Thursday Musing
Yesterday I chatted with someone who felt he had been unfairly criticized by a Salt Lake daily newspaper. I recalled a quote related by LDS Church Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley in last November’s General Conference: “Once a man who had been slandered by a newspaper came to Edward Everett asking what to do about it. Said Everett, ‘Do nothing! Half the people who bought the paper never saw the article. Half of those who saw it, did not read it. Half of those who read it, did not understand it. Half of those who understood it, did not believe it. Half of those who believed it are of no account anyway.’” (“Sunny Side of the Street,” Nov. 1989)
Clean Nuclear Energy
While Utah debates nuclear energy, citizens of France, who enjoy “the cleanest air in the industrialized world,” give nuclear power a 70% approval rating. Writes Roger Cohen in a News York Times op-ed: “… the French nuclear energy company Areva, which provides about 80 percent of the country’s electricity from 58 nuclear power plants, is building a new generation of reactor that will come on line at Flamanville in 2012, and is exporting its expertise to countries from China to the United Arab Emirates. Contrast that with the United States, where just 20 percent of electricity comes from nuclear plants, no commercial reactor has come on line since 1996, no new reactor has been ordered for decades, and debate about nuclear power remains paralyzing despite its clean-air electricity generation in the age of global warming.”
More Interest Rate Cuts?
Utah economist Jeff Thredgold’s Tea Leaf economic update this week focuses on the Federal Reserve’s slashing of the federal funds rate by .75%, with additional monetary easing expected in the future. “Despite the surprise 0.75% interest rate cut of Tuesday, the FOMC will still meet on January 29/30. Many financial market players suggest that another 0.50% rate cut could emerge from that meeting. Others suggest that the Fed will sit tight at the meeting, preferring to see how financial markets respond to this most recent rate cut. For the moment, we agree with the call for another 0.50% federal funds rate cut on January 30, as well as a further 0.50% cut on March 18. Should such rate cuts occur, the federal funds rate would be at 2.50% in subsequent months, with additional Federal Reserve moves less likely. However, if the recession advocates end up being correct, a federal funds rate at or slightly below 2.00% is a real possibility by the summer…”
Annual Economic Report
Utah’s economy remains one of the strongest in the nation and its prospects for 2008 continue to be optimistic, despite a slowdown nationally. That’s the word Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman received last week from his Council of Economic Advisors in its 22nd Annual Economic Report. You can read the highlights of the report in this week's edition of the Economic Review, from EDCUtah.
New I-9 Requirements
Since the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s revisions to the Employment Eligibility Verification Form, or I-9, took effect December 26, 2007, employers are now required to complete a Form I-9 for every new hire. This week's Taking Care of Business newsletter, from the Zions Bank Business Resource Center, highlights the new I-9 requirements and says the penalty for employing an unauthorized worker can range from $250 to $2,000, while paperwork errors may receive a fine of $100 to $1,000.
Washington Watch
Cannon Supports Veto
Rep. Chris Cannon votes to sustain Pres. Bush's veto of the SCHIP expansion bill, HR 3963 (see press release). Cannon and Rep. Rob Bishop are criticized for their votes on SCHIP in Kicking Ass of the Utah State Democratic Party written by Bill Keshlear.
Energy Keepers Network
Cannon, along with conservative activists Sean Hannity and Roy Innis, launches a new pro-energy campaign called the Energy Keepers Network (press release).
Today in Political History
Jan. 24, 0041: Caligula, Emperor of Rome, is assassinated.
Jan. 24, 1904: The first Boy Scout troop was organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell. (Perspicuity)
Jan. 24, 1965: Winston Churchill dies in London at age 90. (New York Times)
Jan. 24, 2003: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security officially beings operation. (NBC5)
Wise Words
“A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of the government. A feeble execution is but another phrase for a bad execution; and a government ill executed, whatever may be its theory, must be, in practice, a bad government.”
-- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 69 (Source: Patriot Post)
National Politics
Best Stories From . . .
-- The Hill: Former GOP presidential candidate Duncan Hunter endorses Mike Huckabee.
-- Townhall: Columnist/radio personality Michael Medved lists and refutes "six big lies about John McCain."
-- The Nation: Columnist William Greider: "The Clintons play dirty when they feel threatened. But we knew that, didn't we? The recent roughing-up of Barack Obama was in the trademark style of the Clinton years in the White House. High-minded and self-important on the surface, smarmily duplicitous underneath, meanwhile jabbing hard to the groin area. They are a slippery pair and come as a package. The nation is at fair risk of getting them back in the White House for four more years. The thought makes me queasy."
-- New York Times: Columnist Maureen Dowd: "If Bill Clinton has to trash his legacy to protect his legacy, so be it. If he has to put a dagger through the heart of hope to give Hillary hope, so be it. If he has to preside in [South Carolina] as the former first black president stopping the would-be first black president, so be it. The Clintons ... always go where they need to go, no matter the collateral damage. Even if the damage is to themselves and their party."
Blog Watch
-- At Salt Blog, Holly Mullen notes: "The Utah Senate will open with its first-ever Hindu prayer on Feb. 13. This, according to information from the man who will give the prayer, Rajan Zed ... The self-described 'prominent Hindu chaplain and Indo-American leader' will deliver the prayer first in Sanskrit, then offer its translation in English. ... Rajan Zed says he'll recite from 'Rig-Veda,' which dates to around 1,500 B.C. and remains the oldest world scripture still in common use. ... Translated into English, Rajan Zed will pray: 'Lead us from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, and from death to immortality.' And reciting from chapter three of Bhagavad-Gita, he will 'urge the senators to act selflessly.' Ah, that's the challenge. Does 'acting selflessly' include sending back those Jazz tickets and canceling those executive tee times with the lobbyists?" (For more posts on the Legislature, see The Senate Site, Salt Lake Crawler, Lincoln's Legislative Blog, and Woods Cross Citizen.)
Lighter Side
Best of Late Night Humor
(From Patriot Post)
Jay Leno: Voters are starting to warm up to Hillary Clinton. You what that means. This may be the best proof yet for global warming. Hillary is starting to thaw. ... John Edwards keeps coming in third, but he says he’s not worried about it. He now says he doesn’t believe there are two Americas. He now thinks there are three. And he’s going to keep looking for the one that wants him to be president. ... There was a big Democratic debate the other night, and NBC would not allow Dennis Kucinich into the debate because his poll numbers were not high enough. How ironic is that—NBC saying your ratings are too low. ... It cost me 65 bucks to fill up my car today. Remember when 65 bucks would buy you a large latte at Starbucks?
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