O wad some Power the giftie gie us to see oursels as ithers see us!
Robert Burns
To A Louse
(On seeing one on a lady's bonnet at church)
1759-96)
Following fast upon this year's 2010 Utah legislative session, which will be mostly remembered for crackpot "message bills" and other bizarre political posturings, The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Utah Governor Gary Herbert has signed into law two more of these "quixotic" bills, which would ostensibly "authorize the use of eminent domain to take some of the U.S. government's most valuable parcels":• Guv approves use of eminent domain to take federal landWe'll thus invoke the above-cited wise words of Scottish poet Bobbie Burns, and note with considerable amusement that the 2010 Utah legislature's "messages" do seem to be "getting through," at least to some elements of the greater U.S. population:
• Welcome to GlennbeckistanOkay. So who's ready for some hot-tubbin'?
Update 3/30/10 7:00 a.m.: Charlie Trentelman goes off on these two above-mentioned eminent domain message bills in yesterday's delightful Blogging the Rambler blog rant linked below:
• Utah snatching fed land? But that’s MY landWe'll give Charlie's closing paragraphs, which highlight the harsh discrepancy between the legislature's words and deeds, an especially hearty thumbs up:
Then there’s the whole question of Utah using eminent domain to take land just because it wants it. As I’ve said before, Utah’s Legislature doesn’t really believe in smaller government. All it believes in is a smaller FEDERAL government.It's a danged good read, all-in-all.
It would love to see the STATE OF UTAH’s government get a whole lot bigger, and more powerful. The legislators showed that when they tried to make miscarriages illegal, and when they’ve tried to make abortions illegal, and when they’ve tried to micromanage drinking and legislate just about every aspect of private life that just doesn’t happen to meet their moral or religious code.
And then they sit around and talk about freedom.
Check it out.
4 comments:
Rudi:
The Glenbeckistan article is getting some play. When I opened my email this AM, I found a friend in Oklahoma [who is not a former Utahn and has never lived here] had sent me a link to it.
Sigh....
I think that the Navajo Nation should sew the State of Utah and us the eminent domain to get all their land back from the Utah state government. Don't you think that the republicans are now skating on thin, thin, ice. Could you only imagine how this country of ours should go back to the native Americans.
I believe it is time to start the John Dunbar Caucus. After all the Native Americans would still own this country if only they had strict immigration laws.
The message is if you are a progressive fortune 500 company avoid Utah. If you are a national chain restaurant that serves liquor avoid Utah. If you are in Federal office try and limit Federal funds coming to Utah, stop feeding the dog that bites you..
Budget shortfalls are meaningless when you can tax and spend for message bills. If the legislators and politicians had to pay for their court challenges they might think twice before they mades some of their laws.
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