When I ran for Senate in 2006, Representative Jim Matheson was kind enough to meet with me more than once to offer help and advice. I met with him in both his Salt Lake City office and his Washington D.C. office. In one of those meetings he reflected upon the [...]
Two weeks ago, I sat in on a roundtable with Senator Bennett, sponsored by the Utah Technology Council. Senator Bennett started his discussion on healthcare by assailing England’s National Health System, with the claim that Senator Ted Kennedy would not have received any treatment at all for his cancer if [...]
Alan Turing is widely considered to be the father of computer science. He cracked the German Enigma Codes in World War II, which saved countless lives and is estimated to have ended the war in Europe two years early. His genius with computer processing [...]
Saturday, September 19th, 9:00 AM – The Electroregeneration Society needs your help! Saturday, September 19th, we will be unloading a storage unit previously owned by Computers For Kids, a non-profit with a similar mission to ERGS. There are over 500 CRT monitors there! We will load them on [...]
Utahns for Ethical Government contacted me recently about their proposed ballot initiative for ethics reform in the Utah Legislature. The initiative creates an independent panel that would investigate legislator ethics violations and recommend action back to the legislative leadership. In addition, a “Code of Conduct” is set down [...]
Utahns for Ethical Government contacted me recently about their proposed ballot initiative for ethics reform in the Utah Legislature. The initiative creates an independent panel that would investigate legislator ethics violations and recommend action back to the legislative leadership. In addition, a “Code of Conduct” is set down [...]
Some years ago, XMission held a computer parts “recycling” event in cooperation with Salt Lake City. We were permitted use of a parking lot on the corner of State Street and 400 South, near our offices, for people to bring their household electronics for proper disposal. This disposal consisted of [...]
In January of 2005, I had a meeting with Bill Orton. My campaign for U.S. Senate was in the exploratory stage, and I had heard through the grapevine that Bill was considering running. I had never met Bill before, but he worked nearby and came in [...]
Today at 2:00PM, the Utah Senate Public Utilities Committee will consider a joint resolution expressing support for nuclear power in Utah. This is the letter I sent to Public Utilities Committee chair, Steve Urquhart.
Hello Steve, I’d like you to consider a few points in relation to nuclear power [...]
I set my alarm this morning for 7:00AM planning to get up and get out to collect my tickets to the inauguration. A foreign bed and sick kids conspired against me and left me groggy when the alarm went off. For some reason I figured that there probably wasn’t going [...]
Aside from my previous endorsement of Senator Obama for President, there is one other prime endorsement I want to get out before election day.
When I received the invitation to serve on the Tracy Aviary board a few years ago, I warmly accepted because it had long been one of [...]
Don’t miss these great films and speakers, sponsored by the Salt Lake Film Center, this Friday through Sunday! It is free and open to the public. The Raucus Caucus.
[...]This Sunday, at 8am, I will be appearing on Chris Vanocur’s show “On the Record” on KTVX, channel 4. The topic will be the use of the Internet in this political season.
Please join me next Tuesday, the 21st in welcoming Senator Jon Tester from Montana for a reception benefiting the [...]
This last Sunday, Senator Hatch had yet another opinion piece published attempting to define his energy policy. This comes a few weeks after his rebuttal to what I wrote. There is so much spinning going on in Hatch’s office these days, it should be considered an alternative [...]
The Salt Lake Tribune published an opinion piece today that I wrote on our Republican congressional delegation’s recent grandstanding on behalf of the oil, gas, and coal industries.
[...]Come celebrate Senator Hatch’s latest reassurance that the government is fully trustworthy and always does the right thing at Salt Lake Acting Company’s “Nutcake Night” on July 16th. I have 10 tickets at a discounted rate of $35 available. Please email if you are interested in attending [...]
Over a year ago, Provo City put out an RFP titled, “Request for Proposals for Partnership Opportunities with Telecommunication Service Providers on the iProvo Network”. This was a public invitation to companies like XMission to provide services to the citizens of Provo over the fiber network installed by the city. [...]
A number of people have asked whether I would be interested in running for Utah governor or congress this year. It is humbling to be considered. However, currently my commitment to my family, XMission, and the local organizations I sit on boards for does not lend the time required for [...]
Another sweet gem of ignorance has been dispensed from the Utah Legislature. HB407 asks for creation of a “Community Conscious Internet Provider” seal, which can then be used by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) for marketing their virtue. Where it gets fun [...]
According to Ethan Millard, HB139 is dead. However, with the Utah Legislature it isn’t over until it’s over. This is a good sign, thanks to everyone who helped fight this legislation. Thanks to Representative Daw for listening to my and others concerns about the technical problems.
[...]
I have been reluctant to endorse a presidential candidate up until this time because I think the way our primary system works is utterly messed up. Seeing candidates drop out of the race after 124,000 people caucus in Iowa is not broad democracy in any sense. [...]
The informal meeting held Thursday on HB139 was the most level-headed meeting I’ve had the pleasure to attend at the Capitol. Thank you to all who attended. Representative Daw acknowledged a number of problems with the bill, but I do not know how that changes the status. I doubt proponents [...]
Since 2002, I have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in building a free community wireless network. This initiative started with the Olympic games and has expanded to many other locations - gathering places, Salt Lake City Main Street, libraries, Liberty Park, Pioneer Park and an ambitious project in [...]
I received an email from the Utah Technology Council urging me to vote for vouchers today. They claimed that the issue has been clouded by “misinformation”. Yet one issue has not been answered for me since the start. Even when I posted this query on Steve Urquhart’s “Politicopia” before [...]
Here is the text of a speech I delivered at a war protest in Provo last Friday.
“…with liberty and justice for all.”
The first time I remember saying the pledge of allegiance, I was in kindergarten. Since that time, I have said these words and knew that America stood for [...]
When I was eight years old, I was walking in downtown Salt Lake City with my mother. As we crossed a street with my hand in hers, she stopped to talk to a man who I didn’t recognize. I don’t remember what the conversation [...]
If you are a Salt Lake City resident, then I urge you to exercise your right to vote tomorrow, Tuesday the 11th in the mayoral primary. My endorsement goes to Ralph Becker and I hope you will consider him too.
If you are not a Salt Lake City resident, [...]
Ralph Becker sent me his response to Tony Weller for reposting here. Tony has not shared any other responses with me, nor have I asked him to. If any campaign wants to send me their response, I will also put it on this blog.
Remember, you can vote in the [...]
Tony Weller is the current owner of downtown bookstore Sam Weller’s, which has been a fixture in Salt Lake City since 1929. You can’t think of Main Street business without thinking about the incredible work Tony and his family have done there. They have survived construction and watched as [...]
I saw Barack Obama this last weekend in Park City. He is the fourth Democratic presidential candidate that I have seen here in Utah. I’ve met Richardson, Dodd, and Edwards before him. For all, it was a repeated stump speech and only [...]
I am endorsing Ralph Becker for mayor of Salt Lake City.
Based on my conversations with Ralph along with his response to my questionnaire, I believe he has the experience to benefit this city. I am impressed with his convictions for proper planning and zoning, along with his commitment [...]
Keith submitted his response to my questionnaire after Jenny Wilson’s was posted last week. I did set a date for returned responses, but only Ralph Becker and Dave Buhler met the deadline. Keith was the only candidate who had the opportunity to read other candidate responses before submitting his own. [...]
Jenny Wilson’s campaign website is located here.
1. What is your plan for action to rejuvenate Main Street and Downtown? This does not include the City Creek Center or plans by the LDS Church. How do you plan to encourage locally-owned business development?
I believe that the next decade is [...]
Some people have asked why I didn’t ask about a particular issue. My questionnaire is in no way meant to be exhaustive, but rather issues that are important to me. If you have a particular issue you’d like answered, I encourage you to contact the candidates directly.
On March 27th, I sent off a questionnaire to all of the then ten mayoral candidates for Salt Lake City. I received written responses from three of the candidates, Ralph Becker, Dave Buhler, and Jenny Wilson. Jenny Wilson and Keith Christensen were also good enough to [...]
I wasn’t going to jump on the bandwagon, but watching this explode has been an interesting example of what happens when an organization thinks they can control what happens on the Internet. The Motion Picture Association of America has been sending DMCA take-down notices to sites [...]
Complete audio of the entire BYU Alternative Commencement is here.
The most sobering commentary of last night was from the students whose parents had chastened, berated, and even outright abandoned them over their involvement in this event. For a community that prides itself on family values, I was ashamed of [...]
I have been invited to speak at the BYU Alternative Commencement tomorrow. I am honored to accept.
Here is a recording of the RadioWest program that I participated on this morning. I was asked in email to post links to some of the things I talked about.
Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee Membership.
Here are the classes that XMission provides at the Salt Lake [...]
