Perhaps, say some of his former GOP colleagues, he could have avoided being called a Republican if he just had not acted so much like a Republican.

Christensen bought a table for $2,500 at the Salt Lake County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner, the party's big fundraising event of the year, had booths at both the State Republican Convention and the Salt Lake County Convention, has appeared at the party's central committee meetings and even spoke at the last Salt Lake County GOP Central Committee.

To be fair, Christensen also had a booth at the Salt Lake County Democratic Convention. In fact, he apparently wanted to make a permanent impression on the Democrats. Former County Democratic Chairwoman Megan Risbon says Christensen's campaign workers actually screwed some of his signs into the brick at Highland High School where the Democrats convened.

Come one, come all: Clark Newhall, who is both a physician and attorney, has paid for and reserved seats for a screening of Michael Moore's "Sicko" and has sent personal invitations to all the Utah legislators, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and the heads of Intermountain Healthcare and Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield, among others.

He reserved the seats for the movie, which is a stinging criticism of the American health care industry, for Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Broadway Center Cinemas because it is the night before a legislative interim committee meeting the next morning.

Newhall also says he has invited Moore, but has not heard from him.

Whatever tickets remain five minutes before the screening will be given to an uninsured person or someone who says he or she has been denied coverage, Newhall says.

The ivory tower: The recent hullaballoo that left a 70-year-old Orem woman bloodied after a tussle with an Orem police officer trying to ticket her for having a brown lawn brings to mind a local caste system.

Salt Lake City zoning rules that sometimes result in fines for residents and businesses don't extend to the lofty environment of the University of Utah.

When the U. of U. was doing construction along Foothill Drive, its parking strip consisted of nothing but crushed rock, while everybody else is required to plant vegetation on at least a third of the parking strip between their property and the street.

But, of course, it was exempt.

Do-it-yourself kit: The latest edition of Salt Lake City Magazine promotes on its cover a list of features inside. One reads, "Polygamy: Your guide to plural marriage."

prolly@sltrib.com