Jeremy's Jeremiad

• Democrats And Their Tax Bills

  Geez!  Do any Democrats actually pay their taxes? [...]
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  Posted: January 31, 2009, 5:51am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Davis County Commissioners Extend Middle Finger Toward Taxpayers

  Just a couple of years ago the Davis County Commission argued that they needed a $1.9 million tax increase in order to pay for important infrastructure improvements and senior health care services. Today the new commission is planning on spending almost exactly the amount of the tax increase for a new [...]
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  Posted: January 08, 2009, 8:27am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Vacation Planning Bleg: SoCal

  Number of comments: 8
  Sometime in the next few months the Mannings will be spending a week in Southern California.  I’m very excited for this vacation.  I love California and I love Disneyland (we’ll probably do 2 or 3 of our 7 days there). I’m publicly asking everyone for some ideas of other cool non-amusment [...]
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  Posted: January 06, 2009, 7:10am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Paul Mero On Prohibition

  Number of comments: 8
  An interesting discussion about Utah’s alcohol laws is taking place at Sen.-Elect Urquhart’s blog.  The primary participants are Urquhart and Paul Mero.  I hope they keep it public because it really is very interesting. In a diatribe on the importance of government controlling certain aspects of citizens behavior (with prohibition of [...]
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  Posted: January 02, 2009, 7:23am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Sen. Waddoups: “Common-sense Alcohol Laws Are For Chumps!”

  Jon Huntsman has been working to ease some of Utah’s sillier alcohol regulations and laws.  He rightly thinks that our private club rules for buying a drink in a bar are dumb.  The Utah Hospitality Association agrees.  It is time for some normalcy in Utah’s liquor laws. With little evidence to [...]
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  Posted: December 30, 2008, 7:08am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Rep. Allen’s Time-Wasting Message Bill

  Number of comments: 1
  Rep. Allen hates the idea that Utahns might be gambling from home over the internet.  In an effort to combat this abominable and already illegal practice she has proposed a message bill, House Joint Resolution 1, which calls for gambling to remain an issue that states can regulate, ban, or profit [...]
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  Posted: December 29, 2008, 7:06am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• In Defense Of Sen. Buttars

  Number of comments: 6
  Senator Buttars is a super genius. After his relatively easy election win he wanted to remind everyone that he owns Utah and can define us at will with any crazy cause he decides to take up.  Many of us who think Sen. Buttars efforts are foolish and wasteful think that when [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2008, 9:38am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• “…There’s Always One…”

  Number of comments: 3
  Monty Python have their own YouTube channel now.  Its about time. [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2008, 5:28pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Our Crooked Legislature Taken To Task

  Number of comments: 9
  The blog Utah Education Issues written by “UtahTeacher” is quickly becoming my favorite local blog. Check out this great post about how HB 35 became the law of the land and how it was changed for the worse through every step of the process.  I was especially interested in the description [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2008, 9:29am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Maybe I Was Wrong To Endorse J. Dell Holbrook

  Number of comments: 1
  …despite the fact that I disagree with him vigorously on the topic of acquisition value assessment.  [Please See Update Below] Apparently J. Dell Holbrook has bought into the idea that property taxes should be based on when you bought your home for rather than what its fair market value is. That is [...]
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  Posted: October 22, 2008, 2:30pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• My Endorsements and Likely Votes This Election

  Number of comments: 8
  President of the U.S.A.: Bob Barr–Yeah…he’s not a great candidate but he’s also not a pandering git like both McCain and Obama.  I’d feel much safer having Bob Barr in charge of the executive branch than I will when one of those other jokers wins the election. U.S. Representative: Rob Bishop — I [...]
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  Posted: October 15, 2008, 5:01pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• October Surprise: Allegations Against Rep. Hughes

  Number of comments: 2
  This KSL story alleges that Rep. Greg Hughes (R-Draper) attempted to bribe a fellow legislator with campaign contributions from pro-voucher groups. There is a difference between a direct offer of cash in exchange for a certain vote and a suggestion that a legislator would be more likely to receive donations from [...]
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  Posted: October 01, 2008, 12:16am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• American Politics Summed Up In One Image

  Number of comments: 3
  Image by Graham Roumieu H/T Boing Boing [...]
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  Posted: September 30, 2008, 1:54pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Ever Heard Of The Posse Comitatus Act?

  Number of comments: 9
  Read up on the Posse Comitatus Act here then read this article in the Army Times. Our country has a professional full time military whose purpose it is to kill bad guys who threaten our nation from the outside.  We have local law enforcement who are responsible for protecting citizens within [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2008, 11:41pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• “John McCain is a demagogic lunatic”*

  Number of comments: 3
  George Will explains: Channeling his inner Queen of Hearts, John McCain furiously, and apparently without even looking around at facts, said Chris Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, should be decapitated. This childish reflex provoked the Wall Street Journal to editorialize that “McCain untethered” — disconnected from knowledge and [...]
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  Posted: September 23, 2008, 9:19am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Orem’s Yard Police At It Again?

  Last time they were arresting old ladies for not watering the lawn.  Now the Orem City Police are after some gardener who is growing a single castor bean plant. A startled homeowner got a visit from Orem Police Tuesday afternoon. They were interested in a plant that he was growing by [...]
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  Posted: September 12, 2008, 11:57pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• She’s Been Teaching Kindergarten For 50 Years!

  Number of comments: 1
  Congratulations to Mrs. Moon, my kindergarten teacher 30 years ago at Burton Elementary. You’ve been such an awesome teacher to so many students for so many years! Thank you! [...]
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  Posted: September 09, 2008, 2:22pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Sarah Palin

  Number of comments: 10
  By far the best analysis of the current status of this years presidential election and Sarah Palin’s place in it comes from this comment at Irrational Optimism left by Utah Amicus‘ CraigJ: Thanks for the interesting post. No doubt she will be very popular with the moral-majority types. Her Coulteresque framing of [...]
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  Posted: September 04, 2008, 1:26pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• The 2008 Republican Presidential Ticket

  Number of comments: 2
  Blatantly stolen from Too Much Nick via Dynamist. [...]
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  Posted: September 02, 2008, 12:47pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Libertarianism: What It Is And What It Isn’t

  Number of comments: 10
  The One Utah blog has become regular reading for me since Paul Mero from The Sutherland Institute has become a contributer.  The outrage he generates from the leftists is entertaining and the discussions he is involved in there are nearly always very informative. While reading through comments on this post [...]
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  Posted: August 07, 2008, 9:08am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Orson Scott Card on Mitt Romney as a VP Candidate

  Number of comments: 4
  I thought this post by the popular Mormon science fiction author was interesting.  He’s probably right. You have a lot of people pushing for you to choose Mitt Romney as your running mate. Don’t do it. He brings nothing but negatives to a McCain ticket. People are telling you that you need to [...]
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  Posted: July 25, 2008, 8:50am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Real Estate Assessment Notices Are Coming!

  Number of comments: 6
  Property owners in Utah (well…Davis County at least) should be receiving real property assessment notices this weekend.  Take a look at yours to see if it is correct.  If your assessment is even a little bit off I recommend appealing.  I’ve seen mine already and plan on sending the appeal form in as [...]
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  Posted: July 23, 2008, 4:59pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Congress Wipes Its Collective Butt With The Constitution

  Number of comments: 1
  Other bloggers have done a far better job than I could in breaking this travesty down.  I happily refer you to them for the details. [...]
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  Posted: July 10, 2008, 9:14am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Pettiness

  Number of comments: 8
  I’ve got no soft spot for Utah’s Republican machine but the piling on of Mark Walker seems way too petty to me. There is some talk that pursuing Walker will bring other legislative unethical behavior into the light but it really seems to me that Utah’s Democrats and their allies are [...]
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  Posted: June 27, 2008, 9:35am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• The Pregnant Teenage Girl Club

  Number of comments: 6
  Paul Mero posted on Utah Amicus about a gaggle of high school girls (all under 16) in the depressed Massachusetts town of Gloucester who decided it would be cool if they all got pregnant at roughly the same time. My favorite take on the whole issue comes from Rachel Lucas.  If [...]
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  Posted: June 20, 2008, 3:36pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Utah In 2008 Is Shortchanging Public Education Compared To Utah In 1991

  Number of comments: 9
  The Utah Foundation released a study today on historical trends in taxation and spending in Utah.  They included this graph on education spending.  I really didn’t know that education funding had been in such a decline relative to our state’s economy or the rest of our state’s government spending over the decades [...]
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  Posted: June 18, 2008, 4:26pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Another Videogame Based Movie

  Number of comments: 1
  This one has made its rounds before but I saw it for the first time yesterday and loved it. H/T Agitator [...]
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  Posted: June 12, 2008, 8:14pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• A Utah Property Tax Primer

  Number of comments: 1
  Major Kudos to Obi Won Liberali for his excellent post on property tax issues in Utah. In his comments section he wrote that he’s “taking a swim in Jeremy’s pond” by posting on the issue. Wrong. His post is a far better analysis than I’d be able to come up [...]
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  Posted: June 11, 2008, 8:39pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Why Can?t McCain Really Be This Cool?

  Number of comments: 2
  McCain Vows To Replace Secret Service With His Own Bare FistsThe “War For The White House” promo they have before all of the election 2008 stories over at ONN is outstanding. [...]
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  Posted: May 30, 2008, 11:16pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Real Conservatives Chime In On Immigration Solutions

  Number of comments: 2
  More and more often I find myself agreeing with the The Sutherland Institute and their policy positions.  This new essay takes me even further down that road.   Kudos to these authentic conservatives for a stance on immigration that actually makes sense.  It is so refreshing to see self proclaimed conservatives move beyond [...]
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  Posted: May 06, 2008, 9:38am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Bad Things Happen To Good People

  Number of comments: 7
  I’ve been away from blogging for the past week or so because my dad had a stroke last Tuesday.  I was on my way to the Sutherland Institute for their environmental forum when I got a call that an ambulance had left my parent’s house.   My dad is doing much better this [...]
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  Posted: April 29, 2008, 3:14pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Persecution or Prosecution of the Polygamists?

  Number of comments: 10
  It isn’t often that I can say Bob Lonsberry is exactly correct about something. This article is one of those few cases. UPDATE 04/18/2008 11:03AM:  Guy Murray at Messenger and Advocate has an even better rundown on the weakness of Texas’ case after the first day of hearings.  H/T Alienated Wannabe [...]
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  Posted: April 17, 2008, 9:44am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• The Monty Hall Problem

  Number of comments: 2
  Unless you already know what the Monty Hall Problem is or are just a freaky genius who never falls victim to logical errors you should read this article and then be a little more humble about your assumptions from now on. I know I will. The Monty Hall Problem is excellently [...]
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  Posted: April 08, 2008, 9:04pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• We Need Real Immigration Reform

  Number of comments: 5
  Glen Warchol has a description of our heroic immigration system in action.  We need real immigration reform and I’m not talking about a bigger fence at the borders.  We need a system that allows non-criminals into our country to work or recreate as they wish.  If they want to be citizens [...]
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  Posted: April 08, 2008, 8:48am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• All The Candidates Are Incompetent

  Number of comments: 8
  Scott Adams on our current batch of presidential candidates: According to Time, ethanol is very bad economics and disastrous for the environment. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1725975,00.html? The major candidates for President of the United States all support ethanol. If Time has correctly reported the consensus of expert opinions on ethanol, it seems to me that any [...]
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  Posted: April 01, 2008, 11:00am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• The Mannings Are Getting A Handgun

  Number of comments: 7
  Lisa and I are complete noobs when it comes to shooting and purchasing handguns. We’ll be taking a class this week that includes some range time and use of several different handguns. Hopefully that should get us off to a good start. If any readers have good advice on purchasing [...]
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  Posted: April 01, 2008, 8:11am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Because I�m So Tired Of Politics�

  I liked this post by Mick Stockinger at Uncorrelated today.  His politics are pretty loony (but often articulated well).  His social commentary is nearly always right on and very fun to read. I enjoyed the post but at the same time remembered how very glad I am not to have to [...]
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  Posted: April 01, 2008, 11:37pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Disjointed Thoughts About My First Neighborhood Caucus

  Number of comments: 7
  I had never been to a precinct caucus meeting before tonight. The meetings for Democrats and Republicans in district 16 were held at Northridge High School in Layton. The Democrats had about 20 people in our meeting while the Republicans probably had 8 to 10 times that number and had [...]
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  Posted: March 26, 2008, 11:06pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Some Blog Love

  Number of comments: 10
  My favorite economist blogger is sending some much deserved praise to my favorite overall blogger. I completely agree with her…Radley Balko’s blog really is probably the most valuable one out there right now. His efforts to catalogue injustices perpetrated by those responsible for maintaining our safety and security are invaluable. It [...]
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  Posted: March 18, 2008, 8:46am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Props to Sutherland

  Number of comments: 2
  Hey…when they’re right they’re right. H/T VOU and KVNU’s For The People [...]
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  Posted: March 13, 2008, 9:15am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Shurtleff: Remember, Even Harmless Fun Is Illegal In Utah

  Number of comments: 8
  Because there apparently aren’t enough real criminals to pursue in Utah, Attorney General Shurtleff wants everyone to remember that he’s looking to�fine people who�bet on�March Madness brackets this year. Utah:� The state where it will always be illegal to be an adult.� � UPDATE 03/11/2008� 11:07:� I like VOU’s proposed solution to [...]
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  Posted: March 11, 2008, 7:31am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Did Utah�s Legislature Ignore the Constitution?

  Number of comments: 6
  Tom made an interesting comment on this post about SB2�(the education omnibus bill)�that I’ve been thinking about for a couple of days. I think he’s probably right. This omnibus bill may be unconstitutional under the Utah Constitution. (See Article VI, Section 22) One argument in favor of calling it constitutional would be [...]
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  Posted: March 11, 2008, 6:31am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Montana Has A Cool Governor

  Number of comments: 8
  Here is an interview Brian Schweitzer (Democratic governor of Montana) recently had with NPR. It is very short and sweet and forceful explanation of the foolishness that is “Real Id”.� Give the interview a listen then try to imagine Gov. Huntsman being that cool. Pretty hard eh? It would sure be [...]
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  Posted: March 08, 2008, 10:55pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Utah�s Tax Increase

  Number of comments: 10
  Bob is right again�(no surprise).� This wasn’t a tax shift…it was a tax increase used to give subsidies to Utah’s business interests.� I’ve been self employed and may do it again in the near future.� I’d love to get help with health insurance costs but not on the backs of my [...]
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  Posted: March 05, 2008, 9:04am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• An Omnibus Bill:Legislators Take �Easy� Way Out On Education

  Number of comments: 5
  UtahTeacher has done a great job breaking down the political hack job our legislature is doing to public education through use of an omnibus bill containing many pieces of legislation that likely couldn’t pass if voted on individually.��Republicans�stuck these ugly measures together with all the positive legislation�the public education system [...]
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  Posted: March 04, 2008, 9:00am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Time For A Happy Post

  Ugh…when the legislature is in session it is sometimes difficult to do a happy post. I don’t think I can beat this one tonight so I’m not even going to try. Thank you Mark at BCC. That was my favorite read of the week. UPDATE 03/02/08 9:41 PM:�� Jason picked up on the [...]
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  Posted: February 29, 2008, 9:04pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Utah�s Property Tax System: Its Not Broken But Could Be Improved

  Number of comments: 2
  Full Personal Disclosure: I am currently employed by the Davis County Assessor Office as a Certified Residential Appraiser. This blog post represents my own opinion only. KVNU’s For The People blog posted the entirety of an article by the Utah Foundation explaining Utah’s property tax system and how it works. Utah’s “Truth [...]
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  Posted: February 27, 2008, 10:44pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• SB260 Rightfully Dead

  Sen. Buttars came out against his own bill (mentioned a couple times on this site) because it would make an incredibly dumb law.� I’d love to know where the change of heart is coming from.� It is possible that he truly didn’t understand its implications when he sponsored and has now [...]
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  Posted: February 25, 2008, 1:57pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• I�ve Got The Flu�I�m Leaching Off The Rest of You Instead Of Providing Original Content

  Number of comments: 5
  Yeah…I’ve got it and its nasty. I haven’t been around everyone’s favorite militant progressive at all lately but his symptoms sound like what I’ve got. It stinks. Since I’m tired and miserable I’m only going to link to other people today and call that fulfilling my blogging responsibilities: Bob Rules. Sign the [...]
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  Posted: February 21, 2008, 6:50pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Problems With British Socialized Healthcare

  Lipstick on a pig indeed.� [...]
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  Posted: February 21, 2008, 8:41am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• The �GOTCHA!� Moment Backfires

  Number of comments: 6
  The NAACP and others who are opposed to Sen. Buttars agenda have so focused on trying to take advantage of the Senator’s stupid comments that they’ve turned him into a hero for Utahns who are sick of having to worry all the time about political correctness and multi-cultural hyper-sensitivity. If Sen. [...]
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  Posted: February 20, 2008, 12:02am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• The Utah Amicus

  I won’t be posting much here over the next few days.� I’ll be doing my small part to help out at Utah Amicus while Rob Miller is gone.� He’s spending time away from blogging fulfilling his responsibilities as Utah Democratic Party Vice Chair.��I’ll try to provide links on this site�to all [...]
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  Posted: February 19, 2008, 8:50am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Becker and Buttars Sitting In A Tree�

  Number of comments: 2
  Mayor Becker thinks Sen. Buttar’s bill to make police misconduct confidential is a great idea.� Apparantly Salt Lake County already has this policy for their police officers and Becker’s SL City officers want the same deal.� Becker is every bit as wrong to support this as Sen. Buttars.� Police who don’t answer [...]
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  Posted: February 14, 2008, 2:18pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• I�m Skeptical�But Have High Hopes

  Number of comments: 2
  The new Star Wars movies kind of ruined the whole franchise for me (either that or I’m just older now).� This has me so excited I almost cried when I saw it.� Here’s hoping�May 22nd�won’t be a let down.� [...]
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  Posted: February 14, 2008, 9:40am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• �GOTCHA!�

  Number of comments: 7
  I’m willing to take Sen. Buttars at his word that his comments yesterday weren’t intended as a racial slur.� They sure sounded bad and don’t contribute to helping the image of Utahns as being�a tolerant�people who can accept�others who are different.��Even so�I think it was a case of someone talking [...]
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  Posted: February 13, 2008, 9:16am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• My Dentist Is Part Of The Solution

  I saw my dentist on TV this morning offering free dental work for people who can’t afford to pay for it.� We need more people like him who are willing to actually do something on their own to solve the problems our society faces instead of turning to government for [...]
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  Posted: February 13, 2008, 8:47am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Are Many Utahns Basically Racist?

  I just started reading the comments on this KSL story about the House voting down driving privilege cards for illegal immigrants. I was a little shocked at how many people think taking these permits away is a good idea. None of the first dozen or so comments that I’ve read so [...]
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  Posted: February 11, 2008, 4:37pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Buttars Seeks To Hide Police Misconduct

  Number of comments: 2
  Why�would Sen. Buttars�propose a bill that would make police officer misconduct confidential? I’d love to give the guy the benefit of the doubt every once in a while but when he pulls moves as obviously stupid and bad for Utah as this…its hard.�� Here is the text of SB260 Our police are [...]
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  Posted: February 11, 2008, 10:19am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Restaurants Forced To Turn Away The Fatties?

  Number of comments: 2
  A Mississippi legislator proposed a message bill he knew would fail in an effort to “shed a little light on the number one problem in Mississippi.”� His bill would require that restaurants turn away the obese rather than serve them.� Right now�bills�like this are just used to raise awareness.� When taxpayers [...]
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  Posted: February 06, 2008, 11:10am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Battered Elephant Syndrome

  Number of comments: 8
  Last night�was�a wake-up call for economically conservative Republicans.� They are but a small minority of their own party and their party has little reason to respect them.� Nearly 90% of Utah’s Republican voters�voted for Mitt Romney.� While many likely cast a ballot for Romney because he is LDS those who supported [...]
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  Posted: February 06, 2008, 9:58am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• UTOPIA: Creating True Free Market Competition In Communications

  Number of comments: 6
  I’m usually pretty open to admitting I’m wrong about things I’ve written on this site. I was a big booster of the Iraq invasion when it started and eventually, after being smacked down by Ed and a couple others who left comments, I came to see what a huge mistake [...]
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  Posted: February 05, 2008, 6:05am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• House Republicans: Punishing Immigrants Trumps Highway Safety

  Number of comments: 5
  Utah law currently allows illegal immigrants to drive legally if they obtain a special�driving permit.� The permit is not allowed to be used as ID it is just a measure meant to ensure that the population most likely to drive without insurance in our state has incentives to get insured [...]
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  Posted: February 01, 2008, 1:32pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• �The debate isn�t security versus privacy. It�s liberty versus control�

  Bruce Schneier is my hero.� If you set up the false dichotomy, of course people will choose security over privacy � especially if you scare them first. But it�s still a false dichotomy. There is no security without privacy. And liberty requires both security and privacy. The famous quote attributed to [...]
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  Posted: January 30, 2008, 10:04am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Thank You President Hinckley

  Number of comments: 3
  Many others have written excellent farewells.� I�ve decided to write about the one time I stood near President Hinckley and locked eyes with him. I had the opportunity to sing in the choir at the dedication of the Bountiful Temple soon after I returned home from my mission. President Hinckley was presiding [...]
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  Posted: January 28, 2008, 10:06am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Socialized Healthcare = Militant Social Engineering

  Number of comments: 1
  Daniel posted this story from the telegraph which discusses a poll of doctors in Britain who believe�medical procedures in their�National Healthcare System�should be withheld from the old or obese.� I’ve stated before that I believe single payer healthcare solutions create a situation where government takes more responsibility than ever�for engineering [...]
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  Posted: January 28, 2008, 9:25am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• The Unintended Consequences of Legislating Morality

  Number of comments: 3
  Pete Ashdown and XMission will be forced to shut down the free wi-fi system XMission has basically donated to�downtown�SLC if Rep Daw’s HB139 is passed.� HB139 introduces civil penalties if a minor is able to access any pronogrphy over public wireless internet.� �We need fewer efforts on the part of legislators [...]
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  Posted: January 25, 2008, 2:01pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Utah�s Campaign Finance System Isn�t Broken

  Number of comments: 1
  I’ve griped about it and I’ve read other people griping about it too but I’ve recently come to the conclusion that�arguments�against Utah’s current campaign finance system are often more flawed than the system itself.� Calls for banning lobbyist gifts or limiting campaign contributions will only result in money being pushed�to [...]
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  Posted: January 22, 2008, 10:56am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• First in Davis County To Vote For Obama!

  Number of comments: 5
  Early voting started today and according to the poll workers I was the first Democrat to vote at the Court House.� I’m just going to assume I’m the first in the whole county.� Go Obama 2008!� �If you think about it my vote was probably the first one cast in Davis [...]
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  Posted: January 22, 2008, 9:52am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Fair Payback For Wrongly Convicted�Kudos To Sen. Bell

  Number of comments: 2
  Sen. Greg Bell is asing for comment on SB16, a bill he has proposed that will provide monetary compensation for innocents who were wrongly convicted but later proven to be�innocent (not the jokers who get out on a technicality).� �This seems like a good idea.� My only concern is that the [...]
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  Posted: January 18, 2008, 9:16am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Our Sneaky Legislators Get One Right

  Number of comments: 10
  Some of the usual sources are whining about successful efforts by legislators to eliminate a proposal to garantee healthcare for all Utahns.� Their complaints about this proposal being killed behind closed doors resonate with me but I’m glad this wrongheaded idea was whacked.� We need to provide help to those [...]
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  Posted: January 17, 2008, 9:20am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• A Sensible �Alcopop� Solution For Sen. Buttars And Utah�s Home Chefs

  Number of comments: 7
  If sweetened beers really do “represent nothing less than an insidious ploy to introduce our kids into the liquor industry and their products” then Sen. Buttars is probably right. They should be sold in liquor stores instead of in grocery stores. I’d be willing to bet that “alcopops” aren’t nearly [...]
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  Posted: January 16, 2008, 8:55pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• The Most Accurate Election Analysis EVER!

  Number of comments: 3
  Of course ONN has the only useful discussion of this years electioneering in both primaries. Thank you ONN! [...]
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  Posted: January 11, 2008, 10:19am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• How Utah�s Legislators Make Money�

  Number of comments: 3
  Is it surprising that Utah’s Republican politicians won’t pass any real ethics reform? Not really. Politicians shouldn’t be reaping such huge financial rewards from entities subject to their legislative efforts. That should be basic common sense. �UPDATE:� 01/15/2008� 3:08PM Tom at For The People did an excellent job summing up most of the [...]
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  Posted: January 08, 2008, 10:29am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Property Tax Fairness And Generational Warfare

  Number of comments: 10
  This post visits a touchy subject but it is important in the days before the legislature begins revising property tax policy that it be discussed. LaVar Christensen has a blog which he recently used to advocate for freezing property taxes for the elderly. The current circuit breaker program which helps [...]
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  Posted: December 27, 2007, 9:57am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Lobbyists: Writing The Laws For Democrats Too

  Number of comments: 3
  Do Lobbyists control the Democrats in Utah too? Unfortunately it looks that way. H/T KNVU’s For The People [...]
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  Posted: December 27, 2007, 8:36am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Gerrymandering

  Number of comments: 10
  This column should be saved by anyone interested in Utah politics. Some of Rolly’s numbers are off (especially the argument that 43% of utahns are likely Democratic voters) but the record of Republican gerrymandering in our state shouldn’t be forgotten. What our Republicans did is a slap in the face [...]
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  Posted: December 24, 2007, 5:15am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Romney Leads In The Important Poll

  Number of comments: 4
  Thank you ONN! [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2007, 3:43pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• The Mormons and Racism

  Number of comments: 10
  Mick Stockinger has an excellent post up today discussing a bit of the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and recent charges against my church of racism. I rarely agree with Mr. Stockinger but his post is very well written and right on target. I encourage [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2007, 3:53pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Mitt Romney: An Excellent Politician

  Number of comments: 7
  Today Mitt Romney took advantage of the foolishness of those in the media who have been trying to make his religion a negative issue he needs to deal with. Truth be told there is nothing Romney could say in a speech that would mollify those who won’t vote for a [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2007, 10:34am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Republicans: Sticking It To Families Of The Disabled

  I think tax cuts are great. I nearly always support them. I don’t support tax cuts when they are implemented at the expense of the most needy in our society. The legislature needs to fix this. [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2007, 9:27pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Standard-Examiner: End Non-Disclosure In Utah�s Real Estate Market

  Number of comments: 4
  Yesterday’s Standard-Examiner editorialized in favor of disclosing all records (sale prices) for real estate transactions in Utah. Utah is currently one of only eight states in the nation that are non-disclosure states. The S-E’s reasoning that county assessors can more fairly determine market values for all properties if disclosure is [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2007, 10:08pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Deseret Morning News Mostly Right On Property Tax Proposals

  Number of comments: 5
  Full Disclosure: I am currently employed by the Davis County Assessor as a Certified Residential Appraiser. This blog post represents my own opinion only. Today’s Deseret Morning News editorial rightly cautions lawmakers considering property tax policy revisions in the upcoming legislative session. Many of the changes proposed by various lawmakers could [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2007, 10:25pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Flex Your Rights: How To Not Get Tasered

  Number of comments: 3
  My favorite 4th amendment activist group has a post on their blog about the recent taser incident which occurred here in Utah. Give it a read. Everyone should know the correct way to deal with police encounters. [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2007, 11:35am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• The Patriot Act

  Number of comments: 6
  Here’s Judge Andrew Napolitano on the unconstitutionality of the Patriot Act: The Patriot Act�s two most principle constitutional errors are an assault on the Fourth Amendment, and on the First… …So FBI agents can write their own search warrant [under the name �national security letters�] with just the permission of their superior, [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2007, 2:11pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• The Most Efficient Ward in the Church

  Number of comments: 1
  Bishop Higgins is running the 3rd Ward with incredible efficiency. If you aren’t sick or ailing, after you hear this, you just might wish you had gout or lupus or something. Sister Culbert has made a number of her award winning spicy radish casseroles that we, as a bishopric, will [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2007, 3:07pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Thank You KSL For Allowing Comments

  Number of comments: 1
  Today KSL posted a story on their website about a recent study (I can only assume it was commissioned by our legislature) showing that our lawmakers need a raise. Here is the first comment by a reader named “boojum” on that story: Let’s set up a voucher program to help people [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2007, 9:31am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Moving Ahead For Schools

  Number of comments: 1
  Its been a while since I could say that I completely agree with the Republicans but… Amen and amen. [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2007, 8:04am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• Vouchers Are Dead. Are Our Schools Any Better?

  Number of comments: 9
  I stopped actively participating in the voucher debate quite a while before the election. I just hated the idea of arguing for the status quo when it clearly isn’t that much better than the flawed laws our legislators gave us in the forms of HB148 and HB172. Truth be told [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2007, 12:14am EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• A Reminder About Being Compassionate

  Number of comments: 2
  This post by Derek at ‘A Liberal Mormon’ is the best post I’ve read in Utah’s bloghive this year. [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2007, 1:59pm EST
  by Jeremy Manning

• The Mortgage Fraud Solution Our Legislature Doesn�t Want

  Number of comments: 5
  Dave Fletcher put up a couple of great posts today on the topic of mortgage fraud. This is a growing problem in Utah that I have seen happen far more often than it should be happening in our state. The most immediately beneficial solution to problems with mortgage fraud would [...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2007, 4:38pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• For Me The Voucher Discussion Is Over

  Number of comments: 4
  I voted today. You should too! Find out where you can vote early and enjoy the short lines and get an “I Voted!” sticker before all your friends and family. [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2007, 9:48am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• An Example Of Intellectual Honesty In The Bloghive Followed By An Anti-UEA Screed

  Number of comments: 4
  UPDATE 10/20/2007: It looks like David at Pursuit of Liberty has come to much the same conclusion as Paramaphil and I. A vote against Referendum 1 makes more sense than a vote in favor of fiscal irresponsibility and poor implementation of a voucher program. ———- Paramaphil over at Green Jello has had [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2007, 6:39am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Gore�s Award Cheapens The Efforts Of His Co-Winners

  Number of comments: 10
  I don’t think there is enough scientific data available from any source to justify the costs of governmental action to deal with the problem of global warming. The scientists who are working on providing that data might deserve a Nobel Peace Prize but Al Gore sure doesn’t. The idea that [...]
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  Posted: October 12, 2007, 11:01am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Paid To Spam?

  Number of comments: 4
  Against Utah Vouchers seems to have some pretty good evidence that Parents for Choice in Education paid a notorious Utah political spammer to spam for them. Just when you thought they couldn’t sink any lower… Hat Tip: The World According To Me UPDATE 10/07/2007: Jesse did a great job summing up this [...]
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  Posted: October 05, 2007, 4:17pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Vouchers: A New Entitlement Program and Wealth Re-Distribution Scheme

  Number of comments: 4
  Bob Bernick Jr. did a great job in this piece making what I think is the best argument against Referendum 1. The cost of vouchers for students who never would have gone to public schools in the first place will likely far exceed any savings promised by this plan�s supporters. [...]
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  Posted: October 05, 2007, 4:12pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Year-Round School Calendar?

  Number of comments: 5
  Here is a news story that discusses some of the potential benefits and pitfalls of year-round school. On the whole I think implementation of this idea would be a pain in the rear for me and my family but I think I support the idea for my school district because [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2007, 9:46pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Free Campaign Advice For PCE

  Number of comments: 9
  From an email today: Did you hear the new pro-voucher radio ad? …I have heard it two or three times now and have to laugh at it. It paints the NEA as a Nazi liberal Clinton following camp, hoping that we’re all idiots who won’t realize that the NEA is [...]
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  Posted: September 28, 2007, 9:09am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• A Cool New Song

  Enclosure: [download]

  Fingertips is my favorite music blog. If you like free music I highly recommend adding it to your aggregator. One of their songs this week really agreed with me so I figured I’d link to it here. That’s That by Cass McCombs A post with a good song is better than another [...]
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  Posted: September 27, 2007, 8:41am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• No Property Tax Hike Without A Vote

  Number of comments: 2
  I think Niederhauser might be on to something with this idea. Until I hear more specifics on the plan I won’t decide one way or the other but I’m inclined to support the idea of letting voters be the decision makers on tax increases instead of local government leaders. [...]
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  Posted: September 25, 2007, 8:42pm EDT
  by Jeremy Manning

• Utah�s Republican Legislators Stoop To New Lows In Support Of Vouchers

  Read this article. Why do Utahns keep putting clowns like Rep. Clark in office? Hat Tip: The Third Avenue [...]
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  Posted: September 25, 2007, 9:55am EDT
  by Jeremy Manning