Tuesday, October 7, 2008
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Top of Utah Voices |  |
| • 'Too big to fail' is a ridiculous self-serving Wall Street word |
| "Too big to fail." How often have we heard that ridiculous, self-serving Wall Street excuse over the past few months? Talk about arrogance! |
| • TOP OF UTAH VOICES: Help protect democracy and history: buy a newspaper |
| Not too long ago, I tried to recruit a talented student to switch his major emphasis from television to print journalism. He laughed and responded, "Maybe 100 years ago." Newspapers across the country are wondering how to attract young writers and readers who've been raised with a cell phone in one hand, a gaming controller in the other, and iPod ear buds, tuning them into music and out of the world. |
Sunday, October 5, 2008 |
| • Public funds should follow students |
| All public school students should be treated equally in Utah, with equal funding from the same sources, no matter which model of public school they attend. And to set the record straight, public charter schools are subject to same standards, tests, accountability and scrutiny as traditional district schools. |
Friday, October 3, 2008 |
| • And there he goes: Porter bids farewell to journalism |
| Today will be tough for me. As you read these words, I will be spending my last hours at the Standard-Examiner -- assembling the opinion pages for the weekend and saying good-bye to my friends. |
Thursday, October 2, 2008 |
| • Obama reaps the benefits of journalists' mancrushes |
| Take a look at this quote: "When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed. He said, 'look, here's what happened.'" |
| • Some Ogden council members put own agendas ahead of city, Historic 25th Street |
| I was appalled at the outcome of the Sept. 23 Ogden City Council meeting. |
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 |
| • Arts, humanities enrich our lives and community |
| "Art teaches nothing, except the significance of life." |
Monday, September 29, 2008 |
| • TOP OF UTAH VOICES: Life's an adventure, hang on tight! |
| A few weeks ago, I was packing to go to a family reunion at Scottland, our family campground in Idaho. The two of us wouldn't need much for the two-day trip because Scottland has buildings to stay in, a fully stocked kitchen, beds, blankets and bathrooms with toilets and showers. |
| • Mass-transit, highway system can complement each other |
| The Coalition for Accountable Government recently complained that the investment in FrontRunner is a waste of investment, and the planned extension of the system from Salt Lake to Provo should be dropped. The coalition claims that, so far, FrontRunner has not reduced the congestion on I-15. |
Friday, September 26, 2008 |
| • Economic meltdown a long time coming |
| For years I've stated that the reckless deficit spending policies of G.W. Bush would bring about the financial economic collapse of the traditional American way of life that we have enjoyed for the past 60 or so years. |
| • Restorative justice a vital tool to address Jim Crow-era wrongs |
| This past April, I had the honor of being invited to speak at an educational symposium in Melbourne, Australia, on the future of fully including indigenous people in Australian life. Against the backdrop of a historic Parliament session in early February, where Prime Minister Kevin Rudd opened the proceedings with an official government apology for the atrocities visited upon the Aboriginal Community, a host of public forums, government sponsored initiatives and community exchanges set into motion one of the most widely explored discourses in Australian history -- namely, why this apology was important and: What does it mean for the future of Australian governance? |
Thursday, September 25, 2008 |
| • Presidential election reform in the works |
| Let's see, before Nov. 4, it's reasonable to assume that $1 billion will have been spent trying to sway Americans' votes for U.S. president. Few would dare argue the system is not convoluted, geared toward big money and causes apathy and disenfranchisement among voters. |
| • Nationally and locally, American Red Cross needs your support |
| As a transplant from Texas, I've seen the damage a direct hit from a hurricane can deliver. |
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 |
| • Home ownership is a reality in this economic climate |
| It's hard to believe that anything that takes nearly 800 pages to describe could be time sensitive. However, President Bush recently signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, and, for many, it may provide the incentive needed to act now and finally buy a home of their own. |
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 |
| • My bailout request to the government |
| Dear Government, |
| • TOP OF UTAH VOICES: We should focus on a candidate's knowledge and ability |
| I was born during the Eisenhower administration. The first president I remember with any clarity was John F. Kennedy. I remember the things that everyone remembers about Kennedy. He was good looking. He was charismatic. It seemed that everyone liked Kennedy, Jackie and their family. |
Monday, September 22, 2008 |
| • TOP OF UTAH VOICES: We've learned plenty since 9/11 attacks |
| A guy I know says he kind of likes seeing or hearing the score of a game that he has taped and not yet watched. He says it helps him not to worry so much. |
Sunday, September 21, 2008 |
| • Raising building height limits on Historic 25th Street a bad idea |
| The Weber County Heritage Foundation hosted another successful historic house tour Sept. 6. This year's 31st annual fundraiser featured historic homes on Ogden's East Bench. We wish to thank homeowners, sponsors, volunteers, and participants for making it such a successful day and helping us raise over $8,000. All tour proceeds are invested in public places within the greater Ogden community to foster and promote historic preservation. The Eccles Community Art Center, Union Station and Ogden Kiln are a few recent recipients of foundation funds. |
Friday, September 19, 2008 |
| • We must come together on energy |
| If rational decisions aren't made soon to resolve differences over national energy issues, the U.S. economy and influence could be seriously crippled, and terrorist threats may escalate. If we are serious about achieving energy independence, we must recognize the difficulty of successfully executing any major energy development, whether it's a coal or nuclear plant, an oil refinery, a liquefied natural gas terminal, or an electrical transmission line. |
Thursday, September 18, 2008 |
| • TOP OF UTAH VOICES: McCain and Palin have a distinct Western appeal for voters |
| One of the under-reported advantages to the Republican presidential ticket of Arizona Sen. John McCain and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is that the pair are the first real Western presidential ticket. |
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 |
| • U.S. Air Force has a lot to celebrate |
| Tomorrow, the U.S. Air Force will celebrate the 61st anniversary of its designation as a separate military service of our armed forces. While many today take that designation for granted, in the mid-1940s, it was a topic of heated debate. That period is captured below in an excerpt from a paper written by the Air Force Association. |
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 |
| • 'Road' trip for WSU women's basketball team offered cultural lessons |
| For those of you who follow the Weber State women's basketball team, you're forgiven if you missed our last couple of games -- given that they were road games played on another continent. |
Sunday, September 14, 2008 |
| • Ask candidates if they trust women to make their own health care decisions |
| It is that time of year again, when political rhetoric heats up and everyone has an opinion. One recurring subject that is always emotional and fraught with controversy is Planned Parenthood's role in Utah's communities. |
Saturday, September 13, 2008 |
| • Bringing physics to the Top of Utah |
| Weber State University's accountants are nervous. The Department of Physics is submitting receipts for a truly bizarre list of items. Forty pounds of cornstarch. Twenty pounds of dry ice. PVC pipe. The explanations are cryptic: "for Ooblek; for rockets; for drumbones." We grin when we imagine what the bean counters are thinking. |
Friday, September 12, 2008 |
| • Ogden partners with people, organizations who want to help our students |
| I have in my office one of my most treasured mementos: my torch from Utah's 2002 Winter Olympics. It represents many things to many people. To me it represents what we are all about. |
Thursday, September 11, 2008 |
| • TOP OF UTAH VOICES: Impotent lunacy drives accusation that Palin's just like the mullahs |
| "I rarely remember my dreams, but for the past week, GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin has been haunting me. Night after night, she appears in my dreams, always as a scolding, ominous figure. |
| • Put health first in 'health system reform' |
| We are fortunate to live in a state where both the governor and the Legislature have committed to do something about what is an increasingly troublesome and embarrassing situation. The U.S. is the wealthiest nation on earth, we spend more money than any other country for health care services, yet we have fewer healthy people than all other industrialized nations. The term "health care system" is a misnomer -- there is no system, but a conglomerate of public and private health insurance programs with various levels of coverage, and 15 percent of our citizens have none. Public health clinics do their best to fill the gaps by providing basic primary and preventive care for the needy, but they constitute a pretty leaky safety net. |
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 |
| • Senate Bill 2 makes voucher proponents happy |
| Upon my reading the Aug. 28 news article in the Standard-Examiner, "Ogden School Board rebukes lawmakers," and then downloading the full text of the well-written resolution created by the members of the Ogden City School Board, here are only a few of my thoughts and comments on the situation at hand. |
| • Democrats to gun owners: 'The party is over' |
| Breaking up is so hard to do. Judging from the Democratic Party platform, remarks from presidential nominee Barack Obama and his selection of anti-gun Sen. Joseph Biden as a running mate, the long, transparent courtship of gun owners by Democrats is over, and instead of a good-bye kiss, there was a slap in the face -- the political approximation of a domestic assault. |
Tuesday, September 9, 2008 |
| • Credit unions' stability, progress a plus |
| Contrary to the pattern of financial turmoil across the nation, America First Credit Union recently marked a milestone of progress with the opening of its 80th branch office, located in St. George. |
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