Obama, Hillary Seek Co-Vice Presidency,

With Al Gore as President

Beware wild rumors today. Read about the top 100 April Fool’s hoaxes of all time at Museum of Hoaxes. Interesting New York Times story says being the victim of a prank can be healthy, if it’s done properly.

Honor Dr. Dan Jones

It’s not too late to attend a fundraising luncheon honoring Dr. Dan Jones who, for more than 50 years, has played a prominent role in Utah politics as a teacher, pollster, mentor and political guru. Proceeds will fund a leadership scholarship. For more information, click here.

Indian Chambers Visit Utah

World Trade Center Utah has posted its latest Global Utah e-newsletter online. This week's edition features the Zions Bank International Conference, which is slated for May 20. The newsletter also says a delegation of approximately 15 people from India's Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will begin a four-day visit to Utah on May 14. The visit is in direct response to last year's trade mission to India organized by the Governor's Office of Economic Development.

Washington Watch

Hatch: Stop Filibustering Nominees
National Review: Sen. Orrin Hatch pens op-ed urging the Senate Democrats to quit obstructing the nomination and confirmation processes of Pres. Bush's judicial nominees.

Today in Political History

April 1, 1945: American forces invade Okinawa during World War II. (New York Times)

April 1, 1970:  A bill banning advertising tobacco on television and imposing other advertising restraints is signed into law by Pres. Richard Nixon.

April 1, 2001:  Chinese fighter jet forces American EP-3E spy plane to land in China.  (Source:  Perspicuity) 

Wise Words

“Patriotism is as much a virtue as justice, and is as necessary for the support of societies as natural affection is for the support of families.” 

-- Benjamin Rush (Source:  Patriot Post) 

Communications Tip

People Skills Pay the Bills

Witt Communications points out five areas that build the skills necessary to effectively and efficiently communicate:

1. Connecting:  The ability to establish an appropriate relationship with others, to tune into their feelings and moods, to understand their values, perspectives, and opinions, and to show an interest in their cares and concerns.

2.  Listening:  The ability to encourage other people's open and honest communication, to understand what they mean (not just what they say), and to make them feel understood.

3.  Communicating:  The ability to communicate who you are, what you mean, and what you want in a way that wins people's understanding and cooperation.

4.  Speaking: The ability to present yourself and your message to an audience of any size in a way that gains people's attention, interest, and cooperation.

5.  Influencing:  The ability to change people's attitudes and behaviors, to gain their support for your proposals, and to get them to do what you want them to do without manipulation or coercion.  (Source:  Witt Communications) 

National Politics

Best Stories From . . .

-- Wall Street Journal: "Slowly but steadily, a string of Democratic Party figures is taking Barack Obama's side in the presidential nominating race and raising the pressure on Hillary Clinton to give up."

-- Los Angeles Times: Columnist Andrew Gumbel: "At any time other than in the midst of a heated electoral battle, it's hard to imagine that Nancy Pelosi would attract much controversy by opining that the Democratic Party's nominee for president should be the candidate who wins the most votes. The House speaker has done just that, last week drawing an angry backlash from wealthy supporters of [Clinton]. Most Americans ... still view this country as a representative democracy. Take a look at history, though, and the power of the popular vote in determining the next occupant of the White House starts to look a lot less absolute."

-- Politico: "During his first run for elected office, [Obama] played a greater role than his aides now acknowledge in crafting liberal stands on gun control, the death penalty and abortion -- positions that appear at odds with the more moderate image he has projected during his presidential campaign."

-- New York Times: "With attention focused on the Democrats' infighting for the presidential nomination, Senator John McCain is pressing ahead to the general election but has yet to sign up one critical constituency: the big-money people who powered the Bush fund-raising machine."

Lighter Side

French Started April Fool’s Day
Blame Pope Gregory XIII and a calendar if you find yourself the target of an April Fool’s joke. Until the 1500s, the Julian calendar was used to mark the days. The first day of the year began around March 25th on the Julian calendar. This date coincided with beginnings of spring and annual spring celebrations of light returning to the earth. France adopted the new Gregorian calendar in 1582, which made the first day of the new year January first. The story goes that peasants in the outlying rural areas had no knowledge of the change. Others refused to accept the new-fangled calendar. New Year’s week, March 25th to April first continued to be celebrated. The sophisticated Frenchmen dubbed their ignorant compatriots, “fools.”

The “fools” were sent bogus invitations to non-existent New Year’s celebrations on April first. The “fools” became known as “poisson d’Avril” translated to April fish. Why fish? Young fish lack the experience to escape the hook. A favorite hoax was to attach a paper fish to the back of someone without his or her knowledge. The practice of playing jokes on others on April 1st spread to the rest of Europe. (Lifescript.com)