Happening too Fast

In the words of Lewis Black, “This shit is happening to fast and I just can’t keep up”. He is a comedian and if you haven't heard or seen him check him out. He was in reference to the national scene and making a joke. I’m referencing both national and state events of the past week when I say, “This shit is happening so fast I just can’t keep up”. I'm hoping you get my point and then maybe we can do something about it.

First, Governor Jon Huntsman has scene fit to quietly and under the cover of darkness to sign into law the school voucher bill. I had hoped the governor would recognize this legislation for the gift to the very small minority elitist members of our state and the payoff to the national lobbyist group for the advancement of schools for profit that it is. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, February 10, 2007 this group contributed $750,000 to last year’s election campaigns. I was hoping he would recognize that had he vetoed the legislation, his veto would not have been over ridden because of the 38-37 vote in the House. But I guess he felt more beholden to an out of state lobbyist group than he did to the 90 percent of his constituents who send their children to public school. How much of the $750,000 did you receive governor?

The time and money spent discussing HB235, the bill to put Utah in the lead to challenging the Roe v. Wade decision, was completely wasted. The bill was modified back to a trigger position after a majority of the Republican representatives decided they didn’t want to put their, the taxpayers, money where their mouths were. Is this an example of money over ethically right decision making? But this way they can go back to their constituents with the plausible implication of being on the ultra conservative side of this issue. Never mind the constitutional review, which has already happened and the legal precedent it represents. Or, dare I say in this patriarchal environment, the tromping upon the rights of women to choose and make decisions regarding their own bodies.

The House has brought out of committee and sent to the floor, the bill regarding loco parentis, which is a wolf in sheep’s clothing regarding gay rights. This bill would be a slap in the face to gay parents of the state by giving preferential treatment to biological parents without regard to their actual abilities or past influence in a child’s life. This bill is an example of legislation to curtail the rights of a select group of people. The United States constitution seeks to deny just this type of “selective group” legislation.

Last, but not least, we have the outburst of Tim Hardeway, former NBA player. His homophobic rant is an example of bigotry and bias, which is beyond me. How any African-American can look at a select group of people and then want to deny that group of rights or liberties based upon a definition or description of who they are is indefensible to me. He need only look at black history to understand the hypocrisy of his statement.

In closing remember Mr. Black’s statement that “This is the same government which says you can protect yourself from a chemical BLANK attack with duck tape”.