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The Week Ahead
The Legislature has a busy week ahead, continuing what has been a very busy month. Lawmakers will tackle the hot issue of school building capital outlay equalization in a special session on Wednesday, beginning at 10 a.m., with party caucuses at 8 a.m. Read the governor’s special session proclamation here and see a list of bills here. In preparation for the session, the Local Issues Task Force will meet Tuesday, 2 p.m., W110, to discuss the equalization legislation and hold a public hearing. See agenda here.
For all the week’s political events, see the legislative calendar and Utah Policy political calendar.
Today in Political History
August 20, 1916: Congress creates the U.S. National Park Service in the Department of the Interior. Originally formed to manage 40 national parks and monuments, today it is responsible for almost 400 sites covering more than 80,000,000 acres.
August 20, 1968: Soviet Union invades Czechoslovakia to crush the ''Prague Spring'' liberalization drive of Alexander Dubcek's regime. (Source: Perspicuity)
Wise Words
“The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.”
– Sun Tzu (Source: Think Exist)
Management Tip
How Organizations Evolve
Organizations go through four main changes:
Formative Period. A new organization is just getting started and has a founding vision (the purpose of the organization), but few formal definitions. This is just as well because normally a lot of experimentation and innovation is taking place. These changes of creativity and discovery are needed to overcome obstacles and accomplish breakthroughs.
Rapid Growth Period. Direction and coordination are added to the organization to sustain growth and solidify gains. Change is focused on defining the purpose of the organization and on the mainstream business.
Mature Period. The strong growth curve levels off to the overall pace of the economy. Changes are needed to maintain established markets and assure maximum gains are achieved.
Declining Period - This is the rough ride. For many organizations it means down-sizing and reorganization. To survive, changes include tough objectives and compassionate implementation. The goal is to get out of the old and into something new. Success in this period means that the four periods start over again. (Source: Watershed.org)
National Politics
Best Stories From . . .
-- New York Times: "The White House plans to use a report next month assessing progress in Iraq to outline a plan for gradual troop reductions beginning next year that would fall far short of the drawdown demanded by Congressional opponents of the war, according to administration and military officials."
-- Washington Post: Andrew Kohut and Carroll Doherty: "Karl Rove dreamed of creating a 'permanent Republican majority.' But as President Bush's longtime adviser exits the Washington scene, the political landscape he helped chart is already shifting beneath his feet: The era of conservative values ... that emerged in the 1990s is coming to a close."
-- New York Daily News: Columnist Michael Goodwin: "Anybody who has ever stayed until quitting time at a gin mill knows the feeling. The crowd is thinning and the energy is sagging even before the bartender makes it official: Last call. Barack Obama doesn't strike me as a guy who spends much time in saloons, but he's probably starting to get that last call feeling. He has to know his presidential campaign is running out of time."
-- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Columnist Salena Zito: "Whose yardstick do you use to measure the impact of Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's second-place showing in the Iowa Straw Poll? The Democrats'. 'If he had money, he would be our worst nightmare,' says Democrat strategist John Lapp."
Blog Watch
-- Rep. Steve Urquhart says: "Trib Columnist Rebecca Walsh attacks Judge Ted Stewart – saying that he is a magnet for reversal. Walsh lists 3 reversals. Judge Stewart, a Clinton appointee, has been on the bench for 8 years. That's not many reversals. Does he have more? Is his reversal rate higher than other judges? We don't know from reading Walsh's ad hominem. What we do know from reading Walsh's column is that Judge Stewart has a background in Republican politics and that one of his decisions failed to stick it to the Mormon church. And as any reader of Walsh's rants knows, anyone who is Republican or doesn't hate the Mormon church is suspect."
-- Jeremy Manning says: "Voucher proponents have already begun digging into their bag of dirty tricks and its only August. Pathetic? Yes. Surprising? No. It will be interesting to see how low the pro-voucher movement will go in pushing this lost cause on Utah's voters. I'm betting they'll go much lower than this latest push poll as the election gets closer. Of course I have to admit that our side hasn't been guiltless when it comes to stupid ad hominem attacks. It is disheartening that both sides of the political spectrum have so little faith in the abilities of Utah's voters to decide an issue on its merits."
Lighter Side
“If you’re going to be transparent, you’d better be buff.”
-- Unknown (Source: Cartwright Communications) |
