US Order of Succession

As of January 2014

President - Barack Obama
Vice-President - Joe Biden
Speaker of House - John Boehner
Senate pro Tempore - Patrick Leahy
Sec. of State - John Kerry
Sec. of Treasury - Jacob Lew
Sec. of Defense - Chuck Hagel
Attorney General - Eric Holder
Sec. of Interior - Sally Jewell*
Sec. of Agriculture - Tom Vilsack
Sec. of Commerce - Penny Pritzker
Sec. of Labor - Thomas Perez
Sec. of HHS - Kathleen Sebelius
Sec. of HUD - Shaun Donovan
Sec. of Transportation - Anthony Foxx
Sec. of Energy - Ernest Moniz
Sec. of Education - Arne Duncan
Sec. of Veteran Affairs - Eric Shinseki
Sec. of Homeland Security - Jeh Johnson

Other high US officers:
White House Chief of Staff - Denis McDonough
OMB Director - Sylvia Burwell
EPA Administrator - Gina McCarthy
Trade Representative - Michael Froman
UN Ambassador - Samantha Power
Ecomonic Advisers Chair - Jason Furman
Small Business Admin - Jeanne Hulit
National Security Advisor - Susan Rice
White House Counsel - Kathryn Ruemmler
Pres. Senior Advisor - Valerie Jarrett
WH Press Secretary - Jay Carney

*ineligible

State of the Union 2014

"I agree with Republicans like Senator Rubio..." is a phrase that was in this year's address

A teacher helped a student, an entrepreneur added a job, an auto worker fine-tuned a car, a farmer exported some crops, a rural doctor gave a kid some asthma medicine, a man took the bus home, and Norman Rockwell served some apple pie.

I was going to do a live-feed type reaction column, but my mind drifted after a while, I must admit. I've never had that happen before during a State of the Union address before from either party.  Yes, they're scripted, but it still provides insight into where the White House is, what they hope for. It gives us lines to read between.

Pres. Obama started on a positive note, a patriotic note, and mentioned how the war in Afghanistan was finally coming to an end. (It's still one of the most violent places on Earth, but at least we're leaving.)

The part of the SOTU that stuck out to me was this one, early on:

"Some require congressional action, and I'm eager to work with all of you. But America does not stand still, and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do."

What he's saying is that if Congress doesn't do what he wants, he'll just do it anyway via executive order. After that he lists a series of goals, and maybe I'm cynical, but I just take a "we'll see" approach to whatever he promises. I remember feeling similarly listening to Bush's 2005 SOTU address. We're going to go to the moon again? Really?

24-hour cable news = 24-hour cable op/ed page

I tend to watch a few minutes here and there from CNN, Fox News and MSNBC each week.  I also visit Mediaite a few times a week to see what else those three channels that call themselves "cable news" are up to.

It's clear that under Jeff Zucker, CNN is working on transforming itself to have more attitude, be more opinion-based.  Which I guess is fine if it's balanced and they retain enough straight-news people that when breaking news happens, some of their staff are still credible.  Jake Tapper, who should have been treated better by ABC, was a coup for CNN, and the return of Crossfire has been informative and (for the most part) polite debate.

Fox News and MSNBC might seem like the two ideological opposites, but MSNBC has really gone off the deep end trying to out-Fox Fox. A recent Pew study had these results:

CNN - 54% news, 46% opinion
FNC - 45% news, 55% opinion
MSNBC - 15% news, 85% opinion

What currently saves MSNBC's soul are the presence of Joe Scarborough and Chuck Todd.  Morning Joe is the one show on that channel where Republicans are not all evil white supremacists trying to bring back the Confederacy. Chuck Todd is the last real journalist on there, and he has to look at a former co-worker like Norah O'Donnell shining on CBS, or at how much happier Dylan Ratigan is being off TV altogether.  The death of Tim Russert meant the death of a credible cable-news wing for NBC. Just in the last month, MSNBC has had to get rid of two hosts (Alec Baldwin and Martin Bashir) for saying outrageous things. The Cycle started promising, but when S.E. Cupp left, it became another echo chamber.

That same study also showed that in 2012, MSNBC's negative-to-positive stories on Mitt Romney were 23-to-1, while on Fox News, the negative-to-positive stories on Barack Obama were 8-to-1.

As for Fox, the ratings are still there to support anything they do.  They didn't have to let Glenn Beck walk - he still brought ratings - but after one too many headache-inducing conspiracy theories, they decided to replace him with The Five, and the transition has been smooth. Eric Bolling is there to tow the company's conservative line, Andrea Tantaros and Kimberly Guilfoyle interchangeably agree, Dana Perino at least have the "former press secretary" title to offer insights others can't, Greg Gutfeld is the right-wing comedian, and Bob Beckel is the token Democrat "kids these days" grump in the group.

Sean Hannity keeps the semblance of debate on his show, though his panel is usually two conservatives and a whipping boy.  Bill O'Reilly does his "War on Christmas" stuff along with whatever else he wants to spout about that day.  Megyn Kelly has been a welcome change to their primetime lineup, as Greta was getting too stale and predictable. Kelly wouldn't interview Rush Limbaugh or Sarah Palin and not ask a challenging question or two.

Many days it seems like these channels exist to provide material for The Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Quick note on those two. When John Oliver took over for Stewart for three months, the Daily Show went places it usually wouldn't with Jon, and it was refreshing, and I didn't really realize that until Jon came back, and it went back to a lot of business-as-usual protect-the-White-House mode. They'll allow jabs sometimes. The best illustration of this was when Oliver did a segment on Sarah Palin, stopped himself, and said "You know what? We can ignore her" and then he didn't mention her again the rest of the summer, which is about what she deserves. When Stewart came back, anything controversial Palin said made it into the show again.

I can't even watch Colbert anymore. I'm looking forward to see what Oliver does on HBO, which really needs something besides Bill Maher's DNC commercial each week.

Live-Chat Attempt to get my password for Healthcare.gov

[4:40:58 pm]: John
When i click on the link it emailed to me, it said it cant find my profile.
[4:41:19 pm]: Chason
We have had similar issues with logins and the creation process.
[4:41:23 pm]: Chason
I apologize that you are unable to log in to your account at this time. We have a lot of visitors trying to use our website right now. That is causing some glitches for some people trying to create accounts or log in. We'll continue working to improve the site, but in the meantime, if you like, we can help you complete a Marketplace application right now over the phone. We are available to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-318-2596.
[4:41:37 pm]: John
I already did one
[4:41:50 pm]: Chason
Are you just trying to return for your results?
[4:42:04 pm]: John
yes
[4:42:34 pm]: Chason
Again if you are not able to login it is probably related to the same login glitches and errors we've experienced.
[4:42:38 pm]: John
But it forgot my password mere seconds after i entered it and it hasnt let me back in since
[4:42:42 pm]: Chason
I apologize for the inconvenience.
[4:43:39 pm]: Chason
You said you have tried using the "Forgot your username?" or "Forgot your password" links on the account login page?
[4:44:00 pm]: John
Forgot password
[4:46:00 pm]: Chason
It may take up to 2 hours, due to the amount of visitors to the site, to receive your new password or username. If that is still not working I can only recommend to continue to try back later, perhaps; during off-peak hours, like late at night or early in the morning. I really am sorry for all the time and trouble this has caused, it is deffinately something we are working on right not so that we can help you get covered!
[4:46:41 pm]: John
I got the email back right away, but when i click on the link it says it cant find my profile. SO are you say if I try clicking on the link later it might work?
[4:47:51 pm]: Chason
I am saying that I would continue to try back later attempting to login, there is an experation period for requesting new usernames and passwords. You may have to use the "forgot your username?" and "forgot your password?" links again.
[4:48:16 pm]: John
How many people have successfully signed up?
[4:49:05 pm]: Chason
I do not have an accurate answer to that question. But because the Marketplace recently opened for the first time, we are processing a lot of new applications. But don't worry; we'll have your application processed in time for your coverage to start on January 1.

Oh, I worry...

On That Defunding Thing

What to say?

Matt Lewis gives seven unreasons why defunding ObamaCare was never going to work.

Mitt Romney on how the current GOP is doing it wrong.

A lot of senators can't stand Ted Cruz, and not just Democrats. Why else would GOP senators give oppo research on Cruz to Fox News?

Here's the clip of Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) challenging Cruz and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) during Cruz's 21-hour quasi-filibuster.

Cruz seems to be setting himself up for 2016. I don't see how he could actually win the nomination (I still think Christie's the frontrunner, and Rand Paul and Marco Rubio are in better shape than Cruz).

Can We Please Term-Limit the Other Two Branches?

Sen. Patrick Leahy has been in office since 1975.

George Washington was and will always be this nation's greatest president.  Sure, Abraham Lincoln is commonly ranked the best by most historians (and for me, he was and will always be this nation's second greatest president) but Washington set the example.  Two terms and he was out of there.  It was only after FDR broke with tradition and ran four times did we get an Amendment that actually forced a return to the two-term tradition.

We need more forced traditions.

The Executive Branch, the most powerful of the three, has its limit, but what of the other two?

The Supreme Court has lifetime appointments.  They never have to worry about running for re-election, and rightfully so.  But a lifetime?  I say give them a long enough time to make their stamp, to judge with impunity, and then when their time is up, it's up.  They can retire sooner, but let them be appointed to one 16-year term.  Plenty of time. And then it's someone else's turn.

It would start with the new Supreme Court justice.  The current nine, or whoever the current nine are when the Amendment passes, could stay as long as they like.  The new kids though would go in knowing they could serve ten years or twelve years, or the full sixteen, but then it's someone else's turn.
Now to the legislative branch, the most corrupt of the three.

The House of Representatives is supposed to be for the people.  The numbers of reps locked in at 435 in 1911. At the time, it mean each Congressman represented approximately 212,000 people.  Now it's about 712,000.  I wouldn't mind adding more members of the House to reduce that number but no need to go crazy just yet.

Over time, gerrymandering has meant more and more members become entrenched. Their primary function is to raise money for their next re-election.  They have to be Reps for about a decade before they get real power, and "seniority" has become the siren cry of power. I say give them eight two-year terms. Plenty of time to "clean up Washington." Will it change their behavior much? Doubtful, but at least it'll be someone else's turn.

Now to the Senate. It was originally designed to represent the state's needs to DC, but since the passage of the 17th Amendment, the Senate evolved into a more elite class of Representatives.  Since their terms are six years, let them have three of them.  18 years.  Plenty of time to accomplish what they promised.

Again, this would only kick in with people elected after it passed. It's the only way the old birds in the Senate now would such a thing to move forward.

The George Zimmerman Thing

George Zimmerman was a lot like the Jonah Hill character from The Watch.  An overzealous cop-wannabe ready to take the law into his own hands.  His neighborhood had been victimized by a series of robberies, so he and his neighbors did have reason to be cautious, suspicious, on the lookout.

Trayvon Martin was minding his own business.

Zimmerman saw him and called 911 to report suspicious behavior.  The 911 operator told him not to follow him.  Zimmerman ignored that.  Zimmerman also had his gun with him.  Why?  What is this guy doing?  What did he think would happen?

We only know George's side of the story, and we have pieces of eye-witnesses, ear-witnesses to what happened.  George followed Trayvon, they got into a fight, Trayvon was winning, George feared for his life, and George shot him in the heart.  An unarmed teenager.

Why did he have to kill him?  Wouldn't a leg wound have sufficed?

I get the letter of the law in Florida. At the time he shot, he feared for his life and engaged in self-defense.  It still seems like the prosecutors could have gone for lesser charges, and they would've had a much better chance at getting a conviction.  It was ridiculous to go for second-degree murder.

But this state is also the one that put Marissa Alexander behind bars for 20 years for standing her ground, and no one died in that case.  If there's any justice, her case will be revisited.  I know Zimmerman didn't need to cite "stand your ground" for his case, but it is fascinating that both cases happened in Florida.

The jury made the correct decision, from what I've read about the case.  The jury was just given a skewed choice.  The media has been atrocious through this whole thing, race-baiting and playing up divisions.  MSNBC became the "Zimmerman's a white murderer" channel while FNC became the "Zimmerman's a hard-working Latino protecting himself" channel.  You could just tell them and CNN and HLN were dying for some riots to start.

Martin's parents did everything I would have done.  The whole country knows Trayvon's name.  George, I guess, learned his lesson, and hopefully other would-be vigilantes learned theirs.  And the lesson is not "feel free to kill black teens" because would anyone want to go through what Zimmerman did the past year?  And that's nothing compared to what he put Trayvon's family through by not just aiming a little lower, or not getting out of his car, or not profiling Trayvon in the first place.

Don't be stupid!

The Utah County Republican Convention - 5/4/13

Getting here took a little creativity, by which I mean the Provo marathon had closed off several roads.  I had to wait for people to clear and eventually drove down a few blocks where I thought it might be easier to cross.

Tons of pamphlets and fliers being handed out, tons of signage everywhere. You'd think this was the caucus.

Sen. Lee spoke first.  He said DC tried to take away our guns and he said no.

Rep. Chaffetz was next. Gave a plug for his upcoming FNS appearance to discuss Benghazi.

Gov. Herbert was able to rattle off several statistics on how well Utah is doing, and briefly addressed his recent visit to Israel.

They passed around some glass collection boxes for money.

Now to the candidates.

For Utah County GOP Chair

David Acheson: Asks for vote based on strength of fact that past 2 years have proven productive and healthy. What have we accomplished together? Two years ago we couldn't even agree on an agenda at our meetings. We actually leave meetings with plan of action. What have we done with money raised? We've rented schools for meetings, hosted successful Lincoln Day dinners, donated $34,000 to Republican candidates. We're going to take back the 4th district in 2014.  Utah County GOP party donated $10,000 to Mia Love's campaign.  SLC GOP Party donated $0.

Casey Voeks: I ran Mia Love's campaign in 2012. I will engage the youth. To improve our party fundraiser, I will find new donors. As a chairman, I will improve our outreach. I will fulfill all the duties of chairman.

Voeks won.

For Utah County GOP Vice-Chair

Randy O'Hara: He brings his wife and child up with him. I wanted to run because we have a fractured party that diminishes our elected officials. I do not believe in the tyranny of the minority. We should have a vote and move on. Focus on what we have in common. Then he talks about his DUI for a while and finally withdraws and endorses Acumen. Outgoing vice-chair leaps up and grabs his mike.

I know he's trying to reform his image but that was NOT the way to do it. Left a bad taste in my mouth.

Daryl Acumen: 1st, we need to stop demonizing each other. I grew up with Democrats. I know who the enemy is. The enemy is Barack Obama, Jim Matheson, Robert Reich, Louis Farrakhan. We have so many Republicans here that sometimes we forget who the enemy is and we look at each other instead.

Patrick Holman: I am a white middle-aged heterosexual male, therefore the press considers me intolerant. Why do we tolerate a Democrat representing the most Republican county in the most Republican state?

Acumen won.

For Utah County GOP Secretary

Christy Kane: Spoke about raising her flag in her yard. Teared up when talking about her father's example to her. I'll make sure you get the information you need.

Kirby Glad: I accept personal responsibility and don't seek to blame others. I ask you to take more responsibility as well, help us to defeat Matheson. I replaced the last secretary who was removed. We need to reach out to youth and new citizens.

Glad won.

They announced the delegate count and it was 49%.  Only 49%?  This is what happens when you cram the caucuses with one-candidate delegates; they shirk on their duties after the election.

Within my own Senate district, we vote on the committee members.  Nine ran for four spots. Adrielle Bowler (the only woman to run), Jared Jardine, Arturo Morales-Ilan and Brandon Beckham won.

Then the sexy part of the evening: voting on amendments to party documents!  Clarifying the LD Vice-Chair's duties passed.  Adopting a Chief Technical Officer passed.  Standing Committee Duties did not pass.  Softening of the immigration language did not pass.

I had to run right after that so I didn't get to say Hi to most people I wanted to, but Lisa, Joey, Daryl, Mike, etc., thanks, congrats, catch you next time!  And remember, if you're not going to go to any of the meetings, don't run to be a delegate!