Utah Needs a Strong Governor

Yesterday’s announcement that the Supreme Court will not hear Utah’s case concerning same-sex unions does not make these unions mandatory. The issue still falls within the reach of Governor Gary Herbert. Despite Judge Shelby’s ruling of December, 2013, marriage is a state matter, not a federal one. Utah spoke on the issue with Amendment Three to the Utah State Constitution, passed in 2004, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and our Constitution is not subject to federal judges. We can say “No!”

The federal government has no authority to dictate this matter to us. Judge Shelby broke the law with his ruling in a classic example of illegal legislation from the bench. No judge should be allowed to break the law he took an oath to uphold. He, and other judges doing the same, should be removed from the bench.
We fought this issue by taking it to the highest court, asking that it intervene. They have refused. Now comes the hard part: We must tell the federal court system to “take a hike.” This is our business, not theirs. We could have said so at the time Judge Shelby ruled and then put muscle behind our position. Now we have to.
This issue goes back to the basics: who’s in charge? If the contract Americans signed with government 225 years ago puts the federal government in charge of marriage, Judge Shelby was within his duties. He’s a federal judge; he rules on federal matters.
What rights did we give the federal government? Article 1 of the Constitution spells them out. Minus the details, these are the duties we gave Congress: it is to collect taxes, pay our debts and defense costs, and borrow money. It must regulate immigration, bankruptcies and some commerce. It is to coin money and punish counterfeiters, standardize weights and measures, give us a postal system and grant copyrights. It is responsible for laws and crimes on the high seas, raising a navy and armies, and calling out the militia. It must pass laws to accomplish the above and is in charge of its home, the District of Columbia. In addition, it must establish a federal court system to rule on issues, but only those for which the federal government has authority.
Note that defining marriage was not on the list. Nor is it on the president’s short list: Chief Executive over the people and his branch of government, commander of the military, maker of treaties, chief diplomat for foreign countries, grantor of pardons and one who recommends (but does not lobby for) legislation.
By default, then, the states define marriage. Like a computer system, there’s a default setting in the national Constitution for anything new or unforeseen — the 10th Amendment. It gives any other responsibility to the states.
We’ve ignored this default setting for a century or more, allowing it to be repeatedly overridden. Past politicians and governors knew this would become a serious problem, but ran from their duties to protect a state’s right to make decisions. Now there’s a precedent established: states bellyache, roar, and capitulate. Many, both lawmakers and citizens, no longer realize the power a state has to set its course.

The federal government is daily taking on rights it does not have and authority it does not possess. Their refusal to back Utah’s Amendment Three gives a wink and a nod to judges in other states to follow suit. At some point, the states must stand against this encroachment or we will lose every right we have in local decision-making. It is the nature of power to increase itself until some force stops its momentum. The longer we wait to put the brakes on power grabs, the more force it takes to stop the runaway. We’ve waited too long, already.
Gov. Herbert is not alone in facing this issue. Several other states: Indiana, Oklahoma, Virginia and Wisconsin, share our plight and their governors have the same dilemma. Each must decide what to do. If we don’t stand fast on this issue, our grandchildren lose both the right of every child to a father and mother but also their right to be governed by the rule of law. America stands on majority rule and the majority of Utahns want traditional marriage upheld. If the majority yields to the minority we change our system of government. Rule by the minority always produces tyranny.
As Utahns and citizens of America, we have duties to our government and ourselves. Nothing in life is free — there is a payment due for everything we get. This includes freedom; it isn’t free. Freedom’s duty is to insist on obedience to law and then put power behind our word. To do otherwise gives permission to ignore the law. If we allow federal judges to strike down our Constitution in this matter, what will they strike down next?
It’s a very hard thing for a governor to stand up to the federal establishment. It takes a strong man and he needs the people to stand behind him. The activists destroying the law will be vocal on this, and unless those who want us to be governed by laws we choose speak out, Governor Herbert will think we don’t care.
It’s time to call the governor. Tell him to stand firm for Utah’s constitutional right to draft its laws on marriage and the family. His number is (801) 538-1000; his email is garyherbert@utah.gov. Speak now or you may have to forever hold your peace.
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There's a Worm in Common Core

Utah’s education has recently been up for sale. Teachers divide sharply over the new Common Core federal educational standards.

Educators who want the nation “on the same page” will tolerate bigger government to get it. Others see this as ominous and think the federal government should stick to its legally assigned duties, none of which involve education. They see a rotten core in this apple.
Common Core is touted as a grassroots, state-led movement that started with educators, but the money trail says otherwise. States can “tweak” their particular program, which fools the unsuspecting, but this octopus was nationally born.
Federal funds developed the intrusive, much-maligned tests at the core of Common Core. President Obama’s favorite education initiatives are at the heart of the program, according to Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education. He claims the program is state-led, but crows over states who took Common Core’s federal payoffs without debate.
Utah’s Governor Gary Herbert is among that group. Surprise, surprise: Federal goodies guarantee federal control.
Three-fourths of America’s school children now intellectually ingest Common Core’s English and math curricula.
Some on the committee to plan the curricula rebuke it. James Milgram, emeritus mathematics professor from Stanford, refused to sign the completed program, saying Common Core standards are academically deficient.
Committee member Professor Sandra Stotsky, University of Arkansas, agrees. Common Core claims to be “internationally benchmarked” to meet the best educational standards worldwide. Educators who examine it say that claim is bogus; the program falls well below advanced international standards.

Do teachers like the program? Some do, but others balk, particularly over the intrusive testing required by Common Core. Teachers and parents alike ask "Why so many tests?" The pesky, illogicaltests eat up to 20 percent of a teacher’s teaching time.

Shouldn’t teachers teach and test occasionally, rather than the opposite test and teach occasionally? The tests are not the end goal; learning is. Will test-stressed classrooms improve education?
Some teachers have put their careers on the line in protest. Utah physics teacher Stuart Harper resigned over Common Core, which requires teachers to follow a script: what to say and how to say it. Forget about individual help, or teacher talents and creativity.
Harper says, “My hands are tied within this system."
Middle school English teacher Elizabeth Natale, of West Hartford, Conn., joins him. She believes the art of teaching is being snuffed out. She also says, “I do not believe the current trend in education will lead to adults better prepared ... to be better citizens.”

Utah’s Granite School District teacher Ann Florence was fired during the 2014 Spring Break for speaking out against Common Core. Apparently Granite School District hasn’t heard of the First Amendment’s freedom of speech. (No wonder; the Constitution spends little time in the school curricula nowadays.)
Ann wants to teach through her skills and be judged accordingly, rather than be judged by the endless test scores from Common Core. A teacher can get fired if her students don’t perform well on the tests. (Wasn’t this new system supposed to fix this problem from No Child Left Behind?)
States who rushed blindly and greedily into Common Core’s open arms, such as New York and Indiana, are now backing away. Missouri may join them.
The federal government, intent on having its way, has put Indiana “on the rack” for its reversal. Georgia wants in, however.
Mary and Tracy Finney, who tried to opt their children out of Common Core’s murky test environment, were called trespassers by police, as administrators denied their request. Georgia’s parent involvement apparently ends when school doors close around their children.
A determined grassroots movement to reverse Common Core in Utah is under way, led by Oak Norton of Highland and Christel Swasey, who appeared recently on The Blaze network to showcase the problem.
There are a lot of parents consequently deciding to home school, and a lot of Utah teachers trash-talking this program. They should know what’s best in the classroom. Gov. Herbert, let go of the federal goodies and undo your error, please.

Nullification - When States 'Just Say No'

Governor Gary Herbert has a lot of power. If you don't want Obamacare, ask him to tell the federal government to "take a hike;" we aren't interested. The whole program is illegal and unconstitutional, anyway, and Gov. Herbert, as Utah's chief captain, calls the shots here in Utah. He can tell the feds to move on.
If you are incensed that the federal government illegally owns two-thirds of Utah, talk to Gov. Herbert. He can insist they keep their promise to return our lands, which will give all of us better schools, better living and more money.
If you chafe under illegal immigration, Gov. Herbert is still your man. While he isn't in charge of immigration, the federal government is negligent and we are being invaded. He can insist they act, or lead the state into action if the federal posse fails to show.

The governor, with the state legislature, has the duty to insist that the federal government keep the law. Thirteen states created the Constitution and federal government, so they are "the boss;" they wrote the laws. The federal government's job is to follow them.

The Founders knew something like this would happen, so they built disciplinary tools into the Constitution. Nullification -- the duty of a state to say "NO" to the federal government when it breaks the law -- is one of them. Elections are another. While states cancel illegal federal actions, voters hand eviction notices to elected officials who permitted the problem. Nullification is not rebellion or secession, as some claim; it is a safeguard of the Constitution.
Nullification is not new. In 1798 our infant Congress passed, and President John Adams signed, the Alien and Sedition Acts, which made it illegal to speak out against the government. Stunned at this federal abuse of the First Amendment's freedom of speech, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson taught nullification to Virginia and newly-admitted Kentucky.
This set the precedent and pattern for state nullification that brought down the Alien and Sedition Acts. Jefferson coined the term and called it "the rightful remedy" to end federal illegalities.

Some of the Founders protested. America was learning how to make the Constitution work in real life, and every new challenge set future patterns. George Washington, in his Farewell Address, explained, "Remember that time and habit ... fix the true character of governments ... experience is the surest standard by which to test ... the existing constitution of a country. ..."
Governments will gobble up power if they can. They are like spoiled, petulant children who throw temper tantrums for more. The states created the federal government; they are the parents, the federal government is the offspring. Like all good parents, the states are to resist tantrums and sly mischief while they insist on obedience.
Today, we have role reversal -- we have let the undisciplined child take control. While states, like parents, are far from perfect, they are still the best restraint for the federal government. Utah baby-stepped in the right direction in 2010. We blazed the constitutional trail back to a sound economy by acknowledging gold and silver as useable money within the state. Twelve other states have followed. More work remains for the governor and legislature, backed by Utah residents who stand firm.
It will not be easy. Like a stormy child, the federal government can get its hackles up and withhold federal funds. It takes real "guts" and determination to hold to what's right, as any parent of a flailing child knows.
Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, made an interesting statement some while back that illustrates Gov. Herbert's position. "It's a lonely thing to be a governor," he said. "You stand isolated at the top of the state, with forces assailing you on every side to win favor for their position. The governor needs to hear from us -- not just when we don't like something, but also when we do. We need to tell him what he has done well."
We can encourage Utah officials to resist the heavy federal hand. If we are willing to sacrifice, we can rebuild the freedoms of 1787. While we encourage Gary Herbert to take a hard stand, let's also give him a hand when he does.