No UPD Newsletter on Labor Day

The Utah Policy Daily newsletter will take the day off Monday, Sept. 6, in observance of Labor Day, and will return on Tuesday.

News headline links will be updated over the holiday weekend at www.utahpolicy.com.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

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).

By Bryan Schott

How effective are Utah’s elected officials?  We asked our political insiders to put their partisan feelings aside and rank how effective Utah’s Congressional Delegation and Governor.   

Republicans gave fairly high marks across the board to all of Utah’s elected officials, even ranking Rep. Jim Matheson ahead of Rep. Jason Chaffetz.  Democrats were a bit harsher, giving very low marks to Rep. Chaffetz and Rep. Rob Bishop.   

Full results after the jump. 

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. ...

By Bryan Schott

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

By Bryan Schott

How effective are Utah’s elected officials?  We asked our political insiders to put their partisan feelings aside and rank how effective Utah’s Congressional Delegation and Governor.   

Republicans gave fairly high marks across the board to all of Utah’s elected officials, even ranking Rep. Jim Matheson ahead of Rep. Jason Chaffetz.  Democrats were a bit harsher, giving very low marks to Rep. Chaffetz and Rep. Rob Bishop.   

Full results after the jump. 

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.

Source: Team Tech

Do you have leadership qualities?

Do you believe you have what it takes to be a good leader?

This article considers what makes a good leader, and examines the fit - or sometimes the mis-fit - between organization needs and individual talent. ...

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."

Source: Think Exist

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it” Albert Einstein

Source: Political Humor

"President Obama is very shrewd about bringing the Republicans into the White House for the Super Bowl party, because he feels like if he can get them to pass the dip, maybe they'll pass health care." –David Letterman

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.)

Source: NY Times

1837: The Senate selected Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky as vice president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.

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