Senator Valentine needs a Zion Curtain for his mouth

So, it turns out that the "Zion Curtain" not only restricts your from seeing a mixed drink prepared, but it will protect your kids from seeing someone pouring a beer.

Because, really, we all know that every kid who drinks does it because he saw a drink being prepared at Applebees.

Now, what's interesting is to see the arguments the Legislature is spitting out on this one.

First, from the Tribune:

Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, who supported backrooms to hide bartenders at restaurants serving wine and mixed drinks, said he did not push for partitions at beer-only restaurants — and he doesn’t know who did.

Waddoups suggested that Mothers Against Drunk Driving might have wanted the partitions, but MADD Utah chapter President Art Brown said he is unfamiliar with the requirement.

Does Waddoups think we're stupid? The provision got put in because someone wrote it in there. And last time I checked, Art Brown is not a member of the Legislature or a part of the Legislature's legal teams.

From the same article:

Despite the confusion over who spearheaded the change, Zion curtains are harming business, said Eric Slaymaker, president and founder of Wingers, which has 23 locations in Utah and 14 restaurants in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Nevada and Tennessee.

“The Legislature says it is business-friendly, but I have a hard time believing that,” he said. “Utah had made some great strides in becoming part of the real world, but now we’re making strides to let the world know they aren’t welcome here again.”

Really,if you don't want your kids to see liquor being poured, DON'T GO TO APPLEBEES! I thought that's what the Free Market was all about.

Then this morning, X96's Radio From Hell interviewed Sen John Valentine, who sponsored the bills. You can listen to the interview here. The part about the Zion Curtain starts about 4:30 in.

In the interview, Sen Valentine said that if you didn't hide the alcohol, then you'd have to ID everyone who comes into the restaurant. Which is stupid. You didn't have to before this law. But wait -- it gets better!

When asked about why the law was necessary, Valentine said it was to draw "a bright line between a restaurant and a bar."

I'm not a drinker, but I can tell when I'm in a restaurant and when I'm in a bar. Restaurants usually have better lighting for one. Bars often have someone at the door checking ID's. Kids are absent in bars. You have to order food in a restaurant, but you don't have to order either in a bar if you don't want to.

When asked about the anti-business image it shows to people outside of Utah, Valentine said ""If you want a true dry area, go to one of the places in the South."

When Valentine said that Utah's Liquor laws work (which makes me wonder why we need this change) because Utah has the lowest DUI rate, the hosts asked him if that wasn't because of the high number of religious non-drinkers here. The reply?

"If religious people are in the majority, shouldn't you reflect that religious value?"

Um, no. If people are really opposed to businesses preparing alcohol in front of their children, they should not take their children to businesses that prepare alcohol in front of children. Let the free market decide.

Besides, Mormon scripture is opposed to Valentine's reasoning:

"We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members, as citizens, denied." (Doctrine & Covenants 134:9)

Laws like this make Utah and Mormons look bad.

How Much House Does Mitt Romney Need?

How much house does one man need?

Well, if you are Mitt Romney, you need a lot of house. Because he's personally raising all 16 of his grandchildren.

Oh, he's not? OK, whatever. It's not like his kids can afford hotels when they come to visit mom and dad.

Oh yeah, they're Romneys. They can probably at least afford a Motel 6.

After all, Mitt owns a townhouse near Boston and a vacation home on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.

But, this isn't about those homes.

It's about his west coast home. Because Regular Americans have two east coast homes and a west coast home.

His west coast home is located in La Jolla, California. Hanging in at 3,000 square feet, it has 3 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms (because regular Americans have more bathrooms than bedrooms). Oh, and it's valued at $12 Million.

However, the Romney family home is "inadequate for their needs" according to a Romney campaign official quoted in The Salt Lake Tribune.

So, because the home is inadequate, they are going to tear it down and build a new one. The new house will come in at 11,062 square feet. For comparison, that's larger than 34% of Mormon Temples. That's not a Regular American house.

That's a La Jolla elite house.

-Bob

Republicans Scared of New Sheriff in Town

Last Week, I was talking to a new friend. He had run for office as an independent candidate. While he doesn't like the two-party system (which is something he &I agree on), he also recognizes that it's hard to fight the system from within.

That being said, he was asked at a Meet the Candidates Night why he was running as an Independent. His reply boiled down to the fact that the Utah Democratic Party wasn't so much an opposition party as it was a bunch of wimps.

I told him to give the Democrats another chance, because there's a new sheriff in town.

New Democratic Party chairman Jim Dabakis, fresh off a Democratic Party Bus tour down to the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, has embarked on a 1,147 mile tour of Southern Utah to talk about redistricting, among other things.

And this has the Utah Republican Party all up in arms.

Utah Senate President Michael Waddoups said he has no problem with Dabakis crossing the state to talk about redistricting — as long as that’s the only subject on the agenda.

“I hope he is going after it as a redistricting meeting,” the Taylorsville Republican said, “rather than Republicans versus Democrats.”

After all, you can talk about anything you want to, as long as you only talk about one thing, because heaven forbid any other issue comes up.

And, I really hate to point this out, but the Utah Legislature has 80 Republicans to 24 Democrats. It's hard for a Democrat to talk about the Legislature without it being a Republic vs Democrat thing.

Besides, it's been Republicans vs the People of Utah for a long time. It's nice to see the Democrats standing up to the Republican bully.

And, in a separate article, we learn that the Republicans have hired someone to follow Dabakis on his tour of Southern Utah with a video camera.

GOP Chairman Thomas Wright accused Dabakis of being “on the offensive playing ‘gotcha’ politics and taking personal comments out of context.” How dare Democrats play Offense! Don't they know that the best offense is a good defense? It's worked so well for the over the past decade! (OK, what the Democrats have been playing is more like special teams, but I digress.)

Wright also accuses Dabakis of trying to split the GOP in two. In reality, the GOP has been splitting itself in two for a long time. One only needs read the Utah Republican Party - Official Group on Facebook for proof.

Dabakis is simply pointing out that the "fringe elements" of the party are now part of Elected Leadership.

But, of course, Wright isn't trying to catch Dabakis saying something stupid. "We are just trying to hear what he is saying. We refuse to give him a pass, or simply accept what the media reports or what is posted on Twitter or Facebook."

I hope they are nice enough to post it on YouTube for other Republicans to see. And, well everyone else.

Now, Dabakis is more than willing to allow the camera, because he is not afraid of what he is saying, unlike Mike Lee last year.

“He’s a very genial and nice chap, and he has been at every public appearance,” Dabakis said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled that Republicans think that it’s worth videotaping everything I say.”

Awesome.

Science & Mormons, Jon Huntsman & Mitt Romney

“To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy."

That tweet from former Utah Governor and US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman sure lit a firestorm of controversy.

After, all you can't be a Republican and believe in science, right?

Apparently. After all, as The Daily Beast points out, the only other Republican candidate to accept climate change and evolution is former Governor Mitt Romney.

Yep, the two Mormons in the race are the two science believers.

Well, until Mitt flip flops on this issue, but for the time being, he believes!

The Daily Beast points out that a 2008 Pew poll found that only 22 percent of Mormons believed in Evolution. I'm sure the percentage of Utah Mormon politicians that believe in Evolution is about the same, but those 22% are Democrats.

Similarly, the Utah Legislature doesn't believe in Climate Change. They even passed a resolution saying so. And several science professors from that liberal school in Provo called BYU sent them a letter of disapproval.

My favorite quote from the article:

In general, says John Bell, a professor of physiology and developmental biology at BYU, he and his colleagues teach students that evolution is not a take-it-or-leave-it theory, but rather a fact that can fit comfortably into an orthodox Mormon world view.

Bell puts it this way: “Religion doesn’t make an attempt to explain the mechanisms of how the world works; it tries to give meaning to it. Whereas, with science it’s the opposite; we’re trying to figure out how the world works. You don’t’ have to feel insecure about your faith just because you’re trying to engage in good science.”

How not to run a county fair political booth

Let's count the mistakes made in this post from Facebook:

Okay, just got back from the county fair. :|
I went to the democrat's booth, trying to start a conversation. I asked Basically how since I am unaffiliated how I would join the party. The girl there first told me where the Republican booth was. When I made it clear that wasn't the party I wanted to join she told me to go to the county court house. Fine that's the info. But it was a very surreal exchange in my mind. Do I not look good enough to be a democrat? And they weren't busy. I told the guy next to her I almost wore my Obama shirt but was afraid of getting beat up. (Besides the fact it's too small.) I did how ever use their paper fan the whole time I was there. I'm still unsure what to think....

Note: this is in Utah, where Democrats are hard to find. So, let's count the mistakes made by this volunteer:

1) Oh, you want to join our part? Go visit the Republicans. WHAT?
2) Oh, you want to join OUR party? well, go to the county courthouse.... I assume to change voter registration. Which is a good way to become a democrat on paper, not a good way to get involved, which is usually what people who want to "join the party" are looking to do.

I don't know what this volunteer was thinking, but I know I've been thrown into situations as a volunteer with no training. Maybe a "this is what we're doing here today" training is in order....

Oh, and I am setting this individual up with information on how to get involved.

Mitt Romney: Corporate America's Best Candidate

If you thought President Obama was in bed with Corporate America, wait until you meet President Romney. Mitt Romney IS Corporate America.

I don't know if you saw his comment yesterday while he was talking with to voters at the Iowa State Fair. He said that corporations are people, because all the money a corporation makes goes into the pockets of people.

What he meant to say is that most of that money goes into the pockets of people like Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney is the people Mitt Romney was talking about. Mitt Romney is corporate America.

Mitt Romney has made no secret of the fact that he has been "unemployed" since January 2007. How many unemployed people, let alone people who recently retired from being Governor, do you know that can sink $45Million into a presidential campaign?

Well, that's what being Corporate America can get you.



Mitt Romney: Putting "People" First, and Workers Last.

RNC Chair Blames Obama for Republicans' Bad Poll Numbers

I remember reading a political training manual that had a section that talked about sticking to your talking points no matter what the question. The example was that if your talking points were about reducing government waste and someone asks you about animal control, you say "That's why government needs to stop wasting money on ridiculous things, so that we have more money to spend on important things like animal control."

Well, the Chairman of the Republican National Committee just gave a prime example of sticking to your talking points. His talking points are "Barack Obama is a bad leader." The question? "Why are your poll numbers down so much?"

Watch the hilarity ensue: