Beehive to China

Smart move:

• Obama names GOP governor as China envoy

Utah Governor Jon Huntsman appears to be unlike his fanatically unhinged Republican counterparts, thankfully.

From MSNBC:

He [Huntsman] has made a name for himself advocating a moderate agenda in one of the nation's most conservative states. He made headlines recently for encouraging the Republican Party to swing in a more moderate direction if it wanted to bounce back from the 2008 elections, angering some conservatives. Obama's 2008 campaign manager, David Plouffe, said Huntsman is a Republican who "seems to understand the party has to adjust — not stubbornly believe that everything is OK and it is the country that has to change."

I say more power to him. Huntsman seems to be one of the few serving members of the GOP who considers the needs of his own constituents and the nation in general before his own personal agenda.

I've had the misfortune of living in Utah. The state itself is physically beautiful apart from the desert areas (I dislike deserts no matter where the location), but the self-righteousness and dishonesty of some of its residents leaves much to be desired.

To make a long story short, I worked for a banking institution in Salt Lake City for seven years more two decades ago, and no where since have I seen such blatantly dishonest business dealings or religious inequity. Near the end of my time there, all but myself and another fellow-Catholic had been phased out to make room for the onslaught of "friends of friends" or those attending the politically correct church at the time.

For a group of people who like to present themselves as charitable and God-fearing, I was surprised by frequent racial bigotry and religious discrimination amongst the majority of the citizenry. They are not what they seem. However, there is now a growing percentage of the population that is no longer bound by subtle restrictions imposed by religious influences. This is probably due to the influx of "outsiders" moving into the state.

Whatever the case, I believe President Obama's ambassadorial appointment of Jon Huntsman to be a very clever move.