Ellis Ivory--Rich Man for Mayor?

Salt Lake Tribune - Opinion: "Nevertheless, Ivory can claim with a straight face that he will be an independent mayor because he will not accept any campaign contributions, will not take a salary and will not drive a county car or use a county credit card. Though any candidate is beholden to his party, and Ivory will be no exception, he will, in fact, be free from the influence that comes of campaign contributions."

On the face of it, the idea of a candidate refusing to get paid, and refuse to use county credit cards or cars, is a great one. It's not like Salt Lake County is the richest county in the nation, and the extra money that could be saved could be used for great programs or events (or whatever).

But...once I gave it a little thought, I started to feel uncomfortable about it. It is a wonderful idea, but an impractical one for most of the citizens of the county (or of any county). Most of us can't work for free for a term of office--we have to support families, pay bills, etc. I'm not sure the other two candidates for mayor can afford that--and that doesn't make them greedy. It just makes them normal.

Ivory's pledge, while good-hearted, may have the effect of raising the bar of office to only those who are rich enough--not just rich enough to run, which is an entirely different problem--but rich enough to serve.

Diversionary Tactics: The wacky argument against Amendment 3

The Salt Lake Tribune published a piece today by Jim Allred opposing Amendment 3, the Utah Constitutional Amendment to define marriage and deny any other union the same privileges as marriage. His argument? There's no good way to tell who is a man and who is a woman. "While taking some of the innocent joy out of the application process, stripping for verification is inevitable."

This statement is so silly it is hard to believe that Allred is serious, though he must be. There really is no hint of irony or satire in his piece. While it may be true that there are people with genetic qualities that make gender determination difficult on that level, this argument is a red herring.

Let's leave the determination of gender to doctors. If there is question, the opinions of doctors can be entered in a court of law and a judge can make the determination. That is the point of having judges after all, to make the judgment calls when the law can't be so specific.

To say we shouldn't enact amendment 3 because Allred doesn't know how to tell a man from a woman isn't a very compelling argument. Why doesn't he give us his real reasons?

Hannity Insanity

What a rip-off! Outrage over a planned visit of Michael Moore to Utah Valley State College, where Keryn teaches geology occasionally, prompted a visit by Sean Hannity. Hannity agreed to waive his speaking fee to come and rebut (in advance?) Moore's speech. He only asked that the school's donors cover his travel expenses. When the tab came to $50,000, a lot of people, including me, were furious. He charged the school for three legs of a journey that included his travel to the third presidential debate in Arizona. He was coming here anyway. It would have been reasonable to charge for the accommodations (if any) while he was here and for the price of his flight from Utah to Arizona. Asking donors to pay for his debate coverage travel is shameful. I'm told the money didn't come from student fees, but that's no excuse for this outrage.

In a bubble

President Bush has been accused of ignoring the news and listening only to a small group of close advisors. There ought to be more candid debate and discussion. Eliot Cohen, writing at Opinion Journal, had this to say:

"Political leaders, except those of the very first order, can and do become detached from the realities of the world around them. Surrounded by sympathizers and sycophants, subjected to a ceaseless torrent of criticism, consumed by an unending stream of work, deprived, for the most part, of the spontaneity of unstructured debate, the danger is not that they will say things that they do not believe. It is, rather, that they will come to believe things because they have said them, and to act accordingly."

Perhaps it isn't always enough just to want to be a truthful politician.

Jim Lacey on al Qaeda on National Review Online
I've always thought it funny when I read in history books about people overestimating their enemies--ten-foot-tall man-eating Germans, or whatever. But I never really thought that we could possibly be doing that with al Qaeda, until I read this article. I don't know if Jim Lacey is right, but it is a thought-provoking read all the same.

SI.com - Writers - Swift: Despite judging error, Hamm's gold shows no tarnish - Monday August 23, 2004 6:55AM: "So why not a second gold medal? Why not accommodate the upset Koreans and send everyone home happy? Well for one thing, you can make a pretty good case that, if you're going to go to the videotape, Yang shouldn't have won. Yes, the videotape of the parallel bars showed the judges erred by assigning a 9.9 start value. But it showed something else, too. In the course of his routine, Yang had four holds on the bar, when the rules allow for a maximum of three. The deduction for that mistake? Two-tenths of a point."

Good point. (No pun intended.)

Hadley Arkes on Stem-Cell Research on National Review Online
Wow. Finally a little information on stem cells that I could understand. Awesome article.

Democrats peddle their own unique truth

A well written piece on John Kerry and Cambodia, with a little more information about the actual situation at the time in Cambodia, and the exterme unlikelyhood that John Kerry was there.

The Daily Herald: Your town. Your neighbors. Your Newspaper. - 0718 midwives:
(This was in the Utah County Daily Herald last month.)

"Although she has attended to 450 home births, her experiences delivering her own two children, Taylor, 7, and Sawyer, 5, were anything but comforting.

Complications during labor forced Smith to deliver both boys in the hospital via Cesarean section.

'I will always mourn those experiences. I'll always grieve the fact that they were C-sections and not vaginal births. I'll always be affected by the question of, 'Is there something wrong with my body?' '

She compares having a C-section to being awarded a gold medal as an Olympic athlete without participating in the event.

'I have my two gold medals and didn't get to compete,' she said. 'It will always be that way.'"

Wow. I feel really sorry for this woman--not because she had to have hospital birth, but that she "will always mourn those experiences"--the births of her sons. I hope that she doesn't think that makes or breaks her as a mother. Because that is really sad. I really don't think it matters how the child came into your life--home birth, hospital birth, adoption, marriage--it's how you raise you child.

New York Daily News - Ideas & Opinions - Zev Chafets: Kerry's Cambodia question
An interesting proposition: Kerry has said that he was in Cambodia in Christmas 1968. His commanding officers and other gentlemen (Swiftboat Veterans for Truth) who served beside Kerry have said that he was most definitely never in Cambodia, at Christmas or otherwise. Zev Chafets believes that whichever side turns out to be telling the truth will "win" this particular battle--i.e., who can you trust in recalling what happened in Vietnam?

Now, I have no earthly idea how easy it would be to find out the truth. Chafets seems to think it won't be too hard. So, let's play out both senairos. First, Kerry is telling the truth. He was in Cambodia on a top secret CIA mission (I think it was a CIA mission he claims). Then the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth are at best misguided and at worst despictable liars out to smear a man they disagree with. Then I would considered them no better than Michael Moore.

Second, the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth are telling, well, the truth. Kerry never was in Cambodia. Then he has used the fact that he did serve in Vietnam to political advantage, disregarding truth for exaggeration and lies when it will give him attention, votes, publicity, respect, whatever. (Incidentally, this wouldn't be the first time (if the second senairo is true) that he has done this. It can be argued that this is the exact same thing he did when he testified before the Senate right after he came home from Vietnam thirty some-odd years ago.) Then I would consider him a man that at best has a tenuous hold on the truth and at worst a flat-out liar who would do anything to gain political advantage. Not exactly someone I want leading the country.

(Disclaimer: It should be known (if it isn't already) that I will not be voting for Kerry, anyway. I don't agree with him on far too many subjects, abortion and gay marriage being two of the most prominent. But I would like to think that he is a good man, that if he wins he'll be a good president. However this Swiftboat Veterans for Truth hoopla plays out will have a large bearing on my opinion of the man.)

Victor Davis Hanson on Bush and Kerry on National Review Online: "B"Here is an article about the world situation from National Review that I'd like to be able to refer to again in the future.

The $100 Terrorist Insurance Plan - A better way to screen airline passengers. By Steven E.�Landsburg
An intriguing idea that will never happen. I'm sure there are problems with it. But I actually kind of like it.

California's SUV Ban - The Golden State has outlawed big SUVs on many of its roads but doesn't seem to know it. By Andy�Bowers

I have my own issues with huge, gas-guzzling SUVs (except when you are using them on dirt roads for the sake of geology!). I thought this was very interesting, especially since Brad and I have talked about the road damage large vehicles do.

Now, I'm not saying I'll never have a SUV (although it's doubtful). But if that day ever comes, I hope I'll still believe that an extra tax to help pay for the damage is fair. Because, you know, it is.

The New York Times > Science > By Accident, Utah Is Proving an Ideal Genetic Laboratory (free subscription required)

This is a very fascinating article on studying Utahns' DNA--because we tend to stay put, tend to stay married, and tend to love researching our genealogy. Pretty cool.

Firehouse Rot - John Kerry's cheapest shot. By Christopher�Hitchens

An interesting, and rather telling article. If sanctions are bad, and war to remove a dictator is bad, than what can we do? Nothing? If that is the case, so much for the compassion of the Left.