News Highlights

SLC Councilman Carlton Christensen, a Republican, joins incumbent Sen. Fred Fife and challenger Luz Robles, both Democrats, in the race for Senate District 1 (Deseret Morning News and Salt Lake Tribune).

Republican Bill Dew will challenge Congressman Jim Matheson (Morning News). Democrat Bob Springmeyer will challenge Gov. Jon Huntsman (Tribune).

Quote of the Day
“ …when a report this glowing comes along from a prestigious national organization, those who have been elected to govern, and who we often criticize, deserve a pat-on-the-back for the job they are doing.”

-- KSL TV/Radio editorial, congratulating Utah leaders on the occasion of Utah being named the nation’s best managed state.

Happy Talk

There’s plenty of bad economic news out there, but Utah economist Jeff Thredgold’s Tea Leaf economic update says there’s also good news. He presents his semi-annual update of “Happy Talk.” Some excerpts:

-- U.S. exports to the world of goods and services are at record levels

-- A year-end 2007 Gallup Poll noted that “more than 8 in 10 Americans say they are satisfied with their personal lives at this time, including a solid majority who say they are ‘very satisfied.’”

-- During the early 1960s, the five-year survival rate from cancer for Americans was one in three. Today it is two in three…continuing to climb…and the highest in the world

-- For every dollar of U.S. economic output generated today, we burn less than half as much oil as 30 years ago

-- Today’s moms and dads, whether working or at home, are spending four to six hours more per week with their kids than did the previous generation

-- Alcohol-related traffic fatalities in the most recently reported year dropped by more than half versus 20 years ago

-- The nation’s jobless rate averaged 4.6% in both 2006 and 2007, the lowest average in six years, and lower than average rates in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s

Hinckley Forum: Redistricting Reform
The University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics will host a forum titled "Redistricting: Has the Time for Reform Arrived?" on Thursday at 10:45 a.m. SL Co. Councilman Joe Hatch, Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, and Utah House of Representatives Chief of Staff Chris Bleak will participate. Tim Chambless will moderate.

Washington Watch
Hatch: Dems Would Europeanize Economy
In an op-ed, Sen. Orrin Hatch says the Democrats' campaign trail rhetoric of "change" is just code for the Europeanization of the American economy (Investor's Business Daily).

Cannon Blasts Lawsuit
Rep. Chris Cannon says of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision to file a federal lawsuit to force former White House officials Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers to testify on the 2006 U.S. attorneys firings: "I have said it before and I will say it again: We have spent millions of dollars on lawyers, poured over thousands of pages of documents, and listened to dozens of witnesses and uncovered nothing that would warrant this extreme political maneuvering. I hoped this would eventually sink in but instead it is creating an environment whereby the Majority wants to subpoena anything and everything. Last week, they attempted to subpoena former Attorney General Ashcroft on an issue wholly unrelated to his tenure as AG. This week they are threatening to subpoena former Utah Governor and current HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt. All this frivolous activity will simply harm our ability to conduct legitimate oversight and deal with the issues America is calling out for" (see press release and related FOX News story.)

Today in Political History
Mar. 11, 1965: A white minister from Boston, the Rev. James J. Reeb, dies after whites beat him during civil rights disturbances n Selma, Ala. (Source: NBC5)

Mar. 11, 1941: Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act, allowing an initial aid package worth roughly $7 billion for Great Britain for WWII. Although the U.S. soon ended its neutral stance and entered the war, the Lend-Lease program kept pumping until 1946. In all, the U.S. funneled $50.6 billion in Lend-Lease aid to the Allies during the war, mostly to Britain and the U.S.S.R. (source: Friends of Business)

Wise Words
“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt (Quotations Page)

Communications Tip
Just Listen to Yourself
What can you do to increase audience involvement in meetings? Maybe the audience isn’t the problem. Maybe it's you. In particular, maybe it's the way you communicate. Ralph Stayer, CEO and owner of Johnsonville Foods, a sausage manufacturer in Kohler, Wis., discovered the truth when he was trying to encourage employees to take more initiative. Traditional tactics weren't working, so Stayer put simple technology to work. He literally listened to himself talk.

Stayer started to record his staff meetings. When, later, he reviewed the tapes, Stayer was surprised to hear himself distinctly stifling employee participation. For example, as soon as an idea was opened for discussion, Stayer himself would jump in with, "What do you think? Here's what I think." Painful as it was to play back his own words, Stayer says the tape helped him understand and change his management style. And employees are now more comfortable voicing their opinions. (Source: Inc.com)

National Politics
Best Stories From . . .
-- Politico: Barack Obama responds with scorn to Hillary Clinton's suggestion that he could be her V.P.

-- Wall Street Journal: Obama "is favored to win [Tuesday's] Mississippi primary, where more than one third of the state's electorate is African-American. The primary is also open to Republicans and independents, who have favored Sen. Obama but who polls show may favor Sen. Clinton in the state."

-- The Hill: Clinton "has long been at war with the Republican National Committee (RNC). But the two adversaries have recently found some common ground: attacking [Obama]. Clinton has launched assaults on Obama made by the RNC over the past year, while the Republican Party has used lines of attack developed by Clinton to soften Obama for a possible general election contest match-up against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

-- New York Times: "Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who gained national prominence relentlessly pursuing Wall Street wrongdoing, has been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a law enforcement official and a person briefed on the investigation. ... Mr. Spitzer, a first term Democrat, [Monday] made a brief public appearance during which he apologized for his behavior, and described it as a 'private matter.' He did not address his political future."

Blog Watch
-- Paul Rolly reports: "One of the first people to file as a challenger for the Utah Legislature this year is a woman who has more experience in the House of Representaitives than than any sitting lawmaker. Carol Peterson, who was the first woman appointed chief clerk of the House and had more than 30 years experience on the House staff, filed Friday as a Democrat to run against Rep. Kevin Garn, R-Layton, in House District 16. Peterson served as chief clerk until about three years ago, when Speaker Greg Curtis replaced her. Her previously strong relationship with House leadership suffered in 2004 when she was a strong supporter of former Speaker Nolan Karras in the Republican gubernatorial race. One of the other candidates for governor that year was Marty Stephens, who at the time was the sitting House speaker and Curtis was his majority leader. Peterson says she is running as a Democrat because the dominant Republican majority in the House has lost touch with the interests and wishes of the people. She cites vouchers as a prime example of that and notes that Garn voted for vouchers while the legislative district he represents voted against it in last fall's referendum election."

-- At MojoBlog, Stephanie Mencimer says Rep. Chris Cannon's treatment of a car-scam victim at a recent congressional hearing "ought to give Utah residents pause when they go to the polls in November." (Hat Tip: Glen Warchol.)

Lighter Side
“I’m not a vegetarian because I love animals. I’m a vegetarian because I hate plants.”
-- A. Whitney Brown (Reader’s Digest)

Elected Officials Birthday List

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