Dear Governor Herbert,

I read your State of the Union address and thought it was well done. Utah is truly a great place to live and do business, and also for golf, a sport we both enjoy. With the USGA Public Links Championship at Soldier Hollow this year perhaps we can find some time to golf together as part of the occasion.

Your speech was almost entirely positive and I was in agreement almost one hundred percent — except in one glaring way—your expressed antagonism to the federal government. I suppose that was red meat for the GOP, a part of a ritual of being elected in Utah.  It’s the safe, almost required thing to do. It assures an applause line.

However, it is my contention that it is unhealthy for us to continually demean our national government and promote disrespect for it and not give credit where credit is due.

You say government doesn’t create jobs, and that all the credit for a good economy in Utah rests snugly in the trophy case of free enterprise, but that is so obviously and patently untrue that it surprises me that Republican politicians continue to repeat that nonsense without fear of contradiction. I would think that just for the sake of a clear conscience that an occasional Republican would have the personal integrity to refrain from making that absurd statement. Is it part of some secret anti-government Republican oath that requires repeating?

As CEO of the Great State of Utah how many jobs are you supervising? Are these not jobs? Do these people not pay taxes? Are they not providing goods and services? Is there any other CEO in the state supervising more jobs than you? The jobs in Utah’s Higher Education System are some of the most important and esteemed jobs in the state, and surely those government jobs lead to the creation of thousands of free enterprise jobs. Our public school teachers all across this state are preparing our children for college and future employment, not to mention thousands of other state and local employees keeping our important government agencies operating smoothly, services that are absolutely necessary in order for free enterprise to thrive and grow. How are all these government jobs not contributing to a vibrant economy? How would free enterprise survive without them?

How many free enterprise jobs did government create this year with the expansion of I-15 in Utah County? How much did that government project contribute to our economic prosperity?

I drive by Camp Williams quite often and I have been amazed at the number of employee cars parked at the site. One would think there was a BYU or Utah football game being played there. Outside of the LDS City Creek Project the federal government’s National Security Agency project at Camp Williams is probably the originating source of more private enterprise jobs than any other single source this past year. The future high paid government employment figures at NSA will remain high for years to come and will surely enable future governors to take credit for job creation while demeaning the feds for being in the way.

I wonder how our new job report would look without all the jobs made possible this past year by the feds—jobs that were 100% opposed by our Utah congressional delegation. Yes, even our token Democrat has to vote like a Republican (more…)

2012 State of the State Address

A Strong Economy Fosters Healthy Communities and Prosperous Families

Lt. Governor and Mrs. Bell; President Waddoups; Speaker Lockhart; members of the Utah Legislature; members of my Cabinet; Justices of the Utah Supreme Court; Utah’s First Lady, my beautiful wife, Jeanette; and my fellow Utahns:

It is an honor and a privilege to address you this evening. As we assemble in this beautiful and historic chamber, let us take time to acknowledge those who protect our freedoms and keep our homeland safe. This past August, I traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan to meet with some of our deployed Utah servicemen and women. It was a humbling experience. Our liberty – the free exercise of our God-given rights – is preserved by the men and women of our Armed Forces who willingly put themselves in harm’s way for God, family and country. This past year, in the span of just over a month, we lost six Utah soldiers, sailors and marines in Afghanistan. These brave servicemen made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of this nation and the ideals which make it great. We also acknowledge the loss of Agent Jared Francom, tragically killed in the Ogden shooting incident just a few short weeks ago.

Tonight, we have as honored guests in the gallery, family members of those we have lost at home and abroad. As they stand, please join with me to acknowledge them, and thank them for their loved one’s service and sacrifice.

As Governor of the great State of Utah, I am pleased to report that the state of our State is strong – and growing stronger. I want you to know I am very optimistic about Utah’s future. While our national economy continues to struggle, the economy in Utah surges ahead. Our unemployment rate continues to steadily fall. We currently have the second-fastest rate of job creation (more…)

As Prepared for Delivery –

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home some of our last troops to serve in Iraq. Together, we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought — and several thousand gave their lives.

We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world. For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. Most of al Qaeda’s top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban’s momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home.

These achievements are a testament to the courage, selflessness, and teamwork of America’s Armed Forces. At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations. They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example. Think about the America within our reach: A country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we’re in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren’t so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.

We can do this. I know we can, because we’ve done it before. At the end of World War II, when another generation of heroes returned home (more…)

Rocky Anderson, two term mayor of Salt Lake City, recently announced his candidacy for President of the United States under the label of the newly formed Justice Party.

This was his acceptance speech at the nominating convention:

Ross C. “Rocky” Anderson Accepting Justice Party Nomination for Candidacy for President of the United States (website)

I am proud to accept the nomination of the Justice Party to run as its candidate for President of the United States.

This is not my campaign.  This is a campaign of, for, and by the people.  We join together in this endeavor for the sake of justice – social justice, environmental justice, and economic justice.   We pledge to organize and act, tenaciously and over the long haul, for the sake of the public interest, to enhance and protect freedom for all, and to vindicate the sacred promise of justice for all.

Those who understand that our great nation and its people have been harmed severely, and are at tremendous risk for even greater damage in the future, can be powerful agents of positive change.  We need not settle for governance by the Republican and Democratic parties, which thrive on the corrupt money machine, nor do we have to confine ourselves to voting for the lesser of two evils, if indeed there is a lesser evil among the common choices.

If we have the vision, the courage, and the will, we can, together, forge a very different way – a way that will lead to a future of fiscal responsibility and respectful regard for the economic burdens we leave for later generations; secure jobs and fair compensation; decency and rationality in our cruel, self-destructive criminal justice system that is largely based on an irrational rage to punish; an investment in our nation’s infrastructure, education, and innovation that is as substantial as our need to re-gain our global competitive edge; compassionate and rational immigration reform; respect for fundamental human and civil rights; victory over the stranglehold of the military-industrial-congressional complex; protection of our air, water, and wild lands; essential health care for all, as in every other nation (more…)

The following letter written by Dave Coupal of Cottonwood Heights was published in The Salt Lake Tribune Public Forum Section, March 2, 2011.

by Dave Coupal, Cottonwood Heights

Those who engage in civil disobedience must be willing to pay the price and serve their time in jail (“Jury is set for DeChristopher trial,” Tribune, Feb 28). If convicted, perhaps Tim DeChristopher can share a cell with that other Utah agitator who disobeyed a law: state Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab. They both would surely benefit from a little time hearing from someone on the opposite side of the environmental issue.

I assume Noel will have a longer stay, since his illegal protest stunt of driving his all-terrain-vehicle up the restricted Wilderness Study Area of the Paria River did permanent damage to our publicly owned lands; whereas, DeChristopher just annoyed some energy producers.

By the way, when will the jury be set for the Noel trial?

Dave Coupal

By Brian Moench

Opinion Piece in Salt Lake Tribune

Published: January 8, 2011 01:01AM

In December 1952, an episode of London smog killed more than 12,000 people in less than a month, most within the first four days. It changed forever how the world regarded air pollution. As thick winter smog once again smothers the Wasatch Front, a review of research published in 2010 should be the next milestone in how Utahns regard air pollution.

In May, the American Heart Association published the AHA’s Updated Scientific Statement on Particulate Matter Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease. Based on hundreds of research papers, it suggested a formula for calculating the number of premature deaths in a community based on the concentrations of PM2.5 (particles smaller than 2.5 microns).

This formula produces the same conclusions that the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment have been stating since 2007. Between 1,000 and 2,000 people in Utah die prematurely every year because of our air pollution.

In 2010, numerous studies added Alzheimer’s, autism, diabetes and breast cancer to an already long list of health consequences that showed significant increases with air pollution. The exclamation point to all this research came with a remarkable study published (more…)

Article in the Wall Street Journal, February 4, 2011

Why God Did Not Create the Universe

There is a sound scientific explanation for the making of our world—no gods required

By STEPHEN HAWKING And LEONARD MLODINOW

According to Viking mythology, eclipses occur when two wolves, Skoll and Hati, catch the sun or moon. At the onset of an eclipse people would make lots of noise, hoping to scare the wolves away. After some time, people must have noticed that the eclipses ended regardless of whether they ran around banging on pots.

This article in the Wall Street Journal was the subject of an article in The Deseret News that is also posted on Watts Cookin’. Our comments are attached within the Deseret News commentary posted under the headline “Hawking’s New Book Dismisses God”. Hawking is widely regarded as one of the smartest men in the world, if not number one, and it is worth our time to listen and learn.

Ignorance of nature’s ways led people in ancient times to postulate many myths in an effort to make sense of their world. But eventually, people turned to philosophy, that is, to the use of reason—with a good dose of intuition—to decipher their universe. Today we use reason, mathematics and experimental test—in other words, modern science.

Albert Einstein said, “The most incomprehensible thing (more…)

The following letter was sent by Common Cause to Attorney General Eric Holder regarding ethical issues surrounding two United States Supreme Court Justices, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

This is a very important letter and doesn’t even mention two other very significant issues, (1) that Justice Thomas did not properly disclose his wife’s income on the required disclosure filing forms, and (2) that Justice Scalia attended a closed meeting of a select group of Congressmen to discuss constitutional issues that well may come before the court.

The conduct of these Supreme Court justices, as clearly explained in the letter, is appallingly partisan and puts a serious stain on the credibility of the court.

The Tea Party, the supposed lovers of the constitution, seem to be hell bent on destroying it in order to save it in the form in their own version of it.

Congratulations to Common Cause for trying to force this issue with the Attorney General. Good luck! This attorney general seems to have no interest (more…)

Published on Friday, January 14, 2011

by The Economics of Happiness – the Movie The Economics of Happiness

Economic globalization has led to a massive expansion in the scale and power of big business and banking. It has also worsened nearly every problem we face: fundamentalism and ethnic conflict; climate chaos and species extinction; financial instability and unemployment. There are personal costs too. For the majority of people on the planet life is becoming increasingly stressful. We have less time for friends and family and we face mounting pressures at work.

See the trailer to the movie at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZL0dp-xzhw

The Economics of Happiness describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions. On the one hand, government and big business continue to promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, all around the world people are resisting those policies, demanding a re-regulation (more…)

Published: January 10, 2011 12:20AM

A recent University of Maryland study confirms that those who watch Fox News daily are significantly more likely than those who never watch it to believe that:

• Most economists estimate the stimulus caused job losses. (It has created millions of jobs.)

• Most economists estimate that the health care bill will worsen the deficit. (Most estimate it will reduce the deficit.)

• The economy is getting worse. (It is improving.)

• Most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring. (Scientists are at near consensus that it is.)

• The stimulus did not include tax cuts. (Forty percent (more…)

by Melinda Liu, Anna Nemtsova, Owen Matthews

Newsweek

Thousands of years ago, trade caravans packed with spices and silk crisscrossed the Eurasian land mass along routes collectively known as the Silk Road. These caravans connected Constantinople to China’s then-capital, Changan, and even today the city (now Xian) has an ancient Muslim quarter and a self-assuredness evoking that bygone era. In those days, all roads led to China, which lived up to its name as the Middle Kingdom. (In Chinese the country is called Zhongguo, literally Middle Country.) Now with an audacious scheme to link 17 countries with more than 8,000 kilometers of high-speed railway—ultimately capable of transporting cargo as well as passengers all the way to London—China hopes to revive its role at the center of the universe.

This is a marvelous achievement and puts China in an enviable position for the next century. What is America doing? Nothing! Our gross national product is exchanging money back and forth and most of it going into the pockets of Wall Street bankers—and they produce nothing. Banks are supposed to be the grease of our economy, but all they do is grease their own pockets.

Our political system is in regression with the Republicans preferring the 19th century to the 21st.

“Give us the good old days,” is their cry, as they say “no, no, no” to any move into the 21st century.

America is dying and the free (more…)

By JUDY FAHYS

The Salt Lake Tribune

Published: January 3, 2011 03:45PM

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that Gasco Energy, Inc., will pay a $350,000 penalty and institute new air-pollution controls at its Uinta Basin facilities for multiple violations of the Clean Air Act.

Gasco, the former operator of the Riverbend Compressor Station on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation near Vernal, will cut air pollution at its Uinta Basin operations by more than 550 tons per year, the EPA said.

The Denver-based company did not respond to calls seeking comment.

Meanwhile, EPA applauded the consent decree lodged by the U.S. Justice Department in Salt Lake City last week.

“Under this agreement, Gasco and its successors will make significant investments to reduce emissions from facilities throughout the Uinta Basin,” said Jim Martin, EPA’s regional administrator in Denver. “EPA will continue to work with partners, including oil and gas operators, to protect air quality resources for the benefit of those who live in the basin.”

Hooray! It looks like the EPA is back in business. It would be interesting to know how many fines and the amounts were imposed during the eight years of the anti-regulation Bush Administration as compared to the Obama Administration.

Another point of interest that is seldom followed up on in the news—-how many companies actually pay the fines and how many fines are significantly reduced and what was the relationship between fines and political (more…)

By MALCOLM FOSTER

The Associated Press

Published: January 1, 2011 09:15PM

Tokyo • Japan has been overtaken by China as the world’s No. 2 economy. Its flagship company, Toyota, recalled more than 10 million vehicles in an embarrassing safety crisis. Its fourth prime minister resigned in three years, and the government remains unable to jolt an economy entering its third decade of stagnation.

For once-confident Japan, 2010 may well mark a symbolic milestone in its slide from economic giant to what experts see as its likely destiny: a second-tier power with some standout companies but limited global influence.

As Japanese drink up at year-end parties known as “bonen-kai,” or “forget-the-year gatherings,” this is one many will be happy to forget.

Problem is, there’s little to look forward to. With a rapidly aging population, bulging national debt, political gridlock and a risk-averse culture slow to embrace change, Japan’s prospects aren’t promising. And a tense, high-seas spat with China has intensified fears of its neighbor as a military as well as economic threat.

A few optimists hope Japan can harness its strength in technology (more…)

More research is needed, but the report suggests air pollution could be a factor.

December 16, 2010|By Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times

Children born to mothers who live close to freeways have twice the risk of autism, researchers reported Thursday. The study, its authors say, adds to evidence suggesting that certain environmental exposures could play a role in causing the disorder in some children.

“This study isn’t saying exposure to air pollution or exposure to traffic causes autism,” said Heather Volk, lead author of the paper and a researcher at the Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “But it could be one of the factors that are contributing to its increase.”

Reported cases of autism cases increased by 57% between 2002 and 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although professionals still debate whether rates have actually risen or a greater proportion of autistic children is being diagnosed. An estimated 1 in 110 children is diagnosed with autism today. There is no cure, although research has shown that various therapies can mitigate some symptoms, especially if begun early in life.

In the current study, published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers looked at 304 children with autism (more…)

By Ed Firmage Jr.

Published: December 18, 2010 01:01AM
(Ed Firmage Jr. is a fine-art photographer in Salt Lake City.)

From the beginning, America has been a land of opportunity. And because of this, Americans dreamed big.

Our optimism comes from the unique experience of starting our national adventure with a continent of pristine land at our feet. America before Europeans was of course not uninhabited or untouched by people. But the native inhabitants practiced a mode of living that left the land intact. They, therefore, as much as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, are our founding fathers and mothers.

And so, unlike any people since the Stone Age, settlers in America enjoyed the benefit of a continent of unspoiled resources. For as long as the frontier remained, Americans could look West and see a future that was theirs to make and enjoy. As historian Frederick Jackson Turner observed, our character stems from our relationship with a frontier that seemed to be never-ending.

In the years following the “closing” of the frontier in 1890, Americans found themselves enmeshed in global problems (more…)

By Thomas L. Friedman

The New York Times

Published: December 2, 2010 01:01AM

While secrets from WikiLeaks were splashed all over the American newspapers, I couldn’t help but wonder: What if China had a WikiLeaker and we could see what its embassy in Washington was reporting about America? I suspect the cable would read like this:

Washington Embassy, People’s Republic of China, to Ministry of Foreign Affairs Beijing, TOP SECRET/Subject: America today.

Things are going well here for China. America remains a deeply politically polarized country, which is certainly helpful for our goal of overtaking the U.S. as the world’s most powerful economy and nation. But we’re particularly optimistic because the Americans are polarized over all the wrong things.

This is a clever twist on the WikiLeaks controversy. It pretty much describes the current state of affairs in America.

There is a willful self-destructiveness in the air here as if America has all the time and money in the world for petty politics. They fight over things like — we are not making this up — how and where an airport security (more…)

Salt Lake Tribune Editorial

Published: November 29, 2010 05:45AM

The fight over public access to Utah streams that flow over private property is far from over. A group of fly fishermen and river runners has filed suit to overturn the law the Legislature passed this year that tipped the balance in favor of private property owners.

In the meantime, the Legislature’s Waterways Task Force is preparing to launch an enhanced program that would use federal and state funds to pay for walk-in access for the public to private lands that abut and underlie public waters.

We seldom disagree with a Tribune editorial, but we take strong exception to this one.

The Trib has it wrong. Streams do not flow over private property. Streams, lakes, and reservoirs and reasonable access are public property as ruled by the Utah Supreme Court. We should never give in on that point. Adjacent private property owners should have no right to prohibit the public from reasonable access to the public waterways. That should be understood whenever anyone buys property adjacent to public waters.

The idea that an individual or group can buy property around our rivers and streams and bar the public from access is repugnant. In essence they are simply co-opting public property for their own private use. Theoretically, if one (more…)

By Judy Fahys

The Salt Lake Tribune

Published: November 24, 2010 09:47AM

Federal environmental regulators are cracking down on the Utah air-quality rules that cover times when companies release unplanned pollution.

If the state Division of Air Quality cannot fix its regulation in a year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can restrict new building in high-pollution areas and even block federal highway funds statewide. But Utah officials and the EPA say they are trying to find a workable solution before it comes to that.

“It’s our expectation, we’ll have this resolved before those sanctions would be triggered,” said Carl Daly of EPA’s air office in Denver.

Jeremy Nichols, who works with the environmental group WildEarth Guardians, is applauding the crackdown. The group sued the EPA to force it to close what it calls a state loophole that gives Utah’s 1,200 air-pollution permit holders a “blanket exemption to clean-air limits” when their plants have “unintentional breakdowns.”

Utahns would rather have bad air and poor health than comply with federal agents telling them how to live. The problem with Utahns is they think that it’s Utah air and not federal air. Utahns don’t mind living in thick, unhealthy air (more…)

By Roxana Orellana

and Peter S. Lozancich

The Salt Lake Tribune

Published: November 15, 2010 09:34AM

Eight months after the governor gave life to a law that restricts the public’s access to Utah’s rivers and streams, a group has made a push to get back to the water’s edge.

The Utah Stream Access Coalition, a nonprofit group created to preserve public access to the state’s waterways, filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the constitutionality of Public Waters Access Act, which was passed by the Legislature in 2010.

It’s nice to see that fisherman have got as much fight as fish.

Everyone should have access to our rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs just as readily as we do our public sidewalks and roads.  It seems obvious on its face and those who buy property adjacent to rivers and streams should understand that up front. It’s a simple matter of common sense.

The owner of land should have access to his property, and that means that the public should have access to public property, and private owners should have access to their private property. You would think that advocates of property rights would be respectful of property rights, including both public and private property instead of just their own selfish and (more…)

By DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP

The Associated Press

Published: November 12, 2010 07:27PM

Seattle • The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is getting ready to do some matchmaking on a global scale.

The world’s largest charitable foundation is bringing together bankers, government officials, regulators, telecommunications companies and community organizers from around the world next week to cut some deals to benefit the poor.

The Global Savings Forum, set for Tuesday and Wednesday in Seattle, includes the usual conference fodder: speeches by dignitaries like Melinda Gates, who is expected to make a major grant announcement; and by Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, the United Nations’ special advocate for inclusive finance for development.

But the conference’s main focus will be getting people talking in small groups, to share ideas and technology and maybe cut a few business deals across borders, said Bob Christen, director for the foundation’s financial services for the poor program.

“What we’re mostly doing is putting a vision out there,” Christen said. He added the $200 million in grants the foundation has made to help set up new programs to encourage and facilitate savings is secondary to its advocacy work to help poor people around the world make financial plans for the future, to save for everything from fertilizer to school fees and uniforms.

The foundation focuses its efforts on encouraging savings rather than micro-credit in Africa, Latin America and Asia because they believe that’s the approach most likely to help the 2.5 billion people around the world who live on about $2 a day take control of their own futures.

How do these small farmers and merchants have anything to save? Savings for them is very different from the savings accounts Americans open in their local bank, Christen explains.

Savings to the small farmer or businesswoman means putting away the 50 cents she has left over after providing for her family’s immediate needs on a given day so it doesn’t end up being spend on nonessentials.

The mechanics of savings in the developing world is also quite different. People in Kenya, for example, use their cell phones to transfer money into and out of their accounts by stopping by the booth of another local merchant to make the transaction. These local “bankers” are the same people who sell cell phone minutes.