Monolith Takes Flight
Elected to Represent Utah, Trump's Religious Legacy
By Katharine Biele @kathybiele
Monolith Takes Flight
It was better than Bansky, especially in the pandemic. The whole world rejoiced in wonder at the timely appearance of the obelisk, aka The Monolith, in a remote area of San Juan County. Then this happened: "The Salt Lake Tribune went to the former location of the obelisk Saturday to confirm its absence." Of course, the whole Salt Lake Tribune did not go the location, but a few staffers and who knows how many curiosity seekers followed the crumbs from Google Earth and found only a few metal remnants of the mystery-in-art. Don't blame the BLM. While they called it illegal, they deferred to the local sheriff's department. "Everyone's been home for the whole year and then you get this weird random news that makes people want to get outside and see it," a hapless filmmaker said of his trip. Somewhere there is a Grinch, but there was a joyful provocateur.
Elected to Represent Utah
Do you think we could get our representatives to focus on us? Death threats for certifying the results of the most recent election? Who does that? Well, it doesn't help matters that Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart are leading the charge in a divided country. Reyes took a quixotic trip to Nevada in search of voter fraud and Stewart is raising funds on the claim that Democrats are "cheating" to win the Georgia runoff election in January, the Deseret News reports. Don't forget Sen. Mike Lee and others in the congressional delegation. Do they not know that voter registration drives are legal and democratic? And it's rich that the radical right is worried about "absolute power" from "radical Democrats." Sadly, many of our elected representatives are determined to move forward on beliefs and feelings instead of facts.
Trump's Religious Legacy
The Deseret News, being what it is, is all about "religious freedom" and now wants to give President Trump some ideas before he leaves office—you know, if he will. A Sunday front-page story talked about how his "proposed policies" could solidify his legacy. As if it wasn't enough that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of some religions over the health of all Americans! "He offered relief to religious objectors to birth control, faith-based foster-care agencies and people of faith in the medical field," the News wrote. And he has a bunch of regulations waiting to loosen restrictions on religious organizations getting federal bucks. The Center for American Progress disputes the idea that religious freedom is at risk "based on the administration's narrow understanding of religion and public policy—one that privileges the concerns of a select group of conservative white Christians, mostly evangelical, who by no means represent all of America's faithful."
About The Author
Katharine Biele
A City Weekly contributor since 1992, Katharine Biele is the informed voice behind our Hits & Misses column. When not writing, you can catch her working to empower voters and defend democracy alongside the League of Women Voters.
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