The Week Ahead
It’s a big week for politics nationally and in Utah. With one week to go before the 2008 session of the 57th Legislature starts, things will get busy in the nice new legislative quarters on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday, all 10 appropriations subcommittees meet for pre-session discussions on the budget. The focus will be on FY2009 base budgets, revenue estimates, the state spending cap, reports from agencies, etc. For a list of subcommittees and agendas, click here.
On the national scene, the big Michigan GOP primary is Tuesday, followed by South Carolina and Nevada on Saturday.
Monday Musing
Better Weather Ahead
It’s mid-January, and the days are getting noticeably longer (it stays light past 5 p.m.). We’ve passed, on average, the coldest days of the year. We’ll still have many bitter cold days ahead but, on average, the temperatures should start creeping up. The worst of the winter is behind us, and it’s time for some sunshine and a January thaw!
State of the County Address
The Salt Lake County website has posted Mayor Peter Corroon's 2008 State of the County address. To read it, click here.
Today in Political History
Jan. 14, 1639: The first constitution of Connecticut -- the "Fundamental Orders" -- is adopted.
Jan. 14, 1963: George Wallace is inaugurated as the governor of Alabama, promising his followers, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!" (Source: Perspicuity)
Wise Words
“Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.”
-- Abraham Lincoln (Source: Quote Garden)
Leadership Tip
The Essence of Leadership
By Pete Smith
First, leaders exist at all levels -- not just at the top. Who are leaders? Robert Jarvik, who invented the artificial heart, said, "Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them." I like to think of leaders as people at any level who can drive the achievement of significant goals -- people without whose vision, motivation, encouragement, and support, the goals would not be achieved -- people who can persuade others to change the way they think and act. And these leaders do not have to come from the top. In most organizations today, people work in collaboration, in teams. (Source: Gov Leaders)
National Politics
Best Stories From . . .
-- The Politico: Hillary Clinton accuses Barack Obama of pushing the race issue by "deliberately distorting" remarks she made about Dr. Martin Luther King.
-- Human Events endorses Fred Thompson.
-- The Hill: Thompson and Mike Huckabee make counterclaims to the Reagan legacy.
-- Washington Post: Columnist George Will, worried about the GOP's prospects, says: "Tuesday's Republican primary is in one of the nation's worst-governed states. Under a Democratic governor, Michigan has been taxed into a one-state recession. Native son Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate who best understands how wealth is created, might revive his campaign by asking: Who do you want to be president in 2010 when the Bush tax cuts, which McCain opposed, expire? Can automakers endure more regulations such as the fuel efficiency mandates that climate-fixers such as McCain favor? Do you want a president (Mike Huckabee, proponent of a national sales tax of at least 30 percent) pledged to radically increase the proportion of federal taxation paid by the middle class? Republicans should try to choose the next president. They cannot avoid choosing how their party will define itself, even if by a loss beneath a worthy banner."
Lighter Side
“My ambition is to exterminate the word bumbling from the vocabulary of profilers. There’s going to be a massive stamping down on the bumbling. Much less bumbling.”
-- Boris Johnson, Conservative candidate for mayor of London and a natural comedian (Time magazine)
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