MEMORIAL DAY 2010

“LET FREEDOM RING!”

Utah Attorney General Mark L. Shurtleff

 In the solemn oath, “I will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United Sates against all enemies foreign and domestic”- LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the proud “Off we go into the wild, blue yonder;” “Anchors away my boys;” “Over hill, over dale;” and “From the Halls of Montezuma;” and in every “Oo-rah” “Hu-ah” “Atta-boy” and “Semper Fi”- LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the wail and warble of the sirens of emergency responders rushing to protect and to serve; (and the heavy breathing of firefighters and police officers running up hundreds of stairs on Sept 11 as everyone else was running down) - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the halls of justice with the rap of the gavel and with every “objection,” “if it please the court,” and “we find the defendant….” - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the “voice of the people” rolling off of Capitol Hill with every “will the representative yield?” “point of order,” and “all in favor say AYE, opposed, NAY”- LET FREEDOM RING!

 With every “Dear editor, I am appalled!;” “Thanks for taking my call;” and “In my opinion;” and in every phone call, email and letter to an elected official - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In classrooms across this nation with the squeak of chalk on the board, the swish of pages turned in lesson books, and children proudly declaring, “I pledge allegiance to the flag…” - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In every “play ball!’ Crack of the bat, and “Take me out to the Ball Game!” Every “Da-da-da-da-ta-da, CHARGE!” and “Boooooozerrrr!” Every “GOOOOOALLLL!” Every “Let’s get ready to rrrrrrumbllllllle!” Every “Touchdown [pick your team]!”- LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the most quiet and solemn place of all, the voting booth – Let Freedom Ring.

 In the buzzing of the bedside alarm that roles us out of bed and sends us to work every day to create, innovate, improve and provide products and services that enhance the quality of life - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the roar of the combines and harvesting machines, the zip, zip, zoom of the Interstate, the hum of the turbines, the cacophony of the assembly line, the ring of the bell followed by the din of the stock exchange, and the lonely echo of the night train delivering goods from sea to shining sea - LET FREEDOM RING!
 Through whispering pines in the woods and templed hills; the sssshhh of amber waving grain; from the babbling of small brooks to the roar of mighty rivers; in the call of the wild, the nocturnal hoot of an owl and screetch of a bald eagle - LET FREEDOM RING!

 As the sun settles out over the Great Salt Lake, and families gather around the dinner table, with the saying of “Grace,” and in every clink of glass, “please pass the salt,” smack of the lips, and every story and joke and tease - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In every newborn baby’s cry – LET FREEDOM RING!

 Every time someone mentors an at-risk youth or young single mother, coaches a little league team, or serves on a soup line - LET FREEDOM RING!

 With every “rip” as a charitable donation is torn from the checkbook, and in every “plink” of a coin dropped in the Salvation Army bucket in unison with the clapper of the bell - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In each “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to help other people at all times - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the scent of fresh baked bread or cookies as they are offered in welcome to new neighbors, a hand extended in friendship - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In every smile, hug, hand-up; with all arms extended in fellowship and brotherhood, and every shoulder made wet from tears of the comforted - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the sizzle from the backyard BBQ, the splash in the pool, the metallic tunes from the circling ice-cream truck, and the crackle of fireworks, all intermingled with the laughter of children - LET FREEDOM RING!

 And as music swells the breeze from the sweet string of the twilight concert in the park; the proud cymbal, fife and drum of the marching band; by every voice raised in harmony, “My country ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims pride, From every mountainside - LET FREEDOM RING!”

 As mortal tongues awake in conversation, and with every “I’m sorry,” “I forgive you,” “I’m proud of you,” “I love you!” - LET FREEDOM RING!

 From each pew, pulpit and sanctuary in every church, temple, mosque and synagogue across this blessed land - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In solitary, humble prayer on bended knee, with bowed head in gratitude and supplication to that great Author of Liberty - LET FREEDOM RING!

 And last - though foremost on this Memorial Day - in the muffled hooves of the horse-drawn caisson baring the body of one who paid the ultimate sacrifice; the proud and powerful report of 21 guns; the grateful piping of “Amazing Grace;” and the mournful hum of taps - LET FREEDOM RING!

UTAH VS OBAMACARE

Nineteen states have now joined (with more joining on every day) Utah  in suing the federal government on the grounds the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. (Click here for a .pdf copy of the complaint.)

Never before in the history of our nation has the federal government required every U.S. citizen to buy a product or service or pay a stiff penalty! The federal government only has such power over our lives that is expressly granted in the Constitution. Otherwise all power and authority is left to the states. An individuals decisions as to what health care procedure to undergo, who will perform it and how they will pay for it IS NOT interstate commerce "at its core," and therefore the Obama administration cannot mandate those choices under an expansion of the Commerce Clause Power.

Our nation is based on the Rule of Law and the process of how government effects our lives matters. It matters not how laudable the goal or how bad Congress and the President want to do something. They have to do it lawfully and constitutionally.

Federal District Court Judge Vinson has set our case for a scheduling conference on April 14th in Tallahassee Florida. We urge all citizens to ask their state attorneys general to join with us in protecting the legal rights of their states and citizens against this unprecedented federal power grab and radical usurpation of individual and states rights.

Read a great Wall Street Journal editorial editorial "ObamaCare and the Constitution, If Congress can force you to buy insurance, Article I limits on federal power are a dead letter" at http://bit.ly/c7C1bS.

It concludes, "the AGs should not be deterred, because the truth is that ObamaCare breaks new constitutional ground. Neither the House nor Senate Judiciary Committees held hearings on the law's constitutionality, and we are not aware of any Justice Department opinion on the matter. Judges have an obligation not to be so cavalier in dismissing claims on behalf of political liberty. Under the Constitution, American courts don't give advisory opinions. They rule on specific cases, and the states have a good one to make.

Democrats may have been able to trample the rules of the Senate to pass their unpopular bill on a narrow partisan vote, but they shouldn't be able to trample the Constitution as well."

SALT LAKE CITY WEEKLY TABLOID

Q. “What is the difference between the Salt Lake City Weekly and your run-of-the-mill Supermarket Tabloid?”

A. “You have to pay for the Supermarket Tabloid.”


Writer Ed Grabianowski stated, “In a highly regarded newspaper like the New York Times or Washington Post, the facts in a news story are meticulously checked and confirmed with multiple sources (when everything goes as it should). Editors and writers conform to journalistic standards and work hard to maintain an overall sense of objectivity. Tabloids don't seem to follow any of these rules.”

For years, Utah’s “Alternative” weekly, has masqueraded as a “newspaper.” In fact, its stories are nothing more than “yellow journalism” of the common supermarket variety. Pulitzer Prize winner Frank Luther Mott could have been speaking of the City Weekly when he defined “yellow journalism” as using misleading headlines in huge print, lavish use of imaginary drawings and dramatic sympathy with the "underdog" against the system.

Tabloids also use their ink to falsely attack those who call them what they are. Ever since I asked the above question on a televised debate on KUED with my former opponent for AG, City Weekly founder and senior editor, John Saltas, and his tabloid have been on a vendetta using every opportunity to defame and slander me with the yellowest of journalism. A few cases in point:

The cover of last week’s edition of the City Weekly, pictured here, is for a story entitled “2010 Legislative Wrap-up” and prominently features me presumably as a Nazi. (Apparently Saltas and editor Jerre Wroble don’t know the difference between Nazism and Communism.) The cover is from a famous Socialist worker poster. But why include me on the cover at all? I am not a lawmaker and nothing in the “wrap-up” criticizes my involvement in the session. What I am is the Weakly’s favorite whipping boy in that I dare call them what they are, enforce the rule of law and stand for everything good and decent about our community to which they proudly proclaim they are the “alternative.”

The City Weekly has run a series of stories alleging ethical concerns about me and the Attorney General’s Office. The weekly tabloid should dust off a copy of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics and take a look at its own practices before throwing stones. Two of the main standards in the SPJ Code are “Seek truth and report it” and “Be Accountable.” Their March 16 story “The Company You Keep” by Eric Peterson fails on both counts. In that story Peterson insinuates that I have meddled in the way administrative citations were handled against Mentoring of America. What the story did not include was this information given to Peterson on March 9, 2009: “The decision on how to resolve proceedings against Mentoring of America was made by the Division of Consumer Protection, not the Attorney General’s Office.” This information was provided to Peterson by the Utah Attorney General’s Office and confirmed to him by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection. It was also included in City Weekly’s latest records request. No new evidence is provided that I interfered in any decision regarding Mentoring of America because it simply did not happen. But that fact would leave Peterson without his salacious story.

The story then suggests that attorneys within my office were “questioning” my acceptance of campaign donations. Assistant Attorney General Blaine Ferguson brought the issue up in an e-mail because City Weekly continued to question the donations. Blaine Ferguson knows personally that I have never put any pressure on anyone to give favors to a donor. In fact my record shows that this office has sued and convicted donors, fellow party members, friends and relatives.

The second e-mail in question was from Chief Deputy Attorney General Kirk Torgensen about vetting potential campaign contributors. Torgensen mistakenly assumed that no vetting took place on a potential donor because of Peterson’s reporting. However, the e-mail does not reflect that Torgensen learned later that the vetting was done. This information was shared with Editor Jerre Wroble but was not included in the story.

City Weekly also reported that Tim Lawson worked for my campaign even though the newspaper was told Lawson was not a campaign staff member. Lawson was mistakenly listed as staff on an inauguration guest list because the list was needed in one day. I corrected my mistake. City Weekly did not.

Finally, most of the records obtained by City Weekly were not posted on the newspaper website but they include an e-mail to City Weekly’s publisher containing a long list of errors and outright falsehoods in Eric Peterson’s previous stories. Click here to read a copy of that email. A longer list of blunders could be made based on Peterson’s subsequent story. However, City Weekly has never published any corrections to any of Peterson’s fairy tales.

The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics states that journalists should “Admit mistakes and correct them properly.” Scandalmonger Eric Peterson and The City Weekly tabloid continually show a complete disregard for truth, fairness or accountability.

Salt Lake City Enquirer Weekly stories remind me of a question Abraham Lincoln once asked a fibber like Eric Peterson,

"How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?

“Five,” replied the ink slinger confidently.

“Four,” explained Lincoln. “Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."

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UP TO JERUSALEM

Up to Jerusalem - “L’shana ha’ba-ah b’Yerushalayim”[1]

“Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.” Ezra 1:3

Driving East we passed old olive trees and new cotton fields, climbing 1400 feet into the Judean Hills, from the “new” city of Tel Aviv, backward in time thousands of years to Jerusalem. Ascending the road marched by Maccabees, Romans, Crusaders, Arabs and British, we passed Latrun fortress and the damaged hulks of “armored” vehicles (seen here) destroyed during the ’48 War of Israeli Independence, now sporting a new coat of paint and arranged in a monument to those brave Israeli's who fought and perished trying to save the Jews trapped in the Old City. Inspiration to face overwhelming odds and never give up, when it means preserving life and freedoms.

This road was critical to the survival of the new Jewish nation and the scene of intense fighting as Arab armies fired down from both sides of the high hills flanking the roadway. After the Arabs successfully closed this vital link to the Jews besieged in Jerusalem, the Israeli’s under the command of American Micky Marcus [3] (pictured here) built the famous “Burma Road” at night, around the blockade, bringing relief to Jerusalem on June 9th - just days before the UN negotiated cease-fire. But for the convoys making it through, the Jews remaining in Jerusalem would have starved or surrendered.

“New” Jerusalem

As we reach the zenith of our climb up to Jerusalem, the ancient terraced Judean hills are replaced by bastions of Jewish housing in cream and rose “Jerusalem Stone.” During the miraculous Six Day War, Israel not only held the Lebanese on the Northern Border, but liberated the Old City, pushed the Jordanian armies back to the Eastern bank of the River Jordan, the Syrian Army off the Golan Heights above the Sea of Galilee, the Egyptians over the Suez Canal, and, thereby creating the “Occupied Territories” of the West Bank, Golan Heights and Sinai. So as to firmly establish its historical and future claim to the Holy City of Jerusalem, Israel “reunified” or annexed vast tracts of land surrounding the city, thereby creating a modern or “new” Jerusalem totaling 123,000 dunams (approximately 31,000 acres.) In the nearly forty years since, Jews have made aliya from around the world building fortress-like homes, apartments, condos and office buildings on the crowns of all the surrounding hills, wrapping a security belt, or stitching a “seam,” around the new city. Today, this new, impregnable Jerusalem is the largest city in both geography and population with 730,000 inhabitants (10% of total population.)

The governor doesn't arrive until tomorrow and so we spent our afternoon walking along the parapets of the Old City of Jerusalem and then down to the Western Wall as the sun was setting. Depicted below are some of the photos I took of the Old City of Jerusalem today. In the evening we went to the best falafel shop in all of Jerusalem "Doron's" and enjoyed he wonder flavors of deep-fried mixture of chopped-up chick-peas, salad and dressing stuffed in pita bread. All is well with the world and we look forward to a very busy second day.
____________________________

[1] “Next year in Jerusalem”
[2] Joshua 10: 12-14.
[3] In one of the great stories that cemented the American-Israeli partnership, West Point graduate and WWII veteran Michael Stone moved to Israel to offer his services, changed his name to Mickey Marcus. Recognizing his talent and leadership, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion appointed him to be the first “Israeli General” since Judas Macabee fifteen centuries earlier.