Francis Fukuyama says liberalism is NOT dead; Rep. Travis Seegmiller is resigning, new Utah energy plan unveiled | | | The Utah Policy newsletter is your one-stop source for political and policy-minded news. We scour the news so you don't have to! Send news tips or feedback to Holly Richardson at [email protected]. | | |
Situational Analysis | May 11, 2022 A good Wednesday morning to ya. It's National Eat What You Want Day. Be in the Know Governor Spencer Cox called for collaboration and unity at his spring "One Utah" Summit. Amid many positives, the governor also acknowledged "We don't just want to talk about the good things. We want to talk about the hard things, the difficult things, the troubling things that we need to improve." The specific problem Cox spoke about Tuesday was a WalletHub report from August that found the Beehive State ranked dead last when assessed on metrics measuring women's equality. "We brought in one of the foremost leaders in women's issues here in the state, Dr. Susan Madsen, and we walked through every single one of those metrics in our survey to talk about how we could improve and do better." If you are interested in international relations theory, this one's for you. Francis Fukuyama predicted the "end of history," which argued that the decline of Communism marked the end of grand ideological struggle and the âuniversalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.â. Liberalism is not dead, as some have said with the war in Ukraine. Instead, in a new book, the political theorist offers a stout defense of liberalism against threats from left and right â and predicts that Ukraine will revive âthe spirit of 1989.â (New York Times) | | |
| | FROM OUR SPONSOR, 100 PERCENT KIDS COALITION 82,000 Utah kids donât have health insurance Health insurance is crucial for the success of children, especially during a public health crisis. Unfortunately, too many kids across Utah are going without health insurance. Let's help all kids get the care they need, by covering all kids NOW! | | |
Utah Headlines General 'I knew that I needed something': One Refugee helping refugee students reach educational goals (KSL) ð South Salt Lake authorities discover, detonate pipe bomb in Raising Caneâs drive-thru (Salt Lake Tribune) Two men arrested following shootout in Idaho Falls temple parking lot (Deseret News) 'Collapsed' structure provides disaster training for Utah first responders (Fox13) Driver ticketed going 122 mph on I-15 in Kaysville (Fox13) Politics If we want women in government (and we do), we need to make some changes. If we want to support families, we need to support women in the workforce (Deseret News) Southern Utah lawmaker charged in poaching case resigns from Utah Legislature (KSL) Senate moves to protect Supreme Court justices amid abortion rights protests (Deseret News) Where does U.S. Senate candidate Evan McMullin stand on abortion? (Deseret News) Sen. Mitt Romney wants federal action on the baby formula shortage (Deseret News) Infrastructure funding to include pipeline repairs in Utah (Daily Herald) Boyd Matheson: What a leaky Supreme Court means for the future of America (Deseret News) 'Our nation is starving for kindness': Cox urges collaboration, unity at One Utah Summit (KSL) Education Utah allows tribal regalia for graduations. Students from other cultures want to be included (KUER) Utah sets up a scholarship program to recruit more child care workers (KUER) Environment Wind gusts prompt new fire risks in southern Utah, state's first red flag warning of 2022 (KSL) Whatâs in Gov. Spencer Coxâs new energy and innovation plan? (Deseret News) Utah lags behind others in clean energy goal. Is that about to change? (Salt Lake Tribune) SITLA has plans for Bears Ears land exchange, but Grand County has some reservations (KUER) Drought coordinator: Hold off on watering, consult the weekly lawn watering guide (KSL) Southern Utah communities to tear out more than 100,000 square feet of water-hogging turf (Fox13) Family Why moms should celebrate when their kids tune them out (Deseret News) National Headlines General Stocks slide to lowest in 2022 as rout continues. Technology, energy shares lead declines as Nasdaq falls more than 4% (Wall Street Journal) Elon Musk says he'll reverse Donald Trump Twitter ban (NPR) Watery graves recall early Las Vegasâ organized crime days (AP) Illinois historically Black college to close after 157 years (AP) Marcos family once ousted by uprising wins Philippines vote in landslide (Washington Post) CDC: 2020 saw most firearm deaths since 1994. Largest increase from 2019 to â20 occurred among Black males ages 10-44 and American Indian/Alaska Native males ages 25-44 (Roll Call) Politics Biden signs Ukraine bill, seeks $40B aid, in Putin rejoinder (AP) Policymakers back rate hikes as Biden puts faith in the Fed (Reuters) Inside the Republican campaign to take down Madison Cawthorn. The freshman congressman picked a fight with top GOP leaders in his state. They gave it to him. (Wall Street Journal) NY Rep. Tom Reed resigns, cites âextremismâ in House (Roll Call) House passes bill awarding Congressional Gold Medal to chief US prosecutor at Nuremberg Trials. He's 102. (The Hill) Congress is holding a public hearing on UFOs for the first time in over 50 years (Deseret News) Ukraine ðºð¦ Germany reopens embassy in Kyiv, supports war crimes probes (AP) Ukraine pushes back Russian troops in counter-offensive near Kharkiv (Reuters) Russian troops ill-prepared for Ukraine war, says ex-Kremlin mercenary (Reuters) Nearly encircled, Ukraineâs last stronghold in Luhansk resists Russian onslaught. With no power, water, cellphone coverage or access to news, remaining residents in a Donbas regional city shelter in basements, hoping to survive (Wall Street Journal) | | |
News Releases Gov. Cox releases Utahâs new State Energy and Innovation Plan Gov. Spencer J. Cox and the Utah Office of Energy Development (OED) released Utahâs new State Energy and Innovation Plan. Identifying six key commitments, the State Energy and Innovation Plan will serve as a guidepost for energy development in Utah. Thom Carter, Energy Advisor to the Governor and Executive Director of OED, announced the release of the plan during his remarks at the One Utah Summit. The plan lives on the OEDâs website as an interactive story map at energy.utah.gov/plan. (Read More) Romney calls out feds for lack of action on baby formula shortage U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today urged U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Califf and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Vilsack to address the current shortage of baby formula and work to prevent future threats to infant health. In the letter, he stressed that FDA and USDA have a dual responsibility to ensure safe formula and prevent supply shortages when a crisis arises, and he underscored his concern regarding the lack of action to mitigate the ongoing shortage. Romney also highlighted how the recall has caused prices of formulas to skyrocket for many American families who are already facing hardships due to high levels of inflation. (Read More) Utah Foundation: Homes are moving increasingly out of reach for blue-collar households Today, the Utah Foundation released a new Significant Statistic post on housing costs in Utah. Having recently completed our âmiddle housingâ project, the Utah Foundation continues to track Utahâs housing issues. A recent find is the Carpenter Index. AEIâs Housing Center created its Carpenter Index as a way of tracking housing affordability in the countryâs 100 largest metro areas. The Index looks at the income for the average carpenter-headed household as a proxy for blue-collar Americansâ incomes. The gist of the question: Can carpenters afford the homes they build? Salt Lake, Ogden and Provo are all among the 10 least affordable metros on the Carpenter Index for 2021. (Read More) Utah State Board of Education: Federal waivers for free school lunch to all students to end with school year Federal waivers granting access to free school lunch for students enrolled at schools participating in the National School Lunch Program since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 will end at the end of this school year. Families will be able apply for free or reduced-price school lunch with their local participating school as soon as of July 1. Families may be eligible if they meet the federal income eligibility guidelines or participate in one of the following programs: SNAP, TANF or FDPIR. (Read More) Office of the State Auditor reviews complaint about process to select vendor to perform Orem School District feasibility study In response to a complaint, the Office of the State Auditor (Office) conducted a limited review of the process Orem City recently used to select a vendor to perform the Orem School District Feasibility Study. The Office reviewed the concerns expressed. A letter summarizing the Officeâs review was sent both to the complainant and to Orem City. The news release and a link to the letter may be found on the Officeâs website, auditor.utah.gov. Owens co-sponsors bill to immediately defund Biden administrationâs âMinistry of Truthâ Today, Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04) co-sponsored legislation introduced by Rep. Mike Johnson (LA-04) to prohibit federal funding for the Department of Homeland Securityâs recently announced âDisinformation Governance Board.â âThe Biden Administrationâs Disinformation Governance Board is a political tool for so-called experts to referee free speech,â said Rep. Owens. âIâm proud to support this commonsense legislation to prevent Utahnsâ hard-earned taxpayer dollars from funding the obstruction of their First Amendment rights.â The full legislative text is available here. Number of the Day | | |
Upcoming USU Research Landscapes: Outdoor Recreation & Tourism in Utah, May 12, 4:30 pm, OC Tanner HQ, RSVP here Breakfast Briefing with Utah Foundation, May 17, 8:30-10:00 am Envision Utah Breakfast, May 25, 8:00-9:30 am, Register here Ballots are mailed â June 7 Primary election day â June 28 General election â Nov 8 | | |
On This Day In History 1875 - Harriet Quimby is born. She became the first American woman to become a licensed airplane pilot and the first woman to fly across the English Channel 1888 - Irving Berlin is born in Tyuman, Russian Empire. 1906 - Jacqueline Cochran is born. She became the first female pilot to break the sound barrier in 1953. At the time of her death in 1980, she held more records than any other pilot - male or female - in history. âAdventure is a state of mind - and spirit.â 1934 - A massive dust storm sweeps millions of tons of topsoil from the Great Plains across the Eastern states. 1960 - Israeli soldiers capture Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires 1981 - Bob Marley, Jamaican reggae musician, dies of brain and lung cancer at age 36. 1987 - "Butcher of Lyon,â former Nazi Gestapo chief, Klaus Barbie, is finally charged with war crimes 1997 - Deep Blue, a chess-playing computer, defeats Garry Kasparov in 19 moves. Wise Words "This ideal is that we work together, we collaborate, that we don't let our differences divide us, and that we find better ways to do things."
âUtah Gov. Spencer Cox | | |
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