Tina DuPuy Column: It's Time to Upgrade Our Presidential Elections

Time to finally level the U.S. federal election playing field, once and for all?

Thoughtful Tina DuPuy column this morning from the Standard-Examinar's "Currents" digital edition section, making a strong case, wethink, for the abandonment of our archaic locally-administered "electoral college" system of electing U.S. Presidents.  We've heard arguments for the abolition of the electoral college many times in the past, of course, but this morning's proposal presents a creative and novel twist...  Here's the gist on Ms. DuPuy's clever idea:

There were long lines, lost ballots and chaos on Election Day. Different voting precincts with different rules and sometimes different philosophies on who should cast their ballots we’re highlighted in the national media. What it all leads to is a voting result which have a whisper of illegitimacy. There’s a lingering doubt as to if the elections were fair and therefore the result valid. And it’s partisan: The Left will say that of George Bush stole the election, the Right about Obama.

 We could solve this issue by modernizing elections. Not only tossing out the Electoral College and letting Americans directly vote for a president, but making the requirements uniform (i.e. universal suffrage). This would make voting in Oregon just as relevant as a voting in Cuyahoga County.

 A census is constitutionally required every ten years and we don’t leave it up to each state to compile it.

 But we leave our national elections up to (in some cases) the county officials?! Federalize federal elections. We have national standards for schools and milk safety but we can’t vote the same way in every state?

 We can change this. And there’s no better time than three years and 11 months before the next presidential election begins.

Check out Ms. DuPuy;s full column here:

• It's time to upgrade our presidential elections

As an added bonus, we'll also take the liberty of embedding this morning's accompanying political cartoon, which not-so-subtly  illustrates Ms. DuPuy's point:

So what about it O Gentle Ones? Isn't it time to finally level the U.S. federal election playing field, once and for all?

We say Ms. DuPuy has come up with a danged good idea; but what say you?

Standard-Examiner: GEAR:30 Opens in Ogden Riverbend Project Area

Taxpayer inducements?  A question left oddly unexplored

Encouraging news this morning on the Ogden City economic development front, as the Standard announces the arrival of a new player for the Ogden Riverfront Project.  Here's the lead:

OGDEN — While Ogden city continues to promote itself as a world- class outdoor-recreation destination, owners of a new retail store near downtown hope to ride that wave.
GEAR:30, a premier mountain equipment shop, is now open at 1931 S. Washington Blvd., positioned as one of the centerpieces in the Ogden Riverbend project, right between Kneaders Bakery & Cafe, Slackwater Pub & Pizzeria and the Bingham Cyclery.

Check out the full Mitch Shaw writeup here:

• GEAR:30 opens in Ogden Riverbend project area

“We all became kind of tired of having to drive down to Salt Lake (City) to find decent gear,” GEAR:30 co-partner Jeff Young said. “There was really no place in the entire Ogden area where you could get quality stuff, and that meant that you had thousands of dollars leaving Ogden, which is a shame.”

Looks like this new operation will fill a heretofore un-filled retail marketing niche, we'll cautiously observe; and it would appear that this new outfit won't step on any other existing busuness's toes, thank goodness.

Conspicuously absent from this morning's story, of course, is any information concerning any Ogden taxpayer subsidies or other financial inducements which might have been responsible for luring in this new business, an issue which, taking into account Ogden City's track record,  we do believe S-E reporter Shaw ought to have fully explored.

Salt Lake Tribune: Experts Weigh Stewart's Defense in Fatal Ogden Police Shootout

Sodden reader query: What are the odds that Stewart will ultimately get a fair trial in this case?  

In the interest of keeping our WCF readers informed of the latest developments in the Matthew Stewart shootings case, we'll direct our readers' attention to yesterday's Salt lake Tribune story, wherein Jessica Miller reels out a series of "expert opinions" about possible defense theories which Defendant Stewart might assert once the case goes to trial, probably late in 2013.  For those readers who've been closely following this story, yesterday's Trib writeup provides an interesting and informative read, wethinks:

• Experts weigh Stewart's defense in fatal Ogden police shootout

So what do you think, folks?  Given the state of the underlying law regarding available affirmative defenses, and taking the extensive pre-trial  publicity into account, what are the odds that Stewart will ultimately get a fair trial in this case, particularly if it's tried in Weber County?

Standard-Examiner: Brigham City Seeks Public's Opinions at Special Forum

Hold on tight and wait for the "developers in the wings but we cant tell you who" line of buffalo chips.

By Smaatguy

Anyone else nauseated by the article today on ole Matt taking the fine folks and taxpayers of Brigham City to the cleaners to the tune of $100 k?

• Brigham City seeks public's opinions at special forum

Sounds like a re-run of  North Ogden, Morgan and Ogden.

Hold on tight, Brigham City residents and wait for the "developers in the wings but we cant tell you who" line of buffalo chips.

Looking at the bright side, it appears that a few Brigham City residents are already "onto" Godfrey's heavy-handed, developer-friendly ways, such as  Becky Maddox, Deanna Hardy and Sherry Phipps, the latter of  whom points out that the constitution “doesn’t give government the right to pick and choose businesses.”

Interesting sidenote: Godfrey's original private sector entity, American Municipal Consultants, has now vanished from the web.

Science Saturday - 11/24/12 Edition

Five science stories, each with its own slight post-election political twist

In the interest of keeping our intermittently-published but ever-popular Science Saturday feature alive, here are a few science-related items which we've rounded up since our most recent Science Saturday article.  Following closely on the heels of the 2012 general election political season, each of these items, coincidentally enough, includes at least its own slight political twist: 

1) Scientists identify another possible planet where Earthlings might be able to escape, once greedheads like the Koch Brothers finally succeed in destroying our planet's habitat:

• 'Super-Earth' exoplanet spotted 42 light-years away

2) Some scientific experimental video raw data worthy of note.  Capuchin Monkeys don't like being screwed over, same as humans, we guess:

• Monkeys Were Paid Unequally; See What Happens Next

If monkeys reject unequal pay, shouldn't "Walmart "associates", we ask?

A couple of links from Scientific American, which also overlap into the political realm:

3) Like the honey badger, "math has shown itself to be quite the badass of late":

• Why Math is Like the Honey Badger: Nate Silver Ascendant

Yep. "There are many complicated reasons why people react with 'math anxiety,' but one of them might be the fact that math is just so damned unyielding, the enemy of wishful thinking, dashing our most cherished hopes with its cold hard facts. And is it sorry? It is not! Like the infamous honey badger, math don’t care. Math don’t give a s$%."

4) "U.S. voters must push candidates and elected officials to express their views on the major science questions facing the nation or risk losing out to those countries with reality-based policies," says SA contributor Shawn Lawrence Otto:

• Antiscience Beliefs Jeopardize U.S. Democracy

The larger question of course remains unanswered: "What has turned so many Americans against science—the very tool that has transformed the quality and quantity of their lives?"

5) And last but not least, here's yet another encouraging science-related article, with a further, even more practical political twist, picking up where the previous article left off:

• Republicans Consider Welcoming People Who Believe in Math and Science

Tantalizing prospective development (in theory, at least). But knowing our Republican "friends" as we do, we suppose (sadly) that we won't be holding our breath, awaiting an early revised edition of the GOP Big Book.

That's it, folks. The floor's open for your ever-savvy comments, WCF Science Nuts!

Black Friday 2012

A few select topical pieces for your consideration before you set forth lemming-like to risk life and limb this morning

Well the BIG DAY has finally arrived.

Rudi's sentiments on this topic

A select few topical pieces for your consideration before you (well some of you, we suppose) set forth lemming-like to risk life and limb this morning:

• And they’re off — Utah shoppers hit the stores for Black Friday
• Black Friday Begins (Early): Walmart Workers Already Striking in at Least Seven States (Updated 8:35 AM)
• Why You Shouldn’t Shop at Walmart on Friday
• Why 'Black Friday' Has Dark Roots

Happy brawling shopping everyone!

Meanwhile, your blogmeister will be holed up in the plush offices of Weber County Forum, spending the first day of the traditional American Crass Commercial Christmas Holiday Season doing what God really intended... watching college football on TeeVee, of course.

Update 11/23/12 11:23 a.m.: Hey! Here's another alternative for Black Friday shoppers who don't want to put up with all the brick-and-mortar holiday hassles:

• Shop Amazon - Black Friday Deals Week

Just another great idea, wethinks.

Thanksgiving Day 2012

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Have a safe and sane holiday; and we'll see you back tomorrow...

Standard-Examiner: 149 Malnourished Dogs Rescued from One Ogden Home - Update

An animal rescue back-breaker... exacerbated by the impending long holiday weekend

As we stand on the cusp of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, we'll provide a quick heads up on an animal hoarding crisis which developed yesterday in Ogden.  The Standard has two stories on the topic, reporting that "animal rescue volunteers and the Weber Animal Shelter worked frantically Tuesday to take care of 149 dogs, most of a chihuahua mix, that were rescued from a private home beginning Monday night":

• Nearly 150 dogs rescued from Ogden home
• 149 malnourished dogs rescued from one Ogden home

This situation would be an animal rescue back-breaker under any circumstance; however the difficulties are exacerbated by the impending long holiday weekend.

Contact Pack ‘N Pounce Animal Rescue or the Weber County Animal Shelter if you'd like to make a donation, or otherwise lend a helping hand.

Update 11/22/12 8:00 a.m.:  Ogden's own American Nutrition comes to the rescue:

• American Nutrition Donates to Local Animal Shelters

Bravo!

Duelling Editorials: The Legalization of Pot in Colorado and Washington Creates a Sticky States Rights Policy Dilemma

Shouldn't proponents of state-based immigration and land rights policy experimentation and reform be cheering on the Obama administration to lay off interfering with "statewide regulation of the emerging [marijuana] industry" in states like Colorado and Washington?

If Colorado and Washington are allowed to defy federal law, the federal government will lose moral standing in its efforts to enforce its primacy in areas such as immigration and land rights. Why should Utahns who wish state control of federal lands give pause to federal intervention if marijuana legalization is deemed a state’s right? Also, why would federal courts defer to the U.S. government on issues of immigration or land rights if the federal government abdicates its responsibility on enforcing drug laws?

Standard-Examiner Editorial
Our View: Pot clashes with the feds
November 18, 2012

“It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system,” Justice Louis D. Brandeis wrote (in dissent) in 1932, “that a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.” Not one but two courageous states have chosen to serve in this way. President Obama should do everything in his power to allow them to do it right.

Ethan Nadelman - Via Alternet
5 reasons the feds shouldn’t crack down on pot
November 16, 2012

There's an interesting juxtaposition of philosophies emerging in the national political discussion over the past couple of days, in the wake of the November 6 general elections, wherein two states, Colorado and Washington, became the first states to legalize marijuana. It comes as no surprise, of course, that the generally conservative-leaning Standard-Examiner, in yesterday's strong editorial, enunciates what appears to be the knee-jerk conservative philosophical position. "The feds can easily quash these new laws; hopefully that will be a priority next year," says the Standard-Examiner:

• Our View: Pot clashes with the feds

In contrast, here's an interesting set of counterarguments, which we stumbled upon on on the liberal-leaning salon.com, whilst feverishly googling this morning. To our great fascination, this thoughtful op-ed piece adopts a well-reasoned position which favors a "policy of [federal] restraint regarding the new laws in Colorado and Washington":

• 5 reasons the feds shouldn’t crack down on pot

Oddly enough, Mr. Nalderman's liberal argument, which proposes federal deference to the "clearest expressions of the will of the people," looks suspiciously to be a "states rights" argument, doesn't it? And the Standard's position, which urges the full exertion of the federal government's prohibitory powers, doesn't even remotely resemble the pro-10th amendment argument which we would expect from a conservative Utah newspaper which would view "immigration" and "land rights" reform to be among the rights at least implicitly reserved to the states under the U.S. Constitution.

Proponents of state-based immigration and land rights policy experimentation/reform ought to be cheering on the Obama administration to lay off interfering with "statewide regulation of the emerging [marijuana] industry" in states like Colorado and Washington, or so it seems to us. Federal deference to the states on the issue of local marijuana regulation will only create the kind of precedent that state "immigration" and "land rights" regulators in states like Utah  have long been looking for, no?

Maybe the Standard editorial board and needs to "rethink" its Sunday editorial.

So what do YOU say folks? Has the Standard-Examiner jumped aboard the wrong bandwagon?

WSU Game Day Thread: Weber State v. Idaho State - Updated

Not much left for either of these cellar-dwellers  to play for except pride; but as every red-blooded American football fan is well aware, pride can still be a powerful motivator

Our struggling Weber State Wildcats (1-9, 1-6) are back on the road this afternoon, for their final game of the Big Sky Conference season,  where they'll face off against an equally downtrodden Idaho State Bengals (1-9, 0-7) football squad at 4:00 p.m. in Pocatello.  There's not much left for either of these cellar-dwelling teams to play for except pride; but as every red-blooded American football fan is well aware, pride can still be a powerful motivator.

Here's the pre-game setup from the Salt Lake Tribune and Idaho State Journal.  (For reasons unknown, our usually trusty Standard-Examiner doesn't have a stirring pre-game story up on it's website this morning, so we'll take whatever we can get):

• Weber State football: Wildcats have last shot at conference victory
• Woeful Weber and ISU share misery

Tune into the game audio via KROCK FM 106, or catch the online video on America One Sports.

We'll keep the lights on for anyone who'd like to comment on the game.

Go Wildcats! 

Yes! Weber County Forum will continue to support our WCU Wildcats, come hell or high water!

Update 11/17/12 6:46 p.m.: Final-final... WSU over ISU 40-14!

Update 11/18/12 9:00 a.m.:  The WSU Athletics site and Standard-Examiner provide the post-game stories:

• 'Cats end season with win 40-14 win over Bengals
• WSU rides Tuckett's record day to win in season-finale

Congrats to the Wildcats for closing out the season in style!

Standard-Examiner: Hostess Announces Liquidation, Will Layoff All Employees - Updated

Good bye, relatively well paid Ogden union jobs

Bad news for the Utah economy this morning, as the Standard announces that "Hostess Brands Inc. says it's going out of business after striking workers across the country crippled its ability to make its Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Wonder Bread and other snacks":

• Hostess announces liquidation, will layoff all employees

Hostess employs about 570 people in Salt Lake City and Ogden, which are "home to two of its 36 regional bakeries," according to this morning's Salt Lake Tribune story:

• Hostess moves to shut down amid strike, 600 jobs in Utah could be lost

Click to Enlarge Image

Good bye, relatively well paid Ogden union jobs. 

It's a sign of the times, we guess, in a crippled US economy and market where a union labor-produced product like Wonder Bread demands a buck per loaf premium over a nearly identical white bread product produced in a non-union shop.

And for those fanciers of Hostess's more delectable and exotic products, (Twinkies and Ding Dongs, for instance), don't make the mistake of thinking you can rush down to your local grocery and fill your pantry with a product which will last on your food storage shelves forever.  The myth that a Hostess Twinkie (or a pack of Ding-Dongs, for that matter) will remain edible for "anywhere between fifty and one hundred years" has been thoroughly debunked:

• Snopes - Forever Twinkies

But look at the bright side, Twinkie fanciers.  We've scoured the net and have come up with a home kitchen recipe for those who don't wish to go totally "cold turkey" on Twinkies.  Drumroll... here it is:

• Don't suffer from Hostess Brands' financial woes -- make your own Twinkies

Does Weber County Forum cover the Ogden Lumpencitizens' backs on every important issue? Nevermind answering; we already know the answer to that.

Update 11/16/12 5:15 p.m.:  This was inevitable, we suppose, with the increasing popularity of the White House citizen petition site:

• Petition wants Obama to save Twinkies

Update 11/16/12 6:13 p.m.: Fox 13 News is now running a video story on this, which includes an interview with rarely-seen Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell, who's possibly barely recognizable to most Ogdenites sans his usual bicycling apparel:


Who knows?  Maybe with a little luck, and some help from Ogden City's vaunted Economic Development Department, Mayor Mike might be able to hook up a few displaced Ogden Hostess employees with nice minimum wage jobs at Ogden's very newest bakery outfit.

So what say our gentle readers about all this?

Update 11/17/12 9:00 a.m.:  And so begins the inevitable post-mortem exam:

Of course the right-wing media is quick to blame the unions, but in the end the union members would have lost more if they had capitulated to the vulture capitalists demands. By this move, they can hope to salvage the retirement plan, while if they’d given in they would have lost it all. $2 billion is a lot of money to just “give away” in negotiations. Of course the unions were expected to surrender despite the fact that the management company was asking the bankruptcy court to give their outgoing CEO up to $5.5 million. All of this was in addition to the 80% raises the executives were being treated to.

• Hostess Bankrupt – Vulture Capitalists Picked Corpse Clean (VIDEO)

Congressman Ron Paul's Farewell Speech to Congress - Updated

America definitely missed the boat on this great American, wethinks

Listen up folks, to one of the greatest speeches of American history, delivered by none other than Dr. Ron Paul, as he caps his 44-year political career with his farewell address this morning on the U.S. House of Representatives chamber floor:


America definitely missed the boat on this great American, wethinks.

Update 11/15/12 10:25 a.m.: Writes Daniel Woolley: "It appears that creating petitions on the White House site is all the rage these days. Here's one that will really get them mad - a petition to have the administration answer all of the questions Ron Paul posed in his farewell address. Now that would be entertaining!"

Veterans Day Federal Holiday 2012 Special

Thanks for your service to your country, U.S. military veterans and active duty and national guard/reserves personnel

In honor of today's Veterans Day federal holiday, Weber County Forum offers a heartfelt salute to all Americans who've served our country in the U.S. military, past and present.

And speaking as a vet, here's how your blogmeister would earnestly hope to see this holiday celebrated, if not now, in years soon to come:

Our deepest thanks for your service to our country, U.S. military veterans, active duty and national guard/reserves personnel.

Standard-Examiner: All Over the "Matthew Stewart Shootemup Case" This Sunday Morning

If the Standard desires to provide the grounds for a change of trial venue, due to a tainted jury pool,  they couldn't be doing a better job... or so it seems to us

In a circumstance of exceedingly odd timing, the Standard-Examiner is all over the Matthew Stewart shootemup case this Sunday morning, with a series of stories, insets and diagrams splashed all over the front page of the hard-copy edition. Here's a link to the main story, which is accompanied by the diagram linked directly beneath it:

• Stewart shootout in Ogden 25 nightmarish minutes
• Crime scene diagram

And here are links to a couple of companion pieces, the first of which delves into possible search warrant defects, and the latter of which consists of a very brief thumbnail sketch of the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force, the multi-jurisdictional law enforcement agency whose January 4, 2012 raid unleashed this tragic event, which has forever drastically and tragically altered the live of scores of friends, family and colleagues, both in the law enforcement community, and on the defense side of  Judge Hyde's 2d District Courtroom aisle.

• Defense attorney: Stewart search warrant sure to raise questions with jury
• About the strike force

While we'll concede that these items are newsworthy, inasmuch as they're designed to satisfy the curiosity of the Standard's Northern Utah readership, we do wonder about the Standard's news judgment in publishing this material, inasmuch as there exists substantial overlap between the folks who read the Standard-Examiner and those who'll ultimately comprise the jury pool, once this case comes to trial, probably sometime in the year 2013.

If the Standard desires to provide the grounds for a change of trial venue, due to a tainted jury pool,  they couldn't be doing a better job... or so it seems to us.

And what say you about this, O Gentle Ones?

WSU Game Day Thread: Weber State v. Northern Colorado - Updated

Don't let the 'Cat your tongues; and remember to don your woolie-woolies

There's college game day excitement in Ogden this afternoon again, as Coach Sears' Weber State Wildcats football squad squares off against University of Colorado Bears at 1:30 p.m. in Stewart Stadium.

The Standard-Examiner and UNC campus newspaper, The Mirror, provide the pre-game story.  (Sorry folks, the Greeley Tribune is under pay firewall lockdown):

• Usually positive Jody Sears still tough on his team
• Northern Colorado football team travels to Utah for final road game

It's a glorious football weather for true football fans, following last night's snow; and while we simply can't imagine any genuine WSU football fans resisting the chance to plant their butts in Stewart Stadium's plush and comfy seating for a few hours of old fashioned winteresque football, we do nevertheless provide the online game audio broadcast link, for the "weather averse," or anyone else who inexplicably can't make it to the stadium:

• KZNS-AM "The Zone" live streaming audio

The game video will also be live-streamed online; so here's something special for Wildcats fans who'd like to catch a high quality game broadcast from the comfort of your living room or work cubicle, as the case may be.  Simply click the link, follow the instructions to register or login.  You'll also have to install a couple of support apps, which takes all of a minute or so:

• America One Sports

And sorry, folks, America Sports has their system jiggered so we can't simply embed a video player, as we've done in the past.

We'll keep the lower comments section for anyone who'd like to chime in before, during or after the game.  So don't let the "Cat your tongues; and don't forget to don your woolie-woolies.

And yeah... Go Wildcats!

Update 11/1012 2:33 p.m.:  Here's the video link for this afternoon's WSU  video... assuming you're logged in to America One Sports

• WSU v. NCU

Update 11/10/12 4:56 p.m.: Via the WCU athletics FB site: "It's a final. No. Colorado wins 42-34 for their first win ever over Weber State. Wildcats close season next week at Idaho State."

Whattabumer, no, Wildcats fans?

Update 11/11/12 9:00 a.m.:  The Standard provides the post-game story:

• Loss to Bears leaves ’Cats with winless season at home

Deseret News: Will Huntsman Re-join Obama Administration As Secretary of State?

Gets interestinger and interestinger, dunnit? 

Fascinating morning speculation from the Deseret News:

• Will Huntsman re-join Obama administration as secretary of state?

Huntsman definitely has the requisite diplomatic and administrative experience... and for a 2016 Huntsman presidential run, this would seemingly be the ideal stepping stone.

We swear that these are the kind of political stories we couldn't make up!

Gets interestinger and interestinger, dunnit?

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Senate Republicans Elect New Leader; House Retains Speaker

Looks like corporate America continues to enjoy the most effective Utah legislative representation that money can buy

I actually feel that [closing caucuses] creates some transparency that we wouldn’t have otherwise.

Wayne Niederhauser - Senate President
Utah Senate Republicans elect new leader; House retains speaker
November 8, 2012

Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.

George Orwell
Brainyquotes - George Orwell Quotes
25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950

The Salt Lake Tribune this morning reports that a short two days after Tuesday's election, the Utah state legislative majority, after meeting in closed caucus session, has already elected new legislative "leadership":

• Utah Senate Republicans elect new leader; House retains speaker

In a nutshell, here's the new state legislature's 2013 leadership lineup:

Senate:
Senate President: Wayne Niederhauser
Majority Leader: Ralph Okerlund
Majority Whip: Stuart Adams
Assistant Majority Whip: Pete Knudson

House:
House Speaker: Becky Lockhart
Majority Leader: Brad Dee
Whip: Greg Hughes
Assistant Whip: Don Ipson

Significantly, Trib columnist Rober Gehrke notes, Niederhauser "is also is Utah co-chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a corporate-backed group of conservative lawmakers from around the country that has been criticized for its influence in formulating policy around the country."

Looks like corporate America continues to enjoy the most effective Utah legislative representation that money can buy, and that back-room politics will remain the Utah legislature's modus operandi, while Utah lumpencitizens continue to play second fiddle.

Standard-Examiner: Matthew Stewart Pleads Innocent to All Charges

Happily for the Stewart defense team, Judge Hyde rejects prosecution efforts to unreasonably jam an early trial date

For archival purposes, we'll put the spotlight on the latest development in the Matthew Stewart case, with yesterday's Standard-Exaaminer story, reporting that Defendant Stewart has entered not guilty pleas to all criminal charges:

• Matthew Stewart pleads innocent to all charges

In yet another aggravating exhibit of prosecution discourtesy, the Standard reports that the prosecution pushed for an early trial date, even though "ballistic tests are still to be completed for bullets and casings from police firearms in the Jan. 4 exchange of gunfire."

Happily for the Stewart defense team however, Judge Hyde rejected prosecution efforts to unreasonably jam an early trial date, with so many loose ends still hanging loose, and opted instead tor a February 13, 2013 preliminary hearing date, where he'll entertain further pretrial motions.

Comments anyone?

2012 Election Day Plus One - The Aftermath

Predictably, a big day for Utah GOP incumbents

The final 2012 General Election results are tallied, WCF readers.  Click the link below for Weber County Clerk Ricky Hatch's post-election tally sheet for those races which appeared on Weber County ballots:

• Weber County 2012 Election Results

The Standard is all over the post-election coverage; so we provide these selected stories, drilling down on the election aftermath.  Predictably, yesterday was a big day for GOP incumbents:

• GOP sweeps top ticket races in Utah
• Hatch wins race for seventh and final term in Senate
• Bishop easily wins sixth term in Congress
• Swallow defeats Weber's Dee to replace Shurtleff 
• Bell captures vacant Weber County Commission seat  
• Incumbents prevail in Ogden School Board election 

In the single surprise of the evening, it looks like GOP rising star Mia Love, who'd been leading in the polls through the pre-election runup, got edged out in the 4th District Congressional race by incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim Matheson:

• Matheson edges Love in close race

The Standard also provides these stories concerning the important national races, for those GOP readers who may be living under a rock:

• Obama wins re-election  
• No surprise: Romney wins bid in Utah
  Dems make early gains in U.S. Senate 

As an added bonus, here's a cranky graphic sent by one of our Libertarian friends:

Ron Paul sez what's already obvious

That's it, folks. So who'd like to throw in their own 2¢, now that the 2012 Dog&Pony Show is over?

Utah 2012 General Election: WCF Election Day Special

You know what to do... do it at your neighborhood polling places

It's Utah General Election Day 2012, folks.  You know what to do... do it at your neighborhood polling places.  Utah polls are open from 7am to 8pm, by the way. Unsure of your polling place location?  Click this handy link, provide by the ever-helpful folks at vote.utah.gov:

• Find My Polling Place

Regular Utah voters might want avail themselves of the above link to double check.  This year, many regular polling locations have been changed, to accommodate today's anticipated heavy voter traffic.

And here's today's mission, as we see it, people:

No lame excuses, please, from those who fail to exercise their voting rights. As the Standard-Examiner sez, "Get out to the polls and cast your ballot as a U.S. citizen. It’s not only a right, it’s an obligation, a show of respect for your nation."

Still undecided about candidates in the various races?  Check out our right sidebar "election module," for a plethora of information about candidates in today's election.

And as is our tradition here at Weber County Forum, we once again provide the link from the Utah Lt. Governor's website, where you can check out the real-time tallies, as the votes roll in after 8:00 p.m.:

• Utah Election Results

And here's C-SPAN's live-streaming video link, for those folks who'd like to more closely follow tonight's ever-excellent 2012 Election Night Coverage:

• C-SPAN Live Video

 The floor's open, folks, for anyone who'd like to comment before, during or after today's balloting.

Update 11/6/12 7:50 a.m.:  Four more Standard-Examiner items, to whet your political appetites on Election Day 2012:

• Polling locations to be busy today, despite early voters
• Mormons so amped about Romney election "they might as well be drinking coffee"
• The Boss 'brings it home' in final blitz
• Our View: An orderly voting process 

Update 11/6/12 8:00 p.m.: It's now 8:00 p.m. and Utah polls are now technically closed. Keep your eyes on the Utah Election Results link above; but please be patient, as over the years we've learned that the tote board sometimes doesn' even light up for over an hour after the Utah polling place closings.

Free & Equal Final Third Party Presidential Debate

Possibly more interesting than viewing the 3-5 Philadephia Eagles and 2-5 New Orleans Saints

Hey everyone!  Here's something for those hardcore political wonks who'd like to watch the very last US Presidential debate of the 2012 election cycle - Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson v. Green Party Jill Stein.  (The live stream has now been replaced by and on-demand video recording):

• Welcome To The Free & Equal Final Third Party Presidential Debate

The debate "airs" online At 9:00 PM Eastern.

Possibly more interesting than viewing the 3-5 Philadephia Eagles and 2-5 New Orleans Saints on Monday night football; but we suppose that's all up to you.

2012 General Election Teazer: A Notable Pre-Election Item From the Webosphere

How many ways can we say it? Americans are getting totally punk'd by the so-called "Two party system."

Pretty flammable political stuff via Facebook, from Lew Rockwell, possibly the most prominent libertarian in the whole danged webosphere:

"The most important election of our lifetimes!" Or so say the propagandists. Will it be the warmongering-welfarist, or the welfarist-warmonger?

I can hardly wait. Meanwhile, here's one sure result of this orchestrated festival of democracy: the corporate state will win, and the boobeoisie will adjust the blinders so they are more comfortable. Oh, and the aware will be happy they rejected the sacrament of the state religion, the ballot. They won't be sullied, and they won't have wasted their time. They also know, as George Carlin said, that only non-voters have a right to complain. As for a regular prediction, see Larry Sabato's. He looks for more of the same, rather than the same of more.

How many ways can we say it? Americans are getting totally punk'd (once again) by the so-called "Two party system."

Salt Lake Tribune: Our Endorsements - 2012 General Election

Reader query: In which races was the Trib spot-on; and with which endorsements did the Trib entirely miss the boat? 

With under two days until Tuesday's 2012 Utah election, the Salt Lake Tribune summarizes this year's endorsements, for those who may be undecided about Utah's major races. "Over the past several weeks, The Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board has published editorials giving our recommendations on who should be elected to various local, state and national offices, and outlining the reasons why." In the realm of political ideologies, it seems that the Trib is "all over the political map." Many of these picks may come as a shock for those who like to characterise the Trib as a "left-wing rag." Check it, out folks:

• Our endorsements - 2012 general election

So what do you think, WCF readers? In which races was the Trib spot-on; and with which endorsements did the Trib entirely miss the boat? 

Weber State University Game Day Thread: University of Montana at Weber State - Updated

Griz, Wildcats playing for pride

The Weber State Wildcats are back home this afternoon, facing their Big Sky Conference rival, the  University of Montana Grizzlies, in Stewart Stadium at 1:30 p.m. sharp.  Although it isn't homecoming week, today's game nevertheless has a "homecoming game feel" to it, inasmuch as the WSU squad hasn't set foot on the Stewart Stadium gridiron for a football contest since way back on October 6th.

Here's the pregame setup, via each team's home town newspaper, the Standard-Examiner and Missoula Missoulian:

• Home field key for Wildcats against Grizzlies
• Griz, Weber State playing for pride

That latter headline pretty much sums up the stakes for both teams, wethinks.

If you can't make it to the stadium on a beautiful football day like this, catch the game on KZNS-AM 1280 "The Zone" or tune in for the TV cable broadact on Root TV.

We'll keep the lights on for anyone who'd care to chime in before during or after the game of course, so don't let the 'Cats get your tongues.

And oh yeah... Go Wildcats!

Update 11/3/12 4:42 p.m.: Whattabummer! WSU gets defeated by a 24-21 margin by the Griz. Root sports commentators are speculating about Coach Sears' coaching future after this year's disastrous losing season.

Whaddaya think folks, is it time for the WSU athletic deparment to start think about hiring a new Coach?

Update 11/4/12 8:00 a.m.:  The Standard carries the post game story:

• Grizzlies sack Wildcats in back-and-forth contest

Matthew Stewart Prelimary Hearing Day Three: Stewart "Bound Over" For Trial by Judge Hyde - Updated

Needless to say, we'll continue to watch developments in this case carefully... and with our usual "jaded eye"

Hot off the press!  According to the Matthew Stewart FB support site, Judge Hyde this afternoon bound defendant Matthew Stewart over for trial in the 1/4/12 Ogden Shootemup court case,  Here's the succinct gist from correspondent Phoenix Smith:

Matthew was just ordered to stand trial on all nine counts.

Here's the link:

• Supporters of Matthew Stewart - Facebook

And here's you blogmeister's comment beneath the above linked article, which we stand by:

No real surprises, here. A preliminary hearing isn't governed by a "beyond all reasonable doubt" presumption as in a full-blown criminal court/jury trial. Most, if not all prelims are prosecution slam-dunks. Don't abandon hope people. It shouldn't be surprising to anyone that Matthew's been bound over for trial after this week's "mini trial" proceedings. Keep the faith people. Matthew will get his day in court with a more favorable proof of guilt presumption later on, when his criminal case actually comes to trial.

Next step? Maybe a few more defense motions, an arraignment and a trial court date set for a future date not yet reported so far.

Needless to say, we'll continue to watch developments in this case carefully... and with our usual "jaded eye."

Update 11/2/12 6:30 p.m:  At last (after twiddling our thumbs waiting) the Standard and Tribune finally start to dole out their post-Day Three stories:

• Matthew David Stewart bound over for trial - Standard-Examiner
• Matthew Stewart will stand trial in slaying of Ogden police officer - SL Tribune

And here's the latest from the Help Matthew Stewart website:

• A Victim of Police Violence???

The world wide blogosphere eagerly awaits your ever-savvy comments, of course.

Update 11/2/12 7:27 p.m.:  Interesting take from the Standard-Examiner's Charlie Trentelman:

• A Stewart Trial? The body armor question

Update 11/3/12 9:00 a.m.: Three new stories from the Standard Examiner, and one from the Help Matthew Stewart website:

• Ex-girlfriend: Stewart said he would ‘go out shooting’ - Standard-Examiner
• Shoes a big topic in Day 3 of hearing; Stewart going before jury - Standard-Examiner
• Stewart to face trial - Standard-Examiner
• Matthew’s Case Continues to Jury Trial - MS Website

Matthew Stewart Prelim: Day Two - Updated

Hopefully our local "Wyatt Earps" will learn something useful from this ridiculous and unnecessary tragedy

The stories from Day Two of the Matthew Stewart preliminary hearing are already starting to trickle in from both the Standard-Examiner and Salt Lake Tribune.

• Rounkles describes being shot in mouth, arm - Standard-Examiner
• Officers in fatal drug raid thought Ogden home might be empty -Salt Lake Tribune

And here's a hot-off-the-press commentary from the Help Micheal Stewart website:

• Officers’ failure to prepare made a violent situation even more dangerous

We'll update this article, of course, as additional stories and reports emerge.

One thing already seems clear however in our view, after distilling the facts from all of these stories linked yesterday and today: NOBODY... especially the Weber/Morgan Narcotics Strike force (WMNSF) was even minimally prepared for the extreme level of danger and violence which would be unleashed once the heavily-armed WMNSF "cowboys" made the unfortunate decision to kick down Matthew Stewart's door.

While the evidentiary "facts" in the Matthew Stewart matter continue to unfold, we're keeping our fingers crossed that the heads of the several local police agencies who contribute "cannon fodder" to the WMNSF effort will soon come to realize that no amount of illegal contraband (sixteen pot plants in this case, to be exact) is worth even a single human life... after the tradeoffs, and the totality of the facts now "come home to roost." The stories described within the past two days are actually well beyond tragic. Hopefully our local "Wyatt Earps" will learn something useful from this ridiculous and unnecessarily tragic event.

The final day of the Stewart Prelim commences again tomorrow at 8:30 a.m.  Stay tuned.

Update 11/2/12 9:40 a.m.:  Three more post-Day Two stories this morning from the Standard and Tribune:

• Agents describe onslaught at Stewart's preliminary hearing - Standard-Examiner
• Investigator: Stewart inconsistent in accounts about fatal shootout - SL Tribune
• Stewart’s ex-girlfriend expected to testify in Ogden shootout case - SL Tribune