The Week Ahead

Governor’s Energy Summit continues today and Tuesday. See agenda and other information. … Federal income tax filing deadline: Tuesday, midnight. … After taking March off to recover from the session, the Legislature gets back into gear this week with a full slate of leadership and interim committee meetings. The Executive Appropriations Committee meets Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Legislative Management at 3 p.m., both in W135. Interim committees are all day Wednesday. See the Legislature’s calendar page for a list of the meetings. Click on a meeting for agendas and meeting notices. … Vice President Richard Cheney speaks at BYU graduation on Thursday. … A few county conventions are also scheduled this week. See the UtahPolicy.com calendar for all the week’s political events.  

Monday Musing

Ancient Anasazi Fortress

Utah is a spectacular state with more natural wonders to explore than any of us could do in a lifetime. On April 6-7, a small group of us headed to Cedar Mesa in the far southeastern corner of the state for some hiking and to explore some well-preserved Anasazi ruins. Cedar Mesa itself is such a large area with so many gulches and side canyons (almost all of which have ancient ruins) that one could spend years exploring it alone.

We left on a Friday evening and drove to Muley Point, which features a breathtaking view of Monument Valley and the Goosenecks of the San Juan. We got up early and backtracked several miles to a dirt road that took us to the trailhead of the hike to the Citadel, an Anasazi fortress built strategically on a sandstone formation that juts out between two canyons. Besides the main ruin, we found another one, even better preserved, in a side canyon. We saw, and left, lots of pottery shards, corn cobs, grinding stones. We also made a quick trip to Butler Wash, which features more Anasazi ruins.

Check out photos of the Citadel at RedRockAdventure.com taken by Dave Webb, who guided our trip, and a few photos taken at Butler Wash.

Here is a description and photos of the Citadel from ClimbUtah.com

Regional Politics

Water, Population Crisis Looms in West

According to new study, "[p]rolonged drought, perilous forest conditions and rapid population growth are combining to create serious challenges for the eight-state Rocky Mountain region. With increased population growth and continued drought-like conditions becoming a regional norm, how will the Rockies manage competing needs, particularly allocation of the region's already scarce water? ... The sustainability and livability of the Rockies, so valued by millions of residents and visitors, depends largely on how this limited, variable and potentially shrinking supply is managed in the face of myriad challenges, ranging from climate change to rapid urban growth." (Denver Post) (see also related Pueblo Chieftain article).

Check Out Locomotive

The public is invited to view the new bi-level Bombardier passenger car and Utah Transit Authority’s first FrontRunner locomotive at an event with Gov. Jon Huntsman on Thursday, April 19. The governor and UTA will also be welcoming Bombardier Corporation in opening a rail vehicle rehabilitation facility at the event at 11 a.m. at UTA’s Warm Springs Rail Maintenance Center, 900 North, 500 West, Salt Lake City. The rehabilitation center will add to Utah’s economic growth.

New UAC Directory

The 2007-08 Utah Counties Directory has been published by the Utah Association of Counties. It is Utah’s only complete directory of elected and non-elected county officials, featuring photos of every elected county official in Utah and lots of data about each county. Cost is $12 per copy. Order by calling 801.265.1331, or e-mailing Debbie@uacnet.org.

Average Family Tax Impact

The latest edition of the Utah Taxpayers Association's Taxing Times looks at the impact of taxes on a median income Utah family of five.

National Politics

Best Stories From . . .

-- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Columnist Salena Zito says that "anemic" GOP presidential fundraising numbers and the impression that "no Republican leadership faces exist beyond [Pres.] Bush" suggest that "[t]he Republican brand is in trouble."

-- New York Times: Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton have "sought to portray their party nominations as inevitable, and so create a stampede of support from donors, delegates, elected officials, opinion leaders and -- the idea is -- actual voters. Such a strategy has proved reliable over the last 30 years. It rocketed George W. Bush over the Republican field in 2000, and was central to the nomination strategies of Walter Mondale, Bob Dole, John Kerry and another president named Bush, to name a few. But not, it seems, this time. ... After watching Mr. McCain and Mrs. Clinton take their hits, it seems fair to ask whether the era of the inevitable candidate has now passed, the victim of an increasingly chaotic campaign environment that defies management by even the most expert campaign."

-- Newsweek: Columnist George Will says that "Americans of all persuasions should pause in their partisan furies and honor what John McCain did last week with his speech at the Virginia Military Institute. It is stirring and poignant to watch McCain, by acting presidential -- like a leader-putting at risk his long-held and exhaustingly pursued dream of being president. ... What McCain has done is not merely bind himself, as with hoops of steel, to the president's current [Iraq] 'surge' policy. At a moment of intense national weariness with a strenuous foreign policy, he has intimated an agenda which, like the president's 'freedom agenda,' promises unending strenuousness."

-- Los Angeles Times: In op-ed, Eve Fairbanks argues that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has so far governed from the center rather than from the left: "Exploiting her penchant for unabashed -- even flamboyant -- liberalism, Republicans tried to scare voters last fall with the specter of a Pelosi speakership. This narrative flared up again with her trip to Syria. But Pelosi's governing style thus far has been shockingly cautious and centrist. To understand how she's been doing, look not to congressional Republicans' talking points -- it will always be in their interest to paint her as too liberal, even if she were to appoint Dick Cheney as her chief of staff. Instead, consider who within her Democratic ranks feels fat and happy, and who doesn't. It's the liberals in the party, not the moderates, who are dissatisfied with the new Pelosi order."

Today in Political History

April 16, 1862:  President Abraham Lincoln signs an act abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia, an important step in the long road toward full emancipation.

(Source:  NBC5) 

April 16, 1878:  The U.S. Supreme Court in Reynolds v. United States decides that freedom of religion has its limits. (Source:  perspicuity) 

Wise Words

“When a man retires and time is no longer a matter of urgent importance, his colleagues generally present him with a watch.”

-- R.C. Sherriff (Source:  quotegarden) 

Leadership Tip

“While leadership is easy to explain, leadership is not so easy to practice. Leadership is about behavior first, skills second. Good leaders are followed chiefly because people trust and respect them, rather than the skills they possess. Leadership is different than management. Management relies more on planning, organizational and communications skills. Leadership relies on management skills too, but more so on qualities such as integrity, honesty, humility, courage, commitment, sincerity, passion, confidence, positivism, wisdom, determination, compassion and sensitivity. Some people are born more naturally to leadership than others. Most people don't seek to be a leader. Those who want to be a leader can develop leadership ability.”  (Source:  Leadership) 

Blog Watch

-- The Nation's John Nichols explains why Pres. Bush has in Sen. Orrin Hatch "an appealing prospect" to replace embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

-- Utah State Democratic Party reports on the various Democratic county conventions that took place throughout the state over the weekend.

-- Neil Abercrombie reports on '08 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's speech at the ULCT midyear conference in St. George last Thursday.

-- Rep. Steve Urquhart says: "Some excellent candidates are lining up to run for Salt Lake City mayor. SLC mayor is one of those interesting positions where a finite group of people elect someone who will take actions that ripple far beyond the boundaries of the City itself. The rest of us wish the citizens of SLC well in making a good choice."

-- James Lileks says Mitt Romney's Mormonism "isn't the main reason his campaign isn't out front by 10 points. There's something else at work; could be the YouTube flip-flop problem. But I think I know what it might be. He's in a hard position: he's too good to be true, but he's truly that good. ... Just last week I got a knock on the door on a rainy night, and there they were: two Mormon missionaries. ... They explained their mission and asked if I'd like to talk. Well, lads, I'm what you call a hard sell. I told them that I appreciated their concern, though, and wished them well. If at that moment I had some sort of domestic emergency that required me to leave the house but also required someone to stay at the house ... I would have trusted both of them to hold down the fort until I returned, and I know I would have found both of them sitting in the living room when I returned, with nothing in the house out of place or moved to a pocket. Surely how [Mormons live their lives is] as important as the curious things they believe, no?" (hat tip: Article VI Blog) (for more on Romney, see Five Brothers, the Romney campaign blog written by Romney's five sons).

Lighter Side

Favorite Headlines

(Source: James Taranto’s Best of the Web at OpinionJournal.com)  

Wipers, Seat Belts and Bumpers Too
"GM Puts Brakes on New Rear-Wheel Drive Vehicles"-- Detroit News, April 12

Heck, Who Is?
"CDC: Fluoroquinolones Not for Gonorrhea"-- United Press International, April 12

The Human Cannonball
"Armed Man Shot Across Street From CNN Center"-- CNN.com, April 12

Hollywood vs. Canada
"Stars Out for Revenge Against Canucks"-- CBC.ca, April 13