Mormon conference crowds and anti-Trump protests converge in downtown Salt Lake City.
Hits & Misses
By Katharine Biele @kathybiele
Miss: Freedom of Assembly
In Utah, it's a matter of church and state—and the dichotomy was evident last weekend. The semiannual LDS General Conference saw throngs of modest followers converge on the Salt Lake Temple, while thousands of sign-toting protesters marched to the Capitol. While the Mormons called for charity and even "reverence for sacred things in an irreverent world," protesters were showing irreverence to call attention to the Trump administration's scorched-earth policies. It was a moment of truth for two ends of the same equation. Both were calling for action in the face of evildoers. A Salt Lake Tribune letter writer brought it together, quoting apocryphal tradition: "I heard the prophet say, 'The time will come when the Government of these United States will be so nearly overthrown through its own corruption, that the Constitution will hang, as it were, by a single hair, and the Latter-day Saints ... will step forward to its rescue and save it.'" So far—nothing.
Miss: Local Control
Washington, D.C. has long sought statehood, but alas, Congress just can't make itself do it. And now Sen. Mike Lee wants to take away D.C.'s self-governing "home rule," which it has had since 1973, because of crime and corruption. He's proposing the Bowser Act, because who wouldn't want to take power over the people of D.C.? Maybe he wants to handle potholes and rats. With 700,000 inhabitants, D.C. is bigger than Vermont and Wyoming. But here's the thing, the District is predominantly Black and Democratic. "The District's lack of representation is a wider oppression and disenfranchisement of Black Americans," the D.C. Statehood page notes. Statehood is not a constitutional issue, because Congress could carve out a swath of land surrounding the federal district, leaving the rest for the 51st state. Canada might appreciate a focus on statehood there.
Hit: Class Clowns
You probably know how our white overlords really, really hate diversity—or at least the word. That's why Affirmative Action died a legal death and why Republicans decry D.E.I. as somehow unfair. Women and minorities, apparently, are taking over high positions and jobs and are trying to "replace" our Caucasian Christians. Some in the State Board of Education were having none of it, proposing a resolution that says diversity programming aims "to achieve the Soviet Communist goal of actual equality, or equity ... by implementing a political favoritism program in the name of identity politics ... (and is a) 1920s Soviet Union policy for using ethnic minorities to advance the installation of Communism." If that seems ridiculous, the Board agreed and in a testament to public pressure, voted the resolution down.
About The Author
Katharine Biele
A City Weekly contributor since 1992, Katharine Biele is the informed voice behind our Hits & Misses column. When not writing, you can catch her working to empower voters and defend democracy alongside the League of Women Voters.
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