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About the Blog

This blog focuses on politics relevant to Utah County. It does not seek to promote a particular political party, however the perspective is that of a constitutional conservative, and a classical liberal, subscribing to many of the ideas proposed by Adam Smith and Frederic Bastiat, which can be incompatible with many party platforms. The content in not intended to be neutral in tone, but to promote constitutional principles and liberty.

Much of the content posted to this blog is developed in conjunction with a voter guide which is published separately. The voter guide covers not only elections, but principles of government and voting, as well as coverage of many public policy issues.

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The Debate Over "The Best a Man Can Get"

The Italian term fascismo is derived from fascio meaning a bundle of rods. (Wikipedia) I'm a little late on the commentary here, and it really isn't Utah-specific, but I have plenty of unoriginal thoughts that, perhaps, I might put together in an appealing way. More importantly, somebody made the above cartoon for me, and it seemed like it would be a terrible waste to not air it a little. (It has been posted elsewhere, but it was made for me, and I love it.) You're welcome to share the image around if you are so inclined. My impression of Gi**ette's ad was negative from the start. I was disgusted with the extremely negative view of men in our society (ie. western masculinity), and by use of a clip from the Young Turks (a panel of radical leftist commentators). The message has often been portrayed, by those who like the ad, as a sort of "we can do better, men; look how great you can be" sort of message. That's an interesting interpretation, b...
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Neural Networks, Pavlov's Dogs, and Elections

Assorted Flowers Today's blog post is a bit technical. My intention is to explain some of my thoughts on how people behave unconsciously (and sometimes even consciously). At its heart, this is about group psychology, and applying the ideas of classical conditioning . I really came to this understanding from a different direction, however; one informed more by my experience with computer science and physics than by psychology. Image by BruceBlaus . Obtained from Wikimedia Commons . To begin with, I need to describe the humble neuron . Neurons are the basic unit that makes up the brain. They are cells. By themselves, neurons are relatively simple things. The basic feature that makes neurons special is the way they link up and pass signals to one another. A typical neuron is made up of a cell body with an axon and dendrites. The axons and dendrites are basically like tentacles. Typically, the axon of one neuron will connect to one or more dendrites of other neurons. The de...
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Reviewing Payson City Council Candidates in 2017

Watermelon in a Garden This past week I've undertaken to do a review of the remaining candidates for Payson's city council. I'm hoping to follow this up with a letter to the candidates. (Unfortunately, not all of the candidates provide suitable contact information.) Larry Skinner Larry Skinner is retired and a former City Councilman for Payson. His record and interests are unclear, but based on his performance in the primary , he seems to be very popular. His expense filing is modest, but seems, oddly enough, to lack any mention of the $50 filing fee that other candidates noted. (Maybe it's not due at filing?) Based on the expenses that are noted, he seems to be focusing his efforts on fliers and in-person events. So, while his campaign may seem non-existent to people like me, he's shaking a lot of hands and winning the support of those he meets. Though, he is probably also gaining some of the incumbent advantage from having campaigned as a former coun...
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