Chronic drought complicated by chronic denialism

May 26, 2011

Which is worse:  To be in the depths of a drought, or to deny drought where it exists?

I ask the question because, as one cannot tear one’s eyes away from a train wreck about to occur, I watch Steve Goddard’s blog.  Occasionally Steve or one of his fellow travelers says something so contrary to reality or fact that I can’t resist pointing it out.

In some discussion over there, Goddard suggested that because there is above-average snowpack around Salt Lake City and in Northern Utah, Lake Powell’s decade-long struggle with extreme drought is over.  Therefore, to Goddard, global warming does not exist.

(No, I’m not really exaggerating.  Seriously.  Go look.  No one there seems to have ever had a course in logic, nor in English composition and essay writing.  If Al Gore got svelte, one suspects half the commenters there would never be able to speak again.)

It is true that this year, contrary to the past decade, snowpack is high along the Wasatch Front and in the Uinta Mountains of Utah, and in Wyoming and Colorado areas that drain into the Green and Colorado Rivers.  Consequently, forecasters say that Lake Powell may gain a few feet of depth this year.  Powell is down about 50 feet, however, and even a record snowpack won’t erase the effects of drought on the lake.  (Yeah, I know:  The Wasatch doesn’t drain into the Colorado system — it drains to the Great Salt Lake, as indeed do many of the streams that have great snowpack in Utah — so a lot of the record snowpack won’t get within 400 miles of Lake Powell.  That’s geography, and it would be one more area that commenters would embarrass themselves in.  Don’t ask the pig to sing if you aren’t going to spend the time to teach it; if you need the aphorism on teaching pigs to sing, look it up yourself.)

Since Lake Powell won’t lose a lot of elevation this year, the Goddardites (Goddardians?  Goddards?  Goddardoons?) pronounce the U.S. free of drought.

Right.

Check it out for yourself, Dear Reader.  Here’s an animation from the National Drought Center, showing drought measurements in the contiguous 48 states plus Alaska and Hawaii, over the past 12 weeks:

Drought in the U.S., 12 weeks ending May 17, 2011, National Drought Mitigation Center, U of Nebraska-Lincoln

Drought in the U.S., 12 weeks ending May 17, 2011, National Drought Mitigation Center, U of Nebraska-Lincoln - click on map for a larger version at the Drought Monitor site.

Here’s the drought outlook map from the Climate Prediction Center at NOAA:

U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook Map, released May 19, 2011, NOAA and the Climate Prediction Center

U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook Map, released May 19, 2011, NOAA and the Climate Prediction Center - click image for a larger version at NOAA's site.

It would be wonderful were these droughts to break soon.  But that is very unlikely.

So, why would anyone deny it?

Then, just to indicate the bait-and-switch logic these guys use, Goddard came back with a claim that the 1956 drought in Texas was worse, as if that means the current drought doesn’t exist.  Fore reasons apparent only to those whose heads get pinched by tinfoil hats, he also notes the CO2 levels for 1956.  I think I know what point he’s trying to make, but someone should tell him that apples are not oranges, and comparing apples and oranges to pomegranates doesn’t increase the supply of tennis balls.

Let’s just stick to the facts.  The experts who must operate the dams and lakes and get water to Mexico on schedule say the drought along the Colorado persists.  Who are we to gainsay them?

Resources:  

GEOSat photos of Lake Powell and drought, 2000 to 2004 - Dr. Paul R. Baumann, SUNY - Oneonta College

GEOSat photos of Lake Powell and drought, 2000 to 2004 - Dr. Paul R. Baumann, SUNY - Oneonta College

51 Comments | Climate change, climate_change, Colorado River, denialism, Environment, Environmental protection, Global warming, History, Politics, Rivers, Science, Utah, Water | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Boy Scout died in fall from Utah’s Gemini Bridges

July 19, 2010

Tragic accident at a spectacular site in Utah’s desert.

A Scout from Wisconsin attempted a leap from one part of a natural bridge to another, lost his balance and fell to his death.  According to the Salt Lake Tribune in Salt Lake City:

A Wisconsin Boy Scout died Saturday after falling 100 feet from Grand County’s Gemini Bridges.

Anthony Alvin, 18, of Green Lake, Wis., was with a Scout group at the Gemini Bridges rock formation, which is on federal land northwest of Moab, deputies wrote in a press statement. At about 9:30 a.m., Alvin tried to jump from one span of the double bridge to the other span, six feet away, when he fell backwards, dropping 100 feet to the bottom of the bridges.

Rescuers rappelled off the bridges and found Alvin had died. His body was lowered down two separate cliffs to the bottom of Bull Canyon, deputies wrote.

Erin Alberty

Anthony Alvin was a member of Troop 630 from Green Lake, Wisconsin, in the Bay Lakes Council, BSA.  The Troop has years of experience in high adventure trips.  This was a transition trip for Alvin, moving from Scout to leader.

High adventure Scouting takes teens to outstanding places with some risks.  Strict safety rules protect Scouts and leaders from most accidents.  Jumping the gap between the two natural bridge sections is a leap that experienced rock climbers and Scouters should advise against — and probably did — precisely because of the dangers of minor mishaps, 100 feet or more in the air.  A six-foot gap would look eminently leapable to a capable young man.

This is a picture of Gemini Bridges from below:

Gemini Bridges, near Moab, Utah - NaturalArches.org image

Gemini Bridges, near Moab, Utah, from below. Image from NaturalArches.org image, photo by Galen Berry.

NaturalArches.org includes details about many of these natural spans in the desert Southwest, in Utah and Arizona.  For Gemini Bridges we get this warning note:

These magnificent twin bridges are a popular 4-wheel drive destination on BLM land northwest of Moab, Utah. A few foolhardy individuals have lost their lives here. One person fell to his death while attempting to jump the 10 feet between the two spans, and in October 1999 a jeep and driver fell 160 feet off the outer span.

From atop the bridges, the gap between the two can appear deceptively small — see one view here.

Gemini Bridges from the trail, on top - PaulandKate.com

For safety’s sake, no one should attempt to leap the gap without proper rock-climbing safety equipment in place and in use — and frankly, I’m not sure how it could be secured even then, in the sandstone.

Redrock country brings out the worst in otherwise adventurous-but-mostly-sane people.  Even rock climbers will act irresponsibly.

Four-wheelers and off-road vehicles frequently climb these trails — despite the dangers, the area offers a huge playground for people out of the jurisdiction of the National Park Service or National Forest Service, each of which discourage excessive vehicular risk taking.   Several sites extoll the glories of conquering these deserts with gasoline-power.

Irresponsible jump at Gemini Bridges, from rockclimbing.com

Irresponsible jump at Gemini Bridges captured on film, from rockclimbing.com

The photo at the bottom shows a memorial plaque to the four-wheeler who lost his life off of Gemini Bridges in 1999.  So long as people make monuments to people who pull daredevil stunts, others who have less experience, or even more sense, will be tempted to try the same daredevil stuff.

Go to these wild and beautiful places.  Please remember they are treacherous, however, and stay safe.

Tribute to Beau James Daley, who died when his jeep plunged off of Gemini Bridges, Utah

Tribute to Beau James Daley, who died when his jeep plunged off of Gemini Bridges, Utah

Also at Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub:

More:

5 Comments | Boy Scouts of America, Deserts, Disasters, Geography - Physical, History, Outdoor Recreation, Travel, Utah, Wilderness | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Lessons of history: How to boost newspaper sales with Sarah Bernhardt

June 20, 2010

Sarah Bernhardt selling newspapers in Salt Lake City, March 28, 1913 - Utah Historical Society image

Sarah Bernhardt, in fur, selling newspapers in Salt Lake City, March 28, 1913 - Utah Historical Society image

Just get the most famous actress in the world to hawk the newspaper on the street.

In this photo Sarah Bernhardt sells newspapers to a group of men in the street in Salt Lake City (probably State Street, but perhaps Main Street; I have not identified the building behind her in the photograph).  The photograph is from the Shipler Company Collection at the Utah Historical Society.

In 1913, Bernhardt was in the early autumn of her career, with several movies but not many plays in front of her.  She had lost a leg to gangrene from a badly-treated broken knee in 1905 (in Rio), but still acted in plays that she produced herself, and in movies.

The photo is dated 1913.  Bernhardt conducted a tour of the U.S. in 1915.  One may wonder if the date was misread from a handwritten note.

I wonder: Who are other people in the photo?

1 Comment | History, History images, Newspapers, photography, Utah | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Typewriter of the moment: Wallace Stegner

June 4, 2010

Wallace Stegner and his typewriter - KUED image

Wallace Stegner and his typewriter – KUED image (via What Fresh Hell Is This?)

Wallace Stegner's books, KUED imageI’ve lived with Wallace Stegner’s work since I first got to the University of Utah.  Stegner was the biographer of Bernard DeVoto, whose works I read in a couple of different classes.

More important, Stegner wrote about the West and wild spaces and places, and how to save them — and why they should be saved.

Salt Lake City’s and the University of Utah’s KUED produced a program on Stegner in 2009 — he graduated from and taught at Utah — a film that wasn’t broadcast on KERA here in Dallas, so far as I can find..

In conjunction with the University of Utah, KUED is honoring alumni Wallace Stegner – the “Dean” of western writers. WALLACE STEGNER, a biographical film portrait, celebrates the 2009 centennial of his birth. Wallace Stegner was an acclaimed writer, conservationist, and teacher. He became one of America’s greatest writers. His books include the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Angle of Repose” and “Beyond the Hundredth Meridian.” His “The Wilderness Letter” became the conscience of the conservation movement. Wallace Stegner mentored a generation’s greatest writers including Ken Kesey, Edward Abbey, and Larry McMurtry. Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was a student.

It’s difficult to tell from the photo, but his typewriter here looks a lot like a Royal.

Have you seen the film?

More:

5 Comments | Biography, Books, Environmental protection, History, Literature, National Parks, Technology, Typewriters, Utah | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Dan Valentine – He makes me laugh

May 26, 2010

By Dan Valentine

My dad was a big man. Six-two, some two-hundred-and-thirty pounds. He was two-eighty or so at one time.

Once, he went on a public diet, along with other hefty local celebs–a radio deejay or two; a politician or three; John Mooney, the Trib’s sports’ columnist. I think Herman Franks, manager of the old Salt Lake Bees and former New York Giant catcher was one. All wanted to thin down. They called themselves the “Blubber Brigade”. Once a week my dad would report to the reading public their weekly success or failure.

When my mom first fell in love with my dad, friends would say, “But he’s fat.” My mom would answer, “But he makes me laugh.”

HE MAKES ME LAUGH
(c) 2010 by Daniel Valentine

There are men of worldly means,
Earthly goods, and riches,
Who’d have set me up in suites,
Each with household staff.

But my love I chose because
He keeps me in stitches.
He is not a man of wealth,
But HE MAKES ME LAUGH.

There are men of world renown,
Household names with money,
Who’d have handed me blank checks
With their autograph.

But my love I chose because
He’s bust-a-gut funny.
He is not a man of fame,
But HE MAKES ME LAUGH.

Friends wonder why
I’m no taken with the guy.
He’s not much to look at.
Not by half.
Some would even say he’s fat
And ask themselves, “What’s with that?”
Well, HE MAKES ME LAUGH.

There are notables I know
Who are sitting pretty.
Each of whom I said no to.
All must think me daff’.

But my love I chose because
He’s side-splitting witty.
He is far from well-to-do,
But HE MAKES ME LAUGH–
My, how that man can make me laugh!–
And he thinks I’m funny too.

YOU’RE HALFWAY HOME
(c) 2010 by Daniel Valentine

If you can make a woman laugh
In this world of ours gone daff’,
My friend,
YOU’RE HALFWAY HOME.

If you can roll her in the aisle,
Turn concern into a smile,
My friend,
YOU’RE HALFWAY HOME.

Sure, you’d love to wine-and-dine ‘er,
Buy her clothes by some designer,
Send her flowers, bring her candy.
All of which is fine and dandy.
But you’re broke! Not to choke.
Make her laugh. Tell a joke.

If you can make her slap her knee,
Grab her sides, go tee-hee-hee,
My friend,
YOU’RE HALFWAY HOME.

If you can bring tears to her eyes,
Make her laugh until she cries,
My friend,
YOU’RE HALFWAY HOME.

So you’ve none of earthly riches–
Pal, just keep your gal in stitches.
You don’t need a lotta money.
All you gotta be is funny.
Never mind that you’re broke.
Make her laugh. Tell a joke.

If you can make her spill her beer
While she’s grinning ear-to-ear,
My friend,
YOU’RE HALFWAY HOME.

If you can make her roll about,
On the verge of passing out,
My friend,
YOU’RE HALFWAY HOME.

Fill her heart and home with laughter,
Head to toe, floorboard to rafter.
Let the others buy her toddies,
Spend their dough as though their Saudis.
So you’re broke! Not to choke.
Perfect time for a joke.

If you can make her stamp her feet,
‘Fraid ‘a falling off her seat,
My friend,
YOU’RE HALFWAY HOME.

No need to buy a long-stemmed rose.
No box of chocks, no card with poem.
Just make her snort milk from her nose.
Make her laugh
And YOU’RE HALFWAY HOME
To happily-ever-af’.

2 Comments | Dan Valentine, Family, Journalism, Utah | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Warning claxons from Utah: Bob Bennett voted out

May 8, 2010

Utah’s political year can be odd.  Among other things, there is an unusual feature to get the nomination of a party.  A candidate can win the nomination outright, and avoid the party primary, by taking 72% of the delegates at the state convention.  Delegates vote in rounds, eliminated those with the least support, until some magic number of total delegates is divided among the leaders.  If the leading candidate gets anything less than 72% in the final round, there is a run-off at the primary election.  This way, only two candidates show up on the primary election ballot in September.

The winner of the primary then appears on the ballot in November.

Saturday in Salt Lake City Utah Republicans scanned a list of eight people contesting incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett for his seat.  Bob Bennett represented Utah in the U.S. Senate for three terms.

Bennett’s father, Wallace F. Bennett, represented Utah for four terms.  Bob Bennett is married to a granddaughter of LDS Church President David O. McKay (LDS call the president of their church “prophet, seer and revelator”).  He was president of the University of Utah studentbody in college, and he headed several corporations, including his father’s Bennett Paints, and the probably better known nationally, FranklinQuest manufacturer of organizers and appointment books. Bennett got the 2010 endorsements of the National Rifle Association and popular Mormon politician Mitt Romney.

Mr. Republican, in other words.

Utah Republicans put Bennett third in the final round, Saturday (Salt Lake Tribune story).  Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater face off in the primary election.   Bennett is out.  Bennett was “too liberal.”  Bennett was “too Washington.”  Bennett was viewed as not tough enough on government spending.

U.S. Sen. Robert F. Bennett and Utah constituent - campaign photo

U.S. Sen. Robert F. Bennett and Utah constituent - campaign photo

What can one say about such an event?

Utah Republicans have a long history of nominating cranks and crackpots, and sometimes they get elected.  Rarely does the story turn out happily for the state, or the party, though.

Douglas Stringfellow turned out to have made up the stories about his World War II bravery behind enemy lines, and lost his bid for re-election.  Enid Greene’s husband was the one with the imaginary biography, but the damage from the revelations ended her career in Congress.  Utah Republicans narrowly renominated Sen. Arthur V. Watkins, many Republicans refused to support him and bolted the party for that race, because they disapproved of Watkins’  having chaired the committee that recommended the censure of Sen. Joseph McCarthy.  [It appears McCarthy’s history rewriting team got to Sen. Watkins’ biography at Wikipedia.  Troubling.]  Because of the split, Democrat Frank E. Moss won the seat and held it for three terms.

Lee clerked for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, but based his Utah campaign on a claim the U.S. government is acting unconstitutionally.  Bridgewater lifted himself out of his trailer park beginnings to be a consultant on “emerging markets,” and a sometimes education-advisor to Utah Gov. John Huntsman (now U.S. ambassador to China).

What’s that ticking I hear?  Do you smell something burning, like a fuse?

Is there a warning siren going off somewhere?  2010 is already a bizarre election year.

_____________

Update, May 9:  A source informs me that Mike Lee is Rex Lee’s son — Rex Lee was the founding Dean of the Law School at Brigham Young University, past Solicitor General, and Assistant Attorney General, in charge of the Civil Division.  He served nine years as president of Brigham Young University.  Rex Lee graduated first in his class at Chicago, and clerked for Justice Byron White.  Justice Alito was an assistant to Rex Lee in the Solicitor General’s office, 1981-85.

Setting up the law school at Brigham Young, Rex Lee personally recruited many of the top Mormon graduates from universities around the country, intending to make the first graduating class (1976) at BYU’s law school notable, to build the school’s reputation from the start.  Political organizing may run in the family.

4 Comments | 2010 Elections, Elections, History, Political conventions, Politics, Utah | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Utah legislative craziness takes dark turn

March 1, 2010

Today I discussed legislative craziness, and she was surprised to discover Utah’s wackoes like Rep. Chris Buttars are national, and perhaps international stars of legislative dysfunction.  In my e-mail I get notes talking about a silly resolution from South Dakota’s legislature.

Then I stumbled into this:  “Utah bill criminalizes miscarriage.”

From what I’ve read of the bill, I agree that’s what it would do.  It’s sitting on the Utah governor’s desk right now, deserving a veto, but probably headed into the Utah Code.

If it becomes law, women might be well advised to avoid any activity while in Utah, certainly not skiing or snowmobiling, nor hiking or river running, nor even jogging.  A woman who had a miscarriage within a week of skiing in Utah would be hard put to provide evidence exculpating her from a charge that her actions caused the miscarriage.  The contest of expert testifiers could be tremendously expensive.  Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, California and other states offer all of those activities, but without the specter of a murder charge to women who miscarry later.

No, there’s no excuse for a woman who doesn’t know she’s pregnant.

Yes, I know the bill was designed to punish the bizarre behavior of some people who attempt to induce abortion by physical activity early in a pregnancy.  No, I don’t think this bill does that job well, either.

You legislative drafters, take a look at the bill.  The language is bizarre, it seems to me — it backs into a law by defining what is not covered.  I see some great ambiguities.  The bill excuses medical abuse of the fetus — failing to get medical care for the mother, for example, which leads to death of the fetus — but calls into question any action a woman might take in seeking an abortion from a medical practitioner.  It seems to me that the bill directly strives to outlaw all medical abortions, though one section says that seeking an abortion is not covered.

Debaters would have a field day with the enforceability problems of this bill.

Oy.  From Chris Buttars, the craziness disease has spread to the entire Utah legislature.

Is there a quarantine law in Utah, for people who carry dangerous infections?

Resources:

  • Best description and discussion I’ve seen on the bill, at the New York Times; it confronts head on the chief problem with this proposed law:  It criminalizes the activities of a desperate young woman who needs counseling and other help, but does not need to be jailed, nor deserve it:

Lynn M. Paltrow, the executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women, a nonprofit group based in New York, said the focus on the child obscured the bleak story of the teenager, who also deserves, she said, empathy from the world, and the law.

“Almost nobody is speaking for her,” Ms. Paltrow said. “Why would a young woman get to a point of such desperation that she would invite violence against herself? Anybody that desperate is not going to be deterred by this statute.”

Leave a Comment » | Bad Laws, Bill of Rights, Health care, Legislation, Legislatures, medicine, Rampant stupidity, Utah | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Utah legislator proposes insult to Martin Luther King, Jr.: Share the holiday with gun inventor and manufacturer

February 18, 2010

First:  No, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was not assassinated with a shot from a Browning rifle.  The gun alleged to have been used by the man convicted of the shooting, James Earl Ray, was a Remington Gamemaster 760.

It was found in a Browning box, however.

One of my Utah sources alerted me to this story, and I’ll let the conservative Deseret News give the facts:

Utah Legislature: Utah to get gun holiday on MLK day?

Holding both holidays on the same day was proposed as a money-saving measure, Niederhauser said. Madsen was not immediately available for comment.

By Lisa Riley Roche

Deseret News

Published: Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010 8:46 p.m. MST
SALT LAKE CITY — The birthday of famed Ogden gunmaker John Browning would be celebrated as a state holiday on Martin Luther King Jr. Day under a new bill.

SB247, sponsored by Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Eagle Mountain, has yet to be drafted but is titled “John M. Browning State Holiday.”

According to Senate Majority Leader Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, the holiday would be observed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the third Monday of every January.

King was born on Jan. 15, 1929, and assassinated in 1968. Browning’s birthday is believed to be around Jan. 21, and he died at age 71 in 1926. Jenkins acknowledged there is concern about celebrating both men on the same day.

Utah lawmakers had been criticized for beginning their annual legislative session on the same day as the King holiday until the state constitution was changed in 2008 to move the start date to the fourth Monday in January.

Then there is the question of whether a man who held 128 gun patents should share a holiday with a reverend who, before he was shot and killed, used non-violence to promote civil rights.

But Jenkins said, “Guns keep peace.”

Jeanetta Williams, president of the NAACP’s Salt Lake branch, said she was “furious” about the possibility.

“It is not acceptable for the name John M. Browning to jointly share the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday,” she said. “Dr. King was assassinated by a man using a gun. John M. Browning was a gun manufacturer. … To me, it’s a very mean-spirited act. I’m not sure what is behind doing all of this.”

The NAACP has been involved with a number of legislative battles, particularly over the holiday’s name and a recent fight to have the Legislature delay its start so as not to overlap with the holiday.

“I am extremely adamant about not making any changes to this holiday,” Williams said. “We have fought too hard for this.”

Senate Minority Leader Pat Jones, D-Holladay, also questioned the idea.

“There’s probably many famous Utahns who might deserve their own day,” she said. “Let’s keep the day for someone who spent his life working in a peaceful manner for the goodwill of all Americans and not dilute the memory of his efforts.”

Senate Majority Whip Wayne Niederhauser said Madsen is open to moving the Browning holiday to a different day. “His main purpose is to honor John Browning,” Niederhauser said. “He’s a pioneer here in Utah.”  (Contributing: Aaron Falk)

Utah’s legislature can be pretty insulting in its intended actions.  I interned there in two different sessions.  Many of us recall that this legislature once proposed to rename the College of Southern Utah to avoid confusion about its acronym with a couple of other schools (Colorado State and Colorado Southern, among others).  The original bill would have renamed it “Southern Utah College.”

Alert interns picked up on the acronym problem right away, and the school was instead renamed Southern Utah State College (then University, now Southern Utah University).

Maybe we can find those interns, and alert the current legislature that they should not even consider this patently, blatantly offensive idea.

Resources:

6 Comments | Assassination, History, Legislation, Martin Luther King, Utah | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

7th time the charm: Exhibit on Utah’s becoming the 45th state

January 19, 2010

Interior of main floor (second floor) of Utah Capitol, looking west from the Rotunda to the House of Representatives' chamber - Wikimedia photo by BigBen

Interior of main floor (second floor) of Utah Capitol, looking west from the Rotunda to the House of Representatives' chamber - Wikimedia photo by BigBen

Got a couple of hours in Salt Lake City?

Utah’s copper-domed capitol building is among my favorites in the U.S. for style and grace.  The high-hillside location gives one a hawk’s eye view of Salt Lake City and especially State Street (which runs, by tradition, south about 400 miles to the Utah-Nevada border).  So it’s a good piece of architecture to tour.

Starting March 3, it will also have a display on Utah’s many attempts to become a state.  Between 1847 and 1896 when finally admitted to the union, Utah submitted seven different constitutions trying to get approval of Congress.  Utah relocated its capital to the center of the state, named the town Fillmore and the county Millard to flatter the sitting president.  That didn’t work, either.  Later the capital was moved back to Salt Lake City, nearer to where most of the people resided.

To assuage fears that Utah would upset the balance of power in Washington, at one point Latter-day Saint church authorities designated every-other household Democrat or Republican, giving Utah a 50/50 split electorate that survived in that fashion until the 1970s.

It’s all there at the exhibit, in the capitol building.

It took 7 Constitutions and 47 years to get Utah admitted as the Nation’s 45th state. The Utah State Capitol celebrates that effort in a free exhibit opening on March 3,2010. Open March 2010 through Jan. 2011! Free to the Public! Docent guided tours available! For more information visit www.utahstatecapitol.utah.gov Hours: Mon-Fri: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Sat & Sun: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. This exhibit is a building-wide exhibit. Main displays are located on the 1st and 4th floors. Ask any Capitol Docent for additional help.

Tip of the old scrub brush to UtahPolicy.com.

Utah Capitol, dlmark photo

Utah Capitol, photographed from the headquarters of the LDS Church - dlmark photo

2 Comments | Historic documents, History, History images, Millard Fillmore, Statehood, Utah | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Utah Light Artillery in the Philippines, Spanish-American War

August 13, 2009

The Utah Light Artillery, painting by Keith Rocco -- August 13, 1898, Manila, Philippine Islands August 13, 1898, Manila, Philippine Islands On April 6, 1898, Congress declared war on Spain and President William McKinley organized United States forces for the Splendid Little War. Of the tens of thousands of regular, volunteer and National Guard (Militia) troops who served, 343 Utah Guardsmen saw service in the Philippine Islands. On May 1st, after the Navys stunning victory at Manila Bay, McKinley authorized an invasion force to capture the Philippine archipelago from Spain. Organized into two batteries, the Utah Light Artillery mustered into federal service on May 9, 1898 at Fort Douglas, Utah. Shortly thereafter, at Camp Merritt near San Francisco, the Utah Artillery became part of Brig. Gen. Francis V. Greenes brigade of the U.S. VIII Corps under the command of Maj. Gen. Wesley Merritt. Leaving San Francisco, Greenes brigade first raised the U.S. flag in Guam and then arrived on the island of Luzon on July 17, 1898. In the Philippines, 15,000 Americans not only faced 13,000 Spanish soldiers but a second army of some 12,000 Philippine rebels under Emilo Aguinaldo. The rebels had been fighting for national independence from Spain and hoping for American assistance. When Merritt ordered to keep the rebels out of the fight against Spain, the rebels became a second possible enemy. On August 13th, the Utah Artillery supported Greenes brigade as it attacked towards the old city of Manila. The battle was predetermined to be a limited one in order to preserve Spanish honor and minimize casualties. The rebels, however, made this impossible. As American forces moved quickly against the Spanish defenses, a race to the old city center developed between the Americans and Aguinaldos rebels. The Utah batteries fired and re-deployed several times providing close and accurate support for the infantry attacks. The Utah Light Artillery continued in federal service for another year and fought in the Philippine Insurrection until returning to Utah in August 1899. Todays 145th Field Artillery, Utah Army National Guard, carries on the history and traditions of the Utah Light Artillery.

Utah Light Artillery in the Spanish-American War – National Guard Heritage Gallery

On April 6, 1898, Congress declared war on Spain and President William McKinley organized United States forces for the “Splendid Little War.” Of the tens of thousands of regular, volunteer and National Guard (Militia) troops who served, 343 Utah Guardsmen saw service in the Philippine Islands. On May 1st, after the Navy’s stunning victory at Manila Bay, McKinley authorized an invasion force to capture the Philippine archipelago from Spain. Organized into two batteries, the Utah “Light” Artillery mustered into federal service on May 9, 1898 at Fort Douglas, Utah. Shortly thereafter, at Camp Merritt near San Francisco, the Utah Artillery became part of Brig. Gen. Francis V. Greene’s brigade of the U.S. VIII Corps under the command of Maj. Gen. Wesley Merritt.

Leaving San Francisco, Greene’s brigade first raised the U.S. flag in Guam and then arrived on the island of Luzon on July 17, 1898. In the Philippines, 15,000 Americans not only faced 13,000 Spanish soldiers but a second army of some 12,000 Philippine rebels under Emilo Aguinaldo. The rebels had been fighting for national independence from Spain and hoping for American assistance. When Merritt ordered to keep the rebels out of the fight against Spain, the rebels became a second possible enemy.

On August 13th, the Utah Artillery supported Greene’s brigade as it attacked towards the “old” city of Manila. The battle was predetermined to be a “limited” one in order to preserve Spanish honor and minimize casualties. The rebels, however, made this impossible. As American forces moved quickly against the Spanish defenses, a race to the old city center developed between the Americans and Aguinaldo’s rebels. The Utah batteries fired and re-deployed several times providing close and accurate support for the infantry attacks.

The Utah Light Artillery continued in federal service for another year and fought in the Philippine Insurrection until returning to Utah in August 1899. Today’s 145th Field Artillery, Utah Army National Guard, carries on the history and traditions of the Utah Light Artillery.

All text from the National Guard Heritage Gallery.

1 Comment | Famous Battles, foreign affairs, History, History and art, History images, Spanish American War, Utah | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Can your 9-year old kid help her rescuers?

June 23, 2009

This kid is from Heber, Utah — odds are he’s a Mormon, and he’s a Cub Scout.  Wolf elective #23 includes “Tell what to do if you get lost.”  But it’s an elective for a 7-year old, and in panic, a 9-year old may not remember.  We hope that this training will be part of the Outdoorsman requirement for a second-year Webeloes Scout, at age 10 or 11, but this kid wasn’t there yet.

Utah, showing Daggett County - from Pioneer, Utahs online library

Utah, showing Daggett County - from Pioneer, Utah's online library

So, this story from the Salt Lake Tribune is a morality tale.  One of the morals is that we need to drill our kids on what to do if they get lost, in the city, or in the wild:


Search crews found lost hiker, 9, after he left behind clues

Updated: 06/22/2009 10:51:25 AM MDT

Daggett County search crews found a missing 9-year-old hiker Sunday night thanks to a footprint, a granola bar wrapper, pieces of his raincoat and a backpack that he left behind as he wandered through the Ashley National Forest.Grayson Wynne’s first words to his father, Kynan: “Happy Father’s Day.”

Grayson, from Heber City, was hiking Saturday evening toward Daggett Lake to camp for a couple of days with his family when he was separated from the group.

Search and rescue teams, family members and volunteers — totaling more than 100 people — looked for Wynne on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Some rode horses or mules, others walked.

Grayson said he thought about his parents, prayed and cried while he was lost. He told searchers he spent the night under a log and didn’t get much sleep. He could hear searchers yelling his name but could not tell from which direction they were coming.

Searchers found a granola bar wrapper about 300 yards off of the main trail, and family members recognized the snack matched those Grayson had in his backpack. Rescuers also found a small footprint by a creek bed early Sunday, about 400 yards from the granola wrapper, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

They later found Grayson’s black backpack, which he later told crews he left behind the night before because it was getting too heavy.

Based on Grayson’s belongings, Daggett County searchers said it appeared the boy was

following the creek, so they focused the rescue effort in specific areas along the water.A helicopter flew a bloodhound and her handler to the spot where the backpack was found. Before they could begin searching for Grayson, he heard the helicopter and headed for a meadow where he hoped the pilot would see him.

Grayson waved his last piece of yellow rain slicker to get the helicopter crew’s attention. He had been tearing the jacket apart and leaving behind chunks to trace his footsteps.

As he waved his slicker, two searchers rode up on horseback and found him in the meadow.

Grayson was taken to the command center, where he was checked by medical teams and reunited with his family. The boy’s feet were wet and cold, but he was in “good health and spirits,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

“This search was successful due to the many searchers and volunteers, and to Grayson for being such a strong little boy with a lot of common sense,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

I’m not entirely sure where the family was — in addition to the Ashley National Forest, there is the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area in tiny Daggett County, in Utah’s northeast corner, for families to hike and camp in.

Daggett County was the last of the 29 counties in Utah to be organized, cut out of the much larger Uintah County.  I know the story well.  My maternal grandfather was one of the organizers of the county and the loser of the first election for sheriff (a great story of the power of women voting, for another time).  My mother was born in a the chicken coop her family lived in, in Manila, as her father was building what was to be the biggest house in the county (and the first with rooms set aside for indoor plumbing).

2 Comments | Boy Scouts of America, Geography - Physical, History, Maps, Utah | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Happy birthday, Orrin Hatch

March 22, 2009

Dear Orrin,

We know how old you are really, but we won’t divulge.

U.S. Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah

U.S. Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah

When we were campaigning in 1976, I don’t think anyone thought you’d be there in 2009, still.  Sen. Reed Smoot served Utah for one day shy of 30 years.  No one else from Utah has come close to your 32 years of service, and it will be a long time before any other challenges your longevity.

Not bad for the first office you ever got elected to.

Kathryn and I wish you all the best on your birthday.

And we’ll be pleased to set  you straight any time you want.

Sincerely,

Ed

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Campaigns, Elections, Government, History, Personal, Politics, U.S. Senate, Utah | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Utah wins Sugar Bowl, 31-17; Utes #1!

January 3, 2009

Athletic logo of the Utes of the University of Utah

Athletic logo of the Utes of the University of Utah

Utah made its claim for the National Championship tonight with their shutdown of Alabama.

Here’s the music; below that the words.

Utah Fight Song: A Utah Man Am I

VERSE 1
I am a Utah man, sir, and I live across the green.
Our gang, it is the jolliest that you have ever seen.
Our coeds are the fairest and each one’s a shining star.
Our yell, you hear it ringing through the mountains near and far.

CHORUS
Who am I, sir? A Utah man am I A Utah man, sir, and will be till I die; Ki!Yi!
We’re up to snuff; we never bluff,
We’re game for any fuss,
No other gang of college men
dare meet us in the MUSS.
So fill your lungs and sing it out and
shout it to the sky,
We’ll fight for dear old Crimson,
for a Utah man am I.

VERSE 2
And when we prom the avenue, all lined up in a row,
And arm in arm and step in time as down the street we go.
No matter if a freshman green, or in a senior’s gown,
The people all admit we are the warmest gang in town.

CHORUS

VERSE 3
We may not live forever on this jolly good old sphere,
But while we do we’ll live a life of merriment and cheer,

And when our college days are o’er and night is drawing nigh,
With parting breath we’ll sing that song:
“A Utah Man Am I”.

CHORUS

__________

Morning-after updates:

Leave a Comment » | Higher education, Newspapers, Personal, Utah | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Mount Timpanogos

July 4, 2006

Among many underappreciated mountain peaks in the U.S. is Mount Timpanogos, in the Wasatch Range of the Rockies. It is northeast of Provo, Utah, and it was due east of my bedroom window for the nine years I lived in Pleasant Grove, Utah, before I headed off to college.

Here is a site that offers some stunning views of the mountain: http://utahpictures.com/Timpanogos.html [update:  pictures moved to this site:  http://utahpictures.com/Timpanogos.php]. While I often hiked the “backside” of the mountain, I never made it all the way to the top. You can see what I missed.

4 Comments | Administrivia, Geography - Physical, Hiking, Utah | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

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