The Transfer of Public Lands Act requires that the United States extinguish title to public lands and transfer title to those public lands to Utah by a date certain. Under the Gibson case, that requirement would interfere with Congress' power to dispose of public lands. Thus, that requirement, and any attempt by Utah in the future to enforce the requirement, have a high probability of being declared unconstitutional.
The state has proven itself time and again to be a bad manager of public lands. ... This is a political stunt. It’s amazing that in one quixotic act they’ve offended the U.S. Constitution, the state constitution and the state’s enabling act.
It’s not a slam dunk, but there is legal reasoning and a rational thought process. But this is the first step in a long journey. There is a lot of education needed to raise awareness.
Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.
With this morning's latest shining example of Utah GOP silliness, the Standard-Examiner shines the further spotlight on what passes for "leadership" from the Utah Governor's Office:
While Salt Lake City law firms line up in eagerness to reap millions of dollars in fees from the apparently looming federal litigation windfall, Utah taxpayers brace themselves for the "raised awareness" which comes from the prospect of footing the legal bill for a lawsuit which even the Utah Legislature's own lawyers predict to be a dead bang loser from the very get-go.
The world-wide blogosphere sits riveted on the edge of its seat, awaiting your ever-savvy comments in connection with this.
