Comments about ‘How will HB477 play out?’

Webb: "Part-time legislators, who have private jobs, are fathers and mothers, and often hold church responsibilities, are upset that private communications... are sometimes mixed in with public communications and all are subject to search and scrutiny."

Maybe I don't understand completely, but can't they just use a personal phone or device if they want it to be private, or are their personal phones and devices, (those not provided by the taxpayer) subject to GRAMA requests as well? Or do you need to hide sweetheart construction bills and DUI arrests?

Webb: "No one is going to lose an election over this issue."

I for one have noted my representatives' support of this bill and will not vote for them in the future. I hope some do lose their spot for this, among other egregious errors.

I'm playing a "civility card" on you LaVarr. For a newspaper which also claims to be a champion of civil dialogue, the DNews sure has a funny way of showing it. The paper allows one of its favorite columnists, LaVarr, to not only engage in name-calling but insult almost every HB477 stakeholder.

He singles out journalists as holier-than-thou evangelicals. Advocates as "do-gooder groups." Citizens as catch-all "conspiracy theorists," and bloggers as "exhibitionists" who pick "armpit pimples." I guess it's OK to insult people if you're an equal-opportunity offender (although curiously LaVarr didn't dish out any such digs to legislators, who arguably are the most invested/entrenched stakeholder/player in the process).

I sure hope your colleagues on the "working group" read your column, LaVar, so that at least they know what you really think of them. Starting a conversation with insults (especially if you truly hope for compromise) doesn't seem like a good starting place to me. The DNews also should take some responsibility for allowing these insults, especially when it so carefully monitors its own readers to make sure they don't cross such lines.

I think these two spent too much time plugged into their ipods, listening to their favorite tunes during the last week or so. They definitely missed boat, or got on the wrong trail.
Here are a couple more examples of what was discussed all week.......
The "Elite" want to tell the little people "what is really going on". You know, the rest of us are all too stupid to figure it out.

Btw, LaVarr, I don't fit into any of your overly simplistic, demeaning categories yet saw hb477 for the reprehensible bill that it was. More than 80 percent of Utahns recognized the same. Are they ALL evangelical journalists, "do-gooders," "conpiracy theorists" and/or self-absorbed, gross bloggers? You are way off base on this one. Instead of recognizing a bad bill and a flawed process for what it is and acknowledging that citizens can think for themselves and concluded as much on their own, I guess it's easier to engage in dismissive reductionism.

Interesting, too, that your partner Frank was able to make his points without resorting to insults and name-calling.

If Mr. Webb means to make any meaningful contribution to the GRAMA working group, he should acquaint himself with the Act.

GRAMA already allows personal communications, not related to the GRAMA request, to be redacted from the released records.

If you are a public employee, on the public dime, and representing the public, then everything you do on public time, in your capacity as a public employee, SHOULD be subject to search.

However, only relevant information is currently subject to scrutiny under the existing aplications of GRAMA.

Trying to turn this into a Fourth Amendment issue is nothing more than a desperate and pathetic effort to defend the indefensible.

Thank you to all the posters on here because I agree with all of you. I have tried to post less virulent comments than Mr. Webb has placed in this column and have been denied. I guess I don't understand fully what the DNews allows when they let Mr. Webb use inflammatory language at those who disagree with HB477 but if someone is trying to seek a better understanding of someone else's beliefs without being rude we get cut off. Just trying to honestly understand.