Making Sense of Prop 4

It is easy—very easy—to get lost in trying to understand Prop 4. Voters approved Utah's Prop 4 by a very narrow margin in 2018, with 512,218 (50.34%) voting for the proposition, and 505,274 (49.66%) voting against it.

A razor‑thin margin, but Prop 4 won just the same.

Two federal elections have since taken place under the Legislature’s 2021 map. Both failed to use the map recommended by the Prop 4 Independent Redistricting Commission. You can't say they were illegal elections, because it is more layered than that, but you can say the map used was later found unconstitutional. The Constitution does give the Legislature the right to draw the maps, but it doesn't give it the right to gerrymander—to draw lines to accommodate one party over the other. It gives the courts the right to step in and require equity of judgment.

And that's what Judge Diane Gibson did in October 2025 when she stepped in and ruled in favor of the map drawn by the Better Boundaries commission. Now, those opposed to Prop 4 are marching door‑to‑door to get a measure on the ballot ending Prop 4.


(Blog)

Be Reasonable, Be Reasonable

Book banning, you know—

banning books from schools.

It sure has them riled up

as they come up with these new rules.

Utah has banned a number,

banned them from school libraries.

Oh, most anyone else can read them—

all the Tom, Dick, and Harrys.

But children?

Put a lock on them.

They can't just read anything

that will lead them into sin.

And so in Utah,

they start taking books right off the shelf—

banning books, banning books

from every child small as an elf.

Great authors,

names like Kurt Vonnegut—

writers you don't think of

when you think of smut.

And sometimes just a line or two

is all it takes

for the book to be swept away

by the purist's rakes.

No, it's not good enough

for the optics of what you're doing.

More damage is being done,

and you've just got people suing.

Back up and be more practical.

Battle true pornography.

You've got to be reasonable

if you want people to agree.

 

Homeless People Sometimes Beg, and That Means...

There is a movement in Utah that would centralize homeless services. And the location they prefer? Out near the airport. The proposal might work or it might not work but I do see one large red flag: Sometimes, homeless people beg. If you place them out near the airport...

Trump's Gifts

Vehicle emissions will no longer be regulated. That means more gas-powered cars, fewer electric cars, and more tailpipe emissions — pollution.

The Wasatch Front, already faced with days of inversion, will only have more.

The cloud of pollution that many witness when they are high enough to see it hang over the valley will only increase.

This is because President Trump repealed the EPA’s “endangerment finding” — rules that restrict CO₂ emissions.

Unless Utah marches against federal standards instead of aligning with them, enforcement of air quality rules might falter.

As of this week, Utah has received only one-third of its normal February snowpack. Unfortunately, this climate impact could increase. Ski cities such as Park City could be financially strained. Warmer winters mean shorter seasons, and that means fewer tourists — and among the tourists who do come to enjoy Utah skiing, less satisfaction.

There will be more emergency room visits for asthma, heart disease, and heat stroke. There are already times when hospital resources are strained. It could get worse.

Premiums for homes, fire risks, and flood zones might increase.

Utility bills could rise as people use air conditioning more because of hotter weather.

To sum it up: Trump’s decision on the environment strips Utahns of the protections they need. It means more pollution, hotter summers, less snow, higher costs, and greater health risks.

.

 

 

Utah Became First State to 'Regulate' This Dangerous Drug

It's a dangerous drug, and Utah can proudly claim to be the first state to protect it.
Well, “proudly” might not be the right word, but Utah was the first state to place a comprehensive law on the books concerning the drug.
Supposedly, the law regulated kratom — which is the drug we speak of — but in fact, it enabled it.

Yes, Utah’s Kratom Consumer Protection Act of 2019 might even be said to have coddled the industry.
It enhanced it. It legitimized it.
The drug would have become everything it did — exploding on the scene in recent years — but the nudge from Utah’s legislators certainly didn’t hurt.
Indeed, the Utah law became a model for other states, and the author of the bill became a paid spokesperson, his consulting firm raking in more than a million dollars in consulting fees. The man went around the country calling for favorable legislation for the drug. This all according to a Salt Lake Tribune article.

Did I say this is the legacy of Utah?
Well, it is. So sorry.

There are at least three bills before the 2026 Legislature trying to clean up after the Kratom Consumer Protection Act of 2019.
Only SB 45 could be said — of the three — to not be at all friendly toward the kratom industry in Utah.
It would repeal the 2019 law and classify kratom alkaloids as controlled substances.

If I were a legislator, I would vote for SB 45.

(blogs)

 

Don't Pretend to Altruism

Utah's legislature, with the governor's signature, recently added two new judges to the State Supreme Court.

It is well known that packing the court with more favorable judges is the way to get the results you want. It is most disingenuous of the MAGA faithful to try to hide the fact.

Cox Should Be Taken to Task for Blaming the Media

“I hate the questions you ask the athletes,” Cox, a Republican, said during a Utah 2034 press conference in Milan, Italy, as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune.  “These are kids out there competing. I think you should be asking them about their sports and about their competition and let the politics take care of the politics and that will happen.”

Gov. Cox needs to be taken to task for three things:

1) Condemning the press. I am grateful for living in a land where the press can report things that don't reflect good on the government. What is happening in Minnesota is an embarrassment to our country. Gov. Cox should not condemn journalists who ask questions about it. Cox should be ashamed for blaming the press.

2) “These are kids out there competing." Cox should not be insinuating the athletes are too young. Everybody can have an opinion, regardless of age.

3) Cox should not be suggesting they need to stick to sports and let politics take care of itself. Bless them for offering their opinions. Having and expressing opinions is the American Way of doing things. It is shutting up and being forced to shut up that is not American.

Bless the halfpipe skier, Hunter Hess. I'm proud of him for standing up for freedom, even if that freedom pits him against this otherwise great country.

 

Here's How to Pay for It

If I were a legislator, I would call for passage of a Utah Health Product Advertising Regulation Act (PARA). I will write about the features of the act in another post. At the moment, I would just like to set forth how the measure could be financed.

And to do that, we should set forth the expected expenses:

Staffing -- The program would perhaps require four to six people (investigators, legal analysts, and registry administrators). Estimated expense: $450,000.

Technology infrastructure -- Secure a database, purchase AI monitoring tools, and establish a reporting portal. Estimated expense: $150,000.

Enforcement operations -- Investigations, expert reviews, legal filings, and interagency coordination. Estimated expense: $100,000.

Public outreach and education -- Website, consumer alerts, training for retailers and platforms. Estimated expense: $50,000.

Administration and overhead -- Office space, equipment, travel, and compliance audits. Estimated expense: $75,000.

Total estimated annual expense: $825,000.

To help fund the program, each product making health claims would have to register each year. The cost of registering a single product would be $250, a product line (3-10 items) would be $1,000, and national brands would be $5,000. Revenue projected from registration: $500,000.

Penalties assessed would also contribute to the revenue. First offenses would be fined $1,000, second offenses $5,000, and each subsequent offense $10,000. Blatant, knowing, willful deceptions would be hit with $25,000 fines. Revenues projected from civil penalties: $100,000.

Federal grants would provide a third source of income. The FDA grants are projected to bring in $500,000.

Total revenue expected: $1,100,000.

(Index: Blog)

 

Learning Like Albert 

"The man who instructs himself has a dupe for a teacher," quips an online commenter in the Deseret News.

He was responding to another commenter who said, "Learning how to 'teach oneself' is the most valuable lesson I ever learned, and served me well when finally going to the 'auditorium sized' classes of college."

Perhaps the first commenter should reflect on the case of Albert Einstein. He taught himself calculus, mastered physics classes on his own, studied Maxwell equations on his own as a teenager, and pursued experiments without being assigned them by a teacher.

Sparking such a chord in our students is perhaps the most valuable thing a teacher can do.

 

The Three‑Year Bachelor’s Degree

It’s learning made fast,

education made swift,

designed to help the student

and to give to him a lift.

Three years — that’s all it takes,

three years to a bachelor’s degree;

three years of education,

and then they set you free.

You learn just as much,

but with a faster touch;

you learn the things you need to know.

And you become just as smart,

and true in heart,

in the things that help you grow

It’s at Ensign College —

a wonderful college,

a great place to learn and live.

It’s the first place in all of America;

now how’s that for being exclusive.

Anger All Over Again

Anger all over again—
anger—
as I learn of the Marimar Martinez story
and the danger.

Shot five times,
she drove away.
The Border Patrol
didn't attempt to haul her away.

It didn't pursue
nor try to arrest;
but that she was a “terrorist,”
they were quick to attest.

She tried to ram their car
is what they say,
but they didn't chase her down—
they just let her get away.

There's danger to our country
and the people of this land.
We have rogue Border Patrol agents
and a rogue government we should not stand.

 

 

 

 

Utahns Need Not Follow

A take-over of elections?

Nationalizing them, you say?

Utahns should raise their hackles

instead of being so quick to obey.

Don't jump to follow

when the president calls for such.

Tell him it's not in the Constitution

and that he wants too much.

Utahns say the Constitution

is inspired by the Mighty God,

and they bow not to a man,

but it's to God that they nod.

The Constitution gives states the right

to direct elections on their own,

and when we follow other paths,
seeds of danger are sown.

 

The Ones You Want, and the Ones That Haunt

The Utah Legislature is at it,

coming hard, coming hard,

bill after bill proposing change after change,

trying to take away the damage

wherever the people have been scarred.

SB 134 adds two justices

to the Supreme Court.

HB 179 expands who can sell raw milk—

is that a law that you support?

Andrew Stoddard

is a favorite legislator of mine,

and his HB 80 is his signature bill;

it gives firearm storage a new design.

HB 30 directly touches on bank fraud,

setting standards we are much in need of.

HB 331 expands the voucher program,

shifting education to private schools

instead of those run by the gov.

Then there is HB 72,

a crackdown on crypto‑ATM fraud.

There's a lot to be said about this proposal—

there's a lot to laud.

So follow the bills—

the ones you want,

the ones you love,

and the ones that haunt.

 

 

It Will Go Down in History as 'Judge Biery's Fiery Speech'

Let’s piece this together the best we can, trying to get as much of U.S. District Judge Fred Biery’s fiery “speech” before you as possible. Maybe someday the “speech” will be found in American history textbooks across the land — you know, kind of like the Gettysburg Address.

It wasn’t really a “speech,” at least not like we think of where a dignitary gets up in front of an audience and pontificates in oratorical tones. No, Judge Biery’s words simply came as he ordered the Trump administration to release 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, from an immigration detention center in Texas.

You will recall how agents kidnapped . . . Okay, “kidnapped” might be too strong of a word. Let’s just say you recall how agents stole . . . Okay, “stole” might be too strong of a word. Or is it? Truth be told, perhaps neither “kidnapped” nor "stole" are too strong.

Let’s just say Liam and his father were apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during an immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

Judge Biery looked over the case and started firing. Now, here is where this article/blog swings away from its light‑minded and frivolous tone. Judge Biery had serious words to say.

Judge Biery said, “the case has its genesis in the ill‑conceived and incompetently‑implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children.”

“Apparent also,” Biery said, “is the government’s ignorance of an American historical document called the Declaration of Independence.” Biery, suggesting the Trump administration mirrored actions of England’s King George, quoted from the Declaration: “He has sent hither Swarms of Officers to harass our People” and “He has excited domestic Insurrection among us.”

The judge referred to two lines from the Bible: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” and “Jesus wept.”

Judge Biery suggested some officials are driven by a “perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest (that) know no bounds and are bereft of human decency.”

He said the father was asking for “nothing more than some modicum of due process and the rule of law.”

“That pesky inconvenience called the Fourth Amendment,” Biery quipped.

I will wish schoolchildren someday will be taught the words Judge Biery offered. For now, I just wish the parents of our day would listen to them.