Campaign Finances or Closet Environmentalist

Saturday morning I sold the aluminum cans that we have been collecting. The price was $0.40 per pound. I had 36 pounds. Total was just over $14. I deposited the money in my campaign account. My wife and I have been collecting (picking up) aluminum cans for years. I have a box in my office where my co-workers put their empty cans. I do this because it reuses natural resources and it helps to keep our neighborhoods clean. It is amazing how many cans a person can find in the streets.

I can't believe it is nearing the end of April and I am worried about the weather killing my tomatoes. The plants I put in two weeks ago are all still alive, but this cool weather is keeping them from growing. I was hoping to have fried green tomatoes by the end of July, but I am beginning to doubt it will happen.

I am still campaigning the inexpensive way, talking to people. I have some very nice people that are helping. It has been interesting listening to the pundits try to explain why so many incumbents are losing. They usually try to connect it to the major parties, but I think it is because people are just tired of the same people conducting business the same way, no matter which party is in charge. We just want somebody who will listen to us.

16 May 2010

Thursday I went to a speech by Greg Bell. He started by discussing how Charles Lindbergh was an isolationist and how many of the founder fathers had slaves. His point was that even our heroes and great leaders made bad decisions. I suppose that is true but we cannot use that as an excuse to make bad decisions of our own or to compromise our principles for our personal benefit.

This week we also became subject to 338 new laws. Society must have been a shambles before all those new laws were put into place to restore order. Unfortunately an effective legislature is defined as somebody who proposes many bills and has a high pass percentage. I think we would all be better off if an effective legislature was somebody who defended the constitution and protected the rights of the citizens from a tyrannical government.

I couldn’t arrange to meet anybody on Saturday and couldn’t understand why until Suzanne and I went to the nursery to buy plants. I think the whole town was buying vegetable and other plants. If all those plants grow we will be awash in produce in the fall. We should be able to get pollution credits for all the carbon dioxide that will be consumed by all those plants. I am definitely going to have to exhale more.

12 May 2010

It was nice to have a weekend with good weather to work in the yard. We had the neighborhood cleanup which is always preceeded by a breakfast. we are like a roving band of garbage collectors. We did make one delivery to the DI.

My oldest son came over to help in the yard then the neighborhood kids came over to "help" in the back yard. The garden is now mostly ready for seeds and plants, now all that is needed is a decent stretch of global warming.

Bingham's soccer team won their first state game in a shoot out. I can understand why many soccer fans take drums and cow bells. In close games there is a lot of tension, it would help to have something to relief the tension. Next game is friday at Davis.

3 May 2010

Last week I had to fix the starter on my van, change out a battery on Matthew's car and get the passenger side window on Zack's car fixed then I spent some time with my Wife, who has been a little neglected over the past month. Friday night Matthew and Sid had their final home soccer game at Bingham. It was a very well played game, unfortunately Copper Hills won 2-1. But it was a fun game to watch. So I didn't spend much time on the campaign.

I am getting some excellent suggestions on how to proceed next. This week I will be contacting delegates to see if they would be willing to help.

I meet some High School friends for lunch today. Only one lives in the District, but they were all very supportive. One had been on the Riverton City Council. He had some interesting views about the Legislature. He is a little cynical. I am hopeful that honest people with no desire to benefit personally still have a place in the legislative process.

Post Convention

My brother and I arrived at the convention at 7:30 am with my sign and umbrella. I was disappointed to that all the prime space was taken by state candidates with the big money. I found a space south of the middle doors and we got set up. As the delegates began to arrive it became obvious that the only people we would see would be the people going to the Home and Garden show. I had asked some neighbors to come hold up the sign so when they arrived we took the umbrellas and moved to an area near the main door. My wife came and one of my sons classmates came so I recruited them to hold umbrellas. The children loved the candy that the other candidates were handing out, they certainly prefer high budget campaigns to low budget campaigns. I was able to talk to several delegates, including a few that I had not meet before.

After the convention started the waiting began. I talked with two other candidates from other districts, both first timers. After awhile I stopped reviewing my speech and went into the breakout room and read. All three district 50 candidates ended up in the room waiting. A delegate came in and told us he had a group of delegates that wanted to talk to us so we went into the convention hall and had a short discussion. After a few minutes the convention divided to the breakout sessions. I was having a discussion with three delegates so we stayed until the hall was almost empty. When I arrived at the breakout room the session had started and it was time for my speech. It would have been nice to be able to catch my breath, but there was no time. Three minutes may seem like a long time, but it seemed like I had just started when the 1 minute left sign went up. I had practiced my speech many times. In front of the mirror it was about 2 minutes 50 seconds. But when that 1 minute sign went up I knew I would not get to the end, so I skipped my favorite part, went to the conclusion and finished just under a minute.

The voting was stressful. When they announced that I had received 35 votes I thought it was over, then 42 for Mrs. Newbold and 34 for Mr. Jarrard. I was stunned. They went straight to the second vote. Fortunately, there was a young lady there with her mother who was standing in the back during the vote so I stood by her and we talked about singing in the choir, she was in Madrigals, I did not make Madrigals but I did sing in the Acappella Choir in High School. I am grateful that I could take my mind off the vote.

Now it is on to the primary. At first I was feeling a little overwhelmed, but Monday I checked my e-mails and found that some people had offered to help. Now I am thinking that we can do this. I don't have to do it alone, I don't want to do it alone, it will be much more fun and rewarding running in a group. I have a few things that I need to get in place, like setting up an account for donations and getting a few volunteers to manage the finances. It is full speed ahead.

12 February 2010

On Thursday I left Haiti and crossed through no-mans land again. That place always amazed me. I was also amazed at the change that occurred in Haiti between Friday when I went in to Thursday when I left. The long lines at food distribution locations were gone. People were still picking up food but there were short lines and it was very orderly. People were clearing rubble, cleaning the streets, digging foundations and building more permanent structures. Large tracts of land have been cleared by the US Army and people were being given the materials to build temporary structures. The line at the US Embassy which we passed everyday was very short, just a few dozen people compared to a line that stretched down the street on Monday. Banks are open. US AID has a program called work for cash. They hire groups to clear streets and rubble for $5 cash per day, payable at the end of the day. There is heavy equipment around the city moving rubble. It would be nice if they fixed up some of the roads while the equipment is around.

I was disappointed that the one man road crew was not working yet when we drove by Thursday morning. I was ready to make his day.

One of the biggest tragedies of the quake could be what happens to the young men in the picture. They are all returned missionaries and were in school. Now the schools have collapsed and they are worried that they will not have the opportunity to finish their schooling. The one on my left JP gets married on March 1st.

Thursday after arriving in Santo Domingo I went to the Area Office and worked until almost six. Friday morning there were a few more things to do at the Area Office before running off to the airport. I was able to order take out rice and beans con pollo which I ate while waiting in the check-in line at the airport. I am on the last notch on my belt, if I don’t get a good meal soon I will look as bad as I did the first time I returned from the Dominican Republic.
Apparently there is a place on the blog for comments and questions. I will try to find that and answer any questions, other than that this is it. I hope it wasn’t too wordy or preachy. Monday I will go back to being an American Trucker.

PS. On the emigration forms I completed yesterday when entering the country it was acceptable to put American as my nationality. Why can’t I put “American” as my nationality on the census form? You should try it. You will find they don’t like it.

10 February 2010

This will be my last night in Haiti. I feel a little sad at leaving but there is nothing left here for me to do. The members have been great. The warehouse is up and running drivers have been trained and are making deliveries. They are extremely capable and hard working.

I had a humbling experience this evening. I worked all day with 5 young men, all returned missionaries. At some time, I know it was well after noon I decided we should stop for lunch. I was pulling out the MRE's and the young men were looking a little rescind to another lousy meal. I asked if there was a place closeby where they could buy a lunch. They agreed there was so I asked how much it would cost to feed all five of them, as I pulled out a $5.00 bill. PJ said it would cost $15. I hesitated but gave them the $15 and they took off. We worked until dark. As we were driving back to the old mission home PJ asked if we could take a small detour and drop one of the young men off. Of course there was not a problem. We turned up a bumpy dirt road that dwindled to a single lane (not that strange for Haiti). We stopped along a group of tents that were surrounded by a two rail two by four fence. Robert got out. PJ said that he lives in one of the tents. An older gentleman came over and we shook hands. He introduced himself as the bishop of the local ward. PJ wispered that he also lives in the tent city with several other members of the ward.

It just so happens that PJ is getting married on the 1st of March. I couldn't ask where he was going to live.

On a brighter note, I have noticed an encouraging trend the last couple of days. People are beginning to cleanup and rebuild. There is a cash for work program the some government or group is sponsoring. There are groups of people in orange vest working to clear rubble and debris. There were more lights as we drove home tonight. Odney says that 40% of the city has power. I get the sense that Haiti will be better than before when it is rebuilt, assuming the government or some Hugo Chavez type doesn't get in the way.

I keep promising pictures. Last night I thought I would have to reneg on the promise because I lost my camera...again. But today as the young men were leaving for lunch I happened to look on the toilet box (a long and sordid story) and there was my camera. So there will be pictures. Don't worry, I use the toilet boxes for garbage cans. They work quite well.

Anyway, I think it has been two days since I showered so I am going to shower before going to sleep.