This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Obama to pardon turkey, then it'll die. Dems want election to replace Swallow. Burns touted as possible replacement.

Happy Wednesday. Per tradition on Thanksgiving Eve, President Barack Obama will pardon a turkey in a Rose Garden ceremony in an ironic nod to the fact nearly all of us will be consuming the bird tomorrow with cranberry sauce or gravy. But a little known fact may haunt you: All of the turkeys that have been pardoned by presidents have died. It's true. Turkeys are bred to be eaten, not to live. The turkey may gobble, gobble a year more at most. [NationalJournal]

Topping the news: Utah Democrats want to erase Attorney General John Swallow from Utah's history—if successful, a special election would be held instead of Gov. Gary Herbert appointed a replacement. Swallow would also have to repay his 11 month salary of about $90,000 and would be ineligible to receive a $12,000-a-year state pension. [Trib] [DNews] [KUTV]

-> Scott Burns, the former deputy drug czar under President George W. Bush, has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Swallow. [Trib] Here are the other top contenders: [UtahPolicy]

-> BYU's Quin Monson and Kelly Patterson go after Connor Boyack's Libertas Institute recent poll for various reasons, arguing the survey wasn't scientific or conducted ethically. [UtahDataPoints]

Tweet of the day: From @PhilipRucker: "Obama: 'My ears were the inspiration for Shrek. True story.'"

Happy birthday: On Thursday to Temma Martin and state Rep. Janice Fisher. On Friday to Stars and Stripes war correspondent/SUU grad Josh Smith and on Sunday to Kallie Clark and Robert Resendes.

Programming note: We wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving. Political Cornflakes is giving thanks by taking a break from politics for the rest of the week. We'll return to your inbox and computer screens on Monday.

In other news: Salt Lake City announced that it will build a four-acre solar energy farm capable of producing 1 megawatt of energy to power the new Public Safety Building. [Trib] [DNews]

-> Salt Lake County Councilman David Wilde is resigning his seat and will take a job in the DA's office as he battles cancer. [Trib]

-> The County Council also tentatively adopted a budget that largely follows the spending plan put forward by Mayor Ben McAdams. [Trib]

-> Former state Sen. Kay Cornaby, remembered as a caring and compassionate leader, has passed away. [Trib]

-> A judge has dismissed three felony charges against former Provo City Councilman Steve Turley, who still faces six other felony charges. [DNews]

-> The UTA will not have any services on buses, Trax and FrontRunner on Thanksgiving, but some ski service buses will run. On Friday, Trax and FrontRunner will be on Saturday schedules while buses will be on Sunday schedules. [Trib]

Nationally: President Barack Obama says that Hollywood is a "beacon of hope" in a rough economy, and wished that the rest of America could mirror its success. [WaPost]

-> Democrats will be spending the holiday weekend trying to find positive stories about the Affordable Care Act and "aggressively" publicize them so Americans can see that the law is doing well. [WaPost]

-> The Treasury Department is proposing new guidelines that would affect 501(c)4 entities like the ones that the IRS targeted for inappropriate screenings during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles. [WaPost] [CNN] [NYTimes]

-> The CIA spent millions of dollars turning some Guantanamo Bay prisoners into double agents to return home to kill terrorists according to current and former U.S. officials. [WaPost]

Where are they?

Gov. Gary Herbert pardons a turkey.

President Barack Obama pardons the National Thanksgiving Turkey, signs bills into law and joins his family for a service event in Washington.

Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com. If you haven't already, sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to your inbox. [Trib]

— Thomas Burr and Jordan Bailey Twitter.com/thomaswburr Twitter.com/thejordanbailey