Musings of a Patriot

Category: State

  • Editing for BNN/Utah

    I have been given the opportunity to function at the editor for BlogNetNews/Utah. That is not likely to produce visible changes to the site because the purpose of BNN is to remain neutral while providing an image of what’s happening in the various corners of the blogosphere. Functionally, it means that when people want to…

  • An Informed View of Congestion-Pricing

    I always like to see when someone with lots more information and better credentials than me comes to the same conclusion on an issue that I have come to. In this case it is Michael R. Brown stating that Congestion-pricing positives outweigh negatives. Mr. Brown is a Certified Transportation Planner and he has been participating…

  • Self-Policing Lobbyists

    Often lost in discussions about ethics legislation and lobbyist influence is the fact that there is a legitimate value that lobbyists can bring to the legislative process. I’m in favor of making solid rules of ethics for legislators and lobbyists without removing lobbyists altogether. With that perspective, I really enjoyed this Deseret News story about…

  • Performance Pay – Round 1

    The Legislature approved funds and loose guidelines for merit pay for teachers earlier this year. I really like the first news I have heard about the issue since then: Each district and charter school that wanted money had to come up with its own plan following broad guidelines lawmakers set earlier this year. . .…

  • Congestion Tolls

    The Deseret News is recommending congestion tolls to help pay for our transportation needs. I have previously stated my generic approval of tolling while recognizing that there are issues of fairness to be addressed. (Toll roads on the west side, but not the east side is not fair.) One comment on the editorial suggested a…

  • The Rule of Law or the Rule of Fear

    I really liked this challenge from Obi wan Liberali related to the current FISA revision bill. So to my Republican friends, I lay the challenge before you. If you support the FISA bill going before the Senate, justify and defend that support. If you oppose the bill, speak up to your Republican U.S. Senators Orrin…

  • Depressing News

    Despite what some people may think, my outlook on life is not based on how politically active my fellow citizens are. If it was, this report from the Deseret News would have made today really lousy. Utah now has the nation’s worst voting participation rates. We should have participation closer to 65% like Minnesota rather…

  • A Fresh Face in Congress

    I really don’t mind so much if the voters in Utah always choose Republicans to represent them in Congress so long as they replace at least one incumbent on a regular basis (I’d say at least one new face every other election cycle). For that reason, if for no other, I was happy to hear…

  • Republican Primary – State Treasurer

    Today I am hoping that Republican primary voters show that they can see through party connections to select a candidate who might actually be qualified for the office of State Treasurer by selecting Richard Ellis to represent the party on the November ballot. There are other races where I have a preference, but no others…

  • The Way Things Work

    I should not be surprised that the Hatch re-election committee is among biggest donors to other Republican campaigns. The only consolation is that very little of that $200,000 he donated for candidates outside of Utah came from donors inside of Utah. Hatch gets his money mostly from special interests outside the state. He casts his…