I Say This Book is Going To Burn -- First Here, Then in Hell

Utah is banning books (via). That, sadly, is barely even news anymore. But Utah's law has two unique properties to it. 

First, Utah's rule is that any book that is banned in at least three districts must also be banned statewide. Utah has over 600,000 students enrolled in its public schools, but its three smallest districts contain less than 700 children. So the entire state is at the mercy of its three most conservative districts, which may enroll a tiny percentage of the overall school-aged population.

Second, once a book is banned Utah wants to be very clear. It is not to be stored. It is not to be donated. It is not to be sold. It is not to be distributed. It is to be "disposed" of. There's no compromise where maybe the books can be given to people who would enjoy or appreciate them. No -- quoth one board member: "I don’t care if it’s shredded, burned, it has to be destroyed one way or another."

So a uniquely grotesque and censorial law, even by red state standards. I only appreciate that it lets me reference a great Parks & Rec episode.

Snow (Hey Oh!) Roundup

We're fine over here in the wake of the Snowpocalypse. School was canceled yesterday and today, but folks are finally starting to dig out, and we'll be back to normal tomorrow.

* * *

Utah State Rep. wants to ban gay families from participation in all public programs.

Republicans drop "forcible rape" language from their new anti-abortion bill.

Republican presidential candidates graphed on basis of their sanity and their Mormonism.

Meanwhile, Ed Kilgore measures Jon Huntsman's 2012 chances, and finds them severely wanting. He's like Romney, but even easier to call a conservative apostate.

An interview with Dos Equis' World's Most Interesting Man.

Behavioral economists, poor people, and the broken social safety net.

Max Boot chides his fellow right-wingers for pretending there's a viable alternative to ElBaradei.

Senator Bennett Out in Utah

Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT), a reliable conservative who raised far-right hackles because he refused to publicly act like a psychopath, has lost a Republican Primary convention and is effectively out as the Senator from Utah.

Bennett's defeat marks the first time a sitting Senator has lost in an intraparty fight since 2006 when Sen. Joe Lieberman was ousted by wealthy businessman Ned Lamont in the Democratic primary. Lieberman went on to run and win as an independent; under state law Bennett cannot pursue that course.

It also marks the first major victory for the conservative wing of the Republican party, which has organized itself under the banner of the Tea Party movement to protest what they believe to be a government run amok.

Bennett, a reliable conservative on most issues, had repeatedly expressed exasperation at his predicament -- insisting that the ideological right's issues with him were less about his record and more about the tone he struck during the partisan warfare in Washington.

Actually, this is the second time in recent years something like this has happened in Utah -- Jason Chaffetz's primary defeat of arch-conservative six-term Rep. Chris Cannon (R) on grounds of insufficient conservatism had a very similar ring.

Mormons Leading the Way

I'm tempted to snark, but instead I will just be grateful that the LDS Church appears poised to support a series of expansive Utah gay rights measures (soon to go into effect in Salt Lake City, also proposed for state-wide application).

The LDS Church's unexpected endorsement of two Salt Lake City gay-rights measures has many observers wondering if another surprise could follow: a friendlier reception in the 2010 Legislature for such protections statewide.

Even an LDS apostle -- continuing the string of stunners --thinks Salt Lake City's ordinances could be a model.

"Anything good is shareable," Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said in an interview Wednesday, referring to Salt Lake City's new policy aimed at protecting gay and transgender residents from discrimination.

He praised the efforts of Mormon officials and gay-rights leaders who sat down to discuss the issue before the church's endorsement.

"Everybody ought to have the freedom to frame the statutes the way they want," he said. "But at least the process and the good will and working at it, certainly that could be modeled anywhere and even elements of the statute."

At a public hearing Tuesday, church spokesman Michael Otterson expressed strong support for ordinances that, starting in April, will ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in housing and employment. Salt Lake City, home to the worldwide faith's headquarters, approved the statutes in a unanimous City Council vote.

It is an interesting turnabout from an entity that took the lead in opposing gay marriage (most recently in California's Prop. 8 campaign). They insist that the two positions are not in conflict. But I have to admit I'm curious whether or not this is, at least in part, a defensive measure in response to the immense backlash the LDS took after their role in California (a backlash which, I must say, I think was entirely deserved). Most churches can count on a strong base of fellow Christian conservatives to back them up against charges of bigotry, but the LDS has, at best, a shaky relationship with mainstream evangelical Protestantism, and thus were left more vulnerable. I'm wondering if we're seeing the fruits of that.

But regardless of the chain of causation, I'm happy for the gays and lesbians in Utah who are a step closer to equality, and I'm happy that the LDS has chosen to intervene on the side of angels this side.

Via.

Huntsman Goes to China

Utah Governor Jon Huntsman (R), who had been carving out a niche for himself as the leader of the "not insane" wing of the GOP, has accepted an appointment by President Obama to become ambassador to China. Huntsman speaks Mandarin fluently and did his Mormon mission to Taiwan.

A Kos blogger says this means Huntsman is throwing away any chance at the 2012 nod. That's probably right, although in different circumstances it could give Hunstman even more credibility as a "country over partisanship" kind of candidate. Unfortunately for him, the body of the GOP considers service to the Obama administration to be apostasy, so I doubt it will work out that way in the end.

UPDATE: As Steve Benen points out, Hunstman will only be 56 in 2016, so that might be the better shot -- assuming, again, that the Republican base steps back from the precipice.

"She started hanging out with white people, and she started smoking meth."

The WaPo has an interesting article up about race relations and the Black community in Utah. The verdict from the Black community there seems to be that folks aren't mean-spirited as much as they are incredibly, incredibly naive. But I have to say, a lot of the things they described (folks randomly tugging on their hair, Katrina victims being frisked as soon as they deplaned) sound like things that require less a sophisticated knowledge of racial dynamics and more just basic awareness of how to treat human beings with dignity. A state senator called a bill a "black baby" and described it as "a dark and ugly thing." When the Black community responded with outrage, he (of course) got defensive:

He complained of being persecuted by a "hate lynch mob" and finally asked, "How do I know what words I'm supposed to use in front of those people?"

Eventually he did apologize.

Anyway, the whole article is good, and hopefully it will really stress to the high heavens the limits of the "I have good intentions" catch-all response to the idea that racism exists.

Daddy Always Told Me: Never Become a Trial Judge

District Court judging is boring and frustrating. Appellate courts are where the action is. The Deseret Morning News has an interesting article on Paul Cassell, a 42 year old Bush appointee who just retired from his lifetime position as a federal judge for the District of Utah.

Cassell said he found himself questioning some laws at each turn. "I felt like it was proper judicial role to ask questions, even if we weren't necessarily charged with fixing the problem," he said. But he wanted to do more — he wanted to make a change. Being a federal judge, he couldn't do that.

"One of the frustrations about being a trial court judge is that you never set broad principles of law; of course, that's reserved for the appellate courts. ... When I was there for 5 1/2 years, I began to think that maybe I would have more effect in moving the law in a way that I think is desirable by doing appellate litigation."

Becoming a legal advocate is a better fit, he said. "I felt like for the rest of my life, I wasn't sure I could stay in one place doing one kind of thing. There were some issues I wanted to pursue, particularly working on crime victims' rights, which is an area that I felt very passionately about."

Another interesting part of the article is how Cassell's experience on the bench has motivated him specifically to speak out on certain parts of the legal system he considers broken -- areas not normally associated with a Bush appointee. For example, Cassell has blasted out of control mandatory minimum sentencing, and has written vigorously against the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity. I don't know if Cassell was involved in these issues prior to his appointment, but it appears that being on the bench side of these cases has definitely influenced his thoughts on the matter.

All via Orin Kerr, who notes that Cassell is one of five hot-shot young(ish) judges who have left the bench at a relatively early point in their careers.

PS: My dad really did, in fact, advise me never to become a Federal District Court judge. If that doesn't give you insight into what type of family I have, nothing will.