Blog Archives - Jay Evensen

Government keeps expanding secrecy

3/30/2016

In the 14-plus years since terrorists attacked on 9/11, the struggle between security and freedom has grown ever larger, but security seems to be winning.
After Edward Snowden left the country and revealed how the National Security Agency was collecting phone records, President Barack Obama said we needed a national dialog. But while we talk, the government keeps expanding its collections.

The New York Times recently reported the administration is preparing a set of procedures that

Smokers at the airport — it's time to curb the habit

3/29/2016

Beginning soon, you may see something different at Salt Lake International Airport — larger groups of smokers congregating on the curb.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. After all, we’ve gotten used to seeing them congregate in front of office buildings all over the land, in all kinds of weather. But once they appear outside the airport, you can judge for yourself whether they are more of a nuisance there or inside the five glass-enclosed cages where the airport currently keeps them on display.

How can we bottle Utah's newfound caucus fever?

3/23/2016

Through the years, I’ve heard people say that if everyone showed up, Democracy would be wonderful.

Well, if we learned anything on Tuesday, it is that common sayings can be naïve. Large turnouts are wonderful. Rain is wonderful, too. But too much of it at once can cause a mess if you aren’t prepared.

A lot of Utahns may think it’s time to check out of mortality after seeing long lines outside Democratic caucuses in Utah County, of all places. Once you’ve seen this, how many more real surprises can be left in life?

By all accounts, the two major parties were flooded Tuesday evening. But the lack of preparation may

Trump and his protesters alike are cheapening America

3/22/2016

First, let me say I am not a novice when it comes to protests.

My Dad took me to hear President Nixon speak in 1970, and we encountered anti-war protesters outside. The first one I remember being sent to as a reporter involved Palestinians outside the United Nations Building in New York in 1982.

A couple of years later, as a reporter in Las Vegas, I was sent to cover a prolonged and acrimonious strike by unionized hotel workers. There were nightly clashes between chanting protesters and police in riot gear.

In the early ‘90s, I covered the chants of left-wing

Trump had little to gain from a debate in Utah

3/16/2016

Next month marks seven years since I walked to the Federal Building in downtown Salt Lake City to witness something new — a protest by a group calling itself a tea party.

The local gathering was just one of several such parties organized nationwide that day. As I wrote then, many pundits, particularly on the left, dismissed these. Thomas Frank, the Wall Street Journal’s liberal columnist at the time, questioned the resolve of those involved. He said the rallies would take place, “Unless it rains today …”

Coincidentally, it was snowing as I walked to the Federal Building — one of those intense spring storms where the outdoors becomes a miserable mess. No one seemed to notice. When a speaker suggested she cut her remarks short because of the weather, people shouted, “No!”

At the time, I saw this as a sign of how intensely upset the attendees were with big government.

Why the plan to tax Internet sales failed in Utah

3/15/2016

Spring is when “a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love,” to quote Alfred Lord Tennyson.

For the rest of us older folks, thoughts turn to taxes, which, despite the fickle and unpredictable nature of matters of the heart, can be more complicated.

Complicated and, unless you stand to get a big return, boring. If you’re a procrastinator (you have one month from yesterday to file your returns), you may wish to fill some idle time examining what the Utah Legislature did this year to state and local taxes.

Can we reclaim civil political discourse?

3/9/2016

I recently came across a photo, dated 1938, of a car covered in political graffiti parked along a city street in San Francisco.

On its driver-side door was painted, “Yes Columbus did discover America! We have discovered the international bankers have taken it away from us saps.” One front fender was painted with, “Lies are falling thick and fast.”

Utah's online GOP caucus won't lead to Internet voting

3/8/2016

When it comes to innovative ways to increase voter turnout, Utah seems to break all the rules.

This is a state that lets you vote by mail, vote early and, at least for a three-year trial period, lets you register on the day you vote. Conventional wisdom says that if Republicans run your state, you aren’t supposed to have all those things.

“When I go to national election conventions, people are all scratching their heads,” Mark Thomas, chief deputy to Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, told me. “We’re doing things that only some of the liberal states are doing.”

So it shouldn’t be terribly surprising that, if you are a registered Republican in Utah, you will have the chance to vote online in the upcoming presidential preference caucus, March 22.

That’s just another bold step in a conservative state that’s surprisingly progressive about elections, right?

Immigration fallacies echo arguments from the past

3/2/2016

A century ago in America, it cost a lot less to buy a house. Even adjusting for inflation, the average home cost $75,600 in today’s dollars.

That might make you long for the good old days, until you consider that in 1915 you couldn’t have afforded it. The average yearly pay then equates to just $16,063 today.

A quick glimpse into the past, even through the darkened glass of some basic facts, can make the present shine brighter. It also can, believe it or not, help us understand current politics.

We hear a lot these days about taking back America or returning the country to greatness. Those political slogans are hardly unique to this election season, and I doubt many people would want to return to the past if they really understood it.
At the same time, people might change their behavior today if they understood just how closely their misconceptions resemble those of people long ago, particularly when the subject is immigration.

Violence inevitable on Salt Lake's troubled Rio Grande St.

3/1/2016

As Salt Lake City struggles to gain a foothold after the tragic police shooting of a 17-year-old boy officers say was assaulting someone on Rio Grande Street last weekend, one thing seems to be escaping attention.

weebly statistics

weebly reliable statistics

weebly statistics