Tax Preparers outnumber Law Enforcement and Firefighters - Combined!

Just came across a new site (for me at least).  www.facethefactsusa.org.  Kind of cool.  Take a look.

The article that got my attention was this one: When Tax Complexity puts Dinner on the Table.

The facts (as they say) are interesting:
Tax Preparers: 1.2 million
Law Enforcement Officers: 765,000
Professional Firefighters: 310,400

What does this say about the complexity of our tax code?  Is it nuts or is it nuts...or is it just well nuts? 

SLCO Mayor - This One's Over

With State Senator Ben McAdam's announcement yesterday (read the article here) of several Republican Mayor endorsements (Sandy, Riverton, Bluffdale, Taylorsville, and West Jordan - plus Independent Murray Mayor Dan Snarr)  I'm prepared to call this race for the Senator. 

Salt Lake County has always been more moderate and Crockett would have to get a huge portion of the Republican vote PLUS eat into the Democratic vote to win.  It just doesn't look like he's going to be able to do that this go around.

Kudos to McAdam's to shore up these endorsements early.  Nice piece of campaign-work there.

Text of ex-slave's letter to his former master

The following is a letter written by an ex-slave in response to his former master's request that he return to the plantation, soon after the end of the Civil War. 

I think the letter stands on its own.  Fascinating. 

Dayton, Ohio,

August 7, 1865

To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee

Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin's to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again, and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville Hospital, but one of the neighbors told me that Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a chance.

I want to know particularly what the good chance is you propose to give me. I am doing tolerably well here. I get twenty-five dollars a month, with victuals and clothing; have a comfortable home for Mandy — the folks call her Mrs. Anderson — and the children — Milly, Jane, and Grundy — go to school and are learning well. The teacher says Grundy has a head for a preacher. They go to Sunday school, and Mandy and me attend church regularly. We are kindly treated. Sometimes we overhear others saying, "Them colored people were slaves" down in Tennessee. The children feel hurt when they hear such remarks; but I tell them it was no disgrace in Tennessee to belong to Colonel Anderson. Many darkeys would have been proud, as I used to be, to call you master. Now if you will write and say what wages you will give me, I will be better able to decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again.

As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be gained on that score, as I got my free papers in 1864 from the Provost-Marshal-General of the Department of Nashville. Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you were disposed to treat us justly and kindly; and we have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand six hundred and eighty dollars. Add to this the interest for the time our wages have been kept back, and deduct what you paid for our clothing, and three doctor's visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled to. Please send the money by Adams's Express, in care of V. Winters, Esq., Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we can have little faith in your promises in the future. We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations without recompense. Here I draw my wages every Saturday night; but in Tennessee there was never any pay-day for the negroes any more than for the horses and cows. Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire.

In answering this letter, please state if there would be any safety for my Milly and Jane, who are now grown up, and both good-looking girls. You know how it was with poor Matilda and Catherine. I would rather stay here and starve — and die, if it come to that — than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters. You will also please state if there has been any schools opened for the colored children in your neighborhood. The great desire of my life now is to give my children an education, and have them form virtuous habits.

Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me.

From your old servant,

Jourdon Anderson.

So Ryan, Where've ya Been?

Not that many of you have missed me I'm sure but I have taken a bit of a break...from blogging...but now I'm back.

I've actually been quite busy working on a few local political campaigns.  Below is a quick update on my 2011.  Last November I worked on two Provo City Council races and one Draper race.

For you Provo politicos; if you remember, Gary Winterton and Bonnie Morrow were involved in a very close race. I was helping Gary as his campaign manager.  It was an interesting experience with Gary coming out on top by just six votes.

Me on the right looking over the shoulder of Provo City Recorder Janene Weis and Deputy County Clerk Scott Hogensen with Utah County Clerk Byan Thompson and former Provo City Councilwoman Cynthia Dayton also looking on.

Bonnie ran a great race and had one of the best get out the vote (GOTV) efforts I've ever seen by a local candidate. It's a tough way to lose being that close but she's gone on to do very well for herself having since been appointed to the Provo City Planning Commission and appointed as the Vice-Chair of the Utah County Republican Party.

It was a long day what can I say?  They counted each vote by hand...twice.

In that same 2011 cycle I helped Gary Garrett with his Provo city-wide campaign.  Councilman Garrett's race was not quite as competitive but we put together a nice website and Gary ran a nice city council campaign (if I do say so myself) with Gary winning relatively easily.  Check out is campaign site here: www.garygarrett.org.

Moving North along I-15 I helped former Bluffdale Mayor Claudia Anderson who had since moved to Draper and was running for City Council there. In Draper you only had to be in the top three as all members run city-wide.  Unfortunately, Claudia missed the top three by about 300 votes with the voters re-electing all of the incumbents.  She ran a good race, but didn't get out and knock doors like she needed to in order to be competitive.  She also had an anonymous mailer hit a few days before the election attacking her record as Mayor.  It's always hard to recover from those last minute hit pieces.  We responded with a postcard as quickly as we could but ultimately it wasn't enough. 

Too bad really for Draper.  Claudia is a wonderful person who started her own company (Audio Enhancement) and isn't afraid to ask the tough questions. She has an inspiring story herself that I'll try to share in a subsequent post.

More on my 2012 in a subsequent post...nice to be back.

Note to any candidate: Never say "Frankly I hope it's the other guy."

So I'm late to the party as usual in terms of catching up on the Party Convention last Saturday. Call me a nerd but I had a good time. Some of my candidates and issues won...others lost. All in all as it should be I suppose.

As a campaign junkie though I just had to include this note on what not to say if you ever hope to be elected to well...anything...

Read this article in the Provo Daily Herald about Dave Duncan, candidate (at the time) for State Party Chair: Duncan a long shot to win GOP Chair

A few excerpts to highlight:

"The heart of the question is who should have the ultimate say in party affairs? The delegates or the power brokers?" asked Duncan.

Duncan admits being this aggressive about the issues and putting his name out there for everyone to scrutinize is a bit out of his comfort zone. He even says he hopes another candidate for chair, Arnold Gaunt, wins on Saturday. The third candidate for chair is Thomas Wright.

"I hope that one of us gets elected," says Duncan. "Frankly, I hope it is Arnold."

But Duncan's name is on the ballot and he is hoping he can change minds on Saturday. He notes this group is a different group than the traditional GOP delegates that have been involved in the past. Many Tea Party delegates who brought down former U.S. Senator Bob Bennett will be voting again at the convention and Duncan hopes their resentment for the old guard might work in his favor, but he isn't holding out much hope for a victory.

"I think my chances are very slim," he said.

If you ever hope to win, don't ever say what Dave said in this article. It comes across as though he doesn't really want to win. I've seen this happen dozens of times, mostly during convention speeches where a candidate gets up and all but apologizes for even running at all.

My point is that if you are going to run - run for crying out loud. If you don't think you can win then you won't. It's 50% attitude 50% hard work - the last 10% is luck ;)

I actually like Dave. I believe he's sincere and committed. The interesting thing is given the way the voting worked out I think Dave really had a legitimate chance of winning his race. But I think his attitude towards winning as demonstrated by his comments proved to be his downfall.

A Tale of Two Sites

Most folks associated with campaigns will tell you that a campaign website is the new yard sign. It's been like that for at least the last ten years I'd say - so maybe it's not all that new. But really, the website is the central hub for disseminating campaign information. It's all very interesting how campaigns develop their sites, what they post, what the new/latest add-on or plug-in features they choose to use, etc...

But what about domain names? Consider NY Assemblywoman Jane Corwin's (for Congress) site JaneCorwin.com, then consider JaneCorwin.org

I'll wait while you take a look at each...No really look at BOTH sites.

Notice anything different?

The .org site is from the opposition. I doubt it's directly from the opposing candidate's camp but certainly it's not from a fan. My favorite part is the bogus slogan: "Together we can make delicious soup from the bones of the poor." As opposed to the official one: "Together we can build a bright future that is lit with prosperity and opportunity."

The truth is, I think the .org/bogus site is actually the better site. Cooler graphics, better features. They've actually gone to great lengths to make it look official, with crisp photos, a Twitter feed, rotating banners, and links to official sites like ProjectVoteSmart for voting records.

It'll be interesting to see the reaction to the bogus site. It's humorous, but cuts fairly deep. I suspect as many people will go to that site as do the official one. And perhaps the publicity of a bogus site may drive more traffic to the official one - kind of a no publicity is bad publicity scenario.

Campaign 2000 was one of the first Presidential races to really use the web as it came of age. At the time George W Bush bought a number of domains, anything from BushSucks.com to GeorgeWBush.com (.org/.biz/etc). People at the time thought it was a bit overkill, but I think larger campaigns should think about purchasing domain variations for very reason Jane Corwin is facing right now, not to mention possibly having to shell out chunks of valuable messaging dollars to purchase a domain (see this story on a squatter back in 2000).

Anyhow, one of those goofy things that comes up in a campaign. It'll be interesting to watch or should I say See Jane run...She does look rather regal standing next to a firetruck.

Update (like five minutes after I first posted I know!): turns out it's this guy, the Green Party candidate and a notorious prankster.

"I've Got Better Stuff to Do."

This morning President Obama released his long-form birth certificate. The President said that "he decided on the release because the conspiracy theory over where he was born had eclipsed the debate on the budget." And I agree with him.

I see two problems with this whole silliness.

First, is that it took him so long to do it. I mean the requirements are fairly straightforward to be the President of the United States; No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President...(Article II Section I). So if your qualifications are ever in question I would think it simple enough to provide the appropriate documentation and move on.

And this gets to my second problem with this issue; the conspiracy theorists would not let this issue die. In the vacuum of formal proof, which has just now been provided, the birther issue got legs and kept running much longer that it ever should. And I think you see Obama's frustration with this non-issue in his statement today "I've got better stuff to do," referring to the budget issues.

Obama miscalculated how distracting this issue would become. People in their desperation (that doesn't seem like quite the right word though) to discredit him grasped on to this issue of all things. And to me the frustrating thing is that we're talking about a birth certificate here, not the budget, not the wars, not education, not ...name literally ANY other issue. It's just silly.



And now, because it's so curious to me, the side-bar to this story - Donald Trump.

If you read Obama's statement this morning it's full of awesome one-liners that as a guy who dabbles in campaigns like me just eats up. My favorite; "while the parties debate their fiscal policies, people can’t be 'making stuff up' and providing 'sideshows and carnival barkers.”

Sideshows. Carnival Barkers. Awesome. And really, is there any better way to describe Donald Trump right now?

There is an interesting article in the Union Leader that sums up my feelings of Donald Trump fairly well; see it here. In the article the author sites a Trump appearance on the Bill O'Reilly show where Trump said:

“If he wasn’t born in this country, it’s one of the great scams of this time.” To which O’Reilly replied: “It’s provocative. I think it gets a lot of attention, but I don’t think you believe it.”

I think O'Reilly was on to something at the time. Trump knows this issue is not substantive, but it is provocative, and it certainly has got Trump a lot of attention over the last month or so. But in the end, he comes off as a Carnival Barker. Someone who when history looks back at this presidential race will label as a literal sideshow.

And it's happening already; Jimmy Kimmel challenges any serious journalist to interview Trump with a straight face.

It'll be a fun (side)show to watch.

What's your Budget IQ?

So have you ever been at a party, BBQ, or just sitting around with co-workers and friends and the one really opinionated person pipes up with some totally outlandish spending 'fact' or 'statistic' they heard from a friend of a friend who saw something on Glen Beck a few weeks back and you just know you are in for five minutes of trying to keep your blood pressure at a normal level while you quietly let the person relieve themselves of the said 'fact' and they attempt to enlighten the group on why America is going to hell in a hand basket? Ever happened to any of you? Anyone?

Of course it has. Why? Because we're all idiots! Our perceptions are our realities. The news media, pundits, and even politicians themselves highlight items, cases, stories, and statistics that grab your attention and prompt an emotional response. You hear enough of these stories attached to an emotional reaction then they start to become your reality. Politicians and media pundits then capitalize on these new realities and use your feelings; often of anger and fear to keep you watching or listening to their shows or to keep voting for them.

Consider this poll from CNN on America's Budget IQ. Here is the accompanying article: American's flunk budget IQ test.

Let's take one item, say Foreign Assistance; What percentage of the budget would you say America spends on Foreign Aid? According to the poll on average people say we spend 10% of the budget on that one item (1 in 5 say we spend 20% on it). The truth? It's about 1.65%. Are you surprised? If so, why? Why do you think it's higher than it is? Is it because aid programs in Haiti, or parts of Africa, or other places around the globe get so much media attention?

Or is it cases closer to home like Congressman Chaffetz highlighting the inefficiencies of USAID in Haiti? "The relief effort is not progressing fast enough - why are we spending soooo much money there?" That's the message right? Does that make you angry? Of course it does. Are we wasting money in Haiti? Maybe. But would holding hearings and then cutting aid to programs like USAID really make a dent in the deficit? At 1.65%, and I'm guessing USAID isn't even a 10th of that, cutting that whole program wouldn't even be a blip on the radar. Yet you feel like our representatives are working on cutting the graft - trimming the pork right?

Wrong.

To get a sense - a true sense of where cuts need to happen take a look at this graphic for the 2012 proposed budget. It (see graphic at top of this post) gives you a nice visual of the largest programs and puts the smaller (yet often most highlighted) spending programs in context. What are the biggest spending items? Social Security at 20.04%, National Defense at 19.27%, and Medicare at 12.86%. Those three items are over half the total budget alone(!). Scroll over the various items to see their amounts.

So the next time your uneducated yet very opinionated associate starts in on how much the US is spending on what, you can chime in and say 'Oh yeah? If we're ever going to make a real dent in spending, you should take a look at those darn entitlement programs." Or when they say "We're spending 5% on NPR!" You can say; "Actually, it's only one tenth of one percent...If you really want to make a difference we should think about what it's costing us to fight wars on two fronts. 19.27% of our budget goes to national defense..."

Yeah, try giving them a dose of that reality. And the real reality is, that's where the discussion should be, not on earmarks, not on roads to nowhere, not on foreign aid programs. It's time to reform Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and come up with a cohesive national defense strategy.

Wimmer's no Jimmer

I hate to get into this so early in the 2012 congressional races...BUT it's not secret Carl Wimmer is running for Congress. Which District? We don't know, he doesn't know and honestly I don't think he cares. He's decided he's needed in Congress and the District will find him. It's funny in a time when borders are talked about so vehemently that we've had our struggles with those pesky lines right here at home. Rep Craig Frank's unfortunate situation comes to mind, the upcoming redistricting of State House and Senate lines, and the new 4th Congressional seat, not to mention Congressman Jason Chaffetz not living in the District he represents.

But I digress.

This post is really about HB 477 - no, it's really about ambition, but I'll get to that in a moment. The infamous GRAMA Bill. The one that prevents/makes it more difficult for the average citizen (read news reporters) from gaining access to public records, including text messages and emails. I think it's no secret (notice the common theme) that the process of it's passage has been much criticized by the local media and rightfully so.

Any steps by newly elected Speaker Lockhart to push for a more open process have been severely shadowed by this bill. And it's ironic really. I mean what is the public, let alone the media, to think about a bill that limits access to various public records, when it's pushed forward so quickly and with such little process that a bill of this subject matter traditionally requires? It's really puzzling. And I'm also a bit surprised that the Speaker's new Chief of Staff Joe Pyrah, a former Herald news reporter and favorite blogger (SausageGrinder), didn't advise the Speaker on the potential backlash.

But now comes Representative Carl Wimmer. If Jimmer is everything good about basketball, Rep Wimmer is everything bad about politics. The classic definition of an ambitious, self-serving politician in the year of election. Wimmer is now conveniently calling for HB477 to be repealed. To me Wimmer comes across as an opportunist trying to capitalize on the public displeasure with HB477 and make himself a champion of its repeal. All the while I might add he voted FOR it the first time it came before the House then voted against it the second time when I believe he held his finger to the wind and saw it as a potentially harmful vote that would be held against him in his congressional run.

Does anyone remember the famous "I voted it FOR it before I voted AGAINST it"Kerry political ad of 2004?

Carl. YOU voted FOR HB477 before you voted AGAINST it!

Wimmer is an election year opportunist driven more by ambition than principle at this point. His usage of the repeal of HB477 as a vehicle for his own purposes is the perfect example.

If any of you know of an honest principled candidate considering a run. Please let me know. I'm anxious to help keep this guy out of a place where ambition is all to often rewarded over principle.

In my next post I promise to tell you how I really feel. ;)

Go Cougs!

Military Leave for an Elected Official of a Political Subdivision

Just to follow-up on the National-Guard-City-Council-Vacancy issue...Here is the link to my Letter to the Editor in the Provo Daily Herald that ran earlier this week: Better Solutions.

It's basically a watered down version of my previous post - they only give you like 200 words so it's tough trying to sound intelligent - but as a conservative I always try to do more with less. ;)

Senator Valentine is running the bill, which you can track here: - SB66: Military Leave for an Elected Official of a Political Subdivision (Political Subdivision just means a 'city' which is technically a political subdivision of the state.

You can see the current language here: SB 66.

Please consider sending a note of support to your State Representative* or State Senator*.

*Disclaimer: the links to your local representatives district maps are provided by the state legislature, which may or may not be dependent on county governments, city boundaries, and the price of rice in China. They may or may not be accurate.