Circle Back and Check Again

A recently released document from the Epstein file says an inmate says he heard a voice say, "You dudes killed that dude" the morning Epstein died, He even fingers who the alleged killer was. The inmate claimed his fellow inmates said, "Miss Noel killed Jeffrey.," that being a reference to the female guard, Tova Noel.

Convicts are often not treasures of honesty, assuredly and admittedly. This inmate could be just trying to make a name for himself or stir things up. Plus, it is true the FBI investigated the death and ruled it a suicide. So did the DOJ inspector general. In fact, the DOJ has investigated the case several times. And the medical examiner also found it to be a suicide.

But do not close the door so quickly. 

The medical examiner originally did not mark either box --homicide or suicide, instead picking the "pending studies" box. A supervisor soon ruled it suicide. But Epstein's brother, Mark, does not believe it a suicide. Years later he pulled in a forensic pathologist who found inconsistencies. The fractures in the neck were not consistent with suicide, he said. And there wasn't anything high enough above in the room that Epstein could have attached the sheet (or whatever was used for the hanging).

Sometimes, when things are bothersome enough, you circle back and check yet another time. The House Oversight Committee should hire an independent investigator.

This just in: That committee today said it intends to interview Tova Noel. That's good. And it should also interview the prison guard. What he said is being dismissed as a rumor. I would suggest, though, he is a witness.

 

Principled Democracy

I believe in democracy. And that means not marginalizing the voice of any group or any individual. I do not believe in efforts to gerrymander, or to make it difficult for Native Americans to vote. Nor will I fall in with high-handed politicians who have repeatedly rejected the will of the people.

 Save the Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake is home to one of the nation's greatest bird habitats. Do we want it to dry up? It is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. The Great Salt Lake produces enormous quantities of brine shrimp and brine flies, forming the base of a globally significant food web. I ask again, are we going to allow it to dry up? The exposed lakebed is already one of the largest sources of toxic dust in North America, the dust spreading arsenic, lead and other heavy metals to the lungs of those breathing the air along the Wasatch Front. This is our lake and we need to save it. Join me in fighting for it.

'One, Two, Three-- What Are We Fighting For?' Joe McDonald has died. "One, two, three, what are we fighting for?" he asked in his band's biggest hit, the same question being asked with the Iran War. "Next top is Vietnam," he continued. Even so, we wonder about the next stop in our possible trajectory of wars.

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.