The Week Ahead
Gov. Jon Huntsman holds his Education Summit Tuesday at 1:30 at SLCC. Meanwhile, lots of key legislation will be addressed in the Legislature’s interim committee meetings this week. Wednesday is the last regular Interim Day before the January session and final work will be done on a lot of important legislation. See the legislative calendar for meeting locations, times and agendas. For all the week’s political events, see the Utah Policy.com calendar.
Monday Musing
The Hikes of the Year
The hiking season is pretty much over for the year, although southern Utah will still offer some nice hikes even through the winter.
This year has been so busy that I didn’t do much serious hiking. That’s unfortunate, because Utah is such an incredible place for hiking that you could spend every weekend having a new adventure and never run out of new places to explore.
I actually did only two major hikes this year, both in the spring. The first was to Notch Peak in the desert west of Delta, and the other to the Havasupai area of the Grand Canyon. That’s in addition to my regular walks up City Creek Canyon and some shorter hikes in the Mirror Lake area of the high Uintas.
I did the Notch Peak hike with my wife, Jan, son Golden, and Ric Cantrell of the Senate staff, an outdoorsy guy from way back, and his young son, Benjamin (who attempted to catch every lizard along the way). The hike is long and hot, but the view from the top is breathtaking. The dropoff is so sheer and bottomless that if you edge close to the cliff you’d swear some force is trying to suck you over the brink into oblivion. A highlight of the Notch Peak hike is a large stand of gnarled bristlecone pines, among the oldest living things on earth (even older than me).
The Havasupai hike was delightful. It is a descent from the hot Arizona desert into an almost tropical water wonderland with ferns and lush vegetation sheltering the crystal-clear stream. With rope swings, cliff jumping and swimming, it’s like being in a natural water park. We went with a group of friends, including Sen. Curt Bramble, his wife, Susan, and son Jeff.
Those were outings that will remain fond memories. The hiking season is over . . . but soon it will be time to strap on the cross-country skis and hit the trails on the north slope of the Uintas.
Washington Watch
Hatch: Boost Raptor Fleet
Sen. Orrin Hatch leads a coalition of senators in urging the DOD "to boost the fleet of F-22A Raptors in light of the public reports on the increasingly advanced aircraft in development by foreign powers like Russia, India, and China" (see press release).
Bennett: $4 million for Utah
The House and Senate approve legislation that includes over $4 million requested by Sen. Bob Bennett for Utah health education programs and mine safety and operations studies (see press release).
Matheson: Defense Funds for Utah
Rep. Jim Matheson secures $6.6 million in funding for Utah military projects (see press release); Matheson seeks an insurance backstop for Utah homeowners in the event of a natural disaster (press release); Matheson votes for the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, noting that "Utah's economy benefited from $7.6 million in exports to Peru in 2006" (press release).
Calvin Coolidge and the Mormons
Coolidge appointed future First Presidency member J. Reuben Clark, Jr. as Undersecretary of State. Due to his friendship with apostle-senator Reed Smoot, Coolidge almost builds his “western White House” in Emigration Canyon. (From Mike Winder’s Presidents and Prophets: The Story of America’s Presidents and the LDS Church)
Rocky's Accomplishments
The Salt Lake City Mayor's Office has posted a list of Rocky Anderson's accomplishments while in office between 2000-2007.
UAC Proposed Position Statements
The Utah Association of Counties has posted its 2008 Proposed Position Statements. For more info, click here.
Today in Political History
Nov. 12, 1954: Ellis Island closes after processing more than 20 million immigrants since opening in New York Harbor in 1892. (National Journal political calendar)
Nov. 12, 1969: Journalist Seymour Hersh breaks the My Lai massacre (Vietnam) story.
Nov. 12, 1971: President Richard Nixon proclaims the end of the U.S. offensive role in the Vietnam War and withdraws 45,000 more troops.
Nov. 12, 1997: Ramzi Yousef is found guilty of masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. (Perspicuity)
Wise Words
“Liberty is a word which, according as it is used, comprehends the most good and the most evil of any in the world. Justly understood it is sacred next to those which we appropriate in divine adoration; but in the mouths of some it means anything, which enervate a necessary government; excite a jealousy of the rulers who are our own choice, and keep society in confusion for want of a power sufficiently concentered to promote good.”
-- Oliver Ellsworth 1787 (Patriot Post)
Leadership Tip
Colin Powell's Rules for Picking People
Look for intelligence and judgment, and most critically, a capacity to anticipate, to see around corners. Also look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego, and the drive to get things done.
How often do our recruitment and hiring processes tap into these attributes? More often than not, we ignore them in favor of length of resume, degrees and prior titles. A string of job descriptions a recruit held yesterday seem to be more important than who one is today, what they can contribute tomorrow, or how well their values mesh with those of the organization. You can train a bright, willing novice in the fundamentals of your business fairly readily, but it's a lot harder to train someone to have integrity, judgment, energy, balance, and the drive to get things done. Good leaders stack the deck in their favor right in the recruitment phase. (Source: Coachthee)
National Politics
Best Stories From . . .
-- The Hill: "Resurgent GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) guaranteed Sunday that he would win the New Hampshire primary."
-- Los Angeles Times: Some Democratic strategists are worried that the Democrats' "relatively welcoming stance" on immigration will make them vulnerable to GOP attacks in the 2008 election.
-- The Politico: "After a dozen years of flowing to the Republicans who controlled Congress, special interest cash has swung to Democrats since their historic takeover of Congress last year."
-- Investor's Business Daily: Editorial: "A new [Harvard] study finding the media give far more favorable coverage to Democrats than Republicans could have settled once and for all the debate over whether the news we get has a liberal bias. ... But given the study's reception in the mainstream media, it's doubtful the issue has been put to rest."
Blog Watch
-- The Senate Site notes: "Interestingly, the Senate Education Chair for the reddest of states and the Senate Education Chair from the bluest states have co-authored an article that scrutinizes NCLB. This unusual co-authorship (GOP Senator Margaret Dayton from Utah and Democratic Senator Tom Gaffey of Connecticut) demonstrates that there is something in NCLB for everyone to reject. One of the places where the article can be found is in the American Association of School Administrators' newsletter. Read it here."
-- At UtahSenateDemocrats, Sen. Mike Dmitrich reflects on "the message of Referendum 1." (For more on the voucher issue, see Dynamic Range (scroll down), Utah State Democratic Party, Paul Rolly, KVNU's For The People, COL Takashi, Simple Utah Mormon Politics, and Salt Blog.)
-- Rep Steve Urquhart posts the first installment in a series on why he loves St. George.
Lighter Side
Bring on Christmas
From Rep. John Dougall’s Dynamic Range blog: “For those looking to detox from the whole election season, let me recommend KOSY 106.5 -- Utah's Home For Christmas. I love Christmas with all of its sight, sounds, smells, and shared experiences. So, kick back and let the soothing sounds of Christmas wash over you. Can't you feel all that stress just melt away?” |
