This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
A warning to Utah Eagle Forum president Gayle Ruzicka, Orem Republican Sens. Margaret Dayton and John Valentine, and other patriots stamping out the socialist spies seeking to infiltrate the minds of our innocent youths: You have a mole in your midst.
Ruzicka, Dayton and Valentine all have tried to protect Utah schoolchildren from — parents, hide your children's eyes — the International Baccalaureate program.
Dayton says it's promoting the U.N. agenda.
Ruzicka sent an email to Utah legislators revealing that it was hatched in socialist Switzerland, and that it promotes, among other nefarious things, "extremist environmentalist policies."
Valentine sponsored an amendment to have it removed from a bill granting state-sponsored scholarships to students who complete rigorous programs in high school.
The Senate, where cooler heads prevailed, restored the I.B. program in the bill, thanks to the efforts of Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton.
But the Eagle Forum and its minions now will turn to the House to vilify the program, which is in several Utah high schools and enjoys rave reviews from its graduates, teachers and parents.
One of those graduates of the I.B. program, that harbinger of socialist, anti-American ideas, is Chris Bleak.
And who is Chris Bleak?
He is the former executive director of the Utah Republican Party, who later served as chief of staff of the Utah House of Representatives under its Republican leadership and now is executive director of the Utah Public Charter School Association, not exactly a socialist institution.
So to Ruzicka, Dayton and the other paranoids ravaging the I.B. program: What secrets have been revealed to our enemies in Europe, those folks who encourage peace and cooperation among nations? What sacred "save-our-guns" and "take-back-our-lands" strategies have been breached?
And if that isn't bad enough, Michael Kennedy, Sen. Orrin Hatch's chief of staff, also is a graduate of the I.B. program.
Joe McCarthy must be turning over in his grave.
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Equal protection? • Last week I wrote about Sen. Mark Madsen's objections to a proposed bill that would enhance the penalties for assault if the victim a police officer or member of the military in uniform.
The Eagle Mountain Republican, who chairs the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee, was concerned that SB131, sponsored by Sen. Aaron Osmond, R-South Jordan, would give special protection to one class of people and, therefore, violate the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
He then noted that, as a legislator, he puts himself in harm's way and has gotten threats from angry constituents, but he doesn't believe he should get special treatment from the laws.
Well, guess what?
As a legislator, he does get special treatment under existing law. In fact, 76-8-313 and 76-8-315 of the Utah Code gives elected officials the same type of protection that Osmond's bill seeks for police officers, which Madsen says is unconstitutional.
Those two sections define assault on an elected official and raise the penalty from a class B misdemeanor to a third degree felony if the victim is an elected official.
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Speaking of equal protection • One reader was thrilled when she read Madsen's comments about comparable treatment for everyone under the Equal Protection Clause.
That must mean, she wrote to me, that he will support same-sex marriage, so gays and lesbians will enjoy the same blessings that everyone else does, as the Equal Protection Clause guarantees.
Paul Rolly's column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. On Mondays, his column can be found online at sltrib.com.