How to Improve the Primary Process
Conservative columnist Bobby Eberle, writing in GOPUSA.com, describes a variety of proposals to improve the presidential primary process, many of which would be better than the current system.
New Leadership at TNC
The Utah Chapter board of The Nature Conservancy has selected Jennifer Speers as the new chair, replacing Jim Clark, who led the Utah chapter for the past year. Board member Chris Robinson was chosen as vice-chair. Speers, Robinson and Clark are longtime board members who have provided excellent service to TNC and the cause of conservation in Utah.
At the same recent meeting, TNC gave its Conservation Partnership Award to Envision Utah, represented by Chair Jerry Stevenson and Executive Director Alan Matheson. TNC and Envision Utah have partnered in a number of key projects, including Vision Dixie and the Davis County Shorelands project.
Today in Political History
Jan. 9, 1951: United Nations headquarters officially opens in New York City. (Source: NBC5)
Jan. 9, 1788: Connecticut joins the United States as the fifth state.
Jan. 9, 1861: The Mississippi legislature votes to secede from the Union.
Jan. 9, 1913: Richard Milhous Nixon, 37th U.S. president (1969-74), is born (died Apr 22, 1994 at age 81). (Source: Perspicuity)
Wise Words
“We take care of our health, we lay up money, we make our roof tight and our clothing sufficient, but who provides wisely that he shall not be wanting the best property of all - friends?”
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson (Source: Quote Garden)
Management Tip
Feedback That Has an Impact
Feedback is communication to a person or a team of people regarding the effect their behavior is having on another person, the organization, the customer, or the team. Positive feedback involves telling someone about good performance. Make this feedback timely, specific, and frequent.
Constructive feedback alerts an individual to an area in which his performance could improve. Constructive feedback is not criticism; it is descriptive and should always be directed to the action, not the person. The main purpose of constructive feedback is to help people understand where they stand in relation to expected and/or productive job behavior. Recognition for effective performance is a powerful motivator. Most people want to obtain more recognition, so recognition fosters more of the appreciated actions. (Source: Human Resources)
National Politics
Best Stories From . . .
-- The Hill: "If Iowa was about change, New Hampshire was about experience. Or perhaps redemption. What is clear is that the Democratic race now joins the GOP field in its unpredictability. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (N.Y.) shocking win over Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) here Tuesday night means Obama, who enjoyed frontrunner status for only a few days, is no longer the inevitable nominee."
-- New York Times: John McCain's victory in NH leaves the GOP field "more scrambled than ever, with the battleground now shifting to a series of states where each of the leading candidates believes he holds certain advantages. The next showdown will be on Jan. 15 in Michigan, a vast state struggling with a recession and the loss of manufacturing jobs."
-- ABC News' director of polling Gary Langer, befuddled by Clinton's NH victory, says "[t]here will be a serious, critical look at the final pre-election polls in the Democratic presidential primary in New Hampshire; that is essential. It is simply unprecedented for so many polls to have been so wrong. We need to know why."
Lighter Side
“I’ve been asked if that nickname bothers me, and the answer is no. After all, Darth Vader is one of the nicer things I’ve been called recently.”
-- Vice President Dick Cheney (Campaign & Elections magazine)
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