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April Job Growth Modest
Utah economist Jeff Thredgold’s Tea Leaf economic update this week focuses on employment trends: “American employment growth was modest in April, with the 88,000 net increase the weakest gain in nearly two-and-a-half years. The underwhelming rise was just below economists’ consensus view of a net rise near 100,000 new jobs. And in a departure from that of more recent months, employment gains of the two prior months were revised lower—not higher—in this case by 26,000 jobs.”
Voucher Special Session?
Utah House and Senate Democrats have asked Gov. Jon Huntsman to call a special session of the Legislature to resolve the conflict over two voucher bills passed in the 2007 General Session. “HB 148 passed by one vote in the House, and late in the session HB 174 was drafted to clean it up,” said a party press release. “Now, questions involve whether the recently qualified referendum would affect only the first bill or both. Democrats want to resolve the issue in a special session.” The letter to Huntsman was signed by House Minority Leader Ralph Becker and Senate Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich.
Voucher Rally at Capitol
Parents for Choice in Education is sponsoring a rally at the Capitol courtyard (between the two north buildings) in support of school vouchers on Tuesday, May 15, at 1:30 p.m. The timing coincides with the day that, by law, the State School Board should make voucher applications available for families. The State Board, however, is not implementing the program. For more information, call 532-1448.
Washington Watch
Hatch: Expand Stem Cell Research Funding
In an audio interview, Sen. Orrin Hatch discusses his support for expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and says it's probably going to take another Congress before the stem cell research initiatives he supports become law (New England Journal of Medicine).
Cannon: No to Discriminatory Tax Schemes
Rep. Chris Cannon introduces legislation intended to protect consumers from higher natural gas costs caused by states assessing discriminatory taxes on natural gas pipelines that are higher than those on other local commercial and industrial property in the same area. Says Cannon: "This is an issue of consumer protection and tax fairness. In a free market economy, the government should keep the playing field level and let the market dictate prices. Eliminating discriminatory taxes will reduce prices on consumers and small businesses who currently shoulder the burden of these anti-competitive tax schemes."
Today in Political History
May 10, 1994: Former President George H.W. Bush resigns from the National Rifle Association after the NRA refers to federal agents as “jackbooted government thugs”. (Source: NBC5)
May 10, 1865: Jefferson Davis, president of the fallen Confederate government (U.S. "War Between the States"), was captured with his wife and entourage near Irwinville, Georgia. (Source: perspicuity)
Wise Words
“Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.”
--George Washington (Source: Quotations Page)
Environmental Trivia
Utah is ranked 5th in the nation for the highest number of species at risk of extinction. (Source: Oquirrh Institute and Deseret Morning News)
National Politics
Best Stories From . . .
-- The Hill: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is threatening to take President Bush to court if he issues a signing statement as a way of sidestepping a carefully crafted compromise Iraq war spending bill. Pelosi recently told a group of liberal bloggers, 'We can take the president to court' if he issues a signing statement, according to Kid Oakland, a blogger who covered Pelosi's remarks for the liberal website dailykos.com."
-- Wall Street Journal: "Elections abroad featuring female candidates, including this week's contest in France, don't answer the question of how open Americans are to electing their first woman president. But they do offer this hint: Voters have become more receptive to females who project gender-bending strength and substance, as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton tries to do, and more likely to reject those who don't."
-- The Politico: "Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson acknowledges his coming-out speech in California last weekend didn't live up to expectations, advisers say, and he is planning a tighter and sharper message dubbed 'Stump Speech 2.0' for a Saturday night event to be attended by key conservative leaders" (see also related Kathleen Parker column).
-- Los Angles Times: "Faced with the durability of Rudolph W. Giuliani's lead in the Republican presidential race, his rivals are stoking new debate on whether the party should accept a White House nominee who favors abortion rights. If he prevails, the former New York mayor would be the party's first White House nominee in a generation to support abortion rights during his campaign. But Giuliani has used increasingly nuanced, even tortured, language in recent days to minimize resistance to his candidacy among antiabortion Republicans."
Blog Watch
-- Rep. Craig Frank endorses Stan Lockhart to replace Enid Greene as State Republican Party Chair.
-- Utah Taxpayer responds to this Trib editorial calling for the imposition of sales taxes on services.
-- At Out of Context, Jeremiah Stettler reports: "It's no endorsement, but a straw poll at the recent Salt Lake County Republican convention put the conservative vote clearly in Mitt Romney's camp for president. The former Massachusetts governor received 79 percent of the convention's vote -- no surprise really for a candidate whose Mormon faith resonates with the state's largest voting bloc. Sen. John McCain of Arizona captured a distant second with 6 percent of the vote and Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee ranked third with a measly 4 percent. But who knows whom delegates really preferred. This was a pay-to-play poll. With eligibility hinging on $1 for one vote, all we can say for sure is that Romney's supporters were the biggest spenders."
Lighter Side
Best of Late Night Humor
Conan O’Brien: The Washington Post reports that Sen. Hillary Clinton is trying to win the Democratic nomination by reaching out to women. After hearing this, Bill Clinton said, ‘Oh sure, when she does it, it’s OK’.
David Letterman: “Top Surprises in Ronald Reagan’s Personal Diary”: Sold arms to Iran, and hair dye to Mike Wallace; Warned a young Senator Gore to “Go easy on the pastries”; Never forgave Michael Jackson for stealing “The Moonwalk”; Began each morning by taking a leak in the Rose Garden—that doesn’t seem right!; In the early 80s he caught a severe case of Pac Man fever; Had many conversations with Robert Klein about how Letterman didn’t deserve a show; More than once, he tried to rub the spot off Gorbachev’s head.
Jay Leno: Hillary Clinton used three private jets in a single day in a campaign swing through South Carolina. Today she was officially named a Hollywood environmentalist. ... Did you see the Republican debate? I tried to TiVo it, but my TiVo said, “Not interested.” ... Ten white guys. They called it the “Thrilla in Vanilla.” It looked like a meeting of the Hair Club for Men. I think GOP stands for Grey Old and Pale. ... President Bush and first lady Laura Bush hosted the queen of England at a big state dinner. I thought this was nice of President Bush—he took the time to learn a little bit of English so he could speak with her. ... The Queen was welcomed with a 21-gun salute. Well, 22 if you count Cheney’s gun, which went off accidentally. ... One embarrassing moment when the queen told President Bush she had been on the throne over 55 years and Bush said, “Try Metamucil.” ... [Saturday was] Cinco de Mayo, which in Spanish means they outnumber us five to one. ... There is a big investigation going on in Los Angeles when there was a scuffle between police and immigration protesters. At one point, police tried to disperse the crowd using pepper spray. But they realized the crowd was immune to that, so they had to switch to the much hotter jalapeno spray. Which is illegal. You can’t use the jalapeno spray. |
