Private tuition vouchers in Utah, nothing but a money grab for the rich.

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Saturday March 18, 2006 · 6:03 PM PST

2006/03/18 · 18:03

It seems like every year in Utah, we have a legislative bill designed to implement some form of tuition voucher or tax credit or "scholarship" for k-12 private school tuition. This year was no exception.

The 45-day legislative session is now over, and thankfully, this year's conjuration of a "tuition tax credit/voucher/scholarship for private school tuition" bill has been defeated yet again. Notice how there is no maximum income level after which vouchers would no longer be offered, just a scaled level for the amount of the vouchers where even those with the highest incomes would still be eligible for a $500 "scholarship".

It seems that this issue will never go away, and there are many well-funded groups pushing to get a voucher program implemented under the guise of "choice" in education. Here's a link to a recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune about one such group's efforts to defeat legislators who oppose vouchers. Read More

1st Orrin, now Bennett or There's something in the water.

SLCdon

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Saturday February 25, 2006 · 11:57 AM PST

2006/02/25 · 11:57

There really must be something in the water where Senator Hatch and Senator Bennett hang out (I certainly know it's not the beer!)

Last week, Hatch said some pretty dumb things about Iraq and al-Qaida. His spinning was even dumber. I wrote about it all here.

Now, it's Bennett's turn.

On Friday morning, Sen. Bob Bennett addressed Utah Valley State College students about the evolution of ethics in the nation's capital and, at one point, accused a legendary U.S. House speaker of taking cash from lobbyists.
"Sam Rayburn, after whom the House office building is named, used to keep a jar on his desk and when lobbyists would come in to see him, they would deposit the appropriate envelope with cash," he told about 100 students and faculty.

SLCdon

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Wednesday February 22, 2006 · 10:04 AM PST

2006/02/22 · 10:04

Yesterday, kos mentioned and eps diaried this story about an invitation only luncheon where Orrin Hatch was quoted as saying,

And, more importantly, we've stopped a mass murderer in Saddam Hussein. Nobody denies that he was supporting al-Qaida. Well, I shouldn't say nobody. Nobody with brains.

Well, today we get Orrin's bullshit "response".

On Tuesday, Hatch said he may have misspoken at the event, and he was speaking of conditions in post-Hussein Iraq and the terrorist network led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
"Saddam clearly had a long history of supporting terrorists, but I was not talking about any formal link between Saddam and al-Qaida before the war," Hatch said in a statement. "Instead, I pointed out that the current insurgency in Iraq includes al-Qaida, under the leadership of al-Zarqawi, along with former elements of Saddam's regime."

I searched the tags and recent diaries and didn't see this diaried yet, so please, join me on the flip . . . Read More

Utah (yes Utah!) newspaper skewers Bush

SLCdon

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Saturday February 04, 2006 · 10:27 AM PST

2006/02/04 · 10:27

Yes, it's true. The Salt Lake Tribune ran this editorial on Friday. It's hard to believe this comes from a paper that actually endorsed Bush before the '04 election, unless of course you realize that it was a sham endorsement solely to please the conservative publisher of the paper. As if it even mattered. I'm sure if the Trib had come down on Kerry's side, the whole state would have followed suit. I mean, Bush is holding steady at about a 70% approval rating in Utah, how hard could it be to convince these people? One newspaper's measly little endorsement surely could have made the difference.

The editorial board has slowly but surely been living down that pseudo-endorsement, and now I think the task is complete. (I'd link to the endorsement and a bevy of LTEs they received in response, but they're behind an archive firewall. Current articles are free for, I think, 14 days.) Read More

Rantalicious, ranty rant (with LTE and Poll!)

SLCdon

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Saturday January 21, 2006 · 10:12 PM PST

2006/01/21 · 22:12

Simple statements for simple minds!

My only question is: Did I go to far?

I mean, how do people become so dense (or do they just never learn critical thinking skills)?

Today's submission in the never-ending Deseret Morning News series: Letters from impenetrable minds

Simple tax statement
Food tax is the only tax that some people ever pay.
End of discussion.
David G. Buck
Murray, UT

rant and response on the flip . . . Read More

Hey Straw Man!

SLCdon

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Saturday January 07, 2006 · 1:00 PM PST

2006/01/07 · 13:00

This is my first diary. I hope I'm not violating any of the rules, but if so, please be kind.

I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. I'm happy to say that SLC is a progressive/liberal stronghold surrounded by a sea of red in the rest of the state.

That being said, there is always a copious amount of wingnuttery in our local papers' public forums. There are two main papers published daily in SLC: Read More

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Private tuition vouchers in Utah, nothing but a money grab for the rich.

1st Orrin, now Bennett or There's something in the water.

Orrin's response or "Why my bullsh*t meter just exploded!"

Utah (yes Utah!) newspaper skewers Bush

Rantalicious, ranty rant (with LTE and Poll!)

Hey Straw Man!