Nobody asked, but, if I were to write the vent...

Today we had a comment about how it was OK for John McCain to joke about bombing Iran, but not OK for Harry Reid to state that we have lost the war in Iraq. Writer, get a clue; the Bush War was lost long ago. And, it is not OK to joke about killing civilians. Do you think bombs and mortars only kill the bad guys? Get a life...

There was a note about the DUI that spelled the end of a St. George cop's career expressing shock that the newspaper ran the story. That saddens me. We have no favorites here, we pull no punches and we don't protect anybody...

Continue reading " My Vent... " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 08:21 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

The honchos of the Republican Party have been dropping by our state with a lot more frequency as of late.

We had presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee; Dick Cheney will give a commencement address at Brigham Young University; and now we learn that First Lady Laura Bush plans to visit Zion National Park next week.

We're not sure if she'll be roughing it in a tent or staying in one of the beautiful tourist inns near the park, but, she's coming.

Continue reading " First Lady needs welcoming committee at Zion " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 08:55 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

There's something happening here and what it is, well, you know how the old Buffalo Springfield song goes.

Nearly a month ago, a guy in Hurricane shot and killed an intruder who busted into his home with a pipe, broke his arm and was on a path to even more mayhem, according to police reports.

The guy fingered as the triggerman by the cops is the nephew of the mayor.

Continue reading " Hurricane blows off the public's right to know " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

A couple of residents want to have pit bull dogs banished from Cedar City.

One of them had a child who was severely injured by an animal during an attack last fall.

Sorry, this one doesn't fly.

Continue reading " Blame owner, not the dog " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 09:20 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

When Bill O'Reilly calls somebody a "kook," immediately, the target of the Fox News Channel sitcom star's venom has an ally.

So, Yo, Rocky!

The Salt Lake City Mayor made an appearance on O'Reilly's show the other night, only to draw that description.

Continue reading " Yo, Rocky! " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

Nobody likes to have their boss doing their job.

It's not comfortable and it certainly doesn't promise longevity.

That's why Ken Beazer seems in a precarious position today as the athletic director at Southern Utah University.

Continue reading " Bopped on the Beazer " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 09:16 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

It’s time to take that skinny little bleach-blonde with a taste for leather and vitriol and teach her a lesson.

Ann Coulter, the darling of those who hang so far from the right they have lost all touch with propriety and reason, dropped the F-word the other day.

No, not that one. If it was only the four-letter F-word it wouldn’t be so bad. But Coulter used a derogative term related to gay men to describe Democratic Party presidential hopeful John Edwards.

Continue reading " Little Annie does it again " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 09:59 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 4 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

It’s about to get very interesting.

In a story published by the Sunday Times, the claim is made that a handful of America’s top military leaders will quit if the Untied States takes action against Iran.

Of course, no names were given.

Continue reading " Military leaders about to jump ship? " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

I had the pleasure to speak today to the Washington County Utah Democrats, a group that drew a pretty phenomenal group of 150 people to their monthly luncheon.

I'd like to think being a co-conspirator in this endeavor to remove George Bush from the White House had something to do with it, but I would be flattering myself too much to honestly believe that.

Instead, I found some of the Bluest people I've ever encountered in the Reddest of the Red States of America.

And, I used the opportunity to throw my two cents in on this vital campaign for the White House and the 2008 election.

Continue reading " Go, Johnny, Go " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

Where does a reporter's job end and their social responsibility begin?

That's what many in the local media are trying to decide in the case of Terry Wood, a newsman for KTVX-TV in Salt Lake City.

Seems Mr. Wood had the audacity to make an editorial comment on a recent broadcast.

Continue reading " In defense of Terry Wood " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 07:48 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

I'm not much of a TV fanatic.

I have a couple of guilty pleasures, I admit, like "Gray's Anatomy" and, "Deal or No Deal." Hey, we all have our weaknesses.

There is one must-see program for me, however — "Real Time With Bill Maher" on HBO.

Continue reading " Real Time returns " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 09:03 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

I believe in and encourage transparency in government.

And, right now, one of our local politicians is very, very transparent.

It's Dennis Stowell, who was elected last November to the Legislature to replace Tom Hatch.

Stowell, who has an axe to grind with the media, is pushing a bill in the Legislature that would strip government agencies from the requirement to post legal notices in the newspaper of record.

Continue reading " An example of transparency in government " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 08:58 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

Among my loyal readers is a guy named Jack, who frequently sends me those bogus e-mails about all the “good things” the “liberal media” refuses to print about what’s “really” going on in Iraq.

He's sent pictures of soldiers giving candy to Iraqi kids; photos of troops sitting down to a Thanksgiving dinner as their Commander in Chief carries around a plastic turkey with plastic trimmings for a plastic international photo op; stories of how many schools have been built; and how this newfangled Iraqi democracy is “working.”

It’s necessary, he tells me, to fight ‘em over there so we don’t have to fight ‘em here.

Now, the fact that Jack has a computer and is able to use e-mail means he has at the very least enough motor skills to qualify as a human, but I don’t think he should be allowed to amble down the street.

Continue reading " That's a fact, Jack " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 09:23 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

The one thing George Bush got right during his speech to the nation Wednesday night is that it is time to change America’s course.

And that means cleaning house from the top down.

After losing more than 3,000 lives, maiming more than 20,000 soldiers and spending more than $400 billion on a war that is now impossible to win, it is time for a change, a change of leadership.

Continue reading " Bush is right, it’s time for America to change course " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 08:29 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

When the American people care more about the feud between Donald Trump and Rosie O’Donnell than in an escalation in the war in Iraq, you know something is terribly wrong.

But, there it is on television each night — The Rosie vs. The Donald.

While our children continue to die in a hostile desert.

We’ve lost it.

Continue reading " We've lost it " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 08:41 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

In the wake of the resignation of John Bolton, now, thankfully the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, the president is laying it all at the feet of political obstruction instead of the fact that the Senate, for once, used good sense in not affirming his nominee for this delicate job.

According to an Associated Press report, the president is bitter, “deeply disappointed that a handful of United States senators prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up or down vote he deserved in the Senate.”

“They chose to obstruct his confirmation, even though he enjoys majority support in the Senate…this stubborn obstructionism ill serves our country and discourages men and women of talent from serving their nation,” he said.

What a crock!

Continue reading " Bye-bye, Bolton " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 4 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

I'm not now, nor have I ever been, a fan of Larry H. Miller.

I'm even less a fan today after mulling over the new name given to the sports palace where his Utah Jazz play professional basketball.

You know the name by now. If you don't, look elsewhere. Even if they offered me $20 million or however much they gave Miller, it won't be found under my byline. Not at any price, although I will mention the company deals with nuclear waste.

Continue reading " What's in a name " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

Cha-ching!

There goes another billion dollars.

Cha-ching! Cha-ching!

It adds up fast, faster than you can say, “No WMDs!”

That’s how the cost of combat is hitting the United States. A story in the Christian Science Monitor places the cost of the war on terr-uh — that would be Iraq and Afghanistan — at about $500 billion, with the Pentagon asking for yet another $120 billion to $160 billion to fill out fiscal year 2007.

Continue reading " Money for nothing puts U.S. in dire straits " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

The witless drive to develop a next-generation nuclear weapon is in the embryonic stages as the shadow of Divine Strake draws nearer and nearer to the Nevada Test Site where the detonation of 700 tons of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil would replicate the strength of a low-yield nuke.

But, what would happen if a real next-generation mini-nuke was unleashed?

According to a report by Robert W. Nelson, Council on Foreign Relations and Princeton University, a bunker buster with a 0.34 kiloton yield — only 2 percent of the bomb burst over Hiroshima — dropped on an enemy target with a population of 15,000 people per square mile and driven 50 feet into the ground would send a base surge cloud with a diameter of 10,000 feet about 3,000 feet into the air.

Oh, yeah, 10,000 to 50,000 people would receive a fatal radiation dose within 24 hours.

Continue reading " In the wake of Divine Strake " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 09:19 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

Are we going to sit back and allow this to happen again or are we going to go after the big dogs who want to bring the Divine Strake test back to the Nevada Test Site?

Are we going to allow our children, our grandchildren and the rest of us to face poisoning from whatever gets shaken up off the floor of the NTS?

Are we going to allow the federal government to once again pry open Pandora's box and start testing new nuclear devices?

Continue reading " How far are you willing to go? " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 07:21 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

So they busted a woman in St. George for allegedly dealing pornography out of the back room of her shop.

Oh, yeah. We got a big fish on the line here! Better reel in before the morals of an entire community are tossed in the dumpster.

First off, we need a few clarifications.

It is not illegal to possess or view pornography in Utah. It is illegal to sell it, according to state statute. The felonies thrown at this woman and a young man at the shop are not a result of local ordinance offenses. They do not face St. George Municipal Code charges.

Continue reading " A pornucopia of news " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 01:18 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 4 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

It was with great disappointment that I read a letter to the editor today in our newspaper that implied Democrats are evil and Republicans are good.

I realize this is blood-red Utah, where the little "R" next to a candidate's name makes him or her a virtual shoo-in for office.

But, I didn't realize that one little letter could determine the quality of the human life attached to it.

When I see such utter irrationality, I realize why so many people view this state as being unfriendly, hypocritical and "closed." It's also why, at times, I'm almost happy I work too many hours and don't have the opportunity to "socialize" with my neighbors. Notice I said, "almost."

Continue reading " Are Democrats evil? " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 10 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

The four newspapers -- The Military Times -- that serve our military have finally come to grips with the failures in Iraq.

They want Donald Rumsfeld out.

In an editorial that will be published Monday, they tell you why.

They are the same reasons we have believed for some time now.

Continue reading " One down, three to go? " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 07:07 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

One good thing about sports reporters is that they always, no matter what, know the score.

Former sports reporter Keith Olbermann reported the score on the Bush presidency with acute accuracy the other night and it is dismal.

Olbermann sized up the Bush presidency precisely when his outrage brimmed over into one of the classic television moments of the cable era and was preserved in his take-no-prisoners blog.

It was a response to the flak generated by a comment made by John Kerry that was perfectly clear to most people with more than a third-grade education. The comment, aimed at Bush, was deflected by his lackies and distorted into a slur against the mental acuity of the American soldier.

It was not.

Continue reading " Two words, Keith: Mission accomplished " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 08:14 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

Congratulations to the students at Snow Canyon Middle School.

Tuesday, these young people decided that they didn't like what was going on at their school. They were upset because they couldn't dress in Halloween costumes to celebrate the holiday. It got to the point where they were not getting the answers they wanted so they walked out of class at lunch time, went across the street and had a protest walk.

Now, before we go any further on up this road, congratulations must also go out to principal John Goldhardt, who was admirable in the way he handled the situation.

Continue reading " Maybe there's hope after all " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 08:13 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

(NOTE: THESE COMMENTS DO NOT, IN ANY WAY, REFLECT THOSE OF THE SPECTRUM & DAILY NEWS EDITORIAL BOARD, ITS MEMBERS OR THE NEWSPAPER.)

If you aren't totally outraged, then you're not paying attention.

If you aren't ticked off beyond belief, then you either are one of the hapless sheep or so disgusted you really don't care about the future of this country.

And that, my friends, is at the local, state and federal levels.

Continue reading " If you aren't totally outraged... " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 4 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

Could it be that the reddest of the red states is getting a little infusion of blue?

We can only hope.

But, there are some promising indicators.

Continue reading " Is Utah turning a little purple? " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 08:12 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

I thought -- I hoped, that is -- that things had changed in Iron County.

Apparently not.

After reading comments from Monday's Iron County Commission meeting, it's the same old song and dance.

Continue reading " Same old song and dance " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 08:26 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

I don't know a lot about these fantasy football leagues my friends and colleagues seem to be so seriously involved with.

However, after watching my Oakland Raiders do another pratfall Sunday night and officially becoming The Worst Team in Football, I drifted off into a fantasy state, remembering back to the days when the Raiders won the fights if not the game.

They were a tough bunch.

Continue reading " Fantasy football only relief for Raiders fans " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 09:27 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

Ever since that little mongrel in North Korea shot off his mini-nuke, there has been prolonged debate and innuendo about what it really was that exploded over there.

First, it was a nuke. Then it was a hoax, a conventional explosion. Then it was a dud.

The only dud in all this is the media for allowing itself to be strung out.

Continue reading " The nuclear freak show " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

Every election year, the most popular topic of conversation stems from discussion of how "the good ol' boys" control everything.

Who are these guys and what kind of power do they hold?

Are they the "ins?" Are they forces behind the scenes pulling the strings?

Continue reading " Who are the good ol' boys? " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 09:08 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

For, I don't know, months, maybe a year or even more, we've been keeping an eye on the Bush administration and its foolish desire to test an evil called a bunker-buster missile, capable of digging deep into the ground to kill bad guys. You know, the ones who don't subscribe to born-again theology, a capitalist ethic that feeds only the rich and a brand of "democracy" that has turned off more than 50 percent of the American pubic that would rather watch "American Idol" than vote.

Now, we're on a death watch in North Korea where a looney toon dictator has an itchy trigger finger.

Are we on the eve of a frightening Nuclear Winter?

Continue reading " And I was worried about Divine Strake! " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

For, I don't know, months, maybe a year or even more, we've been keeping an eye on the Bush administration and its foolish desire to test an evil called a bunker-buster missile, capable of digging deep into the ground to kill bad guys. You know, the ones who don't subscribe to born-again theology, a capitalist ethic that feeds only the rich and a brand of "democracy" that has turned off more than 50 percent of the American pubic that would rather watch "American Idol" than vote.

Now, we're on a death watch in North Korea where a looney toon dictator has an itchy trigger finger.

Are we on the eve of a frightening Nuclear Winter?

Continue reading " And I was worried about Divine Strake! " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

We put up with low wages in this little corner of the world because of certain quality of life benefits.

The crime's not bad, the weather's pretty nice and the views are spectacular.

Well, the weather's still pretty nice, but the crime rate is rising and those spectacular views are disappearing.

Continue reading " We need arrested development " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 16 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

It’s only a football game. It won’t save lives in Iraq, help drive our gasoline prices down any further and it certainly won’t cure cancer.

It’s only a football game.

But, to the residents of New Orleans, who suffered so much a year ago, it was everything as the New Orleans Saints played their first game in the Superdome Monday night after it was ravaged by a hurricane a year ago.

There were no cheerleaders on the field last year when thousands sought refuge in the cavernous arena that has hosted Super Bowls, rock bands and anything else with mega, colossal or giant attached to it.

Continue reading " The party's on again in New Orleans " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 07:08 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

It's always an adventure when I see the little red light lit up on my work telephone.

It means that somebody has left me a voice mail.

And, if you spent a day or two answering my phone, you'd know what I mean.

"I always knew you were a jerk...now I know you're dumber than a stick!"

SLAM!

Continue reading " You jerk! You're dumber than... " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 08:41 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

Overkill, that's all it is.

The idea of creating new-generation mini-nukes to burrow deeply into the ground to strike hardened targets is ludicrous.

It takes no imagination at all to understand what the detonation of even a small nuclear device would do to a civilian population.

Continue reading " Bunker busters, nuclear overkill " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 08:58 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

The best gig in the world could soon be covering the governor's office.

Not in Salt Lake City, in Austin, Texas, not too far from The World Armadillo Headquarters.

That is, if Kinky Friedman, running as an independent, somehow wins this November.

Continue reading " I'm a Kinky kinda guy " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 02:40 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

For the most part, it was a fairly unremarkable morning.

Get up, shave, shower, do the crossword puzzle and dress for work.

As every morning, the television was on in the background, tuned to CNN.

Then, in an instant, the world went insane as the network cut to a live shot of one of the World Trade Center buildings in flames. An airplane had crashed into it, the nation was told.

Continue reading " Revisiting 9/11 " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 06:37 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 6 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

OK, it's T-minus 60 minutes and counting until the first court proceedings against Warren Jeffs take place in 5th District Court.

Looking out the back door of our office, I see police spotters/snipers(?) on the red hill. There are cops running around in tactical armor, toting M-16s.

And, all of this just for a televised initial appearance?

Continue reading " Jeffs court countdown under way " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

The big question in this Warren Jeffs case isn't if he did what he is charged with, it's why did it take so long to file charges on him?

There have been a enough instances where runaway boys and girls have told authorities about what goes on in Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz. to have pressed charges several years ago. There have been enough adults who have come forward with statements to have landed this guy in the slammer.

How much power does this guy hold? How deep do his connections run?

Continue reading " Jeffs: Why did it go on so long? " »

Posted by Ed Kociela at 09:33 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )