— Lee’s latest fit: Obsession with ACA is farcical — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
Obamacare is here to stay. Congress passed it. The president signed it. The Supreme Court upheld it. States are implementing it. Insurance companies are learning to live with it — with premiums said to be going up 72 percent in Indiana and dropping by as much as 50 p...

— Neighborhood watch: Florida case not a good example — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
It matters what things are called. Mere words can set standards and expectations for what happens after an idea or an enterprise is launched. If, that is, people pay attention.
Thus it should be stressed from time to time that the programs, official and not, that involve everyday people stepping up to help prevent crime in their homes and streets are called neighborhood watch.
Watch. Not pursue. Not confront. Not ...

[Above: School's out forever!]

— Not optional: Education should be required — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
Poor Aaron Osmond. Tossed into the Utah Senate in midstream (filling the unexpired term of retiring Sen. Chris Buttars), the South Jordan Republican quickly immersed h...

— No nukes: Hatch was right to stand down — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
Utah’s Sen. Orrin Hatch, perhaps emboldened by his successful defeat of a primary challenge last year and the political luxury of beginning a new six-year term, did the right thing Tuesday. He joined others in the Republican leadership to end a foolish filibuster against the highly qualified person President Obama had name...

This recent letter to the Tribune's Public Forum:

— Why was I ticketed? — Ellen Gibson
Why is this supposedly bike-friendly city is giving citations to bicycle commuters? I was given a citation as I was riding my bicycle home on Wasatch Drive during my daily commute. I had slowed down for a four-way stop, put my hands on my brakes, unclipped one shoe and shifted into an easier gear. I then looked both ways, saw there was no traffic, and so continued through the intersection. But, hidden behind ...

The death of Trayvon Martin leaves many people feeling sad and helpless.

The survival of Malala Yousafzai should help us feel better.

— Pakistan’s heroic Malala Yousafzai pleads for millions of girls — Toronto Star Editorial
Malala Yousafzai was hailed as “the most courageous girl in the world” at the United Nations on Friday, but she wasn’t having any of it. With wisdom and grace beyond her years, she counted herself but one of a legion of young women in Pakista...

I have covered only a few jury trials in my time. But I came away with one firm conviction. Never second-guess a jury. They were there, in the courtoom, the whole time. They heard all the evidence. They looked the witnesses, and the accused, in the eye. They had the responsibility on their shoulders.

So this round-up of punditry on the not guilty verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman, acquited in Florida of criminal charges in the shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin, leads with this take from an old white guy from the Pacific Northwest ...

—

The national Republican Party hasn't been able to regain the White House or the Senate, and it only holds the House by dint of skillful, state-level gerrymandering. Yet a lot of opinionistas are writing about them this weekend:

— The poor are revolting! — George Pyle | The Salt Lake Tribune
Imagine that the many worthies of the ...

Much as it pains me to say anything critical of any institution called WSU (as I am a proud graduate of Wichita State University), some things must be said:

— The choices we make — By George Pyle | The Salt Lake Tribune
The folks who run Weber State University made a choice. They

— Veterans’ benefits: Who shall have bourne the battle — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
With just about every day bringing the 150th anniversary of some Civil War milestone — this week’s remembrance of the Battle of Gettysburg prime among them — it is even more fitting and proper that the nation that rose out of that conflict should remember its obligation to its veterans.
In his

— Western problems: Climate change is central issue — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial, 07.02.13
If a group of governors in, say, Siberia, met to discuss their common challenges and how best to meet them, you’d expect them to include obvious topics such as long, sub-zero winters. But when the governors of Western U.S. states met last week, they danced all around wha...

From The Salt Lake Tribune:

— Marriage equality: Utah’s law now on shaky ground — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling Wednesday that the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional will have little immediate effect on Utah’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. But there is little doubt that legal recognition of the right of gay men and lesbians to marry whomever they choose is in the Beehive State’s future.
As a m...

— Money talks: Scientific evidence for fund limits — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
Whenever Utah citizens, activists or newspaper editorials suggest that government would be the better for it if there were limits on the flow of campaign funds from special interests to candidates for public office, sitting office holders respond with a mixture of hurt and outrage.
How dare we, say the powerful, impugn the character of our public officials by suggesting that mere filthy lucre can alter the behavior of duly elected off...

— GSLC and LGBT: Scouting’s anti-gay agenda — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
The Great Salt Lake Council’s chastisement of two local Boy Scout adult leaders for marching with a handful of Scouts in the Utah Pride Parade on June 2 was unfortunate. Yet, it served the unintended purpose of illuminating the ignorance, bigotry and hypocrisy that drove the council’s decision. ...

—

This column by a retiring English teacher in Roanoke, Va., has been the most popular article on The Roanoke Times website for a couple of days.

It's a good piece. But no doubt was boosted by the clever decision of someone to attach a cartoon by The Salt Lake Tribune's own Pat Bagley.

— A letter to the ones left behind — Joan Vannorsdall
... First, accept that meeting the individual learning needs of 110 students ever...

Flattered to find out that one of our editorials - Losing our trust: Justice flawed from the top down, May 27 - was part of the required reading for those applying to be the new chief of the West Valley City Police Department.

— West Valley City police chief who can restore public trust — By Pamela Manson | The Salt Lake Tribune
... City administrators used Skype...

Some editorial discussion on collecting, and spending, taxpayer dollars:

— Facing facts: No sense delaying SLC tax hike — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
Whether Salt Lake City residents are "ready" — something Mayor Ralph Becker worries about — or not, it appears nearly certain they will be paying

So much for the monolithic news media:

— Value of wolves — Feds must maintain some oversight — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
The image of the government declaring "Mission Accomplished" is etched in Americans’ minds, and not in a good way. Just as former President George W. Bush was wrong when he made that announcement about the Iraq war, the feds might well be wrong in

Opinion writers all over the place are chiming in with their reactions to the news on how Utah's soon-to-be local spy network — the National Security Agency — has been datamining phone records and tapping into Internet services. The reactions range from a yawn to outrage, with a lot of unanswered questions.

— Time for answers: Lee, Chaffetz have ...

Tomorrow's editorial:

— Catching up: Small tax hike reasonable — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial, 06.06.13
It seems clear that Salt Lake City residents soon will see their property taxes increase. The question is whether it will be this year or next.
Mayor Ralph Becker proposed no such tax increase in his budget recommendation to the City Council. He wants to give residents a year to le...

For some reason, Mountain West editorial writers are thinking a lot about police, jails, prisons and prison camps.

— Prison policy: No excuse for tear gas incident — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial, 06.05.13
The only conceivable defense to the charge that corrections officers at the Utah State Prison flooded the wing that houses mentally ill inmates with eye-stinging, skin-burning tear gas is that it didn’t really happe...

— Don't forget to learn this summer — Prescott (Ariz.) Daily Courier Editorial

... The studies are out there, and they've been consistent for decades. Students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer break than they do on the same tests at the beginning of summer. One study suggests that most students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months. That's definitely an OMG, as those kids would say. And those realities have nothing to do with th...

— Back to normal: Time to restore our values — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial, 5/23/13
It is time to declare victory in the war against al-Qaida and start the process of bringing the United States — its defense structure, its judicial system and its respect for its own values — to a post-war footing.
This was the gist of a major national security speech delivered Thursday by

The original article:

— Elizabeth Smart speaks about abstinence education - AP/Salt Lake Tribune

BALTIMORE - Rescued kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart said Wednesday she understands why some human trafficking victims don’t run.
Smart said she "felt so dirty and so filthy" after she was raped by her captor, and she understands why someone wouldn’t run "because of that alone."
Smart spoke at a Johns Hopkins human trafficking forum, saying she was raised in a re...

If you have read this (of course you have):

— Engaged or detached? — David Brooks | New York Times/sltrib.com
Let’s say you are a young person beginning to write about politics and policy. You probably have some idea of what you believe, but have you thought about how you believe it? That is to say, have you thought about where you will sit on the continuum that stretches from writers who are engaged to those who are detached? ...

— And/or this:

—

— The rule of law: Boston case belongs in civilian court - Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
A young man is lying in a hospital in Boston, now formally accused of planting the bombs that killed three and injured more than 180 others at the finish line of last week’s Boston Marathon. Federal prosecutors have charged Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with the bombing, and investigators are reportedly now communicating...

This editorial was posted on the Opinion section of sltrib.com about 1:15 p.m. today. A few minutes later, tweets started flowing with the news that Utah Gov. Gary Herbert had just done what this editorial was telling him he should do: Reject the Snake Valley water deal with Nevada.

The updated editorial is here

But it's still a good editorial. So, here's to...

The Tribune wants to get with the program already:
— After DOMA: Time to recognize same-sex unions — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
While the nine members of the United States Supreme Court ponder what will likely prove to be two of their more historic decisions, the leaders and citizens of Utah can start thinking about some choices they will need to make, too.
Just how far behind the rest of the nation, behind the march of history, do we want to be? And for how long? ...

...

— Veto on target: Herbert’s veto should be upheld — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
An act of common sense becomes an act of great courage when common sense is in short supply.
Gov. Gary Herbert’s decision to veto HB76, the bill that would have added Utah to a short list of states that allow people to carry concealed fire...

The Utah Legislature is done for the year, at least in its regular session. But its results are still being reviewed and the fate of most bills is still up to Gov. Gary Herbert.

— The root of evil: Seeing that money poisons politics — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
Utahns have not, so far, heard any of John Swallow’s fellow Republicans calling upon him to resign or take a leave of absence while state and federal officials continue their look into allegations of ethics and campaign law violations ...

Utah's Legislature has wrapped up its business for the 2013 regular session. Other states' lawmakers are still at it.

— Slippery slope: Nothing to stop slide of education — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
Gov. Gary Herbert and legislative leaders were effusive over funding granted by the Legislature for public education in the legislative session just ended. It’s the biggest infusion of new money for schools i...

— The charity fairy: Charity care won’t solve the problem — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
For years, those opposed to any real overhaul of the American health care system have liked to say that anyone can get free health care at their nearest emergency room. It was a lie then, and it’s a lie now.
But because that fairy tale has lost much of its effectiveness, some dead-ender Obamacare opponents have come up with another whopper: Charity care can do the job better than Medicaid.

— Medicaid options: Don’t tie the governor’s hands — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
Utah should be among the states that will accept the federal money to expand Medicaid medical coverage to many thousands of our lower-income friends and neighbors. It is the right thing to do from both a fiscal and a humanitarian point of view. Still, it is hard to fault Gov. Gary Herbert, on whose shoulders this significant decision rests, for wanting to take his time and review the options carefully.
Which is why a bill ...

— Expand Medicaid: Step is both logical and humane — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
Both mathematics and humanity are on the side of Utah joining

— Guns in schools: Bill would protect parents’ rights — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
Most Utah legislators are great champions of parental rights: the right to teach your children about sex or, indeed, hold school in your home; the right to decide what medical treatment your children will receive; the right to at least be notified when your child wants an abortion.
But a bill being...

Instead of constantly arguing about how to pay the skyrocketing cost of health care, maybe it's time to resolve that we just won't pay so much.

— Stop paying medical ransoms — George Pyle | The Salt Lake Tribune

Phone rings.
"911. What is your emergency?"
"My wife has been kidnapped. I found a note saying that I have to pay $500,000 by midnight tonight. Can you help me? Please!"
"Yes, sir. Just tell me how the ransom is to be delivered ...

Above: A Bagley blast from the past. Dec. 5, 2011, to be exact.

A pedagogical tone to today's editorial round-up:

— Early education: SB71 should be a beginning — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
Opponents of a bill in the Utah Senate that would pay for a few more at-risk children to attend pre-kindergarten classes are living ...

— Prison break: State must consider all the costs — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
The unseemly haste with which lawmakers seem to be moving toward the relocation of Utah State Prison seems to suggest that our elected leaders have forgotten just what a such a facility is for.
Prisons serve many purposes. First, of course, is that they separate us from people w...

Our editorial about a bad bill that has been proposed in Utah:

— Nuclear speculation: SB199 would shift risk to ratepayers — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
When the ink isn’t even dry before the sponsoring lawmaker starts distancing himself from a bill he just introduced, the possibility of that bill becoming law seems remote indeed.
Which is good, because ...

— ‘They deserve a vote’: Obama’s ideas also require scrutiny — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
Most of President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union address was

— Air solution: Cleaner air requires leadership — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
If this winter’s air-pollution crisis serves any purpose other than to make every Wasatch Front resident less healthy, it may be this: From the governor on down, Utahns are beginning to understand that dramatic changes in behavior and public policy are all that will keep the problem from getting worse. Make that much worse. ...

—

The Tribune is not the only newspaper disappointed in the conduct of the Utah Legislature:

— Target shooting: Pulling SB120 was a bad idea — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
There’s devoted. There’s extreme. And there’s utterly absurd. And the idea that the Second Amendment would in any way be infringed by a bill that would have allowed the Utah state forester to restrict target shooting in times and places where it would create a wildfire hazard is absurd, to say the least.
Such a bill —

A year ago, Utah was leading with humane immigration reform ideas, and Arizona, while active, was more retrograde. Today, at least as measured by their U.S. senators, the roles of the two states seem reversed.

— Out of the shadows: Utah’s Lee on the wrong side — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
Marco Rubio is right. And

One Utah legislator recognizing the risks of climate change. And some under-the-influence editorial writers:

— Fire battle plan: Bill recognizes threat of warming — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
One Utah legislator is finally trying to bring a state land-management policy in line with science and the pressing concerns of the 21st century. ...
... Rep. Kraig Powell, R-Heber City, is

— Sheriffs vs feds: Grandstanding is useless exercise — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
In light of the Utah Sheriffs Association’s recent rant, there are a few clarifications to make concerning the changes in federal gun-control laws being proposed by President Obama...

— Obama II: The president sets a new tone — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
President Obama set the theme for his second inaugural address by quoting from the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by thei...

Win one:

Editorial, Jan. 11 (Second item): You want some fries with that? » The idea that a state’s law should prohibit patrons in a restaurant from being served a nice glass of wine or a cocktail as they peruse the menu is silly. The idea that said state should expend its limited money and manpower trying to entrap wait staff into violating that law is absurd. Yet that’s just what is happening in Utah. ...

News article, Jan. 15:

— Jeremy Johnson’s influence over the AG — Jim Wightman, former director of internal audit for Salt Lake County | For The Salt Lake Tribune

— Swallow scandal a cesspool — Ogden Standard-Examiner Editorial
We have no idea if Utah’s new attorney general, John Swallow, should resign amid charges from a suspected swindler that he sought a $600,...

— Now is the time: Obama poses no threat to Utah — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
President Obama’s list of executive orders and legislative proposals intended to reduce firearms deaths in the United States is reasonable, balanced and worthy of support. The program, entitled "Now Is the Time," does not, and...

— Raise the limit: Dispute over debt limit irresponsible — Salt Lake Tribune
It is a measure of just how upside down our nation is when the Democrat in the White House is the fiscal conservative and the Republicans in Congress are the financial radicals. But that is the pass we have come to.
President Obama is nothing but correct when he points out that the reason the federal debt limit of $16....