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edited by: David Miller, Utah Editor

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  • The Audacity To Hope…

    Well folks, here we are, just about a year into the administration of President Barack “Change You Can Believe In” Obama, and all I see is politics as usual.  President Obama rode a wave of grass-roots support to the White House, carrying with that a mandate to make real and [...]
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    Posted: December 07, 2009, 8:44am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • Buy A Senator

    What do you need in order to be legally allowed to make a few billion while raping Utah’s environment?  Your very own Senator.  In addition to buying the Utah Legislature, EnergySolutions has purchased Senator Robert F. Bennett, who is now the key obstacle to the passage of legislation in the [...]
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    Posted: December 04, 2009, 8:59am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • And The War Goes On….

    Sorry loyal readers, the last week has been somewhat hectic and as a result, I’ve been remiss in getting new posts up.  Today, however, we are back in business and the topic at hand is WAR - “huh, good God, y’all, what is it good for?” Currently America faces two wars, [...]
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    Posted: December 03, 2009, 9:18am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • Utah’s GOP - Bastion of Corruption

    Utah’s GOP has officially adopted a resolution opposing the Utahns for Ethical Government initiative that is currently in the petition stage.  Apparently the Utah GOP feels that the current state of ethics in Utah is sufficient for their purposes.  Of course, they are absolutely correct.  Utah’s current lack of ethical [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 7:41am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • Utah and Ethics…

    In today’s Deseret News Utah’s District 54 Representative Kraig Powell attempted to make his case against the Utahns for Ethical Government Initiative.  In this editorial piece, Powell argues that the UEG initiative “sets a high bar for lawmakers to clear.”  My question for Mr. Powell and the rest of the [...]
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    Posted: November 23, 2009, 10:15am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • Buttars Throat?

    Our friend Buttars is at it again, this time stating that he doesn’t hate gays, he just doesn’t want gays “stuffing it down his throat.”  I would like to know who (specifically) is stuffing what (specifically) down Buttars’ throat.  Even better, I’d love to know what it is (specifically) that [...]
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    Posted: November 20, 2009, 12:42pm EST
    by Bob Henline

  • What I Know About Health Care…

    The debate over health care reform in America has gotten completely out of hand.  On both sides.  Liberals are claiming that anyone opposing the current proposal is in favor of the status quo, with conservatives claiming that anyone supporting it is in some way a socialist committed to destroying the [...]
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    Posted: November 20, 2009, 8:57am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • Ethics Reform Takes Another Hit In Utah

    The Utah Legislature sent an ethics reform bill out of committee yesterday, and it’s exactly what one would expect from arguably the most corrupt state legislature in the country:  window dressing. The bill creates an independent commission that meets behind closed doors to sift through ethical complaints.  Those deemed to have [...]
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    Posted: November 19, 2009, 9:38am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • It Really Makes Me Wonder…

    Yesterday I blogged about America Forever and their inane broadcast fax.  After going through that bit of hate-filled nonsense, I decided that I would pop on over to their website and see what these people are really all about.  It took about 2 seconds of reading their home page to [...]
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    Posted: November 18, 2009, 9:41am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • America Forever: LDS Church Sold Out Its Values

    Last week the conservative “America Forever” group sent out a fax in which it stated that the LDS Church sold out its values as a matter of political necessity. This fax, presumably sent to some 80,000 people throughout Utah, claims that the LDS Church had no choice but to endorse the [...]
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    Posted: November 17, 2009, 11:14am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • America Forever: LDS Church Sold Out Its Values

    Last week the conservative “America Forever” group sent out a fax in which it stated that the LDS Church sold out its values as a matter of political necessity. This fax, presumably sent to some 80,000 people throughout Utah, claims that the LDS Church had no choice but to endorse the [...]
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    Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:19am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • Where Has Partisanship Taken Us?

    “They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, [...]
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    Posted: November 12, 2009, 9:32am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • Veteran’s Day 2009

    As I drove into work this morning I noticed a few flags flying in front yards, but not many.  Traffic moved on as usual, another normal day for most of us.  More’s the pity, I say.  We celebrate Halloween, we celebrate Valentine’s Day, hell, we party like there’s no tomorrow [...]
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    Posted: November 11, 2009, 8:09am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • Time To Pay Attention

    Last month, in a startling display of backbone, the Utah Radiation Control Board voted to prevent shipments of depleted uranium (DU) to the EnergySolutions facility in Clive, UT.   Now the fun begins.   EnergySolutions will be bombarded tomorrow’s RCB meeting with the finest legal counsel money can buy.  Their claim:  the [...]
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    Posted: November 09, 2009, 10:17am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • Let’s Talk About Ethics - Behind Closed Doors!

    Yep, our dear friends with the Utah legislature are at it again.  The Deseret News is reporting that Utah’s GOP leadership has come to an agreement regarding campaign contribution limits in its own effort to stall the public ethics reform initiative.   Here’s the best part: At a meeting of the governor’s [...]
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    Posted: November 06, 2009, 8:19am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • A Matter Of Clarification

    Yesterday I blogged about the voters of Maine and their idiotic decision to repeal the law that allows same-sex marriage in that state.  In that post I made reference to a Justice of the Peace in Louisiana that was forced to resign his post after refusing to perform an interracial [...]
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    Posted: November 05, 2009, 12:18pm EST
    by Bob Henline

  • I Just Don’t Get It

    One year ago the nation watched as voters in California took to the polls and overturned that state’s same-sex marriage statute after months of fighting, television ads and hateful propaganda.  In a much quieter (at least relative to national media attention) environment, the voters of Maine yesterday did the same [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2009, 8:59am EST
    by Bob Henline

  • When It Hits Close To Home

    Several months ago I wrote a column for a local paper in which I argued that Utah’s statutes regarding fleeing the scene of an accident needed to be made more severe.  The point was that under current Utah law if you’ve been drinking it makes legal sense to flee the [...]
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    Posted: October 31, 2009, 10:03am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Equality: It’s Not A Difficult Concept

    Salt Lake City is considering ordinances that will prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.  There are already laws on the books that seek to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, sex, creed, color, religion and other characteristics - laws that are necessary and beneficial.  [...]
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    Posted: October 29, 2009, 9:09am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Stupidity Stampede

    Yesterday morning I was listening to Radio From Hell on X96, as I generally do on my way into the office.  One of the daily “boner” nominees was the state of Oklahoma in a story so outrageously stupid I had to do some research to confirm it before bringing it [...]
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    Posted: October 28, 2009, 8:29am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • H is for HYPOCRITE!

    Last week LDS apostle Dallin H. Oaks delivered an address at BYU-Idaho in which he defended the church’s position with regard to same-sex marriage.  In this address he stated: “There is a battle over the meaning of [religious] freedom.  The contest is of eternal importance, and it is your generation that [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2009, 2:39pm EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Get Ready For Next Year

    Does anyone remember the fiscal problems of the 2009 legislative session?  2010 isn’t looking any better, and to many observers, it might actually be looking worse.  Utah is in for some pretty horrific budget cuts next year and it’s time to prepare for them now. I’ve got a few suggestions for [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2009, 8:57am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Governor Herbert Scores Twice!

    Sometimes it’s difficult to be objective, and again I think I’m going to annoy some of my liberal compadres with this.  But here it is… Utah’s new governor (and gubernatorial candidate) Gary Herbert has made a couple of good moves this week. First, he has stated flatly that he will not [...]
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    Posted: October 23, 2009, 8:29am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Senator Orrin Hypocrisy

    Senator Hatch is at it again.  This time he’s sent a letter to President Obama urging the Justice Department to investigate the BCS for alleged violations of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Look folks, I’m a big fan of college football, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a person that despises the [...]
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    Posted: October 22, 2009, 9:17am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • An Unpopular Position

    Today’s Salt Lake Tribune includes an editorial entitled “The Best Political System Money Can Buy.”  In this piece the Tribune argues that although Utah’s elected offices might not technically be completely for sale, significant donors can at least get themselves a good time share in the Governor’s Office. The piece explains [...]
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    Posted: October 21, 2009, 9:47am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Utah’s RCB Did The Right Thing?

    Wow, this blew by last week and I missed it.  After failing to pass a moratorium on the disposal of depleted uranium (DU) at the EnergySolutions facility in Clive, UT last month, the Utah Radiation Control Board issued a license amendment requiring that EnergySolutions provide a study demonstrating that the [...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2009, 11:02am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • RID Update

    Last Friday (Oct. 16, 2009) the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy and Environment subcommittee held its first hearing regarding HR 515, the Radioactive Import Deterrence (RID) Act.  This legislation, cosponsored by Utah’s Jason Chaffetz (R) and Jim Matheson (D), seeks to ban the importation of foreign nuclear waste. The RID [...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2009, 9:02am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • More Stupidity From Sutherland…

    Ah, the Sutherland Institute, Utah’s very own neoconservative nightmare.  In their latest move they’ve decided to premier an independent film, Not Evil Just Wrong, which highlights nine “significant errors” in Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. This is apparently an attempt to convince the world that global warming isn’t really a problem [...]
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    Posted: October 19, 2009, 9:30am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • 30 US Senators Endorse Rape!

    You probably didn’t hear it here first, but you’re hearing it now.  Last week the Franken Amendment was added to the Defense Appropriations Bill that prohibits the federal government from doing business with corporations that have rape arbitration clauses in their contracts.  Seems pretty logical, right?  The government shouldn’t support [...]
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    Posted: October 16, 2009, 10:12am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • The Sutherland Institute’s Hate Campaign

    The bigots at the Sutherland Institute are at it again, this time issuing a press release opposing Mayor Becker’s proposed city ordinances to ban employment and housing discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity.  In the press release, the Sutherland Institute claims that their opposition to the proposed protections [...]
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    Posted: October 15, 2009, 8:26am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • What Utah Deserves?

    Skimming through the headlines on Utah Policy Daily I came across an editorial penned by Deseret News Political Editor Bob Bernick, Jr.  In this piece, Bernick outlines what he feels are things that are “right about Utah politics.”  The headline did its job, it got me to read the piece.  [...]
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    Posted: October 09, 2009, 5:42pm EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • RID Moving Forward

    HR515, also known as the Radioactive Import Deterrence Act (RID), will have a hearing before the Subcommittee and Energy and Environment on Tuesday, Oct. 13.  The act, cosponsored by Jim Matheson (D-UT) and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), seeks to ban the import of foreign nuclear waste except in cases involving defense [...]
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    Posted: October 08, 2009, 9:03am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • The NONPART PAC

    “There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.” Alexis de Tocqueville wrote these words over 170 years ago in his epic work Democracy in America.  They have never been more true than they are in today’s America.  As hard as they [...]
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    Posted: October 07, 2009, 8:21am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Constitutional Inequality

    Yes, I’m being shameless again.  Last year I published my first book, Constitutional Inequality.  It is a look at the history of the US electoral system, why it was created, and why it should be abolished in favor of a national direct election for the president and vice president. Last week [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 7:56am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Utah - an EnergySolutions Company

    On September 22, 2009 the Utah Radiation Control Board officially handed over the responsibility for nuclear waste regulation to EnergySolutions. In addition to their 8-3 vote rejecting a proposed moratorium on the disposal of depleted uranium at the Clive facility, the Board then accepted a letter, written by EnergySolutions, as [...]
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    Posted: October 05, 2009, 9:56am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Can We Elevate The Discussion?

    I’ve spent a good deal of time discussing the state of American politics:  the lack of civility, the avoidance of real discussion on issues, and the utter failure of our “leaders” to provide anything resembling leadership.  We all know where the problems lie, and we all know what needs to [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 9:10am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Wherein Lies The Problem?

    The recent news is filled with stories about new laws being enacted to address specific issues in various states and the nation as a whole.  Funny thing is, though, all we end up doing is enacting more ridiculous laws that only spin the problems, never really resulting in any tangible [...]
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    Posted: September 30, 2009, 9:34am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Dear Mr. President, Please Grow Some Balls.

    The current defense bill being hammered out in the Senate carries a price tag of $636 billion, $2.65 billion of which is in the form of earmarks added in by lawmakers for projects NOT requested by the Department of Defense.  That’s right, the Defense Department requested their money, and the [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 9:51am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Change the Constitution

    Utah’s citizen-driven ethics reform initiative may have just run into a new legal snag:  Lt. Governor Greg Bell.  Bell has indicated that he may deny the initiative access to the ballot by refusing to release signature packets, a power he has if the initiative is patently unconstitutional or nonsensical. Bell has [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 9:13am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Iran Has Missiles!

    This past weekend the Iranian Revolutionary Guards tested missiles capable of reaching Israel and several US military bases in the Middle East.  The reaction of the US government, the news pundits, and our ignorant citizenry has been predictably ridiculous.  Yes folks, the Iranians have missiles.  They have guns.  They have [...]
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    Posted: September 28, 2009, 11:16am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Electoral Equality - Can It Happen?

    Yesterday I had the pleasure of  having lunch with a local gentleman that is spearheading the National Popular Vote movement in Utah.  For those of you unfamiliar with it, National Popular Vote is an organization that is trying to bring some semblance of equality to American presidential elections.  NPV is [...]
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    Posted: September 25, 2009, 9:18am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Am I Actually Agreeing With Jason Chaffetz?

    Brace yourselves ladies and gentlemen, the 937th sign of the apocalypse is upon us.  I am forced to agree with Utah’s Jason Chaffetz.  According to the Deseret News, Rep. Chaffetz had himself another little tussle with TSA at Salt Lake International Airport as they attempted to pass him through the [...]
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    Posted: September 24, 2009, 10:09am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Welcome To Utah - Earth’s Garbage Heap

    Well, they did it.  Utah’s Radiation Control Board actually finally got around to voting on the proposed moratorium on the disposal of depleted uranium at the EnergySolutions facility in Clive, Utah.  They voted 8-3 against the moratorium, clearing the way for another 14,000 tons of toxic material to find its [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 2:06pm EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Utah’s GOP, Serving Its Own Corrupt Ends

    Today’s Deseret News is reporting that Utah GOP Chairman Dave Hansen has made his opposition to both the Fair Boundaries Initiative and the Utahns For Ethical Government official.   According to Hansen, although the party’s governing committees make the final decision, the Utah GOP will back the initiatives “over my dead [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 9:11am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Lessons From The Park

    Yesterday afternoon my sons (ages 3 and 4) and I decided that we would go pick up my fiancee and have a picnic in the park and just spend a lazy Sunday afternoon relaxing and enjoying what’s left of the warm weather.  We ventured out to “Veterans Memorial Park” in [...]
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    Posted: September 21, 2009, 8:33am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • The Real September 11 Tragedy

    This past weekend Americans remembered the tragedy of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. On that day thousands of American citizens were senselessly and heinously murdered by Al-Qaeda terrorists in the deadliest attack on Americans in history. While this, in itself, is tragic, it is not the true tragedy [...]
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    Posted: September 19, 2009, 1:58pm EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Let’s Talk About Racism & Hate

    The election of President Obama has resulted in a huge resurgence of ridiculous claims of racism.  Sorry fellow liberals, but everyone that disagrees with the president on policy is not doing so because he’s black.  I voted for him, and would still choose him over John McCain, but am completely [...]
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    Posted: September 18, 2009, 1:04pm EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Where Are The Rational Conservatives?

    “It’s Obama’s America, is it not? Obama’s America, white kids getting beat up on school buses now. You put your kids on a school bus, you expect safety but in Obama’s America the white kids now get beat up…” That is an excerpt from Rush Limbaugh’s radio broadcast earlier in the [...]
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    Posted: September 18, 2009, 8:54am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Utah Republicans Opposing Ethics Reform

    This morning’s Salt Lake Tribune has a story about Utah’s Republican lawmakers and their opposition to ethics reform.  What I find even more troubling than the fact that these supposedly ethical people, elected to represent the people of Utah, are opposing the reform is the rhetoric they are using to [...]
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    Posted: September 17, 2009, 7:57am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Just Another Pussy Democrat

    Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to NonPart’s Frustration 101.  Yes, I had the audacity to hope, believed in the possibility of change, and cast my blue ballot in my obnoxious red state.  I had faith that Barack Obama would be even a fraction of the president that he had the potential [...]
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    Posted: September 16, 2009, 4:51pm EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Shut Up Shurtleff!

    This morning I find myself in a very bizarre position, one I’d honestly never expected to find myself:  in defense of Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT).  Senator Bennett is facing three primary challengers in his bid for reelection in 2010, all three coming from the extreme fringe elements of modern conservatism.  [...]
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    Posted: September 15, 2009, 7:45am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • The Illusion of Reform

    The health care debate is heating up again, and it’s all the same old noise that has been made since the beginning, and it’s really beginning to annoy me. It is patently obvious to anyone with anything resembling a brain that the system of delivering (and paying for) health care in [...]
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    Posted: September 14, 2009, 3:16pm EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • The Deadliest Teeth

    Yesterday morning I flew out of Salt Lake International Airport.  Again, TSA in Salt Lake demonstrated the unbelievable levels of stupidity that have made them famous when they decided that my toothpaste violated security regulations and they needed to confiscate it.  Yes, my Crest was confiscated by airport “security.” BREAKING NEWS:  [...]
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    Posted: September 09, 2009, 6:28am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Inspirational…. Maybe Cheesy, but Definitely True.

    I had it all planned out, a nice rant about TSA and the orange threat level.  Hey, I may even end up posting that tomorrow, but tonight I just can’t do it.  I am in Georgia right now, at the beautiful Stone Mountain State Park for the annual conference of [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2009, 7:58pm EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • The Values We Teach Our Children

    “During this special address, the president will speak directly to the nation’s children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school. The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning.” This is an excerpt from the Department of Education’s press release regarding President [...]
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    Posted: September 04, 2009, 10:32am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Hope: Do We Still Have It? Should We?

    “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope … and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current that [...]
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    Posted: September 03, 2009, 7:57am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Service as “Leftist Propaganda”

    “I think it’s outrageous. It’s indoctrinating children in a leftist liberal political position.” Gayle Ruzicka, President of Utah’s Eagle Forum commenting about President Obama’s “I Pledge” video encouraging national service. It’s not often that I will tell someone to sit down and shut up, but it’s high time someone did exactly that [...]
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    Posted: September 02, 2009, 8:26am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Neocon Hypocrisy and Stupidity

    Last week Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Department of Justice would launch an investigation into the use of so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques” against detainees at Guantanamo Bay and other facilities. In typical knee-jerk fashion, the neocons are lining up in protest.  Former VP Dick Cheney, his Senate puppet Orrin [...]
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    Posted: August 31, 2009, 8:52am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • The Q-spiracy - Published August 2009 in Q Salt Lake

    After months of asking the same question and receiving no answer from the “Defense of Marriage” advocates, I decided to undertake my own bit of research. The question, of course, is how does a same-sex couple’s marriage adversely impact the marriage of heterosexual couples? You could ask Senators Ensign and [...]
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    Posted: August 28, 2009, 10:00am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Department of Environmental Quality

    The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Confirmation Committee will be meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 1 to confirm Amanda Smith as the new Director of Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality, a post which has been vacant since last December. Aside from the obvious issues [...]
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    Posted: August 27, 2009, 7:59am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Farewell Teddy

    Yesterday Senator Edward M. Kennedy died, leaving America short one of its truly great statesmen and Senators. We all know that Teddy had his problems in life, issues in his personality and history.  However, his over 4 decades of service to this country speak more about his commitment to America and [...]
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    Posted: August 26, 2009, 8:11am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Buttars!

    Just when you think it’s safe to read the news, Senator Chris Buttars (R-WJ) goes at it again.  This time Buttars has set his sights on an ordinance being proposed by Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker to prohibit discrimination against the LGBT community.  Here’s what Buttars has to say: “I [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2009, 7:55am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Health care revisited….

    Over the past several months we’ve watched meaningful debate about the health of America’s people - her families and CHILDREN - be hijacked by right-wing fundamentalists hell-bent on obfuscating the issue with deceit, lies, and thug tactics.  We’ve even heard the same groups of people attacking the reform package as [...]
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    Posted: August 23, 2009, 10:49am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • What Are Utahns Thinking?

    Several media outlets are reporting on the contents of a letter signed by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and 8 or 9 other prominent Republicans, expressing their opposition to Attorney General Eric Holder appointing a Special Prosecutor to investigate torture and other crimes allegedly committed by the Bush Administration.   The calls [...]
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    Posted: August 21, 2009, 9:17am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Dear Old Orrin…

    As I have encouraged everyone else to do, I wrote to Senators Hatch and Bennett, as well as Representative Bishop, regarding the RID Act that has been cosponsored by Representatives Matheson (D-UT) and Chaffetz (R-UT).  Although I have yet to receive any kind of response from Bennett and Bishop, yesterday [...]
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    Posted: August 20, 2009, 8:07am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • The Role of Opposition

    Today’s Utah Policy Daily carries a very interesting piece by LaVarr Webb about what the GOP and the upcoming mid-term elections.  While there are very few issues on which Mr. Webb and I agree, on this he is absolutely correct. Historically speaking, the party controlling the White House tends to lose [...]
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    Posted: August 19, 2009, 8:11am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Bigotry in Alaska

    I picked this up from a Shannyn Moore tweet, thanks Shannyn! The mayor of Anchorage, Alaska has vetoed a measure that would prohibit discrimination against gays in the workplace. The leader of the opposition, a Baptist Minister named Jerry Prevo, said this: “Once you give special rights to homosexuals, then the next [...]
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    Posted: August 18, 2009, 10:01am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Wake Up Call For Progressive America

    Hey Progressives, are you out there?  You woke up and mobilized last year and through that effort and activity managed to put Barack Obama in the White House.  You showed the United States the power of people coming together to make a change.  And then you went away.  On one [...]
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    Posted: August 18, 2009, 9:08am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Stupid moronic socialist liberals…

    Thanks to Bob Aagard who put this up on his blog…. well worth a peek! Stupid moronic socialist liberals… [...]
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    Posted: August 17, 2009, 1:06pm EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • These Belong Together

    Sunday Aug 16:  Gay Lagoon Day.  Two small pavilions hidden away from the universe, but connected by a little tiny courtyard.  Here’s how they were assigned: Yes, the photos are not that great, but I’m a columnist not a photographer and it was the best I could do with the camera [...]
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    Posted: August 17, 2009, 8:49am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Irrational Blame

    Fox 13 News is reporting today that the family of Michael Starks has filed a wrongful death suit against Utah State University for “benign neglect” in the hazing incident that claimed his life in November 2008.   Starks was involved in a fraternity event at the now-closed Sigma Nu Chapter at [...]
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    Posted: August 13, 2009, 12:44pm EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Ethical Government in Utah

    Utahns for Ethical Government officially kicked off a campaign to create an independent commission to investigate allegations of legislative impropriety in Utah yesterday.  This issue was raised by Governor Huntsman during the legislative session, but abandoned due to concerns with the Utah State Constitution which grants to the legislature the [...]
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    Posted: August 13, 2009, 9:08am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Revisiting the Federalist Debate

    The Patrick Henry Caucus - Resurgent Anti-Federalists While the debate between the states and the federal government has pervaded America since the creation and ratification of the Constitution, this “discussion” seems to have sunken to a new depth over the past several months. In states all across the nation “conservative” lawmakers are [...]
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    Posted: August 12, 2009, 8:47am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Fair Boundaries Initiative

    On Wednesay August 12 (that’s tomorrow) the Fair Boundaries Initiative will be holding a petition signing event on the front steps of the Utah State Capitol.  The event kicks off at 10:00am with former Congressman Jim Hansen (R-UT) and Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon (D-SL County) being among the [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2009, 8:18am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Take Back Utah

    Over the weekend the state capitol was inundated with the anti-environmental movement, spearheaded by Rep. Mike Noel (R-Kanab) and headlined by Senators Orrin Hatch, Bob Bennett, Representative Rob Bishop, and wanna-be Senators Mark Shurtleff and Cherilyn Eager.  A veritable who’s who of inane neoconservative ideology. Through the course of their  speeches [...]
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    Posted: August 10, 2009, 5:44pm EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Conservative Hypocrisy

    One of the many people I “follow” on Twitter is Utah’s Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff, who is currently challenging Utah’s junior Senator, Bob Bennett, in the 2010 Republican primary.  Shurtleff tosses out different quotes and quick little thoughts on Twitter throughout the day (actually a pretty good use of Twitter [...]
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    Posted: August 10, 2009, 9:52am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Town Hall Stupidity

    We’ve heard much this past week about town hall meetings on health care reform being hijacked by conservatives hell-bent on causing  mayhem.  While I’m a big believer in freedom of speech, what I see in these attacks is something more insidious, more detrimental than a few nutjobs raising havoc.  What [...]
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    Posted: August 08, 2009, 10:07am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • EnergySolutions - Committed To Trashing Utah.

    EnergySolutions is so confident about their dominion over Utah’s lawmakers that they’ve begun negotiating with the United Kingdom, Germany, and China to dispose of their radioactive waste, as reported by Judy Fahys of the Salt Lake Tribune on August 6, 2009. Apparently polluting Utah with Italian waste and depleted uranium isn’t [...]
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    Posted: August 07, 2009, 2:38pm EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • This Dead Horse is Dying To Be Beaten Again…

    Here I am, at it again with the bailout nonsense.  It’s funny, though, Congress rammed a $700 billion package through in no time at all to provide banks with all the money they needed to continue doing the same things that caused the ginormous (love that word) financial meltdown to [...]
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    Posted: August 06, 2009, 10:23am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • The Power of a Former President

    Whether you love him or you hate him, you can’t deny that former President Bill Clinton has the stuff.  This is a politician that endured a witch-hunt that would have made Joe McCarthy cry foul, and came out on top! Most former Presidents (notable exception:  Jimmy Carter) fade into the sunset, [...]
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    Posted: August 06, 2009, 10:01am EDT
    by Bob Henline

  • Political Ethics in Utah

    On August 12th a new ethics in government initiative will be launched by former state legislators Kim Burningham and David Irvine.  While in most cases my political opinions and beliefs are far different from these two gentlemen, on this case I wholeheartedly agree:  Utah is in dire need of ethics [...]
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    Posted: August 05, 2009, 8:05am EDT
    by admin

  • Radioactive Waste Roundtable Discussion

    Yesterday Congressman Matheson (D-UT) was in town to discuss the disposal of radioactive waste in Utah.  KCPW’s Elizabeth Zeigler covered the event and did a great write-up on the KCPW website.  CLICK HERE to give it a read. Pay attention to City Weekly’s CitizenSpeak feature later in the week, I am [...]
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    Posted: August 04, 2009, 10:18am EDT
    by admin

  • Let’s Talk About Toxic Waste

    On Monday, August 3, Congressman Jim Matheson (D-UT) will be holding a round table discussion at the Utah State Capitol to discuss the implications of depleted uranium and foreign nuclear waste being stored at the EnergySolutions facility in Clive, UT. If you are at all concerned about Utah’s environmental heritage and [...]
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    Posted: July 31, 2009, 8:52am EDT
    by admin

  • A Comment On Our Education System…

    A friend of mine posted a link to this site on his Facebook page and this particular letter caught my eye.  As funny as it may seem on first blush, this is something that represents a very real problem within our educational system and our society as a whole. In the [...]
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    Posted: July 30, 2009, 11:14am EDT
    by admin

  • What We Can Do, What We Should Do…

    The main obstacle to health reform in America today is money.  Conservative Democrats and Republicans alike are asking one very simple, and quite frankly justified, question:  how are we going to pay for this?  It is certainly long past time for our elected employees to start thinking about how to [...]
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    Posted: July 30, 2009, 8:22am EDT
    by admin

  • A Simplistic Approach to Health Care Reform…

    As the debate in Congress (and the media) rages on regarding health care reform I thought it appropriate that I offer an alternative solution.  Understand, this is an outline of an idea, and there would, of course, be requisite details to be considered.  That being said, I still think this [...]
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    Posted: July 29, 2009, 7:48am EDT
    by admin

  • Congressman Matheson on Depleted Uranium

    Is this the sign you want to see as you cross into Utah?  I don’t, HEAL Utah doesn’t, and apparently neither does Congressman Jim Matheson (D-UT). Congressman Matheson has repeatedly issued calls for the NRC to justify its inane decision to categorize depleted uranium as “Class-A” waste, thereby allowing its disposal [...]
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    Posted: July 28, 2009, 3:37pm EDT
    by admin

  • SL County GOP: Highlighting the Problem

    This is an excerpt from a press release issued by the Salt Lake County GOP regarding a planned canvassing event beginning July 30, 2009: “To win in 2010 we must identify Republicans who are motivated to vote Republican.  We don’t have time to convince people who aren’t with us, we are [...]
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    Posted: July 28, 2009, 8:04am EDT
    by admin

  • Is Old Man Brigham Rolling In His Grave?

    Today is July 24, Pioneer Day in Utah.  A day celebrated as the day Brigham Young led a rugged band of Mormon pioneers across the Rocky Mountains to find a home in the Salt Lake valley.  As we (in Utah) celebrate this day, I think that it is important to [...]
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    Posted: July 24, 2009, 12:03pm EDT
    by admin

  • Obstructionist Orrin Is At It Again…

    Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is at it again, this time walking out of Senate negotiations on health care reform.  According to Hatch, he could not continue to participate in the negotiations under false pretenses.  If that is the case, why does this man continue to call himself a United States Senator? There [...]
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    Posted: July 23, 2009, 8:02am EDT
    by admin

  • The Value of Service

    As the “Summer of Service” progresses onward, I thought it only appropriate that I take a moment to comment on what volunteerism really means.  Being a volunteer is about more than planting a tree, delivering a book, or serving dinner at a homeless shelter.  The value of what volunteers do [...]
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    Posted: July 22, 2009, 12:29pm EDT
    by admin

  • Setting A New Standard in Political Cowardice

    “At times DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) management has used its exemption from the rules powers and its discretion to bypass certain regulatory procedures in order to help facilitate the needs of industry. Examples of these exemptions include the conditional permit itself, allowing private ownership of a radioactive waste site, [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2009, 11:32am EDT
    by admin

  • Redneck Dichotomy!

    I got this story from Alternet.org today and just couldn’t resist commenting. Now, apart from the obvious issues such as waiting periods, registration of said weapon, and requisite background checks (do they do that in Missouri?) I am caught with one big issue.  The dealership’s slogan is “God, guns, guts and [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 2:23pm EDT
    by admin

  • Only One Thing To Talk About Today…

    Unfortunately, I’m not old enough to remember the historic moonwalk of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, but I am old enough to remember when the space program really meant something to America.  I remember sitting in classrooms and having TV’s rolled in so we could watch the early Space Shuttle [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 7:14am EDT
    by admin

  • Ridiculous Misuse of Government Funds

    We’ve got two winners in the ridiculous misuse of government funds category for today.  The first goes out to the Social Security Administration for spending nearly $700,000 to put together a regional conference for employees in Phoenix, AZ.  Some schmuck at SSA attempted to justify the conference and the expense [...]
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    Posted: July 17, 2009, 8:58am EDT
    by admin

  • The Fall of A Human Rights Champion

    Yesterday afternoon (July 15th) the body of Chechan human rights activist Natalya Estemirova was found in the woods of Ingushetia, shot twice in the head.  Estemirova was reportedly abducted by four men outside her home in Grozny earlier that morning. This quote was taken from the ABC News report of the [...]
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    Posted: July 16, 2009, 9:07am EDT
    by admin

  • Unbelievable Lying Bastards!

    The Utah Radiation Control Board hearing on depleted uranium is today.  CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS. EnergySolutions, the environmental rape corporation, has already been making their position clear on this topic, and will undoubtedly be present to further that position at the RCB today.  In an interview with Fox13 News (Salt Lake [...]
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    Posted: July 14, 2009, 2:05pm EDT
    by admin

  • Please Explain This To Me

    As I exit Interstate 80 and drive into Tooele on my way home every day I see this large billboard featuring a kid picking his nose.  The organization that sponsors the billboard is the Tooele County Project To Reduce Alcohol Abuse, which operates throughout the Junior High and High Schools [...]
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    Posted: July 14, 2009, 8:09am EDT
    by admin

  • Pay Attention To Your Environment!

    Tomorrow, Tuesday July 14th, 2009 at 3:00 pm. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILED INFORMATION Utah’s Radiation Control Board will be conducting a hearing regarding the disposal of depleted uranium at the EnergySolutions facility in Tooele County. This is what civic involvement is all about people, this is your chance to express your views and [...]
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    Posted: July 13, 2009, 5:43pm EDT
    by admin
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