President Waddoups: The Bee Speech
President Waddoups’ message to the Senate on Day 1 of the 2012 session:
Last year as we concluded our session, we finished with a list of 10 significant accomplishments. Many of those issues are the same today, we are still dealing with issues such as the budget, education funding, economic development, health care, higher education excess, education reforms, alcohol policy, our infrastructure, energy and taxation. I am confident that we will deal with each of them appropriately as we go through the session.
The outlook is good for Utah. Again we have been recognized as the best managed state. We have the number one best economic outlook. We are in the best position for economic growth. Our counterparts are asking “How do we do it?” and as I have traveled in the U.S. and met with my fellow Senate Presidents and others they say, “What’s going on in Utah, can you help us out?” The Federal Government needs to take notice of what is going on in Utah. They need to accept some of our suggestions and note the things that Utah does best.
Sales and revenues are up in our state and unemployment is down. Recently it was announced that we are down 6% more than 2% below the national average. Interest rates are down. Auto sales are beginning to climb, Real Estate inventory is down. Exports are growing, we are the fastest growing exporter in the nation.
We are building a Rainy day fund. We are funding growth, we are paying ongoing expenses with ongoing revenues rather than borrowing to pay our bills. Others are not so fortunate nor are they as optimistic as are we. It is not happenstance, but it is rather planned and good management. Congratulations to each of you for being part of that.
The National Conference of State Legislators said that the budget gap from 2008-2013 across our country is $527 billion. We had one at one point, a small one, but we have taken care of it, and we are now paying on-going dollars for on-going projects, and we still have money in our Rainy Day Fund. Forecasters now say 17-19 states are above target in revenues. We are certainly one of those. Seven states are optimistic about their futures, we are one of those. E-commerce is a concern in today’s economy. We need to be concerned about what is going on in e-commerce. Sales are up about 2% in regular store fronts, brick and motor stores. E-commerce is up 20% in the last year. We need to think on some of that and see how we with our fellow states can deal with this issue. The future is looking like it will provide good opportunities for us as well as our children and our grandchildren and we will have good outcomes because of you and citizens of our state.
I have chosen this year to introduce a theme as I have for the last three years. This theme is BEE. “To be” is the most irregular of all verbs and is often used in coordination with other verbs. President Gordon B. Hinckley of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a decade ago, introduced a theme talking to the youth of his church asking them to be several things. I think I will talk about several things that we could be and each of you can think of things you could also be.
First let’s talk about the bee. Utah is the Beehive state. Our motto is Industry and is exemplified by the honey bee. The Beehive is on our state seal, it’s on our flag and on our senate seal. The oldest bee found in a piece of amber is estimated to be over 100 million years old. The beehive is a colony or a group of workers working together for the common benefit of all. Again I think the parallel is there for us as we all should be working together for the benefit of our state. We each have different roles as do members of a beehive. There is the Queen bee, the Worker bees, there are Drones and they each have different roles as do we. We have Committees, we have budgets to deal with, including Health, Education, Natural Resources and many others. There are different types of bees just as there are different types of Senators. There are 4000 species of bees, there are 29 different senators, each of us have a role.
Scientists have said that the Bumble Bee shouldn’t be able to fly, and yet it does. Maybe there are those who think you shouldn’t be here, but you should. The bumble bee does fly, by flapping its wings 230 flaps per second and it also has an innovative wing movement that is different from the straight, horizontal, flying that most flying objects use. You can succeed by working harder and being innovative as the bumble bee does. Bees communicate. They work well together, and we should too. Bees make honey, they pollinate trees and flowers. Some of these species would be extinct without the bees and the service that they render to these plants. We too can work together and benefit our community and save lives and make life better for everyone.
Let me suggest some “BE’s” that we should address this year.
First we should all BE GRATEFUL. William Feather said, “Generous deeds would be repeated oftener if more gratitude had been shown for the first ones.” Senator Dayton, I recognize you as one that is very good at being grateful. Each of us can follow her example.
We should BE SMART, we should be educated as should our constituents.
We should BE PROFESSIONAL.
We should BE PREPARED, the Boy Scouts use that as their motto. They also have a group of “BE’s” that each of us could use in our lives.
We should BE TOLERANT, we should BE COURTEOUS. An unknown writer said “When we look for the best in others, we find the best in ourselves.”
We should BE TRUSTWORTHY.
We should be of SERVICE.
We should BE SUPPORTIVE.
We should BE LOYAL.
And certainly during this session we should all BE PRODUCTIVE.
We can think of many other things that we can be. I’ve prepared a BEE pin as a reminder for each of you. The pages have some of those that we will have distributed to each senator. I would encourage to wear the bee pin occasionally as a reminder of the things we can be. I would like every senator to have a bee. I would also like have ever staff member get a bee and every intern to get a bee. I have also presented one to Elder Snow, I wasn’t sure he would be able to wait with us. Elder Snow, you are certainly an example of what we can be and how we can progress. Thank you for being here and participating with us today.
“Doing the right thing is seldom easy or everyone would be doing it. Those who do the right thing seldom receive political or personal rewards, at least in the short term.” That is a quote from Mr. Ziglar
Let me conclude with one other example. Jesus Christ gave us the Beatitudes. They help us to be. Each of the attributes he outlined can be implemented into our lives. I would encourage us to study those.
Finally, let me say bee the best you can bee. I believe in you. The public believes in you, we should believe in each other and our families. And each of us should BEE.
Thank you.
[...] posted the text of President Waddoups’ Bee speech from the opening of the session on the Senate [...]
With all due respect to the facts, a recent study which I saw posted on the internet shows that Utah is ranked the 11th best managed state. Wyoming is #1. If the conservatives of Utah would just remember that Utah BEGGED to become a U.S. State, along with the Federal control that involves, then they would stop wasting time on trying to pass laws which try to override Federal laws. As a lawyer, (but gratefully not a Utah one!) I can tel you that the U.S. Constitution has a Supremacy Clause which makes the anti-Federal government proposed legislation a waste of time as the laws will be struck down in the end, anyway. And at a great cost to Utah.
Keep your comments about Jesus and your church leaders out of these government pages. Religion and government must have nothing to do with each other. Are you so stupid that don’t understand that basic American concept. Thomas Jefferson: “There must be a WALL of separation between church and state.” (Often quoted by the U.S. Supreme Court.)
@ Wolfgang the Mediator
Your stats are from a media website 24/7 Wall Street? Thats the most credible source you could find to form your best argument against Utah? Ever heard of FORBES rankings? They rank Utah #1, again, as the best state for business and careers. The acclaimed Rich states, poor states – which ranks the economic competitiveness of all 50 states based on policies and performance, also ranks Utah #1, again. You say you are a lawyer but not licensed to practice in Utah. Is that negative attitude towards the #1 state in the union because you can’t practice here?
I doubt your Constitutional Law background because you completely take Thomas Jefferson’s well quoted, but misunderstood letter out of context. He was simply giving ALL religious groups (including the small minority religious group he was writing to) equal protection by not allowing the U.S. government to choose a single religion to be supreme over all others… a la the Church of England. Remember the Framers has a clear recollection of a tyrannical government sponsored religion taking away freedom.
Let me also include the Supremacy Clause in this legal lesson. It simply states Federal law is above state law – if it is Constitutional. It can also be dismissed if the Federal government allows, as was explored in H.B. 116, the use of a federal waivers – which is actually a very common practice.
So was President Waddoups sponsoring a government religion or simply referencing (along with other secular and notable people) leaders who use simple symbols to make themselves and others better. He is calling for elected officials to BEE better and that brings him criticism? Did he also add in God we Trust to the Pledge of Allegiance and your dollar bills? Or construct all the buildings in D.C. (inc. Supreme Court and each House of Congress) with the 10 Commandments and the many other religious symbols that dot our nations capital? Symbols are an easy way to remember something, which is why he wants people to wear their Bee pin to remind them of the great service they provide to citizens of the great state of Utah, even those like you who are misguided, unaware or just plain angry. Thomas Jefferson’s monument has 4 of his most significant quotes, and 3 of them reference God. If you look at the symbols of this country it is easy to see who the Framers of the Constitution and patriots of old saw as their inspiration: God. How have we strayed so far from from our roots and liberty?
I am sorry you are so angry at a great public servant but you should reflect on who that anger is aimed at. Don’t be angry that each day business is started with a prayer, and each religion has a chance to participate. So to repeat your own question, are you so stupid that [you] don’t understand that basic American concept? Well, are you?
The term “In God We Trust” has been held by the U.S. Supreme Court to be such a vague historical term that it does not promote religion generally, or any specific religion. The 10 Commandments have also been held to be only a historical relic, but even then the U.S. Supreme Court has forced the removal of their posting in courthouses because people, including juries, may be influenced into thinking that they are legal concepts that have the force of law – and they don’t and they can’t per the First Amendment. States are held to the First Amendment, originally intended to apply only to the Federal Government, by passage of the 14th Amendment and the U.S. Supreme Court incorporating them into rights which states must honor. I have the right not to have my tax dollars used to promote the sayings or ways of 1) Christianity in general, and/or 2) any particular religious group such as the Utah Senate President did. No government official should use his or her public office to promote Christianity – which Waddoups did by using the term Jesus Christ when non-Christians do not consider any Jesus as being the Christ. Using government office and government resources to do so violates the First Amendment, via the Fourteen Amendment rights of non-Christians. The same goes for quoting the leader of a particular religion for the purpose of inducing behavior. Another non-religious person could have been quoted to induce positive behavior. To quote a Mormon church leader with such admiration is an indirect way of saying that the majority of Utah is Mormon (if you add up those who are such in name only) and that the Mormon way is Utah’s way. This leaves non-Mormons feeling like second class citizens and at any rate running Utah using Mormon principles is a violation of the First Amendment via the Fourteenth Amendment. Now, as far as you doubting my Constitutional Law knowledge, I have been involved in Civil Rights law for over 20 years – and Civil Rights law, such as the right to be free from religion, is inherently intertwined with Constitutional law. I am also a member of the National Lawyers Guild, which has worked for Civil Rights since the 1937 and was set up as an alternative to the American Bar Association which did not allow anyone other than whites to become members (i.e. racist). I find that the people of Utah, generally speaking, have little understanding of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution, especially the right to be free from religion and government promotion of religion. Of course, this is true of the people of most states. Finally, the Founding Fathers were, generally speaking, skeptical of Christianity. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Thomas Paine could never be elected today because of their absolute hostility towards Christian concepts. After Madison issued a prayer declaration at the insistence of Congress he later declared that doing so was un-Constitutional. Thomas Jefferson took his Bible and ripped out references to miracles supposedly performed by Jesus as well as any reference to Jesus’ divinity. Religion must be kept out of government and a wall must separate it from government. If the Pioneers had wanted to establish a Mormon sanctuary in the territory they arrived at, they should have never requested to become a U.S. state. But they did, and now the First Amendment via the Fourteenth Amendment is the law they should live by but frequently violate.
Tolerance, acceptance and understanding are oft demanded but seldom returned.