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Despite current
fights over the budget, the Utah Legislature is getting set
for a relatively quiet finish. Most of the big issues, including
the budget, appear poised for early resolution. It’s amazing how
several hundred million extra dollars tend to smooth things out.
There will, no doubt, be some pretty good battles right up to the
end, but it’s nothing like some sessions I recall in the good old
days when the big budget bills were being rushed from one body to
the other at 11:45 p.m. on the last night.
A Glimpse Inside the Sanctum
Political types depend a great deal on the news media for information
and to deliver messages. So it’s always good to understand
the inner workings of the news media. Vern Anderson and his
editorial staff at the Salt Lake Tribune opened the kimono
a bit by devoting several columns in the Sunday Opinion section
to an explanation of how the cloistered editorial world operates
and how decisions are made. The section even includes a big photo
of the editorial page staff so you can see those usually nameless,
faceless folks who write those anonymous editorials you hate (or
love) so much. Here are the links to the columns (The Safire column,
by the way, is just plain brilliant):
- Editorial
Page Glossary
- Vern
Anderson: Traffickers and purveyors: That's us
- George
Pyle: The editorial writer's job is to ask 'why?'
- Marilyn
McKinnon: Column or editorial? There's a difference
- Malin
Foster: Public Forum: quirky, challenging, always fascinating
- Paul
Wetzel: A peek behind the curtain
- William
Safire: Reading between the lines of a newspaper column
Garn on Outer Space, 20 Years Later
The March-April edition of AAA Via
Magazine published a brief interview with former U.S. Sen. Jake
Garn regarding his experience as an astronaut. Garn was the
first member of Congress to go into space, spending a week on the
Space Shuttle Discovery in 1985. Some interview excerpts:
Q: Was it hard to come back to Earth? A: I spent six months
at NASA training with people who truly knew what they were doing.
Then I had to return to the Senate.
Q: Did leaving Earth change your thinking? A: You
see how unimportant we are. It doesn’t matter what language
you speak or what god you believe in. If I could take all the really
bad guys into space, I could solve the problems of the people. Or,
if I couldn’t convert their thinking, I could at least leave
them in orbit.
Q: Where in the cosmos will you go next? A: I’d
love to be the first man on Mars–even if it’s a one-way
trip.
National Politics
New York Times columnist David Brooks speaks plainly
about the federal deficit and the beginning of another enormous
social program that the country can’t afford. He predicts some
new political leader will rise up in moral indignation and lead
a crusade against the profligacy. (See
column)
Romney Event is Hot Ticket
Tickets to the Salt Lake County Lincoln Day Dinner this Friday
evening have gone fast. The event features Massachusetts Gov. and
2008 presidential hopeful Mitt Romney at 7 pm, Little America
Hotel. For ticket information see www.lincolnclub.net
or e-mail Jeremy Roberts at: jbroberts55@netzero.com
Check-a-Buck
Todd Weiler, chair of the Davis County Republican Party,
sent a reminder about the check-a-buck opportunity on state tax
returns that provides taxpayers a simple way to contribute to political
parties. The donations are distributed between state and county
parties. If your Utah income tax liability on line 18 of your Utah
income tax return is $2 or more ($4 if married filing jointly),
you may designate $2 to be distributed to a political party campaign
fund. If you file a joint return, your spouse may also designate
$2 to the party of his or her choice. This will not reduce your
refund or increase the amount of taxes you owe. Just check the box
on Section 3 of your individual Utah State Tax Return.
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