Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Planet JH News: "Don't get sick...if you're poor in Jackson"
Artist and writer Aaron Wallis writes about his experiences seeking affordable care in Jackson in Don't get sick...if you're poor in Jackson. Funny, and not so funny.
I'm just a border guy in Wyoming
I live in Cheyenne, Wyoming, area code 82009. My house is located less than ten miles from the Colorado border. It might as well be a million miles.
In 2008, Wyoming voters went for John McCain over Barack Obama by a 65-33 percent margin. This was the lowest percentage of “blue” voters in any state, outdoing even neighboring Utah and Idaho (34 percent). In 2010, Republican Matt Mead was elected governor by a 3-to-1 margin. All five elected offices were swept by Republicans and the GOP-dominated Legislature upped its “R” margin to 76 out of 90 seats.
In Colorado in 2008, voters voted for Obama 53.5% to 45 percent for McCain. Five of Colorado's seven U.S. House seats went to Dems as did the open U.S. Senate seat. In the 2010 Tea Party tide, four of the seven House seats went to Repubs, including the seat in Larimer County that Betsy Markey won in 2008. Another Democratic Governor was elected in 2010.
Despite the set-backs in 2010, one never knows what will happen in Colorado, especially in the northern counties of Larimer and Weld. The state overall trends blue but really is closer to purple.
Wyoming, on the other hand, is reliably red.
So, in 2012, us Red-State Dems will be crossing the border to convince Coloradans to vote for Pres. Obama.
It irritates me. I want Wyoming to be more liberal in its outlook but that will never happen. It may happen, but I won't be around to see it. I'll be retired in Colorado. Or just retired, period.
Last night at the Laramie County Democrats meeting, we heard from the new director of Obama for America/Wyoming, Bob Vernon-Kubichek. Bob is a Casper native and UW grad. He worked on Democrat Gary Trauner's 2006 campaign which came within 1,012 votes of unseating wacko Repub Barbara Cubin in the U.S. House race.
"That still stings," said Bob.
That definitely still stings. I worked on that campaign. Trauner walked the state while Cubin didn't. Gary Trauner was ahead on early returns but then came the rural votes in northern Wyoming, always reliably ultra-conservative.
Sting, stang, stung.
Bob will be bringing some high-tech weaponry to our battle against the Republicans. OFA/WY will have new and improved databases, mailing lists, strategies, phone-banking, training techniques.
In the end, though, here's his mission:
"We're here to build volunteer structures to help northern Colorado," he said. "We're not going to win Wyoming."
Ouch!
I'll be down there in Colorado, working for Obama for America/Wyoming in northern Colorado. It will make a big difference. We need Colorado to put Obama over the top and keep us from the clutches of the eventual Republican candidate (probably Romney).
We will win. Obama will be re-elected.
And Wyoming stays red.
In 2008, Wyoming voters went for John McCain over Barack Obama by a 65-33 percent margin. This was the lowest percentage of “blue” voters in any state, outdoing even neighboring Utah and Idaho (34 percent). In 2010, Republican Matt Mead was elected governor by a 3-to-1 margin. All five elected offices were swept by Republicans and the GOP-dominated Legislature upped its “R” margin to 76 out of 90 seats.
In Colorado in 2008, voters voted for Obama 53.5% to 45 percent for McCain. Five of Colorado's seven U.S. House seats went to Dems as did the open U.S. Senate seat. In the 2010 Tea Party tide, four of the seven House seats went to Repubs, including the seat in Larimer County that Betsy Markey won in 2008. Another Democratic Governor was elected in 2010.
Despite the set-backs in 2010, one never knows what will happen in Colorado, especially in the northern counties of Larimer and Weld. The state overall trends blue but really is closer to purple.
Wyoming, on the other hand, is reliably red.
So, in 2012, us Red-State Dems will be crossing the border to convince Coloradans to vote for Pres. Obama.
It irritates me. I want Wyoming to be more liberal in its outlook but that will never happen. It may happen, but I won't be around to see it. I'll be retired in Colorado. Or just retired, period.
Last night at the Laramie County Democrats meeting, we heard from the new director of Obama for America/Wyoming, Bob Vernon-Kubichek. Bob is a Casper native and UW grad. He worked on Democrat Gary Trauner's 2006 campaign which came within 1,012 votes of unseating wacko Repub Barbara Cubin in the U.S. House race.
"That still stings," said Bob.
That definitely still stings. I worked on that campaign. Trauner walked the state while Cubin didn't. Gary Trauner was ahead on early returns but then came the rural votes in northern Wyoming, always reliably ultra-conservative.
Sting, stang, stung.
Bob will be bringing some high-tech weaponry to our battle against the Republicans. OFA/WY will have new and improved databases, mailing lists, strategies, phone-banking, training techniques.
In the end, though, here's his mission:
"We're here to build volunteer structures to help northern Colorado," he said. "We're not going to win Wyoming."
Ouch!
I'll be down there in Colorado, working for Obama for America/Wyoming in northern Colorado. It will make a big difference. We need Colorado to put Obama over the top and keep us from the clutches of the eventual Republican candidate (probably Romney).
We will win. Obama will be re-elected.
And Wyoming stays red.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Robin van Ausdall to Laramie County Democrats: "Remember who you are"
We had an extended meeting of the Laramie County Democrats last night at the IBEW Hall in Cheyenne.
A reception began at 6. We welcomed the new executive director of the Wyoming Democratic Party, Robin van Ausdall, and the new Wyoming coordinator for Obama for America, Bob Vernon-Kubichek of Laramie.
It's an election year. A biggie. A presidential year in which the Republicans will be throwing every crazy arrow in their quiver at President Obama. They already rounded up all the most extreme candidates they could find to run in the Repub primaries. Today we find out the results from Florida, the state that made me what I a today. The Sunshine State has its own set of nuttiness, which I have neither the time nor inclination to go into here. Back to Wyoming...
To be a Democrat in The Equality State already makes your sanity suspect. We're radically outnumbered, you see, and can't seem to get anyone elected. When we do, as with Dave Freudenthal, he has to campaign and govern like a Republican. So what's the point, right? Van Ausdall puts it simply: "People vote for Democrats because we're right on the issues." Our stances for working people, health care, a living wage, universal equality, education, the environment, etc., put us on the side of the angels.
None of us is advocating (as are Republicans) that Medicaid and Medicare be severely cut or eliminated, Social Security should be privatized, children should work as school janitors, the rich are job creators so it's OK that they pay lower taxes than the middle class, teachers are overpaid and the root of all of our education problems, Obamacare is a socialist plot, there should be no gays in foxholes (or on aircraft carriers or in fighter jets), college liberal arts degrees are a waste of time and money, public workers are bums, fracking chemicals are yummy and are not a hazard to the environment, and moon bases must be established immediately so Luna can become our 51st state.
You can see how rational we are when compared to Republicans. However, once Rush and Fox News commentators filter our message, it's the Democrats who sound like loonies. Van Ausdall encourages Dems to speak out loud and proud and not be afraid to show our true selves. "Remember who you are," she said. "If the only thing people know about Democrats comes from Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, of course they're not going to vote for Democrats."
Noting that "Wyoming hasn't always an overwhelmingly Republican state," she urged us to "stand up, push back and connect" with those around us.
The "connect" part is probably the most important. This native of Basin, Wyo. (pop. 1,238) guessed that many of us were known by our Fox-watching neighbors as the first one on the block to bring over a casserole when someone was in need. What if they knew us as those nice Democrats next door who care for their neighbors?
That may seem silly but we are all known as good or bad neighbors. I have good neighbors. I share gardening tips with the Mormons to the north -- and they bring us treats each Christmas. Our neighbor to the south is a public school teacher who likes dogs. Our neighbors to the east are fundamentalist Christians from India -- we play bocce ball with them in the summer. Our neighbors to the west work for the school district and their grandson is a nice kid who is learning how to drive in the jalopy that gramps bought him. Most of them are Republicans or Indies. Whenever I get walk lists for registered Democrats, only one-half of one of those households is on them (just Grandma across the street). They should know my loyalties by now by my yard signs. We still say hey when we meet.
Van Ausdall calls herself a wonk and she may be. She also cares deeply about her home state (as a good Democrat should) and plans to bring some life to the moribund party. You can contact Van Ausdall at robin@wyomingdemocrats.com or by calling her at 307-473-1457. Connect with Robin on Facebook. Check out the Wyoming Democratic Party web site for more info.
It's an election year. A biggie. A presidential year in which the Republicans will be throwing every crazy arrow in their quiver at President Obama. They already rounded up all the most extreme candidates they could find to run in the Repub primaries. Today we find out the results from Florida, the state that made me what I a today. The Sunshine State has its own set of nuttiness, which I have neither the time nor inclination to go into here. Back to Wyoming...
To be a Democrat in The Equality State already makes your sanity suspect. We're radically outnumbered, you see, and can't seem to get anyone elected. When we do, as with Dave Freudenthal, he has to campaign and govern like a Republican. So what's the point, right? Van Ausdall puts it simply: "People vote for Democrats because we're right on the issues." Our stances for working people, health care, a living wage, universal equality, education, the environment, etc., put us on the side of the angels.
None of us is advocating (as are Republicans) that Medicaid and Medicare be severely cut or eliminated, Social Security should be privatized, children should work as school janitors, the rich are job creators so it's OK that they pay lower taxes than the middle class, teachers are overpaid and the root of all of our education problems, Obamacare is a socialist plot, there should be no gays in foxholes (or on aircraft carriers or in fighter jets), college liberal arts degrees are a waste of time and money, public workers are bums, fracking chemicals are yummy and are not a hazard to the environment, and moon bases must be established immediately so Luna can become our 51st state.
You can see how rational we are when compared to Republicans. However, once Rush and Fox News commentators filter our message, it's the Democrats who sound like loonies. Van Ausdall encourages Dems to speak out loud and proud and not be afraid to show our true selves. "Remember who you are," she said. "If the only thing people know about Democrats comes from Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, of course they're not going to vote for Democrats."
Noting that "Wyoming hasn't always an overwhelmingly Republican state," she urged us to "stand up, push back and connect" with those around us.
The "connect" part is probably the most important. This native of Basin, Wyo. (pop. 1,238) guessed that many of us were known by our Fox-watching neighbors as the first one on the block to bring over a casserole when someone was in need. What if they knew us as those nice Democrats next door who care for their neighbors?
That may seem silly but we are all known as good or bad neighbors. I have good neighbors. I share gardening tips with the Mormons to the north -- and they bring us treats each Christmas. Our neighbor to the south is a public school teacher who likes dogs. Our neighbors to the east are fundamentalist Christians from India -- we play bocce ball with them in the summer. Our neighbors to the west work for the school district and their grandson is a nice kid who is learning how to drive in the jalopy that gramps bought him. Most of them are Republicans or Indies. Whenever I get walk lists for registered Democrats, only one-half of one of those households is on them (just Grandma across the street). They should know my loyalties by now by my yard signs. We still say hey when we meet.
Van Ausdall calls herself a wonk and she may be. She also cares deeply about her home state (as a good Democrat should) and plans to bring some life to the moribund party. You can contact Van Ausdall at robin@wyomingdemocrats.com or by calling her at 307-473-1457. Connect with Robin on Facebook. Check out the Wyoming Democratic Party web site for more info.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Laramie County Democrats hold reception for new state director Jan. 30
From Linda Stowers:
The Laramie County Democrats will be meeting on Monday, January 30, at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Union Hall, 810 Fremont, Cheyenne. There will be a reception at 6 p.m. for the new Executive Director of the State Party, Robin Van Ausdall, with the 7 p.m. business meeting to follow. Everyone welcomed.
Tropical heat wave strikes Cheyenne
I got tomatoes out the ying-yang
and it's only January 28!
I exaggerate. But not by much. Cheyenne is now officially in
a warmer zone in the USDA's
"Plant Hardiness Zone Map." Our high-and-dry-and-cold climate once
was in zone 4, which could be described this way: "Don't put your mater
plants in the ground until after Memorial Day. And be prepared for frost the
day after Memorial Day. And raging hailstorms the day after the day after
Memorial Day."
Now we're in zone 5. Planting before Memorial Day is now
permitted, even encouraged. Not so fast, says Shane Smith at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. This is from the
CBG web site:
Cheyenne used to be solidly in zone 4 is now one full zone warmer, zone 5. “Because this map is mostly based upon temperature, it doesn’t account for Cheyenne’s extreme winds and lack of winter snow cover. Therefore, I would caution people to not jump blindly into growing zone 5 plants and instead look at what is proven to do well here,” said Cheyenne Botanic Gardens Director Shane Smith. Cheyenne gardeners should instead stick to following the colder, zone 4 designation especially when selecting trees and shrubs, stated Smith.
I trust Shane's judgement. High Plains gardeners have to be
cautious. However, as global warming continues -- and if I live long enough --
outdoor tomatoes in January may be possible.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Open Mic Night at Paramount Cafe Feb. 3
Open Mic Night at The Paramount Café, 1607 Capitol Ave. , in downtown Cheyenne
Some info from our pals at the Paramount:
“The café lacks a PA system but our acoustics sound great and the sound carries well. We are so excited to hear some local artists! Our only request is no profanity or vulgar language!”
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle: Downtown "hole" plan gets mixed reviews
 |
| Eight years and counting for downtown's "hole" (WTE photo). |
Latest fiction manuscript off to the publisher
Sent my latest short-story manuscript off to the publisher this morning. The publisher is reviewing the manuscript to see if it merits publication. After reading each story 20 times looking for continuity breaks and sneaky typos and awkward punctuation, I have my doubts about its readability.
But who can tell? I would reveal the name of the publishing house but that could spell doom. So many things can curse a manuscript. Talking about it before it's finished. Talking about it on your blog. Reading it aloud to your spouse or other loved one. Reading it while drunk. Not writing it in the first place.
If you feel compelled to read one of my previously published stories, you can go here or here. Alas, you'll have to buy a book. To read one of my essays in a new anthology, go here. And feel free to read anything on hummingbirdminds. A little bit of snark, some humor, ruminations on the state of our disunion, and a few videos thrown in for fun.
Wish me luck with my book, dear readers!
But who can tell? I would reveal the name of the publishing house but that could spell doom. So many things can curse a manuscript. Talking about it before it's finished. Talking about it on your blog. Reading it aloud to your spouse or other loved one. Reading it while drunk. Not writing it in the first place.
If you feel compelled to read one of my previously published stories, you can go here or here. Alas, you'll have to buy a book. To read one of my essays in a new anthology, go here. And feel free to read anything on hummingbirdminds. A little bit of snark, some humor, ruminations on the state of our disunion, and a few videos thrown in for fun.
Wish me luck with my book, dear readers!
Is it art or is it Occupy -- or both?
On Sunday, The Denver Post's Ray Mark Rinaldi reviewed some of the first alarming outbreaks of Occupy-themed art in the city. An excerpt:
"As an artist you have a responsibility to be relevant, to put something out there that has meaning," said Denver hip-hop artist Molina Speaks, explaining why he feels connected to Occupy.
Molina talked at a community forum Monday [Jan. 16], at RedLine gallery/studios in downtown Denver, an event that literally brought art and Occupy into the same room. The afternoon of speeches, performance and workshops, coinciding with Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, was a smashing success, at least in spirit.
More than 300 people showed up, and many had never stepped into the high-end gallery before. The Occupiers brought their message, the artists had their work on display, and the two meshed quite naturally.
One workshop, about using music as a community-organizing tool featured Dee Galloway of the Spirituals Project and Jonny 5 from Flobots. Music met politics, and the singing could be heard down the street.
"We are really beginning to break down those artificial walls between art and community," said RedLine's executive director, P.J. D'Amico. "Art has the power to radically reframe the conversation."
--snip--
OCCUPY ART: View excerpts from the Civilians' cabaret show "Let Me Ascertain You" at thecivilians.org. The Lockerpartners have posted "The 99th Problem" on their website, lockerpartners.com (see video above).
Read more: Rinaldi: The fine art of the Occupy movement shows stripped-down, naked anger.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Zen Cowboy Chuck Pyle performs March 3 at Nellie Tayloe Ross banquet in Cheyenne
Chuck Pyle has won high praise from both fans and peers alike throughout an inspired performance career of over 40 years. When reviewers first gave him the "Zen Cowboy" moniker, he decided to, as he says, "Always ride the horse in the direction it's going," and took the nickname to heart, shaving his head and blending his upbeat perspective with old-fashioned horse sense. He mixes infectiously hummable melodies with straight-from-the-saddle poetry, quoting bumper stickers, proverbs, world leaders and old cowboys.
An accomplished songwriter, Chuck's songs have been recorded by John Denver, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Suzy Bogguss. Country fans know him best for writing, "Cadillac Cowboy", recorded by the late Chris LeDoux, and "Jaded Lover," recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker.Clip from Chuck’s song about Wyoming, “Wide Open:” http://www.chuckpyle.com/audio/the_spaces_in_between/wide_open.mp3
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