When Governor Huntsman suggested the state should do away with the antiquated private club law, I figured it would get some resistance from the legislature. I’ve been watching the debate play out, cheering for Dave Morris – one of the most vocal leaders in opposition to the current law and the owner of the Piper Down where Drinking Liberally meets – and the Utah Hospitality Association.

What I didn’t expect was for the new clown of a Senate President Michael Waddoups to try to make our laws even more regressive. Despite his previous waffling on the issue, Waddoups has recently stated that he wants to start collecting information about drinkers in the state, recording where they go (and in his dream world how much they drink, no doubt) into a central database of sinners. And not just for bar patrons – he also wants to record everyone who has a glass of wine with their dinner in a restaurant. Privacy? Who needs privacy? What’s next, a Ministry of Information?

The Republican party claims to be the party of limited government, don’t they? How is creating a large database of your citizen’s social habits not an intrusion of government? And is this something the state should be spending money on?

To create a database of drinkers is to presume guilt before innocence; assumes the majority of drinkers are reckless and irresponsible. In my experience this is the opposite of reality. Don’t treat us all as potential criminals, Sen. Waddoups.

With the legislative session fully upon us, you will begin to hear terms such as “the bill was circled” or “the law passed committee” in the paper.  This kind of stuff is far beyond the School House Rock episode that explains the basics of lawmaking – no there is no cynical lines about a lobbyist paying a representative at step three – just the simple (though expanded) process.

We begin at the beginning. A legislator (either a Senator or Representative) must propose a law, no one else can. They can either have a bill fully written, have a bill that is written but does not have any way of paying for it, or they could have a bill title alone (this third type is called a “boxcar” as in an empty train boxcar).

Once a bill is written it is read for the first time on the floor of either the House or the Senate, depending on who actually wrote the bill – this consists of saying the bill number and title. This is considered the bills “first reading.” From there the Speaker of the House (for bills written by Representatives) or the President of the Senate (for bills written by Senators) sends every bill to a committee – usually (but not always) to a committee related to a bill. These committees focus on things such has transportation or health care, just to name a few.

The committee is the first place a bill is tested. The bill is heard by anywhere from eight to 18 legislators and they decide if the bill should continue to be heard. As you can imagine this is one of the most critical moments for a bill as four to nine legislators can kill a bill at this moment. These committees are generally stacked in the favor of the ruling party as the leaders of the chambers choose who sits on what committee.

I had mentioned this at the meeting tonight.  I said I would follow up with more details, and here they are.

This film will play Saturday October 25th at 7:00 PM

This presentation will be held in room 309. All are welcome to attend; no admission will be charged. Attendees will view a new video documentary entitled “Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections,” which exposes how American voters were cheated during elections in both 2004 and 2006–and why this will likely happen again in 2008. Afterward, they can enjoy a discussion with Bruce Funk, who served as Emery County’s Clerk until he was fired for “blowing the whistle.”

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This film is being presented admission free. Most likely conservative activists in Utah County.

I believe people should take this very seriously. Here you have conservatives who are not Al Gore fans , yet they are sponsoring a film stating Al Gore was cheated out of the 2004 election by vote fraud.

It wasn’t the Electoral College, and it wasn’t Ralph Nader. It was vote fraud.

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While Drinking Liberally isn’t hosting a debate watch party, there will be a few throughout the valley. There will be one at Saints and Sinners, hosted by Misty Fowler and Becky Isais. Link to details.

And there’s one in the Gayborhood (that’s Marmalade) Link to details.

While it seems like the media is trying to tell us the VP debate was a tie, there was no doubt in the minds of the 80+ liberals at Saints and Sinners that Biden took it handily.  Sure, we gave Palin credit where it was due – after all her head didn’t explode with all the facts that Biden was throwing at her. But then she didn’t really seem to be attention to them anyway.  Same for the questions being asked of her.  

To me the debate wasn’t nearly as entertaining as I thought it would be, so it’s a good thing we had bingo cards.  Many people got bingo – I think I even heard of someone that got a blackout.  KUTV 2 showed up early in the night and interviewed Heather, Laura and I.  While they didn’t post the video, you can read the article here.  KSL 5 showed up a little later and chatted with Misty at Saintless and Sheryl with Democracy for Utah. Watch the video here.  Even the Deseret News showed up and chatted with us for a bit.

Overall it was a fun night, despite a few logistical issues. We hope everyone had a good time.  There are a few photos over in our Flickr pool.

The Salt Lake Film Center is hosting the Documentary Uncounted at the Fort Douglas Post Theater Tonight. The film starts at 7:00 PM.

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In 2009, America will try to begin to forget George W. Bush and his legacy: A legacy of Imperial Presidency, war of aggression and torture. We, as Americans, cannot let this happen. As much as we would like to forget these past seven years, it is important we remember not only the despicable acts that were committed in our name, but the way the events were allowed to take place.

This has been a holocaust for the United States Constitution. Not to compare the loss of life and human suffering to the atrocities perpetrated under Nazi Germany, but the spirit and the letter of Our United States most sacrosanct document has been eviscerated.

From the Orwellian named Patriot Act that provisions the arbitrary suspension of the most basic of democratic principals habeas corpus, to the politicization of the Justice Department and warrantless wiretapping on its own citizens, the administration of President George W. Bush has usurped the power of the United States Government and consolidated it in the Executive Branch. It has done this (and planned to do this from its inception) with a model called the Unitary Executive (or Imperial Presidency)

This model distorts or ignores the primary function of the Constitution: the separation of powers. All the Founding Fathers (especially George Washington) were adamant in the distribution of power away from a central authority. So much so that the first documents of American Government, the Articles of Confederation, did not have a president or figure head. We were sick of King George.

In fact, Article I of the Constitution does not lay out the powers and responsibilities of the President, but of Congress. Unfortunately, the Congress of the United States decided to be the Executive’s lap dog following the crisis of September 11, 2001. By systematically calling anyone and everyone Unpatriotic and Anti-American who questioned the necessity or wisdom of any part of any action the administration wished to take, the Bush administration brushed aside all opposition to its policies.

Some great local bloggers have the opportunity to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and you can help them get there by donating liberally to the cause. This is a rare opportunity, and I’m happy to see these guys going. The paypal link is in the body of the message below, but also here.

Also, the Utah Amicus is holding a kickoff party on Wednesday, so if you’ve got ideas of what they should focus on while at the DNC, show up and let them know – and throw a little moola their way to boot.
What: The Utah Amicus DNC Bloggers Kick Off Party
When: August 20 at 7 p.m. (MDT).
Where: 7119 West 8050 South, West Jordan
Press Release: JMBell.org

Utah Womena’s Alliance for Building Community Flyer
The Utah Women’s Alliance for Building Community (UWABC)
Presents… The Game of Politics

Do legislative decisions make you feel like you are out in left field?
Do you go to county council meetings with your bases loaded only to strike out at bat?
Have you gone to a political meeting having studied the opposing team’s playbook, but never made it off the bench?

Get in the game!

Join us for our World Series Panel of State Representative David Litvack, County Mayor Peter Corroon, and Midvale City Mayor JoAnn Seghini as they answer questions on the power plays, fouls, errors, and interactions of varying government entities. Jenny Brundin, News Director of KUER, will moderate.

Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Time: 5:30-6:00 p.m. Networking, 6:00-7:15 p.m. Panel Discussion
Place: Mountain America Credit Union, 7181 South Campus View Drive
(Northwest of Jordan Landing), West Jordan, Utah
Cost: Free

Register: www.uwabc.org

Food and drink provided
Sponsored by Mountain America Credit Union