About a month ago we had a group of concerned firearms owners in studio to talk about Logan’s firearms possession laws conflicting with state law.

Here is a followup e-mail I received from Jared Smith, one of our guests.

Tyler-

I just wanted to follow up on this story. I filed a formal complaint
with the State Attorney General’s Office regarding Logan City’s
blatant disregard of Utah’s Uniform Firearm Laws. Shurtleff’s office
responded to Logan’s Attorney, Kymber Housley by confirming the city’s
conflict with state laws, requiring that local law enforcement be
“required to not to enforce, charge, or otherwise impede citizens” and
urging the city to bring its laws into compliance “as quickly as
practicable”. Despite this strong response, Mr. Housley continues to
indicate that he has no pressing interest in making this right. He has
now said that it is not a priority because only a few citizens have
indicated their concern over the matter and that there is not timeline
or plan to fix these laws in the near future.

As such, we are in the process of doing a few things:
- We’re contact other press in the valley, particularly the HJ.
- We’re going to make a (hopefully) strong showing at the city council
meeting next Tuesday and make a statement to the council.
- We’re in the process of contacting a lawyer that may be interested
in pursuing this matter legally.

At this point, it seems that the utter disregard by the city for state
laws and for the constitutional rights of it’s citizens can only be
remedied through a big public stink or through legal action. And we’re
obliged to bring forth both to get this issue resolved.

Of interest, in the last few months, several other cities have been
contacted about this and many have resolved the issue very quickly.
Layton City, for example, fixed their laws through city council within
2 weeks of being notified.

Anyway, we appreciate your hosting us on your program before and would
appreciate any further press you can give this matter.

Here are some videos to get everyone in a patriotic spirit.  Happy Independence Day! -Tom

Ronald Reagan’s farewell address

Barack Obama Iowa Speech

Battle Hymn of the Republic – Mormon Tabernacle Choir

God Bless America – Mormon Tabernacle Choir

NEWS ADVISORY

Contact:                 Fair Boundaries Coalition
Nikki Norton
774 South 1650 East #C
Clearfield, UT
435-513-2606
www.fairboundaries.org

Lisa Watts Baskin, LLC
Attorney at Law
819 East Springwood Drive
North Salt Lake, UT 84054
801-296-1676

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Public Hearings On Redistricting Standards

(Salt Lake City, Utah) – July 1, 2009 – Fair Boundaries coalition will host public hearings to
present their initiative, “Utah Redistricting Standards Commission,” and receive input from
citizens. Fair Boundaries believes that elected officials should not draw their own election
districts and effectively choose their own voters. An independent commission, without these
obvious conflicts of interest, should draw the maps to present to the legislature with guidelines that keep more of Utah’s local communities intact. Voters deserve accountability from leaders who represent their common interests.

The public hearings will take place at the following locations and times:

July 1, 2009
Bear River Region – Box Elder, Cache and Rich Counties
County Administration Building
Cache County Multipurpose Room
179 N Main Street
Logan, UT
6:30 to 8:00 pm

July 6, 2009
Central Region – Juab, Millard, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier and Wayne Counties
Snow College
Room 114 – Humanities Building
150 E College Avenue
Ephraim, UT 84627
5:30 to 7:00 pm

Mountain Region – Summit, Utah and Wasatch Counties
Sheldon Richins Building
6505 Landmark Drive
Park City, UT 84098
6:00 to 7:30 pm

July 7, 2009
Southeast Region – Carbon, Emery, Grand and San Juan Counties
Carbon County School District Office
251 W 400 N, Price, UT
6:00 to 7:30 pm

Uintah Basin Region – Daggett, Duchesne and Uintah Counties
Uintah Community Center
Classroom 3
610 South Vernal Avenue
Vernal, UT
5:30 to 7:00 pm

July 8, 2009
Southwest Region – Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane and Washington Counties
Kanab City Library
374 N. Main Street
Kanab, UT 84741
7:00 to 9:00 pm

Mountain Region – Summit, Utah and Wasatch Counties
Provo Library
550 North University Avenue
Provo, UT 84601
7:00 to 8:30 pm
July 9, 2009

Wasatch Front Region – Davis, Morgan, Salt Lake, Tooele and Weber Counties
Salt Lake County Complex
Council Chambers
2001 S State Street, North Building
Salt Lake City, UT
7:00 to 9:00 pm

###

James Williams is one of the many candidates running for U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett’s seat in 2010. I had a chance to speak with him today for an interview that will air on KVNU’s For the People Thursday night. For those of you busy with July 4 type stuff, however, the interview is posted here for your listening pleasure.

I thought he had a lot of good ideas and he’s aligned himself with the Jason Chaffetz-type candidacy, which has appealed to a lot of Utahns, including many of you up here in Cache Valley.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We have a killer, exclusive story about why SB81 is horrible, horrible law tonight. Listen and chat at http://kvnuftp.com. CAN’T MISS

Rep. Carl Wimmer’s BFF Rick Koerber responds to Tom’s recent post on the Wimmer/Shurtleff/Koerber follies.

Read carefully, and see if you can spot his mention of ties to an elected official, or how that elected official might have abused his position to “make heads roll” for a friend. (Hint: He doesn’t mention it at all)

Marking the first day of “the law [that] seeks to correct problems that don’t exist.” From the editorial.

The law places extra burdens on business owners, requiring them to use an E-verify system for which many of them lack training. Elsewhere, this system has been shown to reject legal residents by mistake. The result will be yet another drag on a struggling economy.

It will make Utah less safe. Illegal immigrants will be afraid to report crimes because doing so might mean they will be deported.

Most importantly, the law seeks to correct problems that don’t exist. A recent Sutherland Institute study found that only 3.9 percent of inmates in county jails in Utah are undocumented, as are less than 5 percent of inmates in state prisons. Illegal immigrants do not commit crimes to a larger degree than others. Most are as law abiding as other Utahns. Crossing the border illegally is a minor offense, on the order of a speeding ticket.

A much better approach would have been to set up some sort of system by which these workers could enter and leave the state legally. That is the approach the federal government needs to take. We are astounded that all sides in this debate cannot see the wisdom of a system that would control and monitor the influx of workers across the border, eliminating the crimes committed by immigration traffickers and making it easier to spot and punish the genuine criminals.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals may soon strike down part of an Oklahoma law that mirrors Utah’s new law. Other lawsuits are in the planning stages. Utah could end up paying a heavy toll economically, and in other ways, for passing this law. The best idea would be for lawmakers to begin laying plans to repeal it as soon as possible.

The federal economic stimulus was an incredibly controversial topic here on “For the People” for a number of weeks. And likewise, much of the nation reflected a similar divide during the initial days of its conception, with both sides convinced either way.

The truth about the stimulus is that we really won’t know whether it “worked” or not for at least a few more years; many of its provisions are designed to go into effect in the future, anyway.

Nevertheless, a substantial amount of federal money has already found its way to state and local governments across the nation, and Utah is no exception.

The question will inevitably arise, are these funds truly stimulating the economy? Or are they wasteful?

This article in the Salt Lake Tribune does well to probe that discussion:

Utah’s transit cops have a new mode of travel, thanks to the federal stimulus program.

Officers patrolling downtown Salt Lake City TRAX platforms and FrontRunner commuter-rail parking lots now are whizzing around on Segway electric scooters. The agency spent $7,900 apiece for six of the two-wheeled, upright gadgets, with all of the money coming through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The Federal Transit Administration’s rules for disbursing the money required that part of it go to security, UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter said, and the Utah agency spent its share on the Segways.

“It’s a very quick and easy way for officers to move around downtown and also patrol the parking lots and FrontRunner,” Carpenter said.

But it’s further evidence of frivolous government waste to critics of the $787 billion stimulus spending.

“Sounds like they got some fun toys,” said state Rep. John Dougall, R-Highland. “Wouldn’t bicycles be more effective? If they’re talking downtown Salt Lake, bikes would be healthier and more cost-effective.”

Not that Dougall would support federal dollars for bikes, which UTA cops already had before the stimulus grant.

“The whole concept, that somehow D.C. is going to ride in and stimulate things, is just ludicrous,” he said. “They overtax and pile up debt for our kids and grandkids.”

The Davis County Sheriff’s Office drew fire earlier for buying a $24,000 Harley-Davidson with

Officers not using Segways sometimes enter trains for random fare checks, but more often they drive between them responding to calls.

What do you think, stimulus or waste?

- Marc

Utah House Speaker Dave Clark has a request on his blog for people to submit ideas for better state government.

Wanted: 100 Ideas For Better State Government by July 24th

I challenge all Utahns to accept the responsibility for Utah’s future by submitting 100 innovative ideas for better state government. The ideas should keep in mind these 3 points:

1. The ideas should focus on the real challenges and anxieties of the day-to-day lives of Utahns.
2. The ideas should be forward looking, envisioning a Utah that will serve our children and grandchildren.
3.The ideas should not fixate on anti-government thinking or on expanding the role of government, but should instead consider anti-waste measures.

Will you accept his challenge? Don’t let the bold ideas in your heart fall silent. Give life to innovative notions and help us chart a better, brighter course for Utah’s future.

Ideas can be submitted directly to utahmatters@utah.gov or to any member of the Utah State House of Represenatives.

The most important issue facing Utah today is the future!

Good story in the SL Trib today about Utah Valley University and its “perfect storm” of budget cuts and enrollment growth that are impeding its meteoric (or mediocre?) progress from a trade school for high school students to a “university.”

An influx of students coming back for education coupled with budget cuts to create a situation where there are too many students, not enough faculty and not enough space at the school.

In short, UVU has gotten too big for its britches.

And while this will cause problems for UVU, other schools in the state also are suffering or will continue to suffer as a result of state lawmakers’ shortsightedness in allowing UVU to grow so rapidly. A school like USU, which offers a far superior level of education, suffers because the school to the south siphons off funding, using the excuse that they’re fulfilling a service for an underserved growing area.

What it turns out to be at the end of the day is a ton of money going to an extremely mediocre institution, allowing said mediocre institution to provide a half assed education to its students, while the other schools in the state suffer and thus have to provide a less quality education to students.

In short, UVU is a major thorn in the tookus of every other school in the state of Utah.

Source: UVU’s perfect storm? Budget cuts, enrollment growth stall progress – Salt Lake Tribune.

Often, the “TEA party-people” (yes, I purposefully avoided the term made famous by pundits) are accused of being “extreme” and “crazy” for believing that President Obama is promoting socialism in the US. While most may agree that this is going too far, it must be noted that this kind of slobber isn’t one-sided; it can be detected on both sides of the spectrum.

Earlier today, I read this comment from a reader of an article on UVU at the Salt Lake Tribune’s website:

EDIT: The picture I reference is on the front page of the site, not directly tied to the article – look for the “spotlight” shifting images field.

You know, none of this should surprise you when you see the Neofascistic LDS style of art in that painting it shows in the picture… it looks almost *exactly* like the kind of stuff I saw in Italy at the historical museum sites that documented the rise of Mussolini, and also like the socialistic worker’s paradise stylized garbage I saw in Moscow in 1989, and the material I’ve seen/read in studying the museum of obsolete history in Budapest. That’s exactly the kind of mindset they have down in Utah Valley…. I feel creeped out whenever I have to go there… if it weren’t for the Scottish Festivals in Lehi and Payson, I would NEVER set foot there.

Kosh was referring to both a graphic on the site and the article itself. Of course such “comments” are nothing new to the Salt Lake Tribune’s site, but this one kind of stood out to me.

Many Americans make themselves look absolutely ridiculous when they indulge in fabulous conspiracy theories… my personal favorite, that the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is conspiring to create a New World Order. Likewise, much of the anti-Obama rhetoric today reeks of the same kind of sensationalism which seemed to grip many liberals during Bush’s tenure. After all, how many times have we heard how Bush was like Hitler, and now how Obama is like Lenin or Che. Give me a break! I am not much of a fan of either man, but these dramatic comparisons are getting to be obnoxious.

Here in Utah, there are people who employ the same kind of absurd thinking… the LDS Church is seeking to establish some kind of fascist empire here in the West, beginning with Utah.

Yeah, most of us who have better things to do don’t pay much mind to this kind of talk. Yet then again, we should realize that there are people who actually believe this kind of stuff.

Are we so pathetic that we must dream up our own sensational reality? And no matter what sane people choose do with themselves, there will always be those who would much rather believe that Bush was Hitler, Obama is the Anti-Christ, and that the Mormon Church is experimenting with fascism.

- Marc

Everyone can contribute something to our community, nevertheless, there are those whose contributions are truly remarkable. Every day, a number of Cache Valley residents put their lives on the line in order to keep their fellow citizens safe and secure.

Sunday, Rhett Hellstern, a Logan fire captain received burns on his face after successfully extinguishing a car fire nearby the University.

From Cache Valley Daily:

A Logan fireman is healing today after suffering second- and third-degree burns while fighting a vehicle fire Sunday afternoon.

Fire Capt. Rhett Hellstern was on the scene at the vehicle fire near Mt. Logan Laundry at 500 East and 900 North. Logan Fire Chief Mark Meaker said crews had extinguished the fire when Hellstern was attempting to disconnect the battery on the vehicle, but fuel in the engine compartment reignited and a fire flashed up into Hellstern’s face.

Meaker said Monday that Hellstern was doing well, however, although he was still a little sore. Hellstern will be given some time off to recuperate form the injuries.

“We don’t want to have him exposed to another fire again until his skin has had a chance to heal,” Meaker said, noting that Hellstern would visit a plastic surgeon specialist to evaluate his injury.

Thankfully Capt. Hellstern wasn’t seriously injured, but we should all keep in mind that these individuals willingly risk their safety in order to help their neighbors. I think that Capt. Hellstern deserves our appreciation, as well as all the other firefighters from the various communities of this valley.

- Marc

Salt Lake Tribune:

“We are putting a bull’s-eye on the development of solar energy on our public lands,” Salazar said during an announcement with U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, of Nevada, in a courtyard shaded by a solar power array at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

He said the federal Bureau of Land Management plans to spend $22 million conducting studies of 24 tracts in the 670,000 acres of property he set aside in Nevada, Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. Posters displayed Monday showed sites north of Cedar City, in southern Nevada, Southern California east of San Diego, west of Phoenix, southwest of Pueblo, Colo., and around Las Cruces, N.M.

Monday’s announcement echoed Salazar’s order issued in March vowing a “moonshot for energy independence” that would propel solar, wind, geothermal and biomass projects ahead of oil and gas development.

At that time, Salazar said that even if the Southwest’s renewable zones excluded sensitive lands, enough area would remain to produce 88 percent of the West’s energy needs through solar alone.

“Propel solar, wind, geothermal and biomass projects ahead of oil and gas development.” I’ve been waiting a long time to hear that.

Is out.

Dick Cheney on Washington Times Radio (via National Review):

But I think from the standpoint of the party, we’ve got some great talent out there, young people coming along that are going to do a superb job. I always remind people that in adversity, there’s opportunity. You get people like Paul Ryan from Wisconsin, Rob Portman from Ohio, Jon Huntsman from Utah and so forth. We’ve got some very talented folks coming along. And I think that it’s just a matter of time before the party begins to sort of  firm up around a few key individuals, and we’ll hear big things from them in the future.