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Letter: Legislative session brings a few words to mind: Worst, lowest and ignored

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert speaks before the Utah Legislature Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018, in Salt Lake City. Herbert is using his annual State of the State speech to focus less on specific policies he'd like to see lawmakers tackle this year and instead giving them broad directives to take on big challenges. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

With the Utah Legislature in session, one wonders how many critical issues will be addressed.

Be prepared for terms like worst, lowest and ignored.

Utah has the lowest per-pupil public school funding in the nation, with often the worst air quality. And any proposed law to reduce gun violence is ignored with scorn. Sound like the promised land?

Utah is one of the worst gerrymandered states in the nation, has one of the lowest number of its poor on Medicaid, and its leaders ignore global warming as false news.

Too many legislators are financially rewarded for supporting coal, oil and gun manufacturers while ignoring the desperate needs of the state. Yet a confused electorate, woefully cheated of the rich possibilities of a dynamic democracy, continues to vote for these cold-hearted dullards who display no real interest in providing a safer, healthier and saner environment.

Since Utah’s laws and culture are a product of Mormonism, its single party government provides an unbecoming model for a church with international ambitions and an army of missionaries proclaiming a promised land that does not exist.

Ron Molen, Salt Lake City