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Information and Commentary
on Local, State, and National Government and Other Topics

INFORMATION

2008 Presidential Election: Delegates

TheGreenPapers: both parties
    (long page, halfway down)

RealClearPolitics:  Democrats   Republicans

CNN:  Democrats   Republicans

Ads at this site are supplied by Google and do not necessarily reflect the views or tastes of the management.

General

Writing Effective Letters to the Editor

Local Government - General

How Does a Certified (Property) Tax Rate Work? revised
What Is a Mayor? (link to Wikipedia)
What Is Zoning? (link to Wikipedia)
Mayor-Council Government (link to Wikipedia)
Council-Manager Government (link to Wikipedia)
City-Commission Government (link to Wikipedia)

Local Government - American Fork, Utah

American Fork Quality of Life Survey
American Fork Transportation Plan
American Fork Recycling Calendar (updated)
2005 General Election Returns
2005 Primary Election Returns
2005 American Fork Mayoral Race
2005 American Fork City Council Race
2005 Candidate Campaign Finance Reports

State Government

How to Track a Bill (Utah Legislature)

National Government

Map: US Gasoline Prices by County NEW (GasBuddy.com)
Chart: US/Canada Gasoline Price History NEW (GasBuddy.com)
Map: Purple America 2004 (Princeton.edu)
What Is a Filibuster? (US Senate)

Excellent Speeches on Government

Reprinted with permission.

Constitutional Myths and Realities (2003)
Stephen Markham, a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, speaks clearly and intelligent about judges and the rule of law. Among other themes, he takes up the question whether judges are to be activist legislators or restrained interpreters of law. Markham says a judge's job not to do justice, but to do justice under law, a very different concept.

The Doctrine of Preemption (2005)
George Will explains the doctrine of preemption in current (i.e. Iraq) and historical context. Along the way, he offers a particularly good discussion of the power of ideas. He says: "A long life in journalism and around Washington, D.C., has taught me not just that ideas have consequences, but that only ideas have large and lasting consequences. We are in a war of terror being waged by people who take ideas with lethal seriousness, and we had better take our own ideas seriously as well."


Favorites

2008 GROUNDHOG DAY
LIMERICK CONTEST WINNERS

See the winning limericks.

COMMENTARY

The Chronicle of Vilka

Actual readers say: "Hilarious." "Fantastic writing."

Read the latest chapter:
Chapter 8: Don't Bother Me with the Facts

Or start at the beginning:
The Chronicle of Vilka

Here's a Chronicle of Vilka FAQ.

Ten Most Recent Comments

David's Blog

June 25, 2008
The Utah Election and an American Fork Vote

It's Ellis, Chaffetz, and a big NO to rezoning the Carson property in American Fork. [more]

June 24, 2008
Assorted Thoughts: Voter Turnout, A Vote on 900 West, and the Nextel Ad Jason Chaffetz Seems To Be Channeling

Come to think of it, the real firefighters I know are polite enough to remove their helmets indoors, unless they're working a fire. [more]

June 23, 2008
I Can Vote on Only One Race Tomorrow

I actually considered not voting tomorrow, because my mind was so open, where the State Treasurer race between Richard Ellis and Mark Walker is concerned. Now that I have read the candidates' web sites, I find I have a preference, after all. [more]

June 19, 2008
Jason Chaffetz and I Share a Common Geography

He's running in Utah's Third Congressional District, but he lives in the Second, as do I. [more]

June 13, 2008
A Short List of Recent Readings

. . . Mostly on themes mentioned in my recent comments on the election. [more]

June 10, 2008
Mr. Spock, My Childhood Hero

Yes, that Spock. My mother thought he looked like Satan. [more]

June 9, 2008
A Conservative's Guide to the Current Campaign

Here are some brief thoughts on working toward November, what needs to happen in November, and what to do after that. [more]

June 7, 2008
Real Men Don't Smell Like Strawberries

A case study in the free market's shampoo aisles. [more]

June 7, 2008
City and Surpha Sign Sale Agreement

Surpha now owns a municipal broadband system; American Fork City doesn't. (Does this mean it's not municipal any more?) [more]

May 30, 2008
Playing Politics with Economics -- as in Food Prices

This happens, and food gets more expensive. That happens, and food gets more expensive. The other things happens, and everything gets more expensive. It's all quite predictable, if you understand the difference between politics and economics. [more]

Guest Blog

November 6, 2006
E-Interviews with School Board Candidates
by Keith Swain and Tim Osborn

The only contested race for a seat on the Board of the Alpine School District is between incumbent Keith Swain and challenger Tim Osborn, in the district which includes American Fork. LocalCommentary.com sent the two candidates the same questions, with an offer to publish their answers. Here they are. [more]