46 days to the 2018 midterms. Friday morning's political briefing from UtahPolicy.com

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Situational awareness - September 21, 2018

Good morning from Salt Lake City and TGIF!

How Utah lawmakers nearly legalized medical marijuana in 2016. Controversy over a Mia Love ad attacking Ben McAdams. Kavanaugh's accuser may testify next Thursday.

  TICK TOCK   

18 days until the last day to register to vote by mail (10/9/2018)
25 days until mail-in ballots are sent to voters (10/16/2018)
32 days until in-person early voting begins (10/23/2018)
39 days until the last day to register to vote in person or by mail (10/30/2018)
41 days until in-person early voting ends (11/2/2018)
46 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
129 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
176 days until the final day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (3/14/2019)
774 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today At Utah Policy

Utah lawmakers came close to passing a medical marijuana bill in 2016
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
At the end of the 2016 session, Utah lawmakers frantically tried to find a compromise with advocates of medical marijuana, but those efforts failed. ...Do these guys have jobs? Bernick and Schott on politics Ep. 390
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
So much political news! ...Podcast: Bernick and Schott on politics Ep. 390
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott guide you through a wild week in Utah political news....Weekly survey: Is Brett Kavanaugh's nomination in trouble?
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
A woman has come forward alleging Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were in high school. Do you think this allegation will hurt Kavanaugh's chances of being confirmed? Vote now in our weekly survey....

  OTHER UTAH HEADLINES   

Deseret News

Op-ed: This bill streamlines the deployment of high-speed internet across Utah

Interior Secretary Zinke to visit Zion National Park Monday

State: Lake Powell Pipeline decision provides 'clarity'

Salt Lake City mayor hoping another Olympics 'clicks' with committee

Mayors paddle the Jordan River to highlight 'little oasis' in middle of Salt Lake County

Salt Lake Tribune

'Let it burn'? That's not the case, says Forest Service, which blames weather anomaly for losing control of Pole Creek Fire

Lake Powell pipeline will have to jump through more federal hoops

Candidates clash over Medicaid expansion in competitive Utah House race

Mystery surrounds who funded billboards that quote LDS scripture to support medical marijuana initiative

Some people in new Mia Love attack ad say their images were 'stolen' from old ad they did in support of Ben McAdams

Other

Ogden groups critical of 2017 school bond plan voice support for 2018 proposal (Standard-Examiner)

Candidates discuss issues for people with disabilities at forum (Logan Herald Journal)

 

  NATIONAL HEADLINES  

Brett Kavanaugh's nomination:
Christine Blasey Ford's attorneys are suggesting she could testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday of next week about her allegations that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her - https://politi.co/2PRdxIz

Republicans are distancing themselves from a bonkers theory cooked up by conservative commentator Ed Whelan suggesting Blasey Ford's attacker was another high school classmate of Kavanaugh's. Blasey Ford dismissed the theory out of hand -https://nym.ag/2PUzk1V 
Sen. Dean Heller called the allegations Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a woman while in high school "a little hiccup" with his confirmation process - http://bit.ly/2PR5oE3

A new poll finds support for Kavanaugh's confirmation has dropped nearly 10 points in the last month as more Americans now oppose Kavanaugh's confirmation than support it - https://nbcnews.to/2PRdT1R

Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office is receiving threats of bodily and sexual harm against staffers because of her involvement in the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh - http://bit.ly/2PZjBir
The families of both Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford are reportedly receiving death threats - https://usat.ly/2PUennM
Evangelical leaders are expressing frustration at how cautious Republicans are being moving forward with Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation - https://nyti.ms/2PTjvIR
South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman joked about Abraham Lincoln groping Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg - https://wapo.st/2PUYM7D
President Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, has participated with multiple interview sessions with investigators from the office of special counsel Robert Muller - https://abcn.ws/2PWz2Ia
Voter enthusiasm among Democrats is soaring heading into November's elections according to a new poll - https://reut.rs/2PWEaMq
Voting in November's midterm elections is already underway in four states - http://bit.ly/2PTiMaE
Grain of salt, please! A new internal Republican poll finds House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would beat President Donald Trump in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup - https://bloom.bg/2PX8vuf
At least 24 people without housing experience were appointed to top jobs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Many of those were given raises within their first months on the job, resulting in annual salaries between $98,000 and $155,000 per year - https://wapo.st/2PUeQX4

The Trump administration's plan to slash the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. came from immigration hardliner Stephen Miller - https://nbcnews.to/2PXaEGj
Workers at Google discussed changes to the company's search functions to counter the travel ban instituted by the Trump administration in 2017 - https://on.wsj.com/2PVEJFV

  ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY  

1776 - Part of New York City is burned shortly after being occupied by British forces.
1780 - American General Benedict Arnold gives the British the plans to West Point.
1792 - French Revolution: The National Convention abolishes the monarchy.
1937 - J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is published.
1981 - Sandra Day O'Connor is unanimously approved by the Senate as the first female Supreme Court justice.
1996 - The Defense of Marriage Act is passed by Congress.

Policy News

Casual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors Report
Weekend EventOutdoors Report--Tribune: Utah is putting more cougars in the crosshairs - and not even all hunters like the idea--KSL.com:Want a challenging, but beautiful overlook hike? Try 'C' Hill--KSL.com:Wildlife board approves more cougar hunting permits for 2018-19 seas...Join WTC Utah and Haight Bey for a seminar on GDPR and European data compliance
If you market to or process the information of customers and employees in the EU, you need to conform to GDPR....SLCC officially opens the Westpointe Workforce Training & Education Center
Utah lawmakers, along with industry, business and education leaders, received their first glimpse of Salt Lake Community College's new 121,000-square-foot Westpointe Workforce Training & Education Center during a grand opening celebration held on Wedn...Utah's Martha Hughes Cannon Committee announces request for qualifications to create Martha Hughes Cannon Statue for 2020 completion
The Martha Hughes Cannon Statue Oversight Committee announced the issuance of a Request for Qualifications/Proposal for the creation of a statue of Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon for National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C....

More National Headlines

The Democrats' Hypocrisy on Violence against Women (National Review)

Investigations? Sure. Impeachment? Doubtful. Here's the outlook if Democrats win big (McClatchy)

Executives on the front line worry about where the trade war goes next (CNN)

Booker's push for Kavanaugh vote delay called out over his 1992 column detailing teenage groping (FOX News)

Ford's attorneys, after being listed on fundraiser for Democrat, pull out of event (CNN)

California Gov. Jerry Brown blocks later school start time mandate (FOX News)

FBI memos detail 'partisan axes,' secret conflicts behind the Russia election meddling assessment (The Hill)

Google employees discussed changing search results after Trump travel ban (USA Today)

Former classmate of Kavanaugh accuser backtracks after claiming definitively sexual assault did happen (Washington Examiner)

'Dog the Bounty Hunter' says he's joining manhunt for man who allegedly threatened Trump (FOX News)

Trump demands a border wall but many Republican lawmakers aren't convinced (Washington Post)

Wise Words

Casualties

"In war, you can only be killed once, but in politics, many times." Winston Churchill

 

Lighter Side

Global Warming

"If you think Trump's economic ideas are crazy, you should hear Trump's plan for global warming. He thinks the government should just make more ice cubes." James Corden

 

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