More on sedition – State Auditor John Dougall responded to requests for “additional information” on his strong stance towards the events that unfolded at the Capitol last week. Here is his response, as posted on Facebook:
“On Wednesday, a violent mob broke into the U.S. Capitol, rioting, vandalizing, and searching to capture or attack certain government officials, particularly VP Mike Pence. This was an insurrection. In this case, a violent uprising against the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. The insurrection had the effect of disrupting Congress’ ability to perform its constitutional duty in regards to counting the electoral college votes. A rebellion. Various rioters engaged in sedition, engaged in conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the federal government.
Prior to the insurrection, Trump held a rally. Various comments were made by him and others at the rally. Perhaps the most egregious was Guiliani’s call of: “Let’s have trial by combat.” Following the rally, Trump also issued multiple tweets condemning the Vice President for not doing Trump’s wishes. Concerns exist that the president fomenting a mob or inciting the insurrection. At least one insurrectionist indicated attending the rally, marching to the Capitol, then getting carried away, inappropriately occupying the Capitol. A substantial number of Americans believe Trump incited the insurrection. If Trump incited the insurrection, then he was seditious, inciting people to rebel against the Congress, particularly for his own personal and electoral benefit.
Even if Trump did not incite or did not intend to incite the insurrection, following the commencement of violence he had the opportunity to promptly put down the rebellion. Rather than taking immediate and aggressive action to protect Congress, Trump delayed. He failed to take prompt action to protect the Vice President. (I note that some insurrectionists chanted “Hang Mike Pence!” or “Hang the Vice President!”.) Rather than promptly condemning or calling off his rioting supporters, he stalled, hours later expressing his love for them. If fact, it took more than 24 hours for Trump to condemn the violence at the Capitol. It has also been widely reported that Trump failed to deploy the national guard. Later, reports indicate that Trump was calling certain members of Congress to encourage delaying the electoral vote count. Trump should have made every effort to put down the insurrection. They had a duty to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution, including protecting the Congress. The fact that he didn’t is extremely troubling. From my perspective, it was seditious.
Banning the salary history question – Susan Madsen writes that asking about salary history in a job interview is one way the wage gap gets perpetuated for many women and people of color. For decades people have used the courts and legislation to address the large gap between what men and women are paid. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 banned salary discrimination in the workplace based on gender. The good news is between 1980-2016, the gap has closed by half.
The bad news is that Utah lags behind the nation and women in this state who work full-time earn 70 cents to 74 cents for every dollar a man makes, which translates into $14,000 less annually than men.
“Salary history inquiries did not create the problem of gender wage gap,” she concludes. “But they certainly help perpetuate them.” (Salt Lake Tribune)
Saving a village – Today’s feel-good story: 97-year-old “Rainbow Grandpa” saves his entire village by painting it. More than a decade ago, the Taiwanese government was ready to bulldoze a village with only one resident and build an apartment complex. Once home to 1200 households, only Huang Yung-fu remained. He could not bear to leave his home of 40 years and he was lonely, so he began to paint every surface of the village with bright colors and engaging designs. In 2010, a local university student found the village, took some pictures and started a fundraising campaign to keep the village from being torn down. Today, over 1 million people come to visit this “Rainbow Village.” (My Modern Met, BBC)
