News Highlights

According to new census projections, in 34 years Hispanics, blacks, Asians, and Pacific Islanders will be in the new majority in America; minorities in Utah will make up 20% of the population by 2010 (Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune).

Uninsured children are not getting adequate health care, according to a study encouraging parents to enroll children in available health insurance programs before they start school this fall (Deseret News).

Quote of the Day

"Right now, there's a laser-like focus on this topic. If there are any suspicious activities or nefarious intent, the information will be forwarded to the Attorney General's office."

-- Lisa Roskelley, spokeswoman for Gov. Huntsman, saying the governor is doing all he can to prevent gasoline price gouging, as the price of a gallon of gas in Utah is 31 cents higher than the national average (Tribune). See also Deseret News story.

Thursday Musing

In Tough Times, Opportunities Abound

I ran into someone recently who is convinced that total economic collapse is ahead. No doubt these are difficult, uncertain times for a lot of people. Utah’s economy is not immune from the vagaries of the national and global economies and many businesses and individuals are struggling. But I don’t believe for a minute that we’re headed for disaster, and I believe such thinking itself is destructive.

We can’t give up on the future, especially if we want our children and grandchildren to have a future. We need to be prudent, wise, and prepare for hard times, but have faith that much brighter times are ahead. Our young people need to be optimistic, and know that it still makes sense to get a good education, marry, start careers and families. We can’t all hide in a bomb shelter in the mountains. The truth is that while times are tough, there are plenty of terrific opportunities out there. Warren Buffet says this is a great time to invest. For anyone with a little liquidity, there’s a great big sale on high-quality stocks and real estate. It’s a terrific time to buy.

This is a great time to be alive, great time to start a business. Society and the world are changing rapidly, and in many cases for the better. Times of great change are times of great opportunity. Whole industries are being transformed by technology. Technological breakthroughs and great businesses and profits beckon in many industries, including energy and health care. Our problems are manageable. We can solve them.

The biggest problem our young people face isn’t the current economic doldrums. The biggest problem is the unwillingness of we of the older generation to make the necessary tough decisions with regard to health care, Social Security, and other entitlements so that we don’t leave a multi-trillion-dollar mess for them to clean up.

Washington Watch

Hatch, Bennett Hail Lease Agreement
Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett praise Air Force officials for signing the Hill Air Force Base West Side Development Enhanced Use Lease, which gives developers the green light to begin construction on the Falcon Hill aerospace research park. Says Hatch: "Falcon Hill will be a huge addition to Utah's aerospace family. ... I am confident that Falcon Hill will attract aerospace, aviation and high-tech corporations to northern Utah, creating thousands of jobs and expanding the state's economic base." Says Bennett: "The enhanced use lease agreement is a win-win situation for the developer, the Air Force, and Utah's communities. This public-private partnership benefits the local economies through job creation and provides Hill the opportunity to expand and modernize its infrastructure. I commend the officials at Hill for their diligent work to make this agreement a reality" (see Hatch and Bennett press releases).

Wouldn’t It Be Nice If …

Utah economist Jeff Thredgold’s Tea Leaf economic update this week plays the game of, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice If …”

…mortgage finance activity would return to “normal”—minus subprime excesses

…the game of politics in Washington D.C. involved a little more cooperation and a little less confrontation

…the Iraqis would use more of their oil revenue to rebuild their country, and less of our money

…more working people would save seriously for their Golden Years (an estimated one-third of the U.S. population saves zero for retirement)

…Paris Hilton’s 15 minutes of fame were over

…market corrections of various types were a little less painful

…America’s Vietnam War veterans would finally get credit for serving their country

…various state experiments in health care reform provided real promise for us all

…your garbage disposal didn’t eat better than two-thirds of the world’s population

…We actually got serious about U.S. energy independence with a program geared to 1) conservation, 2) alternative sources of energy, 3) access to much more oil and natural gas in Alaska and on the Continental Shelf, and 4) developing massive deposits of oil shale in the West

…the national media was more balanced in its reporting—and not so negative

Today in Political History

Aug. 14, 1935:  Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act into law, creating unemployment insurance and pension plans for the elderly.

Aug. 14, 1945:  Pres. Harry S. Truman announces that Japan has surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II.  (Source: NY Times) 

Wise Words

“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.”

-- George Orwell (Source: Patriot Post)  

Utah Political History

The 1948 Election

Harry S. Truman continued the Democratic domination of Utah that began with the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. However, Truman's victory of 149,151 to 124,402 votes over Thomas E. Dewey, a 54.5 percent margin, was a much lower percentage than any for Roosevelt in the four previous elections. In the congressional elections, Utah made history by electing its first women representative, Reva Beck Bosone, a Democrat and a liberal; she achieved a 92,770 to 68,693 victory over conservative incumbent William A. Dawson.  (Source:  Utah.edu) 

National Politics

Best Stories From . . .

-- Politico: "From the fever swamps of the blogosphere to the halls of academia, there is a chorus of voices who have come to the same conclusion about the presidential election: Barack Obama is going to win in November, by something resembling a landslide. Yet ... there is one key historic fact that is often overlooked -- most popular vote landslides were clearly visible by the end of summer. And by that indicator, 2008 doesn't measure up."

-- Wall Street Journal: "A trio of Republicans have defected from their party's likely presidential nominee and kicked off an effort to garner support for [Obama]. The group, called Republicans for Obama, is led by two moderate Republicans -- James Leach, a former U.S. representative from Iowa, and Lincoln Chafee, a former U.S. senator from Rhode Island -- along with Rita Hauser, a prominent fund-raiser for President George W. Bush."

-- New York Daily News: Columnist Michael Goodwin: "They're baaacckkk. Rested and ready, the Clinton crew is busy stirring the pot again. Fresh from a nearly six-week layoff, Hillary and her team are picking up where they left off in June. Her pledges of unity and wholehearted acceptance of [Obama] seem to be, well, halfhearted. ... Now that she's back, her shadow is magnified by his weakness. The more he underperforms the generic Democratic brand, the larger she looms."

-- The Hill: "President Bush on Wednesday said he is dispatching Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Georgia to help broker a peace deal between the country and Russia. ... Rice 'will personally convey America's unwavering support for Georgia's democratic government,' Bush said. 'On this trip, she will continue our efforts to rally the free world in the defense of a free Georgia.'"

Lighter Side

Best of Late Night Humor

Jay Leno: While after vigorously denying reports of his extramarital affair, and calling the story ridiculous, untrue and tabloid trash, John Edwards [finally] admitted he had an affair. And the National Enquirer was the only publication writing about it, the National Enquirer was the first to break it, turns out it was true. You know what this means? Elvis is alive! Bigfoot is real! Aliens are here! It’s all true! ... I guess Edwards apparently met this woman at a New York City bar in 2006, and he is a pretty smooth operator. You hear his opening line to the woman? “So, uh, which America are you from?” ... Well, Democrats are furious, they’re going on record now saying John Edwards will not be allowed to speak at the convention because of this affair. Yeah, instead speaking in his place: Bill Clinton. You have to put your foot down. ... In an interview recorded by the BBC in Africa, Bill Clinton told people in Africa to practice monogamy and that we need to control unprotected sexual relations with unlimited numbers of partners. In fact, the minute he said that, the Secret Service wrestled him to the ground and said, “Who are you and what have you done with the real Bill Clinton?” (Patriot Post)

Elected Officials Birthday List

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