From two Hillary supporters: Give it up

The time has come. Extract your price (Secretary of State?) and bow out.

Matheson: Unlabeled dishes No, torture Yes

Taking time out from voting to torture people and detain them indefinitely without charges, Congressman Jim Matheson has taken another hard stance, this time on dishware. Matheson is hitting China hard for adding extra mineral to our diets, insisting that lead-happy dishmakers label the leadware that they ship over here by the millions. Take that! And if you don't shape up, we might make you underline some of the words! You have been warned.

How high is Sandy's cost of living if the city administrator can't live on $151,000?

Thanks to the Trib's persistence in prying bonus figures out of Sandy City administrators' cold undead fingers, we now know that Mayor Tom Dolan and his 12 buddies sit around giving each other bonuses on a regular basis. (Boy, won't the Utah Taxpayers Association be all over that!)

For other city officials who are behind the curve, The Trib offers an instructional diagram, roughly translated as: "You approve my bonus, I'll approve your bonus."

The most impressive yield is by Sandy City Administrator Byron Jorgenson. For administering a city of 100,000, Mr. Jorgenson makes a salary of $151,000, plus (so far this year) $12,500 in bonus money. Sandy residents can't really complain about that. I mean, his salary is only 150 percent of the governor's salary, and he's worth way more than that, especially since, according to Sandy City,

"A large part of Mr. Jorgenson’s leadership strength comes from his high standards of personal ethics and integrity, which he exemplifies himself and demands in those around him."

And that's why Mr. Jorgenson deserves such a huge bonus -- because he spends so much time demanding integrity from others.

Should Harmon's provide armed guards?

$7.64--"For these?" It offended my sensibilities, but I didn't have the juevos (sorry, Minutemen) to tell the Harmon's checker, "Nevermind. I declare these grapes to be overpriced." Instead, I carried my purchase to my car, clutching it to my side lest someone try to nab my booty. And when I got home, I went straight to the Huffington Post, scanning headlines for that article I skipped the first time. Let's see . . .

21 Reasons To Hate Hillary . . .

Why Hillary Should Die . . .

Drop Out Already, Hillary . . .

Ah, here it is: Food Prices Skyrocket; How to Save at the Market.

One thing I already learned? Skip the grapes.

Texas: We're taking good care of all 416 -- er, 425 -- er, 437 kids

The State of Texas continues to impress with the individualized attention it is paying all them FLDS types. Today, Texas officials disclosed that they were only off 21 in the number of kids they have in custody. 437, 416, who's counting? (Not Texas, apparently.)

$1,000+ hookup fee for UTOPIA? That's insane!

I've largely been a proponent of the UTOPIA concept, and was optimistic that it might become available in my new home, but this quote from this morning's Trib is enough to make anyone slam on the brakes:

Utopia's board of directors is developing a new business model it hopes finally will place the struggling, municipally owned network onto a solid financial footing. As part of that plan, it wants to require each new customer to pay a hefty fee upfront.

"We've identified a range of around $1,000, but eventually it could be two to three times that amount," said Utopia's chairman Alex Jensen.

I'm sorry; did I read that correctly? Apparently so:

Utopia's board is negotiating with several banks about providing financing for the connection fee so that customers who don't want to pay upfront can make payments over time. "If that [financing] is what customers want, it would be like going down to RC Willey and buying a piece of furniture," said Jensen, the Layton city manager.

Financing a hookup fee? Up to $3,000 just to be allowed to pay a monthly internet fee? Right. Maybe if it's superfast, makes breakfast every morning, and picks up my dry cleaning. Holy smokes.