|
Subject:
Questions from a student at the
University of Utah.
Issue: General
Date: October 29, 2004
Author: Ken Larsen
___Linda wrote:
Dear Mr. Larsen,
My name is Linda and I am a student at the University of Utah. I am
in a political reporting class and one of our assignments is to do a profile
of any candidate in the race. I have chosen you because you hear so much
about Huntsman and Matheson but not a lot about you due to the fact that
your party is not one of the big two. I was wondering if you would be
willing to answer some questions for me either via email or through an
arranged interview. The stances you have taken are intriguing and I would
like to know more about you and your premises for running.
Thank you for your time.
Linda Williams
------
___Linda___
Dr. Larsen,
Thank you for responding in such a timely fashion. My questions are listed
below.
___Ken___
followed by my answers.
___Linda___
1. How do you keep campaigning and your hopes up if you know that you will
most likely not win the election?
___Ken___
When I was 19, I believed the right thing to do was go on a Mormon mission
to France. I hoped to find a way to show all of France that they should be
Mormons. I only participated in 12 conversions. Yet, my 30 months were
considered a success. That sense of mission has not left me. Now, I am on a
mission to convert all of Utah to the principles of our Founders. One or two
percent will be a much bigger success than my Mormon mission to France. Last
Wednesday, at Weber High School, a nice lady came up to me with a smile and
an outstretched arm. She said, "I might be the only one here, but you got my
vote." Oh, yes, I am winning. My campaign is succeeding. Of course I truly
believe I should be your next Governor because I believe my principles are
correct. Perhaps I will not be Governor. But I am not a failure, not by my
own measure.
___Linda___
2. What, if any religion, are you? From your background information I would
guess LDS, but from your positions on certain issues I would guess
differently.
___Ken___
As a student of politics, you know it is unconstitutional to give a
candidate a religious test. : ) Let's just say I grew up in the Mormon
culture and have since expanded. My personal spiritual experiences are not
subject to any group or institution. If you know about Amway, I would say I
have "gone direct." Sometimes I relate to God and sometimes to Goddess. And,
other times I perceive all theology as metaphor. Of all the metaphors I
speak, I probably speak Mormon best.
___Linda___
3. Why do you oppose charter schools, a public form of a specialized private
school?
___Ken___
My ultimate objective is to encourage the growth of private education.
Although specialized, charter schools do not take a significant step away
from public funding, in my opinion.
___Linda___
4. You oppose public education: so what would you say to the family who
cannot afford to send their children to private schools even with vouchers
and tax credits?
___Ken___
I see an article I need to write in which I illustrate my vision of a
private educational industry. I can't even begin to list the ways your
question can be solved. To begin with, remember that in the 1780's there
were no public schools, and the Federalist Papers were newspaper articles,
written for the man on the street. Now they are difficult reading for
college students. Okay, first you've got home schooling, which the Internet
is making more and more available and affordable. Next you've got charity
schools, like the ones the Mormons run (or at least they used to) in Mexico.
Then, you've got company schools, where a company educates future employees.
Or, you could run an investment school in which every graduate promised a
small percentage of his net income forever. Students could pay their own
way, just as Booker T. Washington set up a brick factory where his students
could create wealth. I'm sure private education could come up with dozens
more solutions, once we all understand the terrible waste of good minds now
going on.
___Linda___
5. You have made a "sacred promise" to citizens of Utah to veto any proposed
tax hikes, even if absolutely necessary. How would the legislature override
your veto?
___Ken___
Article VII, Section 8, paragraph (1), Utah State Constitution: "Each bill
passed by the Legislature, before it becomes law, shall be presented to the
Governor. If the bill is approved, the Governor shall sign it, and thereupon
it shall become a law. If the bill is disapproved, it shall be returned with
the Governor's objections to the house in which it originated. That house
shall then enter the objections upon its journal and proceed to reconsider
the bill. If upon reconsideration the bill again passes both houses by a yea
and nay vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house, it shall
become a law."
If it is a true emergency, they will find the two-thirds and I will not
break my promise.
___Linda___
6. You oppose Initiative 1 because you feel that the government does not
have the right to buy up open land to keep it that way. How would you
suggest we preserve open land in order to keep it free from development,
etc.?
___Ken___
Private citizens groups, such as the Sierra Club, could hold telethons to
collect the necessary money to purchase and preserve open land. Suppose they
generated computer deeds to individual square feet and sold them at ten
dollars apiece through fundraising groups. Who wouldn't want to show their
deed to a piece of land where the natural environment is maintained and
humans are forbidden? I'll bet the Native Americans would love to get
involved in that kind of fundraising for their sacred lands. All it takes is
a little thinking outside of the Government-solve-everything box. Current
owners could agree to sell their land only with protective covenants that
preserve the open environment. Where there are active watershed lands, the
down-streamers who have rights to that water also have a right to
governmental protection of the flow and purity of their water.
___Linda___
7. You said that you will work to give us less government, lower taxes and
more freedoms. In what ways will you do this and what areas will we have
more freedom through your administration?
___Ken___
Immediately after taking office, I will order the end to the enforcement of
all unconstitutional laws that I believe can be ended without causing harm.
That includes some excessive business controls, gun control, marriage
control, drug control, adult entertainment control and the preaching of
religion at government expense. I will be much more circumspect in regards
to the eventual elimination of government subsidies of transportation,
health care, entertainment, education, food, child care and housing. The
resulting decreases in public spending will vastly reduce the tax burden.
Okay, getting specific. I believe there are convincing data that ending the
drug war will cut violent crime, including murder, by more than half. The
cost of our prison system will plummet and the police will then be able to
focus on force and fraud, making your life safer and dramatically cutting
the need for your taxes. It might take a generation to gently wean us from
the teat of welfare and restore that function to private charity. Remember,
the third principle in the Declaration of Independence, "That to secure
these rights, Governments are instituted among men." I would work to return
government to that limited function, i.e., protecting your life, liberty and
pursuit of happiness.
___Linda___
8. You are one of the many who believe that drug control is wrong, that all
drugs should not be illegal as long as no one is harming someone else
because of the drugs. However, these are laws that exist and are not likely
to change. How would you help those arrested for such offenses rather than
putting them in prison? Do you favor spending the money on rehabilitation
centers, etc. like Mr. Huntsman or do you have other plans for this?
___Ken___
There are three branches of government, Legislative, Executive and Judicial.
As Governor, I will be the Executive power, "The executive power of the
state shall be vested in the Governor who shall see that the laws are
faithfully executed." (Utah Constitution, Article VII, Section 5, paragraph
1) My oath of office sets a list of priorities: "I do solemnly swear (or
affirm) that I will support, obey and defend the Constitution of the United
States and the Constitution of this State, and that I will discharge the
duties of my office with fidelity." (Utah Constitution, Article IV, Section
10) Thus, my first loyalty will be to the US Constitution, then the Utah
Constitution, then the laws of the State. If any law is, in my opinion, in
violation of the State or US Constitution, it will be my duty to order that
it not be enforced.
This is the principle of checks and balances. Neither the Governor nor the
Legislature can force the Judicial to convict. Neither the Governor nor the
Judicial can force the Legislature to enact a law. Likewise, in the name of
checks and balances, neither the Legislature nor the Judicial have the
authority to force the Governor to enforce a law he/she considers
unconstitutional. Thus, as Governor, I will have the authority to end the
drug war in Utah. Under my jurisdiction, any law officer who investigates or
arrests anyone for violating an unconstitutional law, after my order has
been issued, will be challenged. I want everyone to understand this so there
will be no confusion.
___Linda___
9. I am a little unclear on your stance on gun control in schools. Do you
believe that people can or cannot carry weapons in schools, churches, etc.?
Or do you believe that it is up to that particular entity to decide what it
will and will not allow on their property? When you say that the right to
bear arms does not trump all other rights, does that mean you believe in
some forms of gun control, if not by the state then by authorities over
other areas such as the University of Utah?
___Ken___
You have a right to drink a beer and you have a right to carry a pistol. I
have a right to forbid you to enter my property with either, if I wish. I
would let local supervisors of local institutions make that decision as part
of their sovereignty over that property. However, I would not tolerate a
decision by a local supervisor of government property that everyone MUST
carry a gun or a can of beer, just as I would not tolerate the use of
government property for religious worship services. You are free, however,
to require all your visitors to carry guns, cans of beer and the prayer
beads of your choice.
___Linda___
10. You believe that background checks for weapons holders are a violation
of our rights. How do such checks and balances violate the rights of
citizens? Why is it wrong to deny someone with felony charges for instances
related to the usage of guns the right to own a gun when they have priorly
proven they would be a danger if they owned such a weapon?
___Ken___
A background check is an invasion of privacy. Surrendering that privacy, as
a price for obtaining a weapon, is an infringement of the right to obtain
such a weapon.
A felon who wants a gun is not going to be stopped by the law. I believe we
should not trust convicted felons on the streets if we are not ready to
trust them with gun ownership. And, yes, I do believe some felons are too
dangerous to be loose.
___Linda___
Dr. Larsen, that is the end of my questions. I hope you will be able to shed
some light on the areas where I am a little confused. Thanks again for your
cooperation. Also if you could give me some information on what work you
have done with the University of Utah and other research facilities that
would be wonderful. If you have any other information you would like to add
that might make my story more colorful that would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again!
___Ken___
Until June of this year, I was employed doing research in the Huntsman
Cancer Institute. I had the title "Adjunct Research Associate Professor of
Medicine." I was particularly associated with research into the activity
patterns of mice whose genetic material was altered in ways suspected of
influencing the biological clock. Hence, my field was "chronobiology." We
had three mice who tested positive for a genetic alteration. We kept them in
constant dark to determine their activity without daily light as a signal.
So, you could say we had Three Blind Mice. Their exercise wheels were
connected to a computer so we could See How They Run. Then, to get a tissue
sample for genetic analysis, I Cut Off Their Tails. Sorry, no carving knife,
no farmer's wife, and just a tip of the tails. But we had fun anyway.
___Linda___
Sincerely,
Linda
Again, thank you for the coverage.
Sincerely,
Ken Larsen, Candidate for
Governor
Personal Choice Party
801-533-8658
856 East 100 South #2
Salt Lake City, Utah 84102
|