Salt City Sinner

get ready for it to get even worse posted on 5/17/2019 by the Salt City Sinner Localism! It’s a form of lesser magick that everyone loves, except when they don’t. Where should we vest certain authorities – the authority to tax, to regulate, to run a geographic area’s affairs? Here in Utah, the balance of power that creates the most heat and friction is undoubtedly the question of federal lands. Protected land is a perennial source of fist-pounding, foot-stomping rage to (mostly white) rural Utahns, some of whom would like the unrestricted right to go yee-hawing around on their toys, others of whom have a more material interest in resource extraction and the decimation of national monuments.   You could argue, were you so disposed, that this constitutes a breach of rural sovereignty by a bunch of supposedly-enlightened liberal soy boys and city-dwellers. That’s a discussion I’d be willing to have; one in which I would be very quick to point out that it’s perha...

posted on 5/16/2015 by the Salt City Sinner I'm going to do the full disclosure thing right out of the gate: I'm a proponent of legalizing drugs. Not just “decriminalizing” “soft” drugs like marijuana – I mean that I favor completely legal heroin, methamphetamine, PCP, the whole shebang. I favor ending prohibition and regulation for both philosophical and practical reasons. On the philosophical side, I believe that people have the right to make informed decisions about the destiny of their own bodies, even if I might personally disagree with some of their choices. This is actually a fairly popular position when it comes to things like alcohol, caffeine, tobacco and, yes, marijuana – once you venture outside of the average person's comfort zone by mentioning meth, cocaine, or heroin, support for fully ending drug prohibition erodes, but the “social harm” argument against full legalization is so applicable to things like alcohol and tobacco (not to mention trans fats ...

Posted on 3/18/2014 by the Salt City Sinner Salutations, brothers and sisters! As you may have heard , Mia Love has officially filed her papers to run for Utah's Fourth Congressional District in a bid to replace Jim Matheson, who will not be seeking re-election to an eighth ( ! ) term. Love is the former mayor of Saratoga Springs, and rose to national attention when she tossed some red meat to the good folks at the 2012 Republican National Convention. That same year, she ran against Matheson for his seat in the 4th and narrowly lost. In the past, Salt City Sinner has outlined her thoughtful and very sane budget plan, and even endorsed her for Salt Mine Grand Vizier, so it was not entirely a surprise when one of Love's staffers – writing under the nomme de faux MakerNotTaker1776 – leaked an advance copy of four action items Love intends to immediately pursue upon election (in appreciation for this HOT HOT HOT tip, Salt City Sinner has buried a payment of US $1,000 – in ...

posted on 12/23/2013 by the Salt City Sinner On Friday, U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby struck down the anti-gay-marriage amendment that Utahns passed by a large majority in 2004, effectively legalizing same-sex marriage in Utah.  The ensuing flurry of activity befits the Beehive State, whose word is "industry," after all. Same-sex couples immediately began snagging their marriage licenses and tying the knot by the hundreds, with some even waiting overnight on Sunday to get their licenses when offices opened this morning. Predictably, Gary Herbert, our dour, doughy Governor, released a flotilla of legal maneuvers, all of which have failed as of the afternoon of December 23 rd , the day before the day before the holiest day of conservative Christian pouting, indignation, and public piety.  Perhaps the most interesting wrinkle in these proceedings has been the decision of some county clerks – indeed, some counties in their entirety – to flat-o...

posted on 10/4/2013 by the Salt City Sinner Good news, everyone! And in this case, it IS good news: Utah WIC, which as of the beginning of the budget burlesque in D.C. was in serious danger, is (temporarily) saved! From the same fishwrapper that I recently teed off on about their coverage of this very issue, the Trib : Utah’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program received $2.5 million in emergency funding Thursday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, enabling local health department clinics to reopen and begin issuing food vouchers to new and existing clients. Clinic staff will begin issuing new food vouchers immediately.   In Salt Lake and Summit counties, which kept their clinics open with emergency local funding, vouchers may be distributed as early as Thursday afternoon, he added. "This is welcome news for the 66,000 moms, babies and children we serve, especially those who didn’t have food vouchers for October," [WIC Head Chris] Furner said.  Given...

posted 4/2/2013 by CrazyPoliticos Imagine if you will, that someone threw a huge gala and celebration with entertainment and speakers, including the Governor, and no one came. I know, right? But this is “almost” what happened to Suzanne and Alan Osmond, who hosted the Celebration of Marriage Rally at the Utah State Capitol last Tuesday evening (March 26, 2013). Governor Gary R. Herbert spoke, the Osmond grandchildren performed and there were even party favors. To wit: a Certificate of Marriage which stated: "Marriage is the union of a man and woman whose marital privileges are based upon their commitment to protect and nurture the children that may be created as a part of their union,” which could then be signed by attendees.  (One wonders if these "privileges" extend to heterosexual couples who are infertile.) Like I said it almost happened that no one came. Okay, so imagine another scenario. You throw a big celebration and while only a few of the invit...

posted 3/9/2013 by Crazypoliticos In their latest effort to make the world a more terrible place the Utah House of Representatives stands poised to pass HB-372, which passed out of the Utah House Health and Human Services Committee on March 6, 2013. This proposed legislation seeks to tax e-cigarettes at 86% of the manufacturer's price and make purchasing e-cigarettes online or through the mail a criminal offense. Hello Utah! Really? Let me explain. I'm a former smoker who hates cigarettes. I hate the odor. I have asthma and occasionally have a severe reaction to cigarette smoke. I detest cigarette buttes left everywhere. Smokers are not supposed to smoke in prohibited places such as bus and Trax stops. Smokers are not supposed to throw their butts everywhere. They do. They do and anyone who lives in an urban apartment building or takes public transportation knows this. They smoke inside their apartments. They drive and smoke with you in the car. Smoking is a terrible addicti...

Alright!  I'll tell you, I'm NOT a republican.  I have been a registered Democrat since I became a registered voter.  Through my desire to try and find change for my family, and community I changed my registration and am now "Unaffiliated".  I was too ill to attend the Democratic Caucus on Tuesday evening.  Thursday evening approached much faster than I had anticipated, and attending the meeting was something I found myself truly dreading.  We, (my nine year old daughter and myself) arrived at Kearns High School approximately 30 minutes before the meeting was to begin and entered a packed parking lot, eventually making our way back out of the parking lot to find a space on the side of the road.  Having signed up the night before I knew which district I was located in and found my place in the many lines formed for the different districts.  After "signing in" we eventually found our way up the stairs, around the corner, and tucked aw...

38 days! We are only 38 days into the year, and already the Utah Legislature is off to the races, goofy-footed and earnest-eyed, bristling with handfuls of painfully crayon-scrawled legislation for our delectation. The Salt Lake Tribune chimes in on the latest from Representative Wayne Harper (R - West Jordan): [Rep. Harper] told the House Business and Labor committee that HB104 was a way to stop Salt Lake City's [anti-idling] ordinance, which he said was anti-business and put a strain on local police charged with enforcing the measure.  But his bill had an added complication that Rep. Todd Kiser, R-Sandy, was struggling with -- the addition in the bill that sought to eliminate Salt Lake City's requirement that taxicabs and limousine companies replace vehicles with more than 350,000 miles on them or that are more than seven years old in an attempt to reduce pollution. I spent a good 20 minutes looking for a photo where Harper DOESN'T look like a smug dick; I didn...

Yesterday morning, I was a little iffy about hauling my proverbial oats (and the proverbial oats of some guests) down I-15 to Provo to attend the anti-NDAA and anti-EEA protest there. A few people had canceled on carpooling, and the early morning was clear and bitter cold, with a sharp breeze floating through the Avenues. I shouldn't have worried. I wound up driving Greg Lambert of Crazypoliticos , my friend Jessica Lee (Twitter feed   here  , Flickr   here  ), and Jessica's friend, a polite gentleman named Tim. The trip down to Provo went very quickly, and we parked right in front of the Provo Courthouse. The day had warmed up beautifully, and there was already a small but very high-energy crowd gathered (this crowd grew in size as the afternoon progressed). A few quick words about the anti-NDAA/EEA protest. First off, "What," you may ask, "the hell are NDAA and/or EEA?" Glad you asked! A decent summary of NDAA  can be found right here . In brief...