BYU half-time shows

We are proud alumni of BYU and fans of BYU sports, drama, and fine arts. We attend many events at BYU and enjoy them immensely. We are proud supporters of BYU sports and are members of the Cougar Club. We also participated in marching band in high school and so we usually sit in the stands during football games to watch the band and cheer, because after all, they are usually unappreciated. However, we have watched the quality of the half-time shows slip in the last few years until they hit an all-time low last Saturday. The BYU-SDSU show celebrated popular video games. The band played music from Tetris, Prisoner of Zenda, and Mortal Combat. What??? Yes, Mortal Combat, and while the band played the music from the game, the drill team engaged in mock martial arts moves. Um, we're pretty sure that Mortal Combat is not a game that would really be approved under the Honor Code. Honestly, it's a good thing Coach Mendenhall is in the locker room during half-time because the Cougar Marching Band has not subscribed to his philosophy of returning to the glory days and honoring tradition and it's a good thing he can't see it. We love the band and know they work really hard, but perhaps they need to watch some film from the 1980's and resurrect some really good half-time shows for next season. Just a suggestion from some fans.

Winds of Change in the Senate

Elections were held last night in the Senate Majority Caucus and it looks like a whole new day for Senate Republicans. The ousting of President Valentine and Senate Majority Leader Bramble seems a signal from the Senate Republicans that they are looking to change the way of doing business in the Senate.

President Waddoups' immediate comments about the need for ethics reform are very encouraging and we're hoping that great strides will be made in this arena during the upcoming session.

Members of the Senate majority leadership now come from geographically diverse areas, thus breaking the previous stranglehold by Utah County senators. This can only be a positive for collegiality among the Majority Caucus members.

The Senate Minority Caucus has elected the tough but charming Senator Jones, a formidable opponent that we hope Senator Waddoups will turn to as an ally in doing the people's business.

Senate watchers will be eagerly noting the signs of change in the upcoming session.

The Election of 2008

Democrats throughout Utah thought that Barack Obama's coattails would have swept more of their party into office this election, but that does not seem to have happened. Although the Salt Lake City Council now has a Democratic majority and the Democrats gained two seats in the Utah House, that was the extent of the wave in Utah.

With one exception. Voters finally said they were fed up with the heavy handed tactics of House Speaker Greg Curtis and voted him out of office--the first Speaker to be so treated in the last 40 years.

With the large numbers of Democrats running this election cycle (and the surprisingly good showing of many of them), perhaps this is a signal to the Utah Republican Party to reevaluate their steady move to the right over the last few years. Although there were only small changes, perhaps it is a precursor to a gradual shift in the political landscape here in Utah.