Salon.com > Utah

First “ag-gag” charges brought … and then dropped

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:48:00 +0000

A Utah woman this week was the first to be arrested and face charges under the state's new so-called ag-gag laws, aimed to protect factory farms from whistle-blowers. As Will Potter reported on Green Is the New Red, Amy Meyer, standing on public land, filmed with her smartphone what she believed to be a sick, live cow being towed away from a slaughterhouse. Via Potter:

When the slaughterhouse manager came outside and told her to stop, she replied that she was on the public easement and had the right to film. When police arrived, she said told them the same thing. According to the police report, the manager said she was trespassing and crossed over the barbed-wire fence, but the officer noted “there was no damage to the fence in my observation.”

Meyer was allowed to leave. She later found out she was being prosecuted under the state’s new “ag-gag” law. This is the first prosecution in the country under one of these laws, which are designed to silence undercover investigators who expose animal welfare abuses on factory farms. The legislation is a direct response to a series of shocking investigations by groups like the Humane Society, Mercy for Animals, and Compassion Over Killing that have led to plant closures, public outrage, and criminal charges against workers.

10 reasons state lotteries ruin the economy

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:52:00 +0000

State lotteries amount to a hidden tax on the poor. They eat up about 9 percent of take-home incomes from households making less than $13,000 a year. They siphon $50 billion a year away from local businesses—besides stores where they’re sold. And they are encouraged by state-sponsored ads suggesting everyone can win, win, win!

State lotteries, which once were illegal, now exist in most states. What many people don’t know about lotteries is that they prey on those who can least afford it; most people never win anything big; and 11 states raise more money from lotteries than from corporate taxes. Beyond the moral, mental health or religious debates over gambling, lotteries are another example of how society preys on the poor and the working-class.

Let’s look at why state lotteries do far more harm than good—especially at the bottom of the economic ladder.

My three wives

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Lately, the debate about gay marriage has led to many conversations about what makes a marriage and who can have one. It’s an interesting question for me because I’m married to three women. I’ve written a book about our family, and my wives have appeared on "Oprah." We weren’t always this open; for years we lived in secrecy and shame – afraid that people would find out, afraid of losing jobs and friendships. But we grew tired of the silence, and it became our mission to help people understand our way of life. Recent stories have wondered if the acceptance of gay marriage could lead to a better understanding of polygamy. I don’t know the answer – but I certainly hope so.

Plural marriage, as we call it, has always been a part of my life. From an early age, I understood my family was part of a peculiar group trying to live according to old Mormon ways. Both my grandfathers went to prison for polygamy, and I grew up hearing stories of their sacrifice for the “Principle.” We lived in a middle-class area of Salt Lake City, where most of our neighbors were mainstream Mormons (the church banned polygamy more than 100 years ago), and church representatives would show up and try to convert my father. All he had to say was “polygamy,” and they were gone.

Climate science-denying GOPer to head climate subcommittee

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 21:06:00 +0000

A House subcommittee on climate change announced that its new Chair will be Rep. Chris Stewart, a Republican from Utah who does not believe in man-made climate change, and who has written several end-times novels that were endorsed by none other than Glenn Beck.

"I'm not as convinced as a lot of people are that man-made climate change is the threat they think it is," Stewart told the Salt Lake Tribune. "I think it is probably not as immediate as some people do."

As Tim Murphy from Mother Jones reports, Stewart is no big fan of the EPA or Endangered Species Act either:

Chipotle pulls sponsorship of Utah Boy Scout event

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:16:00 +0000

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Chipotle Mexican Grill has pulled its sponsorship of Utah's "Scout-O-Rama" because of the Boy Scouts of America's long-standing ban on gays.

The popular Colorado-based restaurant chain initially signed on to provide about $4,200 worth of coupons to the Utah Boy Scouts' annual event, scheduled for May 4 in a Salt Lake City suburb. The Boy Scouts' Great Salt Lake Council is one of the largest in the country, with the majority of troops sponsored by Mormon churches.

Chipotle's anti-discrimination policy states that the company shouldn't support organizations that exclude based on sexual orientation. When company leaders found out about the promise to offer coupons, they nixed the idea, Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said.

"It was never our intention for this to be this some kind of an endorsement of broader Boy Scout policies," said Arnold, adding that the company sponsors community events across the country to make connections with residents.

"Ultimately, we decided that the right thing to do was to remain consistent with our policy and terminate the sponsorship," Arnold said.

The rescission of the offer was first reported by Think Progress.org.

Religious states are also the unhappiest

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:08:00 +0000

They say that religion is the opiate of the masses, but it seems that the opiates of the religious are antidepressants.

A study released yesterday confirmed that Mississippi remains the most religious state in the Union, followed by a handful of its southern belt brothers: Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, as well as the Mormon stronghold of Utah. The Gallup poll showed that 58 percent of all Mississippians identify as “very religious.” The least religious states in the U.S. are the former stomping grounds of the very,very religious Puritans: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire.

But life in these highly faithful states doesn’t seem to be all its cracked up to be. The most religious states in the U.S. share another trait: the highest use of anti-depressants.

Conservative smoothie bar charges liberals extra

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:38:00 +0000

George Burnett, owner of a smoothie and juice bar in Vernal, on the Utah/Colorado border, has an unusual charging policy. Self-identifying liberal patrons of the I Love Drilling smoothie bar are charged $1 extra for drinks, money that Burnett donates to conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation.

"We have a fiscal problem in this country. We've got to deal with it or we don't have a country, so to kind of help make that point, just a little bit, I charge (liberals) just a little bit more," said conservative Burnett. His policy has received a dose of online criticism, but all three open liberals he has encountered in his shop have paid the fee.

"We had a husband and wife come in, he was conservative and she was liberal, and he paid conservative for himself and liberal for her," said Burnett. Vernal, reported local KSL news station, is a community "getting its first glimpse of another oil and gas bust."

No mild sexual innuendo! This is Utah!

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 23:40:00 +0000

A software company with offices in Utah is afraid that a possible sexual innuendo in its street address may make business go, well, soft.

The address? Morning Glory Road.

Xactware Solutions Inc., concerned that sharing a road with the uncommon slang term for an erection might distract customers or simply make them confuse software with hardware, asked the city of Lehi to change the name to Morning Vista Road. They said it did not fit their "international corporate image."

The city, according to the Salt Lake Tribune, complied -- though they didn't understand the problem. "We never knew about the ulterior definitions until that came to light a little while ago," local economic development director Jonathan Gardner told the paper.

Bulletproof backpack and body armor sales skyrocket for Utah company

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:45:00 +0000

Fox13 is reporting that Amendment II, a Utah-based American combat apparel company, has seen a dramatic increase in demand for its bulletproof children's backpacks and lightweight child-size body armor after the shootings in Newtown, Conn. last week.

The company is two years old, and started out by selling its lightweight brand of armor, RynoHide, to the military and police organizations. But in response to school shootings, Amendment II quickly branched out to include armor in children's products, first selling only a dozen at a time "to survivalist types" known as "preppers" at weekend gun shows.

They are now selling to "everyone." In the wake of Newtown, Amendment II’s Chief Operating Officer Rich Brand said to Fox13, “At this point, it’s transcended to everyone. Anyone who’s sending out a child into the world, seeing what can happen now, they want to protect their children.” So many people are flocking to buy the company's backpacks, which retail between $150-300, that there's a wait list and the Web site has crashed multiple times.

Utah elementary school student brought gun to school

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 18:32:00 +0000

Utah Fox affiliate Fox 13 reported that yesterday, a sixth grade student brought a .22-caliber pistol to West Kearns Elementary School, claiming that his parents encouraged him to bring the gun along as protection in response to the Newtown, Conn., shootings. He reportedly showed it to one of his classmates during recess. Sixth grader Isabel Rios said, “At recess, he pointed a gun to my head and said he was going to kill me."

District officials said that they didn't know about the weapon until 3 p.m., however. “Once the teacher knew there was a weapon in the classroom, the student was apprehended in 30 to 45 seconds and immediately brought down to the office and the police were on site within five to 10 minutes,” said Granite School District spokesman Ben Horsley.

Parents were notified around 5:30, though many had learned the news from their children before then.

The student has been suspended and taken into a juvenile facility.

h/t Mediaite

Why are we testing newborns for pot?

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 14:33:00 +0000

Employees at US hospitals are testing more and more newborns for cannabis exposure. And, with alarming frequency, they are getting the wrong results. So say a pair of recent studies documenting the unreliability of infant drug testing.

In the most recent trial, published in the September edition of the journal Clinical Chemistry, investigators at the University of Utah School of Medicine evaluated the rate of unconfirmed 'positive' immunoassay test results in infant and non-infant urine samples over a 52-week period. Shockingly, authors found that positive tests for carboxy THC, a byproduct of THC screened for in immunoassay urine tests, were 59 times less likely to be confirmed in infant urine specimens as compared to non-infant urine samples. Overall, 47 percent of the infant 'positive' immunoassay urine samples evaluated did not test for the presence of carboxy THC when confirmatory assay measures were later performed.

Governors’ races: A handy cheat sheet

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 20:47:00 +0000

While you've been focused on the presidential contest, you may have completely missed the fact that there are governors' races today too. So in case you’re just tuning in, here’s what you need to know about today’s least-noticed races. We spoke with a senior Democrat involved in the campaign, who gave us his take:

Montana -- One of the most watched races, it's a tossup to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer. The race pits Democratic state Attorney General Steve Bullock against former GOP congressman Rick Hill. Hill has a narrow lead in the polls, but has been embroiled in a campaign finance scandal that could hurt him. “I feel very good to even be in a 50-50 position in Montana,” our Democratic source said of the state that will go strong for Romney.

Washington -- Another tossup. Liberal Democratic Rep. Jay Inslee faces off against state Attorney General Rob McKenna (perhaps best known for doing the “Gangnam Style” dance). Polls show Inslee with a tiny lead, but it’s “tighter than I would like,” our Democrat said. In perhaps a bit of expectations lowering, he noted that while Washington seems liberal, the state has plenty of independents and said they may want to demonstrate their independence by voting Obama but against Democrats down ballot.

New Hampshire -- The Democratic Governors Association spent more money here than in any other state and they feel confident about their chances. Democratic Gov. John Lynch is retiring, leaving Democrat Maggie Hassan, the former majority leader of the state House, against Republican Ovide Lamontagne, a Tea Party activist who lost the GOP Senate primary in the state in 2010. Polls show Hassan up. “We’re going to win New Hampshire, and we’re going to outspend the [Republican Governors Association] RGA to win it, and that’s the story,” the democratic official said.

West Virginia -- This was a race where Republicans were expected to make a big play, given the conservative nature of the state, but ended up letting incumbent Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin run away with it.

North Carolina -- The state seemed competitive for a moment when Obama was stronger, but has since slipped out of reach for Democrats, according to most analysts. “We were never going to win North Carolina,” our source said.

Indiana -- Another state that could have been competitive for Democrats in a more favorable year. Some polls show Republican Rep. Mike Pence, who was a fixture on cable news after Republicans took the House in 2010, up by low double digits. Democrats say Pence was vulnerable, but they didn’t have the resources to overcome his war chest. “If I had RGA money, I would be playing in Indiana ... But I didn’t,” the Democratic official said. Still, there’s a chance Richard Mourdock, the state's Republican Senate candidate’s comments on rape could swing things unexpectedly and make this a “sleeper race," he said.

Missouri -- Incumbent Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon should cruise to victory here.

North Dakota -- A safe one for Republicans, where incumbent Gov. Jack Dalrymple is leading by over 30 points.

Utah -- Another super-safe GOP seat, with Gov. Gary Herbert up almost 40 points.

Vermont -- No sweat for popular incumbent Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin, who is leading his Republican opponent by 30-plus points.

Mitt Romney: Disgrace to Mormonism

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 23:00:00 +0000

IN 1884 THE JOURNALIST Edward Bellamy, struggling with an idea for a utopian novel, visited the only actually-existing Communist society on earth: Utah. More precisely, he spent a week in Brigham City, seat of Box Elder County, where Apostle Lorenzo Snow (who would later become fifth LDS president and the last to have personally known Joseph Smith) showed him the workings of a dynamic community based on pooled wealth, producer and consumer cooperatives, and the use of labor scrip instead of money.

Bellamy, like many previous Gentile visitors, was greatly impressed by the Mormon gift for disciplined cooperation. A decade earlier the celebrated explorer-scientist, John Wesley Powell, had championed the Mormon principle of communal water-management in his landmark but controversial Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United States. But Bellamy — like Lincoln Steffens returning from Russia in 1921 — was even more enthusiastic: he had seen the future and it worked.