Don’t Stew Your Brain Tonight
Happy New Year’s Eve! Be safe tonight. And for those planning to do some heavy drinking, there’s some sobering news in a New York Times op-ed essay by psychiatrist Paul Steinberg: “(Binge drinking) activate(s) an inflammatory response in rat (and human) brains rather than a pure regrowth of normal neuronal cells. Even after longstanding sobriety this inflammatory response translates into a tendency to stay the course, a diminished capacity for relearning and maladaptive decision-making.” … “Studies have also shown that binge drinking clearly damages the adolescent brain more than the adult brain.”
The Week Ahead
And so it begins. This week is enormous for the presidential campaig. In some ways it’s unfortunate that one small state, Iowa, could have such an impact on the race, but that’s the way it is. One of the best pre-Iowa essays comes from Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal who encourages Iowans to choose “reasonable” candidates. She includes Mitt Romney among the reasonable candidates. John Fund, also of the Wall Street Journal describes the crazy Iowa caucus process and tells why polling in Iowa is difficult.
The Wyoming Republican presidential event is on Saturday, made less relevant because Wyoming has been penalized with fewer delegates for moving early. Meanwhile, if you want to keep track of the various polls on the presidential contests, check out www.pollster.com.
Housekeeping: UPD will take off New Year’s Day and return as usual the rest of the week.
Dispatch From the Front
Jared Whitley, who works for Sen. Orrin Hatch in Washington, D.C., is taking some personal time to volunteer for Mitt Romney in Iowa this week. He will be blogging about his experiences at Rapier Whit and Utah Policy Daily will link to his posts from the front lines.
UESP Contributions Due Today
Contributions to the Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP), Utah's 529 plan, are due by 5pm today to qualify for 2007 state tax benefits. Contributions of up to $1,620 per beneficiary for a single filer and double this for a joint return are deductible or qualify for a tax credit calculation. Contributions and new accounts can be set up at the UESP offices at 60 S 400 W, Gateway 2, Board of Regents Building or online at www.uesp.org.
Today in Political History
Dec. 31, 1946: President Harry S. Truman officially proclaims the end of hostilities in World War II. (New York Times)
Dec. 31, 1983: American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) is broken up by the U.S. government and local service is divorced from long distance service.
Dec. 31, 1999: The U.S. government hands Panama Canal control over to Panama. (Source: Perspicuity)
Wise Words
“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”
-- Bill Vaughan (Quote Garden)
Leadership Tip
Prioritizing Your Time
Good leaders seem to always be able to “get things done.” Ever wonder how they do that? The skill they have most likely mastered is the skill of prioritizing. Just in time for the New Year, here’s a suggestion to help you improve in this area. Write out your “to do list” and then re-write it in the following order suggested by author Steven Covey: 1. Important and urgent; 2. Important, but not urgent; 3. Urgent, but not important; 4. Not urgent and not important. Tackle your tasks in the order listed! (Source: NCSU.edu)
National Politics
Best Stories From . . .
-- Las Vegas Sun: In an interview, Sen. Harry Reid reflects on the frustrations of "[m]oving to the majority leader's job this year, after all those years as a leader of the minority," which he says has been "the difference between playing first base for the Yankees and playing it for Basic High School."
-- The Politico: Columnist Jonathan Martin looks at whether Mike Huckabee can hold onto his frontrunner status in Iowa.
-- Washington Post: Columnist Dan Balz: "Often the forgotten man in Iowa's three-way Democratic battle, [John] Edwards is on the move. Independent analysts see his support firming up. Advisers to both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama believe he might win the caucuses on Thursday -- although their views should be discounted because both Clinton and Obama would rather see Edwards win if they can't."
-- Wall Street Journal: "The endgame has begun in Iowa's Jan. 3 presidential primary race, and it may be shaped as much by independent interest groups as by the candidates themselves. Most of the action has been in support of Democrats."
Blog Watch
-- Rep. Craig Frank responds to Paul Rolly's latest digs at the Utah Legislature.
-- Salt Blog and Utah State Democratic Party are unimpressed with Sen. Allen Christensen's plan to introduce legislation that would require the display of the American flag and the Declaration of Independence in Utah public school classrooms.
Lighter Side
Presidential Cover-Up
George Washington, both while general and president, had a confidante – a baker, by trade – whom he could trust to keep quiet. Waiting until the bakery was closed so as to be devoid of witnesses, Mr. Washington would secretly pass today’s equivalent of $850 a month to this baker for certain services.
For what secret act was this revered president willing to pay so steeply to keep hush-hush? It was this: In exchange for this cash payment the baker agreed to distribute that much in fresh bread to the poor every month, and keep quiet about who was paying for it. (Source: Utah Retirement Systems ViewPoint newsletter) |
