The Utah Saints Versus Logic

Is there something in the water in Salt Lake City that causes mass delusions in lawmakers?  First it was legislation attacking global warming because there's these nice salf flats to bury your head in to avoid science, then legislation attacking the 12th grade because intelligent and educated people are some sort of threat, now it's legislation banning affirmative action because...well, you fill in the reason.

Lawmakers moved quickly Friday to place a ban on affirmative action in the Utah Constitution, despite little evidence the practice is being used or has caused problems.

A resolution that would prevent local governments, state agencies and public colleges from discriminating or providing preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin sailed through a legislative committee only two days after it was made public.

To amend the constitution, the resolution would have to be approved by a two-thirds vote in the state House and Senate and be signed by Republican Gov. Gary Herbert. Voters also would have to approve the measure this fall.

The proposal is likely to have little trouble getting the necessary votes for passage in the GOP-dominated Legislature.

A House committee approved the measure known as House Joint Resolution 24 with a 10-4 vote Friday. The full House will likely vote on it next week.

Opponents said there was little time to seek public input about the proposal by Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield.

"To pull this bill out two days ago, and ram it down the throats of this community, is awful," said Rep. Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake City. "This is big, and it deserves public input."

Jeanetta Williams, president of the NAACP Salt Lake Branch, said she wasn't made aware of the proposal until Thursday night.

"He's trying to kind of do it in a backdoor approach, which I find very offensive," Williams said.

I know.  Utah has a branch of the NAACP?  That's got to be a depressing ass job, mainly because of useless idiocy like this.

In all seriousness, the Utah GOP is launching an all out assault on science, education, and minorities.  And you can expect this kind of Teabagging fun in all the other 49 states should the GOP get the kind of control they are looking for in 2010.