It may take Courage v. Wyoming to get our state to live up to its "Equality State" brand

Here at hummingbirdminds, we spell "clout" with a lower-case "c." But we want to throw our support to the lawsuit filed this week to force Wyoming to acknowledge gay marriage. The lawsuit couldn't have a better title -- Courage v. Wyoming. That's Courage as in Cora Courage, one of the plaintiffs from Evanston. She happens to be a major in the Army Reserve, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, clinical director at the Wyoming State Hospital and a lesbian. Since 2009, she's been married to Wyoma "Nonie" Proffit, a part-time librarian and sheepherder. The other couples in the lawsuit deserve to be named because they represent courage too: Carl Oleson and Rob Johnston, Casper; Anne Guzzo and Bonnie Robinson, Laramie; and Ivan Williams and Chuck Killion, Cheyenne.

Carl Oleson and Rob Johnston of Casper, Anne Guzzo and Bonnie Robinson of Laramie, and Ivan Williams and Chuck Killion of Cheyenne. - See more at: http://wyofile.com/wyofile-2/sex-couples-wyoming-equality-file-marriage-lawsuit/#sthash.r6BLdx6u.EEGaMMQz.dpuf

Carl Oleson and Rob Johnston of Casper, Anne Guzzo and Bonnie Robinson of Laramie, and Ivan Williams and Chuck Killion of Cheyenne. - See more at: http://wyofile.com/wyofile-2/sex-couples-wyoming-equality-file-marriage-lawsuit/#sthash.r6BLdx6u.EEGaMMQz.dpuf

Cora Courage and Wyoma “Nonie” Proffit of Evanston, Carl Oleson and Rob Johnston of Casper, Anne Guzzo and Bonnie Robinson of Laramie, and Ivan Williams and Chuck Killion of Cheyenne. - See more at: http://wyofile.com/wyofile-2/sex-couples-wyoming-equality-file-marriage-lawsuit/#sthash.r6BLdx6u.pv4Q1niY.dpuf

Wyoming Equality is also part of the lawsuit.

It's no surprise that this case arises at the tail end of the most recent legislative session. Marriage equality bills haven't fared well in the Legislature. Last year, the first marriage equality bill (this one on domestic partnerships) to ever make it out of committee was defeated in the House while gathering a surprising number of Republican votes. The debate, broadcast on radio, was very instructive. I wrote about it here.

This year, a bill sponsored by Rep. Cathy Connolly (D-Laramie) to include same-sex couples in the state’s definition of marriage failed to get enough votes to be introduced.

Clearly, it's time to turn to the courts. The courts have been ruling against discrimination of late, so it seems to be the right time for a lawsuit.

Said Jeran Artery, executive director of Wyoming Equality:

“Wyoming has a proud history of being the 'Equality State' and its refusal to allow same-sex couples to marry is contrary to the core values of our state. The couples in this case, and all same-sex couples in Wyoming, deserve to be treated with equal fairness and respect, including having the same freedom to marry that others enjoy.”

Well said, Jeran Artery, who grew up in rural Wyoming and knows the territory. 

See more on wyofile and Wy Pols and WY ACLU

Cora Courage and Nonie Proffit
Cora Courage and Nonie Proffit, of Evanston, have been together for over nine years and were married in Iowa in 2009. Cora is the Clinical Director at the state psychiatric hospital and a Major in the Army Reserve. Nonie is a part-time librarian and sheepherder for their family’s ranch.
Carl Oleson & Rob Johnston
Carl Oleson and Rob Johnston, of Casper, have been together for sixteen years and were married in Canada in July 2010. Carl manages a retail store and Rob is the program director for Project ReGain, which teaches skills to people who are recovering from addiction.
Anne Guzzo & Bonnie Robinson
Anne Guzzo and Bonnie Robinson have been together for four years and reside in Laramie. Anne is a professor of music composition and theory at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Bonnie is a property manager. On February 27, 2014, they applied for a marriage license at the Laramie County Clerk’s Office in Cheyenne and were rejected because they are a same-sex couple.
Ivan Williams & Chuck Killion
Ivan Williams and Chuck Killion have been together for nearly two years and reside in Cheyenne. Ivan is an attorney. Chuck is a comptroller at a local construction and development company. On February 27, 2014, they applied for a marriage license at the Laramie County Clerk’s Office in Cheyenne and were rejected because they are a same-sex couple. The County Clerk later asked the First Judicial District Court in Cheyenne to determine whether she was obligated to reject the couples’ applications for marriage
- See more at: http://wyofile.com/wyofile-2/sex-couples-wyoming-equality-file-marriage-lawsuit/#sthash.r6BLdx6u.onzF4i89.dpuf

Cora Courage and Nonie Proffit
Cora Courage and Nonie Proffit, of Evanston, have been together for over nine years and were married in Iowa in 2009. Cora is the Clinical Director at the state psychiatric hospital and a Major in the Army Reserve. Nonie is a part-time librarian and sheepherder for their family’s ranch.
Carl Oleson & Rob Johnston
Carl Oleson and Rob Johnston, of Casper, have been together for sixteen years and were married in Canada in July 2010. Carl manages a retail store and Rob is the program director for Project ReGain, which teaches skills to people who are recovering from addiction.
Anne Guzzo & Bonnie Robinson
Anne Guzzo and Bonnie Robinson have been together for four years and reside in Laramie. Anne is a professor of music composition and theory at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Bonnie is a property manager. On February 27, 2014, they applied for a marriage license at the Laramie County Clerk’s Office in Cheyenne and were rejected because they are a same-sex couple.
Ivan Williams & Chuck Killion
Ivan Williams and Chuck Killion have been together for nearly two years and reside in Cheyenne. Ivan is an attorney. Chuck is a comptroller at a local construction and development company. On February 27, 2014, they applied for a marriage license at the Laramie County Clerk’s Office in Cheyenne and were rejected because they are a same-sex couple. The County Clerk later asked the First Judicial District Court in Cheyenne to determine whether she was obligated to reject the couples’ applications for marriage
- See more at: http://wyofile.com/wyofile-2/sex-couples-wyoming-equality-file-marriage-lawsuit/#sthash.r6BLdx6u.onzF4i89.dpuf

Molina Speaks blends hip-hop and futurism and social justice

Adrian Molina at a performance in Denver.

Spoken word artist and Rawlins native Adrian Molina will conduct an interactive workshop that focuses on "the power of voice in the technological age" on Sunday, March 9, 2-3:30 p.m. at the Laramie County Library in Cheyenne. Geared for youth ages 16-25.

I've never seen a hip-hop TEDx talk. Molina (a.k.a. Molina Speaks) uses his skills as a rapper in this video to do this:

Building on his talk on futurism and hip-hop, Molina Speaks delivers a performance serving as a powerful demonstration of the values of the new hip-hop movement as it ties into a new vision of the future. 

Here’s a taste of Molina on stage last year at TedX Mile High in Denver: http://youtu.be/3ejY6bAqNM4

Molina's vision for the future is one where young people have unfettered access to the arts. He puts this philosophy into practice daily as a mentor to students in one of Denver poorest neighborhoods. He's performance director and a lead instructor at Youth On Record, an arts education organization started by the Flobots that recently launched a state-of-the-art Youth Media Studio on Denver’s west side. 

He teaches Chicano Studies, Hip-Hop Studies and Media Justice courses at the college level, including courses at his lama mater, the University of Wyoming. Molina is a member of the Café Cultura Artist collective. He has collaborated with Bioneers, Denver Spirituals Project, Su Teatro, Lighthouse Writers, Café Nuba, Slam Nuba, The Growhaus, Servicios de la Raza, and the Denver Public Library, among others.

Come on out to the Molina's presentation on Sunday. It's designed for our kids but we all can learn something from such an engaged and talented artist. 

Q: Where is God? A: God is everywhere!

From the Baltimore Cathechism:

Q: Where is God?

A: God is everywhere

That was an easy one to memorize. It also gave us kids food for thought.

Is God in me?

God is everywhere

Is God in a tree?

God is everywhere

Is God in that Muslim over there?

God is everywhere

And so on.  

Is God really everywhere?

How many times do I have to answer this? Yes and yes. It's just difficult to see his actions among some groups of people.

Such as in the Wyoming Legislature.

Bob Kisken of Glenrock wrote on the topic recently in a letter to the editor in the Casper Star-Trib. His conclusion:

I see where the Wyoming legislature has refused to raise the minimum wage and to extend Medicaid coverage.

I see no evidence of God in the Wyoming Legislature.

Pronouncements uttered by the more conservative legislators do make me wonder. Their lack of empathy for those in need is quite remarkable.

Hey, I'm no saint.  I cast aspersions. I covet and hate and envy.

But I don't publicly profess sainthood and then act otherwise.

Do hordes of Colorado burger wranglers commute to Chey-town?

It's about a half hour (34 miles) from downtown Cheyenne, Wyoming, to downtown Wellington, Colorado. I've passed it hundreds of times on my way to Fort Collins and Denver. I've stopped many times, too. I used to buy lottery tix at the convenience store -- never won a thing. I sometimes get off I-25 at Wellington to take the back way to the Fort, especially if I'm heading downtown. I once had a flat tire at the Wellington exit on a moonlit Fourth of July. There are worse times to change a flat than on a warm, brightly lit Colorado night. My family was asleep in the car. I took my time. I half expected a drunk to come barrelling into us. But traffic was light and impaired drivers bound for Wyoming were behaving themselves.

Wellington is a quick commute for those employed in Wyoming who prefer Colorado's rarefied atmosphere. You know, progressive politics, legalized marijuana, organic groceries, FoCo's Craft Beer Nirvana and a lively live music scene. Of course, you also have to pay state income tax. I am told that there as many Wellington-based commuters heading north to Cheyenne each morning as there are heading south. And it's not just those employed at Laramie County's big Wal-Mart distribution center, Warren AFB, refinery, LCCC or state government. It's also those employed in the retail trade. Business people in Cheyenne keep telling me that they can't fill their fast-food jobs from Cheyenne folks and they have to reach out to Coloradans. Seems odd that people would commute 30 or 40 or 50 miles to wrangle burgers, but that's what I hear. Let me be clear -- I have no evidence for such a claim. Blogging is not an evidence-based practice. If I said that the sun revolves around the earth, you might take my word for it, especially if you were a fundie. You might dispute my claim, commenting that I am a nincompoop, a Know-Nothing prog-blogger, a waste of electrons.

So let's look at some real stats.

Wyoming's unemployment rate is 4.4%. Colorado's is 6.2%. But a recent story in the Denver Post says that those figures don't include some 250,000 Coloradans who have "disappeared" from the workforce. If those people were thrown into the stats, that state's unemployment rate might be more like 10%, according to a story in The Daily Caller. Read more about Colorado's unemployment picture here.

Maybe those disappeared are working part-time in Wyoming? They wouldn't be the first people to disappear into The Great Wide Open. Remember, we are the state of UFOs, cattle mutilations, unsolved murders and Cindy Hill. Mysteries abound!

Hand it to Wellington. It's looking at ways to restore its quaint downtown. The Downtown Revitalization and Main Street Project just finished a needs assessment survey of the town's businesses. The Wellington Area Chamber of Commerce is holding meetings on Feb. 24-25 to discuss all of this.

It appears that Wellington wants to be more than a bedroom community for Fort Collins and Cheyenne. Everyone is thinking locally these days, some places more than others.

Wellington has its own poem. It's not a great poem but I'm impressed that the town features poetry on its web site. Here it is:

As you wander toward the Rockies,
from the way of the rising sun, you come to the Boxelder Valley,
and the Town of Wellington.
We take pride in our little city, not a selfish motive shown.
For our harvest will be plenty, from seed that’s freely sown.
How that dear old town is growing.
Its streets are clear of dust. Where my heart is there I’m going,
It’s Wellington or bust!
And the moment that I spy it, not a boost will I deny it.
Every man there will stand by it. The watch word will be Trust.
Here’s to you old-timers, the backbone of the land.
Alone you’re sure to falter. Together we all stand.
And now in conclusion,
May we all be as one, and put forth our best efforts,
For a greater Wellington.

--W.O. Haberman, 1917

Halfway through painful legislative session

On this last Saturday in February, snow is falling and more is promised. On the plus side, the legislative session is half over. But that also means two more weeks of nuttiness from Republicans. I try unsuccessfully to keep up with the "Cheyennigans," the new term for legislative goings on. So I have to depend on the crusty commentary of others:

In today's post at Blowing in the Wyoming Wind (reprinted in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle), Rodger McDaniel explores the influence of American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) bills in Wyoming. He concludes: "And Wyoming voters thought their representatives were dreaming up these crazy bills on their own!" Read some of my commentary on ALEC here and here. Here's the editorial cartoon the WTE ran above Rodger's column:

Veteran reporter Geoff O'Gara covers the legislature for Wyoming PBS. He wrote a column on Feb. 21 wondering if lawmaking in WYO hasn't become too complicated for the four- and eight-week sessions of the "citizen legislature." The Lege is proud of its part-time status. Yet is increasingly grapples with the world's complicated issues -- energy policy, education issues, healthcare, technology -- and a budget that now exceeds $3 billion. Despite conservatives' pipe dreams of returning to a golden era when men were men, women were in the kitchen, kids were in the one-room schoolhouse and the flocks were in the fields, Wyoming can't avoid the 21st century.

Kerry Drake was upset on wyofile on Feb. 18. He wrote about two Republican bills (one in the House and another in the Senate) that proposed turning every teacher in the state into a pistol-packin' mama or papa. Those bills mercifully died yesterday when they failed to get their first reading in their houses of origin. So much for gun-totin' in schools (until next year, anyway).

Wy Pols is a feisty new Facebook page that takes on the excesses of WYO Repubs. It features all sorts of snark and memes and gifs. Sen. Charlie Scott (R-Wacko County) is a favorite target of late. Not necessarily a bane to conservatives (who probably don't "Like" it) but it has been a delight to us Liberals. Here's a sample:

Wy Pols has been excerpting chapters from a 1980s book by new state legislator Troy Mader (R-Wingnuttia). Mader was named by Campbell County Commissioners to take the place of Rep. Sue Wallis, who died suddenly on Jan. 28. The commissioners may not have been aware of Mader's publishing efforts. In his 1987 book, "Death Sentence: AIDS," Mader blamed “homosexual terrorism” for the AIDS crisis and advocated for sexual and actual quarantine of people with HIV/AIDS. You can find Mader's complete list of must-read batshit-crazy books on the Wyoming Authors Wiki.

Mader's rise to prominence made its way to the pages of the Think Progress blog. Wyoming politics are quite popular on prog-blogs. It's too bad, really, since Wyoming is home to a thriving arts scene, good writers, a growing local food movement, some nifty creative placemaking ventures and award-winning craft beers. Not to mention bitchin' landscapes and wonderful people. But crackpots live amongst us, and their utterances are tempting fodder for bloggers such as yours truly. This is Republicans' Achilles Heel -- retro beliefs is an increasingly interconnected world. Their wacko POVs can fly around the world on the Internets. And, yes, we have the Internets in WYO. True, it's coal-powered and will remain so until I can get the high school kid down the street to patch me into the nuclear fusion reactor he built in his garage.

Upcoming weekend a busy one for Laramie County Democrats

This news from Laramie County Democrats:

On Friday, February 21 at Suite 1901 in downtown Cheyenne, 6-8 PM, is the Annual Democrats Legislative Reception. State legislators will be in attendance. There will be special drawings for some cool prizes too. The cost of the event is $15, proceeds go to the County Democratic Party.

Historically, the Laramie County Democrats Grassroots Coalition members have provided some of the food. For this year, please plan to bring desserts to Suite 1901 by 5:30 PM on the 21st. Your contribution to this event is greatly appreciated.

On Saturday, February 22, is the Annual Nellie Tayloe Ross Banquet. Keynote speaker is Faith Winter. FMI:  http://www.wyomingdemocrats.com

And coming up in March:

Mark your calendars for the Laramie County Democrats Convention on Saturday, March 15. In the evening, 7-11 PM, there will be Bingo at Suite 1901. It will be a fun-filled day and night.

Gun totin' in schools, El Rancho Avalancho and red state energy bound for blue state

Some things that irked and/or entertained me this past week:

The state legislature is in session. Opening day included the Gov's State of the State speech, a "legalize pot" march by Wyoming NORML and performances in the House chambers by WY Poet Laureate Echo Roy Klaproth and the UW Collegiate Chorale. The week was filled with debates over Medicaid expansion, gun-totin' in schools, minimum wage increases, early childhood education, more guns, Common Core, increases to hunting and fishing licenses, a decrease in coal taxes and, of course, more gun-totin'. Most bills were killed early so the Housers and Senators can get on to the issue at hand, the budget. Only three weeks left to do so. The big surprise is that Sen. Chris Rothfuss (D-Laramie) fashioned a bipartisan bill on Medicaid expansion that still is in the mix. Way to go, Sen. R! This is a miracle in this Obamacare-bashing state.

From the library shelves: "This Land was Made for You and Me (But Mostly Me)" by Bruce McCall and David Letterman. Yes, that's the same David Letterman as seen on late-night TV. And illustrator Bruce McCall was one of the Scots-Irish geniuses behind the rise of National Lampoon, the others being Michael O'Donoghue and P.J. O'Rourke. Letterman is a millionaire with a Rocky Mountain getaway in Montana. I'm not sure about McCall's portfolio, but it's intriguing that Dave and Bruce would turn their comedic sights on the super-rich and their favorite playgrounds in the West, places like Jackson Hole. This from the book's intro:

It all began a decade and a half ago or so in the far American West, in Montana and Wyoming and those other states that appropriated and misspelled the Native American words for "Big Empty Space" and "Much Bigger Empty Space"; there, a few daring pioneers from the pharaonically wealthy top crust embarked on a spree, powered by lust, inspired by a vision only they could see.

Because it takes more than money, privilege and cronies in high places to ransack nature's bounty for the private pleasure of a privileged few, in what poets might call acts of sublime idiocy (as if anyone would ask poets their opinion!), in other words, obliterating what always was, and making out of it what never existed before, then flanking it with armed guards and electric fences and Rottweilers.

The writer/illustrator duo go on to explore "the only Montana hunting lodge with its own indoor airport,"  El Rancho Avalancho in Idaho -- the world's first skiable mansion, and "the biggest goddamn bison in Wyoming." During the legislature's first week, it was good to once again laugh at the humor of wretched excess.

Speaking of wretched excess.... A Los Angeles Times story excerpted in my local paper today is about the largest wind ranch in creation, coming soon to Carbon County. Big enough to fit all of L.A. inside of it, the 500-sqare-mile ranch -- owned by gazillionaire Philip Anschutz -- will be home to 1,000 wind turbines and the starting point for a transmission line to carry all the energy to California. Cali needs clean energy and Wyoming breaks wind incessantly -- a match made in heaven. The irony in all of this is that the the most blue of blue states, with more enviros per square mile than anywhere else on earth, will be getting its energy from the most red of red states, a place that keeps its energy rates the lowest in the nation by burning coal, the dirtiest energy-creating substance there is.

California has until 2020 to ensure that one-third of its energy comes from renewable resources. Meanwhile, its cities are clouded in a haze that travels from pollution generated by coal-burning plants in China. Some of that coal comes from Wyoming's Powder River Basin. Wyoming currently is working with officials in Washington to build new ports to ship more coal to China.

The world is indeed an odd place.