A few more news and editorial items, just to keep our marathon HB477 discussion on track
1) Surprise of surprises, this morning's annual Standard-Examiner legislative report card assigns a well deserved "F" grade to the Utah legislature for "Open Government":
Hmmm... an "F" grade? Isn't there anything lower than that?
2) Former Ogden City Councilwoman Dorrene Jeske makes a strong public statement regarding the Utah GOP's sudden lurch toward fascist-style government secrecy, with this morning's scathing Letter to the Editor:
We'll be keeping a close eye on the attrition of other warhorse Utah Republicans, as they recoil in embarrassment from the shameful actions of the current batch of goose-stepping anti-government transparency drones. Additional sodden question: What happens to the Utah Grand Old Party when they run out of olde-tyme warhorse Republicans like Dorrene?
And here's a pair of stirring SE morning print edition letters, from "stirred up" SE readers and Karl Powell and John Wojciechowski, respectively:
Now that HB477-topical reader letters are finally starting to trickle in to the SE print edition, we have a strong psychic sense that the SE editorial page will be a very hot venue in the days and weeks to come.
4) Former Utah House Republican member Sheryl Allen has an op-ed piece in today's SL Trib, supporting Rep. Powell's claim that he feared his bills would be killed by the House leadership if he didn't quietly knuckle under and vote for HB 477. Happens all the time, says Allen, and her op-ed piece gives examples:
That's it for now, Gentle WCF readers.
Just a few more news and editorial items... to help keep our marathon HB477 discussion on track.
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3 comments:
We should be so lucky as to have all Republican politicians in Utah that were as smart and honest as Sheryl Allen and Dorrene Jeske.
It is too bad that both are now out of office, they are a dying breed of Republicans with ethics.
Well they've got Stuart Reid depending on what group he belongs to this month! Now that's a person that leads by example.
The whole bunch of them are bought and paid for, both in this life and the next. They may have a slight problem getting through those Pearly Gates based on their earthly dealings, however.
How would HB477 effect the campaign fund raising debacle outlined below? Potential corruption in government appears to be running rampant nationally and locally so approving a bill to make it more difficult to detect is the answer? Your tax dollars at work!
Hansen asked Shreve, "Who is Friends of Northern Utah Real Estate?".
Shreve responded, "That's Blain Johnson."
Hansen asked, "If that is Blain Johnson's business, why did he deny any knowledge of it in a press interview?".
Shreve, "I don't really know, I asked myself that question when I found out about it".
"Johnson received $1,500 from Envision Ogden and $10,990 from Friends of Northern Utah Real Estate, according to his 2007 filings."
"I know I didn't do anything wrong," he said "I received the funds, and I reported it".
"Johnson said FNURE was established by some employees of a title company who have an office in the building where he works, but declined to identify the employees or the firm".
"Johnson said while his original campaign filings are accurate, he amended them to address Schroeder's complaint. "I don't believe I did anything wrong," he said.
IT'S A TRAGEDY WHEN PEOPLE CAN NO LONGER TRUST THEIR REPRESENTATION.
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