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.