These are classic discussions published back in February 2010
Sex Ed Bill To Be Heard In Committee
*** UPDATE (2/20/10): the bill I will present in Senate Education Committee on 2/22/10 can be found here. The post below is pre-empted to some degree, as of this update. ***
Below is the bill that I will present in the Senate Education Committee next week. New language is in bold. Non-bolded language is existing law.
Thanks to all for the help. Not everyone is satisfied with the language. Some demand that the word “contraception” not be used. Since the bill addresses contraception, I am not willing to do that. I realize that this might jeopardize passage of the bill. But, I believe that not using the word “contraception” in a bill that provides tools for parents to use when discussing contraception with their children and in a bill that is intended to clarify that contraceptives can be taught under our current curriculum would be evasive and, likely, confusing.
I encourage all — whether in favor or opposed to clarifying existing language... (read more)
The Political Assault on Science
Two of the more interesting issues I’ve dealt with during my 10 years in office are Intelligent Design (“ID”) and Anthropogenic Global Warming (“AGW”). Having stood against the thundering herd on both issues, (here and here) I believe I can make a few salient observations.
At the end of the day, ID and AGW are two manifestations of the same cancer. ID is rooted in conservative politics. AGW is rooted in liberal politics. But, at their heart, both issues are assaults on science. Though both issues parrot the language and appearance of science, both issues constitute policy posing as science.
Both issues repulse scientific method and inquiry. On the one hand, Intelligent Design is beyond scientific inquiry, because it is unknowable and, therefore, is unchallengeable – a matter of faith; the things we do not know must be of God; normal scientific inquiry is repulsive, because informational gaps themselves complete the tautology; God is in the gaps. Inquiry is blasphemy.... (read more)
Budgeting 101
Every year Utah balances its budget. We’ll do it again this year. Like all of you do with your personal budgets, we have to make choices. Revenues and expenditures have to match up. The federal government, of course, doesn’ t do that. It no longer even tries. It simply spends much more than it takes in – piling unsustainable amounts of debt on our Country and us.
This just in from our President:
“Our real problem is not the spike in spending last year, or the lost, even the lost revenues last year, as significant as those are,” he said. “The real problem has to do with the fact that there is a just a mismatch between the amount of money coming in and the amount of money going out. And that is going to require some big, tough choices that, so far, the political system has been unable to deal with.”Come again? It’s not... (read more)
Legislative Process
America submits many of its complex issues and problems to legislative process for resolution. Many of these problems exist because the entities involved are unable or unwilling to talk and negotiate. Legislative process affords entities that opportunity.
The Deseret News highlights a serious property rights controversy that exists in Utah regarding billboards. This controversy has been raging for some time. I’m happy to say that the parties brought the issue to the Legislature, and that we’ve been able to resolve it (or at least map out a strategy by which it can be resolved).
The Utah League of Cities and Towns and the billboard companies each had several items of legislation that they wanted run. Senator Jerry Stevenson, Representative Steve Clark and I were able to meet with the entities and craft a pathway forward. It’s not that we did anything great, we simply had the backing of the legislative process to invite (force?)... (read more)
Sorry, Parents