicate. They regurgitate exactly and [...]

Pastor Dan, at Street Prophets tells a story similar to my own (though the dates are different):
I do share the fundamental bloggers’ critique of how we got ourselves in this position. It’s a three-legged stool: irresponsible and sometimes downright sinister Republican policies caused much of our trouble. But those policies benefitted from a docile media [...]

I enjoy reading and writing for One Utah. I don’t have as much time to do it as I’d like because I’m usually juggling several projects at my studio, maintaining my own blog and website and developing my business in the Salt Lake area one year after moving here. You encounter many different people (including [...]

Well, I got away for a week in the southeastern Utah backcountry (more later) and was able to temporarily forget about spineless politicians, wars, human rights violations and other bad news. I was back home for last night’s presidential debate, not to mention the second-to-last episode of “The Sopranos,” but we had a power [...]

Doug Fabrizio interviewed local “Silicon Valley Wunderkind” and my friend, Joe Firmage, about The Internet and his project (and mine) The Digital Universe for Utah Now.
Joe Firmage has spent more time than most, thinking about the Internet and how it can be used for good. I think he is right on. Take a [...]

My friend and boss, Joe Firmage and I were on Radio Active today talking about the recently launched EarthPortal.org I hate the sound of my voice. I really am not a girl.
The Earth Portal is only the first of what will someday be thousands and thousands of high quality, non-commercial Internet destinations stewarded full-time [...]