Standard-Examiner: Some Fear Legislation to Lower Utah's Blood Alcohol Limit Will Hurt the Economy

A utopian goal requiring excessive compulsion in the pursuit of unattainable perfection?

OGDEN — Supporters of House Bill 155, idiotlc "Mormon" legislation which would lower Utah’s legal blood alcohol limit from .08 to .05, have  "the ability to modify behavior by sending the strong message that 'if you drink, just don’t drive," LOL

HB 155, sponsored by Crackpot Mormon Happy Valley Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, cleared the state House of Representatives in a 48-26 vote last Thursday, and now awaits debate in the Senate. But opponents of the measure fear that it broadcasts an even louder message in terms of Utah culture.

Read up Peeps:

• Some fear legislation to lower Utah's blood alcohol limit will hurt the economy

And here's another counter-argument, from the libertarian website, Reason.com,,  i.e., arguing that a .05 limit is a "utopian goal requiring excessive compulsion in the pursuit of unattainable perfection":

• Why Government Shouldn't Lower the BAC Bar for Drunk Driving

So whaddaya think about all this, WCF readers?

Don't let the cat get your tongues...

SB 197 Gives $87 Million Dollar Tax Gift to the Oil Refineries; Manufacturing Giants

Keep on voting Republican, Utah sheeple, Ha. Ha. Ha!

Via State Senator Jim Dabakis:

You won't believe this one... SB 197 gives $87 million dollar tax gift to the oil refineries & manufacturing giants-- straight out of the pockets of working Utah families.



Mmmmmm, Jim, stay calm, stay calm, stay calm...

Keep on voting Republican, Utah Sheeple, Ha. Ha. Ha!

Sunday Funnies: Trump Voters, Your Savior Is Betraying You

"You have a false savior, and you will have to turn on him to save yourselves and our nation,"

Eye-opening morning op-ed from The New York Times: Here's the lede, Peeps:

Dear Trump Voters,
You’ve been had. President Trump sold you a clunker. Now that he’s in the White House, he’s betraying you — and I’m writing in hopes that you’ll recognize that betrayal and hold him accountable.
Trump spoke to your genuine pain, to the fading of the American dream, and he won your votes. But will he deliver? Please watch his speeches carefully. You’ll notice that he promises outcomes, without explaining how they’ll be achieved. He’s a carnival huckster promising that America will thrive with his snake oil.
“We’re going to win, we’re going to win big, folks,” Trump declared Friday at the CPAC meeting, speaking of his foreign policy.
Great! Problem solved. Next? He then outlined his take on drug trafficking and what will surely be his outcome:
“No good. No good. Going to stop.” Wow! Why didn’t anyone else think of that?

Read the full NYT editorial, folks, which describes Trump's problems at length.:

• Trump Voters, Your Savior Is Betraying You

Here's more:

Trump’s career has often been built on scamming people who put their faith in him, as Trump University shows. Now he’s moved the scam to a much bigger stage, and he boasts of targeting Muslims, refugees and unauthorized immigrants.Please don’t cheer, or acquiesce in these initial targets. The truth is that among the biggest losers from Trump policies will be you Trump voters, especially those of you from the working and middle class. You were hoping you’d elected a savior, and instead Donald Trump is doing to you what he did to just about everyone who ever trusted him: He’s betraying you,.

In summary, "[t]he sooner you recognize that, the sooner you can fight back and push for policies that will protect your health care and Social Security, defend the integrity of our election system and protect your own interests. You have a false savior, and you will have to turn on him to save yourselves and our nation," this morning's New York Times opinion writer, Nicholas Kristof, warns.

Science Saturday Special: 1 In 3 Americans Would Move To An Alien Planet To Escape U.S. Politics

Immediately, hundreds of people tweeted their intentions of relocating to the alien worlds or proposed that Trump be sent there by himself

WASHINGTON — If it meant escaping the current political atmosphere, nearly 1 in 3 Americans say they’d be willing to leave Earth altogether.

That’s according to a SurveyMonkey poll conducted Thursday, which found that 29 percent of U.S. adults would consider temporarily moving to one of the newly discovered Earth-like planets to avoid the next four years under President Donald Trump.

The journey wouldn’t be easy. Those seven planets are orbiting a dwarf star some 39 light-years — or 230 trillion miles — away. But whatever it takes, right?

Read up, Peeps:

• 1 In 3 Americans Would Move To An Alien Planet To Escape U.S. Politics - Huffington Post

Immediately, hundreds of people tweeted their intentions of relocating to the alien worlds or proposed that Trump be sent there by himself.

Video: Hitler Finds Out How Incompetent Trump Is

This video is pretty funny, Peeps... so danged funny that I forgot to laugh...



As yer blogmeister's FB friend Steve Conlin sez: "My German is a little rusty, but I'm pretty sure this is spot on ..."

Why Germany Never Wins the Iditarot

No German wiener dogs were harmed during the filming of this great pic, so far as we know

Time for a little humorous cultural, non-political change of pace, LOL!

Trust us folks! We'll be getting back to our usual hyper-critical complaints about crooked GOP politicians in a "New York Minute."

Added Bonus: No wiener dogs were harmed during the filming of this great pic, so far as we know.

Standard-Examiner Op Ed: Why Would a Northern Utah Lawmaker Want to Kill Rebates for Rooftop Solar Panels?

Mr.Peterson looks like such a clean-cut Mormon boy, no? So what's the deal with his love for dirty fossil-fuel?

Just to keep the conversations going on another slow news day, we'll turn our attention to this tantaliziing Op Ed piece from Standard-Examiner reader Valerie Philips, who contributes her 2/7/17 letter/op ed:

Here's her tantalizing  lede and sodden question, Peeps:

Breathing clean air is critical for every Utahn. One would think our state leaders would want to do everything possible to clean up the gray haze all along the Wasatch Front.
So it's hard to figure out why Rep. Jeremy Peterson of Ogden is pushing a bill to get rid of the tax credit for homeowners who install rooftop solar panels, HB 23. Why would he want to choke out Utah's solar industry, when there are days that our children can't go outside to play because the air is too filthy to breathe?

Read the full story, folks:

• Why would a Northern Utah lawmaker want to kill rebates for rooftop solar panels?

Clean, renewable energy is clearly is "booming" people...

• A Renewable Energy Boom

Meanwhile, old style "dirty' energy generation goes the way of the buggy-whip:

• The Coal Industry Isn’t Coming Back
• We Need to Accept That Oil Is a Dying Industry
• Why China Is Dominating the Solar Industry

So why, we ask, would the "honorable" House District 9 Rep.Jeremy A. Peterson want to revert to the nineteenth century and "choke Utah's children" with coal and oil smoke, especially in a 21st century world where the coal and oil industries are suffering their death throes?

Mr.Peterson looks like such a clean-cut Mormon boy, no? So what's the deal with his love for dirty fossil-fuel, and hatred for clean, renewable energy?

Update 2/13/17 10:00 p.m.:  We contacted Mr. Peterson's 2018 Democratic opponent, the smart and wonderful Ms. Kathie Darby, concerning Mr. Peterson's decision to pass a bill killing the existing rooftop solar exemption which we mentioned above, and here's her response:

My first question, why was this credit ever appropriated from the Utah Education Fund? This does not make sense to me. What does it have to do with teacher pay and class size?
I would not discontinue this credit. Solar panels help to produce clean energy. Our air quality has been the worst in the nation this winter. Why would we go against any sort of incentive that helps to make our State cleaner and more energy efficient?

Here are Ms, Darby's Campaign Website and Campaign Facebook Page, people, for those of you who'd like to familiarize yourselves concerning this Great Leg 9 Candidate.

2016 Presidential Election; What's the Worst That Can Happen?

Think about it peeps

Bestest photo meme ever from the 'wild and wooly' internet, in the aftermath of the 2016 National election, and in the wake of many pleas, from sundry political quarters, to give Trump a chance:

Our take?

Think about it peeps.

Salt Lake Tribune: Patagonia Drops Out of Outdoor Retailer Show Over Utah Leaders’ Opposition to Bears Ears - Updated 2X

Our take? Why not stick with clean outdoor recreation as Utah's top industry? Why cater to the "dying" fossil fuel industry?

Here's a boffo Pat Bagley political cartoon which appeared in this morning's Salt Lake Tribune, people:

Here's the lede, Utahns, via the inimitable  Salt Lake Tribune:

As Outdoor Retailer show organizers open the search for a host city, one major player in the industry says it will boycott the convention as long as it takes place in Utah.
Patagonia announced Tuesday it is withdrawing from Outdoor Retailer in response to a resolution passed last week by the state legislature and signed by the governor, urging President Donald Trump to rescind the newly-designated Bears Ears National Monument.

Here's the full Erin Alberty story, folks:

• Patagonia drops out of Outdoor Retailer over Utah leaders’ opposition to Bears Ears

Take your choices, people, as other "clean" recreation-oriented industries will no doubt follow Patagonia's early lead.  Would you prefer for Utah to be the Outdoor Recreation Capitol of the USA, or, alternatively, would you prefer to live in a state where the air smells and feels like your nose has been taped to a diesel smoker exhaust pipe?

Check your political loyalties WCF Readers, inasmuch as voting Republican in this messed up state can actually kill you and your family.

>
Our take? Why not stick with clean outdoor recreation as Utah's top industry?  Why cater to the "dying" fossil fuel industry?

Comments anyone? Don't let the cat get yer tongues.

Update 2/9/2017 6:00 p.m.: The chips continue to fall, people:

• Arc’teryx Withdraws from Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City

"Arc’teryx, a company that has long supported preservation of wild spaces, formally announces today its withdrawal from Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City, Utah due to the state’s efforts to rescind protection of Bears Ears National Monument and other public lands. The company stands in support of Patagonia’s move to leave Outdoor Retailer in Utah and is following suit. Funds that would have been spent to attend Outdoor Retailer in 2017 will be reallocated to the Conservation Alliance’s new Public Lands Defense Fund," according to the above-inked story.

Update 2/12./17 12:12 am.: It seems that even more outdoor recreation companies are bailing out, according to today's SLTrib story:

• More companies pull out of Outdoor Retailer show over Utah policies

Are you happy now Mormon straight ticket GOP voters, now that clean, recreation-oriented  industries are leaving Utah for a more enlightened Colorado?