Recently conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh was rushed to a hospital in Hawaii for chest pains.  After Limbaugh was treated he made a statement to the press.  Not only did Limbaugh relate what had happened to him and express gratitude for the treatment he received, he then went on to reveal that his head is deeply buried in the sand when he views the world.   Drawing from his experience in Hawaii, Limbaugh said: "Based on what happened here to me, I don't think there's one thing wrong with the American health care system. It is working just fine, just dandy."

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, too many Republicans see the world in this way.  They draw from their own personal experience to make generalizations about the world around them.  It isn't necessarily mean.  Rather, it is just myopic.

Based on his own limited view, the talk show host was right.  He received high quality care and didn't have to worry about the cost.  But the experience of Rush Limbaugh, who was staying at a Honolulu resort and is a multi-millionaire, is not one shared by many people in our nation.

Limbaugh concluded that he wasn't treated any differently than anyone else.  He's right that he wasn't treated differently than anyone else with a lot of money to pay.  Nobody seriously questioned him when he went to the hospital as to whether he had the means to pay.  That was a given.   How many of the rest of us get that kind of treatment   Every time I go to a doctor, the first question I'm asked is how I will pay.  And it doesn't take long for that question to be asked in the emergency room either.  Limbaugh got a very myopic view of our health care system.

By the end of this week it will be 2010.  I'm excited for the new year.  The opportunities that lie ahead are wonderful.  We will have opportunities this year that will stretch us and make a difference in the lives of those around us.  Whether we take those opportunities, however, is up to us.

In my efforts to recruit candidates, I've talked to people who have told me they are too old to run for office.  They wish they were younger.  They wish they'd done this when they were younger.  These people believe their moment is passed.

I doubt their moment has passed.  Our opportunities to shape the future are never in the past.  They are always right before us and within our grasp.

It makes me wonder what I will think when I look back on these times of my life.  Will I say I wish I had done that then?  Will I regret not having taken the bold step?  Will I feel like my opportunities were there, but I didn't take them?

Whether I feel that way depends to a great extent on what I do now.  Really, what we all do now.  The future is in our hands.  God has granted us time and talents to make the world a better place.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently announced that a new function of the church will be added to the existing three-fold mission.  That mission currently is redeeming the dead, perfecting the saints, and proclaiming the Gospel.  The new fourth function is care for the poor and needy.

Caring for the most vulnerable in society is something the Church has always been concerned about.  But placing that task in this overall mission statement of the church gives that responsibility added emphasis.  LDS members will become more aware of the need for caring the poor and needy in society.  This is particularly timely at the Christmas season.

The Utah County Democratic Party shares that emphasis.  The second paragraph of our platform states that Utah County Democrats "stand for policies and programs that benefit all Utahns.  We believe a community is no stronger than its weakest members."   Interestingly, the Utah County Republican Party's platform makes no such statement.

The vast majority of the acts of care performed in a society are now, and will continue to be, private acts undertaken by various charitable institutions and, even more importantly, individuals.  That includes performing small acts of kindness for those who face difficult circumstances - a new baby in the home, serious illness, unemployment, a death in the family, etc.

Beginning January 2010, the Utah County Democratic Party office, located at 48 N University Avenue will be open from 10 AM to 2 PM on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, except holidays. Drop by to obtain information or to volunteer.

Recently, Representative Craig Frank, Republican of Pleasant Grove, wrote on his blog that the sponsors of the ethics reform initiative were hypocritical because they did nothing about ethics reform while they served in the state legislature. Frank wrote that former legislators David Irvine, Kim Burningham, Jordan Tanner, and Karl Snow "had ample opportunity and motivation to enact meaningful legislation while they took contributions without limits..." He also pointed out that Carole Peterson, who also is a sponsor of the ethics initiative, served as chief clerk of the House of Representatives and as a member of the staff for the legislature and "in her position of influence ... did nothing."

For the record, Jordan Tanner was known as "Mr. Ethics" while he was in the state legislature. He repeatedly introduced ethics legislation that went nowhere thanks to a Republican party leadership who blocked bill after bill. Representative Frank should know that, even if he wasn't a state legislator in the 1990s.

Also, a legislative staff member, even a chief clerk, doesn't have the power to push any legislation through the state legislature. In fact, that isn't the job of staff and Representative Frank knows it.