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The Week Ahead
Check out the Utah Policy.com Calendar for all the week’s political events.
Monday Musing
The Season of Rebirth
I went from the busy streets of New York City last week straight to the quiet of the Uinta Mountain meadows over the weekend. From ambulance sirens in the wee hours Thursday night to the call of a sandhill crane Saturday morning. Quite a contrast.
Winter still has the high Uintas tight in its grasp with deep snow and sub-freezing temperatures. But in the meadows and quaking aspen groves lower down, the snow is mostly gone and signs of spring abound.
The Canada geese and sandhill cranes have returned. They are paired up and checking out the marshy areas for nesting spots. In the boggy pasture below my cabin a pair of cranes spent most of the weekend stalking around on their stilt-like legs, long necks bobbing as they pecked for food. Sandhill cranes are noisy birds. Their squawking cry is hard to describe, especially because they make a lot of different noises – a trumpeting whoop that can sound like a raven’s caw, a goose’s honk, or the cackle of a banshee. Any time my dog, Hayduke, got close, a cacophony of noise would erupt. Sandhill cranes mate for life and can live up to 25 years in the wild. The cranes in our meadow like to hang out with a pair of geese. They are beautiful birds, and a sure sign that the season of rebirth has begun.
Monday Profile
Mike Dmitrich: Grand Old Man of the Legislature
By GM Jarrard
 The high school gym is packed to the rafters. And it’s loud. Businesses are closed and the streets in the small Utah town are empty. The game is on the line, and it’s all tied up. This particular playoff game is bitter than most since the two schools are in adjacent towns, and there is no love lost between them. One hamlet was settled by Swedes — the other Danes. Bad blood!
Then the visiting point guard drives hard to his right, switches hands and goes in for a layup. But, the defender stops him, blocks the shot as both players go to the floor. The crowd roars its approval. But a shrill sound penetrates the gym. A whistle, followed by wave after wave of boos.
“Foul on 13,” the ref yells and holds up two fingers to the scorer’s table. “Two shots.”
The boy at the foul line makes one and misses one. But the rebound goes to a team mate who drops it in as time expires, putting an end to the home team’s season and to the hopes of a small town where every bit of good news is hard to come by.
The referee who made the fateful call is at the scorer’s bench. He ducks a paper cup thrown him and waves a disapproving finger at the perp at the top of the bleachers.
“We’ll see you in November, Dmitrich,” the tough, old truck driver yells at the man in stripes. November? Ah, yes, the referee reminds himself: it’s an election year.
State Sen. Mike Dmitrich has seen a lot of election years. And hundreds of closely contested basketball and football games. The mining executive, former banker and former coal miner not only doubles as an elected official, he also has been refereeing Utah high school football and basketball games for decades. Not only does he hold a record in terms of elective service, he also points to an honor of which he is particularly proud: his photo hangs at the Utah High School Hall of Fame. (Read complete profile.)
Washington Watch
Hatch: Combat Elder Abuse
Sen. Orrin Hatch introduces bipartisan legislation "to protect senior citizens from abuse and exploitation. The Elder Justice Act of 2007 would combat the reported mistreatment of as many as 2 million American seniors by their caregivers." Says Hatch: "Thousands of cases of elder abuse go unaddressed every day. We have armies of federal employees fighting child and domestic abuse, yet we don’t have one federal employee working full time combating elder abuse. That's going to change when this bill becomes law" (see press release).
Bennett Hails Low Unemployment Rate
Sen. Bob Bennett says of the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report showing Utah tied with Hawaii and Wyoming for the lowest unemployment in the nation: "An all-time low 2.3 percent unemployment rate is tremendous news for the Utah economy. This reflects a healthy job market and a strong business community. It is clear that the pro-growth policies put in place by Congress are creating positive results in the state" (see press release).
Matheson Endorses Math Bill
Rep. Jim Matheson supports "a bill in committee to advance math and science education by increasing the ranks of highly-qualified science and math teachers in grades K-12. Matheson is a member of the House Science and Technology Committee which [Thursday] marked up H.R. 362 -- the '10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds' Science and Math Scholarship Act" (see press release).
Today in Political History
April 2, 1792: Congress passes the Coinage Act, establishing the U.S. Mint. (Source: NBC5)
April 2, 1917: President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, "The world must be made safe for democracy.” (Source: perspicuity)
Wise Words
“People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote -- a very different thing.”
-- Walter H. Judd (Source: quotations)
Leadership Tip
Four simple suggestions for bringing a reawakening and renewal of value-based behavior into the marketplace and the boardroom (Source: press release about “Winners Never Cheat” by Jon M. Huntsman, Sr., and Wharton School Publishing):
1. Begin with a question when you engage in something. Is this right? Would I like to be treated this way?
2. Take your values to work. There should not be a tension between making profits and adhering to traditional principles of decency and fairness.
3. Consider yourself your brothers' and sisters' keepers when setting the example for ethical behavior.
4. Make the underpinnings of your life a string of f-words (at least, phonetically): family, faith, fortitude, fairness, fidelity, friendship, and philanthropy.
National Politics
Best Stories From . . .
-- San Francisco Chronicle: '08 presidential campaign consultants "are aiming to make a sale to American voters by positioning their candidate as a brand. The hope is that 'Hillary' conjures up 'experienced leader,' 'Obama' translates into 'fresh outsider' and 'Rudy' means 'America's mayor.' 'If anyone had any doubt about how we choose the most important political office in the U.S. ... we do it by the brand rather than the ideas,' said Richard Levick, president of Levick Strategic Communications, a leading crisis communications firm in New York. 'We choose them as we do diapers or cornflakes ... we buy things emotionally.'"
-- Washington Post: Columnist David Broder says that "[t]his stage of the presidential race is a lot like spring training in baseball. Names that may never be heard again, once the season begins and games really count, fill the box scores and occupy the news columns. ... Speculation overwhelms facts in the preseason, just as hope triumphs over experience in the hearts of Cubs fans at this time of year. ... History suggests that 90 percent or more of what is written now about the White House hopefuls will be forgotten once the first real votes are cast next January."
-- Los Angeles Times: Traditionally, newly elected Capitol Hill lawmakers "are supposed to be seen and not heard, left to labor in powerless obscurity until they bank several years of seniority. But the Democrats who control the House are upending that tradition, treating their party's 42 freshmen like royalty. Democratic leaders are already working overtime to ensure that the newcomers are reelected in 2008 ... The Democrats' hold on the House majority is tenuous, because many of their new members are political flukes, Democrats who were elected in heavily Republican districts with the help of the 2006 anti-GOP tide."
-- New York Times: Former Bush campaign strategist Matthew Dowd says he's lost faith in the president.
Lighter Side
The President addressed the 63rd annual Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association dinner last week, with his hallmark self-deprecating humor. He thanked the Association for providing dinner and quipped, “I’d like to thank Senator Webb for providing security.” He addressed the firing of eight U.S. attorneys: “I have to admit we really blew the way we let those attorneys go. You know you’ve botched it when people sympathize with lawyers.” And he had a zinger ready for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “Speaking of subpoenas, it’s good to see Speaker Pelosi tonight. Some have wondered how the two of us would get along. Some say she’s bossy, she’s opinionated, she’s not to be crossed,” he said. “Hey, I get along with my mother.” Pelosi was not amused.
The President also spoke of what he’ll do after his second term ends: “President Clinton, of course, wrote a very successful presidential memoir, with 10,000 pages or something. I’m thinking of something really fun and creative for mine. You know, maybe a pop-up book.” As for how this year has been different from last year, the President said: “A year ago my approval rating was in the 30s, my nominee for the Supreme Court had just withdrawn and my Vice President had shot someone.” Allowing a pause, he concluded, “Ah, those were the good old days.” (Source: Patriot Post)
Blog Watch
The Senate Site offers a link to a KSL
Radio show featuring Sen. Curt Bramble in a “lively discussion on teacher salaries, the teachers union, class size reduction, education funding, accountability, and the education slogan de jour (No More Excuses!),” according to Ric Cantrell. |
