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The Week
Ahead
With
the 2006 legislative session looming several weeks out, committees
and task forces are wrapping up their work. Several important legislative
meetings will be held this week, including the Tax Reform Task Force
this morning at 9 a.m. (See
agenda). The Legislature’s calendar
page contains links to notices and agendas of all the meetings.
See other political events this week in our political
calendar.
One
More Legislative Blogger
Rep. Lorie Fowlke, who represents North Orem, has joined
the ranks of legislative bloggers. Her
first post discusses the legislative process and maintaining
the institution of the Legislature. In addition to the blog, Rep.
Fowlke is publishing an interesting and informative e-mail newsletter
to keep her constituents up-do-date on the latest news and information
in her district. You can subscribe by e-mailing her at newsletter@votelorie.com.
One
More Fundraiser
Check out the announcement about the Utah House Republican Caucus’
speed-dating
fund-raiser.
Travel
Magazine Features SLC
November's Travel
& Leisure Magazine has a long
article on Salt Lake City that includes a profile of Mayor Rocky
Anderson and many interesting observations by the article's
author, including this one:
"I found myself wondering
whether America had become more like Salt Lake or Salt Lake more
like America. Or whether it was a bit of both. And it wasn't just
the old tension between sacred doctrine and secular authority, or
the city's perennial accent on the now widely fashionable idea of
"family values." It was also new trends that ran counter to Salt
Lake's native fundamentalism, such as the surprising heterogeneity
of its populace, or the struggle of religious and civic leaders
to revitalize the urban core and to manage growth without sacrificing
natural beauty. Add them all up and you could make a case that this
homegrown Zion, which for decades defined the outlandish fringe
of American life, was suddenly the quintessential American place."
Washington
Watch
Medicare Drug Benefit Confab
Former Utah governor, now HHS Sec. Mike Leavitt
on Nov. 25th called for a "National Day of Conversation" about
the new Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage benefit, which makes
Medicare Rx available to everyone with Medicare, regardless of income,
resources, health status or current prescription expenses (see press
release).
Senators’
Favorite Books
In a Human
Events Online
survey of Congressional Republicans' favorite books, Sen. Orrin
Hatch "couldn’t name a specific book outside the religious sector.
'Now if you get beyond religious books,' he said, 'I’d had have
to say that there are so many that have had great impacts on my
life, it’s hard to pick any one out. But, I’d just have to say the
Scriptures. Those are more important to me than anything else.'"
Sen. Bob Bennett, meanwhile, said that aside from religious
books "he enjoys reading political tracts such as 'Federalist
No. 10' by James Madison."
Funding for WSU
With help from Rep. Rob Bishop, Weber State University receives
largest federal grant in its history (WSU
Signpost).
Nuke
Site is Iffy
Support for Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site continues to erode
(Las
Vegas Sun).
The U.N.-Free
Internet
Article in right-wing
magazine chronicles the U.N.'s attempts to take control of the Internet
and the efforts of Rep. Chris Cannon and others to make sure
that never happens (The
New American).
Planning
Needed for Growth
Op-ed argues that with
population on the rise in the West, growth and transportation planning
is crucial (Tidepool).
National
Politics
Sen. John McCain
is the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008.
So what are his economic policy positions? OpinionJournal’s
Stephen Moore provides some interesting
insights.
Blog
Watch
Charley Foster has
a bunch
of interesting posts on the reporter's shield law (including
warnings in the comments section from Rep. Steve Urquhart,
here
and here)...
Yellow Dog Blog wonders
what's wrong with people in Utah and Idaho... Western
Democrat praises Pete Ashdown for creating "the first
open-sourced campaign"... Casserole
Bar says Paul Rolly's latest
fails to follow larger "script" in which Mayor Rocky Anderson's
always made to look bad... Point of Law Forum points
to bill authored by Rep. Chris Cannon as possible asbestos
reform solution... My
Election Analysis proposes new at-large Congressional seat for
Utah... Urquhart adds
a second update to his Nov. 15th post on the food tax debate...
SLCSpin
says Randy Horiuchi should apologize in wake of Utah
Supreme Court's Croxford home/Fort Union Family Center decision...
Weber County Forum posts guest
commentary, complete with pictures, arguing that money going
to just-approved rec center should instead be spent on Ogden's aging
infrastructure... Jen's
Green Journal and Dee's
'Dotes report on Black Friday protest they participated in at
Gateway... Jim Hacking says
Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado is pandering to base in his
efforts to torpedo Sen. Bob Bennett's religious organization/illegal
immigrant rider in just-passed agricultural bill.
Giving
Thanks for Government's Bounty
(Note: Thanksgiving is over, but I can’t resist
publishing this essay by Brandon Arnold, of the Cato Institute,
dedicated to everyone who doesn’t believe government can be cut
back.)
In recent weeks, efforts
by some congressional Republicans to cut federal spending have created
a partisan brouhaha on Capitol Hill. But this Thanksgiving week,
they're taking a break from their heartless attacks on government's
bounty.
"Thanksgiving is a day very much
in keeping with its name, a day of thanks." Those sage words come
from Girlpower.gov, an important government-sponsored Web site that
reaches out to pre-teen girls. So let us heed Girlpower.gov's advice
and give thanks to our federal government. Without its many agencies
and programs, we certainly would not be able to enjoy this grand
federal holiday.
For instance, how many people would
forget to buy a Thanksgiving turkey if not for Uncle Sam's help?
Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has stepped in,
putting out a press release noting, "Before preparing your meal,
you must of course shop for a turkey." Let us give thanks for that
advice.
And, if not for the federal government,
what would happen to people who have serious problems cooking their
turkey? Fortunately, the USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline will have
special Thanksgiving hours of 8 am to 2 pm for cooks who want to
know how long to cook their turkeys, why frozen turkeys come covered
in plastic, and whether it's OK to eat raw turkey giblets. So let
us also give thanks for the Meat and Poultry Hotline.
For very young cooks who are helping
their parents in the kitchen, the USDA offers Thermy, the cartoon
mascot of the Food Safety and Inspection Service. Thermy is a smiling
meat thermometer with a chef's hat and a sweating problem. You may
have seen him in a previous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade uttering
his famous catch phrase, "It's safe to bite when the temperature
is right." So we should also give thanks for Thermy.
Indeed, the federal government offers
a cornucopia of Thanksgiving advice. To sample some of it, visit
the Federal Citizen Information Center's Web site. Visitors can
find holiday recipes, fitness tips and food safety suggestions --
everything to make Thanksgiving day a happy one. So let us give
thanks for the Federal Citizen Information Center.
Of course, Thanksgiving is no time
to forget sound environmental stewardship. Thus, to save the environment
during the holiday season, the Environmental Protection Agency encourages
us to "consider renting more formal tableware that you might not
use very often."
Thanksgiving is a time for our country to come together -- not a time to consider cutting the important programs and agencies that Americans depend on for holiday joy. So on this Thanksgiving holiday, please join me in giving thanks to the federal government:
Thank you, Girlpower.gov. Thank you,
Thermy. And thank you, Congress, for not trimming the fat.
Brandon
Arnold is director of government affairs at the Cato Institute (www.cato.org).
Cato Institute 1000 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20001
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