Herbert steps up to the plate

Today,  Governor Gary Herbert signed SB11, the “Firearms Freedom Act”.  He faced intense lobbying from people on both sides of this issue and in the end, chose uphold the Constitution, specifically the 10th amendment.

This act exempts any guns, silencers, laser sights and magazines that are made in Utah, entirely from Utah materials and sold for use in the state, from federal firearms laws.   It follows the Montana law passed last year that asserts the same rights for their state. and has been controversial because it is a sure trigger for a lawsuit.

“There are times when the state needs to push back against continued encroachment from the federal government”, says Herbert.  “Sending the message that we will stand up for a proper balance between the state and federal government is a good thing.”

“My hope is that the march toward tyranny can be turned back with our votes”, said Senator Margaret Dayton, sponsor of the bill.  “I am pleased to stand behind Governor Herbert”, she continued.  He is “a Governor who recognizes and acknowledges that the States standing together to push back federal overreach is not a partisan issue, but a Constitutional issue.”

The bill – now law – was heavily supported by those vocal groups that have been promoting states’ rights all year – the tea party groups, 9-12 groups, 10th amendment rights groups, the Patrick Henry Caucus and many more.   I hope they remember their manners and thank Governor Herbert for truly stepping up to the plate.

Extracurricular equity

Senator Mark Madsen is running a bill again this year – SB 66 – to level the playing field between homeschool students and neighborhood public school students as it relates to extracurricular activities.   This bill would require that students be allowed to have the OPPORTUNITY to try out and to join activities, whether it be choir, band, drama, a sports team, or any other activity.  This bill does not require that the homeschool student be given preferential treatment, be automatically placed on the team or allowed in the choir.  Those students could also not shop around – they could only participate in extracurricular activities at the public school within whose boundaries they reside OR the public school from which they withdrew to be homeschooled.

There are academic requirements – students must pass the UBSCT. If there are questions on their eligibility, a panel would be convened to review their status.  The only apparent controversy with the bill is that the panel consists of members of the homeschool community.  Hmm.  Judged by a jury of their peers – not getting what’s so hard to understand about that.

In any case, the bill passed out of the Senate Education committee with zero no votes.  It now goes to the Senate floor.

Sad Day For Babies

Dang. Not a good news day for babies. In Philadelphia, police found dozens of frozen babies when they raided an clinic after the death of a mother undergoing an abortion. There is now an on-going investigation into the performance of illegal, late-term abortions. “There was blood on the floor, and parts of aborted fetuses were displayed in jars,” states the order to suspend the Dr’s practice, which called Gosnell’s continued practice of medicine “an immediate and clear danger to the public health and safety.”

Then from Russia, we have this sad story of a journalist in Russia who wrote an article titled The article titled “Finish it off so it doesn’t suffer,” and calls for the euthanasia of disabled newborns. The author Aleksandr Nikonov argues that the birth of a disabled child for many families would be an unbearable tragedy, “a hell”, and that “the killing of the newborn is in fact the same as an abortion”. He states that depriving infants, who will never be able to take care of themselves, of life is “true humanism”. What a putz. He is correct in one thing, however  – it is the same as an abortion. In Russia, abortions are legal for “social reasons” up to 22 weeks, and for medical reasons at any time. They also have the highest abortion rate per capita in the world. So, you can legally kill a full-term disabled infant as long as it was still in-utero. This journalist is saying – in offensive terms – that parents should be able to make the same choice after the birth. He’s not the first one, though.  They’ve been saying (and doing) it in Holland for a while now.

Following the complaint, and ad hoc board of the Union of Russian Journalists accused the author of the article of breaching professional ethics and criticized the newspaper for not presenting any material to balance Nikonov’s piece.

The author disagrees with the criticism and defends his position: “You make people suffer for the sake of ideologies and interpretations of humanism you have in your head. What we offer is choice, and you wrap it inside out, presenting it as if we call for killing of all those disabled people. Nothing like that! We don’t stand against wheel cart ramps or your right to bring up disabled children, we stand for the right to choose,” he told the board.

Sorry, bub. It’s not a choice, it’s a baby. Every baby deserves to live. Every baby deserves to be loved. Every baby deserves a family. And, there is a family out there who would welcome every baby, no matter the diagnosis. I promise.

Smack down on the feds

In 1992,  Chris Herrod asked students in newly-free Ukraine how it felt after the fall of the Iron Curtain. A young student answered insightfully, “Until I have the right to own my own property, I am not truly free“,

Now Representative Herrod is introducing HB143, a bill which declares that the state of Utah can use eminent domain to take control of our lands now owned by the federal government.

He was in Vernal last summer when David Hayes from the Department of the Interior came to talk about pulling the 77 leases that had been in process for 8 years.  He said it became clear that in this state, we do not control our own property.  For a community that receives 60% of their income from extraction businesses, the impact is deep and dramatic.  Since those leases were yanked, unemployment has gone from about 1 percent to 8.5 percent.  Homes are  being foreclosed on, people are moving away, businesses are shutting down.  (If you want to get your blood boiling, you can go read the official, snarky DIO report on the pulling of those leases.)

SITLA (School and Institutional Trust Lands Amendments) has property thoughout the state but has often been denied access to that land.  It is becoming increasingly more difficult for our state to fund education.  When those 77 leases were yanked, our school trust fund lost $140 million and the state lost $720 billion to their general fund.   In another example, the state is losing an estimated $1 Trillion in natural resources – with an accompanying $50 billion just for education – by not being allowed to develop the Kaiparowits Plateau. Last week’s announcement of 2 potential new monuments in Utah shows that we can continue to sit on the sidelines and let the federal government continue to grab more of our land or we can finally take action.

Article 1 Section 8, clause 17 of the US Constitution says that the federal government can own land, but the question is whether it acts as the sovereign or simply the proprietor, as you and I are, subject to eminent domain and the laws of the state. “Our state was not created on ‘equal footing’ with the original states”, asserted Constitutional attorney Mike Lee, “or we would see only a tiny fraction of our lands owned by the federal government.” It would be a cutting-edge argument, no doubt, but supportable, according to Lee, addressing the inevitable lawsuit.

Vernal activist Amber Harrison spoke of the frustration at being unable to have access and use the lands in their backyards. She and her husband went to DC to present thousands of names on a petition, but were rebuffed by DOI agent, David Hayes. There is no expectation that the federal government will do the right thing, so they are turning to the states to assert THEIR rights.

“This is a battle worth fighting,” said Representative Kerry Gibson. “I think it is well worth the risk and well within what our constituents expect when they elect us”

Part 2: Rep Sumsion’s bill actually moving to take back lands in 3 specific areas. Peter Cannon from Davis county said: “We are not asking for a bailout – we are simply asking to be able to use our lands.”

Part 3, Rep Sumsion’s bill talking about using SITLA funds to pay legal fees for these land use bills had more opposition.  Young PTA rep, Tyler Slack, claimed it’s easy to gamble with someone else’s money and asked the committee to not pull the funds out of the trust. The association of counties testified in support of both of Representative Sumsion’s bills, as well as a number of members of the public.

“We need to do something about state sovereignty. We have said we believe in it”, said Rep Mathis, chair of the committee. “We have said it for years and years and years. I believe it is time we put our money where our mouth is.”

The first two bills passed the committee unanimously. The third bill had two dissenting votes. All three move to the House floor.

Allen West’s awesome CPAC speech

One of the very best of the weekend. I admit that I don’t know the dynamics of his district in Florida, but I just don’t see how this guy can lose. He is the real deal and is not ashamed to take a strong stand. Love it.

CPAC Straw Poll Results

Out of 2400 people who voted, almost 1/2 were students and a good chunk are people here associated with a person or organization. The run-away #1 issue, at 80% is individual freedom and limiting government. A whopping 2% of the respondents think that President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are doing an OK job. Spies among us!

Top fiscal issues – cutting federal spending, #2, reducing the federal debt. Looking to this fall, 33% think the GOP will pick up 40 seats or more, another 20% think the GOP will take 30-39 seats, meaning a majority are optimistic that the majority could switch hands come November.

Now, the results of the presidential straw poll:

#1: Ron Paul – 31% – his Campaign for Liberty organization worked this convention HARD. Volunteers were everywhere, all the time. Interestingly, the audience erupted into loud boos when the numbers were released.

#2: Mitt Romney – 22%, to tons of cheering,

#3: Sarah Palin – 7% – tons of cheering

#4: Tim Pawlenty – 6% – and still cheering

#5: Mike Pence – 5%

#6: Newt Gingrich 4%.

Over 50% are not satisfied with the current field of candidates. There sure was lots of love here for Col. Allen West to be a 2012 nominee…..

Thaddeus McCotter – funky name, great speaker

Rep Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) is one funny guy with a dead-pan sense of humor. He started his speech by saying he was honored to be at CPAC, an event that advertised such luminaries as Mitt Romney, John Boehner and others. “I’m “Others”, he joked. Behind the humor, however, he is drop-dead serious about conservative values.

“I’ve heard that the Republican Party and the conservative movement constitutes the party of “no”, he said. “I think if you look at the facts should disabuse people of that notion. Afterall, when the American people ask for constitutional limited government, the Democrats said, “no“. When the American people asked for fiscal integrity in disciplining government spending, the Democrats said, “no“. When the American people asked for smaller deficits and a reduction of the debt, the Democrats said, “no“. When the American people asked to keep the consensus against using your tax dollars for abortions at home and abroad, the Democrats said, “no“. And when the American people asked to have the current government run health care plan scrapped and to start from scratch for free market patient center principles, the Democratic party said, “no“.

He unashamedly pronounced that we abide by five permanent principles:

…Our liberty is from God NOT the government.
…Our sovereignty is in our souls not the scepter.
…Our security is from strength , not surrender or appeasement.
…Our prosperity is from the private sector, not the public sector.
…And our truths are self evident, not relative.

“We are working to regain your trust,” he said, “to return a Republican majority to the US Congress”. With people like Rep McCotter, we’ll be in good shape.

If you want to watch his speech for yourself, click here.

Rob Bishop and States Rights

During the CPAC conference, Rep Rob Bishop spoke on a panel focused on 10th amendment rights and federalism.  As he defines it, “federalism” means the federal gov’ernment does have a role which must be balanced by robust states’ rights.

When Bishop came to Congress, his freshman class was assigned the task of looking at government waste, fraud and abuse. He was not excited. “”I didn’t want a more efficient government running my life.” he quipped. “I wanted LESS government in my life.”

He pointed out that people frequently praise one program or another. Some are good ideas but his question is – what role? Whose role? Is that really the role of the federal government or is that something better served by the states?

Representative Bishop has long been talking about limited federal government and strong states.  He was “Patrick Henry Caucus” long before the Patrick Henry Caucus was cool.   We need more like him in Congress – Representatives and Senators willing to give power back to the states.

Rock star Romney

Mitt Romney came to CPAC – not to step down from a presidential run as he did two years ago, but to start his 2012 run.  No, he did not announce anything official, but it’s not hard to recognize a campaign speech when you hear one.  He even went to far as to lay out his campaign platform: strengthen our economy, strengthen our security and strengthen our families.

He was introduced by newly-elected Senator Scott Brown who received a standing ovation just for walking onto the stage.

He reminded us how in 2008, “they won, we lost” and said we can learn a lot from how people lose.  The Republicans didn’t “serve up excuses or blame our fellow citizens”, he said, but rather “we listened to the American people, we sharpened our thinking and our arguments, we spoke with greater persuasiveness, we took our message to more journals and airwaves, and in the American tradition, some even brought attention to our cause with rallies and Tea parties”.

He then talked about how 2009 was the President’s turn to suffer losses and how we have learned a great deal about him in how he approaches defeat.  Obama first claimed he had not failed at all.  The, he decided to pin the blame on someone else  – the Supreme Court, the Republican party and yes, even the American people.  “It seems that we have failed to understand his wise plans for us”, quipped Romney, “if he just slows down,  if we just listen better, then we will get it”.

He was one of several speaker to address being the party of “no”.  “It’s as if [Obama] thinks that saying “no” is by definition a bad thing,” he said,  “in fact, it is right and praiseworthy to say no to bad things” as he listed off cap and trade, card check,  government healthcare, and higher taxes.  He also pointed out all the things the Democrats have said no to this year – no to a balanced budget, to reforming entitlements, to malpractice reform, to missile defense in Eastern Europe, to prosecuting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a military tribunal, and no to tax cuts.

“It has become clear who is responsible for President Obama’s lost year, the 10 percent unemployment year: President Obama and his fellow Democrats,” Romney continued. “So when it comes to pinning blame, pin the tail on the donkeys.”

He talked about regaining seats in the 2010 election and noted that it is fitting that so many of those who have contempt for the private sector will soon be back in it.

He skirted around Romneycare – I mean healthcare – but did note he believed it to be a states’ rights issue, not a national one.

Speaking of strengthening security, he said”on our watch, the conversation with a would-be suicide bomber will not begin with the words, “You have the right to remain silent!”’

He concluded by outlining the differences between the “liberal agenda” and the conservatives plan for American greatness.  His final statement was this: “America has been a force for good like no other in this world, and for that we make no apology.”

More land grabbing?

Today, an internal document leaked from the Department of Interior (DOI) indicates the Administration is in the process of considering whether to designate as many as 17 National Monuments located throughout the West. This document has Western Caucus Chairman Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) and many other Western Caucus members concerned that these sections of Western land and natural energy resources may be the next target of the Obama Administration’s radical agenda.

The DOI document mentions designations and land acquisitions in 11 different western states: Utah, Montana, New Mexico, California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Alaska, and Wyoming. Approximately 13 million acres of land (possibly more) are at risk for potential designation

“While the President may be frustrated with his inability to pass his agenda through a Democrat-controlled Congress, he should not try to score political victories through secretly-plotted unilateral executive declarations that may please some special interest groups but will harm the livelihoods of countless American families and communities across the country,” said House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04)

Congressman Doug Lamborn from Colorado said “This Administration just doesn’t get it. Americans want jobs, not more federal bureaucracy and red tape. But that is exactly what they’ll get if the Administration locks up even more of our energy-rich land in the West.”

Congressman Jason Chaffetz says: “I am deeply concerned with the Obama Administration’s intent to forgo local, state, and congressional participation. It is the role of Congress to work with all relevant parties to alleviate concerns and develop compromises. I urge the Administration to reconsider their current path.”

According to the Salt Lake Tribune,

The Interior Department says the document on which the Utah Republican is basing his allegation is simply a draft memo outlining lands that may, in the future, deserve protection.

Interior spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff says Secretary Ken Salazar asked the department’s bureaus to identify areas that might be worth further study as possible management areas or spots for Congress to step in and designate as protected.

Yeah. I’m pretty sure that’s what Clinton did just before he swiped Grand Staircase-Escalante out of Utah’s hands….