We’re going “Meta,” and spending our entire first hour talking “political identity.” What is means, what it doesn’t mean, the difference between being “independent” and being “moderate,” and… well, everything surrounding the topic. We want your calls. Where do you put yourself on the political map and why? And we’ll wrap the hour up with the latest installment of Sutherland Institute President Paul Mero’s “Mero Moment,” and hear Paul’s thoughts on the same topic.
It’s also time for our latest Legislative Limelight. The Senate Site crew will be sending us the latest headline slash law maker directly from the Hill to give us the latest on what your legislature is doing for you.
And in the same vein, we’ll hear from AARP Utah’s Tom Hogan on the AARP Legislative Listening Day coming up Saturday at the court house, and why you should make time to be there.
Via the NYT: one third of the US is opting out on getting wired.
Of the 93 million persons without broadband identified by the study, about 80 million are adults. Small numbers of them access the Internet by dial-up connections, or outside the home at places like offices or libraries, but most never log on anywhere. In a world of digital information, these people are “at a distinct disadvantage,” said John Horrigan, who oversaw the survey for the F.C.C.
Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the F.C.C., is promoting faster and more pervasive broadband infrastructure as a tenet of economic growth and democracy.
The study, conducted last fall, interviewed 5,005 residents by telephone. It indicates that the gap in access is no longer between slower dial-up and faster broadband; the overwhelming majority of people who have Internet access have broadband.
“Overall Internet penetration has been steady in the mid-70 to upper 70 percent range over the last five years,” Mr. Horrigan said in an interview on Monday. “Now we’re at a point where, if you want broadband adoption to go up by any significant measure, you really have to start to eat into the segment of non-Internet-users.”
Those nonusers are disproportionately older and more likely to live in rural areas. Those with household incomes of less than $50,000 are “much less likely” to have broadband access, according to the F.C.C. report.
Asked about the reasons for not having broadband at home, almost half of respondents cited a prohibitive cost, and almost as many said they were uncomfortable using a computer. Forty-five percent answered “yes” to the statement, “I am worried about all the bad things that can happen if I use the Internet.” Others said they viewed the Internet as a waste of time.
I think it’s fair to say the majority of the demographic still “unconnected” will never be sold on getting online. But for those who “choose” not to attach themselves to the cloud citing cost as the barrier to entry, where’s their alternative?
Many argue internet access is still a “frill,” not necessary to livelihood or education. A toy to play with, but no more. Others argue (as I would) that lack of access cuts a person off from a world of business, politics, and education that is becoming increasingly (exclusively?) online centric.
It’s my belief that that ISP’s have not been challenged much on providing access and competitive pricing — still riding the high of being the sole providers in many areas. Rural access remains almost non-existent in large swaths of the country. Citizen driven access manifests in collective efforts like UTOPIA, which meet resistance from both existent corporate ISP’s, but even in some areas cut down by regulations driven not by considerations for access and competition, but rather placating state level lobbyists and the companies they represent.
I once believed that innovation and improved wireless technologies would fill in the holes, but major ISP’s have instead proven effective in choking off such development, while remaining unwilling to invest in themselves, for the most part. It does open an opportunity for smaller providers to swoop in and provide the access, but there are a whole slew of barriers to entry for those companies as well, which can also be traced back to the influence of major ISP’s over state legislatures.
I hesitate to make a comparison that seems intentionally contentious, but it still fits: Broadband ISP’s are on the path to becoming the health insurance companies of the next decade.
If states would take the initiative now to level the playing field, and invest in the future of this market, we could avoid the need for federal intervention down the road. Federal stimulus has already gone to this effort, but what we’ve seen is that money going to the traditional players who use it to create jobs in the states they reside, but rarely use it to increase access or innovative technologies.
If you believe the internet is simply a fringe extravagance, this conversation isn’t for you. If you believe the internet is tied to the future of our economy, education, and political landscapes — as I do, firmly — then the question posed is: How can a state — Utah, for example — influence the expansion of access and implementation of new technologies.
NOTE: Recently, a series ofletters to the Herald Journal in Logan, Utah criticized the behavior of Utah State Aggie basketball fans in the Spectrum. As a lifelong Aggie basketball fan, this is my response. This letter was originally published at blog.tomgrover.net.
To the Editor:
Recent letters to the Herald Journal have debated whether or not the crowd at the Spectrum has become too mean. This topic is an unfortunate distraction during one of our finest seasons.
My coworkers and classmates know that I am an Aggie. They couldn’t point out Logan, Utah on a map, but they are all impressed by Stew Morrill, Utah State Aggie basketball, Shirtless Bill and the Spectrum.
Last year I attended a Kansas game at Allen Fieldhouse, one of America’s most storied college basketball venues. Compared to Allen Fieldhouse, Spectrum fans are louder, smarter and better organized. This is why the Spectrum has an established reputation as one of America’s elite college basketball venues. That should make every Aggie proud.
A lot has been made about the alleged hurt feelings of our opponents. This concern is completely misplaced. Our opponents love the Spectrum! They are elite athletes who crave the challenge of playing in such a hostile environment. When Jerry Green beat the Aggies at the buzzer in 2002, he leapt in the air in triumph. A reverent student section would have robbed Green of his glory.
Louisiana Tech Head Coach Kerry Rupp thinks Aggie “fans are unbelievable. … It’s a great college environment, and I’m excited for our guys to go in there and really fight.”
After losing in a hostile Spectrum on national television, Wichita State Head Coach Greg Marshall said, “The atmosphere is special. You talk about our atmosphere – whoa. We might be Triple-A.” According to Nevada’s Brandon Fields the Spectrum is “one of the best basketball environments in the nation.
When fans held a Reggie Theus look-alike contest based upon a circa 1980’s modeling photo, Coach Theus laughed and was flattered- he even autographed the photos! When Jerry Tarkanian was the victim of the infamous “water bomb”, he complimented the students ingenuity.
Year after year players and coaches lavish praise upon the fans in the Spectrum. The idea that the fans have somehow crossed some arbitrary line is completely absurd.
My fear is that a few proverbial wet blankets, who clearly do not understand college basketball, might cause the University to ruin something very special. Please USU officials, don’t turn the Spectrum into an average college basketball venue! The real embarrassment in the Spectrum are the people who refuse to wear blue and/or won’t stand and sing “Hail the Aggies” and “The Scotsman.”
I have enjoyed watching the Aggies on ESPN listening to them on KVNU this season. My compliments to the team and the coaching staff! You make me proud to be an Aggie who loves the spot where the sagebrush grooooooows!
We’ll speak with a representative from local business Juniper Systems, Inc., on their growth in the valley, through thick and thin, from start up to major contender in their field. Business owners will not want to miss this one.
We’ll get an update on the Children’s Justice Center from Director Mike Stauffer.
Continuing our Legislative Limelight series, getting the latest from the Hill from the legislators who make it happen, we’ll speak with [... we'll know soon!...] about [...same...]. Gratitude, as always, to The Senate Site crew for making this happen twice a week. You can listen to previous Legislative Limelight segments here.
And word is out, officially, that Author/Speaker/Guru Stephen R. Covey will join the USU business dept. staff. We’ll patch into a (hopefully live) update on what many are calling the biggest academic hire of the decade in any state.
You knew this was going to happen. These guys are trying to persuade the Tea Party the GOP is closest to their ‘ideology’. But their track record tells a totally different story. No amount of ‘turd-polishing’ by Beck/ Hannity can change that. I think there is a certain percentage of Americans that don’t want vote ‘D’ or ‘R’ anymore, no matter how many people tell them they have to.
“Now the smart thing will be for independents who are such a part of this Tea Party movement to, I guess, kind of start picking a party,” Palin said. “Which party reflects how that smaller, smarter government steps to be taken? Which party will best fit you? And then because the Tea Party movement is not a party, and we have a two-party system, they’re going to have to pick a party and run one or the other: ‘R’ or ‘D’.”
“If we fractionalize the Republican Party, we are going to see more liberals elected,” Hatch warned a crowd of 300 at a town meeting at American Fork Junior High School on Wednesday night, amid jeers from Tea Party supporters.
Hatch said if the Tea Party had not backed a constitutionalist candidate in that race, Brown wouldn’t have lost to Democrat Jeff Merkley, whom Hatch described as “the most liberal senator,” by 45,000 votes.
But Hatch’s critics said he was not interested in listening to them.
“I think you guys are as out of touch as you can get,” said Sarah Beeson, of American Fork. Hatch, she said, appeared more interested in raising money for candidates than listening to what the people had to say.
This is hilarious. It is going to be harder to bring them to heel than Hatch/ Palin think. The movement is even turning on Beck. Maybe the Tea Partiers aren’t as dumb as they are made out to be. But I think the media designed Tea Party Express is. Be careful what you wish for….
Utah once again ranks as one of they healthiest states, and Cache Valley is the second healthiest county in the state, despite our poor winter air quality. How are we doing it? We’ll try to figure it out, and hear from local experts.
And Utahns for Ethical Government are hosting a public hearing tonight in Brigham City (7pm, USU Brigham). We’ll speak with UEG Chairman Kim Birmingham about ethics ballot initiative, the eSignature efforts to collect signatures online, and what the Legislature’s own efforts for ethics reform mean for the UEG initiative.
Contact: Wayne Holland
Utah State Democratic Party
Phone 801/328-1212×201
455 S 300 E Ste 301
Salt Lake City, UT 84111 www.utdemocrats.org mail@utdemocrats.org
Press Release
Utahns will hold Congressional Republicans accountable for Obstruction
Salt Lake City, UT – Democratic State Party Chair Wayne Holland issued the following statement regarding the first anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009:
“Today we celebrate the one year anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). After just one year, the Recovery Act has saved and created an estimated 18,000 jobs in Utah; provided $500 million in tax cuts to 95% of Utah families; provided $74 million in one-time relief payments to Utah seniors, veterans and other high-need residents; provided $384 million to 125 transportation projects in Utah; given $413 million in 1,691 small business loans; provided more than 110,000 Utahns with expanded unemployment benefits; funded 1,900 education positions with $350 million in State Fiscal Stabilization Funds; provided $206 million to help provide Medicaid in Utah; $51 million for food stamps and other nutrition programs; and helped to fund dozens of other critical projects that would have been beyond our means during the recent fiscal crisis. Without a doubt, we are back on track to building a strong and vibrant economy.
Because of this crucial action our schools are far better off than they would have been. Just two of the top recipients in Utah are the Granite and Jordan School Districts that received more than $100 million to keep our schools afloat. The University of Utah has received $44 million, $13.8 million to BYU; $13.7 million to Utah State University; and $8.2 million to Utah Valley University. And this is just some of the good news. All in all, we have been able to fund over 1,800 projects in Utah with the help of the Recovery Act. Other key projects and benefits of the Recovery act include tax credits for first-time home-buyers, $108 million to remove uranium tailings near the Colorado River in Moab, and $13.5 million to reconstruct the Dinosaur National Monument Visitor Center in Vernal, and $5 million for construction of a Bureau of Reclamation pipeline in Daggett County.
ARRA has been a resounding success for Utah and for all Americans, and there’s still more to come. In fact, there are still almost 200 projects that have yet to begin, and 363 that are still less than 50% complete. The state has spent nearly 60% or $1.1 billion of its $1.9 billion total funds designated for Utah. So the Recovery Act will continue to revitalize our economy and put Utahns back on their feet.
But while Democrats are working hard to rebuild the nation’s economy, unfortunately Utah’s Republicans like Sen. Bob Bennet and Rep. Jason Chaffetz squandered their chance to work together to repair the economy — and what’s worse is that they’re attempting to take credit for something they voted against. All four of Utah’s Republicans in Washington vote against the Recovery Act but still sent letters requesting federal money for projects proving that they care more about scoring political points than putting Utahns back to work.
This November we expect Utah voters to send a clear message that they will hold our Congressional Republicans accountable for their obstruction in helping Utahns keep or get jobs, pay for their homes, improve their communities, and provide for their families.”
Here is what others are saying:
Jeff Thredgold, economist for Utah-based Zions Bank: “It’s helped Utah. Has it saved us from going into a recession? No. Has it saved us a few jobs? Clearly it has, and that’s been the case around the country.”
William Sederburg, Utah Higher Education Commissioner: “Without question the stimulus has helped. While the state’s colleges and universities still eliminated 940 positions, Utah hung on to 955 that would have been lost.”
John Njord, Director, Utah Department of Transportation, whose contractors and subcontractors said their payrolls would have been slashed if not for the money: “What they’re telling me, is that we would have laid off a lot more if those projects had not come through.”
Utah Republican Party Chairman Dave Hansen: “Has it helped on some jobs? Yeah, it has helped.”
# # #
[Editorial addition, for the comments, not a part of the press release above:]
Even Utah’s own Senator Bennet has now been revealed to be a 100% unabashed hypocrite, saying flat out “This will help Utah’s economy”.
Does it concern any in the FTP audience that these people are so utterly successful at fooling so very many people in this country ?
When rightly called-out by liberal talking head Rachel Maddow on his stunningly blatant hypocrisy concerning HIS stance on the stimulus, an Oklahoma senator exclaimed “Hardly!” to the idea that while privately expressing support of the stimulus, privately requesting stimulus funds to Oklahoma, then calling it essentially outright socialism, is anything BUT hypocrisy.
I know many of you “Proud, True Conservatives” are keen to differentiate yourselves from the GOP-machine (however new and novel an idea that obviously was to you guys), but would anyone care to comment on Sen. Bennet, or how / why you think this pathetic game of lies and grandstanding to the eternally loyal GOP-base is justified ?
AARP Utah invites you to meet your Utah state legislators for Cache County and have a conversation around issues of importance to you. Your state representatives are Rep. Jack Draxler, Rep. Fred Hunsaker, and Rep. Curt Webb. Your state senator is Sen. Lyle Hillyard.
The listening day scheduled for February 24 is devoted to issues of concern to the senior community, including:
Retirement security
State health care reform
Funding for Meals of Wheels
Protection of state benefits; and
Anything of particular importance to your life and community
Here are the details:
WHEN: Saturday, February 24 from 11:00am to Noon
WHERE: Historic Courthouse, Council Chambers
199 North Main Street
Logan, UT
PARKING: Free off-street parking is available behind the building.
This is your chance to have your voice heard with your state legislators, and to discuss issues that affect you and Cache County.
Please join us on the 24th. This event is free and open to the public.
Tyler has a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT. He’s keeping it under lock and key. You’ll know as soon as Jonathan and I know.
It’s Tuesday, which means we’ll hear the latest from Sutherland President Paul Mero in his longest running radio series* The Mero Moment. Rumor has it he’s talking high school. Related: Chris Buttars was on CNN today… I couldn’t bring myself to watch. Rick Sanchez did though:
Utah state Senator Chris Buttars suggested (in less than perfect English) killing senior year of high school to save money. His exact words:
“The kids either got their one foot in AP classes in college, or they’re just running around, taking PE”
And continuing our Legislative Limelight in collaboration with the folks at The Senate Site, we’ll speak with Utah Senator J. Stuart Adams about SCR003, the “States Rights Resolution.” A teaser:
19 . strongly urges that all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply
20 under threat of civil or criminal penalty or sanction or that requires states to enact
21 legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed.
Woot! Erick Erickson and RedState, a nationally known conservative website, are sponsoring the bloggers lounge at this weekend’s CPAC gathering. It’s probably the largest conservative conference of the year, held in DC every February. A couple of weeks ago, they called for applications from bloggers. They specifically looked for conservative, independent bloggers (ie: not part of someone’s DC staff or another media outlet). Fitting the bill – and knowing CPAC is a BIG DEAL, I applied. I was accepted and today, have been fundraising to get myself there.
Whether you follow CPAC for the latest from the biggest conservative players, or because you can’t wait to hear what Michelle Bachmann says next, having a Utah blogger there to cover it will provide us all with an insider’s view few other states will enjoy.
Holly is fundraising for the trip via PayPal. If you can toss a little her way (click here), please do so soon. Send the donation to “hollyonthehill@yahoo.com.” She leaves tomorrow!
ProPublica has built tools for stimulus tracking, spending/revenue tracking, and transparency before, with information from each agency/state provided by “citizen journalists” closest to the projects themselves. Today they released their first tool for bailout tracking (spending and returns), and it’s an interesting thing to pick through.
It’s interesting to watch as nothing turns into a news story. Here’s the roundup of one such process from this week.
Holly Richardson writes about Tim Bridgewater’s momentum. When she talks about his fund raising she doesn’t mention that over 80% of it was a loan to himself. Tim likes the coverage (naturally) and the next day he posts her article on his RedState diary. Tim gave all the proper attribution and everything – I’m not trying to accuse him of plagiarism. The day after that Thomas Burr writes that “Holly Richardson is boosting Tim Bridgewater’s campaign” over at RedState. Whether it was an oversight or a calculated move is open for speculation, but the fact is that Holly didn’t promote Tim over at RedState – unless she did so under Tim’s name. Finally, Tim gets to tweet about the article by Thomas Burr which declares how beneficial Holly’s support is.
So with a couple of nudges from Tim this little game of Chinese whispers has produced, with a little invented fact here (Holly promoting Tim on RedState) and a little omitted fact there (Tim providing almost all his own campaign funding), almost a week’s worth of positive coverage.
The point here is not to accuse Tim of anything untoward – it is to illustrate the cycle of coverage growing in a vacuum. Tim did nothing this week (at least nothing to garner more coverage in those articles) and yet he got a four days of positive news from a topic (fund raising numbers) that seemed to have died before Holly’s post. Originally published at Pursuit of Liberty.
So can we expect private companies with huge government contracts (public money) to open their books for us to see? Why, or not?
Blackwater has earned billions of dollars from government agencies in the years since the Sept. 11 attacks, when the company won contracts to protect American diplomats in Iraq and Afghanistan. The former employees who filed the lawsuit, a married couple named Brad and Melan Davis, said there was little financial oversight of the money.
In an interview on Wednesday, Ms. Davis said that she and her husband had decided to proceed with the case because “it’s the right thing to do,” and that it was time for “the truth from inside the company” to be made public. If the government is able to recover money from Blackwater as a result of the lawsuit, the Davises could claim a percentage as whistleblowers.
Ms. Davis also asserts that a Filipino prostitute in Afghanistan was put on the Blackwater payroll under the “Morale Welfare Recreation” category, and that the company had billed the prostitute’s plane tickets and monthly salary to the government.
A new poll out by ABC News indicates that 71% of Americans don’t believe Sarah Palin is qualified to be President. That raises a lot of questions.
Is that judgment fair? Why or why not?
For Republicans, isn’t it in the best interest of the Party to Deep Six Sarah now rather than allowing her to continue on as the face of the Party? Wouldn’t Sarah Palin’s continued high profile through 2012 actually help Democrats?
Is there anything that Sarah Palin can do to overcome this negative image? If so, why? If not, why not?
A compromise has been struck. In return for Senate Democrats dropping pro-gay-rights bills, Senate Republicans have dropped anti-gay-rights bills. And in the wake of the compromise, Senate President Michael Waddoups has asked for a moratorium on the issue of equality for our LBGT family, friends and neighbors.
“We have decided, as the Republican Senate caucus, that we would like to see [Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County anti-discrimination ordinances] work for a year and see if there are problems,” Waddoups said. “We’ve taken a position as a Senate that there will be a moratorium on all bills for, against [or] dealing with this issue.”
Wait and see. A deliberative approach. Because you never know what kind of crazy unintended consequences might result from extending the full protection of the law to all citizens.
Wait.
We’ll get there.
Just hang on and wait.
And settle down.
And please don’t be disruptive to the status quo.
When the time is right, we’ll do an informal investigation into the issue.
Reports of my willingness to censor people have been greatly exaggerated.
The Moratorium was born from a hope that the emerging civil, respectful, and educated dialogue on LGBT issues in Utah might continue. That seems healthy to me. The further hope is that through a year of thought and discussion we might find consensus on the direction we take as a state. When we discussed the Moratorium with reporters last week I asked Utahns not to discriminate. I also encouraged activists on both sides of this cultural divide to avoid behavior that would polarize. That was my intent, anyway. In my years as a legislator I’ve learned that civil conversations tend to humanize people and lead to better results.
I encourage a continued exchange of ideas in Utah’s homes, neighborhoods, and here at the Capitol. Everyone that has information should share. You don’t need permission or an invitation to join the dialogue. No one should be excluded.
With all due respect President Waddoups, the issue is not censorship. The issue is equality denied and delayed.
The “Wait and See” argument is stale- stale by several generations. It is the argument that was used by luke warm supporters of civil rights to criticize Martin Luther King’s persistence. Those critics thought that Dr. King was asking for too much too soon. Perhaps those critics thought it would have been more prudent for Dr. King to wait a year and then allow the City of Birmingham to initiate informal investigations. Such a deliberative approach would have surely avoided “polarizing” the public.
Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was “well timed” in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”
While we wait discrimination based upon sexual orientation remains completely legal in many contexts. It’s pretty easy to “Wait and See” on an issue when you are not among the class of citizens discriminated against. It is unlikely that any members of the Senate will lose their housing or jobs due to their sexual orientation while we wait. For them, the wait is painless.
Moratoriums, delays and “informal investigations” will perpetually keep equality just beyond the horizon. Keeping equality beyond the horizon is what makes the issue polarizing.
Jonathan and I promised ourselves, and listeners, on the day of our Amity Shlaes interview, that we would return to the discussion of FDR, the Depression, job makin’, and stimulus. Things are sure to get heated.
And continuing our twice-weekly FTP Legislative Limelight, we’ll hear from those on the hill, making the sausage, making the headlines… making it legal to own a monkey?
And in what will be our last prepped show (tomorrow being open lines Friday, of course) before Valentine’s Day, we’ll discuss the holiday that makes some people feel warm and fuzzy, but makes many more people sick to their stomachs with special guest Loralee of Loralee’s Looney Tunes.
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