It All Ends With the Civil Society
It All Ends With the Civil Society After the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University (UVU), something I’d looked into before resurfaced. The “Civil Society” and “democracy” as it’s called, popped back up due to several X threads- Data Republican and SKDoubledub33, and Jessica Woods addressing NGOs and other groups. I thought it […]
Lights Out? Utah’s Growing Energy Crisis
If you’re like me you tend to ignore, intentionally or not, the articles that mention broad subjects. An article about something in my city and near to me catches my attention, but large ambiguous things tend to limp off into my peripheral. That was until recently. I have always assumed — presumptuous I know — […]
What the Civil Societ Really Means and Why Utah Needs to Say No
From Enlibra to Entanglement: Mike Leavitt, Public-Private Partnerships, and the New Face of American Governance
In the late 1990s, Utah Governor Mike Leavitt introduced a governance philosophy known as Enlibra — a “third way” approach designed to resolve environmental disputes and decentralize decision-making. With its emphasis on collaboration, market-based solutions, and stakeholder-driven processes, Enlibra quickly gained national traction. During Leavitt’s tenure as head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under […]
Where Did Housing Go Wrong
Op-Ed Submission – Jack Barrington Housing: This topic is certainly a contentious one, although not the way I initially thought it would be. People in general, left or right or independent, have had enough of the High-Density/Affordable housing mandates. Even those who had been in favor a few years ago have turned. So, I decided […]
Why I Support Keeping Our Current Utah State Flag
Op-Ed Submitted During the week of July 16-22, 2023, I spent nearly 30 hours in a homemade booth set up on our driveway. The reason?: To seek signatures of those passing by our home on what’s termed the “Save Utah’s Flag Initiative” as they entered the park across the street for city festivities. Some will […]
Movie Review: The Distinguished Gentleman
Movie Review: The Distinguished Gentleman The Distinguished Gentleman is a movie released in 1992. It features Eddie Murphy as a con man who jumps at the chance to swindle much more money by getting himself elected to Congress. One can only imagine how movie goers felt thirty years ago as they bought a ticket to […]
Can We Safely Ignore the Government?
Can We Safely Ignore the Government? There is no distinctively native American criminal class, save Congress. Mark Twain Tweet Any parent knows you don’t take your eyes off a three-year old. If it seems too quiet around the house, an unsupervised little one may be getting into some sort of trouble. The government is a […]
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder “When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers therefore are the founders of civilization.” Daniel Webster Tweet Have you read Farmer Boy to your kids lately? I know a family who reads Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books aloud, over and over. Children and parents alike love stories of […]
Why Can’t Freedom be Free?
Why Can’t Freedom be Free? If you kept a lot of gold coins and cash in your house, would you rest easy at night without a big, heavy safe or a robust alarm system? For the same reason people need to protect their wealth from thieves, freedom can’t be free. A free society creates wealth. […]