Policy Buzz

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Innovation Schools Act Places Focus on Improving Academic Achievement

By Robyn Bagley, Chair, Parents for Choice in Education

There is much chatter about student achievement in our government monopoly education system these days, especially in Obama's Race to the Top stimulus plan. I'm glad there is at least some acknowledgment, because U.S. children perform well below their peers in industrialized nations - 25th in math and 21st in science.

Each year when comparative subject assessment test scores come out we learn that by and large our students are not improving and, in fact, minority performance continues to slide (recent NAEP scores illustrate this). Sadly, we hear comments from education leaders about finding comfort in holding steady. ...

tags: charter schools, education reform, legislature, race to the top
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Snowmageddon Stops Business In D.C. Better Than Any Filibuster

By Jared Whitley, Utah Policy Washington Correspondent

While Utah may be home to the greatest snow on Earth, this weekend it would probably have to concede that title to Washington, D.C. – at least in terms of quantity, if not quality.

tags: humor, jared whitley, weather
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Poetry and Education Policy Mixed

By Natalie Gochnour, COO, Salt Lake Chamber

It is not often that we mix public policy with poetry, but it happened to me twice last week. The public policy issue was education and both times the poetry rendered the intended effect. People stopped moving, listened, reflected and felt a yearning to do better. It created a wonderful mix of policy leadership and poetic expression and holds a message for this legislative session. ...

Both experiences got me thinking about the raw education policy choices our Legislature and governor are facing right now. There is no question that they face a daunting task, a task made even more challenging when you consider the consequences of poor choices. ...

tags: bridge, economy, education, politics, salt lake chamber
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Can the GOP Retake Salt Lake County?

By LaVarr Webb

I attended the Salt Lake County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner last night, where there was a lot of talk about Republicans regaining control of Salt Lake County government.

County GOP Chair Thomas Wright admitted that Republicans have become the minority party in the county ...

For heck sakes, Barack Obama even beat John McCain in the 2008 presidential election in the county.

But Democrats really shouldn’t be doing so well in the county, according to a survey ...

tags: candidates, democrats, election, gop, salt lake county, survey research
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Supreme Court Allows Corporations to Run for Political Office

By The Onion

WASHINGTON—In a landmark decision that overturned decades of legal precedent, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Tuesday to remove all restrictions that had previously barred corporations from holding public office.

"This is an unfair, ill-advised, and tragic mistake," Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said before boarding a flight to Arizona in response to primary poll numbers that show him trailing the Phoenix-based company PetSmart by a double-digit margin. ...

tags: bob dylan, corporations, john mccain, supreme court
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Lighter Side

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Don't Ask Don't Tell

Source: Political Humor

"Oh, here's something interesting and important. The Pentagon now wants to allow gays to serve openly in the military. You know what that means, ladies and gentlemen? More parades." –David Letterman

tags: lighter side

Wise Words

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Success

Source: Think Exist

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” Herman Cain

tags: wise words

Today in
Political History

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Feb 9, 2010

Source: NY Times

1825: The House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.

tags: today in political history

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Today at Utah Policy

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Communication Tip: Business Story-Telling

Source: Mind Tools

Think about this for a minute, because it may happen more often than you think.

tags: communication tip
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Demographics Determine Congressional Representation

By Bryan Schott

A new analysis by National Journal concludes the education level and minority population of a Congressional district determines which party represents that district in Washington, D.C.

tags: demographics, jason chaffetz, jim matheson, rob bishop
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Ask-An-Expert

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Q & A with Policy Experts
Ike Brannon

By Jared Whitley, Utah Policy Washington Correspondent

While certain indicators, such as a recovering stock market, point to more prosperous days on the horizon, the nation’s economy is still a concern to many. To get a better feel for the current economic outlook, we talked to Dr. Ike Brannon, currently chief Republican economist for the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a former senior adviser to both the McCain 2008 campaign and the U.S. Department of Treasury. He was principal economic adviser to Sen. Orrin Hatch for the Senate Finance Committee and chief economist under Sen. Bob Bennett for the Congressional Joint Economic Committee. He is also runs the Prosperity Caucus,a social group interested in economic growth and market-oriented policies.

tags: ask-an-expert, economy, ike brannon
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Washington Watch

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Keeping up with Utah's Congressional Delegation
Gregg: Use Wyden-Bennett Plan as Basis for Bipartisan Talks on Health Care Reform

Source: New York Times

New Hampshire GOP Sen. Judd Gregg, in response to Pres. Obama's call for a bipartisan summit meeting on health care legislation, suggests "two plans that could serve as a basis for compromise: a proposal that he developed called 'Coverage, Prevention, Reform' ... and a bill put forward by Senators Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, and Bob Bennett, Republican of Utah. ... The Wyden-Bennett bill would be a much more dramatic overhaul of the existing health insurance system than Mr. Obama and Democratic Congressional leaders have endorsed so far."

tags: bipartisanship, bob bennet, health care reform, judd gregg, obama, ron wyden, washington watch, wyden-bennett
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Bishop on Space Funding

Representative Rob Bishop argues against the cancellation of the Constellation Space Program on Fox News.

Video is after the jump.

tags: fox news, funding, rob bishop, space program, washington watch
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Anderson: Hatch Wrong about BCS

The Weekly Standard's Jeffrey H. Anderson takes Sen. Orrin Hatch to task for his anti-BCS crusade, arguing that the BCS system has produced a "golden age of college football." Notes Anderson: "[T]wo seasons ago, the Utah Utes made the BCS but were invited to the Sugar Bowl rather than the title game. Of the 61 coaches who voted that season, not one ranked Utah first, second, third, or fourth. The Utes' own coach, Kyle Whittingham, ranked them fifth, behind four one-loss teams. Even if there had been a four-team playoff, the Utes, who finished sixth in the BCS Standings ... would not have been invited. But when your own coach doesn't think you belong, it's hard to argue too vehemently that you've been robbed by not having been invited to play for the national championship."

tags: bcs, bowl championship series, college football, kyle whittingham, orrin hatch, washington watch
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Chaffetz Cot-Side Chat

Representative Jason Chaffetz offers his latest cot-side chat on raising the debt limit. 

Video after the jump.

tags: debt limit, jason chaffetz, video, washington watch
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Featured Articles

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Poll Watch: Utahns Among the Most Optimistic About Economy

By Bryan Schott

Economic confidence is still viewed negatively by the entire United States, but Utahns feel less pessimistic than most of the country.

tags: economy, gallup polls, poll watch
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Supreme Court Vacancies on the Way?

By Bryan Schott

ABC News reports that lawers for President Obama are getting ready for possibly two vacancies on the high court this Spring.

tags: orrin hatch, supreme court
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New Sierra Club Newsletter

The Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club has posted its Winter 2010 newsletter, which, among other things, celebrates the December Utah Supreme Court decision voiding the air quality permit for a proposed coal-fired power plant near Sigurd.

tags: coal-fired power plant, sierra club, sigurd, utah chapter of the sierra club, winter 2010 newsletter
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Federalism: A Defining Issue of Our Day

By LaVarr Webb

Conservative Utah legislators are promoting a long list of bills this session that attempt to defend the state against federal encroachment. The constitutionality of some of the bills is rather dubious, and most won’t have much practical impact.

But I sympathize with frustrated state lawmakers who can do little to push back against an overreaching federal government except to pass message bills.

State legislators hold a special place in our federal system. The nation’s founders fully expected that they would be the defenders of state sovereignty, and push back when the federal government overstepped its bounds.

State legislators are, in one sense, constitutional officers. ... They represent the 50 states’ interests in the federal system. ...

tags: ambition, compound republic, constitution, federalism, james madison, legislators
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Election Central: The $4 Billion Election

By Bryan Schott

Get ready for a tsunami of political spending for the 2010 midterm elections.   

tags: election central, political spending
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The Week Ahead - February 8 - 14

By Bryan Schott

On Tuesday, the Salt Lake County Council meets to discuss a resolution opposing the storage of depleted uranium in Utah. 

There are more political meetings and events after the break.

You can add your own event to our calendar here.

tags: political meetings, week ahead
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Podcasts

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Featured Casts
  • Seth Godin

    UtahPolicy's Bryan Schott speaks with marketing guru and author Seth Godin about his new book Linchpin:  Are You Indispensible?

  • Panel Discussion - Education Funding

    "Is adding 11,000 students to Utah's public education system, but keeping funding flat a budget cut?"

    Panel discussion from the 1st Annual Exoro Group/UtahPolicy.com Legislative Policy Summit.

  • Panel Discussion - Coal Severance Tax

    "Does Utah charge enough for companies that mine its natural resources?"

    Panel discussion from the 1st Annual Exoro Group/UtahPolicy.com Legislative Policy Summit.

  • Panel Discussion - Utah's Tax Base

    "If Utah is adding population so rapidly, then why do we not have a larger tax base?"

    Panel discussion from the 1st Annual Exoro Group/UtahPolicy.com Legislative Policy Summit.

  • Panel Discussion - Voters Approving Bond Measures

    "In tight times, are voters still willing to approve ballot measures raising taxes for specific projects?"

    Panel discussion from the 1st Annual Exoro Group/UtahPolicy.com Legislative Policy Summit.

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Featured Press Releases

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Utah in the
National News

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Will Church Project 'Vaticanize' SLC?

Source: New York Times

The LDS Church's $1 billion City Creek Center redevelopment project and its recent property purchases in downtown Salt Lake City "are prompting a new debate inside the church community and out over where the line between culture and economics should be drawn."

tags: city creek center, economics, lds church, redevelopment project, salt lake city, utah in the news, vaticanization
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Local News
Highlights

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February 8, 2010

By Bryan Schott

There are 42 days until the party caucuses in Utah, 88 days until the Republican and Democratic State Party Conventions, 133 days until the 2010 Primary Election and 266 days until the 2010 General Election.

 

  • Ranking the effectiveness of Utah's elected officials (Utah Policy, Fox 13).
  • The battle over a proposed ballot initiative to tighten ethics on Capitol Hill heats up (Salt Lake Tribune).
  • Lawmakers may be backing away from a proposal to limit campaign contributions (Salt Lake Tribune).
  • This year's legislative session is taking a turn to the far right politically (Deseret News).
  • A "Declaration on the Family" resolution surfaces on Capitol Hill (ABC 4).
  • Rep. Rob Bishop is gaining influence in Washington, D.C. (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • It looks like the truce over gay rights legislation during the legislative session will hold (Deseret News, v#mce_temp_url#, ABC 4).

 

tags: local news highlights

Today's Headlines

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Local National Business

Blog Watch

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Pyrah: Wimmer to Endorse Lee

Joe Pyrah reports that Rep. Carl Wimmer is endorsing Senate candidate Mike Lee, which matters because "Wimmer's the voice of the states rights movement in the Legislature. He runs abortion bills every single year. He's Mr. Patrick Henry Caucus. He can also squat lift a VW and cry like Glenn Beck. The key to Wimmer is that the group he appeals to are likely to try for delegate positions ... Anyone who has followed the race at all knows that Sen. Bob Bennett's challengers are all gunning for a convention win. Because if Bennett escapes, he puts that war chest to good use with an honest to goodness media campaign for a more mainstream voter base in a primary election where name recognition is a good thing and then Robert's your father's brother. Or your senator, as it were."

tags: blog watch, bob bennett, carl wimmer, glenn beck, joe pyrah, mike lee, patrick henry caucus
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Senate Site Slams 'Ridiculous' Public Employees Rally

The Senate Site sets the record straight on retirement reform, noting: "We lost a lot of money in 2008. The proposed reform bills (SB 63 and SB 43) will ensure that the pension system can meet 100% of its pension obligations to current and retired employees, and reduce long-term bankruptcy risk to state & local governments. Here's a fact sheet (PDF). This is Utah, not California. We look ahead, and try to avoid problems before they become a crisis. BTW -- This ... is ridiculous. But not surprising. The UEA has the facts but opted instead to stampede their followers with FUD." (For more Legislature-related posts, see Joe Pyrah on retirement reform, Steve Urquhart on property rights, Holly Richardson on healthcare reform, Utah Legislature Watch on gay rights, Out of Context, Utah House Democrats, Under The Dome, David Clark, Lincoln's Legislative Blog, and Salt Blog.)

tags: blog watch, california, capitol, local governments, pensions, retirement reform, senate site, uea
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