#Governor Gary Herbert

[politicaldilfs]

Utah Governor DILFs

Mike Leavitt, Norm Bangerter, Spencer Cox, Jon Huntsman Jr., Gary Herbert, George Dern, Cal Rampton, Charles R. Mabey, Henry H. Blood, George Dewey Clyde, Simon Bamberger, Herbert B. Maw, Scott M. Matheson, J. Bracken Lee

[ulkaralakbarova]

Powerful businessman Russ Duritz is self-absorbed and immersed in his work. But by the magic of the moon, he meets Rusty, a chubby, charming 8-year-old version of himself who can’t believe he could turn out so badly – with no life and no dog. With Rusty’s help, Russ is able to reconcile the person he used to dream of being with the man he’s actually become. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Russ Duritz: Bruce Willis Rusty Duritz: Spencer Breslin Amy: Emily Mortimer Janet: Lily Tomlin Deirdre Lefever: Jean Smart Kenny: Chi McBride Sam Duritz: Daniel von Bargen Dr. Alexander: Dana Ivey Bob Riley: Stanley Anderson Kenny’s Grandmother: Juanita Moore Giselle: Susan Dalian Clarissa: Esther Scott Governor: Deborah May Newsstand Cashier: Vernee Watson-Johnson Newsstand Tourist: Jan Hoag Sky King Waitress: Melissa McCarthy Gloria Duritz: Elizabeth Arlen Flight Attendant: Alexandra Barreto Hot Dog Vendor: John Apicella Vince: Brian McGregor Mark: Reiley McClendon Herbert: Brian Tibbetts George: Brian McLaughlin Lawyer Bruce: Steve Tom Lawyer Jim: Marc Copage Lawyer Seamus: Rod McLachlan Wedding Guest: Scott Mosenson Governor’s Aide: Brian Fenwick Governor’s Other Aide: Duke Faeger Sushi Chef: Toshiya Agata Josh: Joshua Finkel General Manager: Lou Beatty Jr. Principal: E.J. Callahan Janet’s Husband: Daryl Anderson Best Man: Darrell Foster Security Guard: Michael Wajacs Chef Mike: John Travis Larry King: Larry King Larry King’s Guest: Jeri Ryan Larry King’s Guest: Nick Chinlund Ritch Eisen: Stuart Scott Stuart Scott: Rich Eisen Wedding Singer: Kevon Edmonds Backup Singer: Julia Waters Backup Singer: Maxine Waters Willard Backup Singer: Stephanie Spruill Bridesmaid (uncredited): Tanisha Grant (uncredited): Glüme Harlow Car Driver (uncredited): Paul Moncrief Mr. Vivian (uncredited): Matthew Perry Tim (uncredited): Luigi Francis Shorty Rossi Russ’ Son (uncredited): Gary Weeks Harold Greene: Harold Greene Film Crew: Producer: Hunt Lowry Executive Producer: Arnold Rifkin Producer: Christina Steinberg Director of Photography: Peter Menzies Jr. Producer: Jon Turteltaub Executive Producer: David Willis Assistant Editor: Michael Trent Writer: Audrey Wells Co-Producer: William M. Elvin Stunts: Terry Jackson Utility Stunts: Pat Romano Grip: R. Dana Harlow Orchestrator: Pete Anthony Orchestrator: Jon Kull Stand In: Duke Faeger Stand In: Luigi Francis Shorty Rossi Original Music Composer: Jason White Art Department Coordinator: Al Lewis Digital Compositor: Michael Miller Transportation Captain: Douglas Miller Production Design: Garreth Stover Makeup Artist: Mike Smithson Co-Producer: Bill Johnson Utility Stunts: Eddy Donno Utility Stunts: Manny Perry Stunts: Deep Roy Production Coordinator: Daren Hicks Script Supervisor: Thomas Johnston Supervising Sound Editor: Mark A. Mangini Editor: Peter Honess Editor: David Rennie Art Direction: David Lazan Set Decoration: Larry Dias Costume Design: Gloria Gresham Sound Effects Editor: Richard L. Anderson Supervising Sound Editor: Kelly Cabral Sound Effects Editor: James Christopher Sound Effects Editor: Donald Flick Visual Effects Supervisor: James E. Price Associate Producer: Stephen J. Eads Original Music Composer: Marc Shaiman Second Unit Director: David R. Ellis Utility Stunts: Annie Ellis Stunt Coordinator: Jack Gill Utility Stunts: Matt McColm Utility Stunts: Janet Brady Utility Stunts: Kenny Endoso Utility Stunts: Tommy J. Huff Movie Reviews: r96sk: What a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy ‘The Kid’ as much as I did. Bruce Willis and Spencer Breslin team up to solid effect, in a film that produces amusement and wholesomeness. I find the premise very interesting, it’s a cool concept. While they might not executed to 100% perfection, what’s given is entertaining to see unfold. There are some very sweet scenes, also. Willis is, as you’d expect, the best part of this, but I think Breslin does a grand job too. The latter tended to do these sorta roles a lot, but there’s a reason for that as he played them convincingly. Emily Mortimer (Amy) is als...

[mothertonki]

Lemonade stand games for girls

Janu– An 11-year-old in Troy, Illinois, was making about $200 per month selling homemade cupcakes in her community… until the Madison County Health Department commanded her to shut down the business. – Police in San Francisco, California, tell an 11-year-old that it is not just illegal to sell lemonade and brownies… even giving them away for free would result in a $1,500 fine! County police came to the neighborhood several times as a result, but appear to have stopped short of demanding the closure of the stand. – Health Department officials in Batavia, New York, required officials for local Little League baseball teams to throw away pizza and hot dogs that parents and children were selling at their games because the had not paid a $175 permit for each of the two stands at the ballpark.Īug– A 12-year-old boy in Dunedin, Florida, got a lesson in petty tyranny when his 61-year-old neighbor repeatedly badgered city officials to shut down the concession stand at which he sells cookies and lemonade. J– The Chief of Police in little Overton, Texas, informed 7- and 8-year-old sisters that their lemonade stand violated the town’s ordinances unless they obtained a $150 “peddler’s permit.” When a neighbor went to get that permit, he was told that the girls would also need a separate permit from the local health department. On March 24, 2017, Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed HB 81, which protects small-scale childhood entrepreneurship – including temporary concession stands! The shut-down was prompted by a complaint from a nearby adult vendor who was trying to sell lemonade for $7 per cup – he was apparently frustrated that the children were selling their own lemonade at the price of two cups for $1. – Denver police shut down a lemonade stand that two young children were running to raise money to help a 5-year-old Indonesian child the police claimed that the children were required to obtain a $125 permit from the city. The outrage that erupted once the story emerged led the state’s governor to intervene he directed the Health Department to back off and offered personally to pay any fees on the boy’s behalf. J– A New York State Health Department official ordered a seven-year-old boy to stop selling lemonade from a stand he had set up in his family’s back yard. On April 1, 2019, Governor Jared Polis signed a bill legalizing kid-run concession stands throughout the state of Colorado! On April 23, 2019, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed HB 0012, which prohibits a county or municipality from requiring a license, fee, permit, or other form of regulation for a business that is operated solely by a person under 18 years of age, is located on private property with the property owner’s permission, and generates gross receipts of contributions of $3,000 or less in a calendar year. This bill prohibits local governments or homeowners associations throughout the entire state from interfering with kid-run concession stands. On June 10, 2019, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 234 – which passed unanimously in the Texas Legislature. We are thrilled with these developments and we look forward to the day when our map can show that every state protects kid-run concession stands! Country Time Lemonade has even made protecting kid-run lemonade stands a way to promote their brand. In the years since, thanks to our efforts, Lemonade Freedom has become a trendy cause! Since 2017, four states (Utah, Colorado, Texas, and Tennessee) have passed laws expressly protecting childhood entrepreneurship, and other states ( including New York) are considering similar bills. UPDATE: We first started bringing peoples’ attention to the government war on kid-run concession stands in late July 2011. Green = Town (or state!) permits kid-run concession stands without requiring any permits. Yellow = Town says kid-run concession stands are illegal unless the kids obtain at least one city permit. Red = Town has previously shut down kid-run concession stands. View Local Restrictions on Kid-Run Concession Stands in a larger map

[don-lichterman]

St. John Properties Exceeds 1 Million Square Feet of Commercial Space in Utah with New Valley Grove III

St. John Properties Exceeds 1 Million Square Feet of Commercial Space in Utah with New Valley Grove III

St. John Properties execs unveil details of major Valley Grove tower III Valley Grove Occupancy Tops 90 Percent Necessitating Expansion What we see here today is another extension of St. John Properties’ vision when they considered investing in Utah. This is the best state in the nation to grow that vision.” — Gary Herbert, past Utah governor PLEASANT GROVE, UTAH, UNITED STATES, September 29,…

[beegerbucket-blog]

Irresponsible republicans

The last 2 days in a row I have had young men showing up at my door to sign petitions for Republican candidates. THERE IS A PANDEMIC GOING ON. How ignorant and irresponsible are these candidates to send kids door to door with the same pen to pass around to everyone during a quarantine. If I get another I wlll not only send him away without a signature, I will give him an ear full for putting my neighbors and me at risk.   

[maturemenoftvandfilms]

Finally checked out a list of of United States governors. Now here's a list of governors I'd like to fuck in no particular order.

Gary Herbert, Governor of Utah

Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota

Jim Justice, Governor of West Virginia

Mike Parson, Governor of Missouri

Larry Hogan, Governor of Maryland

Roy Cooper, Governor of North Carolina

Eric Holcomb, Governor of Indiana

Asa Hutchinson, Governor of Arkansas

J. B. Pritzker, Governor of Illinois

Steve Sisolak, Governor of Nevada

[utahvoice]

[dionysus-complex]

I don’t even live in AZ anymore but I feel like there’s an important cautionary tale in how Republican governor and all-around-piece-of shit Doug Ducey said in mid-May that Arizona is “clearly on the other side of this pandemic” and was ready to reopen (amid a horrific outbreak on the Navajo Nation, which is ongoing) and now the state’s Covid-19 curve looks like this:

And in Utah, where I’m currently staying, we’re officially at “yellow” or “low risk” according to Gov. Gary Herbert but our curve now looks like this:

Meanwhile, the hardest hit communities in both states (and in New Mexico) are still indigenous communities on the Navajo and Hopi Nations, and I’m sure y’all have seen posts going around but seriously, speaking as someone who was a teacher in rural northern AZ, please donate to the Navajo & Hopi Families Covid-19 Relief Fund if you can spare anything.

[creepingsharia]

Refugee admissions to the US resumed on July 31st

Refugee admissions to the US resume after being on pause due to coronavirus

(CNN)Refugee admissions to the United States have resumed after being put on pause for five months due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the State Department.

In March, the US put a temporary pause on refugee admissions after the International Organization for Migration, which is in charge of booking refugees on their travel, and the United Nations refugee agency announced a temporary suspension of resettlement travel. Both organizations have since moved to restart admissions. In a statement to CNN, a State Department spokesperson said Secretary Mike Pompeo approved the resumption of admissions on July 29. "This program is a vital lifeline for the world's most vulnerable refugees who have no other alternative and who are made even more vulnerable by the COVID-19 pandemic," the spokesperson said, adding that the program "resumed arrivals for approved refugees effective July 30 with significant COVID health measures in place as required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." The spokesperson didn't provide additional details on what extra health measures entailed.

The pause has already disrupted the lives of thousands of people who had been waiting to come to the US after an arduous process. And even with the resumption of admissions, the number of arrivals this fiscal year, which was already on pace to hit historic lows, will be lower than anticipated. So far this fiscal year, which began in October, 7,905 refugees have been admitted to the US as of July 31,according to figures from the Refugee Processing Center. As a point of comparison, in July 2019, around 3,400 refugees arrived in the US, compared to 151 this July.

What about the disruptions to the lives of Americans who have to deal with the millions of refugees transforming towns and cities across the U.S.?

h/t Refugee Resettlement Watch who writes via: As of July 30th, US Refugee Admissions have Resumed

By the way, as I reported here on August 2nd we never really stopped bringing refugees altogether.

...

We have admitted 196 refugees and spread them out among 22 states in the two weeks since Pompeo made the announcement according to data compiled by the Refugee Processing Center.

The top three welcoming states are Texas, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Of the 196, 41 are Muslims (there is no Muslim ban).  The 41 include 15 Burmese Rohingya people and 15 Syrians.

How can this be though? Hollywood and Democrats, as recently as yesterday, told (lied to) Americans that there as an unConstitutional Muslim ban in place?

See that post here:  Fact Check: The Travel Ban Is Neither a ‘Muslim Ban,’ Nor Unconstitutional [and it should be expanded]

PS: Recall that Republican governors requested MORE refugees!

To date, these Republican governors in 17 states have asked the Trump administration to continue resettling refugees in their states:

Mike DeWine of Ohio

Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas

Kim Reynolds of Iowa

Charlie Baker of Massachusetts

Gary Herbert of Utah

Doug Burgum of North Dakota

Chris Sununu of New Hampshire

Doug Ducey of Arizona

Eric Holcomb of Indiana

Bill Lee of Tennessee

Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma

Pete Ricketts of Nebraska

Kristi Noem of South Dakota

Jim Justice of West Virginia

Mike Parson of Missouri

Brad Little of Idaho

Larry Hogan of Maryland

[antoine-roquentin]

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed legislation Monday that gives Utah businesses protection from litigation stemming from an individual contracting coronavirus on their property, as the state begins to allow some of its businesses to reopen amid the global pandemic.

Under the law, business owners are "immune from civil liability for damages or an injury resulting from exposure of an individual to COVID-19," that happens at their premises. The legislation does not protect businesses, however, if they display "willful misconduct; reckless infliction of harm; or intentional infliction of harm."

While the bill passed both of the state's chambers, it wasn't without its critics.

“It sends precisely the wrong message to businesses and to landlords and to people out there who should be concerned that they do everything they can that’s reasonable to protect their customers and protect their employees,” House Minority Leader Brian King (D) told The Salt Lake Tribune.

Herbert's move Monday comes after he announced on April 30 that Utah would be put under "moderate risk" protocols beginning May. The executive order allowed businesses such as salons and salons to reopen under strict social distancing guidelines. Restaurants were given the green light to resume offering dine-in options, given that they use "extreme precautions."

Utah isn't the first state to grant this kind of protection to certain establishments. ABC News reported that at least 15 states, either through executive order or legislation, have given legal protection to nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

At a national level, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday that he would introduce a bill this week that would give businesses that comply with social distancing and other safety guidelines immunity from civil suits against employees who contract the virus after returning to work.

“Many businesses are concerned about reopening due to the risk associated with being held liable if one of their employees contracts coronavirus after coming back to work,” Turner said in a statement. “This bill is proactive and seeks to protect complying businesses and employees as we begin to restart the economy.”

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

November 9, 2020

Heather Cox Richardson

I had hoped that the days when the news came like a firehose were over, but so far, no luck.

This morning, the stock market jumped 1200 points in its first day of trading after the announcement of Biden’s election. Over the course of the day it was up as much as 1600 points, then ended for the day with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 834.57 points, or 2.95%.

The strong market is at least in part because pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the German drug company BioNTech announced today they have a coronavirus vaccine which appears to be about 90% effective. The Trump administration immediately tried to take credit for the vaccine, only to have Pfizer note that it has not taken federal money under Trump’s Operation Warp Speed for rushing a coronavirus vaccine. Don Jr. promptly suggested that the delay in announcing the potential vaccine until this week was designed to hurt Trump’s reelection, but it seems Pfizer is likely distancing itself from Trump to avoid any suggestion that the vaccine is about politics, rather than science. In the past, the administration has touted a number of treatments for Covid-19 that have turned out to be ineffective, and the pressure for a vaccine before the election threatened to weaken public faith in one.

The pandemic continues to worsen across the country. Today we learned that Ben Carson, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has tested positive for the virus; so has David Bossie, the Trump adviser in charge of the campaign’s legal challenges to the election loss. Both men were at the election night watch party at the White House, along with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who was infected at the time and did not wear a mask. Aides told PBS NewsHour reporter Yamiche Alcindor that they were worried the event would be a superspreader, but felt pressured to attend.

President-Elect Joe Biden started his presidential transition today, beginning by announcing the makeup of his coronavirus task force. It’s an impressive group of doctors and scientists, including Dr. Rick Bright, a whistleblower fired by Trump officials. “Please, I implore you, wear a mask," Biden told Americans. "A mask is not a political statement…. The goal is to get back to normal as fast as possible.”

New leadership and the rising infection rates are shifting the conversation. Last night, Utah’s Republican Governor Gary Herbert announced a state of emergency. He has imposed a statewide mask mandate indefinitely and a ban on social gatherings outside of households for the next two weeks. He has limited extracurricular activities at schools. Businesses that don’t follow the mask mandate can be fined; organizers who ignore the social gathering rule can be prosecuted and fined up to $10,000.

Not everyone likes the idea of new leadership, though. In an unprecedented move, Trump is refusing to acknowledge that he has lost the election. He has launched lawsuits challenging the ballot counting in a number of states, and his surrogates—including White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany—are accusing the Democrats of cheating. Tonight, Attorney General William Barr legitimized the idea of voter fraud by permitting federal prosecutors to investigate such allegations. Barr’s move prompted the head of the Election Crimes Branch of the Department of Justice, Richard Pilger, to resign.

But what’s so weird about this is that they are losing all these lawsuits. Indeed, some of them they’re not even trying to win: they’re not bothering to fill out the correct paperwork. It seems clear that they are simply stoking the narrative of an unfair election, but it is not at all clear to me to what end.

It is certainly possible that Trump and his people are launching a coup, as observers warn. And yet, this would not be an easy task. Biden’s win is not a few votes here or there; it is commanding, and Trump’s aides are telling reporters they think the game is played out. The military has already said it wants no part of getting involved in the election, and the courts so far are siding against the administration entirely. Even key Republican leaders, such as Georgia’s Republican lieutenant governor, are denying there has been any problem with the vote.

Maybe what’s at stake is that last Tuesday’s election left control of the Senate hanging on two runoff elections in Georgia. Today the Republican candidates in those races tagged on to the cries of voter fraud to call for Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to resign. Raffensberger is the top elections official in the state. He is a Republican. There is no evidence of any irregularity in the 2020 Georgia election, and the two senators did not offer any. But if they can get Democratic votes thrown out, Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler might avoid the runoffs that look like they might well result in Democratic victories.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is determined to keep control of the Senate, and ginning up a conviction that the election was rigged could do that. McConnell defended Trump’s challenging of the election today, although he did not explicitly say he believed the election had been fraudulent. Trump’s attacks are working: new polling shows that 7 out of 10 Republican voters now think that the 2020 election was illegitimate. Barr met with McConnell before he signed onto the idea of voter fraud by announcing that federal prosecutors could go after it.

Still, while control of the Senate is likely driving McConnell, it seems highly unlikely that Trump cares about it. Perhaps the president is simply deep in a narcissistic rage, unable to face the idea of losing.

But there is something else niggling at me.

Trump’s refusal to acknowledge Biden’s win means that the current administration is denying him the right to see the President’s Daily Briefing (the PDB) which explains the biggest security threats facing the country and the latest intelligence information. Trump can keep Biden from seeing other classified information, too.

Today, Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper (by announcing the firing on Twitter), and replaced him with a loyalist, Christopher C. Miller, who will be “acting” only. Trump also selected a loyalist and Republican political operative, Michael Ellis, to become the general counsel at the National Security Agency, our top spy agency, over the wishes of intelligence officials. Ellis was the chief counsel to Representative Devin Nunes (R-CA), a staunch Trump loyalist. Trump is also reportedly considering firing FBI director Christopher Wray and CIA director Gina Haspel. Last week, he quietly fired the leaders of the agencies that oversee our nuclear weapons, international aid, and electricity and natural gas regulation, although the last of those officials was moved to a different spot in the administration.

In other words, Trump is cleaning out the few national security leaders who were not complete lackeys and replacing them with people who are. It’s funny timing for such a shake-up, especially one that will destabilize the country, making us more vulnerable.

Today Washington Post diplomacy and national security reporter John Hudson noted that a source told him that the “Trump administration just gave Congress formal notification for a massive arms transfer to the United Arab Emirates: 50 F-35s, 18 MQ-9 Reapers with munitions; a $10 billion munitions package including thousands of Mk 82 dumb bombs, guided bombs, missiles & more….” This deal comes two months after the administration’s Abraham Accord normalizing relations between Israel and the UAE opened the way for arms sales.

The UAE has wanted the F-35 for years; it is the world’s most advanced fighter jet. They cost about $100 million apiece. The president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has secretly been pushing for the sale of the arms to the UAE in the face of fierce opposition by government agencies and lawmakers.

The administration had announced a much smaller version of this deal at the end of October, in a sale that would amount to about $10 billion, but Congress worried about the weaponry falling into the hands of China or Russia and seemed unlikely to let the sale happen. In 2019, it stopped such a deal. Trump declared a national emergency in order to go around Congress and sell more than $8 billion of weapons to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. He later fired Steven Linick, the State Department’s inspector general looking into those sales, but when the IG’s report came out nonetheless, it was scathing, suggesting that they put the U.S. at risk of being prosecuted for war crimes.

When you remember that Trump’s strong suit has always been distraction, and that he has always used the presidency as a money-making venture, I wonder if we need to factor those characteristics in when we think about his unprecedented and dangerous refusal to admit he has lost this election.

—-

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

Heather Cox Richardson

[twoclaws]

utah governor gary herbert is fascist

and trump? well....

[rjzimmerman]

Here, my snarky comment: many people in Utah supported the efforts of trump and his people, during his first year, to degrade national monuments within Utah. So why are you surprised by this proposal to put oil wells right in the middle of the Moab bike paradise?

Excerpt from this Washington Post story:

It's one of the best-known mountain biking trails in the world. But the Trump administration may lease it for oil and natural gas drilling.

A preliminary proposal from the Bureau of Land Management to auction the right to drill under Utah's Slickrock Trail has left cyclists, residents and even the state's Republican governor wondering why the Trump administration is considering undercutting what has become a major source of tourism revenue for the region.

For more than half a century, the trail has drawn mountain bikers from around the world eager to ride its undulating and otherworldly sandstone hills.

The nearly 6,600 acres that could be leased in June in southeast Utah represent just a fraction of the millions of acres of federal lands and waters the Trump administration has auctioned to oil and gas drillers in an effort to boost domestic energy production.

But the two proposed parcels in the Sand Flats Recreation Area, which surrounds the 9.6-mile bike trail, have sparked controversy in Utah's Grand County even before the federal government starts accepting comments Thursday. The BLM has not yet finalized the list of parcels to be included in the June auction. And if offered, the two Sand Flats parcels would come with a stipulation requiring the lease holder to find a suitable location on nearby state-owned or private land from which to horizontally drill for the fossil fuels.

Trump ally and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is asking the BLM to defer leasing the two parcels, one of which would cover over 60 percent of the trail itself. “The Governor appreciates the unique beauty of the Slickrock area and wants to ensure that nothing is done that would be detrimental to the visitor experience or local water quality,” Herbert spokeswoman Anna Lehnardt said in a statement Tuesday.

The Sand Flats Recreation Area, which is jointly managed by the BLM and the county, attracts more than 191,000 visitors a year and generates $700,000 in revenue for the county government, according to Mary McGann, chairwoman of the Grand County Council. The controversial parcels were nominated for auction by an anonymous individual or company.

Moab is a hub not just for mountain bikers also for visitors to Arches National Park, which attracted more than 1.6 million parkgoers in 2018. The bright light from any nearby flaring off excess gas may spoil the star-speckled sky over the nearby park, which draws astronomy buffs for its awe-inspiring views of the Milky Way. And the area proposed for leasing overlaps with an aquifer Moab relies on for drinking water.

[activists-hope]

Last year lawmakers sought to get a ban through the state legislature but failed after repeated amendments left the bill wayward. So, Republican Gov. Gary Herbert, the longest serving governor in the United States, requested that state regulators look into the practice and assess the evidence supporting either its damaging or benign effects on youth.

“I certainly have concerns about some of the abuse that I’ve heard talked about, but I’m not a psychologist,” Herbert said during a news conference last June, when he announced his request.

“This is not my background. I’m going to rely upon the experts to tell us what should be done, or not be done, or how it should be done.”

[...]

“We want to thank Governor Herbert and his administration for not allowing this issue to be politicized,” the executive director of Equality Utah Troy Williams said at a Wednesday news conference announcing the news according to NPR.

“He saw how polarizing this was becoming, and he made the decision to allow science to prevail over politics. He kept his word to the LGBTQ community, and we are deeply grateful to him.”

[emphasis added]

[beegerbucket-blog]

6/5/2020, 546 positive cases of COVID-19 today. 3 times higher than than the daily rate 2 weeks ago.

Utah is going backwards

If in Utah or visiting Utah be aware that the citizens of our state are not taking the virus serious. Few residents are wearing masks and keeping distance. Seems they have let politics override their judgement. 

[gardenruth]

7/18/20

Today my hero is Utah governor Gary Herbert, who announced the mask mandate in schools last week. He has taken a lot of crap from this mandate, and multiple city mayors are fighting it, but he has not retracted it. He has done more for the Utah school system than Betsy Devos, and is concerned for the kids of his state. Without this mandate I would not have been able to go to school. The state capital has been overrun twice by protestors, and he has listened to them, but keeping school children safe is more important than their parents comfort. Thank you governor.