Ah, Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Utah. A day for Republican lawmakers state and federal to tweet a few "safe" quotes from King, and applaud his "message of unity."
King wasn't a unity guy. He was a radical fighting injustice. Some crossover there, but a lot of daylight too. The only "unity" he spend his final months talking about was the intersection of racism, inequality, war, and power. There are some great reads out there I wish everyone would spend time with. King's own words, of course. But also the history of the times he lived and worked in. Learning about the times he lived and worked in, and the very human and flawed person he was made his words even more meaningful for me. The books and docs are out there and easy to find and please do.
King is most inspirational as a person when broadly understood but his words have the impact when applied specifically, immediately. In 1967 King wrote:“We aren’t merely struggling to integrate a lunch counter now. We’re struggling to get some money to be able to buy a hamburger or a steak when we get to the counter.”
Utah lawmakers, Governor Herbert, during the work of the tax task force last year you, all of us, heard from a teacher keeping a make-shift food pantry for students in her classroom closet. You closed out the task force debate and passage of tax "reform" patting yourselves on the back with a WSJ op-ed by a Club for Growth hack based on an ALEC state ranking.
Spare us the MLK Jr memes.
Mastadon sucks
I've never settled in my own mind how I feel about Twitter. I mean, I obviously like it because since joining in 2009 I've been there every day. Too much most days.
The Next Decade
Just under a decade from now, the redistricting process will be underway again in Utah and much will be the same. Republicans will have a legislative majority only slightly smaller than today's. There will be a Republican governor.
Poor kids going hungry
Ah, Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Utah. A day for Republican lawmakers state and federal to tweet a few "safe" quotes from King, and applaud his "message of unity."
King wasn't a unity guy. He was a radical fighting injustice. Some crossover there, but a lot of daylight too.
Transparency in Utah
A legislative staffer friend long ago suggested I write something about my experience as a transparency activist in Utah. It's a cool story. Every time I try to tell it I'm reminded it isn't about me or any I have skills I bring to the table.
Inequality and Stupid Presidents
The Republican Party had been on track to spit up something like Trump for quite some time. Inevitable without a course correction that never came. One party shitting the bed with their nominee usually means a brutal loss.
I know, I know. Electoral college luck. Clinton Mehs.
Art of the Deal
Others have said hilarious and insightful things about this already. I'm posting it for ease of reference. If you haven't seen it, you should. The White House put out a statement about a "constructive conversation" shortly after this and I can't do a thing but laugh.
Bruce Sterling ruins my day
One of my least favorite science fiction writers wrote a thing on "smart cities."
Sterling seems like a smart man, despite being a boring writer.
Aug
20
Trump, fascism and action for action's sake
Eco.
Fascism became an all-purpose term because one can eliminate from a fascist regime one or more features, and it will still be recognizable as fascist. Take away imperialism from fascism and you still have Franco and Salazar.
"The kids know how to look out for it"
Appalling must-read from a columnist touring Louisiana's poorest industrialized communities.
Can't shake these paragraphs:
But the most tragic story involves the schools.
DeVosed
The Donald's education secretary pick is... what you'd expect. Teachers, keep your eyes open.
Kobached
Recent NYTimes editorial on potential Trump pick for DHS:
Mr. Kobach is pushing the myth that voter cheating is rampant. But he has utterly failed to document that, despite his Javert-like zealotry as secretary of state.
"Monstrous Scapegoats"
Pro-Brexit voices have succeeded in creating two monstrous scapegoats in the public mind that supposedly congregate around London: the rootless, wealthy cosmopolite and the shifty, job-stealing foreigner.
10 years?
Halfway through 2015 before it dawns on me this blog is 10 years old this year.
It's been pretty quiet here lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been mouthing off elsewhere.
Aug
12
Other America. Still.
Been following the Ferguson, MO shooting and aftermath (on Twitter, since it seems below the radar of cable news). The whole situation is unimaginable for those of us in the quiet, homogenous naivety of Utah and the west.
WWII policy remade the economy
The hidden history of prosperity:
The war was, first, a massive macroeconomic stimulus. Unemployment was still more than 14 percent in 1940.
Utah TAB Report: Portals, Priorities and Open Data Standards
UPDATE: Slightly tweaked final version, as submitted to legislative management, here.
Final (draft) report of the 2013 Utah Transparency Advisory Board to legislative management.
What is an Open Data Standard?
As I mentioned in my previous post, there is far less disagreement -- in my experience -- in Utah legislative circles over "transparency" and "openness" than sometimes seems the case.
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