Friday, May 9, 2008
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Top of Utah Voices |  |
| • A firm, humane immigration plan |
| Many concerns have been expressed in past years about illegal immigration -- particularly the illegal entry of hundreds of thousands of undocumented aliens from south of the U.S. borders. Best estimates indicate that there are 11 million to 12 million undocumented aliens presently in the U.S., with up to 1 million new illegals arriving each year. Obviously, these numbers include many earnest, hard-working people wanting a better life, but also represent thousands of "irresponsibles," including convicted felons and terrorists. How long can this neglect be ignored? |
Thursday, May 8, 2008 |
| • Parents need to set schools straight |
| It should be apparent to the citizens of this state that our education system is broken. It's not bankrupt, it's just not doing its intended job of preparing our children for adulthood. School officials tell us that performance levels of students in basic education continue to drop every year, and that correction can only be made by throwing more money at the problem. Charter schools exist because the regular system isn't working. |
| • New consumer media makes us 'experts' on one side of an issue |
| "Everybody's talkin' at me. I don't hear a word they're saying, only the echoes of my mind ..." |
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 |
| • It's astounding how much damage America has done in Iraq |
| The so-called "War on Terrorism" is in its sixth year. What a tragedy! |
| • What Rev. Wright Is Right About |
| As a Christian preacher listening to the controversy over the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., it's somewhat gratifying to be reminded that words matter. Those of us who accept this vocation wouldn't have it any other way. We spend hours agonizing over words every week -- words written in the Bible, translated from Hebrew and Greek; words that we parse, translate again, memorize, seek to understand, and ultimately shape into a new word in the sermon. But in recent days, as more and more commentators have dismissed Wright as the "crazy uncle in the attic," my pleasure has turned to anger and dismay. |
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 |
| • Discretionary versus mandatory spending |
| With all due respect to a senior officer, I very much disagree with Maj. Gen. Condon's opinion on what's mandatory spending and what's discretionary spending by our federal government (April 28 guest commentary, "Defense spending is mandatory; social programs are discretionary"). I also disagree with his interpretation of our Constitution as to the basis of his viewpoint. |
| • Top of Utah Voices: Whenever you need to go somewhere, consider walking |
| The long-awaited day has come. Intercity mass transit has come to the Top of Utah. FrontRunner is making the trek from Ogden to Salt Lake on a regular schedule. We now wait to see how commuting patterns will change in the coming months and years. |
| • Horse racing needs fixing, not banning |
| A horse was injured and immediately euthanized in this year's running of the Kentucky Derby, and the cry went out that horse racing is cruel and should be outlawed, scuttled, sent to the barn. |
Monday, May 5, 2008 |
| • Federal employees work hard and contribute well to local causes |
| In honor of Public Service Recognition Week (May 5-11), I'm writing to commend a group of people who are among us every day, but neither seek nor receive much attention. Most of them probably prefer it that way. They quietly do their jobs day by day, through a sense of duty and a love of country. |
| • Top of Utah Voices: Dealing with vices leads to family fun |
| As Spouse will attest, I'm not big on introspection. Looking inward for answers, examining one's self -- best left for the doctor's office, I would say. |
Saturday, May 3, 2008 |
| • EPA enables this administration |
| A recent report commissioned by Congress and completed by the National Research Council (NRC) concludes that short-term exposure to ozone-containing smog can be tied to premature deaths in those with respiratory illness. Ground-level ozone results from the burning of gasoline and other fossil fuels; its effects are felt most strongly by children and the elderly. |
Friday, May 2, 2008 |
| • Jeremiah Wright's jeremiads worth a listen |
| I'm flabbergasted at the difference between my take on what the Rev. Jeremiah Wright said and what the national 24/7 cable stations are saying. I saw all of the Rev. Wright's speech in the Midwest. It was, as I said, perhaps the finest sermon I've ever heard. I saw parts of his appearance before the National Press Club, but I didn't see the question-and-answer period, on which some criticism focused. |
Thursday, May 1, 2008 |
| • Political funnyman Ben Stein sticks up for intelligent design |
| I have to admit, I have never understood the intelligent design versus evolution debate. To me, at least, the key to creationism, or religion, is faith, or belief in things not seen. Personally, if my church was ever "proved" true, I'd probably leave it in a minute. |
Wednesday, April 30, 2008 |
| • Asthma sufferer asks neighbors to help him, others enjoy spring |
| It's that time of the year between winter valley inversions and summer heat ozone days. Pleasant View's Barker Park fills with families playing basketball, walking dogs, playing softball and flying kites on a soft spring breeze. A moment in time in our valley where the air is clean and clear enough to see the Wasatch peaks and Antelope Island. This is the time when the neighbors come out to play before the heat of summer sets in. |
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 |
| • Community-based learning opens opportunities for the future |
| When Ron Partridge interviewed for the clinical psychology doctoral program at Wichita State in Kansas this past March, he probably felt a lot like the proverbial fish out of water. Ron, who is completing his bachelor's degree in sociology and psychology at Weber State University, was the only applicant to interview who hadn't already earned his master's degree. |
Monday, April 28, 2008 |
| • Americans are behaving like they're sheep |
| In 1961, William Lederer published a book with the title "A Nation of Sheep." This book pointed out the sad state of ignorance existing among the populace as a result of brainwashing by the government and the media. People were content to follow along the path of least resistance, blissfully unaware that the path they followed led to ultimate disaster. |
| • Defense spending is mandatory; social programs are discretionary |
| When discussion about the Department of Defense budget takes place, it frequently revolves around "unaffordability" -- "we can't afford to spend this much on the war in Iraq," "that airplane is too expensive; we can't afford it," "we can't afford to spend so much on health care for our men and women in the armed forces." |
| • What iProvo should teach the UTOPIA city councils |
| Utah's municipal telecom systems, iProvo and Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA), are failing. Having spent a collective $190 million, they have yet to meet a single financial or subscriber goal. Provo Mayor Lewis Billings is contemplating a variety of options, including selling iProvo to the private sector, but UTOPIA wants its members to prop up the failure with $504 million in sales tax dollars. |
Friday, April 25, 2008 |
| • Sinister happenings at the Ogden School District |
| Something sinister is going on at the Ogden School District. Some parents are trying to push out a fifth-grade teacher at Hillcrest Elementary, Carol Ferguson, from her position. Full disclosure: my daughter is a student in the class. |
Thursday, April 24, 2008 |
| • FrontRunner in the Top of Utah was worth the wait |
| I have to admit, there are times when this newspapering dodge has its benefits. One of them was Friday, when several members of the Standard-Examiner's editorial board -- plus humor columnist Mark Saal and editorial cartoonist Cal Grondahl -- took a demonstration roundtrip ride on FrontRunner commuter rail from the Ogden Intermodal Transportation Hub to Salt Lake City's Intermodal Transportation Hub. |
Wednesday, April 23, 2008 |
| • Dollar depreciation no sure trade deficit cure |
| Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker has labeled the decline of the dollar against the major currencies of the world as the "dollar crisis." U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that from December 2005 to December 2006, the dollar depreciated 7 percent to 11 percent against the major European currencies, 3 percent against the Chinese Yuan and 10 percent against South Korean Won. |
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 |
| • Ethanol: how great thou art -- not |
| I know you have all heard "what goes around comes around." This is certainly true of the ethanol/corn/food dilemma we are facing at the present time. |
| • American Torture: The Heat's on Yoo |
| John C. Yoo likes the limelight, but it's causing him some grief. Of the half-dozen lawyers who played important roles in a Bush administration decision to legalize the use of highly coercive interrogation techniques, only Yoo has emerged as the public face -- and target -- related to the policy. |
| • Micro-targeting: You are what you consume |
| On Wednesday I read in The New York Times that if I liked corn-fed beef hamburgers, I might well be a supporter of John McCain's presidential bid. I'd had a corn-fed beef burger the night before, so I decided to stay in Iraq for a hundred years if that's what it took. |
Monday, April 21, 2008 |
| • Top of Utah Voices: Honor Abraham Lincoln's birth by living his lessons |
| The Civil War was over, the United States preserved intact, the slaves freed, but in April 1865 the nation mourned. Abraham Lincoln died on April 15; his funeral procession, which involved a 1,654-mile train ride, began in Washington, D.C., on April 21 and ended in Springfield, Ill., on May 4. |
Friday, April 18, 2008 |
| • Financial press is not doing its job |
| As he gestured to the press gallery in the House of Commons, 18th century British philosopher and member of Parliament Edmund Burke said, "Yonder sits the Fourth Estate, and they are more important than them all." A fiercely independent statesman, Burke was noted for his support of the American colonies in their struggle for freedom. He believed the press must act as a vehicle for truth, a check on power and a voice for the disenfranchised. |
| • Seeking to Engage in Korea |
| WASHINGTON -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak spoke to Washington Post reporters and editors Thursday through an interpreter. Excerpts: |
| • Why I choose to remain in Iraq |
| BAGHDAD -- Before I drive my children to school each day, we go through a safety checklist familiar to mothers around the world: sit in the back seat; fasten your safety belts. |
Thursday, April 17, 2008 |
| • Something doesn't seem right in the west Texas desert |
| The state of Texas' decision to separate hundreds of children from their mothers lends assumption that law enforcement officials must have serious evidence of child and sexual abuse committed by members of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. |
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 |
| • Top of Utah Voices: A lot of voters want to know: How liberationist is Obama? |
| A couple of weeks ago, Hillary Clinton reminded Democrats of the Clintonian love of softening the truth with her mendacious "misremembering" and "mispeaking" about her 1996 landing at Tuzla under a fusillade of sniper fire. And Barack Obama's handlers blessed God for Hillary's brainless whopper because it diverted attention away from Obama's pastor, the raving Rev. Wright. |
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