Here is a good clip from the folks at You Tube:
This is just a start of the questions we have for Barry.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Meet the Press for Idiots
I had to put this video up from Conon O'Brian. I know it is over a year old but it is absolutely funny! It makes me laugh every time I watch it.
Why Utah should let the Feds own Utah Land
In an earlier post I stated I would detail why it makes sense for the federal government to own most of Utah's land. (Yes, this is a shocker from a conservative!) At any rate, it comes down to simple economics. I believe that over 90% of the land within Utah is owned by the US government. Much of that is owned by the Defense Department for weapons testing and military training areas, some of it is Native American reservation areas, and much is held by the National Park Service and the BLM. With the exception of the Grand Escalante Staircase, which should have been retained by Utah, the feds can manage and maintain that land. The vast majority of the land they hold is not wanted by this taxpaper. Think about it. If there is a wildfire like the Milford Flats fire of 2007, who pays for that on federal land? The US taxpayer. If there is a wildfire on State of Utah land who pays for that? The Utah taxpayer. I know that there are more taxpayers to pick up that tab at the federal level than at the state level.
A few years ago, the State of Utah faced the decision to close down 1/3 of its state parks due to a lack of funding. Can you image the budgetary issues the state would have if the BLM turned the keys over and said, "It's yours!" With a small population, and a smaller number of taxpayers, Utah is not in a place to pay for the management of all of the land within its boarders. As long as our population is small, we should continue to allow the federal government the luxury of paying the tab for our land.
A few years ago, the State of Utah faced the decision to close down 1/3 of its state parks due to a lack of funding. Can you image the budgetary issues the state would have if the BLM turned the keys over and said, "It's yours!" With a small population, and a smaller number of taxpayers, Utah is not in a place to pay for the management of all of the land within its boarders. As long as our population is small, we should continue to allow the federal government the luxury of paying the tab for our land.
Cuts at the Deseret News
The Deseret News, (Founded in 1850 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) announced last week that it is planning on laying off some 35 of its 200 employees due to decreased revenues and readership. This comes as no surprise to this conservative, especially since the D-News decision to turn hard left since the late 90s. KSL and other media pundits blame the shrinking revenues on items like blogs, Internet, and free online ads. While all of those things create a more competitive environment for print papers, they are not the source of the problems facing most newspapers.
One only needs to look at the viewpoints espoused by the Editorial Board and the writing staff at the Salt Lake based paper to see the problems. The paper (with the exception of its views on the LDS Church) focuses one appeasing to environmentalist, big government programs, "unity" issues, tax increases, anti-business sentiments (i.e. "tax the bastards to death") and an open disdain for traditional political values held by most Utahns.
Being in business myself, I know that the Paper has lost its core responsibility of delivering to its readers what they want. People, especially those who read papers, don't want thinly veiled propaganda and talking points from the United Nations from a supposedly "right of center" newspaper. I point to the Wall Street Journal. While hundreds of papers are downsizing and fretting about their future in five years, the WSJ continues year after year growth. Why? Because the WSJ knows it audience and gives them the news and stories they expect from a pro-business newspaper. Do you believe for one minute that the WSJ's circulation would be increasing if it took every chance it could to kick the beliefs of its readership? NO! Then why do the editors at the Deseret News believe they can put down the believes of its potential customers and expect them to subscribe in droves?
The Deseret News was a once decent paper. (I subscribed to it until 2005) Now it tries to play second fiddle and little brother the the SL Tribune. Stop walking in the shadow of that paper, stand up, deliver the quality of news expected by the conservative majority within Utah. Stop putting down businesses, quit pushing for tax increases when they are not needed. Stay away from the KSL editorial board! That group continues to represent itself as the voice of the Priesthood. It is not the mouthpiece of the Church. The members of the KSL and D-News editorial board represent their personal "feel good" politics of shame. In order for these organizations to survive without the aid of the Church they need to better represent the population of Utah.
One only needs to look at the viewpoints espoused by the Editorial Board and the writing staff at the Salt Lake based paper to see the problems. The paper (with the exception of its views on the LDS Church) focuses one appeasing to environmentalist, big government programs, "unity" issues, tax increases, anti-business sentiments (i.e. "tax the bastards to death") and an open disdain for traditional political values held by most Utahns.
Being in business myself, I know that the Paper has lost its core responsibility of delivering to its readers what they want. People, especially those who read papers, don't want thinly veiled propaganda and talking points from the United Nations from a supposedly "right of center" newspaper. I point to the Wall Street Journal. While hundreds of papers are downsizing and fretting about their future in five years, the WSJ continues year after year growth. Why? Because the WSJ knows it audience and gives them the news and stories they expect from a pro-business newspaper. Do you believe for one minute that the WSJ's circulation would be increasing if it took every chance it could to kick the beliefs of its readership? NO! Then why do the editors at the Deseret News believe they can put down the believes of its potential customers and expect them to subscribe in droves?
The Deseret News was a once decent paper. (I subscribed to it until 2005) Now it tries to play second fiddle and little brother the the SL Tribune. Stop walking in the shadow of that paper, stand up, deliver the quality of news expected by the conservative majority within Utah. Stop putting down businesses, quit pushing for tax increases when they are not needed. Stay away from the KSL editorial board! That group continues to represent itself as the voice of the Priesthood. It is not the mouthpiece of the Church. The members of the KSL and D-News editorial board represent their personal "feel good" politics of shame. In order for these organizations to survive without the aid of the Church they need to better represent the population of Utah.
First 18 Holes
I played my first 18 holes at Jug Mountain Ranch south of McCall, Idaho this past week. GOlf Digest named it the 2nd best public course in the nation. What a beautiful place to loose so many golf balls! Yikes. I went with my Dad and two brothers. My Dad doesn't golf (It's a four letter word...) and my brothers are really good. Anyway I think I lost somewhere between a dozen to 18 balls. Ponds all over the place, marshes right and left. Anyway, I had a few good fairway shots and I left a better player than when I showed up.
Morons to the Left of Me, Bright ones to the right...
Sunday mornings around our house are spent watching the political shows of the morning. I watched Fox News Sunday and This week on ABC. I forgot how dull, abrassive, and repulsive John Kerry was. Kudos to him on the face lift, nothing makes a Frankenstein look more life-like then a few shots of Botox and a stretch of the skin. Unfortunately it appears that the botox has moved into his brain. Here are a few examples: 1) Endorsing and supporting Obama should be enough to warrant a check of the noggin. 2) Stating that raising taxes on those making more than 100K a year is a good thing and that cutting the taxes on the elderly making less than 50K is a good idea 3) Stating that an immediate withdrawl of troops in Iraq makes sense and 4) John McCain is wrong on Iraq (I think he is the only national politian who has made sense on that issue).
What is of greatest concern to me is the number of people who will believe the Junior Blowhard from Taxachusetts. A Barry Hussein Obama presidency will take this country into thinly veiled socialism. The problem is that most Americans want socialism, or feel that taxpayers owe them something. We are in for some seriously difficult times if Barry is elected.
What is of greatest concern to me is the number of people who will believe the Junior Blowhard from Taxachusetts. A Barry Hussein Obama presidency will take this country into thinly veiled socialism. The problem is that most Americans want socialism, or feel that taxpayers owe them something. We are in for some seriously difficult times if Barry is elected.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Memorial Day Follow-up
Last year my wife and I traveled to Emery in Central Utah to visit the grave of a few of her ancestors. Along the way we thought it would be a teriffic experience for us to visit the graves of all our our direct ancestors who are buried in the state of Utah. We want to start a blog in the next couple of weeks and begin detailing our plans for the Memorial Day 2009 Utah Road trip to visit ancestors. This is no small task where every progenitor of mine since the 1880s have lived in Utah. For my wife it may be somewhat simpler that only half of her ancestors have been here since the turn of the 20th Century. We look forward to sharing our experiences, research, and travels with everyone as we prepare for next year's trip.
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