A Letter to Burgess Owens, My(?) Representative in Congress

 October 24, 2025

Honorable Representative Owens,

My communication with you today is relative to the shutdown of Congress and therefore the inability of the United States Government to pay its bills.

I believe it is past time for you, the other elected Representatives from Utah, and the Republican Party in general to sit down with your Democratic colleagues and negotiate an end to the shutdown.

Yes, this means that you will need to fund the ACA subsidies. For a person with moral or ethical standards, providing/continuing insurance to families in need should be as automatic as eating. If there are indeed aberrations with how the program is distributed, that is to say, if there are non-qualified individuals receiving benefits, then root those individuals out. To deny insurance to the vast majority of recipients who use the system fairly because of the allegedly illegal actions of a slight few, is despicable behavior. It is the action of a tyrannical government, not the action of a democracy.

Allow me to say this in closing: I have voted in every election since 1976. I work on campaigns of candidates whom I judge to be good for the community. When considering my ballot choice, I vote not for the party, but for the person. I judge elected officials not on what they say, but on their actions.

I live and vote in your district, and I am not shy about expressing my content, or discontent, with any elected official.

Respectfully,

Robert M Hartman

As of  10/31/2025, I have not received a reply. I will post it when, and if, I do. 

As always, thank you for reading, please leave your comments below. 

R.M. "Bob" Hartman

America, Where are You Now?

 America, where are you now?

Don't you care about your sons and daughters?

America, we need you now,

We can't fight alone against the monster.

                                        Steppenwolf, Monster,  1969

Ironic, isn't it that a protest song from the 60's has so much resonance in 2025? Don't you think it is pathetic that we are mimicking Germany in the 1930s? We have armed and masked quasi-militias with unidentified members roaming the streets of our large cities, suburbs,  and small towns, arresting without warrants whomever they please, taking them off the streets in unmarked vehicles with no known destination. No court dates are set, no hearings are scheduled. Deportations are conducted without any legal process being adhered to.

 Children are being detained, taken away in the middle of the night, hands zip-tied, separated from their parents. The "worst of the worst" criminals? What do these actions say about us as a society? Are we now afraid of children? They watch in horror as their parents are arrested and taken away from them in front of, and in, the schools.  

Yes, some of our cities have become battlegrounds, but the battle is not "Antifa" (there is a subject for long conversation) taking over the cities, it is the battle for the right to exist, the right to live freely, the right of peaceful protest without fear of imminent, unwarranted arrest, as spoken of in The Constitution of the United States of America and the Bills of Rights. You remember, those "Founding Documents" we supposedly learned about in schools. Is this the America you grew up in? Is this what you want for America? 

No amount of flag-waving, no military parade, no ballroom, no "imminent danger" can excuse this childish behavior.  Were this behavior not so tragic, so serious in its consequences, I would call it out as bullies in a playground. It has now gone far beyond that. Where are the adults in the room? Where are our finest legal minds?

Generations of political leaders in our country have worked, with some success, to feed and house the poor and working class families when  incomes did not meet expenses. Now, affordable housing, even affordable rent, is beyond the reach of many Americans. Grocery prices continue to climb but wages are not keeping up, regardless of the rhetoric from Washington. Older Americans struggle to afford the basics-food, housing, insurance. Young families are desperate to find safe communities in which to raise their families, to have the great American Dream. Jobs are vanishing, unemployed/underemployed Americans are finding it harder and harder to afford housing, day care and medical care. Is this your version of the Great American Dream? 

Health care is under attack, not from immigrants unfairly using it, but from our government. You know, the government of the people, for the people, and by the people. The Republicans in our Congress have stripped away subsidies that allow Americans to afford health care, and have caused a shutdown of the Government by refusing to even have honest discussions about this critical issue. Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the office of the President, yet they fault the democrats for the shutdown. Is this how Republicans govern? 

What can we do? What can you do? Write/email/call your Representatives and Senators, tell them you are not happy with them, not happy about the healthcare issues, not happy about SNAP going away, not happy with illegal detention and deportation,  not happy with the shutdown. 

Then, most importantly, VOTE whenever you have the opportunity. Votes do matter in elections! And yes, your vote does count, particularly in the elections for Representatives and Senators. (For the record: undocumented individuals do not vote.) 

Make voting a civic duty.  I was speaking Monday night with a Ukrainian (now a United States Citizen) who moved his family here just before the outbreak of the war. He was totally bewildered that a third of the American citizens failed to vote in the last election. In Ukraine, it is considered a citizen's responsibility and an honor to vote.

It is OUR country, America! Stand up for the America you believe in, the America that takes care of it's citizens, the America that was, and hopefully will become again, the beacon on the hill, the great light of Democracy!

As always, your comments are most welcome. 

Thanks for reading!

R.M. "Bob" Hartman

Free Speech?

 “I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

This quote is attributed to Patrick Henry (one of the “Founding Fathers”) during the discussions relevant to the (now) first amendment during the 1st Session of Congress (1789-1791); the quote is also attributed to Voltaire, a French Enlightenment philosopher and writer. It is entirely possible that Henry heard about Voltaire’s quote and decided to recycle it. But who said it first is not relevant to today’s discussion!

We have heard in the news, both Fox and mainstream, of the deportation of green-card holder Mahmoud Khalil for, according to our federal government, being anti-semitic and a supporter of Hamas. His own words however, do not support that conclusion. In an interview with CNN reporter Chelsea Bailey on March 12, 2025, Khalil stated: “There is no place, of course, for anti-Semitism. What we are witnessing is anti-Palestinian sentiment that is taking different forms, and anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism [are] some of those forms.”

The group Khalil is a member of, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, was asking that Columbia University stop investing its $14.8 billion endowment in companies supporting Israel’s government, close the University outpost in Tel Aviv, and end collaboration with Israeli universities. (For those of you with long memories, you might recall similar actions taken by universities including Columbia relative to South Africa’s Apartheid government until its collapse in 1993-1994.)

Khalil has not been accused of breaking any laws. He has not had a day in court. Yet the government of the United States of America, more precisely the Trump administration, has taken him into detention, and deported him, for speaking his mind, for protesting, for caring. You and I may not agree with Khalil, or with his stance about Israel and the war it is conducting in Gaza, but I ask you: Should a person be deported for speaking their mind? In a country that prides itself on the first amendment; in a country were there have always been people whose ideas did not mesh with the administration at the time; in a country where we are allowed to have, and voice, our own opinions, should this have happened?

Khalil did not vandalize any buildings; he did not storm police barricades; he did not break into government buildings; he did not participate in a hunt to hang anyone. The people who did those things on Jan 6th have been pardoned, but a person speaking out, exercising the 1st amendment rights, is deported?

There is a lot wrong with this picture, I believe.

I’d like to know what you think about this issue. Please feel free to leave comments in the space below.

R.M.. “Bob” Hartman 

"Just the Fact's, Ma'am"

 There are facts, and there are opinions. Just because you don’t like the facts, does not make them any less of reality; it just means you are uncomfortable with the facts. Conversely, just because you, or a group you align with, has an opinion that runs counter to facts, it is still only that: an opinion. The late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S. Senator, is given credit for this well-written statement “ Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”

Here’s a fact for you: An unruly mob attempted to overthrow the legally elected government of the United States of America on January 6th, 2021. By definition, this was an act of insurrection. In fact, it fit’s Merriam-Webster’s definition to the letter: an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government. No matter who says it, no matter how high an authority figure they may be, it is not a love-fest when rioters are shouting “Hang Mike Pence” and other such hate. Pardoning those people who committed insurrection against our legally elected government is, in my opinion, unjustified. It makes a lie out of our system of all equal under the law. But this act of pardon is a subject for another article.

Another fact: In the general election held in 2024, convicted felon and former President Donald J. Trump won a second term as President with 49.8% of the popular vote, with the balance being divided up among the other candidates for President. That percentage-49.8%-is not a mandate, not a landslide, it is a plurality. Merriam-Webster again: (3) the greatest number of votes when not a majority.

Got time for one more fact? Russia invaded Ukraine.

Last one for today: Appeasement does not work. See the Munich Agreement, September 1938-when Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany agreed to let A. Hitler “annex” the Sudetenland, a part of Czechoslovakia.

The facts I mentioned above are FACTS, not alternative facts (?) but reality, writ large. I find it amazing, and quite frustrating, when people insist on proving to me the money spent on them for education failed to produce a quality product.

The next three years and 11 months will test the limits of the great experiment known as American Democracy. Our resolve, our determination to live in a free country, where there are checks and balances between the three branches of Government-as outlined in our Constitution-will be put out there for all the world to see. In a time when ultra-nationalist groups are pushing to punish “others”, when Fascists see a glimpse of potential power, when conflicts between democratic and dictatorial types of governments are approaching boiling points, will America stand as a supporter of Democracy?

Will you?

Thank you for reading, as always, your comments are welcome.

R.M. “Bob” Hartman

'Splain It To Me, Please

 I recently retired (yea!) from my last career as a sales associate in the hardware department of Smith and Edwards Co. in West Jordan. Let me say from the start, I have a lot of respect and love for this company, and for my fellow employees at the store. Nothing I am going to share with you now is meant in any manner to cast disrespect upon that company.

The hardware department sold flags of various types, including all branches of the military as well as American Flags, along with flagpoles, mounting brackets, etc. We did not sell Confederate Battle flags, flags of foreign nations, or political flags/banners.

My fellow associates and I noticed a somewhat disturbing pattern in our sale of American Flags. As you are aware, it has become very common for individuals to fly American Flags (and some others)  mounted to staffs on the back of pickup trucks. Two or three times a week, we would have customers ask for American Flags, of which we had two brands. One was made in America, one in China. The Chinese variant was less expensive that the "Made in the USA" flag. Sad to say, most of the younger customers in their MAGA hats would take the Chinese flag because of the cost difference. Older customers tended to prefer American Flags "Made in the USA," those wearing veteran's caps would gladly share their stories of being in the service and under fire for America's flag. Yes, some of the older customers were wearing MAGA hats, but they were buying American made flags.

So, I guess I don't get it. MAGA-Make America Great Again- by purchasing Chinese made American flags. America First-unless it is cheaper to purchase an imported item.  

Talk is cheap, and slogans are plentiful. Putting your money where your mouth is, well, that is a different story. 

Thoughts, anyone? 

Thanks for reading; your comments are encouraged and welcome. Just click the word "comment" in the white box below. 

R.M. "Bob" Hartman

If You Want To Fly It, Respect It

 A few days ago, I went to a local hardware store to pick up some project material. As I was leaving the store, I was glancing around the parking lot, as is my custom; I check to see what vehicles are moving in which direction, etc. Basic situational awareness before I put my car in gear. 

My attention was drawn to a diesel pickup idling at the vape shop next door. It had an American flag on a staff mounted to the back bumper; the flag was drifting in the slight breeze. In Utah, an American flag on a truck is not unusual at all; what caught my eye and disgusted me beyond belief was the condition of the flag. This emblem of our country, which you and I were taught to respect and honor, was torn, dirty, and covered in diesel exhaust. I was tempted to take a picture with my cell phone, but before I could, the driver of the truck exited the vape shop-yes, he had a MAGA hat on. I didn't think it was a good idea to get into a confrontation, so there is no picture. 

The United States National Flag Code, which became law in 1942, lays out the rules for the proper display of the American Flag; here are two rules from that Code: 

The Flag should not be on display outdoors in bad weather.

Clean and damage-free flags should always be used. Dirty, ripped, wrinkled or frayed flags should not be used. Also, when flags are damaged, they should be destroyed in a dignified manner. 

I realize, given the political strife and division current in our country today, that many people feel the need to express their patriotism, loyalty, and virtue by displaying the American Flag.

I wish the driver of that truck would show his respect for the American Flag as prominently as he shows his loyalty to the former president.   

Thank you for reading; as always, your comments are welcome and encouraged. Just click the word "comment" in the white box below below.

R.M. "Bob" Hartman

Source: https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/1892936/dos-and-donts-for-displaying-old-glory/ retrieved on October 19, 2024

My Nominee for The Most Stupid In State Award

When it is time to hand out the "Most Stupid In State" awards, I am nominating Morgan Republican Rep. Kera Birkeland. Her incredibly transphobic bill, improperly titled “Sex-Based Designations for Privacy, Anti-bullying and Women's Opportunities" has unleased a world of problems for the State Auditor, Republican John Dougall, and his office. You see, the bill changes the legal definitions of “female” and “male” to categorize Utahns by the reproductive organs of their birth, and restricts which bathrooms and locker rooms trans people can use in any government-owned buildings. (Schools, county recreation centers, swimming pools, etc.) When a violation is sent to the State Auditor's office, they must investigate then notify that entity that a violation has occurred. If the violation isn’t resolved, the auditor must refer the issue to the Utah Attorney General’s office, which can then impose fines up to $10,000 “per violation per day.” In the 72 hour period that followed the release of the reporting website, over 4,000 complaints were filed; the number of complaints  two weeks later exceeded 10,000. According to Dougall, none of the complaints were legitimate. The person committing the crime is not punished, unless they commit lewd or voyeuristic acts.  

So there you have it. Ms. Birkland created a bill, which requires a huge unplanned expense for the State Auditor's office, to satisfy the MAGA Utah Rabid Right's unhealthy fixation on bathroom usage. How many thousands of taxpayer dollars will be wasted on this bill will probably not ever be released to the public. 

It does create a distraction for the public, however, taking attention away from some of Utah's real problems: our bad air, underfunded education system, a much needed expansion of Medicaid, fentanyl addiction, homelessness, affordable housing, water supplies, infrastructure, the list goes on and on. 

Ms. Birkland could have focused her energy and the State's money on these problems, but no. Instead she is focused on which bathroom people use.

As always, thank you for reading; your comments are important, regardless of whether you agree or not! 

R.M. "Bob" Hartman