August 13, 2026

Does the public really care about HB477?

Does the public really care about HB477 ? It’s a fair question. Because while the media is stirring a tempest, without public support, it will never get outside of the teapot. When the bill changing Utah’s decades old GRAMA law was proposed in the closing days of the Utah Legislative session, the press went crazy. […]

Have you read “Comeback America” by David Walker?

America is a great country–the greatest, as far as Americans are concerned. But its future is threatened, and we same Americans are the threat. I am talking about our nation’s deteriorating financial condition, perpetrated by all of us, and especially by the government that represents us. It is easy to ignore this national decline. Even in these […]

Why the federal budget is like a road trip…at 174 miles per hour.

I had lunch with a fascinating guy today: Matthias Shapiro, or @politicalmath if you’re on Twitter. Matthias has done a few amazing visualizations on YouTube to demonstrate the realities of America’s budgetary problems. He explained to me that he got started when he heard President Obama offer, early in his term, to cut $100 billion […]

Utah Legislature Watch: The HB477 Working Group is Up

With House Republicans calling for repeal and the Governor saying the same, the Utah Senate announced the working group on House Bill 477 this afternoon. They will meet for the first time this Wednesday at 9 AM. A website to keep the public updated is planned for GRAMArevisited.com (or HB477.com). Check back there later for more […]

When is $100 billion not enough?

When it’s non-security discretionary spending cuts from the budget. That’s when. Then it’s just not solving the problem. It’s pandering for the press and for constituents. The problem, and all the talk Washington, is the deficit and getting it back to a manageable level.  Republicans in an effort to keep campaign promises and reduce the deficit, are […]

Victim 1, Bully 0

Common sense revolts against the machine in a post entitled:” If Tomorrow I Tell The Press That, Like, A Fat Kid Will Get Humiliated, Or A Nerd Will Be Slapped, Nobody Panics, Because It’s All “Part Of The Plan.” But When I Say That One Little Bully Will Get His Ankle Broken, Well Then Everyone Loses […]

When the LDS Church shows up for a press conference, does it jeopardize tax exempt status?

I’m expecting an Utah paper editorial separation of church and state any day now. I’d bet dollars for donuts that it’ll be in the Salt Lake Tribune, too. The Deseret News just doesn’t roll that way. Yesterday, the LDS Church openly supported Governor Herbert’s signing of HB 116 by sending Presiding Bishop H. David Burton to […]