Celebrate Independents

I live in Utah, one of the most Republican-leaning states in the country, right?  And yet, the majority of voters are not registered Republicans.  In fact, only 31.5% are registered as Republicans, and only 7.4% as Democrats.  Nearly 61% are registered as “unaffiliated” or independents.  Then why does the Republican tail wag the Utah dog?  [...]

Saul, Paul, and Crist (no, it’s not a typo)

“[Fanatics of various hues] hate each other with the hatred of brothers. They are as far apart and close together as Saul and Paul.” – Eric Hoffer, The True Believer
The animosity between the two principal political parties in the U.S. is unusually high these days. Doubtless there are many reasons, but [...]

The True Mirror of Our Doctrine

The conduct of our lives is the true mirror of our doctrine. – Montaigne
The other day I saw a news article that said that Glenn Beck, a nationally-syndicated political talk show host who also has a TV show, a man who has millions of listeners/viewers, told them that if their churches mentioned “social justice” or [...]

The True Believer by Eric Hoffer; book review

I recently read for the third time a book I was introduced to in PoliSci 101 as an extra credit assignment.  In the past, to me The True Believer; Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer was an interesting theoretical book about sociology, based on observations of the past.  This time, its [...]

Please don’t bomb Iran

On November 29, the disputed President of Iran announced plans to build ten new nuclear enrichment facilities throughout the country. Everyone’s mind immediately turned to military action, and many assume that Israel will bomb Iran sooner than later. It’s my hope no one attacks Iran.

Letter to Gov. Huntsman re: HB 357

This is a letter I recently sent to Governor Huntsman of Utah. I feel it’s important. I encourage all to copy the text, make what changes you see fit, then send it to him at http://governor.utah.gov/goca/form_comment.html.

Fallacies of the free market

Recently I read a piece by Newt Gingrich about letting the market solve the healthcare problem. He said, “We must offer a positive alternative where healthcare becomes more accessible and of higher quality at lower cost. That is what normal markets produce. Think computers and cellphones, where government bureaucrats have zero involvement in design [...]

Watch your tongue

As any English-speaker who has learned a Romance language knows, there are a lot of cognates, both true and false, between English and Romance languages. A cognate is a word that resembles its counterpart in another language. For example, even if you don’t speak Spanish, you can probably guess the meaning of the [...]

A time for smaller government?

Small government advocates are a little too happy at the belt-tightening going on (at state and local levels, anyway) to deal with the effects of the recession. Utah’s legislature is overshooting estimates in its zeal to make government smaller. Is smaller government desirable? Sure!
However, in order for conservatives to prove, in [...]

“Resurrection” by Leo Tolstoy – Book Review

Tolstoy’s very readable tale of Prince Dmitry Ivanich Nekhlyudov, a man humbled by the results of his past sins and attempting to right wrongs and redeem himself, is a timeless criticism of human attempts at civilization and self-rule. In the process of the story, Tolstoy skewers high society, the church, the government, the military, [...]

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