Sausage Grinder

New moon

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:16:00 +0000

Seems the old one didn't align and thus no ethics piece today. You'll have to call my editors for the run date, as I have no clue at this point.

But if you're looking for a political fix, here are two things two mull over:

• Democrats are pushing electronic signatures for the ethics initiative petition. From the party's Todd Taylor to county clerks:

Make sure that as you review this concept, you compare the safeguards of an on-line process to the protections of the “in person” process. I think you will find that it is more likely for a “bad actor” to be caught under on-line protocols than would be likely with the “in person” process. Please remember that the current verification process does not require a comparison of holographic signatures between the petition and the voter registration. It only looks at the name, address and optional date of birth for a match. Common law has long recognized that signatures could be holographic, a mark, or fingerprint.
...

Remember also that the circulation and collection of petition signatures is not the function of government, but a private function given to the sponsors of the measure. The government’s function is limited to verification and counting to determine if the number collected is sufficient. I have come to believe that electronic signatures will make both of these government functions easier and more accurate.

• It looks like Morgan Philpot will be challenging Jim Matheson in the 2nd District. Philpot is a former state representative in the "very conservative" mold. Call back pending. Pending. Pending...

And if none of that interests you, head on over to Charlie Stross's blog and read why the only thing tougher than a conservative Republican beating Jim Matheson is trying to build spaceships for interstellar travel.

Monday Cup o' Joe (not in SLC edition!)

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:16:00 +0000

• Rep. Jason Chaffetz is at the Hinckley Institute of Politics telling the president a full withdrawal from Afghanistan is the only way to go. The same Rep. Chaffetz who told me months ago the president should be listening to generals on the ground. The same generals asking for 40,000 more troops.

Chaffetz said he thinks he will “suffer” for the decision and that it would be safer for him politically to stay the course he’s been on.

Don't know how much Chaffetz can suffer as a first-term congressman from Utah. Could be plenty of upside, though, as Obama ignoring Great Britain and the Soviets' attempts to manage Afghanistan is only going to put the president on the wrong side of everything.

• Sen. John Valentine won't challenge Gov. Herbert in 2010. That doesn't mean he won't in 2012. Or, more likely, he'll chase the attorney general's post whether or not Mark Shurtleff opts for re-election. (Which I'm hearing he won't. Anyone heard him say something publicly?)

• If the moons line up, my first piece on the ethics initiative will run tomorrow about problems with several of the definitions in the bill. As a primer, read this Rolly column in the Trib. He states:

The e-mail also erroneously states that the ethics commission could investigate not just sitting legislators, but all those who served in the past. In fact, the commission would only have authority to investigate current legislators.

We're reading different initiatives, I guess.

Legislators are defined as current lawmakers and candidates who win election. But the definition also includes “those who have served at any time in the past.” So unless the bill specifically says otherwise, any mention of "legislator" in the bill includes former lawmakers. So we read that: "The commission is vested with power ... to investigate and review the conduct of legislators in relation to the code of conduct."

How else is that supposed to read? Oh, and former lawmakers will have to file disclosure statements each year. Page 13, item (c).

Plain reading, ain't it a bitch?

It's After Work Video Tuesday!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:36:00 +0000

That is all.

Game on!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:35:00 +0000

I skipped doing a published story on Joel Wright's formal announcement as candidate for county commission because he didn't announce an opponent. (I did mention his intention back in September on the Grinder.)

It's not too easy to write a story when you can't stack someone up against an opponent. It's either Steve White or Gary Anderson, but those guys are so different that it's not like Wright can make a blanket statement that covers them both.

But today, Wright poked the hornets nest to see what would happen. At the weekly commission meeting, he got up during the public comment portion and said that while commissioners did a good job with the 2010 budget, they should have rescinded the 2008 salary increases to ease the burden on taxpayers.

"The market right now, I think, would not lead to many employees leaving," he said, then added he'd put the raises back in place once the economy improved.

Anderson went straight into campaign mode, claiming that the employees didn't get a raise in 2009 or 2010 which amounts to a 5 percent pay cut because of the increase in cost of living. (I reject that methodology as public employee BS, but whatever.)

He leans into the mic and says "I appreciate our employees doing more with less."

Of course, it's hard to convey the mood of a room and the passive-aggressive nature of Utah politicians, but it made for a fun 30 seconds.

Mid-morning Monday Cup o' Joe

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:37:00 +0000

• Gov. Herbert's panel to discover the truth about global warming is still in the planning stages. My prediction? By the time a recommendation comes down, the coasts will all be flooded and millions will be dead, or Sarah Palin will be president and we'll be allowed to shoot those pesky polar bears by helicopter.

• I was in a BYU master's degree level class today listening to presentations about the ~~proposed~~ can'tstopanavalanche ethics initiative. They came to some generalized conclusions, but what I want to really point out is that 20 master's level students barely scratched the surface of this thing in 1.5 hours. I got the impression that the students knew much more than they were able to present in the time allowed. But if John and Jane Q. Public puts even 1.5 hours into researching the initiative, I'll throw my iPhone off the top of the Capitol building. It's one thing to spike a law you feel is bad (so long, vouchers!) and another thing entirely to create law by referendum that is wholly understood.

• Finally, on-the-go video calling. The Jetsons would be proud, though I can't guarantee anyone will buy it.

• And if none of that interests you, read this story about a guy who was in a coma for 23 years but not really because HE WAS CONSCIOUS THE WHOLE TIME. You may now go about your day, sick to your stomach and slightly more thankful. For everything.

Rules are rules

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:16:00 +0000

Complain all you want about Taylor Oldroyd being the front man for the StopCindy.com campaign, but he didn't do anything wrong as chairman of the county Republican party. On Thursday night, the party's executive committee dismissed the formal allegation that had been filed against him.

And what does a reporter get for hanging out in a freezing cold room for two hours? A statement that was 25 words long that Oldroyd didn't do anything contrary to the party's constitution or bylaws.

So what exactly did the committee discuss for all that time behind glass doors with a grayish bar across the middle? While they unanimously recognized Oldroyd didn't do anything punishable, some on the committee were still cheesed off that he did what he did. Plus there's that whole power struggle thing.

Take this all with a grain of salt because I'm only getting it in bits and pieces, unhappy members expressed their unhappiness and concessionary Oldroyd did some amount of conceding that his role in the Anyone But Cindy campaign could have been handled better.

And the party never had any problems ever again. The End.

And if none of that interests you, perhaps knowing that you're more likely to die by being bitten or crushed by a reptile than dying from a terrorist attack will. (You want the PDF link at the bottom.)

Twins - the Cosmos's greatest practical joke

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:21:00 +0000

I'm in the office today wearing my work jeans, white socks, and Daily Herald ball cap that doesn't match my shirt.

It was the best I could do while reaching into a closet with a half-open door. See, opening it past the fourth floor board past the door jam will cause it to emit a barely perceptible squeak, which will wake up any sleeping 8-month-old within three blocks.

It was 9:30 a.m. and I was running late for work. But, and I'm sorry to say this Boss, I really didn't give a rat's ass. The two hours of sleep I got ~~last night~~ this morning was between 7:15 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. and the massive dose of caffeine I slugged down when I got here has been almost entirely used up just keeping my brain out of a coma.

They're teething. Both of them. Not sleeping, fever, snot everywhere and cranky enough to scare the dog. And those are just my symptoms.

The worst part isn't the incessant restlessness, the boogers (theirs) all over your clothes, the unwillingness to eat and subsequent griping that they're hungry, or that they already know how to use those new razor-sharp teeth on any available patch of skin. It's not even that there are two of them, which doesn't double the trouble but rather increases it by a factor of 42. No, the worst part is the smiles. Those little monsters are at their cutest at the very moment you're ready to turn in your Parent Card.

So while I sit here writing a smartphone review and finally buckling down on my first in a series of stories about the ethics initiative, I guess it could be worse. I could be up at the legislative interim session today with a whole building full of teething babies. I kid! I kid!

Your ringside seat

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:05:00 +0000

Just because elections are over doesn't mean we can't still revel in the he said/they said of local politics. On Thursday, Taylor Oldroyd faces off with the county party's executive committee over whether he committed egregious sin in weighing in on the Provo municipal council race.

The party's bylaws state that an officer can't weigh in on race within in the party, but non-partisan races are open game. Well, sort of. Some committee members feel Oldroyd went to far being the mouthpiece for StopCindy.com and tainted the good name of the party as well as promoting a (former?) Democrat over a registered Republican — even if the race was non-partisan.

So Thursday is the hearing where the committee decides what should be done. The possible outcomes are 1. nothing 2. some sort of mutual agreement that everyone will be more careful next time 3. don't let the door hit you on the way out, Mr. Oldroyd.

I'm pretty sure it's a closed meeting, but I'll be in the building tomorrow night at 7 to get the results, so watch my Twitter feed for updates.

Pictured above, a choose your own adventure picture, one is the executive committee and the other is Taylor Oldroyd.

Monday Cup o' Joe

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:21:00 +0000

Tell us something we don't know:
Everyone is jumping in on the "OMG, longtime GOP memebers are in troubllllllllllllllle!" First The Hill, then the L.A. Times gets in on the action. Specifically, Sen. Bennett is in the crosshairs. I don't think either of these articles plows new ground, but I guess they could lend some fuel to the fire. Any delegates out there willing to predict which way the convention swings, as I've obviously got some Utah County taint on me that skews my view.

Tell us something we don't know II:
I was really hoping for something good out of the Tribune's Utah Lake bridge story on Sunday. The idea seems to have more momentum than ever before: actual plans, actual cash (we are told) and an actual process that it is going through among decision makers. Alas, Donald W. Meyers' piece is just the myriad stories written over the past two years all cobbled together. Here it is anyway if you're a little late to the game and need to catch up.

And if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you:
The left wing of Utah's Democratic party has been a little testy with Their One Guy. First, Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, muses about taking Rep. Jim Matheson for control of the 2nd District after Matheson votes against the Dems' health care bill in Congress. McCoy, who is twice as smart as half the Utah Senate and three times funnier, would make for some awesome press. But he'd get his butt kicked and he knows it. The party can't even put together a decent protest against Matheson.

No offense to Holly, but Matheson isn't in trouble from his flank. The reason the argument works for Sen. Bennett is that the Republicans know that if they oust him in convention, they're still guaranteed a Republican in office come November. You remove Matheson from the equation and a moderate Republican will take his district in a heartbeat — and the Dems know it. Odds are that Pelosi and Co. released Matheson to vote against the bill anyway to protect himself against a challenge on the right.

And if none of that interests you, the Bloomington Bros. save us from getting actual Nickleback songs stuck in our head:

I hate ethics

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:29:00 +0000

You know, I know and anyone else who follows the sausage grinding of laws knows that the details of a bill, the little things, are often where the most important stuff is hidden.

I don't care if it's the so-called ethics laws that passed last year that were full of holes, or the ethics initiative cruising its way to certain passage in 2010. Seriously, the folks over at the Trib of all places should know better than to let this tripe through:

But rather than embrace the clamor for change, some lawmakers are trying to stop the initiative in its tracks. Both major political parties have expressed reservations. Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, claims the initiative is an attempt by organizers to "punish" legislators. Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, says he would resign before potentially exposing his law firm to an ethics commission subpoena. Rep. Lorie Fowlke, R-Orem, tries to nitpick the proposal to death.

I know the Trib's point is that lawmakers should just pass laws that mimic the initiative. But I'm telling you that embracing "epic ethics reform" in the session isn't going to stop the initiative.

Also, I'm not giving out my opinion of the initiative. I'm saying that any plain reading of the bill raises real questions. You don't have to put wholesale trust in them, but dismissing three lawmakers out of hand, three lawmakers who are well versed in law, is dangerous and ignorant.

Brain says wha?

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:30:00 +0000

Looking for something to burn off the last 30 minutes of Monday work? Stare at this for a two and a half minutes then spend 27.5 minutes shaking your head:

Monday Cup o' Joe -- Mid-afternoon edition!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:20:00 +0000

• I think there are a couple of ways to look at BYU's exit poll that shows 55 percent of Provo voters still support Bob Bennett. Negative: 55 percent isn't particularly healthy. Positive: It's among Utah's more conservative voters. Negative: General election voters aren't delegates. Positive: Those who consider themselves strong Republicans favor Bennett by 61 percent. Quin Monson at BYU doesn't know why, and neither do I. Suggestions?

• Matt Canham over at the Trib writes up the push in the Republican Party to oust the so-called RINOs. (Human Events ranks Bennett as the No. 9 RINO in the Senate.)

• Cathy Mckitrick at the Trib chases Bob Bernick's story about Utah GOP leaders backing donation caps. Chalk this one up to the ethics initiative movement and expect to see more during the legislative session as lawmakers try and make the initiative less appealing.

• I get a mention in Paul Rolly's column. Not by name, of course. On election day, I tweeted: "If you haven't studied, don't take the test. Voting in ignorance only drags down the score for the rest of us. Stay home." The Senate Site retweeted and automatically got tagged with "discouraging people from voting." So congratulations, Paul Rolly, on winning this week's Face-Palm Award.

• And if none of that interests you, double check that jailbroken iPhone for worms. It's not pretty.

Bennett (cont.)

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:24:00 +0000

I'm bringing up pieces of the the last comment from the Bennett post the other day from "Anonymous" because I think it's interesting discussion. (Seriously, just put your name at the bottom if you don't want to create an account. Even a first name. Feels awkward when we meet at parties.) On to the comment!

Don't get me wrong, Bennett is in a world of trouble with a very angry base. But he's no Chris Cannon.

Fair enough, but Cannon wasn't tagged as the architect of the TARP bailout either.

Secondly I'd point out that the southwest portion of Salt Lake County which made up Cannon's district is much more conservative than the rest of the county. Remember that's the stomping grounds of Chris Buttars and Carl Wimmer.

I'll concede this point.

By the way, am I the only one who finds it incredibly ironic that the Patrick Henry Caucus believes that our country must return to Constitutional principles yet Patrick Henry opposed the Constitution?

You're not the only one. I've brought it up a few times with that group, only to discover that they're suddenly late for their appointment with Dr. Selective History.

Sandy and Holladay is a different ballgame than Herriman and West Jordan. Plus don't get me started on rural Utah. Good luck stealing that baby from Bennett. Portions of Davis County could easily be taken from Bennett but he remains strong in Cache and Weber. I don't have many friends in St. George so I can't speak to that. My point is this. Chaffetz worked his guts out for two years and barely pulled out a miracle in a district three times smaller than Bennett's against a weaker opponent.

Chaffetz didn't "barely pull out a miracle." He kicked David Leavitt's arse right out of politics and nearly unseated Cannon at convention. Then he used the primary like a sock full of nickles in a back alley to destroy a six-term incumbent considered one of the most conservative members of Congress.

My argument is that Chaffetz is not an anomaly for the party, he was a portent. The NY-23 race, among others, shows that any Republican considered moderate will not be tolerated.

The national mood certainly doesn't favor incumbents, but I'm not about to bet against Bennett unless Chaffetz enters the fray. Even then it's not a done deal.

While I agree on this point, I'm going to defer to Mr. Henry, who said "I know of no way of judging the future but by the past."

The recent past.

Decompression

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:20:00 +0000

Elections and Senate races be gone! Also, trying to ignore Fort Hood for a while because it's not healthy to be glued to that all day.

A few Web pages I can't do without:
• Google Reader — Yes, I see the self destructive behavior in promoting an RSS reader that grabs content from sites and puts it in one nifty little place. But RSS is still the fastest, cleanest, easiest way to browse mass links in one place. Among my many feeds include locals HollyontheHill, Out of Context, the Senate Site and several of the City Weekly folks. More broadly, I read Slashdot, Reddit, Boing Boing and Andrew Sullivan.

• Grooveshark — This is a little gift. A little extra something, just for you. It's music streaming where you pick all the music. Full albums, singles, any artist. Create your own playlists. And it's free. If you want recommendations and Pandora-like radio, it's got that, too. If they'll release an iPhone app, I'm done buying music forever.

• ZabaSearch — Forget the White Pages and the rest. You need to find someone, this is the place to start.

Senate update

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:46:00 +0000

Here's Cherilyn Eagar's response from the comments on the previous post. And get over to the Nightside Project to hear their take on it.:

My friends,

I wish to clarify what has been said about my comments to Mr. Shurtleff.

As soon as I was able, I picked up the phone and immediately called Mark and left a voice mail expressing my sincere thoughts and concern about his family situation.

I also told him that I respect his decision and his attention to his family first. I wished him well and told him that I certainly understand how difficult that must be.

We've all had crises and challenges in our families. Mine was yesterday evening and this morning, as a matter of fact. I put my missionary son on a plane to go back to his mission this morning after ACL surgery. The last three months have been a very tough time for him and our family. I'm grateful he made it!

I'm a mom, too. I do know what Mark is going through. I've raised five children. I've been a single mom. I know that struggle.

I'm sorry that the statement didn't read as we intended.

The latter comment had nothing whatsoever to do with Mr. Shurtleff. I was praising him for getting in early. That was all. It's troubling to me that my words are being misinterpreted.

Thank you for your understanding.

We're working hard to bring Joe Wurzelbacher here to Utah. We want him to have a friendly reception from Utahns. He had a great impact on the campaign discussion last year and his story is worthy of our attention. We owe a lot to him for being in the right place at the right time and for bringing the "sharing the wealth" idea to every household. He is somewhat responsible for the discussion we are able to have now.

If there are any questions about who I am and what I believe, please come to one of the events where I'll be presenting - or call me 801-592-4245 if you have any questions.
Thanks, Cherilyn Eagar

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:06:00 +0000

Reporter hat off. Analyzer hat on. Senate race 2010.

First, this is a purely political breakdown, so any accusations that I'm being insensitive — aside from that being completely true — will be ignored. Second, when I'm talking about the Senate race, I'm mostly talking about the GOP nominating convention next year, NOT the primary or general elections. At the convention, if you get 60 percent of 2,000 delegates, you move to the general against whatever punching bag the Dems trot out.

Bob Bennett
This looks like a very good thing for Bennett at first glance.

Shurtleff had to be considered his top challenger based on fundraising, name recognition and campaign savvy. But let's take a closer look: Shurtleff wasn't Jason Chaffetz no matter how much he wanted to be. He wasn't getting traction he needed with party delegates and his baggage was starting to pile up in the press. To make up for a lack of base support, he needed to raise money, lots of it. Unfortunately, it wasn't anywhere near where it needed to be to take on an incumbent senator.

So instead of Bennett facing a fatally flawed front-running challenger next year, he now faces The Unknown. He will have a problem if he faces any one of these three potentials:

Jason Chaffetz
The Man, himself. "He's been in office less than a year," is your first counter, but you know in your heart it doesn't matter. The representative from the 3rd District will never be more popular than he is right now. Delegates adore him, his voting record is unimpeachable among the base because there are no consequences to voting from a purely ideological position when in the minority and from a district that is 70 percent Republican. Oh, and his fundraising machine is primed just in case he needs the cash.

He's in the press all the time. He's been the go-to guy in the GOP on social media matters. "But he's so young, doesn't have the gravitas needed in the Senate," you whisper. No, seriously, you're hilarious.

Mike Lee
Gov. Huntsman's former counsel has been making the rounds with his fireside discussions about the Constitution. He considered a run against Bennett in the early going but eventually decided against it. Despite the fact that the base isn't crazy about Huntsman, Lee has scored huge points on the circuit. Raising money won't be easy, but the well-liked scholar and attorney who clerked for Justice Alito could be a sleeper if he changes his mind and gets back in it.

Fred Lampropoulos
That's right. The CEO of Merit Medical has deep pockets and after a sudden exit from the 2004 governor's race courtesy of Huntsman, may be itching to get back into the ring. Lampropoulos is charismatic, a canny businessman and is well-known to delegates.

But what about...
No, I haven't forgotten the candidates already in the race. The problem is that Cherilyn Eagar is dangerously close to marginalizing herself. Her statement about Shurtleff dropping out is already drawing fire for being less than sensitive:

"I have put a call into Mr. Shurtleff to express my best wishes to him and his family and am awaiting his reply. I have complete respect for Mr. Shurtleff’s decision and for the fact that he got in early, so that the voters could get to know him. A U.S. Senate race is a serious commitment, one that is not made at the last minute. I sincerely hope we do not see in the future a flurry of candidates getting in and getting out. This is not musical chairs."

She's bringing in Joe the Plumber to stump for her, but it's more a book tour for the guy who became a cause célèbre for 15 minutes last year.

Tim Bridgewater
The Provo resident and longtime political insider was at first viewed by some as someone trying to gently back out of the state GOP chairman race he was never going to win by saying he instead wanted to run for Senate. He could then get his issues out there but never be considered a serious challenger. Bridgewater, a successful businessman by all accounts, is a tough read at this point. He's doing the campaign thing with e-mail blasts and cottage meetings across the state. But I'm going to have to take a pass on this one because I just don't know enough here.

Election Hangover Wednesday!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:14:00 +0000

Not a real hangover, that'd be illegal in Utah County. As I write this, Mark Shurtleff has suspended his campaign for U.S. Senate, opening the way for a March announcement by Jason Chaffetz, who just doesn't know yet that he's going to do it.

We've got a pretty good line-up of follow-up election stories for tomorrow, so keep your eyes open.

My favorite alternative headline — courtesy of reader Provoan — from the comments in Heidi Toth's Provo story:

“Lethargic Provo Electorate Turns over Reigns of Government to Realtors”

Hey, don't judge me, some of my best friends are Realtors!

Monday Cup o' Joe [edit - MLB pulled video]

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:29:00 +0000

It's Monday, and you know what that means:

• Utah is supposed to be the best managed state in the country, full of innovation and leadership-y-ness. So why is it that the best that lawmakers can come up with is a few small tax increases, some efficiency gains and cuts to balance the budget? I asked around for some crazy ideas that just might work and came up with NEXT TO NOTHING. Where is the creativity, people?

• Politicians love transparency. Except when it actually comes down to it. Canham at the Trib explores the Bennett-Shurtleff campaign teams in all their secretive glory.

• The governor holds a million-dollar gala and donates $26,000 to the needy. That's 7.5 percent less than tithing.

• Pig and Webb take a shot at media influence in politics and apparently wrote it while under the influence of too much Halloween candy. When asked who the most feared/hated political reporters in the state are, they list every TV political reporter and then two newspaper people — Bob Bernick Jr. and Paul Rolly. First of all, they're right about Chris Vanocur. Good guy, smart reporter. Second of all, they're right about Bernick and Rolly if you're talking about most hated. Feared doesn't come into play for either of those guys anymore, and here's why: Bernick has written the same 10 stories and pissed off the same 10 lawmakers for the past 10 years. Rolly has written the same 10 columns about the same 10 lawmakers for the the past 10 years. Oh sure, once in a while they heave a rock into the pond that creates a few waves.

But feared? Pfff. You want feared? How about Eric Peterson at the City Weekly? Or Robert Gehrke at the Trib? When those guys start asking questions, leadership starts holding strategy meetings.

And if none of that interests you, watch that damn Yankee Johnny Damon pull off a double steal (starting at 1:40):

[EDIT]
So it turns out MLB pulled it from YouTube because they hadn't obtained express written consent. Or something. Instead click on this and try not to get dizzy and fall over.

New career path: trampolinist

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:17:00 +0000

So I'm working on a little political analysis to post, but in the meantime, blow your mind with this:

(Also, hit the mute button if you're not a fan of the lewd hip-hop music. Not kidding.)

Technology Sunday!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:17:00 +0000

I'll start with this:
• The LDS Church authorities have been pretty strict in the past about cameras in their services. But what about taking video of little Bryghtyn giving a primary talk using the smartphone? Snapping pics of newly minted sister missionary Chastidee giving a farewell talk? Just asking.

• After four months of iPhone 3GS usage, here is my short list of must-have third-party apps:
TweetDeck -- Twitter client
Facebook -- Better than the full browser version
Photogene -- Photoshop for the iPhone (Though the newly released official Photoshop app ain't half bad.)
Shazam -- Wikipedia says: "The 'acoustic fingerprints' used by Shazam are based on spectrograms that have been generalized to a group of peak intensity frequencies." All I know is that I hold it up during a song and it tells me what it is.
Mocha VNC -- You're not going to play Call of Duty 4 with it, but VNC over the iPhone is still nifty when you need to access the Big Iron.
Glyder -- Beautiful, relaxing, challenging game in which you fly around on steampunk wings.

• I'm fiddling around with a few other apps, including "augmented reality" releases Layar and Wikitude that use the camera to show you additional information when you point it at something or show you where people are tweeting from. They're novel for sure, but I'm not sure that I'm going to be using them regularly.

• The Large Hedron Collider (aka we'll all be eating black holes for breakfast) gets colder than deep space to prep for relaunch. Of course, it's entirely possible that those pesky Higgs Boson particles don't want to be discovered. Jerks.

And if none of that stuff is interesting, check the sweet, sweet photo set of Barack Obama in 1980.

It's Shiny/Depressing Graphic Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:58:00 +0000

Where does your money go? Where does the Chinese investment money go? Its best if you have a widescreen monitor. A big one. Click on it for the massive version.

Image appears to be copyrighted, though the website at the bottom defaults to a placeholder site.

The panic has that all taken care of

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:50:00 +0000

Swine-flu infested members of the jury, I give you Utah County Commission agenda No. 5!

APPROVE AND AUTHORIZE THE COMMISSION CHAIR TO SIGN THE GRANT AGREEMENT WITH THE UTAH DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH FOR THE PUBLIC HEALTH PANDEMIC (H1N1) INFLUENZA VACCINATION CAMPAIGN

Whatever grant money they get should be given back. Exhibit A:

Clearly the public is well aware that a vaccine exists and is available. The health department even had to bring in more. Getting a grant and/or doling out matching funds for something that is already taken care of is the very definition of waste. Well, this is technically the definition of waste, but you know what I mean.

We just got trolled by a 6-year-old

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:45:00 +0000

I just want to say this about the kid who was hiding in a box in his attic while the nation waited for his dad's homemade dirigible to land in the Colorado desert to see if the 6-year-old was alive or had bailed out at 11,000 feet:

Well played, young man. Well played.

—————————————

And now on to more serious news. When is someone going to stop Big Postal? Rep. Jason Chaffetz has taken in at least $10,000 this election cycle from the good people at the post office because he sits as the ranking Republican on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia subcommittee.

I know exactly what you're thinking: How in the name of representatives who don't actually live in their district is Jason Chaffetz the ranking Republican of anything? Apparently it's not seniority related, as two other Republicans who have been around longer than him are also on the subcommittee but aren't ranking.

But I digress. Taking money from the very people you oversee? Doesn't sound very TakeBackWashington-y to me.

Mmmm, bullet-y

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:52:00 +0000

It's like Manifest Destiny. For guns.

It's Notebook Dump Thursday!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:35:00 +0000

So once in a while you write the atta-boy stories where kids do something nifty and everyone feels good. Wednesday night, the eight-graders at the Reagan Academy in Springville hosted their second town hall meeting with political heavyweights. Last year it was McCain vs. Obama (their reps, anyway) and was pretty lively.

This year was a bit tougher. They started with Tim Bridgewater who spoke for McCain last year and is running for U.S. Senate against Bob Bennett in 2010. Mark Madsen is the area's state senator, so he was asked, and he recommended Mark Shurtleff who is the attorney general and also a candidate against Bennett.

The class landed Gov. Gary Herbert after many a phone call and the fact that his wife is a former Miss Springville, so hey, do a favor for the hometown kids, OK? You can read the story here.

But going through my notes this morning I found some hidden gems that may not be appropriate for a story about kids trying hard to be part of the process.

• Tim Bridgewater — in that awesome gravely voice — took direct aim at Bennett's age by saying that he wanted to help the three-term senator "stay home, retire and spend time with his (wait for it, waaaaaait for it) great-grandchildren." Oh no he didn't!

He also insisted that capitalism is a "moral system." Hate to break it to you, but economic models are neither moral nor immoral. The people within the systems are moral or immoral.

• Mark Shurtleff — in that lovable way he mixes campaign and work — keeps hammering on Bennett's role in the bank bailout while handing out his little honorary attorney general deputy pins to kids who can give him a quote, any quote, from Ronald Reagan.

Also lovable is the way he points out how the banks got themselves into trouble in the first place through "inefficiency and waste." He's right, except that it was exactly not that.

And if none of this interests you, feel free to join this Reddit discussion on which side of your spacebar is most worn out.