Sometimes gubment good, sometimes gubment bad

Denver Post reporter Mark Jaffe has been hanging out at the Western Governors' Association annual meeting in Park City, Utah. Yesterday he and the govs heard Republican pollster Frank Luntz talk about word choice. I'm not sure why Wyoming's Dave Freudenthal and Montana's Brian Schweitzer and Colorado's Bill Ritter had to listen to advice from the likes of Luntz. I guess someone had to be guest speaker. Maybe there's a Utah ordinance prohibiting Democrats at the podium.

Anyway, Jaffe covered Luntz's speech concerning he research he's conducted on Western voters. It seems that 44 percent of Westerners aren't happy with the direction America is headed. In other words, they don't like the gubment. Gubment bad. Until it's time to train and equip its armed forces to fight overseas. Then gubment good. Gubment bad because it makes us pay taxes. When those taxes are used to pave roads or prop up rural airline service or subsidize crops or build dams or fight wildfires -- gubment good then. Gubment bad when it doesn't allow us to shoot our automatic weapons any damn place we please. Gubment good when it allows us to wear firearms and look macho in national parks.

Damn that gubment.

Frank Luntz told the governors to watch what they say.

Luntz warned the governors to be careful about the language they use, saying that instead of talking about "infrastructure," which people equate with bureaucracy, they should talk about safer roads.

Touchstone words should be "safe," "clean" and "healthy," Luntz said.

These words can be used in almost any sentence, particularly those with a Western theme. Here are some examples:

"With Obama as president, I don't feel safe. I need to buy more guns and ammo."

"A clean rifle is a happy rifle."

"If you want to stay healthy, you better be out of town before sundown."

That last one is said to anyone from the gubment who overstays his or her welcome.

"Get out of Dodge, you lily-livered bureaucrat. And please stay healthy by driving on our safe and clean roads."

It's all in the words.

Ron Carlson, fiction guru from the West

Ron Carlson is one of the best short story writers in the U.S. and now is staking a claim on novels. I could say "one of the best short story writers in the West," but that's a bit limiting. His stories are of the West but you don't have to be from here to appreciate the fine writing. His collection, "News of the World," is on my study book shelf with collections by Tobias Wolff, Kent Nelson, Rick DeMarinis, Lee K. Abbott, Richard Ford, Annie Proulx, Rick Bass and Antonya Nelson. All Westerners, either born in the region or moved here from some other place. The West seems to have more than its share of great short fiction writers, maybe even more than that great incubator of stories, the South.

Ron's from Utah, and one of his great stories, "The Governor's Ball," is set in Salt Lake City. It has a grabber of a beginning:

I didn't know until I had the ten-ton wet carpet on top of the hideous load of junk and I was soaked with the dank rust water that the Governor's Ball was that night.

Makes you want to dive right in to the story. Not surprisingly, Ron examines it in detail in a recent book, "Ron Carlson Writes a Story."

Ron Carlson's most recent book is a novel, "The Signal." It' set in Wyoming Wind River Mountains. The author's been to Wyoming many times and knows the lay of the land. He's been a presenter at literary conferences in Casper and Jackson. He's conducted writing workshops in Laramie, Rock Springs and numerous other places. He mentored scores of writers while at Arizona State and now does the same thing at University of California at Irvine.

Jenny Shank, the fine book reviewer and columnist for New West, conducted a Q&A interview with Ron. It's a must read for fiction writers. Read it here:

http://www.newwest.net/city/article/an_interview_with_ron_carlson_about_the_signal/C101/L101/

We remember Anne Frank and Emmett Till

The reading of a play about racial intolerance was postponed last wednesday at the U.S. Holocaust Museum due to a shooting by an intolerant racist.

The Play, "Anne and Emmett," is an imaginary conversation between Anne Frank, who died in a Nazi concentration camp, and Emmett Till, a black kid murdered by white racists in Mississippi.

Playwright is Janet Langhart Cohen, wife of former U.S. defense Scretary William Cohen. Here's what she had to say about the incident:

"Our whole play is about hate, to eradicate hate, and this is an example of hatred," said the playwright, who had been heading to the museum's theater for final rehearsals ahead of Wednesday night's premiere when the attack happened.

The shooter at the museum, long-time white supremacist and anti-gubment wingnut James von Brunn, killed African-American security guard Stephen Tyrone Jones.

Janet Langhorn Cohen said that she wanted to bring them [Anne and Emmett] together in an imaginary conversation to talk about eradicating things like this. I was hoping to give voice to this tonight," she told CNN. "It's really a sad day. I love this museum. This museum tells a story, a journey of all people."

The play was planned to coincide with Frank's 80th birthday which would have been on Friday.

"It's hard to believe that that beautiful 15-year-old girl that's frozen in our memory would be 80 years old herself had she lived," said Langhart Cohen.

"And I wanted to dedicate it to her. And to think that someone of her generation still harbors that hate."

Let's hope that "Anne and Emmett gets wide distribution when it finally debuts.

Meanwhile, read the best-seller "The Diary of Anne Frank" -- or maybe re-read it. Also read the fantastic novel "Wolf Whistle" by Lewis Nordan, which is based on the 1955 Till murder.

Read 'em and weep.

Victory Garden dedicated to the ones I love

My Victory Garden is chugging along.

So much rain. Tree and flowers and tomatoes are in shock due to the incredible amounts of moisture that's visited southeastern Wyoming in May and June. In past years, my garden has arisen to another sunny and dry day and demanded "Water us, sir, please. More water." And I usually comply, as water restrictions don't apply to veggie gardens and flower beds and shrubbery. Then, when I come home from work, the soil is as dry as it was in the a.m. and I'll have to water again. At times, I've forgotten to do so and I'll wake the next morning to find my container plants huddled close to the door, demanding a shower.

But this year, Mother Nature is wringing herself out all over the state. Rawlins, which is a couple hours west of us along I-80, has received 10.5 inches of moisture so far this year. That includes some heavy spring snows and lots of rain. Rawlins averages about 9 inches of annual moisture. Cheyenne's received 10.54 inches of moisture thus far and that's usually about 7 inches. We've had more than 3 inches of rain in June. That may not seem extraordinary to you gardeners from, say, central Florida where a June thunderstorm can dump three inches without even trying. But that much rain is a lot to us in semi-arid WYO.

The moisture has been great for lettuce and spinach. The broccoli looks O.K., but the tomatoes are a bit pale. They are crying out for sun and hope they get some this weekend. Maybe a shot of fertilizer will pick up their spirits. Summer squash is taking it's time. Only one of my three transplanted seedlings survived. I put some seeds in the ground last week and we'll see what happens. What can I say about zucchini? It grows.

Can't say the same for my bush beans. Green beans are a warm weather plant and we've had precious little of that. Thinking that all the rain caused the seeds to rot in the ground, I re-sowed the bean row and hope for some sun. The pole beans on the side yard are a couple inches high and straining for the trellis. I'm not worried about them.

So, a mixed bag this Saturday. I've already plucked a some of the red leaf lettuce and it's darn good. Not enough for a salad but a great snack. Odd thing is, two of the red leaf lettuce plants wilted and died. They were transplants but they all caught on and grew, and now they are falling prey to something. Anyone know? I shall have to consult my local master gardeners.

Are red leaf lettuce plants falling prey to wilt, rot or gardener's ineptitude?

On this June 13, I am not quite sure to what good cause I should dedicate my Victory Garden. Public-option health care plan? Passage of the Democrats' energy bill? Al Franken's victory (finally) over Norm Coleman in the Minnesota U.S. Senate race? World peace?

Or maybe I should declare victory over something, just as Stephen Colbert declared victory in Iraq this past week. Victory over right-wing extremists and hate-mongers? That would be premature, as events of the past two weeks show. Victory over the Repubs' nuke and coal and oil laden energy plan?

No, I think I shall dedicate this week's Victory Garden to a "full house." My son is home from college and the daughter of our best friends in Tennessee is in town for the summer working as a horse wrangler. Our daughter declared victory over tenth grade and is working at a plant nursery this summer. She's my co-gardener at home. I am well and so is my wife. We have the entire summer to look forward to.

What could be more victorious than that?

Translating hate crimes into fiction

It's tough to know how to respond to the recent murders in Wichita and D.C. Both inspired (if that's the proper word) by hatred, motivated by crackpot philosophies (philosophy?) and perpetrated with firearms. If only crackpots had guns, only guns would be cracked pots. I'll keep working on that bumper sticker motto.

For thoughtful lefty (and sometimes vitriolic) responses, click on some of my sidebar blogs -- Daily Kos, Crooks & Liars, Huff Post, Lefty Blogs, etc. Pick a blog, any blog. Jim Wallis at Sojourners offers a response leavened with Christianity.

Over the years, I've written several short stories about white supremacists. "Mud Woman Gets Busy" is set in the mid-1990s in a Salt Lake City hotel and features neo-Nazis, immigrants (legal and Illegal) and a clueless young man from the former East Germany. If you've ever heard the term "mud woman" (as in "mud people") then you you know the story involves white supremacists. The story is included in my collection, "The Weight of a Body." "REV" imagines a future Afghanistan war in which our fundies have taken over the government and are waging holy war on their fundies. There are more, of course. "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood is a great example of a dystopian fundie future. Carl Hiaasen's comic novel "Lucky You" features some neo-Nazi baddies who get their just desserts. Any other books on similar subjects to recommend?

You can read the two stories at my web site. Go to http://ebiz.netopia.com/writingwyo/fiction/. Happy summer reading.

House Republicans: Don't even think about global warming!

Over the last couple days, several prog-bloggers have pointed out the global-warming-denying parts of the House Republicans' energy proposal, the so-called "American Energy Act." Kossack Meteor Blades on Daily Kos summed it up in his June 11 post, "Ten pounds of stupid in a five-pound bag." He posts the odd wording that is embedded deeply into the massive bill. Read it at http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/11/741236/-Ten-Pounds-of-Stupid-in-a-Five-Pound-Bag.

Republicans' new energy plan: "Drill, buddy, drill" and "Mo Nukes!"

Heard Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis this afternoon on Wyoming Public Radio. She was outlining the very keen and neat-o aspects of the Repubs' new energy plan. It advocates for 100 new nuclear plants in the U.S. But none, according to Rep. Lummis, will be built in Wyoming. According to Lummis, a member of the American Energy Solutions Group or AESG (no acronym there), Wyoming is too far from the major markets and nuclear power plants use too much water, water that WYO doesn't have.

I find that interesting. Wyoming is home to many coal-burning power plants. True, the plants are close to a supposedly inexhaustible supply of carbon-based energy. But almost all of the electricity generated by the plants is sent out of state to places as far away as California. And don't coal-burning plants need water? The Dave Johnston power plant (see photo below) that I pass every time I drive I-25 to Casper is situated right on the North Platte River. That can't be an accident due to the fact that there are thousands of acres of non-riverfront wide-open spaces that could have been the site for that plant. It's possible that construction of the plant in other locales would have threatened jackelope habitat. But I have my doubts.

And there's wind power. Wyoming has lots of wind. We're building wind farms like there's no tomorrow, and there may not be. Problem is, we can build wind generators until the cows come home, but we don't have the transmission lines to send that electricity to Phoenix and Houston. It seems that we're too far from major markets yet again. Wyoming likes it that way. We like being far away from major markets. Instead, we become an energy sacrifice zone for the rest of the country.

I obviously need to do more research. I'll get back to you.

But back to the Repubs' nation-saving energy plan. Rep. Lummis's office outlined some details today in a press release:

“It is clear that for the sake of our environment and our economic security, we need a better plan than the Democrats’ national energy tax,” Rep. Lummis said. “The American Energy Act offers more affordable energy, more jobs here at home, and a cleaner environment. The plan seeks to increase our energy supply by diversifying our nation’s energy portfolio, while the Democrat plan seeks to slow down demand through government control.

[I deleted a bunch of boring stuff from the middle of the release]

The bill seeks to license 100 new nuclear reactors over the next twenty years by streamlining a burdensome regulatory process and ensuring the recycling and safe storage of spent nuclear fuel. It will also increase domestic energy supplies by lifting restrictions on the Arctic Coastal Plain, the Outer Continental Shelf, and oil shale in the Mountain West. Revenues generated through domestic production will support innovation in renewable and alternative energy sources, like wind and solar technologies.

So that's the plan. "Drill, buddy, drill" and "Mo Nukes!" Drill in the Arctic Wildlife refuge and off the coast of California and Florida and Mississippi. Little does Ms. Lummis know -- huge oil derricks are the last things those rich Republican retirees in Santa Barbara and Panama City and Gulfport want to see from their beachside verandas. Good luck with that.

Ethanol may complicate climate legislation

Now that I've returned my attention to ethanol fuel at the local level, I find lots of E85 news at the national level.

Jennifer Lance writes June 8 about ethanol and H.R. 2454, a.k.a. the American Clean Energy And Security Act of 2009 (aka Waxman-Markley) on http://redgreenandblue.org/. The bill is designed “to create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy.” One of its goals is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050.

Republicans will vote against it because that is what they do in 2009. But Democrats from farm states are expected to water down the legislation to protect ethanol. Not sure how Wyoming's Cynthia Lummis will vote on this, but I can guess. I looked at her Congressional web site for info but couldn't find any. I did read a piece recently that quoted her saying that the U.S. needs to look at all forms of energy to meet its short-term needs. She specifically referred to oil, gas, coal and wind, but she may also have said something about ethanol (I'll keep searching). We are not a corn state, but we do grow some and there are at least two ethanol plants in the state.

In her article, Jennifer Lance provides a pragraph that sums up the current state of ethanol:

Ethanol is big political business in farm country. Ethanol is an alternative biofuel that can be made from corn, sugar cane, or switchgrass. In fact, Henry Ford’s first mass-produced automobile was designed to run off of 100% ethanol, so the fuel has a long history in the car industry. When added to gasoline, ethanol reduces ozone formation by lowering volatile organic compounds and hydrocarbon emissions. This all sounds good, but there is controversy surrounding corn-based ethanol. Michael Grunwald of Time reports that one person could be fed for a year “on the corn needed to fill an ethanol-fueled SUV”. Some research demonstrates that the production of corn ethanol consumes more energy than it yields, and there is concern that corn-based ethanol is raising the price of food, although the USDA denies the increase is significant. Other concerns surrounding ethanol include antibiotic overusage in its production and its heavy water footprint.

E85 returns to my Cheyenne minivan

Driving down Lincolnway in Cheyenne last week, I spied an E85 sign. "Whoa, minivan," I said, whipping a U-turn and coming to rest at the ethanol pumps at Smoker Friendly Gas and Cigarette Shop. I was surprised to see an E85 pump after a long dry spell for my flex-fuel Dodge Caravan.

Some of the first blogging I did was about my search for an alternative to regular unleaded. Alternative fuels were all the rage back in 2005-2006. Corn seemed to be the answer to importing oil from desert sheikdoms and the newly liberated land of Mesopotamia. The Corner Stop station in Cheyenne opened a couple ethanol pumps and that's where I filled up. No war for oil, I would say to nobody in particular. And then I would pump my Nebraska-grown corn-based fuel, not realizing that it had its own drawbacks. But it made me feel good, which is an American right and privilege. It was cheaper than gasoline, too, by about 20 cents.

But then reality came crashing in. The prices went up, and then Corner Stop ceased carrying E85. I looked high and low for flex-fuel stations. There was (and is) one up in Buford along I-80 between Cheyenne and Laramie. But it's a good 30 miles away any benefit I would get from gasing up there would be lost in the 60-mile round trip. During travels in Colorado to Fort Collins and Greeley I saw E85 pumps but, again, unless they were on my way, it made little sense to make those stops a destination.

The E85 prices at Smoker Friendly were a lot lower than gas -- $1.90 per gallon to $2.33. I topped off the tank and felt pretty good paying with most of a $20 bill. If I was a smoker, I would have enough change to buy a couple cigarettes, but nowhere near an entire pack. Did you know that you can fill a minivan with E85 for a lot less than it costs to buy a carton of cigs? Glad I quit smoking 25 years ago.

When I went inside to pay, I asked the proprietor how long she'd been stocking E85. About six months, she said. I told her that I'd been loooking all over for it and and guessed that hers was the only store in town that stocked it. That's kind of the idea, she said with a smile, adding that she sells quite a bit but didn't know how much exactly.

Meanwhile, I save about 40 cents per gallon and get to feel superior -- for a brief while -- over my gasoline-loving brethren and sistren.

Big insurance companies may get their way on health care reform

Great Friday post on Robert Reich's blog about the lengths that pharmaceutical and health insurance companies will go in their efforts to kill the single-payer or public health-care option. We knew these greedheads would go all-out to kill a sensible plan.

Read the entire column at http://robertreich.blogspot.com/. Here are some excerpts:

Big Pharma and Big Insurance are gaining ground in their campaign to kill the public option in the emerging health care bill.

You know why, of course. They don't want a public option that would compete with private insurers and use its bargaining power to negotiate better rates with drug companies. They argue that would be unfair. Unfair? Unfair to give more people better health care at lower cost? To Pharma and Insurance, "unfair" is anything that undermines their profits.

Moonwalks resume on Saturday, June 6

Southeast Wyoming's popular Moonwalk Moonlight Hikes will resume on Saturday, June 6, with the "Navigation Moon" at Curt Gowdy State Park between Cheyenne and Laramie. The program will begin at 7:30 p.m., following the events of the state park’s Wyoming Kids Xtreme Summer Outdoor Slam. This Moonwalk marks the return of these programs after a one-year hiatus. The tentative season schedule includes Moonwalks on July 6, August 5 and September 4. For more information call 307-745-2300 or visit the web site at http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/mbr/recreation/upcomingevents/index.shtml.

Wyoming scientists digging up the dough for "clean coal"

The Associated Press reports this:

Wyoming scientists are lining up a range of proposals to use stimulus funding for research projects that would help the state's energy industry.

Three groups planned to submit applications Tuesday for stimulus funding administered by the Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency.

The Western Research Institute in Laramie is submitting proposals for seven projects that would cost a total of $18 million. The Wyoming State Geological Survey and the University of Wyoming are seeking about $20 million for the first phase of a carbon sequestration project in southwest Wyoming.

The Wyoming Pipeline Authority is seeking $500,000 to design a carbon dioxide pipeline system.

This is great. These funds will bring money and jobs to Wyoming. Face it -- this research needs to be done so Wyoming can figure out how to use its coal into the future. Clean coal research can unearth other methods and technologies even if it doesn't find way to scrub the CO2 out of the crumbling remains of dinosaur carcasses.

Remembering some of the very hot elements of The Cold War in Wyoming

At home in the family fallout shelter

If you happen to be traversing Wyoming on I-80 this summer, stop in at the Uinta County Museum in Evanston for the traveling exhibit, "The Life Atomic: Growing Up in the Shadow of the A-Bomb.” It opens tomorrow, June 1. Get more info at the Uinta County Museum.

The museum web site notes that

"The Life Atomic" illustrates the impact of the atomic bomb on everyday life through photographs and objects, in ways both serious and light-hearted. From civil defense warnings to B-movie posters and "atomic" toys, "The Life Atomic" shows the many ways the bomb influenced life in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Exhibit panels focus on the development of the bomb, early atomic testing in the American Southwest, civil defense preparations, fallout shelters (see photo), the influence of the bomb on movies and television, “atomic” toys and games, and the impact of the bomb on home décor.

“The Life Atomic” was developed and is traveled by the Rogers Historical Museum, Rogers, Arkansas. This project was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Speaking of Cold War relics, you can drop into a real bomb shelter in the basement at the Historic Governor's Mansion in Cheyenne. I toured the place and it really took me back. When I was a lad in the '50s and '60s, we all felt fully protected from the a-bomb with "duck and cover." We practiced often, just in case. Who needed a bomb shelter when you had that?

You can also tour the I.C.B.M. Missile Museum at Warren AFB west of Cheyenne at Fort D.A. Russell Days during the annual Cheyenne Frontier Days celebration the last full week in July. Lots of live MX missiles sit in silos on the prairie. Can't visit those unless you're a missileer.

How does your garden grow in WYO?

Slowly....

Victory garden: Sunday morning update

I can look out the window of my home office and monitor my garden's progress. A few minutes ago, I was outside on this fine Sunday morning monitoring it in person, noting that the spinach and leaf lettuce seeds have sprouted in abundance and many will be pruned. I bought summer squash seedlings and only one survived the transplant. Wonder what happened there. Three zucchini plants have sprouted and already are making plans to take over my back yard and possibly the neighborhood. Strawberry and broccoli seedlings seem to be doing fine. Tomatoes are to be in steady-state, not yet flourishing yet not dying. I fear they don't have enough sun, and I may have to excise some of the dead and dying branches from my oak tree. The oak was here first and used to be the site of a homemade swing until the rope broke and I took over the playground for my garden. But as with all mature things, the tree is losing some of its vitality and needs a trim and a booster shot.

Meanwhile, I water my lawn as it's my designated watering day (Sun., Tues., Thurs.). I have a good lawn, a green lawn, and that would be great if I was a goat. We do use the lawn to play catch (both of our kids home for the summer) and for the annual Fourth of July bocce ball tournament.

My father would have liked my lawn, although too many dandelions in it for his taste. His lawns were fine specimens, even in Florida, where bugs the size of lawnmowers lurk. He was an ornamental gardener, something you can do year-round in Florida. He and his wife even volunteered at their local Catholic Church, whipping its garden into shape with hard work and prayer. Drive by St. Brendan's on a spring Saturday and you'd see a swarm of retirees, trowels and clippers in hand, addressing the landscape with the same vigor they brought to 7 a.m. mass every weekday morning. They were probably more energetic with the gardening, as attending mass is mostly a passive exercise. I think that's still true.

In my master plan, I shrink my backyard lawn by increments. First it will be the north and south margins where the grass will give way to rocks and hardy plants. I already have rock gardens and my veggie garden on the west side which butts up to the porch. My daughter and I will plant a berry garden on the east side between the shed and the compost pile. The lawn then will become a bocce pitch and a manageable greensward which will need little attention and water.

That's the gardening news from Cheyenne, Wyoming, this final day of May.

Now what's this I hear about a possible frost advisory on Tuesday? Say it ain't so, weatherpeople.

Why is this man smiling?

He's happy for all the reasons you might expect -- and some you could only imagine.

Major happiness reigns in the wingnutosphere now that Dick has a Facebook page. The comments are a hoot.

Go to Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Richard-Bruce-Dick-Cheney/33820388138?v=feed&story_fbid=82345136733.

Watch what you say. He and his minions at the mountain redoubt outside Jackson are tracking every word.

Health insurers pay execs handsomely by denying our medical claims

America's top-ten for-profit medical insurers pay their executives handsomely. That's one reason they so fiercely oppose a single-payer health care system for the U.S.

Nyceve on Daily Kos did a roundup of executive pay along with some choice comments like this:

"...keep in mind the for-profit health industry exists for only one purpose, to generate profits for shareholders. In order to do so, this industry collects premiums and then it delays and denies medical care--think you're insured, think again. The situation is so bad that doctors are in revolt. They are sick and tired of fighting the insurers for every treatment, every medication and every test."

Nyceve found the top ten insurers' compensation numbers at the Fierce Healthcare site. I located the CEO of my health plan, CIGNA, and was not too shocked to see that he has profited enormously by delaying and denying the claims of me and my fellow state workers in Wyoming. Here are the sordid details:

H. Edward Hanway, CIGNA
Total Compensation: $12,236,740
Details: Hanway took a significant pay cut from 2007 to 2008, due mainly to a drop off of more than $11 million in his non-equity incentive plan compensation. Still, his base salary of $1,142,885 surpasses that of Aetna's Williams, and is supplemented by just over $3.6 million in option awards, and just over $820,000 in non-qualified deferred compensation earnings. Also, nearly $21,800 in "other compensation" included the use of a company car with a driver, in-office meals, and emergency assistance services relating to medical exams.

Get all the details at http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/5/26/735411/-Health-insurance-industry-CEO-salary-survey,-stay-calm-for-this

Question: Why aren't the Democrats in Congress pushing harder for a single-payer plan?

Plant your victory garden with seeds of hope

Last summer, I labeled my three tomato plants and one wayward pumpkin plant a "victory garden."

The term actually meant something during World War II. For many, growing your own was a necessity. Food was rationed for the war effort and gardening meant that you and your family and neighbors would have fruits and vegetables. "Victory," of course, had a symbolic meaning, as in victory over Germany and Japan. Growing beans and corn and squash was not only necessary but patriotic too.

Calling my minimal patch a "victory garden" last year spurred me on to work as hard as I could for victory in the November elections. I would tell myself to water the tomatoes and then hit the neighborhoods for presidential candidate Barack Obama or U.S. House candidate Gary Trauner or U.S. Senate hopeful Nick Carter or local Dems running for the state legislature: Lori Millin, Jim Byrd and others. My victory garden symbolized potential victory over McCain-Palin and Cynthia Lummis and tired old Repub non-ideas. The larger the plants grew, the closer we got to the election and the more effort I invested in the cause.

The harvest -- such as it was -- was in by early November, and it was a mixed bag. Wyoming went for McCain-Palin and the Repub slate for U.S. House and Senate. Lori Millin won in a squeaker (early projections said she lost) as did Jim Byrd. Katherine VanDell was defeated.

Still, we had a major victory in Pres. Obama.

So where's the "victory" in Victory Garden this year? In Wyoming, you are dedicated and lucky if you get anything to grow at all. It's not the bugs. But it is the altitude (6,200 feet), the short growing season, the wind, the hail, late or early frost, the anemic soil, etc.

This year, I'm going all out with a real garden. Dug up a patch of soil east of the backyard covered porch. Dumped into it multiple wheelbarrows of humus from the compost pile. Mixed it all up real good. Built furrows. Surrounded it with a fence to keep out the dog. Bought some garden soil and mixed it in. Last weekend bought some of my plants at the annual plant sale put on by the excellent Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. Selections were made quickly due to the fact I didn't wear my parka on a foggy 42-degree spring morning. Signs all over urged us not to plant before Memorial Day. The next day, more than a week before Memorial Day, I planted. I was expecting the skies to open up and dump ten feet of snow on me. Or for an Oz-like twister to drop out of black clouds and carry me and my seedlings off to Nebraska.

But my daughter Annie and I got the plants in the ground and seeded the rest. We put in three mounds of squash and zucchini seeds. Planted some marigolds in several strategic places. Some pole beans on the side yard. We dug up some of the pumpkin plants that seem to grow just fine on their own. We settled back and contemplated the fruits of our labors. Well, I dreamed about the fruits and veggies of my labors.

I'm not a johnny-come-lately to gardening. I've had gardens in Central Florida, Denver and Fort Collins, Colo., and at our old house in Cheyenne. I like growing things, especially if I can eat them later. I'm a cook too, and preparing dinner is more rewarding if I can use my own produce. That's also a victory.

Gardens have become a huge fad as millions jump on the "locavore" bandwagon. Growing and eating locally is very big. Farmers' markets bloom everywhere, even in Cheyenne which now has at least two. Old-time gardeners in the neighborhood find their skills in demand, especially by their Yuppie neighbors striving to be part of the new trend. Some of them dig up their front yards and plant their gardens there. "Look at me," they say, "I am locavore with a capital L." They can also Twitter -- or blog -- their accomplishments without leaving the garden.

What the hell. Let everyone grow gardens. In the front yard, in the back yard, on the roof, in containers on their porch, in community gardens. It's good for you and good for the planet. It teaches patience and persistence. You become an amateur horticulturist and meteorologist, all at the same time.

My garden this year is a victory over complacency. A tribute to Mother Nature -- and to Michelle Obama's White House garden.

Now let us pray. No hail! No hail!

New Cheyenne studio and gallery plans sneak preview on May 25

This invitation comes from my Wyoming Arts Council colleague, Camellia El-Antably, and local artist and arts teacher Mark Vinich:

You are all invited to the Sneak Preview opening of Clay Paper Scissors Gallery & Studio.

We will have a Sneak Preview show of work by the studio artists: Laura Skoglund, Jon Gilbert Beach Dawson, Abi Peytoe Gbayee, Mark Vinich, Mary Keane and Camellia El-Antably.

The opening will be on Monday, May 25 (Memorial Day) from 5-8 p.m. at 1506 Thomes, Suite B and is open to all. Please come down and see us!Clay Paper Scissors still has a studio opening. If you are interested in seeing it, please contact Camellia at claypaperscissors@gmail.com. Located in the historic Asher building on the corner of 15th and Thomes, Clay Paper Scissors offers studio space for artists, a gallery which will have changing exhibits and classes for all ages.

Artists interested in participating in the Gallery, but not studio space, may join as an associate. We will also have individual memberships for those interested in classes, openings, etc. At present, Clay Paper Scissors is open by appointment only.

FMI: claypaperscissors@gmail.com

Summer reading: "Paris Trout"

Took me 21 years to discover Pete Dexter's novel "Paris Trout." It won the National Book Award in 1988. The book is set in a small Georgia town in the 1950s and concerns a particularly heinous race-based murder, something on the order of the Emmett Till killing which Lewis Nordan translated so well into his novel "Wolf Whistle." I do like the work of those southern writers.

Dexter isn't exactly a southerner. He did spend a few years in Florida, but that was in the Yankee part of the state in Palm Beach County. He set his 1995 novel "Paperboy" in redneck north-central Florida along the St. John's River. This isn't far from where I lived in the late 1960s, the same era as the setting of "Paperboy." I'm now reading "Paperboy."

Dexter could live on an island in the Pacific Northwest for all I care. He does now. But he brought to life the fictional residents of Cotton Point in red-clay Georgia. That's all that really matters.

"Paris Trout" is a great novel. The title character operates a store and pawn shop in Cotton Point. He's a miser and a bully and a racist. He does have a soft spot for his old mother, though. Paris Trout's racism is so matter-of-fact that it might be hard for young people to understand, especially if they've never lived in the South. He and his thug friend, Buster Devonne, go to Damp Bottoms to collect a debt from Henry Ray Boxer, a young black man. When the family objects to Paris Trout's presence, Paris and Buster go on a shooting spree that leaves Henry Ray's mother wounded and a 14-year-old black girl dead.

Paris sees nothing wrong with his actions. That's the heart of the story. He lives by his own rules and that might be fine if the rules possessed any semblance of humanity.

I may have to read through all of Pete Dexter before my fever abates.

If credit cards were outlawed, only outlaws would have guns -- or something like that

The "Room for Debate" section in today's New York Times batted around the new law allowing people to carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges. A broad array of opinions were displayed on the question "Guns in Parks -- Safe, Scary or a Sideshow?"

Personally, I think it's a scary, unsafe sideshow. But nobody asked me. The NYT did ask Wyoming writer, hunter and dog lover Ted Kerasote. He's against loaded firearms in parks -- and he's a gun guy. He wrote this in "Pack pepper spray, not a pistol:"

... Living within Grand Teton National Park, I see this all the time: a deer gunned down by the side of the road, its antlers chopped off; a moose waylaid just inside the park boundary; a coyote shot as it watches a car go by. These killings are perennial, often remove spectacular, genetically fit individuals, and create one more enforcement burden for park rangers.

Allowing visitors to carry loaded firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges, as legislation just passed by Congress does, will only make such poaching worse while making a ranger’s job more risky. And I don’t say this as some bleeding-heart liberal with an anti-gun agenda. There’s a rack of rifles and shotguns in my shed and, during Wyoming’s hunting season, I shoot an elk, an antelope and a variety of game birds — food for me and mine during the ensuing year. I’d be the last person in the world to outlaw guns.

... pepper spray is a far better deterrent than a .44 magnum, especially in the hands of the inexperienced. I’ve now used it to turn a charging moose, dissuade a cantankerous bison and send a bear scurrying. The animals had a coughing fit, and I a scare, a far better outcome than guns often produce.

That wasn't the only Wyoming reference in the article. That's appropriate, since we have tons of guns and lots of national park land. The NYT article opens with a photo of a grazing bison with a picnicking family in the background. The bison does not appear to be armed, but you never can tell. The picnickers may be packing heat, but seem most interested in gnawing sandwiches.

As a counterpoint to Ted's article, David B. Kopel, research director of the Independence Institute in Golden, Colo., begins his article this way:

“What works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne,” the presidential candidate Barack Obama often said when discussing gun policy. President Obama has put his principle into practice, signing a bill which, besides changing the laws about credit cards, repeals an inappropriate federal regulation.

I'm not sure what gun laws are in Chicago. Much more restrictive, I expect, than they were in Dillinger's day. Cheyenne law stipulates that everyone, from a day-old infant to a 100-year-old granny, must carry a loaded firearm at all times. This was the Wild West, after all, and some of that tradition remains in our free-form gun laws and our petrified legislature. When Dick Cheney was a greenhorn state legislator, he inadvertently shot himself in the foot while proposing legislation to tar-and-feather all Wyoming Democrats -- if any could be found. On Inauguration Day 2009, did you see Cheney being carted out of D.C. in a wheelchair? Don't blame his short-circuiting electronic heart. It was his old foot wound acting up. That and his rheumatiz.

David B. Kopel also had this to say:

The old regulation had prohibited defensive gun possession or carrying in national parks. Thanks to the new law, the federal rules about guns in national parks and wildlife refuges will be the same as the laws of the host states. So in Manhattan, where handgun carry permits are reserved for diamond merchants, the political-social-celebrity elite and a few other favored groups, there will not be a mass of people carrying guns at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, on 20th Street. (This result might have appalled Teddy Roosevelt, a N.R.A. member who as president carried his own revolver for protection.)

Teddy Roosevelt, of course, hunted in Wyoming after he shot all the game in the Dakotas. It's a well-known fact that he shot the last jackelope in Converse County. There's a statue to that jackelope in downtown Douglas, but not a single statue of the old Rough Rider. Teddy would be appalled.

As a counterpoint to that p.o.v., Kristen Brengel, director of legislative and government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, offers this:

In about nine months, guns will be allowed to be carried loaded throughout national parks if the state they are in permits guns in that state. After the amendment takes effect, visitors to national parks such as Yellowstone in Wyoming will begin to see guns visibly displayed in vehicles or being carried. Visitors to monuments and battlefields including Gettysburg National Military Park and Mount Rushmore will also now also be able to carry guns if the site is within a state that permits them.

Hikers in the back country will have a different experience. I will probably be discouraged from many hikes if other visitors are walking around openly carrying guns. Frankly, it is threatening to see a person hiking with a gun when it isn’t hunting season.

Because Wyoming already mandates gun-toting, I'm on trails all the time with a well-armed and well-regulated citizenry and I don't mind. I have a gun, my wife has a gun, my kids have guns, my dog has a gun, my tomato plants have guns -- we're all happy gun owners. Nothing untoward is going to happen to us while we enjoy nature's bounty. We will face down any threat, be it animal, mineral or human.

Meanwhile, I ask again: what does all this have to do with lowering credit card interest rates?

Read the entire NYT story at http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/guns-in-parks-safe-scary-or-a-sideshow/

LarCoDems meet at IBEW Hall May 26

This comes from Laramie County Democratic Party communications director Dave Lerner:

Dear Laramie County Democrat,

The next meeting of the Laramie County Democratic Party will be this Tuesday, May 26, at 7 p.m. at the IBEW Hall. Remember, we are NOT meeting at the Plains Hotel! The IBEW Hall is at 810 Fremont Avenue, which is on the north side of Nationway in Cheyenne.

Laramie County Democratic Party Agenda

1. Call to Order - Mike Bell
2. Presentation by Mike Bell
3. Election for VP
4. Minutes from April meeting
5. Treasurer's report
6. Coalition Activities - Mary Lou Marcum
7. Fundraising activities - Terry Barbre and Betty Jo Beardsley
8. Web site development - Dave Lerner
9. General Discussion of Issues (ie, Budget cuts, Health Care, Recycling)

We hope to see you there!

Good news: Senate passes credit card reform. Bad news: All credit card holders must wear loaded guns

New credit card bill passed 90-5 today in the U.S. Senate. It includes some much-needed restrictions on credit card companies.

Anne Flaherty reports this in an AP story:

If enacted into law as expected, the credit card industry would have nine months to change the way it does business: Lenders would have to post their credit card agreements on the Internet and let customers pay their bills online or by phone without an added fee. They'd also have to give consumers a chance to spare themselves from over-the-limit fees and provide 45 days notice and an explanation before interest rates are increased. Some of these changes are already on track to take effect in July 2010, under new rules being imposed by the Federal Reserve. But the Senate bill would put the changes into law and go further in restricting the types of bank fees and who can get a card. For example, the Senate bill requires those under 21 who seek a credit card to prove first that they can repay the money or that a parent or guardian is willing to pay off their debt if they default.... Under the bill, a cardholder would have to opt to be allowed to go over a credit limit. If customers don't agree and the bank authorizes a charge that would push them over their limit, the lender couldn't levy an over-limit fee. Another boon for consumers is limiting a practice known as "universal default," when a lender sharply increases a cardholder's interest rate on an existing balance because the customer is late paying that bill or other, unrelated bills. Under the new legislation, a customer would have to be more than 60 days behind on a payment before seeing a rate increase on an existing balance. Even then, the credit card company would be required to restore the previous, lower rate after six months if the cardholder pays the minimum balance on time.

This is good news for all of us who've been gouged by credit card companies, which probably includes 99.9 percent of all Americans.

One odd things about the bill, though. A provision was added at the last minute that allows people to carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges. The purpose of the amendment listed in the U.S. Senate's official record is this: "To protect innocent Americans from violent crime in national parks and refuges." Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn proposed the gun measure as an amendment and it passed, 67-29.

What does this have to do with credit card companies? Some of us, even peaceniks, have been driven apoplectic by the credit card companies and their obscure rules. I do admit that it's a far cry from apoplexy to gunplay, but the latter has been contemplated.

So, if all this becomes law, expect to see lots of gun-toting westerners this summer in Yellowstone and Grand Teton and Devils Tower and Fossil Butte and Mount Rushmore and Dinosaur N.M. and Rocky Mountain N.P. and the wildlife refuge near you. A perfect time for threats of random gunplay in parks which have been reporting a downturn in visitors by Internet-absorbed Americans and by those strapped for cash by the economic downturn.

While this "gun-toting act" could backfire, it might add to the tourism numbers. Let's face it, tourists, especially the foreign variety, have become jaded by fake Old West gun fights in places such as Jackson and Cheyenne. They are looking for a more genuine experience. So what could be better than a real gunfight breaking out amongst two gun-toting citizens jockeying over the same RV hook-up? Better yet, two fellows decked out in Wranglers, Tony Lamas and Glocks get into a scrape over a woman at the Yellowstone Lake Lodge. They're told to take it outside and they do, much to the delight of a busload of tourists from Kyoto. They get it all on film and it's on YouTube within seconds.

That may be fine for tourists from overseas. For me, this makes a staycation look better and better.

Play the rhyme game with Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee, one-time Republican presidential candidate and old-time fundie, wrote a poem about Nancy Pelosi. Huck is so proud of it he posted it on his web site.

It's not bad, as poems go. But the rhymes are a bit predictible. Some writer friends and I like to play a game where we guess the rhymes in mediocre poems. You have to select mediocre poems because they're easier to deconstruct. It's a bit like Mad Libs without the clues. I suppose this could be a drinking game too. Guess wrong and you have to take a drink. Or maybe guess right and take a drink. You decide.

So give these rhymes a try. Some are easy -- and there are a few surprises. If you conjure up some celever rhymes that transform the poem, cut and paste it and put it in the comment section below.

Here goes ---

Here's a story about a lady named Nancy
A ruthless politician, but dressed very _____
Very ambitious, she got herself elected Speaker
But as for keeping secrets, she proved quite a "_______."

She flies on government planes coast to coast
And doesn't mind that our economy is _____
She makes the Air Force squire her in their military jets
There's room for her family, her staff, and even her ____.

Until now, she annoyed us, but her gaffes were mostly funny;
Even though it was painful to watch her waste our tax ______.
But now her wacky comments are no laughing matter;
She's either unwilling to tell the truth, or she's mad as a ______!

She sat in briefings and knew about enhanced interrogation;
But claims she wasn't there, and can't give an ___________.
She disparages the CIA and says they are a bunch of liars;
Even the press aren't buying it and they're stoking their _____.

I think Speaker Pelosi has done too much speaking;
And instead of her trashing our intelligence officials, it's her nose that needs ________.

If forced to believe whether the CIA and her colleagues in Congress are lying;
Or it's Speaker Pelosi whose credibility and career is _____.
I believe in the integrity of the men and women who sacrifice to keep us safe;
Not the woman who has been caught flat-footed, lying to our ____.

I say it here and I say it rather clear--
It's time for Nancy Pelosi to resign and get out of ____.

Comment period for "The Big Straw" extended until July 27

Wyomingites are calling it "The Big Straw."

It's the water diversion project cooked up by some guy in Colorado with the last ominous name "Million," as in "I want a million gallons of your water -- for starters."

Million and his entrepreneurial pals plan to divert water from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir in southwest Wyoming to the Front Range of Colorado.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is holding scoping hearings on the project. The Corps held what the Casper Star-Tribune called a "contentious meeting" on April 14 with the townfolk of Green River. The Green runs right through the town on its way to Flaming Gorge. Green Riverites are afraid that "The Big Straw" will turn the river into a rivulet and the gorge into a puddle.

Army Corps of Engineers project manager Rena Brand said the agency has extended its deadline for accepting public comments for inclusion to July 27. The input will go into an environmental impact statement that may take up to three years to assemble.

But how can anyonwe predict how much water will be flowing out of the Wind River Mountains and into the Green River Valley in the next decade?

Bill Sniffin, a columnist from Lander who ran for governor on the Republican side in 2002, said in a syndicated column today that experts have seen increased melting of the glaciers in the mountain range. Add a drought to that, and there may not be enough water in the Green for current users once the Corps makes up its mind. It was in Bill's column where I saw "The Big Straw" reference. I also saw it recently in The Denver Post.

Global climate change is a moving target.

Meanwhile, get yourself to one of these scoping meetings and see if you can carry on Wyoming's contentious reputation when it comes to water thievery.

Sunday Web Reading Roundup -- yee-hah!

Cheyenne's Joanne Kennedy Smyth writes about mirror neurons, empathy and writers.

Maureen Dowd: Dick Cheney as Snidely Whiplash (via Daily Kos).

Vincent Miller provides some perspective to this weekend's anti-Obama protests at Notre Dame in the National Catholic Reporter.

Former Jacksonian jhwygirl on Montana's 4&20 blackbirds gets the brain cells percolating with a haiku slam challenge .

Memorial Day gifts for the antiwar veteran (and non-veteran) at Iraq Veterans Aginst the War.

We pray that National Day of Prayer goes away

I take the liberty to reproduce parts of a letter to the editor published in the May 14 Casper Star-Tribune:

Editor:

On Thursday, May 7, Wyoming Christians took part in the National Day of Prayer in Cheyenne. The NDP theme this year? "Prayer...America's Hope," based upon Psalm 33:22, "May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You."

The Rotunda at the Capital was filled to almost overflowing with Christians, who, at noon that day, joined millions of their fellow countrymen across the United States in prayer for our nation.

(removed several paragraphs as they irritated me)

Although prayer is one of the most enduring paths to hope and change, and our nation needs a lot of both right now, the current inhabitant of the White House did not observe NDP. Mr. Obama's Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, told his press club, "We're doing a proclamation, which I know many administrations in the past have done." But Mr. Obama did not invite any faith leaders to the White House, nor did he attend any of the events associated with NDP, as all of his predecessors for at least the past fifty years have done.

Does that tell us anything about our president?

ANTHONY J. SACCO, Pine Bluffs

Mr. Sacco, I have already written at length about the sham called National Day of Prayer. It sounds like a great thing, all of us "Christians" raising our voices in supplication to the God as conceived by Christians. However, Christians come in many shapes and sizes. I, for one, am a Christian and a Democrat and a fan of Pres. Obama. I do not chide someone for avoiding prayer, or for praying in a way different from my own method. I then would be as bad as the arrogant Pharisees that Jesus himself had so much trouble with.

When I discovered that the National Day of Prayer was just a Right-Wing Fundamentalist sham cooked up by James Dobson and his lovely wife of Focus on the Family fame, I realized what a crock this event was. You fundies have spent the past couple decades trying to remake the country in your theocratic vision. You failed miserably, and now it's time for the rational adults to take over.

I grant you, prayer is a wonderful thing. It is one path to hope and change. There are many paths to hope and change. Last fall, some of us chose to pray for strength while we knocked on doors to get people to vote for a candidate of hope and change. We got what we worked and prayed for. Not everything that Pres. Obama does is what I envisioned. But it's a start -- and much better than what you fundies had in mind.

Amen.

Dust off that spring cowboy hat for Laramie Co. Democratic Grassroots Coalition event

The Laramie County Democratic Grassroots Coalition is celebrating spring's imminent arrival with a "Spring Hat Tea" on Saturday, May 23, 1-3 p.m., at Cheyenne's Historic Plains Hotel. Tickets are $10 apiece and refreshments will be served. Attendees are invited to wear their favorite spring hat. That goes for men, too, so dust off your spring cowboy lid (or UW ballcap) and come on down.

Featured speaker will be Wyoming First Lady Nancy Freudenthal speaking about "Taking Care of the Caregiver."

Mary Lou Marcum is looking for nutritious and delicious Democratic recipes for the Coalition's cookbook. Bring them on May 23 (deadline for submissions Aug. 1). If you have questions, contact Mary Lou at 307-635-3464 or windywyo@bresnan.net.

For more info about the "Spring Hat Tea," contact Karyn Knutson, 432-9157, or Katherine Van dell, 634-8449.

Cheyenne will be home of new Coal Gasification Tech Center

The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees announced Friday that it's pursuing a site in Laramie County on which to build the proposed High Plains Gasification-Advanced Technology Center. The site is located in the Cheyenne Business Parkway, in east Cheyenne just off I-80.

The site "will be home to a small-scale gasification system that will allow researchers to develop and validate advanced coal gasification technologies for Powder River Basin and other Wyoming coals," according to a UW press release.

Estimated cost of the project is $100 million, part of it coming from GE Energy (yes, that GE).

For information on the project, visit www.uwyo.edu/ge.

The new facility may look something like one of these:

Sarah Palin: "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"

The Anchorage Daily News, charged with keeping tabs on its peripatetic governor, reports that Sarah Palin is set to sign a book deal with Rupert Murdoch's Harper Collins Publishers. The exact amount of the book deal has not been announced, but it's sure to be a whopper. Then again, Palin has some whoppers to tell.

Here's an excerpt from the News story:

News reports this winter suggested Palin was pursuing an $11 million advance. She called that figure "laughable" in January but has never provided another. Palin has said she would give a portion of any money she makes from a book to charities although she hasn't decided how much or which ones.

Palin hired Robert Barnett, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who is one of the most powerful figures in book publishing, to negotiate the deal for her memoir. His past deals reportedly include $12 million for Bill Clinton's memoir and an $8.5 million advance for Alan Greenspan.

Barnett said in an interview Tuesday that HarperCollins was "first and fervent" in pursuing the Palin book.

This is a big reason why publishers have no money to publish real writers, such as some I know in Wyoming and throughout the Rocky Mountain West.

Instead, they publish crap by high profile people, books that people never read. However, they may buy a copy to put on their coffee table. They may also buy a copy if they can get it signed in person by the "author." I once did this with one of Newt Gingrich's books. I stood in line for two hours in a Bethesda Border's store and had the most interesting conversations. Not everyone was a Republican, as Maryland is as bereft of Repubs (except in Michael Steele's burg) as Wyoming is lacking in Dems.

I was able to utter a few comments about saving the National Endowment for the Arts as Newt scribbled his name on the title page. This may have been the reason that Newt helped salvage the NEA's literary fellowships when the big "Contract with America" cuts came down in 1994. Or maybe I'm being a bit grandiose. But I did read a bit of the book before I put it in the mail to my Dad in Florida. Not bad. The guy can write. He's a big name in the "alternative futures" or "spec-fic" sci-fi category.

But Sarah Palin? Which category will her book be in? Speculative pasts? Ridiculous presents?

Some funny book titles were suggested tonight on Keith Olbermann's show. "The Audacity of Hype" is a good one. Since Palin has said she's a C.S. Lewis fan, someone suggested "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." You have to think about that one a little bit.

Hilarious: The Daily Show explores academic excellence at Sun Devil U

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Arizona State Snubs Obama
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Poetry jam comes to the White House

It is probably safe to say that Tuesday’s event may well have been the first White House poetry jam, the fast-paced presentation of spoken verse that has become popular among young people in cities across the country.

So said Rachel L. Swarns in a post on the New York Times web site.

Poetry jam in the White House? That is cool.

The event included Hawaiian poet Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio; Lin Manuel Miranda, the creator of the Tony-Award winning Broadway musical, “In the Heights;” husband-wife writers Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman; Chicago poet Maida del Valle; some guy named James Earl Jones; musician Esperanza Spaulding; Yonkers, N.Y., poet Joshua Brandon Bennett.

“We’re here to celebrate the power of words and music to help us appreciate beauty and also to understand pain,’’ Mr. Obama told the crowd.

Mrs. Obama urged her guests to “enjoy, have fun and be loose” as they absorbed performances from Hawaiian, Puerto Rican, Jewish and African American writers in an event intended to showcase the diversity of American talent.

This was just one of a series of events that the Obamas have put on at the White House to celebrate the arts.

Other events have featured bagpipers, mariachi bands, Irish fiddlers, Irish Poets (i.e. Paul Muldoon), and singers and musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, Earth Wind and Fire, Tony Bennett, and Fergie, the singer from the Black Eyed Peas.

Can't you smell that smell? It's a clunker!

One-time Denverite David von Drehle writes a funny piece in Friday's Time mag about the government's proposed "cash for clunkers" program. He considers all the angles in trading in his much-used minivan (i.e., "clunker") for cash. I won't give away the ending, but along the way, David lists some great resources for his fellow clunker owners. Read the entire article at http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1896663,00.html.

As always, I turned to the Tire Business web site for info about anything automotive (actually it was my first Google-inspired visit but I'll be back). The Tire Business article snagged the following info from government sources:

According to an Energy and Commerce fact sheet, the Cash for Clunkers program in the compromise bill would be authorized for up to one year and provide for some 1 million new car and truck purchases. Under the program, old passenger cars and light trucks must get less than 18 mpg. Motorists would be eligible for vouchers of $3,500 each if their new vehicles improve on the old vehicles’ gas mileage by at least 4 mpg (for passenger cars) or 2 mpg (for light trucks). For improvements of up to 10 mpg for cars or 5 mpg for trucks, the voucher would be $4,500.

I'm not certain if my minivan qualifies. It's a 2000 Dodge Caravan, which makes it more than eight years old. But it's a flex-fuel vehicle. It's rated for 16 mpg in the city and 23 highway for gas, for an average of 19. For E85, it's rated 12 city and 17 highway for a total of 13. If you add those together, I more than qualify. If you just consider the gasoline stats, I don't. More Googling may be in order.

If approved, I will accept a voucher for $4,500. I plan to buy an extremely fuel-efficient passenger car that's not a minivan. We don't need one anymore. Our son lives in Tucson and we don't expect him to return to Wyoming. Our daughter has plans to move in two years (after high school graduation) to attend college in a big city. My wife has her own Saturn, and refuses to ride in the minivan until I remove the "smell" from it. I don't smell the smell, but she does. She describes it as part McDonald's wrappers, part mildew, part Armor-All and part Fat Tire Amber Ale. I have to explain that last one. I do not drink and drive. However, I'm charged with recycling and sometimes have kept containers of empty beer bottles in the van for a couple weeks. During the summer, minivan parked in the hot sun, the tiny bit of beer left in the bottom of the bottles begins to re-ferment and adds a bouquet to the interior. I won't say it's an unpleasant smell, but my wife will.

For that reason alone I should get a voucher.

With the $4,500, I will attempt to buy a Chevy Malibu hybrid or possibly a Ford Fusion, both high-mileage alternatives. I'll stick to American-made cars, so that my stimulus will stimulate the correct places. I will have to say sayonara to my Canadian-made Dodge, which has served our family well on cross-country jaunts and camping trips since we bought it used in 2001.

Not yet sure how I'm going to get all those recyclables to the big blue bins at our local grocery store parking lot. I won't be able to save up two weeks worth since they all won't fit in the little trunk I'm sure to get with an efficient vehicle. I'll think of something.

"Star Trek" more than a blast from the past

Today is our 27th anniversary.

I gave my wife tickets to the new Star Trek movie. Bought one for me and daughter too. Chris is a Trekkie or, as some prefer, Trekker. She watches original Star Trek reruns every Saturday night on Fox. She also has a complete set of DVDs from the TV series -- the first one.

The movie was exciting and fun. Characters were a shade different from the originals, but that only added to the fun. Spock was a little warmer (and has a thing for Uhura) and Kirk was a bit wilder. Special effects, of course, were boffo. But how tough is it to produce boffo effects these days?

Speaking of special effects -- we saw scads of previews for summer blockbusters. Lots of stuff getting blown up in June and July.

Search called off for Wyoming poet Craig Arnold

So sad to hear the news about the suspension of the search in Japan for UW prof and globe-trotting poet Craig Arnold. His partner, Rebecca Lindenberg, relayed the sad tidings:

Our dear friends and family,

Though Craig himself has not been recovered, the amazing expert trackers of 1SRG have been able to make themselves and us certain of what has become of Craig. His trail indicates that after sustaining a leg injury, Craig fell from a very high and very dangerous cliff and there is virtually no possibility that Craig could have survived that fall. Chris will pursue what he can about getting specialists to go down into the place we know Craig is so we can bring him home, but it is very, very dangerous and we are not yet completely certain what that will require. The only relief in this news is that we do know exactly what befell Craig, and we can be fairly certain that it was very quick, and that he did not wait or wonder or suffer.

I cannot express again the profound gratitude I feel to everyone who has loved and honored Craig with their goodwill, their immense efforts and energy, and their overwhelming generosity. I believe that where he is, Craig knows.

There will be further occasion to celebrate Craig, and when I know more I will post it.For my part, I love Craig beyond the telling of it and will always love him as immeasurably, as enduringly, as steadfastly and as unconditionally as I do now and have done these past six years.

In leaving our family, Craig, in a manner absolutely characteristic of his own vast generosity and capacity to inspire, brought us all closer together than we perhaps have ever been. I feel his presence, loving and understanding and funny and deeply feeling, at all times. I hope you do, too.

With love, R.

More on National Day of Prayer

National Day of Prayer is now over on the East Coast, although we have two more hours of praying time here in the Rockies. So get those prayers in, as the Good Lord pays extra-special attention on this day.

I wrote yesterday about the links between National Day of Prayer and the Fundamentalist Right, notably Dobson's Focus on the Family down in Colorado Springs. Americans United for Separation of Church and State have a lot more on the issue at its web site. Go to http://tinyurl.com/raul9v.

Amen, ya'll.

Lummis takes obstructionist role seriously

This comes from the WyoDems:

It looks like Representative Cynthia Lummis is taking her role as a member of the ‘Party of No’ seriously.

In fact, a recent story in Casper Star-Tribune notes Lummis’ vote against “nearly every major piece” of legislation that Congress has considered so far.

Perhaps that’s because, as Lummis says, after casting a vote for House Speaker on January 6, 2009, “…little else has mattered since...” [http://www.trib.com/articles/2009/05/03/news/wyoming/a31d8bfa79d95de1872575aa00213b2c.txt]

“Little else may have mattered to Representative Lummis, but after four months in the House, Wyomingites are paying the price for Lummis’ ‘Party of No’ obstinance to legislation on job creation, health care and consumer protections,” said Wyoming Democratic Party Chair Leslie Petersen. “In fact, her constituents are quickly realizing that Cynthia Lummis doesn’t have new ideas or solutions to the challenges facing our country, communities, and families.”

In just four months in Congress, Lummis has racked up quote a record, voting
against:

• Protecting elders from abuse, neglect and exploitation [Roll Call Vote, 2/11/2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll062.xml]
• Extending health coverage to 5,700 low-income children in Wyoming [Roll Call Vote, 2/4/2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll050.xml]
• Creating or saving 8,000 Wyoming jobs [Roll Call Vote, 2/13/2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll070.xml]
• Protecting consumers from credit card companies charging excessive fees and sky-high interest rates [Roll Call Vote, 4/30/2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll228.xml]
• Efforts to ensure pay equity for women in the workplace [Roll Call Vote, 1/27/2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll037.xml]
• Safeguarding the Snake River and allowing for the maintenance and preservation of its wild and scenic character [Roll Call Vote, /25/2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll153.xml]
• Protecting sensitive portions of the Wyoming Range from future oil and gas
  drilling [Roll Call Vote, 3/25/2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll153.xml]

Progressive radio gets great ratings

This was on the Square State blog out of Denver:

The ratings are in and after just over a year of being on the air in the Denver metro area, the Mario Solis-Marich show is kicking ass and taking names. For Men 18-34, Mario's show is Numero Uno from 4-7 p.m. This includes non-political talk like The Fan. They identify younger Obama voters as part of this success.

"There is a national movement to capture the airwaves and bring them back to the America's progressive majority," said Mario Solis-Marich. "We are lucky and grateful to have this huge endorsement from the heart of the Obama Generation."

I listen to Mario's show on my way home from work in Cheyenne every day on AM 760. I love the daily litany of wingnut audio clips We get the station's signal during the day but it fades at night. I tried to get a livecast from the station's web site, but it doesn't offer one. What gives, Mario?

By the way, I'm in the Obama Generation even though I'm double the age of the target audience. Just trying to be a hep cat....

Thank God! No National Day of Prayer ceremony at the White House

For the past eight years, the National Day of Prayer has been an excuse to tout the Fundamentalist Right’s holier-than-thou attitude and its clout within the Republican Party.

This year's National Day of Prayer to Promote the Repudiated Policies of the Republican Party/Focus on the Family will be held tomorrow, May 7, at public venues all over the U.S.

Cheyenne's version is usually held in front of the State Capitol Building. It always features a military component and a fairly good crowd of Republicans and Libertarians and Millennialists. Never a Democrat to be seen, unless you count me, the inveterate rubber-necker.

The National Day of Prayer Task Force is based in Colorado Springs, hotbed of fundie ferment. Focus on the Family’s James Dobson and other people with the same last name are part of the organization.

Here what the organization says about itself on its web site:

• Mission: The National Day of Prayer Task Force's mission is to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, mobilizing the Christian community to intercede for America and its leadership in the seven centers of power: Government, Military, Media, Business, Education, Church and Family.
  
  Our Vision and Values: In accordance with Biblical truth, the National Day of Prayer Task Force seeks to:
• Foster unity within the Christian Church
• Protect America's Constitutional Freedoms to gather, worship, pray and speak freely.
• Publicize and preserve America's Christian heritage
• Encourage and emphasize prayer, regardless of current issues and positions
• Respect all people, regardless of denomination or creed
• Be wise stewards of God's resources and provision
• Glorify the Lord in word and deed
  

All us us raised within the "Christian Church" know the code words and phrases. "Biblical truth" means the literal word of the Bible as interpreted by TV preachers. The "Christian Church" means everybody but Catholics, even though Catholic Church, in the past couple decades, has made nice with the fundies. The fundies, in turn, only pretend to make nice with Papists, who will not be part of The Rapture due to the fact that they worship false idols (saints) and spend way too much time drinking beer and practicing "social justice." "Mobilizing the Christian community" means voting Republican. I could go on and on.

To Pres. Obama's credit, he won't allow this sham ceremony to take place in the White House. Bush did, and look where that got him.

Here are some excerpts of a CNN story about the subject:

For the past eight years, the White House recognized the National Day of Prayer with a service in the East Room, but this year, President Obama decided against holding a public ceremony.

"Prayer is something that the president does everyday," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday, noting that Obama will sign a proclamation to recognize the day, as many administrations in the past have done.

Asked if Obama thought his predecessor's ceremonies were politicized, Gibbs said, "No, I'm not going to get into that again.

I will answer that question. Yes, yes, yes. It was all politics. And it's about time we did without it. Dobson and his avenging angels on the Right have been pounding on Democrats and Democratic Party politics for decades. Let them have their own ceremonies with their fellow travelers in Congress.

Although there are no public events scheduled at the White House, representatives from the legislative and judicial branches are expected to attend an event the National Day of Prayer Task Force is holding on Capitol Hill.

"It would be belittling to those millions of people to reduce this day to merely one event not being held at the White House."Task Force Chairman Shirley Dobson said in a statement that she was disappointed in the "lack of participation" by the Obama administration, adding that "at this time in our country's history, we would hope our President would recognize more fully the importance of prayer."

Dobson will be a presenter at that event, along with her husband and former president of Focus on the Family James Dobson, author Beth Moore, NFL player Shaun Alexander and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Shirely Dobson and James Dobson will join wingnut Michelle Bachmann at the Capitol Hill National Day of Prayer ceremony?

Enough said.

Fund to Find Craig Arnold hires search team

In a story filed at 3:12 p.m. today, the AP's Mead Gruver writes about the 1st Special Response Group hired to find missing Laramie poet Craig Arnold in Japan.

Here are excerpts:

The searchers' strategy will be to look carefully for Arnold's trail and then pursue any signs, said David Kovar, founder of the nonprofit organization based in Mountain View, Calif.

"They are expert in following the sign of human passage through the terrain," Kovar said. "If you think about aboriginals or Native Americans who were known for following signs of people going through a landscape, this is sort of the modern version of that."

-------------

Kovar said 1st Special Response Group doesn't charge fees and only accepts payment to cover its costs. A fund set up over the weekend to cover the search costs had raised $10,000, Augusta Palmer said.

University spokeswoman Jessica Lowell said the fund was set up at UniWyo Federal Credit Union in Laramie with assistance from the University of Wyoming.

"We continue to hope for a resolution, a positive resolution," she said.

The island of Kuchinoerabu-jima is home to about 150 people and is generally a destination for fishing rather than hiking, said Yoshiyuki Kuzuhara, a local police official. He said the 1,800-foot volcanic mountain has no hiking trail, and the locals rarely go there.

Read the entire story at http://tinyurl.com/dgon7c

To contribute to the search fund, go to https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5149253

Day of Giving (Empathy) Saturday in Cheyenne

Day of Giving on Saturday, May 8, provides economically disadvantages with non-perishable food, prescription medications, personal care items, donate blood, Register as a Bone marrow and/or organ/tissue donor. Recipients include clients of Needs, Inc., Salvation Army, Comea House, Safe House Sexual Assault Services, Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless, Bethel Outreach Ministries, and Cheyenne Interfaith Hospitality Network. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Kiwanis Community House, 4603 Lions Park Dr., Cheyenne. Info: Greta, 635-3943, 421-3436, aemorrow@millect.com, Pam, 637-5193, www.cheyennenetwork.com/dayofgiving.

New documentary: No blood for water!

Give a name to the cuddly new GOP mascot

Kossack Jake McIntyre over at Daily Kos needs your help naming the cuddly new logo for the Republican Party (above). The beast is half traditional GOP elephant and half dinosaur -- and the dinosaur half seems to be winning within Republican ranks. Go to http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/4/30/726404/-Kossack-Kontest:-Name-That-Goposaur and add to the name fray.

He started things off with Grover the Goposaur, named after famous wingnut strategist Grover Norquist (with a tip of the hat to Grover on Sesame Street). Other good ones so far include these: Grumposaurus Rex, GOPosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannicalsaurus Rex, Loonasaurus, Dixiesaurus, Schizophrenodon and Megalomaniadon.

Dino design by Kossack malacandra

Casper native headed to Supreme Court?

In today's Casper Star-Tribune, Jared Miller had some news about a Casper native and University of Wyoming grad whom I'd like to see in Washington, D.C.:

M. Margaret McKeown, a justice on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was listed as a potential nominee by The Associated Press on Friday.

Born in 1951, McKeown graduated from Kelly Walsh High School in 1969 and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UW in 1972. She received a law degree from Georgetown University in 1975.

During her 34-year legal career, McKeown worked in private practice in Seattle and Washington, D.C., where she represented clients such as The Boeing Company, Nintendo of America and Citicorp.

She also served as a White House fellow and special assistant to the Secretary of the Interior.

She was nominated to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1997 by President Bill Clinton, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 1998.

In an interview with the Star-Tribune in 2006, McKeown credited a visit to the nation’s Capitol with her Casper schoolmates as the spark of her passion for government.

Read Jared Miller's blog at http://tribtown.trib.com/JaredMiller/blog

Wyoming Democrats looking for communications director

This comes from Dave Lerner, communications guy for the Laramie County Democratic Party:

The mission of the Wyoming Democratic Party is to support and elect Democratic candidates to offices from city hall to Washington, D.C.

The Communications Director contributes to this mission by working directly with the executive director to devise an overall press plan, including long-range planning and event media, speechwriting, scheduling, and advance. This person must have solid communication skills and a working knowledge of Wyoming's issues, people and political landscape. Experience desired includes at least four years in communications, marketing, journalism or a related profession. Field organizing skills, experience using databases, or other background in political work is a plus.

The duties of the Communications Director include:

• Working with the DNC on communicating national messages
• Preparing a communications-and-marketing plan
• Assisting candidates, county parties, and the state Central Committee with message development
• Responding to media inquiries
• Drafting press releases, op/eds and talking points
• Coordinating letter-writing efforts, radio talk show call-in efforts, and other surrogate message work
• Recruiting surrogates for communicating message and for attending county party events
• Planning and executing earned media events
• Assisting members of the Democratic Legislative Caucus with media and constituent outreach
• Maintaining the state party Web site
• Maintaining a clips file

This is a full-time, salaried position. Pay will be commensurate with experience and will include a benefits stipend. The Communications Director can be based in any part of Wyoming and will travel within the state fairly frequently.

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume and at least three references to luckett@wyomingdemocrats.com. The subject line should include "Communications Director Application (Your Name)." Applications may also be mailed to Bill Luckett, Wyoming Democratic Party, PO Box 1963, Casper, WY, 82602. Applications must be received by the close of business on May 18, 2009.