[…]benefit of our doubt,” I concluded. Chaffetz, Jason – Utah District 3, strong denier. Jason Chaffetz is reported to have said – to a member of the Citizen Climate Lobby at a Utah town hall meeting – ‘Climate Change is an Al Gore hoax’. Chaffetz was, like his father, a Democrat – prior to 1990. He was even co-chair of a college Dukakis for President campaign in 1988. He met Ronald Reagan in 1990, during a Reagan motivational speaker gig at Nu Skin, and immediately became a Republican. He is a Brigham Young University (BYU) graduate in Communications (1989) and football player – an outstanding place kicker. He converted from Judaism to Mormonism during has last year of college. After graduation he did public relations for Nu Skin, a Utah multi-level marketing firm, for ten years. Chaffetz was the campaign manager for Utah gubernatorial candidate Jon Huntsman in 2004. Huntsman won. In January 2005 Chaffetz became Huntsman’s chief of staff, but left some eleven months later. Chaffetz was considered abrasive and perhaps arrogant with legislators and office staff. Chaffetz was elected to the House in 2008 from Utah’s highly Republican District 3. In spite […]
[…]will be less obviously partisan.” “Back to Issa,” Bill said. “There’s a Chaffetz – Issa connection now. Chaffetz became Chair of the House Oversight Committee; Issa could not continue because of Committee Chair term limit rules in the House.” “So Issa can’t go around issuing subpoenas to everyone anymore?” Jay asked. “Right. In fact, Chaffetz said he would run things differently.” “He issues the subpoenas now,” Jay smiled. harmless West – Peter, Lucien, and Tom – just met in Portland – Peter filled me in: They had met at the Library branch near Lucien’s place. Tom had been in Portland for several days. Lucien mentioned looking for and seeing the Woodstock sassafras tree. “It’s in a backyard behind the discount store I often shop at – really beautiful and very large,” he said. “It would be a shame to have to retrieve its roots for Tom to do a steam extraction and distillation.” Peter quickly came to its – and Lucien’s – defense: “You might get shot digging up someone’s tree roots. Bill is looking for some in nurseries that we may be able to set free,” he said. […]
[…]Majority Leader. Barrasso, John – Wyoming Senator. Capito, Shelley – West Virginia Senator. Chaffetz, Jason – Utah District 3. Ernst, Joni – Iowa Senator; Koch support. Gardner, Cory – Colorado Senator, Koch support Goudy, Trey – South Carolina District 4, Benghazi Committee. Inhofe, Jim – Oklahoma Senator. Issa, Darrell – California District 49. Labrador, Raul – Idaho District 1; Freedom Caucus co-founder. Lee, Mike – Utah Senator. Rodgers, Cathy – Washington District 5. Smith, Lamar – Texas District 21; Chair, House Committee on Science. These 29 and the additional ‘convenience’ patients, effectively treated, may facilitate a tipping point and a major change in governance via the Federal Government. “We could use Centennial Valley as a key delivery strategy,” Bill said. “We could arrange a gig at the U’s Taft Center with the Kochs and with others they endorse and support.” “Are you smoking something?” Jay asked. “No, seriously. The Kochs own Beaverhead Ranch, which practically surrounds the wildlife refuge which borders the U Center. I read somewhere that their Dad, Fred, sent his kids there in the summers to work and help make men out of them.” “Interesting,” I said. “So the Kochs, […]
[…]Committee on Natural Resources, including public lands. Govtrack ideology position is similar to Chaffetz: to the right of the GOP average; leadership score is average. Chris Stewart, District 2, elected 2012; denier. Gov track positions very similar to Bishop and Chaffetz. Mia Love, District 4, elected 2014. Her Govtrack scores are somewhat preliminary as she was recently elected; she is to the left of the GOP average and very low on the leadership scale. Her district houses the NSA’s major Utah facility in Bluffdale. Orrin Hatch – a very senior Senator, elected 1976; reelected for a 7th term in 2012. His ideology score is in the middle of the GOP distribution – with a high leadership score. I’ll get to all of them via my Salt Lake City location. Washington’s therapy will be provided by Peter and Saul. Rodgers is their primary patient. Jaime Herrera Beutler – Washington District 3. She’s a little left of the GOP ideology average, and low leadership score. She has an office in Vancouver. At 36 Jaime is one of the youngest women currently serving in the U.S. Congress and the first Hispanic to represent Washington state in […]
[…]have recognized me, and I timed it so he wasn’t nearby.” “And?” Bill asked. “I saw Chaffetz and Stewart eat a chocolate about half-way through the session. There was one left at Bishop’s place after the event was over, which I picked up. Can’t say any more than that.” “I guess our serving chocolates approach might be called Chocolate Roulette,” Jay smiled. “A fair description. It reminds me of a Scalia story in USA Today, where Scalia, when asked about his nine kids, said something like ‘we are good Catholics – and play Vatican Roulette’.” “And the others?” Bill asked. “I did get to Mike Lee earlier, as well as Chaffetz and Mia Love, at Mike’s Christmas Party at the State Capitol.” “Maybe that’s why Mia is starting to sound a bit reasonable. Her recent talk to the Utah Legislature sounded mature, civil,” Bill said. “I let Hatch go,” I said. “He’d probably recognize me, he’s 80, and he’s tired.” “But he still wants a chair on the Supreme Court?” “Probably. He might not be too bad there – no worse certainly than Scalia was.” “But he’s now saying […]
[…]to help them sell guns and accessories. That is their job, summed up, in its entirety according to Jason Linkins in the December, 2012 Huffington Post. Gun manufacturers’ stock doubled in 2015. The message of security, fear, paranoia – and ‘they’ll come for your guns’ – continues to resonate. The NRA works closely with the far right, with libertarians, with the Tea Party, with ALEC, and with the industry. The various gun industry firms make major gifts to the NRA, have strong Board representation, and generally think of the NRA as their trade organization. In recent years it has built and maintained its flagging individual memberships by stoking fear and paranoia. The NRA and its industry is followed closely by Josh Sugarmann, the executive director of the Violence Policy Center. ‘LaPierre is not a gifted orator, skilled rhetorician or naturally talented performer’, writes Blannelberry at www.gunsamerica.com: … far from it. His voice is shrill. His delivery is anything but smooth. He frequently makes mistakes … His body language is incredibly stilted, and even downright awkward. He is strangely intense. Some LaPierre quotes: What people all over the country fear today is being abandoned by their […]
