Campaign Log: Late-Evening Entry

Too late to write a full report on people I met tonight, but a few words. Knocked on doors on Darin Drive.

A teacher at the end of the street noted another year's figures have been released, and Utah is again last in pupil spending. She understandably doesn't understand why we don't send more money education's way, as surveys indicate Utahans are willing to pay more.

Ran into another teacher whose husband also teaches, and they have three children active in the military.

And, ran into a man unhappy with Obama. "I don't think he's a true American," he said, arguing the president has befriended illegal immigrants. He also spoke of legislation now in Congress that would require people to report their own weapons.

Let's Chase Real Criminals

A little more police work is in order down there on the border.

While we're down there on the Mexican border, searching out the folks coming in without documents, let's chase after the real criminals as well -- you know, the ones bringing drugs across.

Obviously, some drug-chasing works gets done. But it seems that to some extent, we are being distracted from that more urgent need by our desire to hunt out the man without paperwork.

As if they were one and the same.

How many kilos of illegal drugs flow across that border, I do not know, but I wonder but what more out-of-country drug trafficking is done on that one border than on any other entry point we have. Yet, to some extent, we are so busy chasing people without documents that we are not concentrating on what should be seen as the more obvious need, stopping the drug trafficker and stopping those involved in other high crimes.

How do I know we are not? I called the border patrol. I asked if they so much as run a background check on the people they stop. As a practice, they don't. If a person is from Mexico, they don't contact Mexican police authorities and get a Mexican background. Now, if someone already has a visa, the visa does require such a background check, I'm told, but the folks who show up at the border get no such police work done on them.

How's that? If a traffic stop were made anywhere else here in the states, and the person stopped was suspected of a crime, we would run a background check right on the spot. Normal police work. Yet, in a spot where we have one of our greatest crime concerns, we aren't even thinking to even perform one of the most elementary of police techniques?

Now, there's an oversight.

What a waste to have so many border agents, and not have them focusing on drug trafficking and other high crimes, instead having them just processing people in who do have paperwork and chasing folks home who don't.

I was told by the public relations spokesperson, common practice is simply to take them back to Mexico and dump them there. Free and easy, go on home.

We need to ask ourselves, what is the real problem? Is it people without paperwork, or people smuggling drugs? Let's not be so obsessed with chasing the small fry that we neglect the big fish.

Which will it be? War on immigration, or war on drugs? Where should we place our emphasis?

Campaign Log: Look from a Law Clerk

Went back near my opponent, Todd Kiser's neighborhood, hitting Orangewood Lane and Berrywood Court, and came up with an improved door approach.

Instead of just saying, "I don't like special interest money," I explained why I don't like it. The people giving money once elected have issues come before the people they give the money to. Yes, that's wrong.

And, I should be a little more forceful than even that. Perhaps I'll work on that. Could say the system is a little corrupt, for surely that counts as a touch of corruption, at least.

Some people are not going to vote for me as a Democrat, no matter what. I asked one voter if there were any issues of interest to him. "No. But I'm hard-core Republican, anyway," he said, handing me back my campaign card.

Another person I ran into was a very thoughtful man working his way through law school as a law clerk in the attorney general's office. I believe he said he worked on the Ronnie Lee Gardner case. When I said 25 years was too long for a case to last, he said they'd like it to be 1-2 years, but when the punishment is as severe as the death penalty they want to offer the defendant every recourse available.

He didn't like that it takes so long, but he did see good reason for many of the things that can prolong such a case.

He also reminded me many in our courntry have been found to be innocent after they were executed -- a strong argument for time and caution.

I'm not sure how to craft a law reducing court trials, and I told him so, noting a law requiring prosecution of all domestic violence has created problems, since cases are presented that have no evidence that can be taken to court to support them. The law clerk, though, pointed out that even just having the case brought to court serves as a deterrent, making the defendant think twice about what he has done.

Invention of Week: Is This Dream Too Large Even for Today's Business World?

Just for fun, I might run what might be considered an "Invention of the Week" each week, sometimes whimsical, sometimes with what at least to me is a good idea, and sometimes offering what is already on the market.

Here's take one: Why isn't there a company that can take freight from any sizable city in the world and, using its own ships and planes and trucks and trains -- without contracting out, but rather just using entirely its own resources -- can bring that freight to you any place in the U.S.?

In this day and age, and with the world's economy so blended together, why not?

I'm talking a company that can take either small orders of freight or large, warehouse-destination deliveries, a company that has its name on planes and trains and ships and trucks -- your one-stop service for any global shipping need.

We'll allow that some companies won't allow such private enterprise. Even excluding them, could such a company exist?

Obviously, that would take a large company. What do ships cost? A friend googled that for me and came up with about a million bucks. I don't know if that price is correct, but we know it would be a lot. The cost for all the ships, and planes, and trucks and trains might be so prohibitive that such a company will never be created.

I got the thought while thinking on the announcement of a Utah firm, C.R. England, that is is going global. I don't know how far-reaching C.R. England's efforts will be. Nor do I know which firms there already with international presence, other than FedEx. But, I am rather there currently simply is not a from-anywhere-to-anywhere, any-sized-order, all-with-our-own-means, international shipping company.

Is it a dream too large for even today's mega-sized business world, or could such a company come about?

Campaign Log: Checkout Clerk Sees All

Well, she may not see all, but the checkout clerk I ran into while campaigning in Pinnacle Southtown Apartments sees a lot.

A lot of welfare abuse.

Susan Homer sees the customer on welfare bring two carts, paying for each separately, and she suspects the person is buying one for themselves, and the other for a neighbor.

Government money going astray, going to someone not on Food Stamps.

"I'm standing there working in a low-pay job . . . and I see a lot of abuse," she says " . . . I can always tell those people, because they buy the most expensive cuts of meat, and eat cuts of meat I can't afford."

Some will come in and run their cards through to get cash, then turn around and plop down beer and cigarettes on the counter, paying for them with the cash they got off their welfare card.

"It infuriates me," Homer says.

Welfare abuse needs to stop. We need to say, "Time's up. For years and years we've seen this going on, now we've had enough and we're bringing it to an end."

Call it Tea Party Movement, or taking government back into our own hands or more of Obama's "Yes, we can" attitude. Or, say it is something not on the radar of those movements, but something that should be. Call it what you will, let's just make sure this is one of the changes we make.

Some of the welfare refore changes may need to be made at the federal level, but we can do some things at the state level. Many of the programs are administered by the state. The poor and disadvantage should be helped, but let's bring welfare fraud to a screaching halt.

Campaign Log: The Disabled Archer

This man once shot an arrow so true, it went right into the middle of a previously shot arrow.

I met him tonight, a once great archer, sportsman, now reduced to not even being able to mow the lawn.

He's on disability. The days of lifting case after case of shotgun shells while working for in the sportsman industry took their toll. And, perhaps worse, he has chronic diarrhea. There was a day he was a substitute teacher. "There were times I had to call a substitute to substitute for me. There were times I had an accident because you couldn't leave the classroom."

When all this was coming down, he applied for disability. Maybe he had a lousy lawyer, because for all his inabilities, he got turned down. So, he applied again, this time without a lawyer. The judge didn't like that, realizing he might qualify for disability and so the judge rescheduled the case to give him time to get a lawyer. He found one on T.V. "He (the lawyer) told them the exact same thing I would have told them," the once great archer said.

But, there was at least one difference. A witness was brought in who testified no one was going to hire this man if he had to use the bathroom every 15 minutes, and had to take so many days off.

What I don't like about this story? One thing, is it shouldn't take a lawyer to get disability if you deserve it.

How did I do with this man, as far as campaigning for his vote? "I think I'll probably vote for you," he called after me as I left.

That's a hopeful sign. After all, my door pitch says I believe people should be allowed to work for their benefits. I told the once great archer it shouldn't be oppressive work, but it should be something, even if no more than shuffling papers. I wish he would have responded that, yes, he wanted to work, but he didn't. Instead, he said he once took a job with the Red Cross, doing no more than calling folks and inviting them to come give blood.

It was too much. "I came home nearly in tears," he said, noting he can only sit for so long.

If it comes to it, give him a bed in the work place. Let him lay down when he needs to. He could even make calls from a bed, if that's what it takes to allow him to work.

If we are going to make them work, we've got to make it work for them.

Call this not letting them come up with excuses, or say it is being compassionate by allowing for their needs. Either way, getting a person working makes the person better and betters our economy.

Governor Steals My Thunder

The governor stole my thunder today.

"Guv calls appeals process too slow," says the headline of The Salt Lake Tribune. "Death Penalty >> Herbert wants system streamlined and executions expedited," it says underneath that headline

I've been pounding the doors since Curtis Allgier returned to the news. Allgier is, you may know, the accused murderer whose fame spread nationally largely for his tattoos head-to-foot. "It's been three years and that trial still hasn't taken place," I would say.

When Ronnie Lee Gardner's execution came up, I switched to that. "Twenty-five years later!" I would exclaim, my eyes popping. "Instead of just dismissing this as the way government is, we should demand it be changed."

I well thought this was an issue politicians didn't even check in on, but something that if changed, would make a wonderful difference in our government.

Well, so much for my being the only one with this message. Governor Gary Herbert has taken up this drum.

This is not the only thing I've liked about Herbert. He also called suggested the UTA boss might be making too much money. I've also liked some things his opponent, Peter Corroon, has offered, notably his selecting a Republican as his lieutenant governor running mate. That's a step against partisan politics, and I like that.

Two more thoughts on Herbert's comments. "Justice delayed is justice denied," he said. Good take, governnor.

Thought two: The Trib article notes Attorney General Mark Shurtleff had pushed for an amendment to the Utah Constitution that would limit appeals after convictions. Let's not let curbing appeals be a stopping point. Our whole judicial system is too slow.