St. Paddy's Day Special - Updated!

Erin go Bragh!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Celtic Thunder:



Fasten the buckles on yer ceilidh shoes Irishmen and Irishwomen (but don't have a heart attack):



Added bonus, a few words from the President of Ireland (coincidentally the winner of the Bernie Sanders lookalike contest);

Happy St. Paddy's everyone!

Update 3/18/17: Added Bonus!



And YES! Your blogmaister is still celebrating St. Patrick's day!

Happy 2017, People!

Too bad our favorite cultural icons have to die, ainnit? Maybe science will fin a cure in 2017

As an added bonus to yesterday's New Years Eve Special, here are a couple of items which we inadvertantly neglected to post yesterday:

1) Here's this year's Dave Barry post:

• Dave Barry’s Year in Review: 2016 — What the ... ?

2) And here's a great graphic, honoring many of the great cultural icons who passed off the mortal coil in 2016:

Further Added bonus: We now link the sweet and heart-felt Jim Carroll Band paen to "people who died," recorded a few years before this great rocker also died in 2009:

• Jim Carroll Band "People Who Died

Too bad our favorite cultural icons have to die, ainnit? Maybe science will find a cure in 2017

Merry Christmas, Everyone! - Updated

Dang! And for a wile there, we agreed with crackpot US legislative Republicans, and wrongly believed that Christmas was a "Christian" holiday:

• Adam Ruins Everything Explains the Pagan Origins of Christmas

Don't chafe your but with your bicycle seat, WCF readers, HAHAHA!!!!



Have a safe and sane Christmas holiday, folks!

And YES; have a Very Merry Christmas!

Update 12/26/16: It was a big job, but somebody had to do it! Hope you're having a beautiful Christmas Day!:

2015 Ogden Pioneer Day Special

Everything you need to know about this year's Pioneer Day celebration

• Miss Rodeo Utah pageant celebrates 60th anniversary
• Rodeo cowboy a thrilling but dangerous, expensive career
• Rodeo cowboy a thrilling but dangerous, expensive career
• VIDEO: Bullfighters Charge into Rodeo Arena Together
• Pioneer legacies to follow: Compassion, work, optimism
• Test your smarts on Ogden Pioneer Days
• VIDEO: Rodeo Scars & Stories
• PHOTO GALLERY: Pioneer Days rodeo
• Ogden rodeo volunteer guards the gate
• Pioneer Days rodeo stock are award-winning
• Animal rights activist: Rodeos like gladiator times
• Downtown Hoedown celebrates Ogden Pioneer Days
• Stroke survivor featured in Pioneer Days Parade
• Museum houses collection of Ogden Pioneer Days programs
• Our View: Remember pioneers' resolve
• Non-Mormon faux holiday 'Pie and Beer Day' gains traction
• The many events of Ogden Pioneer Days
• Mounted Posse will not perform in Ogden Rodeo this year
• Pioneer Day Horse Locator

The Standard has done a bang up job reporting on this year's festivities.  It'd be a shame, we think, to let all this hard work go to waste.

Added bonus: Watch this morning's Ogden Pioner Day parade at home, live-streamed straight to your comfy Barcaloungers®:



Whatever you do to celebrate our local holiday this year, please folks, be safe.

July 4, 2015 Independence Day Special

Above all, have a safe and sane holiday, folks

Just to set the stage for this week's Fourth of July l-o-o-ong holiday weekend, we'll cast the spotliight on a couple interesting articles/essays, theorizing about the broad cultural and historical peculiarities surrounding our nation's so-far successful founding:

• The Uniqueness of the American Revolution - American Thinker
• Take Back Your Government: Part 1 - Stoekettle Station

As an added bonus, here's a third.  Although we don't necessarily agree with this article' s analysis and conclusions, this one's chewy enough to deserve a spot on today's Weber County Forum holiday reading list, wethink:

• 3 reasons the American Revolution was a mistake

As an added bonus, we'll provide a couple of holiday admonitions, folks:

1) Remember to keep your pets safe, Peeps. Although our nation's pets have vowed to refrain from "going apeshit" this year, a word to the wise ought to be sufficient (we hope):

And if you're one of the many Utah residents who've recently returned from Evanston, WY, with that obligatory trunk-load of high-explosive ordnance, (which you're eagerly planning to ignite overt long holiday weekend,) and see this sign planted on your neighbor's lawn, please demonstrate some empathy and neighborly respect:
.

We hate to come off as a nag, but please (pretty please with sugar on it), keep in mind that many of your neighbors are nowhere nearly as enamored of "things that go boom," than "some" cretins who reside alongside all of us in our relatively compact and densely populated community.

Above all, have a safe and sane holiday, folks.  Hopefully we'll all emerge from this year's Independence Day holiday at least relatively intact.

Updates 7/4/15:

• 8 things you didn’t know about the Fourth of July - PBS
• A reprise of Frederick Douglass: Independence Day, 1852 - Daily Kos

Happy Birthday to Us!

Thanks, Weber County Forum readers!

Why it seems like only yesterday that we were introducing Weber County Forum to the lumpencitizens of northern Utah; but whaddaya know, we celebrate WCF's 10th anniversary today.

Happy Birthday To Us!

We'll thus take this opportunity to offer our heartfelt thanks to the political wonks who've given us their enthusiastic support over these past ten years.  We believe that all-in-all, our little home-town blog has proven to be an important and unique community resource.

We couldn't have reached this important milestone, and accomplished the many significant things which we've achieved without the robust contributions of all of you who've stuck with us since our initial founding on May 15, 2005.

Thanks, Weber County Forum readers!

Big Story of the Year: President Obama Arrives in Utah For a Friendly Visit

Keep your eyes on this space, as we intend to publish timely updates theoughout the day

We're going to label this the Big Story of The Year, Folks.  What could be Bigger than the arrival of Our Democratic Party President in the Reddest of All Red States, after all?

President Barack Obama arrived in Utah yesterday for a visit. The president's first order of business? A meetup with LDS Church leaders.  Interestingly, wethink, President Monson was a "no-show":

• President Obama arrives in Utah, meets with LDS Church leaders
• Obama meets with Mormon church leaders, Gov. Herbert during Utah trip.

Obama's a savvy politican, who's well aware of who "runs the show" in Utah, of course.

Although the president's itinery demonstrates he won't be rubbing elbows with Utah politicos of the Republican party persuasion (for the most part,) the President did devote a few minutes yesterday to schmoozing with local leaders of his own political party:

• President Obama Meets With Utah Democratic Leaders In Downtown Salt Lake City

Obama arrives in Utah

Mr. Obama is expected to highlight clean energy initiatives during his address at Hill Air Force Base later today, in realtion to which he'll also hold a roundtable discussion at Hill with people who are working to train Utahns in the clean-energy sector. Sen. Orrin Hatch, Rep. Rob Bishop and Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker are expected to join that discussion (taking careful notes, we hope):

• Exclusive: Obama to highlight clean-energy jobs in Utah visit

Those readers who are keen to follow develpments pertaining to the President's ongoing visit should keep your eyes on this space, as we intend to publish timely updates theoughout the day.

An additional Hat-tip to the fine folks at UtahPolicy.Com, for helping us round this stuff up.

Updates 4/3/15: As promised, we'll just keep adding updates as subsequent stories roll in:

• What Pres. Obama and Gov. Herbert talked about in motorcade to SLC - Fox 13 News
• Using Utah stage, Obama set to announce solar power initiatives - SLTrib
• Obama Meets With Mormon Leaders To Discuss Immigration Reform In Utah - Huffington Post
• Obama speaks at Hill about new clean energy initiative - Standard-Examiner
• Obama touts solar initiative, thanks Mormon leaders for LGBT law SLTrib
• President Obama announces Hill Air Force base will participate in solar energy training program - Good4Utah
• Obama praises Hill's progress in renewable energy - Standard-Examiner
• A Presidential Visit Prompts a Reporter to Put His Boots On - City Weekly
• Obama’s talk with Mormon leaders is latest in long string of closed-off meetings, media group says - SLTrib

Presidents Day 2015 Special

Happy Presidents Day, folks!

President Obama: Man of the People!

Veterans Day 2014 Special

A coupla things to think about, wethinks

In honor of Veterans Day 2014, we'll offer a sobering war-themed video, to the accompaniment of one of the greatest anti-war songs of the last century. Something to think about, folks, amidst the current clamoring, to again "put U.S. boots on the ground" in the Middle East:


We'll also offer an additional salute to war veterans across the nation, courageous men and women who've given so much.

Enjoy a safe and sane Veterans Day holiday, people!

Weber State 9/18/14 Event: Constitution Address: Debating Same Sex Marriage and the Constitution - Updated

Something tells us that this is an Ogden City-situated event which you won't want to miss

Here's a quick heads-up concerning an interesting happening on the Weber State campus, which U.S. Constitution buffs and regular WCF political wonks might want to attend tomorrow, in conjunction with WSU's celebration of what the Olene Walker Institute of Politics and Public Service is labeling "Constitution Week (Sept 15-18)".

Specifically, here's the gist, via the WSU website:

As part of the week’s activities...[t]he event, “Debating Same-Sex Marriage and the Constitution,” will be held Sept. 18 at 1:45 p.m. in Elizabeth Hall Room 229. The debate will feature William Duncan, the director of the Center for Family and Society at the Sutherland Institute, and Clifford J. Rosky, professor of law at the University of Utah. Doug Gibson, the opinion editor for the Standard-Examiner, will moderate.
The discussion is intended to inform students and the public about the constitutional issues the Supreme Court will likely address if they agree to hear Utah’s appeal of the 10th Circuit Court decision upholding same-sex marriage.

Once again, here are the time/space coordinates and other pertinent information, as set forth in this nifty graphic:

Click to enlarge image

Thankfully, debate moderator Doug Gibson regularly trains in the pugilistic arts at Ogden's Foley's Mixed Martial Arts Training Center, a fortuitous circumstance which might come in handy in the event that this debate might become a little overly rambunctious.

Here's our irreverent "constitutional" take on the subject, for what it's worth [grin]:

Please be sure to mark your calenders and plan to be in attendance, folks.

Something tells us that this is an Ogden City-situated event which you won't want to miss.

Update 9/19/14 11:15 a.m.:  The Standard's Cathy McKitrick provides a top-notch recap of the same sex marriage debate at WSU yesterday:

• Lively debate at WSU on same-sex marriage (w/video)

That dude from the Sutherland Institute got his butt royally kicked, or so it appears to us.  But what say you, O Gentle Ones?

And here's a great wrap-up from the Signpost:

• Same-sex marriage debate hits WSU w/Video

Huffington Post: The Bloody Origin Of Labor Day

Sadly, too many Americans will be grilling hot dogs on Labor Day rather than honoring the history of the holiday

"Most people know Labor Day as an extra day off of work. Fewer know the holiday comes from a time when the government was "offing" workers." Here's the background story, peeps, via the Huffington Post:

• The Bloody Origin Of Labor Day

Sadly, too many many Americans will be grilling hot dogs, rather than honoring the history of this important American holiday

Added bonus: A few classic ditties to put you in the proper Labor Day mood:

• Top Ten Labor Day Songs

As you "safely and sanely" celebrate today's national holiday, folks, we hope you'll heed this reminder and devote at least a little time to reflect on the "working man," on "labor," and on the important historical contributions of the too-often-maligned "American labor movement."

Pioneer Day 2014 Songfest Special

The anthem of the Mormon pioneers, in the spirit of Pioneer Day

In the spirit of Pioneer Day, we'll embed this visually dramatized version of "Come, Come, Ye Saints" (originally "All is Well"), sometimes considered to be the anthem of the Mormon pioneers.



This hymn was written by William Clayton on April 15, 1846, as his Mormon pioneer caravan rested at Locust Creek, Iowa, over 100 miles west of its origin city of Nauvoo, Illinois.

This song has special meaning for your blogmeister and his family, folks, inasmuch as just prior to writing the lyrics, Clayton had received word that his wife, Diantha Farr Clayton, the sister of your blogmeister's great-great grandfather, Lorin Farr, had given birth to a healthy boy in Nauvoo, about which event Clayton stated in his journal that he "...composed a new song—'All is well.' I feel to thank my heavenly father for my boy and pray that he will spare and preserve his life and that of his mother and so order it so that we may soon meet again."

As an added bonus, we'll reprise another version of this stirring and uplifting hymn, performed by Texas gee-tar virtuoso Mark Patrick Abernathy. This version's our personal favorite; and frankly, we can't get enough of it:



Here are the lyrics, for those musically-inclined readers who might be compelled to sing (or strum ) along.

(And yes, long-time WCF readers with functioning memories, this is something of a re-run).

So which rendition do you prefer, O Gentle Ones?

You be the judge.

And have a safe and sane holiday, folks, whether you're celebrating this day as traditional Pioneer Day, or the more recently trendy Pie N' Beer Day.

4th of July Special 2014 - Happy Birthday, America

Let's keep our eye on the ball, people:

• House Budget Committee Kills Immigration Reform Amendment

Have a safe and sane holiday, folks.

Big Meeting Tonight: Ogden-Weber State University Transit Project Study Open House - Updated

Tonight's meeting provides an ideal chance for Ogden lumpenitizens to finally and forcefully throw in your own 2¢.

As a followup to Friday's Ogden Streetcar topical heads-up, here's a dunning reminder of this evening's special community event, whereby all Ogden residents are invited to "join UTA representatives, project partners and local officials at an open house to kick off the Ogden-Weber State University Transit Project Study":

Click to Enlarge Image

Ogden Streetcar fanciers have been craving an Ogden Streetcar System since as far back as 2005.

Tonight's meeting provides an ideal chance for Ogden lumpenitizens to finally and forcefully throw in your own 2¢.

We thus urge all streetcar proponents to mark your calenders and be in attendance.

Update 6/27/14 9:00 a.m.:  Better late than never, the Standard-Examiner provides a post meeting report concerningWednesday's UTA Open House:

• Major Ogden transit project taking shape

"By the end of this year, Ogden should have a pretty good idea of what the future of transit will look like in the city," the SE's Mitch Shaw reports.

Happy Birthday to Us

Thanks, Weber County Forum readers!

Why it seems like only yesterday that we were introducing Weber County Forum to the lumpencitizens of northern Utah, and whaddaya know, we celebrate WCF's ninth anniversary today.

Happy Birthday To Us!

We'll thus take this opportunity to offer our heartfelt thanks to the political wonks who've given us their enthusiastic support over these past nine years.  We believe that all-in-all, our little home-town blog has proven to be a great and unique community resource.

We couldn't have reached this important milestone, and accomplished the many significant things which we've achieved without the robust contributions of all of you who've stuck with us since our initial founding on May 15, 2005.

Thanks, Weber County Forum readers!

Easter 2014 Sunday Special

Starting with today's Easter holiday, your blogmeister is resolved to be more like Jesus:

Happy Easter, everyone!

WSU Hosts Air Quality Expert Panel Discussion - Updated

Via one sharp-eyed and alert Weber County Forum reader we're delighted to provide a quick heads up regarding today's campus event, which will appeal to folks who are concerned about improving and protecting the quality of Utah’s air:

OGDEN, Utah – Weber State University’s Engaged Learning Series will host the Utah Air Quality Expert Panel Discussion [today] Jan. 22 at 12:30 p.m. in the Shepherd Union Wildcat Theater.

The WSU Environmental Issues Committee and the Center for Community Engaged Learning are co-sponsoring the panel composed of four local air quality experts who represent diverse interests:

• Matt Pacenza, policy director for HEAL Utah
• Rep. Joel Briscoe, minority caucus manager for the Utah State Legislature
• Susan Soleil, executive director of Utah Interfaith Power and Light
• Carl Ingwell, director of the University of Utah’s Student Clean Air Network

Associate professor of geography Eric Ewert will moderate the event.

 Here's more information from the WSU site:

• WSU Hosts Air Quality Expert Panel Discussion

“We envison this panel as less about hand-wringing over the poor quality of our air, and more about what citizens and residents can do to fix it,” Ewert says. “While only scheduled for 50 minutes, the session will continue as long as there are questions, and we will give hands-on demonstration of websites, phone apps and ways to get involved right away.”

We're hoping at least a few of you will be able to juggle your calenders and be in attendance.

We've linked this morning's topical Standard-Examiner front page story, just to add to your motivation:

• Health alert issued for Northern Utah air pollution

Update 1/22/14 10:29 a.m.:   Added bonus: With news that the Wasatch Front's air is the worst in the nation and comparable to Beijing, Utah Political Capitol provides you with a history of air pollution in the state:

• A History of the Inversion: A Foe That Grows Stronger

Update 1/23/14 7:00 a.m.:  The Standard carries a Nancy Van Valkenburg story this morning, reporting on yesterday's WSU campus event:

• Grass-roots activism only solution for Utah clean air, panel says

Standard-Examiner: Weber Invites State Lawmakers to 'Eat and Shoot' at Gun Range

Kinda has the flavor of one of those creepy and ubiquitous condominium time share promotions, dunnit?

This morning's Standard-Examiner provides a fascinating glimpse into the schizophrenic Utah Republican mindset, with this morning's front page story, reporting that our all-Republican Weber County Commission has has invited Utah Senate and House legislators to a "gala" "January 28 "dine-and-shoot event which aims to showcase the Swanson Tactical Training Center in Ogden's Industrial Park and opens with dinner at 6 p.m. followed by 7 p.m. target practice." Seems that at least a couple of our purportedly "tight fisted" Weber County Commissioners are keen on dropping a cool $3.8 million taxpayer dollars for the public acquisition of a financially troubled and currently privately owned facility which features, among other things, two indoor shooting ranges and (get this) a "mock urban environment," where Weber County gun fanciers can finely hone their "urban combat" tactics:

• Weber invites state lawmakers to 'eat and shoot' at gun range

Kinda has the flavor of one of those creepy and ubiquitous condominium time share promotions, dunnit, where "prospects" are offered a free "rubber chicken dinner," in exchange for being subjected to a high-pressure sales pitch? Most condo promotions don't involve "free guns and ammo," along with the free dinner, of course.

Our Weber County Commission is of course merely "pitching" the the state legislature to throw state funding toward this numbskull project, so it won't detrimentally affect Weber County taxpayers, right?

We're scratching our heads wondering what happened to the hallowed GOP principle, i.e., that commercial projects such as this ought to be left to the "private" economic sector.  Plainly, in this instance, it's one which, if our Commission has its way, will be honored in the breach, rather than the observance.

We'll file this story under the WCF topic category "boondoggle" this morning folks, and invite all Weber County (and indeed Utah) voters to make a mental note, as more than half of our Utah state legislators and two out of our three Weber County Commissioners prepare to tout their "fiscal conservative" credentials (so-called) during the upcoming Utah 2014 General Election run-up.

We'll be standing by, eagerly awaiting our WCF readers' ever-savvy comments.

Martin Luther King Birthday Special

Something to chew on during today's Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday, folks:

Dovetails nicely with our own Weber County Forum philosophy, wethink.

Have a safe and sane holiday, O Gentle Ones.

New Years Day Bonus Special

Here's an added bonus from our ole pal Dave Barry, the only political humorist in America even funnier than our own Mark Saal:

• Dave Barry’s 2013 Year in Review

Happy New Year, EVERYONE!