Curtis Haring

A Very Simple Blog Post: Denice Graham’s Injustice

From Peg McEntee’s article on April 18th: Denice Graham is back at work in the Utah Department of Transportation after being summarily sacked by administrators who accused her of leaking confidential information about a bid for a $1.1 billion contract to rebuild a stretch of Interstate 15… When the truth came out about a botched [...]

The Joys of Anonymous Money in Politics.

Republican delegates got a gift in the mail today – a trifold pamphlet outlining the evils of the so called “Common Core” program in Education, claiming that it is an insidious and underhanded way for the federal guv’met to take over our schools and, therefore, our kid’s fragile little minds! The reality, of course, is that core standards upgrade curriculum so that the [...]

The 10 Worst Bills of the Legislative Session

So here is my official, unofficial list of the ten worst bills to come out of the legislative session. More discussion coming soon! 10) HB187 – Agricultural Interference Bill by Rep John Mathis (R-Vernal) – This is the bill that caused, once again, national head scratching over the bizarre antics of the Republicans in the Utah State [...]

What do Utah Republicans have Against our Military?

I am shocked and saddened by the recent statements made by two members of the Republican Caucus of the Utah Senate. By now, you may have seen the Senate Majority Leader, Scot Jenkins, outburst on the outlandish thought of exempting military personnel from having to pay property taxes while serving on active duty (click here for [...]

Bills to Watch: SB 116, Armed Forces Property Tax Exemption, Sen. Luz Robles

We as a society love to say how much we support our troops, but it is rare that policy makers actually step up to the plate and say “thank you, we are going to make your life a little bit easier because you have decided to protect our nation.” That is why I applaud Senator [...]

Bills to Watch: SB 249, Firearm Possession Amendments, Sen. Mark Madsen

It always astounds me how much hot air comes out of the legislature every year about how grand the Constitution is and how we must uphold the document as a sacred text…unless there is something in there that happens to disagree with the legislature, that is. Take, for example SB 249, Firearm Possession Amendments as [...]

Bills to Watch: SB 156, Elected Official Retirement Benefits Amendments, Sen. John Valentine

One issue that has always mildly bugged me has been that lawmakers receive retirement benefits similar to long term state employees if they simply put in enough years at the state legislature. Currently, if a lawmaker manages to stick it out for ten years, they receive the same benefits as a full-time state employee may receive after [...]

Bills to Watch: SB 33 – Trespassing on State Lands, Sen. Margaret Dayton

Over the past year, there have been numerous anti-government protests across the nation, and though I have been highly critical of some of the movements, I none the less support the right for them to petition their government. Well, it appears that Senator Margaret Dayton (R – Orem – District 15) doesn’t feel the same way.  Her [...]

Bills to Watch: SJR 11, Joint Resolution – Informal Poll on United States Senate Candidates, Sen. Casey Anderson

So, I am just going to say it now and get it out of the way, watching Senator Casey Anderson (R-Cedar City, District 28) propose legislation is a bit like watching clowns continually come out of a car labeled “mind numbingly bad.” Just for kicks, you could even add the word “Express.” I have  already told you Anderson’s brilliant idea to [...]

Bills to Watch: HB 274, Adoption Amendments, Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck

I don’t want you all to think that I am biased towards Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck (D – Salt Lake, District 24) simply because she happens to have ranked number 1 last year for best representing my interests…or because she just so happens to be my actual representative on the hill; but the honest truth is, I am [...]

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