Since odd and interesting news continues to occur everywhere, Utah included, it is only fitting I keep up with it and when I have gathered enough news items to share I’ll publish the post on an on-going basis. My inaugural “News You (Probably) Missed” blog was on 11/17/10 in case you have to play catch-up. Volume 2 issue covers a questionably attractive robbery suspect, guns, pole dancers, and God approving capital punishment. Are other countries this weird?
Police Seek Suspect in Two Robberies
Police have a hunch the same suspect robbed two Maverik stores (for those back east it’s Utah’s equivalent of a Wawa without owning their own dairy) at gunpoint in Davis County early Tuesday morning and may have changed hoodies (one black and one blue) as a form of disguise. Clever, eh? Read on…. Based on eyewitness descriptions and surveillance photos, the police determined it had to be the same person. The suspect is described in the paper as a white female, 20-30 years of age, about 5′ 5″ and between 110-120 pounds. She also has a large sore on her left cheek and no teeth. My question: With those distinctive facial features, why bother switching hoodies?!
Utah Lawmaker Wants to Name a State Firearm
All states have a state flower, bird, song, and other such designations, but, apparently, nothing says patriotism like the cold, hard steel of an M1911, .45-caliber handgun — designed with love by a local gunmaker. Which is probably why Utah state Rep. Carl Wimmer (R) wants to make it Utah’s official state firearm. Wimmer — a former cop and life member of the NRA — stated in a phone interview in the fall that he plans to introduce the legislation in January, when the Legislature is back in session. The gun, designed by Utah-born John Moses Browning (for more background on this topic, see my posting of 2/27/10), has been used in every war since WWI, and is still used today, Wimmer said. It’s the gun’s “staying power,” he said, that makes it a treasure. “It is not only of historical value for the state of Utah, but it is of historical value for the United States of America,” Wimmer said. “This firearm has literally saved countless lives, it has defended freedom and liberty across the globe and, as Utahans, we should be proud of that.” Wimmer told the Salt Lake Tribune that other states have designated official state firearms, but neither he nor the NRA could confirm that. He has received some backlash from anti-gun groups, who say he’s trying to “glorify an implement of death.” Others claim Wimmer–who is preparing to campaign for Congress in 2012 — is using this bill as a publicity stunt. He rejects both claims. “I’m glorifying an instrument of freedom and liberty,” he said. “I had this idea more than a year ago.”
Utahn Among the World’s Top Pole Dancers at Championships
Who knew there were pole dancing championships? They were just held in early December in Toyko. Performers got 4 minutes and 2 poles. Outfits had to be “dignified” and stiletto heels were checked at the door. Serious competetors from around the world competed in men’s, women’s and disabled divisions. Zoraya Judd, from Orem, Utah, placed high in the competition. She prefers to be introduced as an “aerial artist” rather than a pole dancer due to the negative connotations. Though there’s a move afoot to make pole dancing an Olympic event (I’m not making this up!), Judd feels “it’s still too sexy for the Olympics.” However, efforts are underway to make this “sport” a “test” event in the Rio de Janeiro summer Olympics in 2016. (I wonder how far this will go with the International Olympic Committee when they refuse petitions to allow Women’s Ski Jumping!) One of her co-competitors from the Phillipines said, while garbed in a bikini covered with white feathers and wearing angel wings, “I just want to make people happy. But I like that Olympic idea. We pole dancers just don’t want to be seen as strippers.”
Sheriff: God Approves of Capital Punishment
The newly elected sheriff of Weber County, Utah posted a letter of encouragement on Facebook assuring his staff that they are doing God’s work and that God approves of capital punishment. (He’s now in the middle of the Red Sea and it ain’t parting!) A Weber County attorney, Dee Smith, is taking the position that Sheriff Terry Thompson’s posting violates the US Constitution, the Utah State Constitution, and Weber County laws prohibiting work supervisors from discussing religion with their staffs. (I’ll wager some of those who voted for him may be wanting to recast their ballots.) Not surprisingly, Thompson disagrees with Smith, but allows that Smith is entitled to his own opinion. Thompson has since pulled the letter from Facebook, but maintains that changes nothing: “Always know that God, in whatever form you picture Him, recognizes our sacrifice and service.” Thompson, in the past, tried to join one of Utah’s death penalty firing squads because like a soldier on the field of battle taking an enemy’s life, or a police office taking a life in the line of duty, “it’s okay because God is okay with it.” Thompson, still defiant, also feels his position is consistant with the thoughts of the Founding Fathers of the US. “Isn’t our country’s motto ‘In God We Trust’? It’s in the Pledge of Allegience. The motto is on all our currency. Just read The Federalist Papers [political essays from the late 1700s-early 1800s]; there are hundreds of mentions of God.”
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