YoungDemsofUtah

Meeting Minutes 12/29/09

2009-12-30T18:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lapse in minutes folks, but with convention, a lack of meetings, and the holidays, it has been a little sparse - see you all in the new year!

Young Democrats of Utah
Board Meeting
December 29, 2009

In attendance: Justin Daniels, Anna Thompson, Kristin Dobbin, Mark Hymas, Crystal Young-Otterstrom, Curtis Haring, Sarah Day, Guy Warner, Tim Webb, TJ Ellerbeck, Nick Daskalas, Ngaio Palmer

I. Welcome

II. Events
a. New Orleans
i. The room has been booked for Feb 18-21.
ii. Plane tickets are going up, book soon.
b. Spaghetti Dinner
i. Room booked for January 13 at Granato’s, 7 PM.
ii. Food and drinks are provided! Sam has enough space to cook spaghetti for around 30 people. If we expect more people, we’ll need to have people cook the spaghetti and bring it to the restaurant. Sam will have sauce.
iii. Crystal can get an invite together pretty quickly after Peter is confirmed. We should consider mailing invites to important people. Try to get invite out Thursday, again on Tuesday. Anna can print out a couple dozen printed invites for official sponsors and the gold level sponsors
iv. If the sponsors give us $150, they can have a table section (Granato has long tables, cafeteria style). Granato as platinum sponsor of the event, and an official sponsor for the year. Look for one more to donate $500.
v. Tablecloths potentially needed.
vi. Peter isn’t confirmed yet, will know in the morning.
vii. Prices: $25 for all.
c. Legislative Hangover – and the end of the session
i. Replace/fuse with tea party pun?
d. Legislative Luncheon:
i. Sometime in February? Around the mid-point of the session.
ii. Wednesday, Feb 3? A day that doesn’t have a lot of lobbying activities
iii. Talk to Rhoda (?) for the best date.
iv. Same food order

III. Roundtable
a. Justin: Nominated Naz for Committeewoman, Curtis seconded. Naz accepts. Vote approved by acclamation. Congrats Naz.

IV. Adjourn at 6:32 pm
See ya’ll next year! Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 6 PM.

Meeting Minutes 11/11/09

2009-11-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the lack of activity people - things have been a little busy! Here are the minutes from Wednesdays meeting, prepared by Breanne Miller:

Young Democrats of Utah
Board Meeting
November 11, 2009

In attendance: Aaron Curtis, Justin Daniels, Breanne Miller, Mark Hyman, Carmen Rodriguez, Ofa Pilivi, Crystal Young-Otterstrom, Curtis Haring, Guy Warner, Jasyon Myers, TJ Ellerbeck

I. Welcome at 6:06 pm

II. Spaghetti dinner

a. No word yet
i. Peter and Sam committed to speaking
b. Combine with convention- evening of convention

III. New media rules
a. Moved to approve, unanimously approved by voice vote

IV. YDU Convention
a. December 5th or 12th
b. SLCC Campus – State/17th South
c. Speakers
i. Steve Hildebrand is an option – but may not be the best option… Mark will confirm this by Friday, and if not will confirm with EU
1. If he comes, try to plan trainings on same day
ii. Luke Garrott – Mark will call
iii. Someone from EU – Justin will call
d. These details will be confirmed by next meeting for sure
e. Election email will go out tomorrow
i. Nominations due on 12/5

V. Health Reform plan
a. Information has been miraculously found, Crystal will draft a letter for the Senate support
b. Mark and Anna will be drafting the letter to the editor this Sunday

VI. Service projects
a. Food Drive/Sub for Santa were discussed
b. Both can be done if we have time
c. Utah Youth Village can assign us kid/s to collect gifts for
d. Food Bank can be arranged, just collect food and sign up online
e. We will focus our efforts on the sub for Santa
i. Jason will try to get us a whole family to collect for
ii. We will give discounted tickets to spaghetti dinner

VII. Utah Cultural Alliance Internship
a. Track legislation in regard to UCA
b. Unpaid, but great experience!

VIII. Legislative plans
a. Invite leadership to come to the meeting on the 18th
b. Pat, David, Scott, Rebecca

IX. Constitutional Amendments
a. TJ will be drafting amendment to be discussed/approved by the board
b. Justin will check to see if there are any notice requirements
c. We can also do resolutions, if so desired
i. Curtis will do one for the City

X. Save Our Canyons event
a. Thursday the 12th, 8:00pm – Woodshed
b. ULLR Ball

XI. UDLC Social
a. 12/4 – Alta Club – 7:00pm

XII. Roundtable
a. Justin – financial update (see below); email list has finally been updated
b. TJ – Anyone interested in helping constitutional amendment? (Curtis, Juli, Mark) College Caucus may want to change something
c. Curtis – Leg. issues committee (everyone interested, but Breanne)
d. Carmen – won’t be at next week’s meeting b/c she’s getting a scholarship
e. Aaron – he’s alive!
f. Breanne – Treasurer? Apparently still in the works
g. Crystal – needs 6 pictures for the newsletter, at one that is tall; B&W version w/ color for the internet version; slimmer 4 pages; needs TJ’s article revised; trying to schedule a new media cmt mtg

XIII. Financial Update
a. Money in bank - $671
b. Mark’s pledges - $1,200
c. Outstanding pledges
i. Ralph Becker - $500
ii. Weber County Dems - $1,000
iii. Randy Houriuchi - $1,000
iv. George Hall - $500
v. Jim Gowans - $300
vi. Steve Hunter - $250

XIV. Adjourn at 6:54pm

See ya’ll Wednesday, the 18th, at 6:00pm! - No meeting 11/25

Meeting Minutes 10/7/09

2009-10-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

Produced by Breanne Miller - YDU Secretary

###

Young Democrats of Utah

Board Meeting

October 7, 2009

###

Present: Justin Daniels

Breanne Miller

Mark Hymas

Brett Garner

Matt Miller

Carmen Rodriguez

Nick Daskalas

Ofa Pilivi

Crystal Young-Otterstrom

Sarah Day

Curtis Haring

TJ Ellerbeck

Jason Myers

I. Welcome at 7:03 pm

II. Endorsements/Invites

a. District 3

i. Stan Penfold

1. Community Council, AIDS Foundation, Greater SLCC, character of the neighborhood, progressive

ii. Phil Carroll

1. Read from his website

http://www.rughsterdesign.com/carroll/vision/

iii. Shall we endorse?

1. 12 present: For (7) Against (2) Abstain (3)

iv. Endorsement

1. Stan (8) Phil (0) Abstain (4)

b. District 7

i. Soren Simonson

1. Read letter

ii. Lisa Ramsey Adams

1. Read letter

iii. Shall we endorse?

1. 13 present: For (9) Against (0) Abstain (4)

iv. Endorsement

1. Soren (12) Lisa (0) Abstain (1)

c. Justin will seek information from the Murray mayoral candidates

d. We will walk 10/17, 10/24, 10/31

i. Justin will schedule each campaign days

III. 3rd Annual DL/YDU Bar Crawl

a. Friday, October 16th - 8:00pm

b. Starting at the Republican Woodshed, Burt’s, Bayou, etc.

IV. Next Event

a. Comedian

b. Bowl-a-thon

c. Spaghetti w/ Granato

i. Redwood Road Granato’s or Union Hall

ii. Nov. 14th

iii. $25/person, $15/YDU Members

iv. $5 off for non-YDU members on Act Blue, advanced purchases

v. Justin will contact Jim Judd to see if it’s available, Granato’s is back up

vi. Speakers – Peter Corroon, Sam Granato, and Soren/Stan if they win

V. Service Project

a. Jason will plan October project

VI. Caucus Meetings

a. Mark wants to have meetings for remainder of year

VII. New Board Positions

a. College Vice-Chair: Nick

b. HS Chair: Carmen

i. Co-Vice Chairs: Molly/Zach

c. YP Co-Vice Chair: Naziol

d. Mark will seek out new Treasurer and report back next week

VIII. New Media Committee

a. All is well, FB is a touch quiet

b. Need blog writers

IX. Bio’s

a. Turn them in by next week

b. Send a good headshot, too

X. Round Table

a. Crystal

i. Get your newsletter articles in!!!

ii. Can we change the meeting time to 6:00pm?

iii. Next week’s meeting will be at 6:00pm to test it out

iv. Utah Cultural Alliance is having a panel, check the FB invite!

b. Brett

i. Bought his flight for the Orlando convention (Nov. 20-22)

c. Justin

i. YDA Convention – Orlando (Nov. 20-22) – No trainings, just meetings and meet/get to know your new YDA Officers (for now, may change)

d. Breanne

i. SW Regional Meeting? Where is Toni? Brett will check on it.

e. Jason

i. We got a lot of thanks from the Road Home. Thanks for those who attended.

f. TJ

i. Civic Engagement Conference at the U

1. Lobbying suggestions – start early! Before the session, esp.

2. Greg Bell is moderate, opposes same-day voter reg, getting a website for online registration

a. Get Colleges going on promoting on campus???

3. Need specific time limits for our spaghetti dinner speakers

g. Mark

i. Next meeting at 6:00pm

ii. Convention

1. Sent letters to Reid, Pelosi, Udall, Barney Frank, Stephen Colbert. Heard nothing back, will make follow up calls.

2. Crystal will talk to Diane in Pelosi’s office

iii. Jason donated all the arts and crafts, so chip in if you can

iv. Got $1,250 in donations

v. $500 from Ralph Becker, too

XI. Breanne

a. Don’t forget to chip in for the hotel room from Chicago!

XII. Adjourn at 8:11pm.

See ya’ll Wednesday, the 14th, at 6:00pm!

The Myth of the Liberal Media – Everyone is Bias

2009-09-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

As Glenn Beck’s “9/12” project seemed to exemplify, there are different styles and ways that the media can report on a story. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly obvious that factions of the media are out-and-out lying about its content – in the case of the 9/12 protests, estimates of turnout ranged from 60,000 to two million, depending on who you talk to. That is a rather large difference in opinion, to say the least, and some media outlets/pundits went so far as to publish purposefully misleading photos to push their agenda.

This is just one example of how the media has become bloated and out of control. Phrases such as “liberal media” only exemplify this fact, if only because it proves that “the facts we use” are more important that all of the facts.

It is a fact that Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and the gang tout a very conservative viewpoint that is not representative of the American people. Likewise MSNBC, Maureen Dowd, et al are very liberal and do not represent the American people.

And people are starting to notice.

The Pew Research Center recently reported that only 29% of Americans trust the mainstream media, down 10% in 2007. The principal cause for this distrust? The media is dominated by special interests that make their reporting inherently bias. To further this point, “fake” news, such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are much more trusted – presumably because viewers know where the news ends and the jokes (read lies) begin.

But, despite the obvious disharmony between fact and statement, people still complain about the “liberal media” running the show, and enough people parrot this “fact” to create a perception that conservatives have no say in the political discussion (the discussion of death panels, Obama’s place of birth, the legitimacy of torture, and other various right wing topics aside). In politics, and reporting, perception is reality – the myth of the liberal media lives on and our country takes a step backwards because the media allows it to.

And we see this over and over again. The media will latch on to some convoluted story that an intern picked up on the internet and run with it…even after it has long since been discredited by other outlets. The source that reported this obviously false fact will simply claim that “you won’t see this on the other networks” to cover their tails, and the network simply allows the story to run until they no longer make money off of it. In many ways, modern “journalism” is not far removed from modern tabloids.

The simple fact of the matter is that media is amazingly polarized. Yes, there is a liberal media…but there is also a powerful conservative media at play in American politics. One thing that should be agreed upon is that it is harmful to our democracy. Media has always been for profit, however corporate media and the 24 hour news cycle have created a monster that has mutated the fourth branch of government into a monster, and its power to persuade the masses only makes it a greater threat to our freedoms.

Original post can be found at www.blueinredzion.com

Softball Game - Davis County Democrats vs. Republicans

2009-09-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

The 6th annual softball game between the Davis County Republicans and Democrats. At 5pm, there will be a combined Potluck BBQ/Picnic for members of both parties. And our softball game will begin at 6pm. Anyone interested in playing or attending please contact Richard Watson at 801-540-3146 (D's) or Kathy Wilson (R's) at 801-776-3023. A good time to put politics aside and have some fun with our neighbors and friends.

To RSVP, visit the Facebook event page by clicking here.

YDU Young Professional Caucus Happy Hour at Green Pig

2009-09-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Join the Young Democrats of Utah's Young Professional Caucus at Green Pig on Thursday, September 17 from 5-7pm. Have a great time mingling with other Young Dems and enjoy the Green Pig's Whiskey Night, with whiskey drinks just $3!

To RSVP, visit the Facebook event page by clicking here.

Topaz and the Constitution

2009-09-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

By Brett Garner -

Last month, I visited the site of the Topaz Internment Camp northwest of Delta, Utah. For many Utahns today, the history of this location is unknown; the fact that there is nothing left there but rusty nails, cracked concrete foundations, and massive ant hills makes that understandable. Most people would rather we forget when we decided our Constitution, at least parts of it, were not applicable. Later we realized our mistakes, we apologized, and we paid for it, literally. Nonetheless, all of the internees were loyal Americans; they served and some died in our military; others became amazing members of our communities.

However, today we hear echoes of those voices who stirred up hatred and intolerance in the name of security. Those who say our Constitution, the document they may at one time call divine, seconds later call irrelevant.

They are wrong, just as they were wrong in 1941-1945. In the years ahead their arguments will sound as ridiculous, racist, and unpopular as they were in a previous time of unrest.

If you believe the Constitution is a sacred document, as I do, you cannot support abandoning it when the times get tough, even when they are very tough. It is at those times precisely when we need to hold on to it strongest; we need to demand our elected officials not countenance trifling with its most basic provisions. If we do not, we will not only crack our freedoms like the foundations of Topaz’s barracks, but we will not succeed.

Meeting Minutes 9/9/09

2009-09-10T09:00:00.002-07:00

Produced by Breanne Miller - YDU Secretary

###

Young Democrats of Utah

Board Meeting

September 9, 2009

Present: Anna Thompson, Breanne Miller, Mark Hymas, Brett Garner, Matt Miller, Chris Warton, Crystal Young-Otterstrom, Curtis Haring, TJ Ellerbeck, Juli Huddleston

I. Welcome at 7:02pm

II. Visitor –Yossof Sharifi

a. Running for SLC Council, District #3

III. Softball Games

a. Field people didn’t get back to Mark until today.

b. Cancel it? Practice before the Davis County game?

c. Mark will try to get a refund, and if not we will practice there.

d. Davis County Game

i. Sept. 19th 5-8pm

ii. Founder’s Park, Syracuse

iii. Justin, Anna, Curtis, TJ, Brett

IV. Wasatch County Party Executive Cmt. Meeting

a. Mark went. It was really, really, really good!

b. Mark thinks going to these meetings are the way to get out county chapters going.

i. They have 9 young people who would be willing to be contacts

ii. Suggested having a social event to get things going.

c. Where are we with our 9 in 09 goals?

i. 9 chapters will be basically impossible, but 9 strong contacts is

d. Rudy has a high school contact and will be recruiting people via a gov’t class. We should go with them to represent.

i. Also going to talk about getting a chapter at their UVU campus

ii. Mark will be going up there Oct. 5th and 6th Class starts at 7:55am. Heber.

1. Monday – Curtis, TJ

2. Tuesday – Anna, Mark

V. Beyond the Division

a. ACLU’s “Critical community discussion”

b. Sept. 25th @ UVU New Library, 1-3pm

c. Discussion re: equality

d. Pride in Our Community wants us to attend and help advertise by passing out flyers.

i. Contact Eric (via Mark) if you want to help: 801-809-6151

ii. Justin is volunteering!

VI. Next event

a. Fundraising idea

i. Spaghetti Dinner w/ Granato

1. He’ll provide the spaghetti and the venue (store on Redwood)

2. Sam, Peter, Nicole

3. Justin will call Rob to try to plan it

b. Bar Crawl

c. Convention

i. Use your contacts!

VII. New Media Committee

a. Going well, all schedules have been met, except the blog

b. Blog- need more authors

i. College prez’ as authors? Mark will talk to Carmen and Sarah to reach out to them

c. Send events to Curtis for posting

VIII. Stan Penfold – via Crystal

a. “He’s really cool”

IX. Financial update

a. Looking up!

b. $851.22 deposited

c. $1300 in commitments

d. Current balance is about $450 (including that recent deposit)

e. $5,000 owed to Justin as of 9/15

f. Mark and Justin will be contacting previous donors this week.

g. Board will be provided with an chart of current money and outstanding debts

h. Will discuss treasurer position next week

i. Justin and Mark both committed to doing 10 hrs/wk in fundraising.

j. We all need to recommit to fundraising

k. Mark will email fundraising letter out and get is the change for change flyers.

X. Round table

a. Mark – YP happy hour 9/17, 5-7, Green Pig. National Equality March in D.C., Oct. 11th, Mia wants people to meet here there. Turn Fair Boundary Petitions in and get more! Fill out board contact sheets.

b. Breanne – contact and follow through on important things. Asks those who committed to helping Lisa to do so in her race!

c. Juli – nice to have candidates, but limit their time please.

d. Crystal – next new media cmt will have website training on 9/30.

e. Curtis – submit blog post ideas to Curtis

f. Justin – Newsletter assignments due next week! Email to Crystal.

g. Chris – Miss Utah wants to come, Chris still isn’t clear why. Chris selling wristbands for Two Good Legs w/ details on the FB.

XI. Adjourn at 8:25pm.

See ya’ll Wednesday, the 16th, at 7:00pm!

Young Dems help at Utah Food Bank

2009-09-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday the Young Dems spent their evening at the Utah Food Bank. This is the first of many future service projects the Young Democrats will participate in in support President Obama's service initiative to help our community, state, and nation.

Here are a few pictures!

The Young Dems next service project will take place at The Road Home On Wednesday, September 30 from 7:00 to 8:00 PM. If you would like to participate, contact Justin Daniels at justin@youngdemsofutah.org.

If you would like more information on President Obama's service initiative, visit serve.gov.

Alert to YD's in No. Davis and So. Weber - Help Democratic Syracuse Mayoral Candidate Drop Literature this Saturday!

2009-09-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Syracuse Mayoral Candidate, Jamie Nagle, needs your help this Saturday, September 5th from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Volunteers will be dropping literature door-to-door.

They need as many walkers as they can get and although they should have enough drivers more are always welcome. All volunteers will receive water, a campaign t-shirt, free food, fresh air, exercise, and an opportunity to make a difference.

Jamie is a very strong candidate who is facing tough opposition. All signs point to success in clearing the primary and if they are fortunate enough to be the primary's leading candidate the odds for Jamie succeeding in the race for mayor vastly increase.

If you would like to learn more about Jamie please visit www.electjamienagle.com or contact William Shiflett, Campaign Manager, at 801-597-6971 or william.shiflett@gmail.com.

Meeting Minutes 9/2/09

2009-09-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

First things first, we understand that this blog has been...well...less than lively. But never fear! We have started a new media committee that will focus on making sure that you have greater access to what the Young Democrats of Utah are doing. Part of that is publishing our meeting minutes for your oh-so-beautiful eyes!

As always, these meeting minutes are brought to you by our fantastic secretary, Breanne Miller.

###

Young Democrats of Utah

Board Meeting

September 2, 2009

Present: Justin Daniels, Breanne Miller, Mark Hymas, Matt Lyon, Matt Miller, Carmen Rodriguez, Chris Wharton, Nick daskalas, Ofa Pivilli, Curtis Haring, TJ Ellerbeck, Jason Myers, Juli Huddleston

I. Welcome at 7:02pm

II. Sign good-bye cards for Kevin and Kristin

III. Chapter Chairs and Vice-Chairs

a. Carmen, Zach Roach and Molly Pace are the new folks

IV. Fair Boundaries Petition

a. Collecting signatures still

b. Justin has more if needed

c. Due by November 1^st

V. Organizing for America

a. Lunch at Sugarhouse Park – 12:00pm

b. The delivering signatures to Matheson’s office

VI. Political and Civic Engagement Conference

a. Sept. 25^th

b. $30 registration (includes 3 meals)

VII. Utah County Young Democrats Gala

a. CANCELED

VIII. Next event

a. Spaghetti Dinner

i. No updates…

b. Comedian

i. Justin will call Kansas to get their thoughts on his quality

c. Other ideas?

i. Municipal candidate volunteering

ii. Bowl-a-thon

iii. Ice Skating

iv. Fundraising ideas?

IX. Softball games

a. Davis County – Sept. 19^th

i. 5:00pm ish?

b. Young Repubs – didn’t answer Mark’s pleas for a date

i. Do we want to have a game there and do a community service event?

ii. Sept. 12^th – 4:30pm, Help out at

X. Newsletter

a. Top Ten - Justin

b. Smart Ass- Curtis

c. Call to Action – TJ

d. My Two Cents – Matt

e. VP’s Advice – Julie

f. President’s Letter

g. Caucus Updates

h. Due Sept. 16^th

XI. Service projects

a. Road Home

i. September 30^th, 7:00-8:00pm

XII. Board retreat

a. October 9-11

b. St. George

XIII. ACLU Event

a. Avenue’s House Party - 299 Federal Heights Circle

b. September 11^th 6:00pm-8:00pm

XIV. Roundtable

a. Chris – Join 2 Good Legs. He’ll bring wristbands to support the cause. Miss Utah wants to come to our meeting.

b. TJ – wants a financial update, please.

c. Curtis – The new media cmt. is going. If you want to help or you have ideas w/ blogging, twittering, etc. you should contact Curtis.

XV. Financial Update

a. The capitol didn’t cash our check, so we had an unexpected expense

b. Should have $1,000 in by next week

c. Fundraising calls will be made during work hours next week, so if you are comfortable making calls, be there!

d. Mark will be creating a fundraising plan to be discussed next week.

e. In 2 weeks we will revisit and if no substantial progress is made, Justin may go on unpaid leave

f. Mark will get everyone our fundraising letters to solicit people

XVI. Bee’s game on Sunday at 2:05pm? Last game?

XVII. Adjourn at 7:57pm

See ya’ll Wednesday, the 9^th, at 7:00pm!

###

If anyone has any questions about any particular itmes discussed, please feel free to ask them in the comments section.

Jason Chaffetz is Apparently Unaware of the Constitution

2009-07-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

Representative Chaffetz, I really don’t want to keep picking on you, but sometimes you deserve to be called on things.

You see, Representative Chaffetz is co-sponsoring a bill that would restrict birthright citizenship to the children where at least one parent is already a citizen. In other words the children of illegal immigrants would not be granted citizenship under the bill.

I am sure Representative Chaffetz is proud of his co-sponsor and feels that he is doing what is right for the nation; indeed Chaffetz says it is what most Americans want. One problem, there is this pesky little thing called The Constitution of the United States of America and, more specifically, the 14th Amendment. Here, let me point you to Section 1:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Do ya see that, Jason? All persons, not just the ones you want, get to become citizens of the United States if they are born here. I don’t know how much more plain the language can be - if you are born here and you have to obey the laws of our country, you are a citizen - no if, ands, or buts.

Furthermore, this will do nothing to prevent illegal immigration - do you honestly think illegal aliens are intimately familiar with the laws of our country? Do you think they know much of anything about immigration law when they come to this country? Do you think that their primary goal is to upset you and take away your job picking fruit and cleaning bathrooms?

Of course not - what they do know is that this country offers them something more, something better, indeed this country offers the American Dream.

Chaffetz says this will be difficult because of the Democratic Congress - this is a blatant grandstanding to make Dems look like evil obstructionists who want nothing more than to take away your jobs.

Jason, step away from this one. You are going to loose and you deserve to.

P.S. Fun fact: did you know that the 14th Amendment was ratified 141 years ago today? And you know why it was written? Because states were trying to deny newly freed slaves the right to participate in our system as free men. Just, ya know, something to think about.

Original post can be found at www.blueinredzion.com

Update from CNN on the Liberty College Young Dems chapter

2009-06-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Liberty University's College Democrats again will be recognized by the school after the two sides reached a compromise, school and club officials say.

Controversy ensued last month after the school announced it was revoking official recognition for the chapter, citing moral beliefs held by its parent organization. Specifically, Liberty was upset with the national Democrats' views supporting abortion rights and same-sex marriage.

In an agreement announced Tuesday, whose terms begin with the fall semester, Liberty will classify all political clubs as "unofficial" — meaning they will not receive any funding from the institution, but can use its facilities. According to the university's new policy, posted on its Web site, such groups will be able to use Liberty's name "as long as they make it clear they are not being endorsed by the university."

The college Democrats were never going to be banned from the campus. Now the school will treat the College Democrats and Republicans in the same manner.

"We had no policy governing unofficial clubs before all of this controversy," Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. said in a statement on the university's Web site. "The new policy will allow Liberty to protect its Christian mission and at the same time will allow the political clubs to achieve their objectives."

Groups will not be able to use of the facilities "…for purposes that are in conflict with the university's mission statement or doctrinal beliefs," the policy states.

Club officials, who worked with the university throughout the weekend hammering out the agreement, tell CNN they are pleased with the outcome.

"Our goal throughout this whole situation was to be put on the same playing field as our counterparts," College Democrats Secretary Jan Derwish says. "I believe it is a fair compromise."

"Things just worked out better than we could have hoped," incoming chapter president Joel Krautter tells CNN. "I am just appreciative of all the support," including emails and petitions from around the nation.

Check out the coverage YDU board members got this weekend!

2009-06-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

The Deseret News just can't get enough of our board! Saturday was a big day for media coverage:

President Mark Hymas was featured in an article on the State Organizing Convention, which can be found here.

And then our very own Crystal Young-Otterstrom was heavily quoted in an article on the annual Human Rights Campaign Gala and Silent Auction! In addition to her responsibilities with YDU, Crystal also serves as Diversity co-chairwoman for the HRC's Utah Steering Committee. We're so proud of Crystal and all our members who further the cause of equality for all in Utah!

And, at the summit of our media mountain, former YDU president Matt Lyon's back is featured at around 1:55 in the video segment of the KSL coverage of Convention. His red YDU shirt was very fetching.

How YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook will Change the World

2009-06-21T19:25:00.000-07:00

Iranian College Student's computer, destroyed by militia forces

The tumultuous times in Iran are of major importance to our world, and these events do deserve their own recognition. But once the dust settles, for better or for worse, one thing will become clear: this was the internets first example of its true potential.

Over the past week a new phrase has entered my vernacular “cyberwar.” True, I have heard the phrase before or two-bit sci-fi movies, but I had never actually heard it used in real world terms. Indeed, BoingBoing’s “Cyberwar guide for Iran Elections” may prove to be the opening salvo for a new generation of intelligence and counter intelligence.

In many ways the Green Revolution is a digital revolution. Pro and anti-Ahmadinejad are using tactics similar to overt warfare online – blocking access to strategic pro sites, cutting off or reducing bandwidth (read: supplies) to anti sites, tracking (and yes killing) anti blog writers, and ambushing pro supporters through communication. In short the information superhighway looks less like a road and more like the trenches.

And that is the key - this battle in particular, and struggles in the future, will place information management, disinformation, counter attacks, and media blitzes at its forefront. Sadly, weaponry will still be a part of these disputes, but as the internet becomes more and more integrated, it will be the international community – and more specifically the international citizenry, that decides who is right and who is wrong.

Today, as it comes out that Iran has opened fire on its own people, the Pandora’s Box effect follows soon behind. The simple fact of the matter is that once something is posted, it only spreads. Indeed, that is what the internet is about, the spreading of information – no matter how insignificant or Earth-shattering. We may often mock stupid YouTube clips or Tweets, but, today, we see why the internet is so important.

None of us knows what will happen to the people or government of Iran, but the otherwise tame tool of the internet has shown its teeth. This is the first internal struggle that has had direct fighters from all over the world, where the internet culture is taking active steps to protect those on the front line, feeding everyone vital information. Indeed, information is the only true power the masses have and, in the end, we have seen that governments really do work only through the consent of the governed.

Original post can be found at www.blueinredzion.com

An Open Letter to Republicans

2009-06-15T12:29:00.001-07:00

Dear Republicans,

I know that you guys are in bad shape; I mean you guys are grasping at everything you possibly can to make Obama and Democrats look bad. And I get it, I really do: you hate the agenda liberals are pushing now that they are in power – but you guys really need to chill out and regroup. It is just becoming sad.

I want you to think back a year ago, and I want you to think about the term TOTUS. Did you know what that meant? Of course not, no one knew that it stood for Teleprompter of the United States. As big of a political dork as I am, I must admit that I had to look it up, and I gotta say guys, it is amazingly underwhelming. Wow, Obama reads from a teleprompter – that is your attack.

Or lets take the flip side, you want to call us the Democrat-Socialist party. I mean I don’t even know where to being on this one. O.K. a) socialism is an economic system while Democrats are a political ideology, b) it is not like us Democrats are giddy about this economic situation and want the economy to fail so that we can implement socialism, and c) you assume that socialism is a derogatory word to the youth vote you so desperately need to win back in order to win elections.

Oh, and did I mention the fact that the de facto leaders of your party are Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, not your chairman? You are letting these guys dictate the debate, (see points above as an example) and you are getting creamed. Now look, Keith Olberman and Rachel Maddow are very liberal and tow the party line well – but no liberal thinks that they are the “true voice” of the party. Clamp down on these talking heads as fast as you can. We all see the hypocrisy they spew.

To be fair, I understand why you are using these scare tactics – I mean they did work for a good decade. Liberals are coming for you guns, take away Americas belief in God, make you get married to another man before marrying your dog; oh and lets not forget that terrorists will kill you in your sleep if you don’t plaster your pickup truck with “these colors don’t run” and “God bless America” bumper stickers (you know, right above your truck-nuts). But it is not working any more.

When I was a kid, I used to sneak five dollars from my mom’s purse and go buy candy – and you know what? It worked for a while. But my mother got wise and the strategy started to fail rapidly. Once I recognized this, you know what I did? Not try that strategy anymore! I said I was sorry and would ask permission to have a kit-kat.

And I think that is really the point of this rant. Republicans, if you want to win you have to apologize for the past eight years and try to make amends - going after Obama has not really put a dent in his 65 percent approval rating. Remember when you guys used to be all about small government? Perhaps you should talk about that some more, I dunno, I am just thinking out loud. In order to win back people, you can’t just appeal to your doctor killing base (yes I went there) - you have to show that you are not all wing-nuts.

Long story short: get your act together, I don’t even want to argue with you guys, there is no sport in it – I just want to pat you on the head and give you a cookie.

Original post can be found at www.blueinredzion.com

Gay Pride 2009

2009-06-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

It was a great and busy weekend for the Young Dems, we participated in this weekends Gay Pride celebrations. Volunteering at the soda booth in addition to having our own booth at the festival, but the highlight was definitely the rainy Sunday morning parade. I took the liberty of documenting the day's events. A brave few started out the morning by arriving at 7am to construct two massive balloon arch's!

Our float looked great with all the balloons and we couldn't have done it without all your help!

We had a great turn out of members to walk with us and as the parade got closer the downpour definitely began to get more intense...the crowed loved the blow pops we were handing out and at a point I definitely began to accept that I was going to get wet and I embraced the downpour of rain!

The end of parade picture the young dems wet, tired and satisfied after the parade!

A few more pics from the Festival after the parade, just look at those rockin tshirts!

The day's events were great, thanks again for everyone who came out and showed support!

Kristin Dobbin on the impending Herbert administration

2009-06-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

The next six months will quite possibly be painful ones, I am talking of course, of the reign of our soon to be Governor Gary Herbert. When current Governor Huntsman is confirmed as the US ambassador to China he will be succeeded by Lt. Gary. Governor Gary Herbert until a November 2009 special election determines a more permanent successor. But what does this mean for some long-term progressive agenda items supported by Governor Huntsman?

The most damning of all reversals I foresee in the immediate future are those having to do with climate change and combating climate change. As we all know Huntsman has been supportive of such causes. Herbert not so much… the fact that he doesn’t believe in human-caused global warming is not too promising. So far, Herbert has said that he does not plan to pull us out of the bi-partisan cap and trade program, however seeing as I am naturally skeptical, I am not too sure.

Another possible deviation could come in the form of a starkly different policy regarding same-sex marriage and equality than the one held by our current Governor Huntsman. It is well known that Huntsman supported the Common Grounds initiative and civil unions (however I am skeptical about his true level of commitment to this cause). Herbert on the other hand, has already indicated that in terms of this issue, his administration will be shifting to a more conservative view.

The good news is that with only six months until election, massive overhauls will be difficult and with a more progressive pool of voters in Utah than ever before, hopefully Herbert will think twice about excessive conservative policy changes before a probable election bid. But looking at the two above issues is a good reminder that in order to avoid sweeping changes in these and other categories, we as Democrats, must elect a Democratic governor in November 2009. With stimulus funds flowing into the state and support from our nation's capitol, we need to, as a state, take the opportunity to move towards a more sustainable and fair minded society, which will only be done effectively without people like Herbert and Shurtleff in the highest office of the state.

- Kristin Dobbin

Catching Up!

2009-05-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

YDU has had a very busy spring! It's convention season, so we're on the road and traveling to different counties as we build toward the state convention on June 20!

Most recently, we traveled to the Summit County convention, where Mark had the opportunity to address the crowd and talk about what we're doing this year and what our vision of the future is.

The Young Dems have also had a presence at fundraisers and benefit dinners for groups doing important work in our community. Most recently, we attended the ACLU annual benefit and watched proudly as our own Kristin Dobbin, president of the West High School Young Democrats, won a Youth Activist scholarship from the Utah ACLU chapter. Rachel Maddow's speech was obviously kind of a letdown after all of Kristin's glory, but somehow we bore up and managed to pay attention.

And if you ran or walked this year's Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure, then you probably saw the YDU contingent, either at the pre-registration table, the finish line crew (we were the ones with the bananas!) or at strike down.

The finish line crew! Not pictured is Curtis Haring, who did breakdown duties.

And we're not done! We have a plethora (that's right, plethora) of activities coming up for June!
Get out your calendars:

May 30: Strut Your Mutt with YDU!
June 7: YDU has a float in the annual Pride Parade! Come march with us!
June 13: YDU's Day of Service at the Wasatch Community Gardens from 10-2! Sponsored by YDU's Young Professionals Caucus
June 19: JJ Dinner!
June 20: State Convention at Murray High School
June 27: YDU's Annual BBQ

Visit our facebook page (see the link on the right if you're not already a fan) for more information about each of these events as it becomes available, and we hope to see you at a few (or all!)

Also, because we know our YDU members are an intrepid bunch, and the summer travel season is upon us, check out the changes to the US border crossing requirements here. They take effect June 1, 2009!

OK, Team YDU. Ready...and...break!

Earth Day and Modern Environmentalism

2009-04-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don’t know, today is Earth Day. I remember, as a child, schools would take this opportunity to talk about things like not letting the water run when you brush your teeth, turning off the lights when you leave the room, and, oddly enough, why we should walk or bike to get around (how else did kids get around when their moms did not want to drive!?).

But, as both I and Earth Day get older, I see the value in what those tree-hugging hippies were trying to pound into our head – it is not so much that we change our quality of life, it is that we are aware of our impact and hope that we choose to do the environmentally friendly thing.

So, we flash-forward to today. I drive a fuel efficient scooter to work and I want my next car to be more environmentally friendly than 35 miles per gallon. The computer I am typing on took advantage of recycled plastic, a fact that entered into my purchasing of the product. My breakfast in a few weeks will come from the farmers market so that there is a smaller carbon footprint to ship the food. And, naturally, I turn off the lights and don’t let the water run at home.

Now, I do not feel that I have any lower a quality of life than my parents did at my age. What I do feel is that my lifestyle is dramatically different than theirs. For better or for worse, my generation is keenly aware of the issues facing our Earth.

In the end, I know that much of the damage will be done. But what I also know is that we are on the right course to at least mitigate the problem. I feel that, thanks to the progress made over the past 30 years, we are entering a new area of practical environmentalism that will have as big of an impact on our lives as the industrial revolution.

And some food for thought.

On the topic of tea-bagging and historical accuracy: A rant

2009-04-18T23:07:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'll come right out with it: I thought the tea parties on Wednesday were hilarious. I laughed, even as they added time to my commute, snarled traffic, and oh yeah, even though the majority of the protesters were targeting a president that I did everything short of offering up a blood sacrifice to get elected. Why? Oh, so many reasons.

Here's the thing. I like I good protest, no matter what side it's on. I love that we listen, that the protests make the news and that for a bit, at least, we talk about the issue. But that was the thing about the tea parties on April 15. Everybody seemed to be protesting something different, and some seemed to be protesting for the sake of protesting. Newt Gingrich, I'm looking at you. No, Wednesday was about...uhh...taxes. And...uh...government spending, too. And...uh...government in general. And stimulus. And bailouts. And...and...socialism. And there were all sorts of signs about mortgaging our children and Chairman Obama, and they were clever. But it didn't make any sense.

This April 15 tax bonanza was born of an unholy alliance between two parties that could not be stranger bedfellows if they tried. The idea of having a tea party was Libertarian in origin, one of Ron Paul's campaign stunts that caught fire with his followers. They are protesting taxation, as enumerated in Mr. Paul's campaign promise which is, best as I can tell, to do away with the IRS in favor of a tariff system. Then the Republicans jumped on the boat, which brought in the media attention. FOX News fanned the flames, and the talking heads on CNN and MSNBC, simply by virtue of their befuddled amusement - Rachel Maddow literally giggled through a segment on it - brought it to the attention of a wider audience. But the Republicans weren't protesting taxes, they were banging the fiscal responsibility drum, complaining about deficit spending and stimulus money, and conveniently ignoring, as usual, that their president ran up the deficit in the first place, and that the original bailout package, the mismanaged one that allowed AIG employees to make out like bandits, came in the waning days of his presidency.

Doing away with the tax code and reigning in government spending are not the same issue, and are barely even congruent. And then toss in turf wars among protesters, political and television personalities soapboxing about all manner of things, and Rick Perry threatening the succession of Texas, and the result was a muddled mess of soggy tea bags, security scares, and accusations that the liberal media elite was, yet again, chuckling at the expense of the working man. Oh, and at convention today, I listened as Naz attempted to delicately explain the meaning of the phrase "tea-bagging" to an elderly woman entering our prize drawing. You know. The original meaning. Awkward. But hilarious.

Adding another layer of sublime amusement is the history factor. You see, as any fifth grader can tell you, the Boston Tea Party wasn't about reforming a tax code or deficit spending, or even the size of government, really. It was about being egregiously taxed by a government in which we had no say. It was about asking why, exactly, England felt it could continuously screw the colonies by levying ridiculously high taxes and using the revenue to make sure colonial leaders were kept away from the influence of their constituents, and it was a fundamental question of liberty. Were the colonies "grown up" enough to govern themselves, or did they still require the stifling support of Mother England? Oh yeah, and it was in response to a tariff. That's some irony for you right there, Mr. Paul.

And yes, I'm certain that the Libertarian elements of the protest would say that the situation has not changed, and we've only ex hanged one system of repression for another. But come on. Every state has two senators, and a handful of representatives. We have popular elections for two of the three branches of government. The only citizens who have a right to complain about taxation without full representation are the residents of D.C., and the state of Minnesota.

England's response to the Boston Tea Party - the legit one - was, by the way, was to blockade Boston's port until the East India Company was paid for all the tea that was destroyed. The other colonies had to send emergency relief because the port was the only shipping artery for supplies into the Massachusetts colony. President Obama's reaction to this year's Tea Party? He acknowledged the tax code was outdated, and pledged to work on it. So, you know, that's the same.

As for everyone carrying a sign or wearing a t-shirt accusing Obama of promoting socialism or communism? China routinely jails activists and protesters without a trial or a term limit. People are taken, and never heard from again. Cuba tortures dissidents, and bans individual ownership of computers. In Russia, a democracy teetering, prominent oppositional voices are assassinated, and resulting trials are a joke. Some of the countries that include references to socialism in their constitutions include Syria, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Libya. So, protester friends, be very, very careful which terms you throw around, because you are allowed to gather freely, state your oppositional views, and nobody kills your family. The fact that you wore that shirt, marched with that sign, or marched at all without ending up in a detention cell for an indefinite term is a pretty surefire indication you live in a democracy.

Now, to those Republicans concerned about deficit spending. Well, you should be. It's bad. But what's worse is a prolonged depression that keeps people out of work and stashing money under mattresses. Two words, friends: Herbert Hoover. His administration tried several tactics to pull the country out of the depression, including protectionist measures (Buy American, anyone?) that backfired as foreign countries taxed American products to offset the resulting costs, favored "volunteer" based solutions that pieced together agreements by willing business and state interests over legislative action, and pre-Depression tax cuts that caused deficits and resulted in an actual tax increase in 1932. In the waning days of his presidency, in desperation, he put forth infrastructure investment packages and public works programs. These were adopted and expanded upon by FDR as part of his New Deal, which is widely credited for finally pulling the US out of the Great Depression. There are some parallels to be had here, and pay no mind to the glaring obviousness of it all. Hoover's action items are largely the same as those proposed or amended to bills by the GOP now. Protectionist measures, tax cuts, and an unwillingness to spend. And there's a reason Obama's stimulus package was called the New New Deal. It has been proven successful in the only testing ground that even remotely approaches what we're facing now.

We should all learn from our mistakes and our history.

Also? Probably a good idea to run key phrases through the Urban Dictionary. Just in case their vernacular meaning is to suck on someone's testicles.

If you think everything was fine at the legislature...

2009-04-06T22:11:00.000-07:00

Last week, my Mother lost her job. Why should you, most likely a young reader, care? Well, don’t worry about me or my family; we’ll be fine. What you should worry about are your children. You see, after my mother retired from 20+ years of teaching kindergarten, she went to work as a mentor. She helps teachers who are in their first three years of the profession adapt to the difficulties of starting up. Davis County School District’s mentoring program was a model program; legislators cited it again and again as what the rest of the state should be doing.

In case you haven’t heard, Utah has a big problem with teachers. Some (Republican legislators) would try and tell you that it’s because they are lazy and overpaid. In reality, it’s because they’re overstressed with large class sizes, under-funded, and under-paid. Therefore, according to a 2006 Utah State Office of Education study, one-third new teachers left the profession in three years, and one half in five years. Well, some (Republican legislators) would tell you that just because all teachers are women and they like to have babies. There’s some truth in that; my mother took some time off teaching when me two sisters and I were born, not going back until I was five. But, if you’re like me, that sounds inherently sexist, and unfair to children too.

So what’s the solution? Well, some (Republican legislators) would try and tell you that we should just let anyone teach. It’s easy! No need to use proven mentoring programs, provide alternative routes to licensure, or maybe (just maybe) pay teachers a living wage, reduce class sizes, and simply build more schools.

No, no need to do that. It’s just our children.

Don’t worry about me, and my Mother doesn’t want you to worry about her either. She will keep working until the end of the school year. That’s when Davis County School District, and every school district across the state, loses their quality teaching funds. For some school districts, that just meant that they wouldn’t have to cut classroom days, though that still may happen. For Davis School District, the legislature’s cuts meant that the Mentoring Program is gone.

Unfortunately, my mother knows of some teachers who really needed her help, and were depending on it for the next two years. She knows that at least one may quit or move to a better paying, better funding state. That’s what makes my mother sad; it makes me angry.

So, next time you hear about how great this past legislative session was, how easy it was, how they actually adjourned before midnight, look deeper. I hope we hear more of about the problems that will come from a legislature and a governor who decided that a boom-and-bust economy is more important than one that sustained by an educated citizenry. But I guess that’s why they do it; couldn’t get re-elected if it were any other way.

Are You Interested in Getting More Involved with Utah Democrats?

2009-03-31T23:21:00.000-07:00

Though you might not be able to tell under all the piles of snow, spring has sprung in Utah. And spring is county organizing convention time! Salt Lake County's is coming up on April 18, with the politisauce dinner the night of the 17th, with Pat Bagley!

Not in Salt Lake County? You can find a list of county conventions here.

Now, you might be wondering why you'd want to devote half a Saturday to a political convention on an electoral off-year. Well, friends, it's because organizing conventions are fun, too! Organizing conventions select the party leadership for the next two years, which will include the 201o midterm elections. So, they have ballots and voting, just like a nominating convention. There are caucus meetings, just like a nominating convention. And the Women's Democratic Club will be selling juice, coffee, and baked goods. And the Young Dems will be there, caucusing, running a table, and raffling off a pretty sweet prize. How can you lose? Answer: You can't.

Salt Lake County Organizing Contention - April 18, 2009

Cottonwood High School

5715 S 1300 E

Salt Lake City, UT 84121

Registration open - 8:30 AM

Caucus Meetings Begin - 9:00 AM

Convention Call to Order & Welcome - 10:00 AM

Expected Conclusion 1:30 PM

Drop by the table! We're looking forward to seeing you!

9 in 09!

2009-03-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

On this snowy Spring day, I'm sure you're just aching (like my leg, but in the good way) to know what YDU is up to. Or perhaps you aren't - either way.

YDU is strategizing and developing the 9 in 09' program. This program seeks to create 9 new county chapters throughout the state. And we're not just taking the easy way out, YDU is going big or going home! Here are the 9 counties we'll be focusing on:

Cache
Carbon
Davis
Grand
Salt Lake
Summit
Utah
Washington
Weber

Basically, what this means is that YDU is expanding out of Salt Lake City and its neighbors. This will allow YD's to take leadership in their counties and build up YDU throughout the state. The YDU Executive Board will be splitting up and helping build the county chapters, working with you every step of the way!

More information will be coming soon as progress is made. For now, if you have any ideas of want to help out, contact Justin (the YDU Executive Director at Justin@youngdemsofutah.org) or feel free to comment here. We need volunteers, ideas, and contacts throughout these counties and every little bit will help.

Thanks everyone!

Breanne

YDU Secretary

What are the Young Dems of Utah up to?

2009-03-21T23:30:00.000-07:00

The Young Dems of Utah have had a jam-packed week of activism and activities! It was so awesome, in fact, that words may not fully express all the fun and general awesomeness that was had. Luckily, your intrepid YDU President, Mark Hymas, had his trusty camera at the ready to capture it all on film.

Now, our week had its regular dose of awesome with the executive board meeting on Wednesday. It was a fun-filled hour of planning, organizing, and engagement. So much so that we forgot to take pictures. Jealous? Don't be! The board meetings are open to the public and happen every Wednesday at the Democratic State Party Headquarters, 6 P.M.

Thursday night, a group of board members attended The Inclusion Center's Humanitarian Awards Dinner. The Young Democrats of Utah would like to congratulation all of the award recipients for their outstanding service to our community and dedication to the cause of social justice. Among those award recipients? Our illustrious Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr., First Lady Mary Kaye Huntsman, Karen Shepherd, founder of the Karen Shepherd Fund and a longtime supporter of YDU, and our very own Aaron Curtis, GLBT Liason for the Young Democrats of Utah. We'd like to congratulate all of these very deserving award winners for their hard work and all the time spent making our community a place of peace and justice. And for taking pictures with us, so we can post them on our blog.

The Governor was gracious enough to speak with us for a few minutes about our opposition to
SB 16.

The Young Dems with Senator Luz Robles and award winning former US Representative Karen Shepherd.

Our own amazing Aaron Curtis, and his award. It's glass, and kind of hard to see. But it's there! Congratulations, Aaron, and keep up the good work! We're so proud of you!

Friday night was the Young Dems' Legislative Hangover 2009 at Squatters! We celebrated the end of another session, ate our weight in Squatters pizza, and heard from key Democratic legislators including Senator Ross Romero, Representative Christine Johnson, Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck, and Representative Jennifer Seelig! Many thanks to Squatters, our elected Democrat officials, and to all of you who came and got your politic on with us!

Representative Johnson delivered an inspiring call to arms from atop the table at the Hangover.

And on Saturday, we all sat around, bereft of YDU activities, and cried.
Or maybe that was just me.

Hope to see you out and about at future YDU events!

2009-03-16T16:40:00.001-07:00

Feeling Down? Tired? Headache? Not feeling too good?

Sounds like a Legislative Hangover to me. But no need to worry as the session is over and YDU is going to celebrate our successes and commiserate our failures.

Join YDU this Friday for our annual Legislative Hangover & End-of-Session Party

Where: Squatters 147 West Broadway SLC

When: Friday March 20th 7:00 PM

Space is limited so arrive early.

Want to help YDU make a difference? Join our CHANGE FOR CHANGE program by becoming a monthly donor.

YDU's Legislative Reflection

2009-03-16T11:15:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are again at the end of another legislative session in Utah. The 2009 General Session came to a close shortly before 11:30 p.m. on March 12, 2009. It was fairly routine, really. There were abortion bills, immigration bills, industry lobbyist-sponsored bills, bills about what you can’t do inside a moving vehicle, bills for and against the nuclear waste boogeyman, and, in what seems be a new annual tradition, Senator Chris Buttars made a complete ass out of himself and everyone who voted for him. Oh, and a $320 million dollar budgetary shortfall for Utah in the upcoming fiscal year and $171 million for the current.

Recessions are funny things. They are inherently and obviously bad, as we all know painfully well by now, but we keep being told they’re also catalysts for great change and great opportunity. And it really is starting to look like that’s true. New Mexico’s Legislature took a vote this week and, if Governor Bill Richardson signs the legislation, it will become the fifteenth state to abolish the use of the death penalty. Why now? The moral discussion of capital punishment aside, the fiscal impact note attached to the legislation is clear: “According to the Public Defender Department, abolishing the death penalty would save New Mexico millions of dollars.” So, what opportunities did our great recession bring to the Beehive State?

Bars! That’s right, friends! Drink up, me hearties! As covered in Forbes, The New York Times, USA Today, and The China Post, private clubs and memberships in Utah will be very shortly going the way of the dinosaur (for those of us not in the Sarah Palin School of Evolutionary Thought). The Great Spirits-ual Miracle of 2009 was brought about by an assortment of strange bedfellows, including our CEO governor, a Legislature tasked with trimming hundreds of millions from the budget, a $6 billion tourism industry, receptive state alcohol control departments, commissions, and councils, and the cries of a long oppressed drinking population.

Also to the good, the reform strengthens DUI laws, which will keep us all safer on Utah’s roads. Trade-offs include scanning of IDs for all bar patrons who look to be under the age of 35, the Big Brother-esque storing of that information in a database for a week, and the newest incarnation of the “Zion Curtain” for restaurants in which the sight of enterprising young Utahns will be shielded from the bottles of alcohol in the bar area of a restaurant, thereby preventing them from going straight to the bottle of Jack as soon as they can get off their bottles of milk.

Even as we wildly celebrated the strengthening of our hospitality industry in these tough times, the Young Democrats of Utah were also following six bills through the session. Three we were for, and three we were against. Starting with against:

The rule with scorpions is that the smaller they are, the deadlier the sting. S.B. 24 is barely three pages long in its amended form. Sponsored by Senator Peter Knudson (R – Brigham City), it deletes a line of the Utah Election Code stating that counties of the first class (i.e. with populations over 700,000 people), must provide early voting locations distributed proportionately according to population. In English: each senate district must have an early voting location for every election. This bill would make it legal for a County Clerk to decide that Salt Lake County only needs 1 (one) early voting location for the county, which is about 808 square miles in total area. Hats off to you, Senator Knudson, for passing your blatant attempt at voter disenfranchisement.

SB 24 : Passed

Next up, we have the Abortion Bill Amendments. HB 90, sponsored in the House by Representative Paul Ray (R – Clearfield) and in the Senate by our favorite deposed Majority Leader, Senator Curtis Bramble. This clarifies the state’s abortion laws and penalties. The definition of legal abortion pretty much dovetails with the 1973 US Supreme Court definition of what a woman is constitutionally entitled to from the case Roe v Wade. The fun starts, though when a doctor performing an abortion on a woman does not meet these requirements and is, according to the bill, guilty of killing a child - a third degree felony.

Morality again pushed aside, this is a fiscally irresponsible bill, and guaranteed to be challenged, likely all the way up the food chain to the Utah Supreme Court, if not beyond. All of this sucks up taxpayer dollars over legislation that is, at best, vague and irresponsible. There are too many questions left in this bill for such a complicated topic so personal that it resists any kind of codification. My feeling is that very few doctors will find their patient’s situation fitting cleanly within these requirements. Good thing the Legislature also had the foresight to create an abortion litigation fund for court battles to overturn Roe in HB 114. That bill’s sponsor, Representative Kenneth Sumison (R – American Fork), had first wanted to allow the Legislature to actually appropriate your tax dollars into the fund. He restricted it to private entity donations after, I’m assuming, someone told him we were in a recession and tax dollars are in short supply. I have a few suggestions about where all this money he’s raising to flip the Supreme Court the bird could go: sex education programs that are actually educational, substance abuse programs, domestic abuse shelters, and law enforcement. By increasing education on how not to get pregnant, supporting woman caught up in abuse or abusive situations, and using the criminal justice system to prevent and prosecute sex crimes, you’d reduce the number of abortions in the state safely and Constitutionally. That is what he’s gunning for…right?

HB 90: Passed

SB 16 has a good heart. It seeks to eliminate gang violence by granting police the right to command a private citizen to leave a designated zone should the officer think there is cause to believe he or she is or in the company of someone involved in gang activity, and arrest them if they fail to depart on command. Failure to obey is a class B misdemeanor. What’s the hang up? It’s a walking First Amendment violation case. Sponsored by Representative Jon Greiner (R – Ogden), it specifies that officers must have completed a training courses on gang identification and the First Amendment right to peaceably assemble. But this is legislation that is essentially based upon profiling, which is famously unreliable. It takes just one law-abiding citizen in the wrong place and wearing the wrong colors to spawn a multi-million dollar freedom of association and assembly case. In fact, as Breanne noted earlier in this blog, the United States Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a bill with nearly identical language and absolutely identical goals that was passed by the Illinois Legislature. Why are we spending the money on an expensive legal fight that Chicago already lost? We can all agree that gang violence is a problem that threatens everyone, ruins lives, and that needs to be addressed - soon. But the hallmark of United States of America is its commitment to the balancing act between the rule of order that keeps us safe, and the rule of law that keeps us free. There are no shortcuts or exceptions when it comes to our civil liberties, even when it’s done with the best of intentions.

SB 16: Passed

Shifting to the bills we supported, HB 267, sponsored by Representative Christine Johnson ( D – Salt Lake City) was one of the Common Ground Initiative bills that was squashed in committee. It would have prevented, among other things, housing or employment discrimination based upon sexual orientation, encouraged the County Fire Civil Service System to recruit based upon merit and disregard sexual orientation as a criteria for candidacy, and added sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of covered classes for the Antidiscrimination and Labor Advisory Council. Its fiscal note says that the bill, if enacted, might require a $4,000 appropriation for attorney costs, starting in 2009. $4,000 to ensure that discrimination protection covers all citizens of our state. $4,000 which the Attorney General’s office states that it could cover within its existing resources. Its defeat is a mean-spirited jab at tax-paying and law abiding citizens who deserve far better from the elected officials who supposedly represent them.

HB 267: Failed

HB 93 would have created a State Ethics Commission. Sponsored by Phil Riesen (D – Milcreek), it would be a bipartisan group with appointments apportioned to the governor, the president of the Senate, and the leaders of both caucuses in each house.

Astonishingly, the House Ethics Committee sent the bill back to Rules without ever considering it, where it died. The leadership evidently felt that it was doing a fine job of policing itself, thank you very much, and why are you looking over here anyway? First of all, it’s not as if the Legislature has a spotless record of ethical conduct. There have been several high profile ethical scandals ranging from improperly accepting gifts to accusations of bribery and election tampering. In this case, the old adages “the innocent have nothing to fear” applies. If the Legislature is so capable of policing itself when it comes to ethics, then what’s the harm of having a commission to double-check?

HB 93: Failed

Now, lest you be feeling discouraged, our bright spot is SB 25, sponsored by Senator Peter Knudson (R – Brigham City). You might remember him from earlier. This nifty bill allows you to register to vote online, using the signature you gave for your official state ID. This, friends, is inspired. As we continue to grow our base of young supporters, it is increasingly vital that the means and methods of political engagement safely keep up with the technological advances. This bill is a gift for the technologically savvy, citizens with mobility issues, and those of us who work to register voters for campaigns. Kudos to Senator Knudson for mobilizing technology to increase civic involvement, and the Utah Legislature for passing it 58-14 in the House and 22-5 in the Senate.

SB 25: Passed

The YDU Legislative Hangover is coming up on March 20 at Squatters, and we hope to see you there!

In the meantime, as we look back over our victories and defeats, it serves us well to remember this line from Senator Ted Kennedy’s seminal 1980 convention speech, echoed again this past election: “The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream will never die." Keep on fighting the good fight, YDU-ers! And remember, at the end of the day, there’s always these new-fangled bar things for celebration or commiseration!

Our Tax dollars at work!!

2009-03-06T23:14:00.000-08:00

We've Come So Far, But We've Got So Far To Go...

2009-02-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

We knew it wouldn't last long. November 2008 represented progress for Utah Democrats: President Obama carried Salt Lake County (albeit by a small margin), we won races against several prominent Republicans including Greg Curtis, Carlene Walker, and LaVar Christensen, and for the first time in the Salt Lake County Council's history the Democrats won majority. Despite the headway made this last election cycle, events on the Hill this week illustrated just how much work needs to be done.

First, the remaining Common Ground Initiative bills were shot down (and if you ask Senator Chris Buttars he "killed every one of them"). The bills didn't even get out of committee despite the LDS Church's post-Prop 8 statement supporting legal protections for GLBT people, the backing of a popular Republican governor, and polls showing that the majority of Utahns agree that GLBT people should receive some legal protection. Thanks to the Eagle Forum and the Sutherland Institute, the debate centered on marriage -- even though these bills had nothing to do with marriage. Even with the faulty logic, the bills died and the sanctity of marriage is protected. But don't worry -- even in 2009 someone in Utah can still be fired for being gay.

Then, to cap of the week, and to no one's surprise, Senator Buttars made inane , inflammatory , and insulting remarks about pretty much anyone who isn't a white heterosexual. The comments were absolutely repulsive for an elected official. As a result, he lost his position on the Senate Judiciary Committee and several organizations are calling for his resignation, and yet he refuses to apologize.

This week's events just prove how much work needs to be done and what a difference we can make as Young Democrats. I think I speak for many young people when I say that President Obama reinvigorated my passion for politics. He has shown how once person can impact the world. Through of his inspiring nature, he mobilized millions of people. Millions calling for change. During the next four years I am confident that we will see that dramatic change -- even here in Utah. However, we cannot stand idly by. As corny as it sounds, we must make our voices heard, and not just during the legislative session and the campaign season, but every single day, because together we can change Utah... and maybe even the world.

Heads up - YDU at the Capitol TODAY!

2009-02-19T07:16:00.000-08:00

YDU will be headed to the capitol today to do some much needed lobbying! Although several of our bills have already been dealt with, there are two pressing issues we're focusing on today.

So, if you can take a long lunch or a really long coffee break, join us today!

11:00 - Lobby against HB 90 - Criminal Abortion Bill

12:30 - Deliver a letter to Governor Huntsman against SB 16 - Prohibited Gang Activity

If you have trouble finding us, call Curtis at 891-5507.

Here's the quick version of the YDU stance on SB 16:

The Utah Legislature recently passed SB 16, Prohibited Gang Activity, which purports to create the "offense of failure to disperse from loitering in a public place by groups that include gang members." Although this sounds like a potentially reasonable idea, the major problem with this bill is that is has already been found to be unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court. InCity of Chicago v. Morales, the Supreme Court overturned a law that is nearly identical to the law recently passed here in Utah. The Supreme Court found that such a law is unconstitutional vague because it fails to provide fair notice of the prohibited conduct and also fails to establish minimal guidelines for enforcement. Beyond the legal precedent, we are concerned about any law that increases the ability of law enforcement to profile people, particularly young people, based on race, class or other unjust considerations. In the future we request that the Legislature considers the ramifications of passing a law that will inevitably lead to litigation.

Hope to see you all later today!

Y.D.U. on the A.I.R. (ok, air does not stand for anything)

2009-02-10T19:32:00.000-08:00

Listen to YDU talk about the bills we are tracking.

Click here to listen.

You representin'?

2009-01-30T10:53:00.000-08:00

Kudos to Scotty Riding - he has put together the best interface I have ever seen for finding out who your state legislators are. It is clean, it is smooth, and man, I can only imagine how much work this took!

Click here to learn who your legislators are!

How a bill becomes a law - College Edition

2009-01-30T09:59:00.000-08:00

With the legislative session fully upon us, you will begin to hear terms such as “the bill was circled” or “the law passed committee” in the paper. This kind of stuff is far beyond the School House Rock episode that explains the basics of lawmaking - no there is no cynical lines about a lobbyist paying a representative at step three - just the simple (though expanded) process.

We begin at the beginning. A legislator (either a Senator or Representative) must propose a law, no one else can. They can either have a bill fully written, have a bill that is written but does not have any way of paying for it, or they could have a bill title alone (this third type is called a “boxcar” as in an empty train boxcar).

Once a bill is written it is read for the first time on the floor of either the House or the Senate, depending on who actually wrote the bill - this consists of saying the bill number and title. This is considered the bills “first reading.” From there the Speaker of the House (for bills written by Representatives) or the President of the Senate (for bills written by Senators) sends every bill to a committee - usually (but not always) to a committee related to a bill. These committees focus on things such has transportation or health care, just to name a few.

The committee is the first place a bill is tested. The bill is heard by anywhere from eight to 18 legislators and they decide if the bill should continue to be heard. As you can imagine this is one of the most critical moments for a bill as four to nine legislators can kill a bill at this moment. These committees are generally stacked in the favor of the ruling party as the leaders of the chambers choose who sits on what committee.

Assuming a bill makes it out it is read for a second time on the floor of whichever chamber. In the House, they simply reread the bill title and name; in the Senate they reread the bill and then vote on the bill for the first time.

In the House the bill is generally allowed to be read for a third time. This third time is when the whole House finally votes on the bill for the first (and last) time. If the bill passes the House, it is sent to the Senate where the bill needs to be picked up by a Senate sponsor - no sponsor? Well the bill dies there.

Going back to the Senate now. Assuming the bill is read for a second time and passes, it is generally allowed to be read for a third time and, again, the Senate will vote on the bill to see if they will pass the bill on to the House. If it does, there needs to be a House sponsor to spearhead the charge there.

Now why would they go through all of this second and third reading nonsense? Well, the reason is simple, a bill can be amended by anyone at anytime. If someone offers an amendment, the body reviewing the bill votes to accept or reject the bill - this can happen in a committee room, on the floor of the House, or the floor of the Senate. Very often legislators will vote for an amendment while voting against a bill; they may vote for an amendment to make the bill less desirable; they may vote for a special type of amendment, called “striking the enacting clause” (the enacting clause is the part of a bill that makes it a bill and not just a bunch of people complaining) that kills a bill on the spot. By discussing the bill three times, legislators are able to adapt to new changes and choose how they wish to proceed.

Whew! Now let us assume that the bill makes it out of one chamber and into the other…well the bill goes through the same process all over again. If no changes are made and the bill passes, it is sent to the governor for either signing into law or a big ‘ol veto.

If changes are made to the bill, but it still passes both chambers a special “conference committee” is put together to make a compromise on the bill - conference committees usually consist of the person who proposed the bill, the sponsor in the other chamber, and two or three other legislators from both chambers who have wildly different points of view on the bill. Once it leaves the conference committee both chambers vote on the compromise (though you are not allowed to make amendments). If it makes it through it goes to the governor.

Of course there are all sorts of legislative procedures that can further slow down or stop a bill (the most common being circling wherein a bill is removed from the list of bills to be considered that day) but this stuff requires the grad school edition.

As you can see, getting a bill passed is actually quite a complicated thing, full of pitfalls and death around any corner. The thing is, it was built that way on purpose. It is designed to be difficult in order to at least make an attempt to kill bad bills before the become bad laws. Frankly we should be happy it is hard for good laws to pass because it ensures that the bad ones (usually) don’t sneak through.

New Year's resolutions

2009-01-12T16:40:00.000-08:00

Around our Youth Voter campaign office this fall I was constantly repeating a piece of campaign advice I learned from our Executive Director: "If its not written down, it doesn't exist" (this was, in fact, written on a sticky note on my desk). Plans, ideas, goals- I applied our mantra to everything. Not only did this keep me from missing deadlines, it also helped me keep our goals fresh in my mind.

At our last meeting, Mark and Justin asked the Executive Board to come up with three goals each of us would like to see accomplished in the upcoming year. These goals, big and small, will help YDU become a stronger organization that truly represents you and your interests. We'll be writing all our goals down and hanging them in our office, so we have a constant reminder of what we're working for.

I'd like to extend the invitation to all Young Democrats to send us your ideas and goals for 2009. Political issues, events, service projects- anything- we want to hear what you want to see happen with your organization. We need your feedback to continue to grow, and thrive, in Utah. Send your ideas for YDU to president@youngdemsofutah.org, or post them on our facebook wall.

Our time in 2009

2009-01-08T19:37:00.001-08:00

2008 was an amazing year for Democrats across the nation... and yes even in Utah. We watched a few Democrats get re-elected like Peter Corroon and Jim Matheson and a good number of newly elected Democrats like Luz Robels, Laura Black and Jay Seegmiller. Even though Obama did not win the state, he did have the best showing for a Democrat in Utah since Hubert Humprey in 1968.

2008 was also an exciting year for the Young Democrats of Utah as we hired a full time Executive Director, were featured on CNN and ran a successful young voter campaign.

As the new YDU President along with a great new board, we are excited to help continue to push the momentum forward in 2009. With this year being an off election year, we are going to concentrate on building a stronger foundation, not only in numbers but also in regional chapters through out the state.

Please continue to check back each week as different board members will be posting upcoming events, updates and different things we will be doing throughout the year. Also if you are looking to get involved or have any suggestions or comments, please let us know.

Thanks
Mark Hymas

Don't forget to vote!

2008-10-29T11:33:00.000-07:00

Wazzzzzzzzup 2008

2008-10-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

Is Salt Lake City part of "Real America?"

2008-10-24T15:53:00.001-07:00

Recently John Stewart of the Daily Show had a little equation to help you figure out if you live in "Real America:"

(Population* average price of coffee + Art house movie theaters * Streets
named after Martin Luther King) all over pieces of identification needed to buy
Sudafed * (the number of people who wear trucker hats in town – Actual truckers)
* 1/(houses of worship [not Jewish]-bars)
If the answer is less than 10, you live in real America!

So what is this for the saintly Salt Lake City? Well lets find out:

Population – Est. 180,746 in 2006
Average price of a cup of coffee - $1.50
Art House Movie theaters – 4
Streets named after Martin Luther King Jr. – 1
Identification needed to buy Sudafed – 1
Number of people who wear trucker hats – Estimate 3% - 5,422
Number of actual truckers – Estimate 1% - 1,807
Number of churches – 79
Number of bars – 23

And the result?

(180,746*1.5+4*1)/((1*(5,422-1,807))*(1/(79-23)) = 271,123/((3615)*(1/56)) = 271,123/64.5 = 4203

4,203 > 10

Therefore Salt Lake City, sadly, is not part of "Real America."

The Down Ballot Blues

2008-10-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Often times people look at the national elections taking place and become disheartened by the fact that their vote does not matter, after all Utah is going to vote for McCain and there is nothing we can do to change that. These people, sadly, are absolutely right. No matter all he hooting and hollering, after all the rallies, a victory by Obama in Utah is about as likely as Utah legalizing gambling and liquor sales in stores – it just ain't gonna happen.

So why bother voting in the first place? I mean the national election is already a foregone conclusion; your vote clearly does not matter and will not make a difference. What is the point in showing up in the first place?

Well, let me tell you cynical Sally, this attitude is fundamentally flawed. True, your vote will do little to sway the national election, but this dose not mean that your vote does not count.

This year you will have the opportunity to vote on all sorts of candidates and ballot initiatives that will greatly affect you. Everyone in the state will vote for offices such as governor, attorney general, state auditor (the dude what does give out the money), and state legislative races. In some cases people will be voting for school board members, city or county mayors, city council members, and even initiatives such as allowing a new coal power plant or expanding the Hogle Zoo.

These issues are very real and can easily be influenced by your vote. It is only logical that you have more influence over a state house race than you do over a presidential race. In a house race you re one of about 12,000 people who will vote as opposed o one in 150 million in a presidential election.

Ah but you still say to me "one in 12,000 is still an amazing small percentage, how can my vote matter?" Good question, and this question is exactly why the Young Democrats of Utah have launched the 18 votes initiative. Four elections in 2006 were won by less than 100 votes, the most notable being Laura Black versus Mark Walker (who would later be charged with bribery in the state treasurer's race) where the Black lost by only 18 votes and the most important being Jay Seegmiller who lost to the current Speaker of the House Greg Curtis by 20 votes.

Now you may not know 100 people who should have voted last time but didn't, but I bet you do know one or two. Imagine if you and you, along with your friends and neighbors, got out and voted during this last election. Things, such as school vouchers or lower tuition for college, could have had very different outcomes.

Think about that and then ask yourself if your vote matters; hope to see you November 4th.

How to Vote

2008-10-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

With a little more than two weeks until the election it should come to no surprise that there is a greater discussion of why people should vote for this person or that, now I am not going to talk about who to vote for, simply how to vote. You see many first time voters overwhelmed by the process, viewing the ballot box as a monster. All too often potential first timers choose to simply opt out entirely from the system to avoid what they do not know. For those of you unaware of how this all works, please allow me to explain.

Voting is a very simple process. Between now and Election Day you can choose to vote early at a variety of polling locations (to see a full list click here). If you decide to wait until the day itself, you will need to vote at your specific polling location. Generally these locations are within a few blocks of your home.

Polls are open from 7 AM to 8 PM and, yes, you can get out of work in order to vote. There are a few rules, of course, you must be a full time employee and your company does not have to pay you for the time you are out.

Once you arrive you your location you will have to check in with the nice people at the front desk. You simply state your name and they check you off the list. If, for whatever reason, you do not appear on their list you can ask for what is known as a provisional ballot.

Provisional ballots are given to those who may have made an error on their voter registration, went to the wrong polling location, or for those who had someone screw up at the county clerks office. In any case, you will have to fill out a little extra paperwork just to make sure you are not trying to cheat the system and vote twice.

After all of this is said and done, you will be handed a data card and be allowed to vote. You will insert the card into the machine and be able to choose the candidates you wish to win.

At every stage you will be given the option of either writing in a candidate or (and this is very important) skipping over a particular race if you feel you are not very well versed in that particular campaign. If you skip one race your ballot is still valid.

Once you have gone through all of your choices, you will have the option to review and submit your ballot. The ballot is actually printed out for you so that a paper trail is created. If something is not right, you will have the option to change your vote. But remember, once you hit submit, it is all over – no take backs – so make sure you are happy with who you voted for.

Assuming there is no line, this should take less than five minutes out of your life. You did your civic duty, and you even get a cool sticker out of it!

Canvas in the Snow

2008-10-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

Foul winter...back off!!! YDU will send Lisa Johnson the the Legislature, snow or no snow!

100 Days!

2008-10-11T22:49:00.000-07:00

We have endured 2,822 days of the Bush administation, but now we have one hundered days until we close a sad chapter in U.S. history.

Hang in there people, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...

(Please don't vote for John McCain - I don't want to be doing a post similar to this in four years.)

- Curtis Haring

Help Get Curbside Recycling in Bountiful

2008-02-05T11:04:00.000-08:00

I am asking for your quick support to help get a curbside recycling program going in Bountiful. Over the past year, a group of residents have been trying to get recycling started in Bountiful. Currently, Woods Cross is the only city in Davis County with curbside recycling, and they just started in January.
Late last year, we petitioned the city to consider it. Then the city sent out a heavily-biased, anti-curbside survey with utility bills. After two months of this self-selected survey, which also allowed people to call into City Hall with their votes, the results were about 60-40 against curbside. However, in January, with the support of new councilmembers (including Beth Holbrook), the city sent out RFPs for voluntary and mandatory curbside recycling.
If you click on this link, you will see an online survey (which I know is also flawed) where I ask you vote in strong support of recycling. We are fighting against: an apathetic mayor who thinks residents should be satisfied with one station with overflowing recycling bins and/or paying $25 a month to have a private company pick-up recycling; also, we have some people who believe that mandatory curbside recycling means storm-troopers will force you to recycle (seriously, there have been comparisons to communism and fascism here). Here's a story from Friday's Tribune about it.
If you have more questions, write a comment and I will reply.
Thanks!
Brett Garner
YDU ex-officio Board Member
Davis County Democrats Secretary

Holiday Hearts - A CD Review by Bianca Shreeve

2007-12-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

This is a commentary of a real CD reviewed in last winter's newsletter. Considering the relevance to the season and the exceptionally good writing, we've decided to post it again and encourage all you holiday go-getters to buy, buy, buy Orrin Hatch's "Holiday Hearts!"

Holiday Hearts - A CD Review by Bianca Shreeve

What could possibly make your holiday parties more lively and entertaining than Orrin Hatch? If you answered “absolutely nothing” then you are correct! This past Christmas, I shelved my Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas album for our beloved senator’s latest compilation of festive ditties, Holiday Hearts. When he isn’t fighting flag burners or staunchly defending the tie between Saddam Hussein and September 11th, Senator Hatch is creating platinum-selling records that guarantee some serious toe-tapping. And his latest Christmas effort could even convince that cantankerous Ted Kennedy
to bust a move.

Now before you kids get all excited, Mr. Hatch doesn’t actually provide vocals on this album. In fact, half of these songs aren’t original, or are only co-written by the senator. (He left singing and most composing up to actual “musicians.”) However, right at the beginning Orrin and Friends get things kicking with the album-titled song “Holiday Hearts”, which I could have sworn was sung by Clay Aiken himself. With the first track alone, I met my holiday cliche? quota (horseshoes, bells, holly, snow, etc.). At first listen, I was already in the Christmas spirit.

The album also includes hard-to-screw-up classics like “Jingle Bells” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem”. Even Christmas favorite “Greensleeves” makes it on the record, led mostly by electric guitar. (Blasphemy or kick a** guitar licks? You decide!) On “When the Elves Come Out to Play” a soulful vocalist almost makes you forget that an old, white guy actually wrote it. What great holiday fun!

Remember, next Christmas is only 350 days away. It is a great buy for the Utah Republican or right- wing conservative on your list and is a huge hit at white elephant gift parties. Bound to make any heathen liberal a true believer, Orrin Hatch’s Holiday Hearts album goes down nice and easy, just like Grandma’s fruitcake.

The appearance of Orrin Hatch’s name and the word “fruitcake” in this review is purely coincidental and does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Young Democrats of Utah. We promise.

Senator Ed Mayne - You Will Be Missed

2007-11-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

In memorial: Senator, ALF-CIO President, Ed Mayne 1945-2007

Senator Ed Mayne: Legislator, Statesman, Champion of the People, and Family Man, passed away in his home yesterday after fighting lung cancer for 8 months. Indeed the entire state lost a great man with his passing.

Ed Mayne was a gentle giant who would fight to the end for what he believed was right. He was a highly regarded and skillful negotiator who many may have disagreed with but no one lost respect for.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the Mayne family during this time of sorrow; but please know that he is in a better place.

- Curtis Haring

Stake your Claim!

2007-09-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

Stake Your Claim!

Last weekend, while camping with the Young Democrats of Utah outside of Moab, I witnessed a Las Vegas Uranium Company, quite literally, staking its claim. Apparently, by dropping number wooden stakes out of a flying helicopter, the mining company was “claiming” the mining rights over a piece a public land. On the stakes was a piece of paper that said:

”Notice of Location

Know All Persons By These Presents That
Wave Uranium Holding
5248 Vegas Drive, Suite 228
Las Vegas, Nevada, 89108

Hereby Claims This Ground As A Lode Mining Claim"

Although private interest using public lands is common – be it recreationist, cattle ranchers, oil & gas companies, etc – the process of pounding a stake into the ground to claim a piece of land seems extremely archaic and absurd in our modern age.

In addition, the fact that mining companies are crisscrossing Utah’s irreplaceable landscape in a helicopter, makes me think we need to seriously reconsider the way we govern and protect our red rock wilderness.