David Rodeback's Blog

Local Politics and Culture, National Politics,
Life Among the Mormons, and Other Stuff


Nation/World Archive
October 3, 2014

My Two New Web Sites Just Launched
I've been scheming this for years and working off and on since February . . .

September 21, 2014

Why One Mormon Doesn't Go to Anti-Gay Marriage Rallies
They're asking why a lot of us don't go, but I can only answer for myself.

August 2, 2014

Then a Cruel Joke, Now a Serious Policy Proposal
An idea I first encountered as a juvenile husband's cruel joke on his young wife is now seriously proposed as policy, to solve a problem which might be much smaller than we've all been thinking: the high divorce rate.

July 15, 2014

Losing Our Souls at the Border
When we see real problems primarily as political problems, or as opportunites to seize political advantage or do mischief to our political enemies, do we still have a political soul?

July 11, 2014

Things I Have Written and Things I Haven't
A couple of welcome and unusual experiences for this writer, some thoughts on how far we've come (or gone), and what happens when ideology and reality collide.

May 29, 2014

With a Little Help from Stephen Colbert . . .
From the Green Hornet of Justice to Fat Jack's Old Lady, there's nothing quite like an election year. And it's just possible that Idaho is weirder than New York. (For my part, I spent about a decade in each place. What does that say about me?)

February 11, 2014

People Get Arrested, the Opposition Reasons Poorly, and There's Something Governor Herbert Could Do to Help
I assert my religious freedom as constituting the right to worship as I please, while respecting others' legitimate rights; the right to preach whatever gospel I embrace; and immunity from being forced to worship in the manner of the state's or majority's choosing. Despite my personal religious views on sexual morality, this freedom is completely compatible with the presence of gays in my workplace and my apartment building.

February 5, 2014

I Am Unfit for the Utah Legislature
Not that this is news. I just wouldn't fit in. Lately, this becomes clearer every day.

January 31, 2014

Rights and Rites and Right and the Right: Part Five
Whatever happens in the tempetuous saga of marriage and the law, we must fortify a defensible position which allows us to protect religious freedom. We must counter the work of bullies and opportunists. And we must forsake a popular definition of religious freedom which doesn't even make sense.

January 28, 2014

Rights and Rites and Right and the Right: Part Four
Some folks apparently think that the only questions pertaining to society's laws about marriage are, What is the will of God?, and its corollary, How can we best use our political power at this moment to enforce the will of God by law? I don't object to the first question, but its corollary is the stuff of tyrants. Other questions must be asked.

January 24, 2014

Rights and Rights and Right and the Right: Part Three
If the shoe doesn't fit, don't wear it. If it does, let's take a little walk out back, after I tell you about my possible man-crush.

January 23, 2014

Rights and Rites and Right and the Right: Part Two
If my willingness to embrace gay people as friends, colleagues, neighbors, relatives, and fellow believers incurs the wrath of the God you worship, I am unmoved. The God I worship understands that the worth of every human soul -- yours, mine, everyone's -- is far greater than the sum of its actual or human-perceived sins.

January 22, 2014

Rights and Rites and Right and the Right: Part One
I am attempting to reason my way through, first, some basic American principles and, second, their possible applications to some thorny modern questions. Eventually -- not today -- I'll get to the question of same-sex marriage itself.

December 31, 2013

Brain Food, Networked Underwear, Antarctic Adventures . . .
. . . SAMs, drones, conspiracy theories, signs of the times . . .

December 26, 2013

Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene
From random acts of kindness to ducks and Swallow, from global cooling to gay marriage.

October 17, 2013

The Latest Debt and Budget Battle Is Over, and the War Goes On
It was just a battle. It wasn't the war. And here are some thoughts in the aftermath. There's a fun little surprise at the end of the post.

October 10, 2013

The Facts Permit Divergent Opinions
But I don't have to respect your opinion if you don't base it on the facts.

October 3, 2013

Shutdown: What If the End Game Looks Like This?
I was going to leave the Obama-as-tyrant theme alone for a while,  since he fairly reliably keeps it alive himself. But then I started thinking about the present government shutdown and wondering what the end game looks like. Ahem.

September 28, 2013

Trickle-Down, Trickle-Up, Pavlik Morozov, and Other Loose Ends
We're still talking about tyranny, not race or party. I'll explain why I think a president who deserves to be impeached shouldn't be, tell you more about the legend of Pavlik Morozov, and place some blame elsewhere than the cornerless office where the buck used to stop.

September 27, 2013

Favorite Tactics of Tyrants
Some will wish to dismiss this accusation as naked partisanship or worse, but, folks, I've studied tyrants, and our president is a tyrant. I'm not saying he compares to the worst tyrants of history, but he does tyrannical things in tyrannical ways. A lot of Americans don't seem to mind, but that's not much of an excuse.

September 12, 2013

A Little Help on Syria
Embracing a fundamental American principle in his foreign policy could make President Obama's life a lot easier.

August 8, 2013

On Legislating Morality (Yours, Mine, and Ours), Part Two
Our American civic morality, its content and sources, and a difficult contemporary test case. The second post in a two-part series.

August 3, 2013

On Legislating Morality (Yours, Mine, and Ours), Part One
What is morality? Whose, if anyone's, ought we legislate? Does speaking of multiple moralities make me a moral relativist? A little-known morsel of relevant history from the Mayflower period. (The first post in a two-part series.)

February 9, 2013

Two Wrongs Make a Left
Is it wrong for someone to have more than another? Is it wrong to take from one who has more, to give to another who has less? Is there an alternative?

February 6, 2013

Guns in Schools
I did what they wanted that morning. I stopped to reflect on the violent deaths of twenty schoolchildren, their teachers, and others in an elementary school in Connecticut. I tried to imagine myself as a parent, a student, a teacher, and others in that scenario, and each of these efforts led to the same conclusion. Several weeks later, they still lead there.

November 19, 2012

The Election Outcome Surprised Me. The Aftermath Doesn't.
Bad economic news, leftist hanky-panky, and rockets falling on Israel were all waiting for after the election, no matter who won.

November 11, 2012

Veterans Day: A Visit to the Vietnam Memorial
I visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall again this summer and wrote down my thoughts.

November 7, 2012

Election 2012: My Thoughts in the Light of Day
In the aftermath of an ominous election, I find my thoughts inclined toward, of all things, faith, hope, and charity.

November 7, 2012

Early Thoughts on Electoral Disaster
It's the wee hours of the night after a very disappointing election. Here are the thoughts I don't feel the need to sleep on, before I share them.

November 6, 2012

Voter Fraud Happens
I recently read a new book which chronicles the stories of voter fraud and intimidation I've been watching for years and suggests common-sense remedies. So, if you don't mind, let's talk about voter fraud even as we earnestly hope it doesn't matter much today.

November 5, 2012

I Still Predict a Minor Romney Landslide
I could be wrong. Someone will be. Predictions are all over the map. Some on both sides are claiming it's not even close. They just can't agree on who's winning.

November 3, 2012

Scattered Thoughts
Here are scattered thoughts which have accumulated for so long that I had to purge half the list to keep its length only slightly unreasonable. They're not all about the election or even politics. They include some impassioned excerpts from one of my favorite Democrats, Orson Scott Card.

October 3, 2012

Romney Plays Better to Ordinary Americans than the Political Class Realizes
Mitt Romney's so-called gaffes sound like leadership and simple truth to many Americans who hunger for both. With the debate season upon us, and dire, mostly self-serving media prophecies notwithstanding, Romney is poised to win in November.

August 28, 2012

If I Were in Charge of the Republican Convention
I'm not in charge of this week's convention in Tampa, but here's how it would go, if I were.

August 26, 2012

Remember the ObamaCare Ruling?
Here's a blog post I wrote weeks ago but never posted. It still seems relevant, so let's look for a few moments at the Supreme Court's ObamaCare ruling in late June.

August 24, 2012

Scattered Thoughts
Ten paragraphs, ten different topics. Clue-finding trips, Paul Ryan, your dubious constitutional right to shoot out my windows, things that set my head to Akin', and more.

June 25, 2012

My Votes in the Republican Primary
Here's my take on the six races on my Republican primary ballot tomorrow. I'll even hazard a few predictions, not all of which make me happy.

June 21, 2012

Dan Liljenquist's Wishful Thinking
If Orrin Hatch weren't a great, conservative US Senator, I'd happily vote for Dan Liljenquist next week. Utah's controversial caucus and convention system worked well in this case; if there must be a primary, these two should be in it. Liljenquist is by far the best of Hatch's Republican challengers this year, but his campaign still prefers wishful thinking to reality on too many points.

June 9, 2012

The Essential Difference Between Left and Right
Twenty-eight words in the Bill of Rights illustrate the essential difference between Left and Right in contemporary American politics. Here is a case study: the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization.

June 5, 2012

Why Local Governments Lose Touch with the People, Part III
There's a structural and philosophical reason why the public often feels that its public schools are detached and unresponsive. It involves two different views of the proper role of the people's elected representatives. I'll explain here by looking at my own Alpine School District.

June 2, 2012

Why Local Governments Lose Touch with the People, Part II
If a local government near you seems out of touch with the people, the root problem may be structural. Here are some symptoms to watch for.

May 31, 2012

Why Local Governments Lose Touch with the People, Part I
Introduction. The legislative branches of our governments are supposed to represent the people in making law and overseeing the activities of the other branches of government, especially the executive. In too many cases the executive branch usurps legislative functions and interferes with representation.

May 29, 2012

The Hatch-Liljenquist Debate Debate
One is enough. More than two or three would be excessive. Eight is absurd, and the Liljenquist campaign is too smart not to know it. My thoughts on what's going on here . . .

May 1, 2012

Accumulated Thoughts
. . . On the political, economic, and constitutional fronts.

April 20, 2012

One State Republican Delegate's Preconvention Report
My last post was long enough to reach the ground -- an old writing teacher's standard of length. But the ground was a long, long way down, even if the post was still a bit shorter than FreedomWorks' 44-page anti-Hatch document. This post is relatively brief, a summary of my thoughts and intentions on the eve of tomorrow's state Republican convention.

April 19, 2012

Why I Support Senator Orrin Hatch (Part Four)
In this fourth and -- at least for now -- final installment, I list and discuss criticisms of Senator Hatch's record which are true, in contrast to the lies and deceptions I discussed last time.

April 18, 2012

Why I Support Senator Orrin Hatch (Part Three)
An out-of-state group called FreedomWorks has led the effort to defeat Senator Orrin Hatch. Much of what they say about Hatch's voting record is false or deceptive. I assume FreedomWorks understands this, though I doubt the same could generally be said of the Utahans they've rallied to their cause.

March 13, 2012

Why I Support Senator Orrin Hatch (Part Two)
Four more reasons why I support Senator Orrin Hatch's reelection in 2012.

March 10, 2012

Why I Support Senator Orrin Hatch (Part One)
The right-wing zealots' long knives have been out for Senator Orrin Hatch since the 2010 convention where Senator Robert Bennett was defeated. I was a Republican delegate then; I helped defeat him. I wasn't anywhere near the anyone-but-Bennett bandwagon; there was simply a better alternative, Mike Lee. 2012 is much different.

March 8, 2012

A Decision, and Things Which Didn't Affect It Much
Last time I described things which affect my choice of a Republican presidential candidate in 2012. This time I discuss things which don't affect my decision much. Then, having told you the why's and not-why's, I tell you whom -- that is, whom I've finally decided to support.

March 6, 2012

What I Want in My Next President
I haven't written about them lately, but I've been watching the Republican candidates for president for quite a while, pondering what I want in a candidate and a president this year, and considering how they measure up.

November 3, 2011

Guys' Day (Equal Time)
Last week I declared Peggy Janet Noonan Daley Day, in honor of two excellent female columnists I regularly enjoy. I promised the guys equal time.

October 25, 2011

Peggy Janet Noonan Daley Day
. . . In which I catch up with two of my favorite female columnists.

October 20, 2011

Democracy of Sheep, Democracy of Thugs
Two crucial democratic pillars of our republic are under assault, from within government and without.

September 11, 2011

September 11 Reflections
Our barbarian enemies think our being different means we deserve to die. We civilized folk have much more subtle and much less violent ways of abusing people for being different.

July 12, 2011

The Real American Dream and the Counterfeit
A billboard I passed on the freeway the other day urged me to live the American Dream, but the dream it offered was not the real one.

July 7, 2011

A Crucial Phase
Election days are important in our democratic republic, and so are the campaigns which precede them. But one of the most crucial phases in our self-government comes much earlier. It ends with the filing period, but it begins long before.

July 1, 2011

Reentry, Second Attempt
Some not altogether idle chatter, a confession, and a few good links.

February 25, 2011

Hi! Remember Me?
Presidents Day was earlier this week. It's almost March, and I haven't blogged since Veterans Day, November 11, 2010. Am I still a blogger? I hope so. I feel like a blogger, but I'll understand if you're inclined to wonder what I've done for you lately, and if your answer is, nothing whatsoever.

November 11, 2010

Veterans Day: Sergeant John Scott Pinney
Many military veterans deserve more praise and gratitude than they have ever received. The late Sergeant John Scott Pinney is among them. Veterans Day seems like an appropriate time to tell you his story.

November 3, 2010

Stream of Semi-Consciousness: Scattered Post-Election Thoughts
Winners, losers, turnout, 2010, and other thoughts, as they occur.

October 30, 2010

David's Handy, Idiosyncratic Election Guide, November 2010 Version
Here's a quick look at everything I expect to be on my ballot when I get to my polling place on Tuesday morning.

October 28, 2010

The Importance of Not Being Unified
It's hard to believe something which makes us so uncomfortable is a good thing, but it really is.

October 18, 2010

The Green Hornet of Justice, Among Others
This blog post is rated PG, because talking about New York politics involves adult themes. You've been warned.

October 15, 2010

What the Words Mean, Part IV: Socialism
Today's word is socialism. We'll talk about it and its role in the present debate over the Alpine School District's official mission, goals, and values.

October 14, 2010

What the Words Mean, Part III: Democracy
Today's word is democracy. It has at least as long as history as republic and at least as many legitimate meanings.

October 12, 2010

The Zebra Effect
If you're a lion, the zebra effect makes it hard to distinguish specific animals in a running herd. In politics, well, stay tuned. I'm about to invent a meaning.

October 8, 2010

What the Words Mean, Part II: Republic
Today's word is republic. It's word with a long history, and that history matters.

October 5, 2010

What Would Be Fair?
I was struck the other day by an editorial cartoon by Tom Toles in the Washington Post. He won a Pulitzer Prize twenty years ago, but this cartoon didn't make me want to give him any prizes.

September 24, 2010

I Almost Missed National Punctuation Day, and I Need to Unload My Desk
As I write, it's still National Punctuation Day, but only just barely. And I've been campaigning again . . .

September 16, 2010

What Is It About Americans?
Have you noticed that the Republican establishment wants nothing to do with so-called Tea Party candidates? They were wigging out before Tuesday's final batch of primaries, and they still are. It's not that they have anything against tea. They just don't like conservatives -- not that this is news. They didn't want anything to do with Ronald Reagan, either, back in the day -- until the people left them no choice. The American people, that is.

September 13, 2010

Immigration Reform, Part IV: Loose Ends
Today I'll take a few minutes to tie up some loose ends in our calm, rational discussion of immigration policy, and I'll answer an important question some of you are asking.

September 7, 2010

Civilized People Do Not Burn Other People's Holy Books
A pastor in Florida plans to mark September 11 by burning copies of the Koran. You may have noticed that Americans have the right to do some un-American things, even if they're wrong.

August 31, 2010

Immigration Reform, Part III: The Millions of Illegals Who Are Already Here
Estimates of the number of illegal immigrants now in the United States range from 10 million to at least 25 million. What are we to do with them? Wave our magic wand and make them citizens? Herd them into cattle cars and ship them across the border? I'm glad you asked.

August 27, 2010

The Ground Zero Mosque, the Uproar, and the Uproar over the Uproar
Surely, if a clear majority of Americans oppose the building of a new, prominent mosque at or near Ground Zero in Manhattan, one level or another of our government "of the people, by the people, and for the people" could stop it, right? Well, not exactly . . .

August 24, 2010

Immigration Reform, Part II: A Border Is a Border, and the Benefits of Legal Immigration
My discussion of immigration policy continues with talk of the border and of the benefits of legal immigration. Within reason, where legal immigrants are concerned, I say: the more, the better.

August 14, 2010

Some Housekeeping: Proposition 8, Etc.
Two of the most interesting columns I've read in the aftermath of the US District Court overturning California's Proposition 8, plus a quick note on immigration reform and two more interesting things to read.

August 3, 2010

Immigration Reform: My Wild Fantasy and Five Postulates
Just wait 'til you see how I try to get you in the mood to share my fantasy. I figure you might need some help with that, since you (unlike I) did not just return from Disneyland.

June 19, 2010

RAQ: Other Stuff (Mostly Not the Election)
Recently Asked Questions about a general, presidential succession, the federal budget, yachting and golfing, the institutional of marriage, carbonated beverages, etc.

June 18, 2010

Still Too Little, Much Too Late
After nearly two months, the Obama administration is finally beginning to act as if it wants to solve the oil spill problem, not just exploit it. Three possible reasons for the delay. A short list of interesting things to read.

June 16, 2010

Anchor Babies and the Fourteenth Amendment
Does Mike Lee's and Tim Bridgewater's advocacy of denying automatic US citizenship to "anchor babies" (children born in the US to parents who are in the country illegally) mean they're ignoring the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, as some suggest? A little investigation removes all certainty; it's just not that simple.

June 15, 2010

RAQ: Utah's Senate Race and the System Generally
Recently Asked Questions and answers about the Mike Lee-Tim Bridgewater Senate race, the caucus/convention system, and . . . how do we really know what we're doing?

June 9, 2010

Thomas, Patrick, Tea, and Me
My thoughts on the Tea Party movement and two of the icons that illuminate it, Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry.

June 2, 2010

Lee and Bridgewater Debate in American Fork
Both candidates are conservative. Both spoke well and stayed on message. It was a good hour.

May 31, 2010

More of a Prayer than a Post
It is Memorial Day, and my thoughts seem to reach beyond politics -- if there is such a place.

May 28, 2010

Labels as Alternatives to Thought and Effort
It is when labels become substitutes for serious thought and effort that they do us harm.

May 18, 2010

Join a Major Political Party. I Don't Care Which One.
To paraphrase our first president, it is the interest and duty of a wise people to restrain its political parties. At present, this is the only way to restrain and redirect our government. The only way to do that effectively in the short run or the long run is from the inside.

May 17, 2010

Lee over Bridgewater: The Abridged Version
Some people thanked me for the length and detail of my previous post. Some people asked for a shorter version, and here it is.

May 14, 2010

Mike Lee over Tim Bridgewater: My Explanation
I have wanted to evaluate the candidates thoroughly enough to be comfortable supporting one over the other. Meanwhile, you might say I've been staying not so much on the fence as within an arm's length of the fence. Now I'm finally ready to abandon the fence altogether and say, Mike Lee for Senate. Here's why.

May 7, 2010

Sgt. John Scott Pinney (1942-1969)
He would have been 68 years old today.

March 27, 2010

The Possible Larger Meaning of Massa
Some people think that private misbehavior should not disqualify a person for public office.

March 26, 2010

Musings on ObamaCare
Where do we go from here, and what if we win this one?

March 21, 2010

Health Care Takeover Passes
Freedom, prosperity, and quality medical care lost a battle today. A big battle. But the war goes on. Meanwhile, two thumbs way down for supposedly conservative House Democrats.

March 20, 2010

Update on Republican House and Senate Candidates
The official list of Utah Republican candidates for the US Senate and House of Representatives, now that the filing deadline has passed.

March 18, 2010

Teams, Deems, and an Honest-to-God Constitutional Crisis in the Making
The fundamental question is, will the President and the US House of Representatives try to make a controversial, far-reaching, game-changing bill into law without the House actually having voted on it. Unthinkable? Not in 2010.

March 16, 2010

Republican Candidates in Utah's Second Congressional District
Here's my initial take on Neil Walter and Morgan Philpot, who are vying for the Republican nomination to oppose incumbent Democrat Jim Matheson. At the end, there's a stellar quotation from Daniel Webster, which by itself is worth the price of admission (your reading time, I mean).

February 23, 2010

Media Coverage of Last Week's Town Hall Meeting
Also some mentions of the meeting in discussions of larger issues, and capers and potential capers on the parts of Congressman Jason Chaffetz and former Congressman Merrill Cook.

February 20, 2010

Reflections on Senator Hatch's Audience in American Fork
This long post is not intended to be a detailed report on US Senator Orrin Hatch's town meeting in American Fork on Wednesday, though it contains a lot of detail about things that were said there by the audience. It is more a collection of my reflections on that audience -- what they said, how they acted, how they fit into our participatory democracy. Fair warning is given: I do some name-calling. I identify some statements from the meeting as suggesting cluelessness, and some others as suggesting closed-minded right-wing zealotry. My months-old political optimism was threatened briefly by what I saw and heard; here I also explain what restored it. Finally, I tell you why I think all this matters.

February 15, 2010

Compassion and Coerced Silver
Two versions of one parable, the interpretation thereof, and my recommendation of a good book.

February 13, 2010

Don't Blame the Bloggers
A feisty little essay about the importance of political bloggers and the unfortunate tendency to use them as scapegoats.

February 11, 2010

What Planet Is This?
It's not the weird headlines in the current Drudge Report that will weird you out. It's the serious ones.

February 10, 2010

Accumulated Thoughts
. . . About accumulations and other themes, including both happy and ominous matters.

January 21, 2010

Reasons and Excuses for Electoral Defeat
In the wake of Tuesday's special US Senate election in Massachusetts, the reasons and excuses we offer after an electoral defeat seem relevant.

January 19, 2010

I Love Numbers, but What Do They Mean?
Numbers mean things, and I adore them. But they don't always mean what they appear to mean at first glance.

January 13, 2010

Accumulated Thoughts
On the Importance of Being Trivial. Things We'll Never Read. Doubly Cool. Watch Massachusetts on Tuesday. Thinking Democrats. What Do the Numbers Mean?

December 30, 2009

A Possible Reason Why
That is, why House and Senate Democrats are willing to jeopardize their reelection to pass the health care takeover.

December 17, 2009

Brief Addenda
More -- only a little more -- on legislation without representation, science, Mother Nature's sense of humor, etc.

December 16, 2009

On the Nature of Science
. . . And the sort of suspicions which are justified when people push science as something it is not.

December 15, 2009

More Accumulated Thoughts (Less Turkey)
Doubts about Afghanistan. Fiscal hypocrisy. Climate change hypocrisy. Something silly in the state of Denmark. Very little mention of Tiger Woods. Football and the Commerce Clause.

December 14, 2009

Accumulated Turkey-Related Thoughts
Thanksgiving turkeys, economic turkeys, pardoned turkeys, and more.

November 19, 2009

Legislation Without Representation Is Tyranny
We have a larger, more momentous ongoing task than defeating the health care takeover or blocking a devastating climate treaty: to recognize our tyrants and depose them through the electoral process, and to find and put in their place better American leaders, who are capable of recognizing tyranny in our institutions and in themselves, who are philosophically equipped to hate it when they see it, and who will oppose it persistently, intelligently, and effectively wherever they detect it, irrespective of party.

November 11, 2009

A Veteran's Day Tribute to Demo Red: "So Many Good Men and Women"
The motto of the 30th Infantry Regiment, "San Francisco's Own," seems apt: "Our Country, not Ourselves." Here, with undue brevity, for Veterans Day, is an account of a soldier I know who embodies that motto.

November 3, 2009

A Quick Look at Election Results
Results of American Fork races and a few other races of interest in Utah and elsewhere.

November 3, 2009

Where to Vote and What I'm Watching
In addition to races of local interest, at least four are of national interest, in New York, Virginia, New Jersey, and Maine.

October 28, 2009

Freedom Is Not a System. It's Freedom!
Small wonder that capitalism is taking a beating in the United States, when one of its chief exponents doesn't really understand it!

October 3, 2009

Copenhagen, Chicago, American Fork
Almost sounds like a bumper sticker, doesn't it? Two unrelated lists . . .

September 21, 2009

Random Thoughts, Mostly Brief
An AARP radio ad, Kung Fu Panda philosophy, the divine attribute of omnipresence, the intersection of MoTab and Cougar football, and, best of all, goat sacrifice.

September 18, 2009

The Federal Government Can Have One-Sixth of Utah -- on One Condition
There's nothing a multi-term Congressman or Senator understands better than quid pro quo. So if they choose the quid, we get to choose the quo. See what you think.

September 11, 2009

On Remembering and Forgetting
Reflections on September 11, 2001. Some things to forget. Some things to remember.

September 10, 2009

Links to Discussion of the Health Care Speech
A few thoughts of my own, but mostly links to others' discussion of President Obama's Wednesday evening offering.

September 10, 2009

Cheese, Sunroof, Freedom
On loving others' freedoms, not just my own, and loving freedom enough not to spend it on other things, and not assuming that everyone feels the same, and the case we have to make.

September 9, 2009

Politics in the Q and A
The President's speech to students yesterday was not much politicized. His answers to their questions afterward were quite political.

September 8, 2009

Good Speech
Actually, scratch that. It was an excellent speech.

September 8, 2009

Two Questions, Please, Senator
If enough others have the same questions, Senator Robert Bennett has a potential problem in 2010.

September 7, 2009

Memo to Fellow Conservatives: Grow Up Already!
On virtue and innocence, and why I prefer that my children watch President Obama's speech.

August 27, 2009

I Am a Tocqueville Conservative
Alexis de Tocqueville, the pioneer sociologist and brilliant student of American society, especially American political society, explained how free Americans supplied the wants and needs of society without relying on government to take care of them. He saw in his discovery the key to American freedom's survival. That was in the 1830s. He also foresaw the unique perils that lay in wait.

August 26, 2009

Thoughts on the Passing of an Icon
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massacusetts) passed away late last night, as you've probably heard by now.

August 25, 2009

The Gulf Which Divides Us
With some unwitting help from Time's Joe Klein, whom I enjoy reading, I attempt to describe the more fundamental battle which underlies the health care debate -- a battle which American conservatives don't yet seem to be fighting, because we've never had to fight it before. Some things are supposed to be self-evident, and maybe they used to be, but they're not universally self-evident now.

August 19, 2009

Ten Things You Probably Won't Overhear at the White House This Week
This is not a Top Ten List; that might be trademark infringement or some such thing. But it is a list, and it does contain ten items, numbered in descending order. And there are ten of them. No, wait, I already said that.

August 18, 2009

A Fictional White House Internal Memo
Fictional! As in, Not Real! As in, Didn't Really Come from the White House! But maybe it could have, and that's the point.

August 15, 2009

"We've Tried But They're Not Answering": Things That Might Be Worth Worrying About
There is a growing body of evidence that the party which controls the White House, the US Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Big Media Acronyms believes that opponents are un-American, have no right to oppose them, and should be intimidated, discredited, and even suppressed. Here are links to readings from the week on this and other themes, a few related thoughts, and a little reward for reading to the end.

August 12, 2009

Yankee Doodle, Keep It Up! (a thank-you note)
You'd rather stay home and mind your own business, like you used to, and not be called the foulest names they know. Instead, you crowd into town meetings and make your point with as much civility as circumstances will permit. When they sling mud at you for your trouble, you happily make mud pies. I salute you.

August 11, 2009

Sauce for the Goose, Part II: The Health Care Debate
Notes and quotes on the health care debate itself (more than on the substance of the matter). It's fascinating. And a good word about Utah along the way. Also, rat me out. Please!

August 10, 2009

Sauce for the Goose, Part I
A plan to retire inefficient elected officials, modeled after the Cash for Clunkers program.

July 11, 2009

Are We Stimulated Yet?
They say the stimulus is working, that we'd be worse off without it. They say we might need another massive stimulus bill. And they say only 10 percent of the first stimulus has actually been spent.

July 11, 2009

Excellent Readings
Climate change, Obamacare, Sarah Palin, Robert McNamara, a jobless recovery, American Fork, and more.

July 7, 2009

A Few More Good Readings -- In Case You're Tired of Michael Jackson Coverage
(I know I am.)

July 6, 2009

Some Very Recent Readings
Cap and trade and the EPA cover-up; affirmative action and the Ricci case; and miscellany featuring such names as Franken, Huntsman, Whitman, and Palin, among others.

July 4, 2009

A Selection of My Independence Day Thoughts
An article; a movie; reflections on an implication of tilting at windmills; why I read the Declaration of Independence and what I concluded; who is to blame; my personal civic activities; and a distant memory of celebrating July 4 in an empire that no longer exists.

July 3, 2009

A Cap and Trade Primer (Part Two)
Assuming the problem is real and the solution legitimate -- neither of which assumptions I accept -- will the House's cap and trade bill make a difference? How much will it cost? It proposes to regulate all manner of things, not just carbon emissions. And then there's the suppressed EPA report which questions the science behind it all . . .

July 3, 2009

Miscellany
An assortment of curious tales from the national scene, a couple of local notes, and a weird Mormon moment.

July 2, 2009

A Cap and Trade Primer (Part One)
Why I felt well represented last week. The basics of cap and trade. A host of false assumptions. A video gem from the ACLU. (No, really!)

June 23, 2009

What I Read over Lunch
Insightful readings on Obamacare, the revolt in Iran, the illegal firing of an inspector general, and the Republican Party's identity crisis.

June 22, 2009

Random Thoughts
Obamacare, cemeteries, the census, Facebook, Philly cheese steak, and SLAPP.

June 19, 2009

A Primer for Aspiring Tyrants: Techniques Used by Experts
Tyranny is a growth industry now, you see. If you don't aspire to it, read this as opposition research.

June 11, 2009

Foolishness du Jour and a Perfect Rainbow
I really wish I had a photo -- of the rainbow and its setting, that is, not the foolishness.

June 8, 2009

Peggy Noonan Day (and Some Housekeeping)
Here are links to a few excellent, recent Peggy Noonan columns, and to some other things I've read lately, some as recently as today.

May 29, 2009

A View of Governor Huntsman from the Left
Huntsman and conservative issues, Huntsman and China, Huntsman and Mitt Romney, Huntsman and 2016, etc.

May 28, 2009

Obama: "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet"
Evidence is mounting that Chrysler dealerships were selected for closure on the basis of political contributions, not profitability. And Nancy Pelosi wants an inventory of "every aspect of our lives." These are only two of today's new items, for which the popular adjective (which I don't particularly like) would be concerning.

May 16, 2009

Huntsman, Christensen, Cemetery, and Steyn
It almost sounds like a law firm, but it's really a state getting a new governor, a city getting a new fire chief, a minor update about cemetery expansion in American Fork, and a speech I suggest you read and re-read.

May 14, 2009

Federal Takeovers: The Road Leads Where It Leads
If we keep going down the road we're on, we will inevitably arrive at the place to which the road leads.

May 7, 2009

100 Days in Retrospect
Including a bizarre list of Obama Faith Moments.

April 28, 2009

Miscellaneous Thoughts on the National Scene
Mostly brief notes on Arlen Specter, one less headless federal department, the political uses of overstated pandemic, thuggish federal abuse of banks, and a poorly thought-out photo op.

April 22, 2009

Miscellaneous Thoughts
Beautiful music, ramblings about Earth Day, the national basketball championship you didn't hear about, a morsel of good news about property taxes in American Fork, and . . . have we lost our institutional mind?

April 10, 2009

A Recent Long Weekend in Obamaland
Washington, DC, that is. There was food. There was art. There was a very large gaggle of enthusiastic conservatives.

March 12, 2009

Thomas Sowell Day
Alas, commonsensical is already a word.

February 24, 2009

Of Freedom and Sacrifice
I read today that two friends' son has been killed in Iraq, where he served in the US Army. . . .

January 20, 2009

Obama: Notes on the Transition and the Speech
Ideology or power: which is the end, and which the means for Obama? Notes on the transition, the oath, the speech, the prayer, and the new President.

November 10, 2008

A Look at the Election Results: National
Notes on presidential, US Senate, and House races, and marriage referenda in a few states.

November 5, 2008

A Quick Thought
Despair and discouragement are inappropriate. So is disinterest.

November 4, 2008

Where to Follow Election Returns on the Web
(I can't tell you where to go on television, since I don't have cable.)

November 4, 2008

Notes on Election Day
(Updated 5:45 p.m.) Here I accumulate notes on Election Day -- the lawsuits, the unforeseen technical problems, the plea for a clothing-optional polling place, etc. -- as they develop and as LBB permits.

November 1, 2008

David's Handy 2008 Election Guide
My election guide this time mentions not only the races and referenda, but also suggests some things to do before you go to the polls, what to take with you, an important thing to check while you're still at the voting machine, some helpful things you could do afterwards, and a good way to track the presidential election returns, if you're into that.

November 1, 2008

Excellent Readings
Excellent readings, with excerpts in most cases. The categories and their (sizes) are: Not About the Election or Its Issues (small). The Howler of the Week (small). What We'll Get If We Get Barack Obama (large). Economics Generally (medium).

October 30, 2008

A Tale of Two Liberals, or Is It Bad to Be a Socialist?
One of those two liberals is now called a conservative.

October 29, 2008

Obama: Communist? Marxist? Socialist?
In his political and social views, Barack Obama appears to be not a communist, a Marxist, or a democratic socialist, as political theorists usually categorize such things, but a social democrat . Make no mistake: A social democrat is a kind of socialist.

October 28, 2008

Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech
"If we do not believe in freedom of speech for those we despise we do not believe in it at all."

October 25, 2008

It Hasn't Been Tried
It wasn't free-market capitalism that failed, but it's certainly the popular scapegoat.

October 24, 2008

Shouldn't I Be a Democrat?
My biography says so. My education says so. My long residency in the Northeast says so. My dissatisfaction with state and national Republicans says so. But I'm not. Here's what the Utah Democrats would have to do to entice me.

October 20, 2008

Apropos Joe the Plumber (Etc.)
Links to columns on why the Left hates Joe the Plumber, how he might turn the election, Russian adventurism, and interpreting the US Constitution.

October 18, 2008

Don't Slander Robin Hood (and Selected Readings)
The hero of Sherwood Forest stole from the government, not rich individuals. A few readings on the election, the economic meltdown, and other themes.

October 15, 2008

Notes on The Third Presidential Debate
This one goes to John McCain over Barack Obama, but it was not the overwhelming performance McCain needed.

October 15, 2008

John McCain's Last Chance
We need some new heroism from John McCain tonight, and it will have to be an approach to the debate that is contrary to his senatorial instincts.

October 14, 2008

Listening to Smart People
Three little morsels I've heard lately while listening to smart people I know.

October 11, 2008

Excellent Readings
A selection of recent commentary on the election (and elections generally), the current economic mess, recent debates (and debates generally), and other topics.

October 9, 2008

Accumulated Thoughts on the National Scene
Rays of hope for the McCain campaign. The bailout of which you may not have heard. Why it's fair that we all pay the piper. And more.

October 8, 2008

Notes on the Second Presidential Debate
No knockout punches. No remorse for spending nearly a trillion tax dollars on a pork-greased bailout. One guy watching got a bit cranky, I'm afraid. ('Twas I.)

October 7, 2008

Notes on the Vice Presidential Debate
Biden spouted more details about policy. Palin landed more punches. Moderator Gwyn Ifill was not the story, after all.

October 2, 2008

My Debate Prep
For my debate prep, prior to tonight's vice presidential debate, that is, I watched several Sarah Palin interviews. I didn't watch Joe Biden at all. I've been watching him for years; he's a known quantity.

October 1, 2008

Notes on the First Presidential Debate
. . . which I watched this week instead of last week, thanks to the Internet.

September 30, 2008

More on the Financial Crisis
Links to two good, short explanations of what's going on with mortgages, banks, etc. A third about an Obama connection, and a fourth about the folly of worrying about executive compensation right now.

September 29, 2008

The Partisan Speech that Cost (Saved?) $700 Billion
Notes on the bailout package's defeat in the House today, including the Nancy Pelosi speech that might have killed it.

September 27, 2008

Sad News for American Fork, A Weird Photo, and Stuff to Read on the Bailout
The sad news is brief. The photo is comic relief. The readings are excellent.

September 24, 2008

Anti-Palin Hysteria: A Sample
Folks are calling it Palin Derangement Syndrome. Here's what it looks like in its advanced stages.

September 23, 2008

Is the Doddering Dud the Real Dodd?
. . . Or is the helpless handwringing by the chair of the Senate Banking Committee a diversion?

September 22, 2008

It's Not as If We Weren't Warned
In 2006 Senator John McCain told his colleagues, "If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole." Two years later, well . . .

September 11, 2008

9/11 Thoughts
A few thoughts on September 11 and larger themes, including a sign that history is begin to liberate itself from partisan blinders, where the Iraq war is concerned.

September 5, 2008

John McCain's Speech
Here are some notes, some excerpts from the speech, plenty of my own thoughts, and, before we're done, a piece of the speech which surprised me . . . by moving me.

September 4, 2008

Sarah Barracuda
Thoughts on Governor Sarah Palin's convention speech. My favorite lines. Selected good readings.

September 3, 2008

Early Thoughts on Sarah Palin, Running Mate
Yes, it's still early, but the end of the beginning is tonight at the Republican convention, when she gives a big speech.

September 2, 2008

Barack Obama's Convention Speech
Convention in another sense is what we got, but the packaging was excellent.

August 27, 2008

One Down, One to Go
My sigh of relief. Links to notes on the Democratic National Convention. Two names you're not hearing for Senator McCain's running mate.

August 25, 2008

Tyranny on Parade
Russia wants its empire back, and China, in its insecurity, is trying too hard to look perfect for the world.

August 7, 2008

The Perils of Historical Ignorance
"Don't Know Much About History" could be an Obama campaign slogan.

July 8, 2008

Infamous Scribblers and More
Notes from the Great Northwest, you might say.

July 5, 2008

July 4, Give or Take a Day
Obviously, Independence Day has a lot to do with freedom. But what does it have to do with bungee jumping?

June 13, 2008

A Short List of Recent Readings
. . . Mostly on themes mentioned in my recent comments on the election.

June 10, 2008

Mr. Spock, My Childhood Hero
Yes, that Spock. My mother thought he looked like Satan.

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.

April 15, 2008

My Tax Questions
The IRS is notorious for answering tax questions incorrectly more often than correctly -- but, either way, if you get it wrong, it's your fault. So I'm not asking them. I'm asking you.

April 11, 2008

Last Week an Angry Liberal, This Week a Right-wing Nut Job
This didn't turn out exactly as I planned. My original strategy proved to be too much like carpet-bombing some of my neighbors and relatives, so I shelved it. Something more surgical is indicated.

April 11, 2008

Peggy Noonan Is Worth Reading
. . . As usual, in this Wall Street Journal piece. Also, there's a bonus.

April 10, 2008

In the Meantime, About Moderates . . .
The best part of this post is that I point you to an excellent Orson Scott Card article about political moderates.

April 4, 2008

This Morning I Tried to Be a Liberal
. . . Not just any liberal, you understand, and not a thinking liberal like some of my friends, but a liberal like Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and, yes, Barack Obama.

April 2, 2008

It Wasn't Supposed to Be Like This
Bad news for the Hillary Clinton campaign. Very bad news. I expect Disney-like pyrotechnics.

March 19, 2008

The 2008 Campaign's Second Great Speech
Barack Obama's Philadelphia speech yesterday did not change my vote, but it was a great speech, worth reading and remembering. It was a lot like Mitt Romney's speech in December.

March 19, 2008

What's in a Word?
When things continue at approximately the same speed, we're told that things "basically ground to a halt" -- if those things are economic. And the words "qualified, certified, and competent" can be used to resist improvement and reform, when the subject is education.

March 15, 2008

Fredette, Fairness, Fairlie, (Non)Fiction, and Further Thoughts
A miscellany of accumulated reading-induced thoughts, some about politics, some about sports, some about other things.

February 26, 2008

Obama and the Flag: What's Not in a Symbol
If you want to convince me that Barack Obama isn't sufficiently loyal to his country, you'll have to do better than to tell me he doesn't wear an American flag on his lapel.

February 16, 2008

A Riddle
. . . about math and Mike Huckabee, that is.

February 16, 2008

Ah, the Humanity!
I could use a vacation. Show them you're the most important person in the room. And mind those foreseeable opposite consequences. (A veritable verbal mosaic of awareness ribbons, congressional deserters, cell phones, state and local legislators, defenseless wild bunnies and birdies, zealous residents, and boring neckwear.)

February 13, 2008

Last-Minute Valentinish (and Other) Thoughts
A link to winning limericks. Some Valentine's Day thoughts. Things to read if you prefer politics. Something to watch if you prefer math. A note on delegate counts.

February 7, 2008

Romney Out, No Leader Left in the Race (and Other Post-Super Tuesday Musings)
Romney out. West Virginia Republicans. The presumptive McNominee. The anti-Hillary vote. State of the Union, stimulus, and compassion.

February 4, 2008

Primaries: Republicans after Maine, Before Super Tuesday
The outcome pales next to the delegate counts to come from tomorrow's "Super Tuesday" primaries, but Maine's Republicans preferred Mitt Romney.

February 2, 2008

Thoughts Toward Super Tuesday
A quick, opinionated look at the names on the ballot in Tuesday's Utah presidential primaries.

January 31, 2008

Presidential Primaries: Updated Running Totals
TheGreenPapers.com has updated its committed delegate totals for Iowa (Republicans and Democrats), New Hampshire (Democrats), and Michigan (Republicans). This post reflects those changes.

January 30, 2008

Presidential Primary Update: After Florida
After Florida, for the first time, John McCain leads in the delegate count. The Florida Democratic primary apportioned no delegates, leaving Barack Obama with a slightly-enlarged lead over Hillary Clinton after South Carolina.

January 19, 2008

Primaries: After South Carolina and Nevada
After today, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama still lead by small margins in the delegate count.

January 15, 2008

Presidential Primaries and Caucuses: Iowa, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Michigan, and Running Totals
The BMA typically tell us which candidates get the most votes, without worrying much about who is accumulating the most delegates to the two parties' national conventions. Here we look at the numbers that matter: the delegate counts -- but even those are soft.

January 14, 2008

NIE, AF, Gitmo, AF the Movie, and More
. . . including a lawnmower analogy and the phrase, "if headlines were fishes" . . .

December 31, 2007

Christmas Music and Christmas Politics
The two don't really go together, but they coexist in my last blog post of the year, along with a bunch of Mormons, a former Southern Baptist minister, and some (other) really nice people.

December 11, 2007

My Favorite Democrat
That Ornery American makes a lot of sense on immigration and other topics.

November 15, 2007

Bad Statistics: Denial and de Fanning of de Flames
Here I pick on the local and national media -- again -- for not getting their statistics right in the matters of violence in Iraq and local Boy Scouts of America executive salaries.

November 3, 2007

Provo's Municipal Broadband, and a Happy (Unrelated) Lawsuit Verdict
Two news stories of note.

September 17, 2007

Anniversary Notes
Here are a few relatively quick thoughts on today's auspicious anniversary.

August 9, 2007

Voldemort and Global Warming
On the uncanny resemblance of He-Who-Must-not-Be-Named and That-Which-Must-not-Be-Questioned.

August 7, 2007

Random Dissenting Thoughts
. . . on the war in Iraq, the local loan sharks, and yelling at the radio.

July 6, 2007

Orson Scott Card on How We Live and How We Ought to Live
Foreign oil, domestic poverty, and no highway is ever wide enough . . .

July 4, 2007

Moscow: July 4, 1987
Twenty years ago, rather by surprise, I celebrated American independence with a bunch of -- gasp! -- Soviet Communists.

May 8, 2007

Hannity vs. Anderson: The Virtual Experience
I didn't attend the big debate, but I watched it later on the Internet. Here are my thoughts.

May 7, 2007

The Arts, the Jazz, the Debates, the Veto
Had I done any blogging at all last week, here are some things I might have blogged about.

April 27, 2007

Briefish Thoughts on Several Subjects
Relatively brief musings on a time machine, Vice President Cheney's speech, his detractors, Superintendent Henshaw and the "extremists," and what could cause me to leave the Republican Party after tomorrow.

April 24, 2007

We Can't Prevent Another Virginia Tech Massacre by Passing a Law
32 dead -- 33, if you count the shooter. 29 wounded. Labels and accusations and proposed legislation are swirling everywhere in response. There is nothing in that maelstrom that will bring back the dead. There is nothing in it that will prevent this from ever happening again, either.

April 11, 2007

Congressman Cannon and Multiple Bloggers as Lab Rats, or An Uneasy Hybrid of Political Junkie and Web Geek
. . . But don't get the idea that I didn't enjoy it. It was interesting on several levels.

April 10, 2007

Grab-Bag: Music, Vouchers, Freedom, and a Conservative Daydream
You might say it's leftover night. I happen to enjoy leftovers.

April 7, 2007

Is Laughter a Form of Worship?
First, a bit about Mitt -- something to read, actually. Then something funny to read about Mormons generally. Also, I muse on Mormons who can't laugh at themselves.

March 21, 2007

Gasoline Prices: What Goes Down Must Come Up
Fair warning: In this word I use the word stupid twice and the word gullible once. But the post is short. Together, those two words comprise more than one percent of the entire post.

March 14, 2007

The Arrogance of Dominance, and Vice Versa
In this lengthy post, I rip on Capitol Hill Republicans briefly, then Republicans in the Utah Legislature very slightly and ever so briefly, then Capitol Hill Democrats a little less briefly. Then I unload on the public education lobby at length, on the subject of vouchers and institutional arrogance. Finally, after you have paid the price in cognitive dissonance for a moment, I give you permission to call me names and think me evil if you really want to, because of my politics . . . but I still end up claiming a small victory. (This is truth-in-advertising: a long teaser for a long post.)

February 28, 2007

Miscellaneous Political Thoughts
Recycling in American Fork. The UEA checks its manners at the Capitol door. Who really represents me? An Oscar and a Nobel. And, finally, I manage to work the phrase barking moonbat into a sentence.

February 27, 2007

I Ran Away to Chicago -- in February!
I'd do it again, too. Art, pizza, Russian bookstores, a Chicago hot dog . . . And a flight delay led to an excellent lunch in Houston. (Note: This is not about politics. Not everything is, you know.)

February 13, 2007

Infinite Shades of Grey
Some of our horror at the bad things which happen in "good" places, such as Salt Lake City, is rooted in our preference for black-and-white categories, instead of infinite shades of gray. That preference is actually dangerous.

January 26, 2007

The State of the Union, Part II: The War
Here is the bulk of the President's discussion of the war, with some passages highlighted and relatively few of my comments along the way.

January 26, 2007

The State of the Union, Part I: General Notes and Domestic Issues
The economy, health care, immigration, federal judges, energy independence, and more.

December 8, 2006

I Don't See . . .
I've tried. I just don't.

December 6, 2006

Iraq Study Group's Terms for US Surrender: It's Time for a New Official Acronym
CESM, that is, for Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys, with a bow to The Simpsons' Groundskeeper Willie.

November 11, 2006

Grandpa and Veterans Day (Again)
What I have to say on the occasion of Veterans Day is not new.

November 8, 2006

Every Game Is an Away Game
It was a defeat, not a disaster. I blame the Republicans on Capitol Hill more than the voters. They forgot that for them every game is an away game.

November 7, 2006

Here's How My Predictions Fared
I got all the easy ones and broke about even on the hard ones -- which is better than the Republican Party did nationally, by the way.

November 6, 2006

David's Little Election Guide
Here's a quick look at all the races and propositions on my ballot, plus a few more which might be on yours.

October 11, 2006

Of Nuts with Nukes, and Lesser, Local Things
I look for principles, patterns, and parallels in government and politics. Even if the scale and some essential attitudes are radically different, I think I see a similarity between US attempts to restrain North Korea's nuclear aspirations and the impotence of American Fork's boundary agreement with Pleasant Grove. I fear the explanation is somewhat lengthy.

October 5, 2006

Questions on My Mind
Here I muse on several questions of recent occurrence and dubious note, from the cosmic to the American Forkic. Watch for cameos by Oprah, Satan, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

September 20, 2006

I Blinked for Two Days, and Look What I Missed
I missed Talk Like a Pirate Day, a coup in Thailand, tax tweaks, and angry Muslims. I didn't miss a good cartoon or an undeservedly obscure anniversary.

September 11, 2006

Thoughts on September 11
Miscellaneous thoughts on September 11, five years later.

August 8, 2006

And the Winners Are . . .
Here are the winners in the two primary races of national interest and the two American Fork issues I mentioned in today's earlier post.

August 8, 2006

Votes to Watch Today
Lieberman, McKinney, American Fork's tax increase, and that 900 West thing all are voted on today.

August 5, 2006

Little Rants
. . . about federal agencies and a piece of silliness local to American Fork.

July 20, 2006

Hoo-da Thunkit?
Just when you think you've seen everything . . . (I have never thought that myself. It's an expression.)

July 14, 2006

Israel and Its Enemies: The View from My Own 'Religion of Peace'
How many attacks must Israel absorb before fighting back? Here's my scriptural view.

July 4, 2006

Independence Day Thoughts
A few thoughts on the day, not especially profound or tightly linked together. If you want profundity, follow three links near the end and read some truly important words.

June 30, 2006

Notes from Ohio
Natural gas bills, water bills, and the voting machine blame game in Cleveland, Ohio.

June 8, 2006

Grab Bag
Short notes on several topics, at home and abroad.

June 7, 2006

Marriage Protection Amendment Dies on the Senate Floor
The Marriage Protection Amendment died today in a cloture vote. It will be back.

June 7, 2006

The Marriage Protection Amendment, Part IV
I support the Marriage Protection Amendment for two reasons. One is structural and procedural, and the other has to do with religious freedom itself.

June 6, 2006

The Marriage Protection Amendment, Part III
Here I discuss a recent letter from the First Presidency of the LDS Church, which doesn't say exactly what a lot of folks think it says, and list a host of reasons thinking people might cite for opposing both gay marriage and the Marriage Protection Amendment.

June 5, 2006

The Marriage Protection Amendment, Part II
This article examines a host of arguments for and against the amendment by discussing these questions: Is amending the Constitution something to avoid altogether? Is gay marriage good or bad for society? Is it wrong to legislate morality? Is gay marriage or homosexuality in general morally wrong? Is it a slippery slope?

June 2, 2006

The Marriage Protection Amendment, Part I
The first of at least three articles on the proposed Marriage Protection Amendment looks at the text of the proposed amendment, its apparent intent, and what may happen on Capitol Hill after the Senate debate.

May 22, 2006

Immigration Revisited
Diana West takes my notion that we may not actually have immigration laws any more and ups the ante. She's not sure we even have a nation any more.

May 17, 2006

How Illegal Are They, Anyway?
I see legal immigration as a national blessing, perhaps even a moral obligation. I'm not isolationist or xenophobic at all, as far as I can tell. And now that we've established that, let's talk about illegal immigration, because I'm not entirely sure there still is such a thing.

May 1, 2006

Happy International Workers Day (Are We Kidding?)
I think the choice of May 1 for the you'll-miss-your-illegal-alien walkout and demonstrations is almost as bad a PR move as all those Mexicans flags that we saw waved in the first round.

April 22, 2006

It's Earth Day. Let's Celebrate!
Who says you have to be a shallow, wacko-left, faith-not-facts type to celebrate Earth Day? Here are my suggestions for commemorating the day.

April 18, 2006

Scattered Thoughts
A bit of free association, almost, on income taxes, people who don't back up their data, a new local wetland, strong-arm tactics in South America and American Fork, and words that hurt worse than sticks and stones.

March 14, 2006

Socialized Medicine: Here We Go Again
This idea deserves a cinder block, a burlap bag, and a one-way ride to the bottom of the river. Again!

March 9, 2006

It Walks Like a Lame Duck (and Other Brief Thoughts on Seaports and Allies)
Ever wonder what a lame duck politician looks like? Are we going to have allies or not? Why don't our newly-donned scruples about foreign management of ports apply to China? And other questions and thoughts about the seaport debacle.

March 2, 2006

We Three Kings (Kong): The Really Big Lobbies
Here's a look at three oversized, hugely influential lobbies in Washington and state capitals.

February 20, 2006

Don't Believe Everything You Hear, Part CLXXIV
Numerous news reports today include a lead story about the US turning over major stateside seaports to the United Arab Emirates. That would like be as dumb as it sounds, but that's not what's proposed.

February 18, 2006

This Week's Readings
Suzanne Fields, Paul Greenberg, and George Will head the list. Jeff Jacoby has a great euphemism. Paul Greenberg (in another article) holds up an excellent example of civic activity with style and class. And you get to read the phrase "ahistorical thumbsucking." (Beat that!)

February 17, 2006

Help Me Evaluate Prof. Gingrich's Threats
In a recent speech, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich listed five major threat's to the United States' future. See if you agree. In fact, tell me whether you agree.

February 13, 2006

Quick Thoughts on Religious Freedom
Three quick thoughts on religious freedom.

February 6, 2006

The State of the Union Address: Education
My two previous posts discussed what President Bush had to say about foreign policy and several domestic issues. This one focuses on education.

February 6, 2006

The State of the Union: Foreign Policy First
I finally did it. I had put off discussing -- or reading, or even reading about -- President Bush's State of the Union speech from last week. I finally read it this morning, six days after the President gave it. Here are my notes on the first half of the speech, which addressed foreign policy.

January 31, 2006

Miscellaneous Short Thoughts
Quick comments on American Fork City government, the law of gravity, Mr. Justice Alito, a couple of bills before the Utah Legislature, etc.

January 27, 2006

When Democracy Goes Bad
Thoughts on Palestinian democracy and its regrettable fruits.

January 24, 2006

How Can Part of the Constitution Be Unconstitutional?
Some propose the repeal of the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provides for the direct election of US Senators by the people of their states. At least a few of them call the amendment "unconstitutional." This doesn't seem to make sense . . . but we'll follow it where it leads.

January 10, 2006

The Rule of Law, or 'Living' Is Libspeak for 'Dead'
Our question today is, "Is the US Constitution a living document or not?"

January 2, 2006

Happy New (Blog) Year!
The 2005 blogging year ended for me much sooner than I intended. . . . Here are some thoughts on stuff that happened during my unexpectedly long absence from the blogosphere.

December 9, 2005

Smart Stuff to Read
Steven Spielberg, Republican moral cowardice, Peggy Noonan on Iraq, and a good piece on immigration reform.

December 7, 2005

Recommended Readings
Recommended readings on Iraq, the President, Wal-Mart, abortion, Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the 2008 presidential election, good books, oil company profits, "stupidization," and more.

December 2, 2005

If These Aren't Weapons of Mass Destruction . . .

November 18, 2005

How Would You Vote?

November 15, 2005

The President's Veterans Day Speech

November 12, 2005

Local Gasoline Prices, a Pleasant Political Escape, and Good Readings on Many Topics

November 11, 2005

Grandpa and Veterans Day

November 4, 2005

Good Readings: Plamegate, Picking Judges, More Judges, and the Problem with Second Terms

October 31, 2005

Good, Recent Readings

October 27, 2005

More Good Readings

October 26, 2005

Iraq, Iraq, and Stuff to Read

October 22, 2005

Three Philosophical Matters about Representative Local Government

October 19, 2005

Some Overdue Housekeeping: Commander in Chief, Open Meeting Statutes, a Flyer, and Selecting a New Police Chief (Not Necessarily in That Order)

October 15, 2005

A Spectrum of Political Courage

October 15, 2005

Good Readings, Various Topics

October 11, 2005

What Mitt Romney Has Learned and Bill Bennett Hasn't

October 7, 2005

President Bush's Great Speech on the War: Better Late than Never

September 28, 2005

More Good Reads (and Procrastinating the President)

September 21, 2005

American Fork's Campaign Finance Rules More Rational than USA's

September 20, 2005

Math, Meyer, Manager, and I Can't Find a Word for UN that Starts with "M"

September 19, 2005

Miscellaneous Thoughts, Local and Larger

September 16, 2005

A Local Note, and Readings on John Roberts, Crisis Management and Katrina, Poverty, the Constitution, and China

September 14, 2005

Things They're Saying

September 12, 2005

The John Roberts Inquisition, Plus Good Stuff to Read

September 10, 2005

Scrambled Eggs and Boiled Spinach (or Why Primary Elections Matter)

September 9, 2005

Post-Katrina Notes, Some Local

September 7, 2005

Responsibility Starts at the Bottom, not the Top

September 6, 2005

Katrina and Contrasts

September 2, 2005

Evil People Doing Evil Things

September 1, 2005

Price Controls Are a Stupid Idea. Don't Fall for Them.

August 31, 2005

LaVaughn, LaVerl, Hurricane Katrina, and the International Community

August 30, 2005

On China, Mostly

August 29, 2005

Noteworthy Writing on Iraq

August 27, 2005

The West Wing

July 22, 2005

An Assortment: From Art and Language to Constitutional Law and Foreign Policy

July 6, 2005

How Much Dependency Is Too Much?

July 1, 2005

A Busy Day at the Blog, Part II: Justice O'Connor's Resignation

July 1, 2005

A Busy Day at the Blog, Part I: Krauthammer on Foreign Policy

June 30, 2005

Maybe They're not Completely Tone-Deaf, and Two Brief Notes on the War in Iraq

June 29, 2005

What Goes Around Comes Around: Justice Souder's Pretty Piece of New Hampshire

June 22, 2005

"We Won the War in Iraq"

June 20, 2005

Barack Obama's Great Speech

June 18, 2005

The Great American Fork Chili Cook-off, and Dick Durbin and John McCain Cook Off, Too

June 8, 2005

John Kerry's Grades

June 3, 2005

Language Matters in Politics, and Fact-Checking Matters in Journalism

May 27, 2005

Miscellany

May 20, 2005

The Un-Democratic Party and Its Imaginary Right Not to Lose

May 16, 2005

The Newsweek Dilemma

May 13, 2005

Immigration, the War on Terror, and a National ID

May 11, 2005

Common Sense: How not to Be Poor

May 9, 2005

Good Reading on Social Security

April 22, 2005

Earth Day and Recycling in American Fork

April 19, 2005

Parenting, Social Security, and Pope John Paul II

April 11, 2005

Redefining "Quarterly" - Again

April 2, 2005

A Christian Hero, a Modern Giant Has Left Us

March 31, 2005

Thoughts on the Late Terri Schiavo

February 23, 2005

Tom Hunter Goes, Jimmie Cates Comes

February 2, 2005

Groundhog Day and the State of the Union

January 19, 2005

The Greatest Inaugural Speech, IMO

November 18, 2004

Supporting Our Troops

November 17, 2004

Mormons, Abortion Policy, Harry Reid

November 4, 2004

Political Miscellany

November 3, 2004

Dignity and Grace

November 3, 2004

It Could Have Been a Lot Worse

November 2, 2004

How I Voted, and Some Predictions

October 29, 2004

Bin Laden Weighs In

October 15, 2004

Our Madrid

October 14, 2004

On Shortages of Leadership and Flu Vaccines

October 8, 2004

Some Loose Ends

October 6, 2004

Kerry/Edwards Should Worry About This Undecided Voter

October 5, 2004

Must Reading

October 5, 2004

What I Wish President Bush Had Said, Part II

October 4, 2004

What I Wish President Bush Had Said

October 2, 2004

Watching the Presidential Debate: First Impressions

October 1, 2004

I Haven't Watched the Debate Yet

September 30, 2004

The Electoral College

September 27, 2004

Paul Hamm, the Court, and Election 2000 Revisited

September 16, 2004

A Half-Baked Story about a Half-Baked Poll

September 15, 2004

More Moore

September 15, 2004

Michael Moore at UVSC

September 13, 2004

Quarterly Is Every Three Months, Except at the IRS

September 11, 2004

Looking Back: 9/11, Part Two

September 10, 2004

Looking Back: 9/11, Part One

September 8, 2004

We Passed 1000 Casualties a Long Time Ago

September 6, 2004

If Modern Islam is a Peaceful Religion, Where's the Outrage?

September 3, 2004

A Prediction: Bush by Enough

September 2, 2004

Campaign Finance: Last Day for What?

September 1, 2004

Stylianos Kyriakides

August 27, 2004

An Israeli Spy? A CBS Spy? Both?

August 24, 2004

It's Bush/Gore 2000 All Over Again

August 18, 2004

Kerry's Promise

August 13, 2004

"Hello, Freedom Man"

August 12, 2004

An Old Warning which Sounds Very New

August 9, 2004

Oil Prices in Real Dollars Aren't So High

August 2, 2004

The Dark Side of Universal Suffrage

July 29, 2004

Democratic National Convention

July 28, 2004

Democratic National Convention