Since the Utah Legislature is now passing bills based on world conspiracies (see my blog friday) I thought it would be fun to ponder what other directions our Legislature could take in its musings as it seeks to protect us all from “THEM!”

Which were, as it turned out, giant ants.

THEM! is a great movie that allegedly starts out in New Mexico, although I like to think it reallystarts out in Utah, since we have a long history of disaster movies being film here. There’s “The Conqueror,” which has the double attraction of staring John Wayne as Ginghas Kahn (huh?) but also was filmed downwind from some of that harmless radiation southern Utah is so famous for. Radiation also plays a role in “Them!” so I think the movie producers saying the movie takes place in New Mexico is a fine piece of disinformation, the very key to a good conspiracy.

To begin with, the Legislature could take on space travel, which we all now know is faked. This could have unfortunate effects on one or two Utah firms, but what the heck, we’re talking fighting international conspiracies here, not protecting jobs. I’m thinking a law protecting all Utah-made and launched rockets from all federal oversight because, heck, they’re good enough for Utahns.

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Someone needs to tell The Legislature that The Onion is not for real.

But no, they gotta take it as fact, a model to be followed.

A little bit ago The Onion, nominally a satire newspaper, ran an article saying that abortion foes wanted a new law that required a mother seeking an abortion to first paint the baby’s room and name the kid. Ha ha.

The Utah House, Friday, approved a bill to allow women seeking abortions to first see an ultrasound as soon as 3 weeks into the pregnancy and, even though doctors said its medically impossible, look at the fetus heartbeat. Told that three weeks is too soon to see a heartbeat, Rep. Carl Wimmer said “there are arguements on both sides of the issue.”

Huh? Oh, right, this is the Legislature that regularly tells climate scientists that they’re wrong based on belief. Now gestational development is a matter of faith?

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Oh God, where to start?

Our esteemed Legislature, on Thursday, approved in committee, by 10-1, a bill dissing on climate change, basing the reason for the need for this resolution the certainty among members of the committee, led by Rep. Mike Noel, (R-nuclear industry) that climate change is really part of a global conspiracy to control and limit the population of the world.

Yes, you read that right. Bills in the Legislature are now based on world control paranoia. Condemnations of the Illuminati and discourses on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion will, no doubt, be next.

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Gail Collins at the NYTimes has one of her usually excellent and rather pithy columns (click here!) today on budget cuts, centering around the NASA elimination in Obama’s budget, but also looking at the broader problem of how hard it is to cut the budget at all.

Hard truth is, every program has advocates and no congressman is willing to have a program in his state cut because that program probably pays the wages of some of his constituents. A lost job is a lost vote.

But even she dodges the big one: The US defense budget is edging up to $1 trillion, more than all other nations in the world spend on their collective defense, combined. Even when you factor in differing wage structures — I assume Chinese military gets its stuff at Chinese wages, for example — that’s a heck of a lot of money.

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Stupid groundhog: http://www.punxsutawneyphil.com/

On my blog challenging readers to balance the federal budget, someone posted a link to a fascinating blog post about Republicans and just who the heck are they anyway?

Not the people calling themselves Republicans now, that’s for sure. Not if you consider Republicans to be conservatives, and not if you consider conservatives to be, well, conservative.

iThe blog is here (click!) and even though it’s 6 years old, it says what I’ve been saying all along: I am a true conservative because I believe in being careful with money, in doing things logically, in following scientific evidence where it leads, in generally following a life that lets other people alone, that avoids waste, that doesn’t tell people how to lead their lives.

Current Republicans puzzle me. Are they the religious right with their moral preaching and legislating?  Are they fiscal crazies with their general abhorance of tax increases for anything, even wars? 

I have no clue.

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Want to win a free lunch with me?

Get out your red pencils and read on.

President Obama released his proposed budget today with a — Wow — $1.56 Trillion deficit — that’s $1.56 trillion out of balance just this year.

Sorta makes the $20 you have hidden in your sock drawer for emergencies seem kinda pathetic, does it not?

Obama is catching a lot of flack for this — some idiot congressman, on Friday, asked him if his budgets were going to continue to triple the national debt, which pretty much made President Bush’s entire presidency disappear in one fell-swoop. 

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Wow, this is great stuff.

President Obama met with the Republican Caucus of Congress today — he took questions and gave answers and, time and time again, slapped them in the face with their solid wall of opposition.

Which will probably continue. There seems to be some sort of higher rule around that no Republican in Congress shall ever give an inch to Obama if it is something that might make Obama look good in 2012, even if it is a proposal he stole from the Republicans.

Still, nice to see. And I think Obama gave as good as he got. I would LOVE to see this as a monthly affair. If it were, and were just this public, my impression of both Obama AND Congress would go up.

See for yourself, full transcripts and video at this site on the Washington Post.