If you are interested in contributing to the John Dau Sudan Foundation, purchasing his book, or just getting more information about this inspirational man, visit: http://www.johndaufoundation.org/

Today at Jiffy Lube:

Little girl: “Mom, why do they have a coffee maker here? Won’t people get sick and die?”

Kids say the darndest things.

Parents teach their kids the stupidest things.

-Tyler

Analysis: With bailout, McCain reaches dead end – Yahoo! News.

The Associated Press (liberal media to many FTP readers) are saying that John McCain is at a dead end, more or less.

I’d like to know what all the McCain supporters here think, however. Is McCain in a very bad spot at this point of the campaign where he needs to turn things around before the point of no return, or is there still “a lot of time left before November?”

For the record, I don’t think he’s at a dead end, and I think there IS a lot of time left before Election Day, but very soon there isn’t going to be a lot of time left, and if McCain wants to have a chance on Nov. 4, he needs to quit doing nearly everything wrong and start doing things right.

-Tyler

According to The Hill, the House is putting a cap on public email to lawmakers on the financial bailout bill and yesterday’s vote:

As a result, some constituents may get a ‘try back at a later time’ response if they use the House website to e-mail their lawmakers about the bill defeated in the House on Monday in a 205-228 vote.

“We were trying to figure out a way that the House.gov website wouldn’t completely crash,” said Jeff Ventura, a spokesman for the Chief Administrative Office (CAO), which oversees the upkeep of the House website and member e-mail services.

The CAO issued a “Dear Colleague” letter Tuesday morning informing offices that it had placed a limit on the number of e-mails sent via the “Write Your Representative” function of the House website. It said the limit would be imposed during peak e-mail traffic hours.

“This measure has become temporarily necessary to ensure that Congressional websites are not completely disabled by the millions of e-mails flowing into the system,” the letter reads.

Public opinion polls are conflicting, but the general picture emerging is that the public supports some sort of financial “rescue” plan, but opposes a “bailout” of Wall Street. Constituents want lawmakers to address the economic crisis, but are turned off by the idea of bailing out the larger banks.

The House painted a poor picture of leadership yesterday, voting down a bill that was very deserving of rejection, but failing to provide alternatives, and then left town to try and get re-elected. Political posturing ruled the day. On average, representatives in close elections voted against the bill, while those in “safe” districts – or not seeking re-election at all – voted in favor. I have yet to read one statement in opposition to the bill – from Democrat or Republican Reps. alike – that focused on the merit of the bill or addressed where we go from here. In fact, I’m unconvinced many members even read the bill before approving or opposing it.

Whether action is necessary is still open for debate, but that debate didn’t happen thanks to Congress. And should this indeed be a crisis of magnitude, we’re looking at empty money markets, a seized credit market, falling demand, a rise in unemployment, and small businesses closing doors like dominoes. With those risks, our representatives were gunning for a political “win” and nothing more. That’s not to say there weren’t members of the House who supported or opposed this bill for principled reasons, but the majority mirror our own federal delegation.

Bishop and Matheson voted no. Cannon voted yes. I’d argue Bishop and Matheson, both with electoral challengers, voted no hoping the bill will have enough support to pass, without having to put their names on it.

- Jason

John Bul Dau, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, will be a guest on For the People tonight. He will join us live at about 5:40 p.m. Dau was featured in the book and documentary, “God Grew Tired of Us.” This should be a very exciting interview. Here is more information about Dau from the source of all knowledge, Wikipedia:

John Bul Dau has experienced journeys in life that most people never imagine. Dau was born into the Dinka tribe in war-torn Sudan. In 1987, his village of Duk Payuel in Duk County, Jonglei was attacked by government troops involved in the Second Sudanese Civil War between the Muslim-controlled government in northern Sudan and the non-Muslims in Southern Sudan. The violence scattered his family, and Dau was forced to travel on foot for three months until reaching the relative safety of Ethiopia.^[1]

Dau stayed in a refugee camp in Ethiopia for four years, but when civil war broke out in the region, he was once again forced to flee. As one of thousands of “Lost Boys of Sudan,” Dau wandered hundreds of miles and faced disease, starvation, and violence, until arriving in Kenya. While living in the Kenyan Kakuma refugee camp, he attended school for the first time and earned a prestigious Kenyan Certificate for Secondary Education in 2000.^[2] In 2001, he was one of 3,800 young Sudanese refugees resettled in the United States and one of 140 young brought to Syracuse, New York.

Despite the initial culture shock – women driving cars, huge stores filled with food – Dau has succeeded in the United States and can proudly say that he is living the American dream. Not only was he able to bring his mother and sister from Sudan, but while working 60 hours a week as a security guard, he received an Associates degree from Onondaga Community College. He is currently pursuing a degree in Policy Studies at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Additionally, Dau is an experienced social entrepreneur. He has founded three non-profit 501(c)3 organizations. In 2003, he helped establish The Sudanese Lost Boys Foundation of Central New York which raised over $35,000 for books and medical expenses for Lost Boys living in the United States. In 2005, Dau was instrumental in founding the American Care for Sudan Foundation which solicited funds to build and operate the Duk Lost Boys Clinic in Southern Sudan. He has raised more than $400,000 for the clinic. Currently, Dau is the President of the John Dau Sudan Foundation which was founded in July of 2007 to develop health facilities that currently do not exist for most of the populations of Duk, Twic East and Bor South Counties in the State of Jonglei in Southern Sudan.^[3]

Dau’s move to the United States and early experiences in the country are the subject of the film God Grew Tired of Us, which won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.^[4] The title of the documentary is a quote from Dau discussing the despair he and other Sudanese felt during the civil war. ^[5] His memoir, also entitled God Grew Tired of Us, was co-authored with Michael Sweeney and released in January 2007 by National Geographic Press.

Dau’s command of the English language has helped assure that his voice and the voice of the Sudanese is heard in the United States and around the world. He has become a successful national public speaker, focusing speeches on his life story and the importance of perseverance against all odds. His moving talks also focus on the importance of human rights and on ending the tragedy in Southern Sudan.^[6]

In his brief time in the United States, Dau has earned many awards for his public achievements and charitable work. He received a National Geographic’s Emerging Explorers Award and was named a Volvo for Life Award finalist in the Quality of Life Category in 2008 which carried a contribution of $25,000 to the John Dau Sudan Foundation.^[7] As he continues to work to succeed in the United States he envisions a positive future for Sudan. He says, “I hope for my country to get out of war and secure a good government. I want Sudan to become a place where people are welcome and hope is restored.” Dau currently lives in Syracuse, New York, with his family.

“Victory has a thousand fathers but defeat is an orphan.”  – JFK

From CNN.com:

House Republican leaders blamed Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House, for the bill’s failure, saying she had scuttled a bipartisan compromise with a “partisan speech” shortly before the vote. Pelosi started her speech by citing “the Bush administration’s failed economic policies — policies built on budgetary recklessness, on an anything-goes mentality with no regulation, no supervision and no discipline in the system.”

“I do believe that the vote could have succeeded,” Boehner said in a news conference. “But the speaker had to give a partisan speech … that poisoned our caucus.”

…

The Senate had planned to take up the bill after the House had passed it, but now it is unclear how the senators will proceed.

“Democrats are doing our part to improve the administration’s flawed plan, but we will need the support of more Republicans to get this done,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said in a statement.

“With the stock market recording its largest point drop ever in the aftermath of this vote, it has never been more clear how important it is to put politics aside and come together to stabilize our economy for all Americans,” Reid said. “I hope House Republicans will reconsider their vote and decide to put country first.”

So let me get this straight-

The United States is on the verge of financial catastrophe and Nancy Pelosi decides this is a time to play the “blame Bush” card and grand stand?

And then the Republicans, apparently wanting to prove that they wallow in the same mud, get their feelings hurt and vote down the proposal that originated from their own party?

And the rest of us lose $1 trillion in a single day because of this?

You’ve. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me.

My fellow Americans, we’re screwed.  Instead of statesmen and servants in this hour of crisis we have a bunch of whiny, petty prima donnas running around Capitol Hill worried about how they will look and how they can figure out a way to pin this mess on someone else or the other party (see JFK quote above).

-Tom

Rob Bishop Statement on Bailout Vote:

One thing Congress doesn’t do well is learn from history, but we really need to.  And we don’t even need to go back as far as the Great Depression – we can look at the Savings and Loan crisis in the 1980’s.  That problem was solved without large amounts of taxpayer cash.  Today’s problems, while not exactly the same, are similar.  The market has a capital problem which has caused a liquidity problem.  But I think there are ways to produce capital without tying it directly to the taxpayers.

William Isaac, a former Chair of the FDIC, suggested some ideas over the weekend, based on our last major financial challenge, that a lot of us conservative Republicans think are solid ideas.  If enacted, these proposals could help stabilize the banking industry and make economic downturns less severe and shorter in length.  The cost is minimal and the impact could be almost immediate.  He advocated that Congress should approve net worth certificates, modify fair value accounting standards, and put an end to naked short selling.  These sound like good first steps, particularly versus a taxpayer-backed bailout.  But for sure the solution needs to be more market-driven rather than based on taxpayer liability.

We are in a tough financial spot, and things could get worse fast, but Congress is acting too quickly based on what you’ve really got to admit is an artificial deadline. We should be focused on acting correctly rather than just quickly.

I don’t believe this crisis has been caused by an unregulated market.  In fact, the free market probably hasn’t been given enough of a chance to perform.  So many of today’s financial problems seem to be tied in some way to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are huge Government Sponsored Enterprises.  They got too big too fast with too much government involvement in the housing market, particularly as Congress put mandates on them to force the flow of credit, even when it wasn’t prudent or deserved.  It was government-backed social engineering with housing and credit, and it got the country’s financial industry into trouble.

The first proposal that Bush and Paulson sent up was totally unacceptable.  The apparent ‘deal’ with the Democrats shortly after that was even worse, with costly, extraneous and flat out bad provisions attached.  The Leadership compromise in the last 24 hours is considerably improved, thanks to Minority Leader Boehner and conservative House Republicans pushing for needed changes and protections for American taxpayers.  But there are still a couple of major problems.  First, the insurance portion to back this bad debt through insurance premiums paid for by Wall Street was a good start, but the final bill makes that program optional and not mandatory.  Second, the overall amount of $700 billion was not reduced, it’s just spread out over a couple stages, and Congress would have to step in and proactively stop that amount from automatically going out.  We can and should have started with a smaller authorized amount, and then forced Congress to take another look at this down the road.

Most of you have probably already heard, but earlier today, the House rejected the “bailout.” While WaPo determines that it was “narrowly” defeated, we must understand that both Republicans and Democrats joined together in opposition to the bill. In a House that is usually “bull-dozed” by the Speaker, this was an exceptional moment.

Both parties are blaming the failure to compromise on each other, and the President has become a major target, as well. What does this mean for the future of our nation? Who knows, but on thing is for certain, this is probably one of the most absurd Congressional bodies that the country has ever seen.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092900623.html?hpid=topnews

- Marc Neilsen (Federal Farmer)

ps. Sorry Nancy, but there will come a time when you can’t simply blame everything on the President and the House minority.

I just got home from class to find that the stock market plunged nearly 800 points after the House of Representatives failed to provide a bailout plan.

Like a lot of you, words cannot express my anger.

Clearly we must have a bailout of some sort.  The purpose of the bailout is not to save the bacon of the irresponsible people who made and took bad loans.  They deserve to lose their jobs and homes and to live in a van down by the river for the rest of their days.   I don’t feel an ounce of sympathy for them.

To save the rest of us that  are responsible, we that live by the sweat of our own brow and within our means, we also have to save the sorry, unethical and irresponsible people who put us here.  We cannot save the responsible without saving the irresponsible.   And that’s what stings.  The irresponsible deserve to crash and burn.

The irresponsible have left the rest of us vulnerable.  Our jobs are at risk. Our ability to get and continue our education is at risk.  Our investments and retirements are at risk.  The sad reality is that those of us that are responsible have been left exposed to financial catastrophe by the sloppy, selfish actions of the irresponsible.

I don’t have any easy answers for this crisis.   I know that I would like to see the irresponsible publicly paraded for the shame they so richly merit.

We can only hope and pray that our current leaders, regardless of party, will have the wisdom to make good decisions.   Now is a time for maturity and statesmanship.

I do have an answer for how we as a society avoid this problem again.  It’s called personal accountability.  Just because you can get a loan or credit doesn’t mean you should take it.

The following is from the late President Gordon B. Hinckley.  His advice is practical for everyone regardless of your relgious persuasion.  If Americans had followed what he advocated, we wouldn’t be in this problem.

-Tom

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBasjU_fULQ&eurl=http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iutD3YMcedc[/youtube]

UPDATE: Capt. Kim Cheshire will join us on For the People at 4:10 this afternoon to talk about the policy.

The Herald Journal — Jail drops HJ from library.

The Herald Journal reports today that the Cache County Jail will no longer allow its inmates to read the local newspaper.

“We’re still giving them plenty of information, but our primary goal is to protect the inmates,” said Capt. Kim Cheshire. “We have 106 subscriptions to magazines. We have a Salt Lake paper and all the Salt Lake TV news channels.”

I respect Capt. Cheshire and all the other members of the administration of the CC Sheriff’s Office, and I admit I am ignorant as to whether other jail facilities have similar practices as this, but I must say it’s very sad to see jail officials make this move.

I understand there are safety concerns, but I doubt that removing the newspaper is the be-all, end-all to the problem. First of all, has there been a problem with people getting attacked for their crimes that are reported in the paper?

Second, what happens if the person who is booked on a given crime shares with someone in the jail why they were booked and word gets around? Finally, what happens with Joe Blow gets booked for sexual abuse of a child, but then John Doe comes in the next day, having read the paper the prior day, identifies Joe Blow and spreads the word around the jail about him, leading to a fight?

You can cite security for any number of things, but when we give up rights (and I do believe that access to information is a right), we don’t gain much in security. Saying the Deseret News is available is a cop out, because local information is likely more important to people. They have a right to know what is happening in their community. Moreover, I seriously doubt the gain in security outweighs the loss of information.

Finally, there are people in jail who are not going to ultimately be found guilty of their crimes. There are people awaiting trial, and these people especially should not be denied access to information from the outside.

I heartily disagree with this change in policy at the Cache County Jail and believe it is demeaning to one of the basic rights of Americans: The right to know what is going on in their world.

-Tyler

The following is my scorecard for the debate.  It’s analysis is on how well the candidates argued, not whether I agree with them on any particular issue.  I really though McCain would destroy Obama tonight, and frankly, I was wrong.  The debate had no decisive winner.

-Tom

Issues John McCain won:

• Iran.  Obama really crashed and burned on this one.  It was embarrassing to watch him stumble through his reference to Kissinger.
• Earmarks.  McCain made Obama look like a hypocrite.
• Bush’s 3rd Term.  McCain did an effective job of establishing himself as a change from George W. Bush.  Obama really flubbed this up by pressing this talking point early on and eventually abandoning it.

Issues Barack Obama won:

• Afghanistan.  McCain never really answered Obama’s allegations that Iraq had been a distraction and that Afghanistan had been neglected.
• Taxes.  McCain pressed Obama to define wealthy.  Obama did – $250,000.  I think most Americans would agree with that definition.  Pressing Obama for a definition backfired and re-inforced that Obama’s tax increases will be focused on a relatively small number of people.

Wash:

• Bailout. I don’t feel like we had a lot of straight answers and analysis on the proposal itself.  And please Senators, for the love of God, quit referring to middle America as “Main Street” in juxtaposition to Wall Street.
• Iraq.  McCain clearly won on the surge and even went on to make the ridiculous claim that Obama didn’t want to the surge to work- a response Obama?   I couldn’t believe that Obama didn’t respond to that cheap shot.  You have to respond to lines like that.  Obama won on everything else.  I especially liked the “You act like the war started in 2007″ line.
• Levity & charisma (as in there was none).  What the hell is wrong with these guys?  No comic relief or charm?  Geez.  There are intangible reasons people like Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan.

7:50 – Afghanistan. Obama: Nobody had anything to do with 9/11 when we went in, yet we have four times as many troops there than in Afghanistan. Press Afghan government to make certain they are working for the Afghan people. Deal with Pakistan. Taliban has safe havens across the border. Under Bush, with the support of McCain, we’ve given Pakistan over $10 billion. McCain agrees leaving Afghanistan was a mistake. “We can’t ignore those lessons of history.” “I’m not prepared to threaten [Pakistan].” McCain squinting like the Metamucil kicked in. Obama appears to be finishing his next novel on the podium. OOOOOH Now Obama went there: Nobody said “attack Pakistan.” We aren’t “singing songs” about doing so. McCain flinches, talks about all the wars he supported. Could this be the POW moment? Nope, not yet. Ronald Reagan mention (much later than I would have anticipated).

7:58 – I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but MCCAIN ISN’T WEARING A FLAG PIN!

8:02 – New Question: What is your reading of the threat from Iran? McCain: If Iran acquires nukes, it’s an existential threat to Israel. We cannot allow a second holocaust. Wants to form Justice League League of Democracies to control global economic power. Tank our enemies economies. “Have no doubt. The Iranians continue on the path to having a nuclear weapon as we speak.” Obama: The war in Iraq has been the single thing to strengthen Iran. Our policy has not worked. A Nuclear Iran would be a game changer, but we need to cooperate with other countries, and direct diplomacy with Iran to avoid acceleration. McCain mispronounces Iranian president whats-his-name. No big deal, but you heard it here when the media jumps all over it. McCain: Talking to them legitimizes their behavior. Reagan never did it. Obama: Kissinger, one of McCain’s advisers, said we should meet with Iran without preconditions. It doesn’t mean invite them over for tea. There’s a difference between “pre-conditions” and “preparation.”

8:11 – “Boom!” Question Cont’d. Obama: We wouldn’t talk to North Korea, and they quadrupled their efforts. McCain wouldn’t even meet with the prime minister of Spain! McCain chuckles at the joke. Strangely friendly debate, My Friends. Oops, spoke to soon. A little yellin’ over repeated Kissinger reference. McCain: Obama is parsing words!

8:16 – How do you see Russia? Obama: We can’t return to a cold war posture, they have nukes. Russia’s behavior demands a sharp response. McCain: Obama is naive. Russia committed the aggression, country fueled by petro-dollars. I stared in Putin’s eyes. (Hasn’t mentioned Alaska’s proximity once, surprisingly). Another energy debate breaks out. McCain: Offshore drilling is a “bridge.”

8:26 – Last question: Terrorism. McCain: We are safer, but we have a long way to go. We need trained interrogators so we never torture a prisoner ever again. Largest reorganization of government ever since then. Obama: Transit, Ports, we haven’t done enough. Our biggest threat isn’t a missle, it’s a suitcase. Nuclear weapons are our biggest threat. Bin Laden still out there. (CNN “dial” reaction has Obama up on “positive” reactions throughout speech, this one is the biggest though) McCain: Advantages to experience or knowledge, Obama just don’t got it. Obama: Ahem. GI Bill?

8:34 – McCain: I know the veterans and I know them well, and they know that I’ll take care of them. I don’t need any on the job training, I’m ready now. Obama: Ordinary people should be able to live out their dreams, and that is something I’m committed to. McCain: Veterans, Adversaries, Friends, I can deal with them all.

CNN Post Debate “Analysts” (Borger, King, Gregory, Brown, four billion other people): Borger: Obama held his own. King: Nobody knows what to do! Gregory: McCain has traveled, he demonstrated a superior grasp, but Obama held his own. Brown: McCain needed to hit it out of the park to have an effect on polling…(Anderson Cooper cuts it short to got to William Bennet, which is where I draw the line on cable news, and go to the internets. Good Night).

7:02 – Jim Lehrer just described the pre-debate coin toss with an detailed intensity usually reserved for NASA shuttle launch preparations.

7:04 – First question is about world economics. Obama makes the first “Wall Street” vs. “Main Street bailout reference of the debate. No foreign policy so far. McCain gives an update on Sen. Kennedy’s health, and thanks Mississippi for hosting the debate, and makes the first “Republicans and Democrats working together” reference of the night. Twice now. Will there be a third? McCain: “We’ve got fundamental problems in this system.” “I have a fundamental belief in the American worker.”

7:12 – Question for each candidate to define the differences between their economic plans. (Still no foreign policy to be seen here). McCain goes after earmarking and federal spending. Studies on Bear breeding in Montana are bad (no mention of crabs in Alaska). “Obama has asked for $1 million in federal spending for every year he’s been in the Senate.” Obama agrees earmarks have been abused, avoids addressing McCain’s claim on earmarks. Lobbyists and special interests are the root of the problem. “McCain is proposing $300 billion in tax cuts to the wealthy.” “We’ve got to grow the economy from the bottom up.” McCain goes after spending, Obama challenges his “figures.” So far, nobody is sweating. Except Lehrer. McCain: I’m not “Miss Congeniality.”

7:20 – Challenge to McCain to defend his tax plan against Obama’s claims. McCain launches into a story that is not so much enlightening as it is long. “Senator Obama is a recent convert” on opposing earmarks. I want ever family to get a $5,000 tax credit to purchase health care. OOOOOH he went there: “I’d think people would be interested in hearing Senator Obama’s definition of rich.” Obama response: McCain supports loopholes for businesses. McCain’s healthcare credit gives people money to buy health care but doesn’t address healthcare prices.

7:25 – My ADD won out for a second, but this is interesting. Back to the debate now.

7:26 – What would your ecnomic “rescue” priorities be. Obama: Energy independence. Healthcare. Affordable education. Broadband. Restore American creativity. McCain: HE’S A LIBERAL!!! Scrub government. Lehrer: Neither of you are suggesting major changes. Obama: We’ve got to make some cuts. Private insurance not the answer. Bush’s policies not the answer. Track spending better. Lehrer getting frustrated they aren’t understanding his question. His eyes are getting googly. McCain: Spending freeze. Obama: That’s using a hatchet where you should be using a scalpel. How about we stop spending money in Iraq? McCain: We need all that, plus Nuclear.

7:35 – Knowing I’ll feed the “elitist” gibberish, I still have to point out that Obama speaking makes me feel like I’m in Economics 101 again, not a debate for the White House. Zzzzzzzz! McCain: I want to make sure we’re not handing healthcare over to the federal government. We have to cut spending. Obama wants new spending. McCain: “We have let spending get out of control.” Doesn’t clarify who “We” might be. Obama just made history, I believe, saying “orgy” in a presidential debate. McCain thinks this “I’m not Miss Congeniality” joke is funnier than it is.

7:40 – What lessons from Vietnam can be applied to Iraq? McCain: I went to Iraq in 2003, came back and said “we’ve got to change our strategy. This strategy has succeeded. We will come home with victory and honor.” No mention of when, of course. Obama: We are spending $10 million a month, when they have a $70 million surplus. Al Queda is strong now then ever. We took our eye off the ball. McCain response: Next president doesn’t have to decide how we got in, just what we are going to leave behind. Obama has never met with Petraeus. Obama response: Pulls the Biden card. The troops have done a brilliant job. But the surge was a tactic designed to contain the damage caused by this administration. This was started in 2003, you said it was going to be easy, that we knew where the WMD’s were, that there would be no violence between Sunni and Shi’a. You were wrong. McCain: Obama doesn’t understand difference between “tactic” and “Strategy.” (definitions here and here) Obama: McCain opposed funding for troops if it contained a timeline. I opposed funding without one. It was the need for a timeline we disagreed on. We should end the war responsibily within 16 months, find Bin Laden. McCain: Mullen and Patraeus said Obama’s plan was dangerous.

(Refresh the page for updates)

I will be live blogging the first Presidential debate tonight here at the For the People blog.

Check back at 7pm, and refresh the page often for witty, insightful, and in-depth debate coverage that will put all others to shame (bring it, MSNBC!).

Also, chime in with your own thoughts in the comments.

Just another democracy promoting service provided to you free of charge by the KVNU For the People staff.

Let freedom ring, etc, etc.

- Jason

Eye On Sports Media: Guest Column: The IdahoSportsZone View Of Being Credentialed.

Last week we discussed ad nauseum the issue of Utah State University rejecting TrueAggies.com from getting credentials to photograph and cover USU Athletics.

I suggested on the air that Doug Hoffman, the school’s sports information director, could choose to be a pioneer instead of just following “what every other school does” (although every school doesn’t) in granting Craig Peterson of TrueAggies credentials, rather than outright denying him.

Well, just go up I-15 a few miles and you’ll find Idaho State University credentialing a sports blog who proved themselves to be reputable (like TrueAggies.com was). This doesn’t have to be a situation, like Hoffman asserted on the Full Court Press, where “everyone with a Facebook or MySpace page” gets credentialed. Give the credentials to a site that is reputable, not just every Tom, Dick and Harry.

-Tyler

Utah budget deal will spare higher education and Corrections – Salt Lake Tribune.

According to the Trib, an agreement on shoring up Utah’s $350 million-plus budget shortfall is in place, and everyone seems to be pretty happy about it.

Higher education, which earlier today was looking at a 6 percent budget cut across the board, will not be hurt that bad. Huntsman also gets what he wants by not having 44 prison positions axed.

Of everything here though, I really have to applaud the legislators for declining the $10/day pay raise they would’ve been allowed to take. Yes, it’s mostly symbolic (probably amounts to less than $50,000 over the course of a session) but lawmakers accepting raises while at the same time asking everyone else to tighten their belts is always a sad thing to see. You aren’t supposed to be getting rich working on the public dime, especially as a public servant.

-Tyler

Palin Problem by Kathleen Parker on National Review Online.

Highlights:

Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.

…

Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there’s not much content there. Here’s but one example of many from her interview with Hannity: “Well, there is a danger in allowing some obsessive partisanship to get into the issue that we’re talking about today. And that’s something that John McCain, too, his track record, proving that he can work both sides of the aisle, he can surpass the partisanship that must be surpassed to deal with an issue like this.”

When Couric pointed to polls showing that the financial crisis had boosted Obama’s numbers, Palin blustered wordily: “I’m not looking at poll numbers. What I think Americans at the end of the day are going to be able to go back and look at track records and see who’s more apt to be talking about solutions and wishing for and hoping for solutions for some opportunity to change, and who’s actually done it?”

If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself.

…

Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first.

Do it for your country.

-Tyler