Davis County Watch: Creative Solutions

Politics is not that important

2006-12-15T15:00:00.000-08:00

It's often bemoaned that so few people are interested in politics, or that so few participate in it. I've often felt that I would rather that many people were not attuned to politics, and that the engine that drives political action would not require constant vigilance.

Some people get a buzz from politics, a thrill from implementing change, or being part of the progress that is our government.

I do not feel this way.

I surprise people when I say this. After all I operate a political blog, and from time to time, I spend my own time at meetings. I speak to, and correspond with politicians. How could I not, also, derive some pleasure from it?

Years ago, it was all that I could do to get the latest writings and thoughts from *Hugh Nibley (more liberal politically than myself). He once identified a distinction between goods of the first, and second intent. The distinction he gave is this: goods of the first intent are things that are desirable intrinsically, but goods of the second intent only have value in that they may enable one to achieve those things that are inherently good.

Politics is not that important, or rather, it should not be that important. Or, put another way, the engine of government is best that operates with little or no attention.

Now, I've covered Bastiat a lot lately, and I won't make this post the exception. He said that there are two types of plunder-- legal, and illegal. He had little worry about the illegal variety in that it is obviously wrong. Legal plunder, however, is accomplished by the law itself. It is a perversion of the law, and can be operated by a majority. For, when people see what is gained by those in power through the act of plunder, they have two reactions. They, either, seek to join those who plunder, or they seek to stop the plunder from occurring. Bastiat felt that legal plunder led to an exaggerated emphasis on politics.

So, when I go to these public meetings, and hear an elected official, or a citizen complain that so few are present, I recognize in them the desire that more people would flock to stand behind their own special interest. They may be interested in stopping plunder, or they may be interested in furthering plunder for their group.

I wish that fewer would show an interest in politics that do. I wish that politics were relegated to the order, in the large picture, that it belongs. Politics belongs behind family, second to progress, and under economy. Those who have given sacrifice to this country have not done so to its politics, but to its right government.

Politics and government are not equivalent.

When we focus on goods of the first intent, we do not need to justify our expenditure on a ledger, or explain it to ourselves. It is simply good. Others may not understand why, but it is only our feeling that has any merit.

We should remember the difference between first and second.

*The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Volume 9: Approaching Zion

The Law: Bastiat-What is the Law?

2006-12-05T19:25:00.000-08:00

This solution harks from 1850. Yes, it can still count as creative, though it is over 150 years old.

It was pointed out to me in a conversation last night, that Ronald Reagan drew much of his inspiration from an economist by the name of Frederick Bastiat.

Bastiat was the Deputy to the Legislative Assembly in France and took it upon himself to expose each fallacy being perpetrated by socialist factions within the government.

Recommended by Reagan. Portending the danger of Socialism to France and to the world. The pamphlet.

The Law

Mountain Peaks of debate

2006-11-28T11:31:00.000-08:00

There are certain issues that have become untouchable by ordinary logic. These fall under the broad head of what is called 'political correctness'. All that need be done to squelch discussion on any topic is to mention one of these code-words. In print these ciphers can be easily recognized because they are often bolded, capitalized, or italicized. When these key words are given in a sound it is appropriate to wear earmuffs.

Some sounds can still be heard with earmuffs.

When code-words are ignored by either party, which is rare since it is so deeply ingrained in our psyche, then the code can be escalated to another level.

A label.

Labels can define who the offender is without the inconvenience of a presumption of innocence. There is no longer a need to listen once a label has been successfully applied.

These key words start having their effect on us when we are very young, but they don't take full hold until we gain some experience in dealing with them.

Our programming can be reversed, but not without some conscious effort on our part. It takes two things.

Air, and exposure to ordinarily offensive materials (Not pornographic, but something that elicits a bolded response in our minds).

Listen to someone with whom you might presumably disagree, and then instead of cutting them off with a code-word, breath deep.

Take another breath.

Now for an example that could try even the most practiced of this art. The issue is now moot, which is a fantastic reason to entertain another perspective.

Moot arguments carry no inherent risk to the status quo.

In 1895, Utah was being considered for statehood, and delegations gathered to decide upon the drafting of a state constitution. One, unexpected, wedge issue was suffrage for women.

B.H. Roberts had been sent with another to represent Davis County.

When word got back to his party that he had taken the lead in opposing suffrage then the following was sent.

"DEAR SIR:_Our attention has been called to the position you are taking in the Convention, regarding woman suffrage, and we are informed, in fact the Herald says as much, that you are looked upon as a leader of the opposition on the floor of the Convention. This position is not in line with the sentiments of your constituents, and further, in the county convention that nominated you, a resolution was presented and adopted, favoring equal suffrage, and requesting our delegates to work for it. Our campaign, locally and territorially, was conducted with this as an important plank in the platform.In view of these facts, and the further fact that Davis County is so overwhelmingly in favor of an equal suffrage provision in the Constitution, we feel it our duty to ask you to not oppose this suffrage plank. If your convictions will not permit you to vote in favor of it, you might at least, remain inactive in the matter, and thus save our party the humiliation of having their pledges broken."

Roberts was asked to resign if he could not restrain himself. His Co-delegate chose to read the above letter to the entire body. (A little aside: the letter was signed by a man that, later, had Roberts speak at his funeral.)

Now what is interesting about the proceedings is that Roberts was given some time to speak, and after his time was cut short, he negotiated with the body to be allowed the final word.

The delegates opposed to Roberts spoke for an additional two days. On the third day, Roberts was finally given the opportunity to close the debate, knowing full well, that he would be buried under the votes against him for suffrage.

I find Roberts closing remarks to show tremendous courage and his arguments to be logical. I find I can't help but agree with him on some of his points, and yet the argument is moot.

It's clear that Roberts knew what could be done to him by invoking just a few code-words.

"I know, sir, for announcing this doctrine in such cool terms that I shall be anathematized perchance as a tyrant to women, a man unfeeling and tyrannical in his disposition towards the fair sex, but I shall trust to those who know me and my life not to take any serious consideration of that accusation, and I shall try to convince this Convention by an expression of my views on that subject, that I do not believe that leadership, headship, responsibility of precedency, is necessarily accompanied by tyranny and by oppression."

The main part of Roberts remarks took place on April 2, 1895.

Word of the Day: Logomachy

2006-11-27T16:05:00.000-08:00

Main Entry: lo·gom·a·chy
Pronunciation: lO-'gä-m&-kE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -chies
Etymology: Greek logomachia, from log- + machesthai to fight
1 : a dispute over or about words
2 : a controversy marked by verbiage

This is the type of argument I wish to avoid for a number of reasons.

First, I like to play with words a little, and if I have to be overly concerned that my words will be misinterpreted, then some of my joy leaves me.

Second, I'm more than happy to interpret meaning based upon contextual clues, and purists who insist that a word must mean a certain thing, only complicate the argument for me.

Third, I like to discuss the issues, and words are merely a vehicle to carry the debate forward.

So, if I say I meant something a certain way, don't get too hung up in what you thought I meant.

This blog is not a battle-ground for logomachies.

Now, I never thought I'd ever say that!

Solve Congestion first

2006-11-20T20:17:00.000-08:00

The Utah Taxpayer Association has suggested that only "real congestion" should be addressed with dollars, not "pretend congestion". The question I have for those who advocate expanding the roads along Centerville is this. Is congestion a real problem along Main Street? It seems the influx of funds coming from the Legacy Highway fight has turned to a disadvantage for those who want thinking to be tied to spending.

The Utah Taxpayer Association blog elaborates further on this principle, as well as asserting more, in this post. It discusses the flawed thinking that has led the idea of extending TRAX to the airport.

Is Blogging a Perfect Fit?

2006-11-13T09:29:00.000-08:00

I've come up with a list of circumstances which might make blogging a good outlet. You might consider becoming a blogger if you are:

A reformed, non-profit, spammer. Do you forward unsolicited email to your family, or friends, because you think it your duty to 'set them straight'? Blogging can save your friendships! All those people who thought you'd become too obnoxious, or annoying, will now love you. How could they feel otherwise, they hardly hear from you anymore. They don't read your blog, and they never read your emails.

Disenfranchised. Vote not counted? Crushed by your city manager? Don't have a voice? Is nobody listening? People who blog can, at least, pretend that they are being heard because, after all, you're on google aren't you? Are you a politician that recently lost an election? Instead of sending emails, and letters to all the people that ruined your life, start blogging. Soon that warm feeling you got when you thought everybody loved you will slowly return.

Unable to make enough time in the day. Blogging will, actually, free up more time in the day. This might be a surprise, until you realize that blogging will save you from having to send that letter to the editor. It will help you to organize your thoughts. In fact, blogging is such a noble enterprise, that you'll feel totally justified saying, "I know I should have patched that hole in my roof, but I was blogging."

Far too important to be blogging. You are, in fact, the perfect candidate to become a blogger, because you have already mastered the thing to which all bloggers aspire--The huge ego. Rant, rave, blast the, so called, establishment. Bring everybody down a notch. Arbitrarily delete comments. Belittle, berate, and people will recognize you for what you are. Best of all, you get to keep your superiority complex.

Another Check and Balance for Diebold

2006-11-06T12:56:00.000-08:00

I Just had a thought regarding the accuracy of the vote on Tuesday. Much has been said about whether the vote could actually be hacked, and I want to pile onto that discussion.

What happens if, I, the voter become momentarily, insane, or ill, while voting? Consider the following scenario, and tell me where I'm wrong. What if, in the midst of voting for my candidate I have a stroke, and my left arm goes limp? Since I'm right-handed, I might never know that I just stroked out! Is my vote still good? Now I've, recently, learned that a good way to tell if you are having a stroke is to raise both arms high above the head, speak a sentence out loud, and smile. If you can do those three things, then you're not having a stroke.

This brings us to my proposal for stroke free vote. Let's redesign the voting machines to require the voter to raise both arms, and turn two keys simultaneously, while smiling, and saying the words, "My voice is my password". This should, forever, cure the world of stroke-based voting errors.

Now if we could only come up with a way to check for insanity-based voting.

Standard Examiner:Transportation::Davis leaders to send letter with concerns

2006-09-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

For the last week, my drive home has taken about three times as long. I drive north along I-215, and the bottleneck has begun in SL, around 7th North, but the pimple on my route seems to be where I-15 and 215 merge.

If Davis County were a room of your home, it would be the bedroom hallway, and the fact remains that the great majority of our residents still work outside of the County. So, I'm pleased to see that the Council of Governments is requesting of SL that they consider Davis County when they plan the downtown. I'm also hopeful that we will take responsibility for the bottleneck that we create in our own vicinity.

Transportation::Davis leaders to send letter with concerns

Davis County Library: Downloadable ebooks/audiobooks for patrons

2006-09-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

It's been years since I've used my library card, but I might have to go dig it up. Davis County Library Patrons can now download ebooks and audio books online.

Compromise:NSL Naming Controversy

2006-09-18T23:41:00.000-07:00

I'm calling on all parties to the North Salt Lake naming controversy to come together and compromise John McCain style. Here is my proposal.

Inspired by the ingenuity of the country Trinidad and Tobago, I propose the following name for our fair city.

North Salt Lake and Orchard Hills Tobago.

A perfect solution.

Feel free to comment as to my genius.

Today's Rant: Identity Theft

2006-09-18T23:40:00.000-07:00

I know I'm not really one to talk when it comes to protecting my own privacy-- considering that I blog under my own name. However, if there were an organization that I would expect to be considerate of my confidentiality concerns it would be the government.

Congress passes laws that regulate how and when confidential information is to be shared, and secured by businesses and private organizations (examples of this include HIPAA, FCRA, etc. ). The government, on the other hand, has not done enough to insure that it regulates itself.

The other day, a letter arrived in the mail in a, clearly marked, identifiable envelope. In the envelope window were the first, middle, and last name of my baby as well as the seal of the Social Security Administration, and every indicator that this was a Social Security Card. My wife was quick to point out that when a new credit card arrives, that the contents of the envelope are obscured, and there is now way of knowing-beyond opening the letter, that you have recieved a Credit Card. Why the government does not take the minimal step of obscuring the purpose of the letter is beyond understanding. Should it be any surprise that ID theft is considered the "fastest growing crime in the nation"?

Why am I registering my concern on a blog soley concerned with County issues? Doesn't this seem to be a national issue?

Take a look at the low-tech methods used in ID Theft and ask yourself if the perpetrator must be close in proximity to the victim to commit this crime.

ID Theft is, primarily, a local issue. We should put pressure on our local leadership to drive change.

KCSG the number 1 Televison News Choice in Southern Utah, St George, Cedar City, Hurricane, Enterprise, Parowan, La Verkin, Kannarraville, Panguitch,

2006-09-18T23:39:00.000-07:00

Question: Why is a Southern Utah News channel reporting on Davis County, animal shelter, statistics?

Answer: Because Davis County is awesome!

KCSG the number 1 Televison News Choice in Southern Utah, St George, Cedar City, Hurricane, Enterprise, Parowan, La Verkin, Kannarraville, Panguitch, Escalante, Zion National Park

ksl.com| HOV Lane to Go On Sale in August

2006-09-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

"Single drivers can soon buy their way into I-15 carpool lanes. "

Married drivers need not apply.

ksl.com - Utah's Online Source for Local News & Information HOV Lane to Go On Sale in August

deseretnews.com | Am. Fork is biggest 'American'

2006-09-18T23:36:00.000-07:00

deseretnews.com | Am. Fork is biggest 'American': " American Fork was originally named Lake City for its proximity to Utah Lake. The name remained in place from 1850, when it was settled, until 1860, after the town was incorporated.
For fear of being confused with Salt Lake City, the bigger neighbor to the north, Lake City's name was changed to American Fork, after the river that runs from American Fork Canyon to Utah Lake."(italics are mine)

Perhaps NSL should see how American Fork faired after it's name change. Why does everyone have the problem of being confused with Salt Lake City?

The Perfect Poll: Security via Solicitation

2006-09-18T23:15:00.000-07:00

I just realized the security of an online poll depends on one thing. Affiliate Marketing. Take the following poll question which I think is impervious to tampering. Pay specific attention to the second line.

"Is President Bush a good President?

Click here and get a free laptop."

No self-respecting hacker, worth his keyboard, has the guts to click on such a thing. So, all the Clipper needs to do to improve their polling is offer to give away something big that spawns other big offers, and so on, and so on...

But, if they want to know what hackers think, they can keep doing what they do best.

Clippertoday:Inside Story-Manipulation of online polling hurts all of us

2006-09-18T23:12:00.000-07:00

Treasure the Clipper

The Clipper is an amazing paper!

No, really! I am astounded when I do read it. One never knows what can, and will, be printed in it's pages. Let me offer one example.

Rolf Koecher at the Clipper wrote an article about me last week without contacting me for comment. He did seem to have talked to one other party regarding the incident (Rob Miller), but did not quote anyone else. The article was about an opinion poll that pitted Dannie McConkie against Bret Millburn and Rob Miller. I would think that a balanced reporter would also have tried to get a comment from Millburn after writing, "In a Monday afternoon conversation with Rob Miller over this incident, he told me he had seen an outpouring of support from all quarters — not just from those in Davis County — judging from the huge volume of e-mail he had received over the poll." There was not a single statement from Millburn in the entire article!

Two is not a few?

Apparently, the Clipper has had more incidents than this. (italics are mine)

"The company that hosts our Web site manages sites for well over 100 newspapers across America. They’ve had few problems in their other markets — except for here. So we’ve asked them to beef up their security measures a second time. "

If I'm to understand the above paragraph correctly, other markets haven't been without incident regarding security. They've had "few" problems elsewhere. The implication is that we've had two incidents with security on the Clipper website. What was the first incident? If we've, actually, only had this one incident, then it is impossible that we have had more problems than other markets that have seen "few", not zero, incidents. It seems to me that our market isn't that different at all.

No online poll is perfect but this is the worst I've ever seen. The least the Clipper Poll could do is record IP addresses when votes are cast so to prevent duplicate votes from the same machine. This is already done by other online polls.The Clipper has repeatedly demonstrated it's own mediocrity in it's reporting. It seldom gives all parties a fair hearing. It should at least try to give those it opposes the credit that it gives itself.

Clippertoday:Inside Story-Manipulation of online polling hurts all of us

Separated at Birth: Presidente Fox and President Bush's Radio Address

2006-09-18T23:11:00.000-07:00

I talk about the fact that I don't post pictures to my blogs here. But I've been jealous of Ethan at SLSPIN that I couldn't participate in any 'Separated at Birth' Memes until now. Notice the similarity between Presidente Vicente Fox (rendered as ASCII below), who is visiting Utah to not talk about immigration reform, and President Bush's latest Radio Address on Immigration reform. It's uncanny!

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Clippertoday:LETTERS - Three cheers for McConkie

2006-09-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while it is fun to link to something ridiculous. Today is one of those days!

Consider the following points as you read the letter below.

First, Citizens for Tax Fairness has received no money from Grover Norquist. Second, the group does not collect membership dues. No fund-raising activities have ever occured to finance the group. No bribes to any elected officials have been "dangled" by Citizens for Tax Fairness. Third, take a look at the Tax Pledge provided by the Citizens for Tax Fairness-It is different from Norquist's pledge in a variety of wonderful ways. Need I make four points? Why not? Fourth, "progressive taxation" is not a Conservative principle. Take Karl Marx, in the Communist Manifesto, for example. "In the most advanced countries the following will be pretty generally applicable:..a heavy progressive or graduated income tax."

My thanks to Ron Mortensen, Co-founder of Citizens for Tax Fairness for pointing me in the direction of this letter and enlightening me regarding Citizens for Tax Fairness financial underpinings. Perhaps someone can point me to Irvine's source-it appears to be Irvine? Regardless, Irvine has built such a fine straw-man to beat that I have to say, 'Swing away, Mr. Irvine, swing away.'

"LETTERS - Three cheers for McConkie
Letters to the Editor 25.APR.06
Editor:

Commissioner Dan McConkie has voted against propositions I favor time after time, but I nevertheless sincerely commend him for standing up to a slick intimidation tactic by a small group asking all county commission candidates to sign an anti-tax increase pledge. Commissioner McConkie, correctly, called the ploy an attempt to bind candidates to a policy position which would then be trotted out to politically bludgeon anyone whoever votes for a tax increase, irrespective of the merits and sensibilities of particular circumstances.

The more unfortunate aspect of this transparent tactic is from whence it originated. Its genesis, of course, is Washington, D.C. anti-tax Grover Norquist, the same Grover Norquist who evidently sold what may have been a principled conservative philosophical movement to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, and the infamous K Street Project, which has sought to turn control over congressional policy to the highest Republican bidders.

It is highly regrettable that this volatile formula for mixing faux-conservative political philosophy with unlimited corporate money would find its way to Utah. Which group of Utah elected officials will be targeted next?

Mr. Norquist and his moneyed allies have dangled campaign contributions in front of Republican congressmen and senators to such an extent that the laudable conservative principle of responsible, progressive taxation has been completely overwhelmed by tax cuts for the wealthy and a very un-conservative reluctance to balance the federal budget.

These mortgage-the-future, big-spenders are not Democrats; they are Republicans, and the immediate beneficiaries are, largely, Republican contributors to Norquist’s pet projects.

If this kind of out-of-kilter fiscal policy or money-for votes fund raising is the goal of Citizens for Tax Fairness, or whatever the clever nom du jour, three cheers for Commissioner McConkie — who will still vote against my requests and positions again and again.

David R. Irvine

Bountiful"
Clippertoday:LETTERS - Three cheers for McConkie

Clipper:SLC seeking to condemn 80 NSL acres

2006-09-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a break from election talk to revisit an old issue. The North Salt Lake-Salt Lake land dispute. SLC is filinga motion to condemn all 80 acres as opposed to the 13 originally condemned. Mayor Briggs thinks that SLC's decision to condemn all 80 acres of NSL owned land would be better for SLC. However, I feel better about that decision than having the 13 acres along the County border condemned if we lose in court.

Condemning just the border land would be seen by all as a dirty trick by SLC to pay only minimal compensation and still acheive the goal of halting development. Now SLC doesn't have to answer the question in court of why they condemned only part of the total land. It's tougher for NSL to win in court, but less costly if we lose.

SLC seeking to condemn 80 NSL acres

Washington Post: Up to Their Earmarks

2006-09-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

Due to the money spent on earmarks and porkbarrel tripling over the last decade according to CRS, some legislators are asking the President to instruct his department heads to ignore the pork, instead of asking for line-item veto to do, essentially, the same thing in a more problematic way.

CRS has said that over 95% of all earmarks are not written into law but merely reported on. The President could choose to save the funds ordinarily spent and not overeach his authority.

Utah's, U.S. Senators are silent on some proposed legislation to take care of this problem, S.2265: The Pork Barrel Reduction Act.

The efficacy of the above bill and others are considered by CRS here.

Hat tip: RealClearPolitics: Robert Novak

The Tax Foundation - Which State Taxes are Best for Business?

2006-09-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

The Tax Foundation has ranked the States as to how friendly taxes are to businesses. How are the tax reforms that are getting enacted going to change the tax climate for Utah?

The Tax Foundation - Which State Taxes are Best for Business?

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah:Two Salt Lakes war over doggy-doo sign

2006-09-18T22:48:00.000-07:00

The first paragraph used to read:

" NORTH SALT LAKE - Dog owners beware: Bring your own collection bag next time your canine friend decides to leave something unpleasant on the hillside trail between Davis and Salt Lake counties. "

Now it reads:

The content item you have requested is no longer available.

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah

Idaho ponders having prisoners sleep in shifts - Yahoo! News

2006-09-18T22:47:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting solution to the prison population problem that Utah faces now. Davis County could implement this in it's jail when crowding occurs. We currently have 500 inmates. This solution could theoretically double the capacity of the jail to 1000 inmates!

Detracters of this concept say that it isn't the number of beds, but the amount of space that should be considered.

Idaho ponders having prisoners sleep in shifts - Yahoo! News

Clipper:Smoldering SLC-NSL issue flares anew

2006-09-18T22:46:00.000-07:00

This ongoing saga is giving me a headache. Anyone wondering why I don't post much anymore-This is it!

Smoldering SLC-NSL issue flares anew

Which leads me to the quote of the day.

“I think it was incredibly petty. We put up doggy doo doo signs, and you take them down"
-Rocky Anderson talking about NSL's removal of SLC's 'No poo-poo signs'.