Last night was the annual meeting of the Coalition of Religious Communities (CORC). The Coalition represents 20+ denominations thoughout Utah. Members of CORC work on a broad array of social justice issues, primarily issues of economic justice - although we were also one of the leading groups supporting effective hate crimes legislation. CORC’s leadership is drawn […]
For Ken and all the other non-scientists afraid to face the challenge of reality.
With time to enshrine their bigotry in law running short, our state legislators are getting worried they won’t be able to tell gay folks “You suck.”
SB299 (sub one or two I don’t remember which) is trundling its way through the state legislature. In what looks like a straight party line vote, the […]
I’ve been trying to write an appropriately sarcastic and ironic response to our state legislators opposition to the IB program. It’s almost impossible to satire someone who does not know the difference between “socialization” and “socialism.” It’s equally difficult deploying sarcasm in response to someone who thinks the any positive mention of the […]
What had been going along as a relatively boring, technocratic session has become the traditional legislative freak show thanks to Chris Buttars and the homophobes of the Republican majority. Frankly, the majority of Utah legislators are just plain old fashioned anti-gay bigots. They can dress it up in all the pretty language they […]
One of the favorite tactics of Republicans, especially in the era of Karl Rove, is voter suppression. This is the grab bag of legal requirements and sometimes dirty tricks aimed at discouraging poor people and minorities from voting.
When you hear claims of “voter fraud” coming from the GOP, watch out. They are pushing […]
It’s been a fun week already at the Trib’s discussion boards thanks to Zach Maxfield of Logan who wrote that Mormons aren’t homophobes, they just love gay people so much they want them to become straight people. Okay, I’m paraphrasing. Zach’s exact words were:
[God] counsels us to never condone or accept evil behavior. Homosexual acts […]
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 […]
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 […]
Over at KSL, there are many defending Buttars’ bigotry using finely honed apologetics.
I’m all for giving one the benefit of the doubt once, maybe twice. But I know Senator Buttars. He IS an unapologetic bigot and will readily admit it to anyone (privatly) as he did with me one day over the phone. […]
Sent to Senator Dmitrich and Representatives King and Mathis
I recommend you vote FOR SB 173 and AGAINST SB202.
SB173 was produced by Governor John Huntsman’s Renewable Energy Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force. I participated with some of the members of that task force in developing the Renewable Energy Portfolio recommendation. That recommendation was modeled […]
It’s almost impossible to make fun of Chris Buttars - given his level of obvious stupidity, irony, sarcasm and satire fall short of the embarrassing reality of this bigoted little man who likes the rush of power he feels when people call him “Senator.”
In Buttars latest move to become the poster boy for bigots, he […]
On Thursday, the Utah State House of Representatives will debate HJR 10, Rep. Aaron Tilton’s “Joint Resolution Opposing Designation of Public Lands Currently Urged by Congress and the Bureau of Land Management.” He means wilderness designation, but must be afraid to put that word into the title of any legislation, however symbolic.
Of course, this […]
I haven’t really commented much on this year’s legislative session for one reason - the news I’ve seen hasn’t really painted a picture of the session. Aside from anything having to do with immigration (i.e. brown people) the session seems to have been actually kind of boring. Yesterday, I got to spend some […]
It seems oddly appropriate that 2008 Blog for Choice day is the day that the Rep. Stephen Sandstrom’s slut shaming, forced pregnancy hot potato bill was handed off to the Office of Legislative Research & General Counsel - which has already rendered a negative opinion on the bill.
Sandstrom’s bill would prohibit abortion except to save […]
With yesterday’s largely ceremonial opening over and done with, today marks the first day of real work in the state Leg.
The schedule of events starts at 8 a.m. with committee meetings/hearings (remember, these meetings are where bills go to die).
The tools for staying abreast of what’s happening are plentiful and relatively easy to use. […]
8 bills per day. That’s how many bills have to be killed or passed each day to get through the list of proposed bills in the 2008 session.
Utah’s legislative session lasts 45 days.
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 […]
This is democracy. Heck- it’s bigger than democracy. It’s life itself and just as important today as the beginning of time (whether 7,000 or untold millions of years ago). It’s called community. And that’s what the Clean Air Summit held Thursday at the Salt Lake City County building was about: saving our community. People representing […]
So it turns out that some Utah legislators stand to make big bucks on a decision they may decisively influence to bring nuclear power to Utah. We’ve done without this monstrously bad source of power all these years.
Most fundamentally, we still don’t know how to handle nuclear waste without it constituting a huge threat to […]
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