This may be a textbook example of "what's it to you?": Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-The Inquisition) is upset that the city council of Washington, D.C., has voted to recognize gay marriages performed in states where it's legal.

And Chaffetz is looking to have Congress overturn the D.C. Council's 12-1 vote.

Mind you, the D.C. Council's action does not affect a single human being outside of the District of Columbia - and certainly not the good people of Utah who sent Chaffetz to Congress.

But, because of the constitutional vagaries that put the District's laws under the perusal of Congress, yahoos like Chaffetz get to weigh in on the personal lives of nearly 600,000 citizens who never voted for those people - and, in fact, have no voting representative in Congress at all.

Chaffetz would be screaming bloody murder if the Feds told the city of Alpine, Utah (Chaffetz' hometown) what laws it should make. But it's OK for him to meddle in local D.C. affairs, he says, because Washington receives federal tax money.

"People in Salt Lake City are paying for the operation and government in the District of Columbia," Chaffetz told the Tribune's Thomas Burr. (If Chaffetz read the federal budget a bit more carefully, he'd see that every city - including Alpine - receives some federal tax money, directly or indirectly.)

On the other hand, it's a relief to see that every other problem in our nation - the economy, two wars, health care, the environment - has been solved. Why else would Chaffetz have time to stew over what local legislators in D.C. are doing?

Labels: Jason Chaffetz, politics

Today's the deadline for Americans to get their federal and state tax returns mailed in - which usually is accompanied by the tradition of TV news reporters standing outside a mailbox to capture the oh-so-telegenic sight of a line of cars.

This year, though, we have something else to celebrate - thanks to the AstroTurf (that's fake grassroots) movement, mounted by right-wing lobbying groups and Fox News Channel, to launch "Tax Day Tea Parties" across the country.

As the Tribune's Cathy McKitrick reported today, several such events are scheduled in Utah - the biggest being one at noon at the Federal Building in downtown Salt Lake City, where Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, and U.S. Reps. Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz will suck up to, er, rally the eager (and, one hopes, waterproof) crowd.

What are the "tea party" enthusiasts - or "teabaggers," as they have unfortunately dubbed themselves - protesting? Are they protesting the Obama administration, which is planning to cut taxes for most Americans? Are they protesting government bailouts, most of which were started under the Bush administration? Are they protesting because they can't come up with anything better? Are they protesting because Fox News told them to?

The nature of the protest, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow said Tuesday night, is "amorphous," but "the adoption of their teabag as their symbol - now that is plain as a one-two punch to the face." (Seriously, as any lesbian received as much enjoyment from "teabagging" as Maddow has this last week?)

Here's the web site listing Utah events, and here's a response from the Utah Democrats.

Labels: Jason Chaffetz, Mark Shurtleff, politics, Rob Bishop, television

Fans of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" got a quick - and hilariously exaggerated - lesson in Mormon history on Tuesday night.

Introducing the 55th installment of his 434-part series "Better Know a District" (in which Colbert attempts to interview every every member of Congress), Colbert launched into the history of New York's 25th District with this fun fact:

"The district contains the town of Palmyra, where in 1827, Joseph Smith discovered the source for The Book of Mormon, the Golden Plates. The Golden Plates also won him a free tour of Jesus' chocolate factory."

Here's the video:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Better Know a District - New York's 25th - Dan Maffei
comedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

Colbert fans may recall that Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz appeared in the "Better Know a District" segment in January - where Colbert bested the former BYU placekicker in a leg-wrestling bout.

Labels: Jason Chaffetz, LDS, politics, television

Being a Republican from Utah County, maybe newly minted Congressman Jason Chaffetz isn't used to the notion of people disagreeing with him.

That's one explanation for why the tech-happy Chaffetz has blocked a well-known Utah Democratic activist from his Twitter feed.

Misty Fowler, who runs the blog Saintless and was Utah chairwoman for the Obama campaign, reports today that she is no longer allowed to follow Chaffetz' Twitter feed when she's logged in - though she can still read all of Chaffetz' 140-character pearls of wisdom when she doesn't log into her account.

"So, if I really want to, I can still see his updates," Fowler wrote. "Not that it's important enough to me that I'm going to bother, but I do find it childish that a public official would act this way."

Fowler theorizes that a string of Twitter exchanges, where she asked Chaffetz to stop complaining about President Barack Obama's budget and propose his own plan, may have gotten under the rookie congressman's skin.

Chaffetz has forgotten Vito Corleone's sage advice about keeping your friends close but your enemies closer.

Labels: internet, Jason Chaffetz, politics

I'm back on the culture prowl, after two-plus weeks' vacation (gotta thank George Washington and Abraham Lincoln for arranging that extra day off). In that time, I missed the following:

• News that all of Utah's TV stations wouldn't be switching to digital TV today.
• Two Utahns - Megan Corkery of Sandy and Taylor Vaifanua of Hurricane - making the round of 36 on "American Idol."
• A bad stretch for the Osmond clan: Young David (son of Alan) missing the cut in the Hollywood round of "American Idol," while his famous uncle Donny was not among those picked for "Dancing With the Stars" - despite hinting loudly that he would be.
• Utah's own singing heartthrob David Archuleta making his acting debut on Nickelodeon's tweener sitcom "iCarly" - portraying, in a stretch worthy of Olivier, a singer (named David Archuleta) competing on a TV talent show.
• Heber resident Tyson Apostol competing on the new season of "Survivor."
• Huka Bar waitress Kelsey Lee still hanging tough with the other skanks on "Rock of Love Bus."
• The Beehive State's newest congressman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Publicity Stunt) having his daily routine videotaped for a CNN series, "Freshman Year." (Chaffetz has charmed D.C. media - an easily charmed bunch, apparently - by sleeping on a cot in his office. This is in marked contrast to his predecessor, Chris Cannon, who during the Clinton impeachment sacked out on a cot in the Fox News Channel's green room.)

I did have my own bit of celebrity spotting last week. My wife and I had a pre-Valentine's lunch at a downtown SLC sushi restaurant, and sitting at the next table was actor Frankie Muniz ("Malcolm in the Middle") and a good-sized entourage.

Even on vacation, I can't get away from this stuff.

Labels: American Idol, David Archuleta, Jason Chaffetz, Kelsey Lee, Osmond, Survivor, television

On Tuesday night, Utah's newest congressman, Jason Chaffetz, appeared on "The Colbert Report," saying hello to Stephen Colbert's gun and getting embarrassed in a leg-wrestling match.

On Wednesday, Chaffetz was interviewed by Kerri Kronk and Kirk Yuhnke on Fox13's "Good Day Utah," where the congressman demanded a rematch.

Guess what, Congressman? It's on like Donkey Kong.

Colbert accepted the rematch challenge - and threw down a further challenge to the Fox13 crew:

Labels: Jason Chaffetz, television

Utah's newest congressman endured one of Washington's oddest hazing rituals: Surviving seven minutes with Stephen Colbert on "The Colbert Report."

Among the funnier questions playing on Utah stereotypes ("Tell me about your black person - is he nice?" or "What percentage of your district is made up of Osmonds?"), Colbert landed a satirical jab at Chaffetz' draconian stance on illegal immigration ("When did rounding up people you don't like in your country and putting them in camps get a bad name?" Colbert asked).

Chaffetz kept his smile pasted on through most of Colbert's frivolity, though he got a little nervous when Colbert showed off his snub-nosed pistol, which he called "Sweetness."

To cap it off, Chaffetz challenged Colbert to a leg-wrestling match, which Colbert won. Either the freshman congressman threw the match, or it's been a long time since the ex-BYU placekicker hit the weight room.

Here's the excerpt from Tuesday night's show:

Labels: Jason Chaffetz, television

You walk into the lavish lobby of the Grand America hotel, and you have to look around to find the party going on.

Of course, the Utah Republican Party doesn't have as much to celebrate as the Democrats a few blocks away.

The Utah Republicans defended their two congressional seats, and got Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and attorney general Mark Shurtleff re-elected. But with Utah going for John McCain, while the majority of the nation went to Barack Obama, there wasn't the same cheering and exuberance that the Democrats were feeling.

There was plenty of hand-shaking, like when Huntsman ran into Utah's newest congressman, Jason Chaffetz. But seldom have a group that have won so much acted like they lost.

The vibe was also less gracious. While the Utah Democrats listened - and largely applauded - McCain's concession speech, the Utah Republicans missed a large chunk of Obama's victory speech a half-hour later. Instead, they heard from Utah's newest congressman, Jason Chaffetz, who prefunctorily acknowledged Obama's victory and then made this promise: "I will fight tooth and nail to reject socialism."

That's reaching across the aisle for you.

Labels: Barack Obama, Jason Chaffetz, John McCain, Jon Huntsman, politics