Our Utah legislators have once again blundered and failed its constituents.

Charge the Poor to go to the Ghetto in Welfare Valley City
They passed the stupid Toll Road Partnership that allows toll roads to be built using public lands but funded by private business. LAME. I would like to thank Sheldon "Lagoon" Killpack for this gem. Listen up genius, I mean Sheldon.most people will not use toll roads when free roads are available. Building a toll road on the west side when the majority of the population is on the east side just doesn't make any sense especially when the Utah state government has over $1 billion in excess revenue this year with another 20% increase for next year predicted. The road needs to be built to match growth on the west side. I love how they want the Utah ghetto to pay for the new road. LAME. Oust Sheldon Killpack in 2006!

Not So Real Salt Lake
Another boneheaded move was to keep a hotel tax in place to fund Real Salt Lake. For those not in the know Real Salt Lake is a Utah's pro soccer team. I bet that in 3 years they will be gone and we will have an empty stadium that we are funding with this tax. Oh yeah the tax payers are plunking down around $34 million dollars and letting them escape another $7 million dollars more in taxes. Did I mention that the owner is a billionaire and he is allowing the public who may or may not ever see a game plunk down $41 million for his private business? Hey Dave Checketts kiss my butt and pay for your own business. And ps Real is a ghey name for a team why not call them the Salt Lake Fayes. Who wants to pay $25 a ticket for a team that sucks. Sorry Utah Jazz you suck too. LAME.

God Giveth, Utah Taketh Away.
Utah has not eliminated smoking in private clubs. I hate smoking and believe it is bad for your health. I don't however believe that government should stick their nose in private business and force them not to smoke. These are adults making adult choices. LAME

Tax Lowering BAD
Lowering the food tax by 2%.whoopty doo. you told me it would be totally removed. This is a regressive tax and blah blah blah. It is the only fair tax we have. Everyone eats and everyone pays the same amount of tax on his or her food. This is of course feel good legislation. The downside is we are unsure which middle class tax will now rise. How about you keep my money and invest it in transportation and education like all of the polls have suggested? LAME.

And when the tax payer comes to the door the house looks like a rumage sale...
With the food tax there was some sort of tax reform or at least a lowering of taxes for the most wealthy. They tried to pass it off as a flat tax but you still have deductions. Odd that's not a flat tax? LAME

Ethics we don't need no stinking Ethics
My personal favorite dumb move. Six different bills regarding ethics in congress failed to pass. These bills simply wanted government officials to report all gifts in excess of $5.

Claire Geddes, longtime citizen activist, said more than a decade of lobbying for a variety of ethical reforms has taught her that the Legislature is resistant to change. "Money does buy access, and that buys influence," Geddes said. "When we've asked for gift bans or ethics laws, that's when I've taken the worst heat - you go in with shield and armor if you ask them to give up gifts. They don't get it - they think gifts are part of serving."

"Historically, legislators have a hard time understanding the problems with these issues - conflict of interest, campaign finance, lobbyist influence. They don't distinguish those systemic problems from what they see as an attack on their character." Tony Musci, chairman of Utah Common Cause, a government watch-dog group.

I couldn't find the quote online but the other night one of our beloved and honest senators spoke saying that the perks lobbyists give make up for the time away from their family. I guess the thought of unbiased community service is above their moral conduct. LAME.

Some of my other favorite bills that didn't make it
Senator Chris "bigots for utah" Buttars two bills on evolution disclaimers in schools and the prevention of "perverted sex clubs" aka the Provo High School Gay, Lesbian and Transgender club from using Provo High School as a meeting place. My feeling is while I don't support their lifestyle I don't believe it is my right to prevent them from gathering. It should be up to the community and the school board who administers over the school's decision not the state. So does anyone else think Chris Buttars won't be in government next year? Judging by some of his comments on tv, on the radio and in print you might think Chris Buttars is the leader of the KKK.

Other than the two Buttars' bills, Utah legislatures went against the popular vote. I sure hope there will be some change come November.

Utah gets low mark for birth control. Not surprising with a high concentration of Mormons and illegal aliens who seem to be mostly Catholic.

"The Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, has ranked the states and Washington, D.C., on contraceptive efforts. It found that Utah was near the bottom of the list, at 47." Salt Lake Tribune

The federal government has set a goal to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies by 40 percent by 2010. The Guttmacher Institute assessed the states on their success in helping women obtain contraception and correctly use it. Its report scored states on the availability of clinics that provide contraception, laws and policies, and public funding. So we rank 47th due to silly things like school sponsored sex ed and the fact that Utah only teaches abstinence, and the fact that Planned Parenthood has propagated like rabbits in Utah.

What makes this all so amusing is the fact that Utah ranks 6th for the lowest teen birthrate with an 18% drop over the last ten years. So what this whole report says is well you suck at providing birth control even though unwanted births have decreased steadily and we are way above average.

The Stats Contraception In Utah
Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Utah Ranked:
44th in service availability
48th in laws and policies
34 in public funding
47th overall

Pregnancy Outcomes
60,670 of the 530,530 women of childbearing age in Utah become pregnant each year.

Of These
78% Result in live birth
6% Result in abortion
16% End in miscarriage

Utah has 5,660 teenage pregnancies each year, the sixth lowest rate of any state

Of These
73% Result in live birth
11% Result in abortion
16% End in miscarriage

Stats are from Amy Lewis Salt Lake Tribune
My point is if we are getting way above average positive results this whole study is a non-issue and certainly not front page worthy. In today's society if your kid doesn't understand how they get pregnant then they are more ignorant than I can imagine

Motivational posters have been around since well I guess posters were created. A few years ago a friend gave me a calendar of Demotivators. They are posters that poke fun at the motivational posters. I find them hysterical. It is even funnier when your company has them hanging in the halls. Here is the a description from the founder...

Introducing Demotivators®

MOTIVATION. Psychology tells us that motivation- true, lasting motivation- can only come from within. Common sense tells us it can't be manufactured or productized. So how is it that a multi-billion dollar industry thrives through the sale of motivational commodities and services? Because, in our world of instant gratification, people desperately want to believe that there are simple solutions to complex problems. And when desperation has disposable income, market opportunities abound.

AT DESPAIR, INC., we believe motivational products create unrealistic expectations, raising hopes only to dash them. That's why we created our soul-crushingly depressing Demotivators® designs, so you can skip the delusions that motivational products induce and head straight for the disappointments that follow!

E.L. Kersten, Ph.D.
Founder and COO

Here are just a few of my favorites: