Utah political leaders and their attorneys who spent $1.2 million in a battle for a fourth congressional seat remained upbeat after their recent loss before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gov. Mike Leavitt, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and lead attorney Tom Lee were seen giving each other high fives after going down in flames. In losing the split 5-4 decision over the issue of how the Census Bureau counted the population, the group was marvelously happy. Boy, we almost won, an attorney for Utah said with glee.
It’s that sort of good sportsmanship that sets Utahns apart from just about everyone. Most people after such a defeat would be dejected by the ruling that means for the next 10 years some yeahoo in North Carolina will be occupying what should be a Utah seat in Congress.
It was only $1.2 million, declared the delighted Utah officials of the blown taxpayers’ legal wad. Heck, that’s nothin.’ We’ve wasted far more dough than that on the Legacy Scenic Byway.
Considering the makeup of our congressional delegation and the state’s voting habits, maybe it’s better that we didn’t win.
• From SmartBomb’s new “Lifestyle” section, this: Former banking executive Dale Moroni Gibbons has been found NOT guilty of drug possession and child corruption charges, leaving Salt Lake County investigators and prosecutors with an egg facial. The jury’s vindication reinforces what some felt silently all along—that Gibbons’ lifestyle is enviable.
The jury bought the 42-year-old Gibbons’ defense that the methamphetamine found at his villa belonged to his 19-year-old live-in girlfriend. About all the porn in his bedroom, well, he never showed it to his 15-year-old daughter. So will the morality police just shut up?
• Here’s a tidbit from our new “SAVVY” section: An assistant principal in San Diego has been demoted, the Associated Press reports, after making a thong check at a high school dance. Assistant Principal Rita Wilson lifted up girls’ skirts at the Rancho Bernardo High shindig to see if they were wearing the chic undergarments. Despite the ruckus, some male onlookers seemed to enjoy the thong check.
• The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is back in the news. PETA is protesting a casino game that pits gamblers against chickens—that’s right, chickens. According to the Associated Press, people are flocking (no pun intended) to Aztar Corp. casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas to take the “Chicken Challenge,” which pits gamblers against a hen in a game of tick-tack-toe.
PETA argues that the “Chicken Challenge” sends a message of disrespect for animals. The casino owners, however, say the hens are treated better in the gaming houses than they would be down on the farm where they would be cut up into frozen food. Good point.
• “What Do They Have In Common?” Today’s subjects: Amy Fisher and Pamela Anderson. Answer: Both the Long Island Lolita and the V.I.P. vixen will be penning opinion columns. Amy Fisher, who gained fame for her affair with auto mechanic Joey Buttafuoco and then shooting his wife, will be writing for The Long Island Ear with a column called “Judging Amy.” This is for real, folks. The former Baywatch bombshell, meanwhile, will write a monthly feature for Jane magazine on women’s health, parenthood and how to make an entertaining home video.
