|
A Utahn Who Knows Alito
Mike Lee, general counsel to Gov. Huntsman, served as law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito from 1988-99. He issued this statement:
"It is difficult to imagine a better-qualified nominee for the United States Supreme Court. In addition to being an exceptionally kind and decent human being, Judge Alito is an accomplished jurist known for his unrivaled academic credentials, his impressive, fifteen-year record as an appellate judge, and his undeviating devotion to the rule of law. If confirmed by the Senate, he
will go down in history as one of the most outstanding jurists of our time." See also Morning News story.
Meanwhile, national left-wing blog Think Progress criticizes Sen. Orrin Hatch who "followed Matt Drudge’s lead and implied that opponents of Samuel Alito’s [SCOTUS] nomination may be motivated by Alito’s ethnicity. (Hatch) warned senators 'to be very careful here,' because a vote against Alito would be 'held against them' by Italian-Americans.” Think Progress concludes: "Conservatives could have picked any number of topics to distract Americans from the real issues of Alito’s nomination. This is among the most cynical and crass."
Are You an Optimist or Pessimist?
We are beset by war, natural calamities, scandal and political disasters. It’s all gloom and doom and woe is us. I really want to be a pessimist and crawl into some hole somewhere with my guns and food supply and wait for THE END. After all, isn’t the world is going straight to hell in a handbasket?
Trouble is, I keep reading in various publications all these little disconcerting indications that things are actually getting better in the world, not worse. Like the fact that there is more freedom, less violence and fewer wars now than at any time in recent history. Like the fact that whole countries like China and India are emerging out of poverty with solid market economies and leaving behind their third-world status.
Like the fact that the Wall Street Journal editorialized Monday that the U.S. economy has weathered every nasty thing (war, energy prices, hurricanes, political upheaval) that has been thrown at it over the last few months, and is still strong and vibrant. Like the fact that experts on entrepreneurship say there has never been a better time to start a small business. Like the fact that our air is cleaner, our water purer, our environment better protected . . . people are living longer and staying healthier. . . . we are on the verge of enormous breakthroughs in medicine and health. . . . and the promises of advanced technology and the Internet are now coming to pass. Like the fact that people are driving newer cars, living in larger homes, traveling more, dining out more, and giving more to charity.
Like the facts mentioned by New York Times columnist David Brooks in a panel discussion on the future for Time magazine (Oct. 24 edition): “Abortion rates are down a third, divorce rates are down, crime rates are down some 70%, school violence is down, suicide rates, drug addition – all of the social indicators that were going the wrong way in the ‘70s and ‘80s turned around in the early ‘90s or so, and are still going in the right direction. So to me, we’ve changed the way we raise kids, and we probably made them a little more boring, but it is a remarkable generation of wholesomeness. If you don’t like wholesomeness, then you’re a pessimist, but if you sort of like it, then it’s one reason to be fairly optimistic for the next 50 years.”
Dang. It’s tough to be a pessimist. So maybe I shouldn’t crawl into a hole, after all. Perhaps I had better continue to work and contribute to society as best I can. I’ve actually had a great life. But I have children who are in college and just starting in their marriages and careers. They deserve a shot at as good a life as I have enjoyed. And I have grandchildren who are just toddlers and babies. With all the advances in medicine and improved mortality rates, they may live to be 100 years old. One way or another, maybe we need to hold this old world together at least until then.
Blog Watch
The Senate Site had a little good-natured Halloween fun Monday at the expense of the Utah House of Representatives. The post, entitled “The House is Haunted,” is worth checking out. The House needs its own blog so it can respond to such nefarious attacks.
Full-Day Kindergarten Questioned
In a press release, the Sutherland Institute draws attention to a report released by the Goldwater Institute that "suggests more formal education is unlikely to improve student achievement in the long term." The report "shows that U.S. elementary students outperform their international peers in reading, math and science. The findings call into question an idea that is currently under consideration by the Utah Board of Education which would include more government involvement in early education, particularly kindergarten." Concludes Sutherland Institute Pres. Paul Mero: "We know four things for sure about preschool kids: little children are typically better off with their parents as much as possible; little children are better off in better environments; home environments are often better than school environments; and school environments are often better for children from dysfunctional or poverty-stricken homes."
Utah Political Trivia
(From Drat! Mythed Again: Second Thoughts on Utah by Steve Warren)
-- "Congressman Wayne Owens in June 1972 foresaw a 'good race' by Senator George McGovern in Utah. Owens said McGovern 'will run well in Utah and has the potential of carrying the state against President Nixon.' (Nixon carried Utah in 1972 with 324,000 votes to McGovern's 126,000.)"
-- "In January 1976, before deciding to run for the U.S. Senate, Orrin Hatch sought the best advice he could find. Hatch turned to longtime friend Frank A. Madsen, Jr., [who became] Hatch's chief counsel. Madsen, by virtue of his involvement in the Republican Party and his acquaintance with the Utah power structure, was in an excellent position to assist Hatch in making the correct decision. Madsen gave this counsel: 'I told [Hatch] it was crazy even to consider such a run. I told him he didn't have a chance; he wasn't a member of the power structure; he had no political experience; he was not known in the Republican Party; he had absolutely no name identification; very strong, well-known candidates had already announced their intention to file. There was just no possibility, I said.' (Hatch defeated Senator Frank Moss later that year.)" |
Utah Policy Daily
is a service