For an on-the-ground look into the U.S. "surge" in Iraq, read Nir Rosen's "The Myth of the Surge" in the newest issue of Rolling Stone. Rosen speaks Arabic, so he gets to hear exactly what Iraqis are saying to each other. This is a great advantage as almost no American soldier speaks the language. Their homegrown translators often have their own axes to grind. This makes a baffling situation even more confusing. "Vietnam with sand," is how an Air Force veteran of Iraq Wars I & II described it to me last week, adding that a fifth airman at Warren AFB had had just been killed in Iraq.
Read it and weep at http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/18722376/the_myth_of_the_surge
Thanks to my old college chum Bob Page of Independence, Mo., for tipping me off to the story.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Clinton & Obama both have WYO offices
We heard from both Clinton and Obama reps tonight at the monthly meeting of the Laramie County Democrats.
Margy White from Cheyenne and Molly McAndrew from Iowa are working with the Hillary Clinton campaign. The grand opening of Clinton HQ in Cheyenne will be held tomorrow (Wednesday) on the second floor of the Majestic Building at 16th and Capitol. Another office is opening in Casper.
McAndrew's in Cheyenne with three other Clinton staffers. She worked in Iowa, Nevada, and Wisconsin before arriving in Wyoming. You can contact the Clinton office at 319-310-2017 or via e-mail at mollyrmcandrew@gmail.com.
Obama campaign people Gabe Cohen and Julia Warren have been in Wyoming three weeks. Before that, he was field director for Obama in Colorado. He held his first public meeting last spring in the liberal bastion of Colorado Springs. He'd been warned about the Springs, home to a heavenly host of evangelicals such as James Dobson and Focus on the Family. Even when he drove the Ronald Reagan Highway to get to the meeting he wasn't scared. But he knew this campaign was different when he arrived at the meeting and he wasn't the only one there. In fact, the room was packed with 80-100 people.
As Wyoming state director, Cohen's been traveling the state whipping up support for his candidate. He's been to Lander, the Wind River Indian Reservation, and Thermopolis. He was told beforehand that there were some places in Wyoming that Democrats don't go. Thermopolis was one of those. "We had a great meeting there," he said. "We've held meetings in almost every county and the energy is incredible. We've registered a lot of Democrats."
Odd as it seems, Democratic Governor Dave Freudenthal is from Thermopolis. A few Dems are hidden among the many Repubs in Hot Springs County.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, the Obama office is a busy place. When I visited today, staffers said that the campaign could always use more callers and people to canvass neighborhoods. If you want to volunteer, call 307-630-4168 or go to the web site at http://wyoming.barackobama.com.
Did I mention that I'm an Obama supporter? You could tell?
Margy White from Cheyenne and Molly McAndrew from Iowa are working with the Hillary Clinton campaign. The grand opening of Clinton HQ in Cheyenne will be held tomorrow (Wednesday) on the second floor of the Majestic Building at 16th and Capitol. Another office is opening in Casper.
McAndrew's in Cheyenne with three other Clinton staffers. She worked in Iowa, Nevada, and Wisconsin before arriving in Wyoming. You can contact the Clinton office at 319-310-2017 or via e-mail at mollyrmcandrew@gmail.com.
Obama campaign people Gabe Cohen and Julia Warren have been in Wyoming three weeks. Before that, he was field director for Obama in Colorado. He held his first public meeting last spring in the liberal bastion of Colorado Springs. He'd been warned about the Springs, home to a heavenly host of evangelicals such as James Dobson and Focus on the Family. Even when he drove the Ronald Reagan Highway to get to the meeting he wasn't scared. But he knew this campaign was different when he arrived at the meeting and he wasn't the only one there. In fact, the room was packed with 80-100 people.
As Wyoming state director, Cohen's been traveling the state whipping up support for his candidate. He's been to Lander, the Wind River Indian Reservation, and Thermopolis. He was told beforehand that there were some places in Wyoming that Democrats don't go. Thermopolis was one of those. "We had a great meeting there," he said. "We've held meetings in almost every county and the energy is incredible. We've registered a lot of Democrats."
Odd as it seems, Democratic Governor Dave Freudenthal is from Thermopolis. A few Dems are hidden among the many Repubs in Hot Springs County.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, the Obama office is a busy place. When I visited today, staffers said that the campaign could always use more callers and people to canvass neighborhoods. If you want to volunteer, call 307-630-4168 or go to the web site at http://wyoming.barackobama.com.
Did I mention that I'm an Obama supporter? You could tell?
Carbon sequestration bills get support
The Wyoming Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday supported both bills dealing with "potential geologic storage of carbon dioxide." That's the great thing about this issue -- its spawned a plethora of new terms for my personal lexicon. Here's another one: Underground pore spaces. That's a fine phrase, as we're all familiar with our skin's pores which, in teenagers, become packed with goop and yield explosive zits. We hope that nothing explodes when we pack carbon dioxide in our ground's pores. The jury is still out on that.
Meanwhile, we have to legislate. That's what governors from the coal states of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia were saying over the weekend at the National Governor's Conference in D.C. They were urging that their states not be counted out when it comes to environmental legislation. It's odd that most of these governors are Democrats. Their promotion of clean-coal technologies pits them against other members of our party who promote wind/solar/geothermal and look upon coal burning as the root of all evil. We know that when the Democrats take over the White House and both houses of Congress, climate change legislation will follow. The Govs just want coal to get an equal hearing. Wyoming, after all, annually produces 38 percent of the coal used in the U.S., more than any other state (Montana produces only 4 percent). Our economy depends on it.
The Governors are also calling for legislation on carbon sequestration. Wyoming, apparently, is one of the few to have legislation in the hopper.
Which brings us back to the bills rolling through the Wyoming Legislature.
House Bill 89 calls for surface landowners to control the underground poer spaces where carbon dioxide could be stored. House Bill 90 sets up regulations for carbon sequestration under the supervision of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. Both bills must pass two more readings in the Senate before they can be signed into law by Gov. Dave Freudenthal.
Get legislative updates at http://legisweb.state.wy.us/.
Meanwhile, we have to legislate. That's what governors from the coal states of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia were saying over the weekend at the National Governor's Conference in D.C. They were urging that their states not be counted out when it comes to environmental legislation. It's odd that most of these governors are Democrats. Their promotion of clean-coal technologies pits them against other members of our party who promote wind/solar/geothermal and look upon coal burning as the root of all evil. We know that when the Democrats take over the White House and both houses of Congress, climate change legislation will follow. The Govs just want coal to get an equal hearing. Wyoming, after all, annually produces 38 percent of the coal used in the U.S., more than any other state (Montana produces only 4 percent). Our economy depends on it.
The Governors are also calling for legislation on carbon sequestration. Wyoming, apparently, is one of the few to have legislation in the hopper.
Which brings us back to the bills rolling through the Wyoming Legislature.
House Bill 89 calls for surface landowners to control the underground poer spaces where carbon dioxide could be stored. House Bill 90 sets up regulations for carbon sequestration under the supervision of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. Both bills must pass two more readings in the Senate before they can be signed into law by Gov. Dave Freudenthal.
Get legislative updates at http://legisweb.state.wy.us/.
Monday, February 25, 2008
The long, long slog in Afghanistan
"Battle Company is Out There" is Elizabeth Rubin's Feb. 24 New York Times Magazine dispatch from the front lines of the war in Afghanistan, now in its seventh year. Rubin spent several weeks last October with the soldiers of Battle Company of the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in the country's rugged Kornegal Valley.
Some memorable moments in the story. Rubin and Capt. Dan Kearney sit down for a chat:
At first, I thought this was an example of the GIs goofing on the reporter, trying to freak her out. But mental instability is the recurring theme through the piece. When Kearney's unit came into the valley to replace the Tenth Mountain Division, they found some strange goings-on.
A few months into the unit's tour, the Army called in a shrink because Kearney complained that his troops were going crazy at its lonely outpost.
Some memorable moments in the story. Rubin and Capt. Dan Kearney sit down for a chat:
One full-moon night I was sitting outside a sandbag-reinforced hut with Kearney when a young sergeant stepped out hauling the garbage. He looked around at the illuminated mountains, the dust, the rocks, the garbage bin. The monkeys were screeching. “I hate this country!” he shouted. Then he smiled and walked back into the hut. “He’s on medication,” Kearney said quietly to me.
Then another soldier walked by and shouted, “Hey, I’m with you, sir!” and Kearney said to me, "Prozac. Serious P.T.S.D. from last tour.” Another one popped out of the HQ cursing and muttering. “Medicated,” Kearney said. “Last tour, if you didn’t give him information, he’d burn down your house. He killed so many people. He’s checked out.”
At first, I thought this was an example of the GIs goofing on the reporter, trying to freak her out. But mental instability is the recurring theme through the piece. When Kearney's unit came into the valley to replace the Tenth Mountain Division, they found some strange goings-on.
So what exactly was his job out here? To subdue the valley. It’s a task the Marines had tried, and then the soldiers of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division — a task so bloody it seemed to drive the 10th Mountain’s soldiers to a kind of madness. Kearney’s soldiers told me they’d been spooked by the weird behavior of their predecessors last May: near the end of their tour, many would sit alone on the fire base talking to themselves. Privates disobeyed their sergeants, and squad leaders refused to step outside the wire to show the new boys the terrain. No one wanted to be shot in the last days of his tour.
A few months into the unit's tour, the Army called in a shrink because Kearney complained that his troops were going crazy at its lonely outpost.
I had to wonder how I'd behave if I spent month after month in the Kornegal Valley. Every day the soldiers are the targets of snipers and mortar fire. They live in tents and subsist on MREs. When they go into villages, the elders nod and smile and pledge cooperation. At night, the village elders are playing host to insurgents and giving them tips on how to kill the Americans. When the Americans call in an air strike to take out a house or building where they know insurgents are hiding, civilian casualties are inevitable. When the troops go in to investigate, bodies of women and children are displayed by the villagers but bodies of insurgents are mysteriously missing. WTF? Where did they go? Very confusing. Maddening, in fact.
Rubin is on hand for one very bruising battle in which one of the unit's sergeants, on his sixth tour, is killed, and a number of others wounded.
After reading the story, I wondered what would happen to all these young soldiers. Not just in Afghanistan, but when they return to the States. How will these experiences manifest themselves in their relationships and in society at large in 10 or 20 years? I'm not worried so much about myself and my generation. We're moving off center stage. But I am concerned for the world my kids and their kids will live in. Some of these warriors will come carpenters and teachers and politicians. Others won't find a place so easily. Their frustrations could be fed by P.T.S.D. They could freak out with guns. There's a grand tradition of this sort of behavior in the U.S.
One other thing: As I looked at the article's photos, I realized that the Kornegal Valley looks like the landscape in Wyoming's Laramie Range. The trees, the brush, the dust, the rocks. It's eerie.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Wyoming plays catch-up with recycling
As I bring my cans and bottles to Cheyenne's blue-bin recycling posts, I often wonder what becomes of my cast-offs. How far does my fruit cocktail can or Budweiser bottle have to go to be transformed into something else? With rising fuel prices, what's the cost of hauling aluminum cans to Los Angeles or New York or maybe even China?
I've talked to some of my fellow recyclers about this and they don't know the answers. They're a diverse bunch. An airman from Warren AFB with two kids in his SUV said he was from upstate New York where they'd had curbside recycling for 20 years. He wondered why we didn't have something similar. There is a pilot program in Cheyenne's Sun Valley neighborhood. No telling how long the pilot will last and whether it will prove economical enough to expand citywide. One good sign: cranky letters promoting and bemoaning the curbside plan have begun to show up on our local op-ed pages. Once it reaches the op-ed stage, you know that implementation can't be far behind.
I see many families hauling their stuff to our three blue-bin locations. Kids instructing their parents on the wonders of recycling. Retirees, too, whom I see when I use part of my lunch hour for recycling. Lots of women, too, of all ages. More women than men, if my unscientific observations are any gauge. It's possible there here in the rugged West it's the duty of the womenfolk to recycle, the menfolk being too busy wrangling cattle or shooting varmints. It's also possible that women are more attuned to the benefits of recycling and saving the planet.
Wyoming's Sam Western provides some answers to recycling's true costs in a column he wrote for wyofile.com. As befitting someone who's been a correspondent for London's Economist magazine since 1985, Sam did his homework. He estimates that only three to five percent of the state's trash is recycled, compared to a national average of 27 percent.
That's a pretty long haul, paper going to China. But maybe my paper only has to travel next door to Montana. As a writer and reader, I recycle a lot of paper, both at home and at work. All those gin bottles, too, can't forget those. The good part about glass is that there's a company in Wyoming that recycles it.
Other Wyoming companies are getting into the act, recycling plastic bottles and old tires. There's a company in Cheyenne, Tatooine, that collects computers and other electronic devices, breaks them down, and sells the parts. It's the old junkyard concept where you discard your old jalopy and gearheads use it for parts for their old jalopies, which they call classic cars.
Read Sam's entire column under the "Guest" link at http://www.wyofile.com/. He's done an impressive amount of research about trash, landfills and recycling, lassoing all those facts and figures into easily digestible bites. Sam's always been good at the details, as readers saw in his book, "Pushed off the Mountain, Sold Down the River: Wyoming's Search for its Soul." I ran into Sam last Thursday in Cheyenne during a presentation by photographer Adam Jahiel of Story. Sam accompanied Adam to Kyrgyzstan during a trip organized by Jackson's Vista 360. Sam interviewed and wrote while Adam shot the photos of the country's horse culture. The photos were beautiful. The landscape was reminiscent of certain parts of Wyoming. Adam made a brief mention of an upcoming book about the project, but wouldn't reveal any details.
I've talked to some of my fellow recyclers about this and they don't know the answers. They're a diverse bunch. An airman from Warren AFB with two kids in his SUV said he was from upstate New York where they'd had curbside recycling for 20 years. He wondered why we didn't have something similar. There is a pilot program in Cheyenne's Sun Valley neighborhood. No telling how long the pilot will last and whether it will prove economical enough to expand citywide. One good sign: cranky letters promoting and bemoaning the curbside plan have begun to show up on our local op-ed pages. Once it reaches the op-ed stage, you know that implementation can't be far behind.
I see many families hauling their stuff to our three blue-bin locations. Kids instructing their parents on the wonders of recycling. Retirees, too, whom I see when I use part of my lunch hour for recycling. Lots of women, too, of all ages. More women than men, if my unscientific observations are any gauge. It's possible there here in the rugged West it's the duty of the womenfolk to recycle, the menfolk being too busy wrangling cattle or shooting varmints. It's also possible that women are more attuned to the benefits of recycling and saving the planet.
Wyoming's Sam Western provides some answers to recycling's true costs in a column he wrote for wyofile.com. As befitting someone who's been a correspondent for London's Economist magazine since 1985, Sam did his homework. He estimates that only three to five percent of the state's trash is recycled, compared to a national average of 27 percent.
Aluminum cans typically go east to Anheuser-Busch's Metal Container Corporation; cardboard and paper travel to plants in Montana, Oregon, and Washington, sometimes China; steel cans and small scrap end up at the Nucor Steel plant in Plymouth, Utah.
That's a pretty long haul, paper going to China. But maybe my paper only has to travel next door to Montana. As a writer and reader, I recycle a lot of paper, both at home and at work. All those gin bottles, too, can't forget those. The good part about glass is that there's a company in Wyoming that recycles it.
Contractors in Campbell County, which imports most of its gravel from South Dakota or Johnson County, use crushed glass (called cullet) as filler around landscaping, septic drain fields, retaining wall backfill, and drain pipe bedding.
Other Wyoming companies are getting into the act, recycling plastic bottles and old tires. There's a company in Cheyenne, Tatooine, that collects computers and other electronic devices, breaks them down, and sells the parts. It's the old junkyard concept where you discard your old jalopy and gearheads use it for parts for their old jalopies, which they call classic cars.
Read Sam's entire column under the "Guest" link at http://www.wyofile.com/. He's done an impressive amount of research about trash, landfills and recycling, lassoing all those facts and figures into easily digestible bites. Sam's always been good at the details, as readers saw in his book, "Pushed off the Mountain, Sold Down the River: Wyoming's Search for its Soul." I ran into Sam last Thursday in Cheyenne during a presentation by photographer Adam Jahiel of Story. Sam accompanied Adam to Kyrgyzstan during a trip organized by Jackson's Vista 360. Sam interviewed and wrote while Adam shot the photos of the country's horse culture. The photos were beautiful. The landscape was reminiscent of certain parts of Wyoming. Adam made a brief mention of an upcoming book about the project, but wouldn't reveal any details.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Democrats meet Feb. 26 at Plains Hotel
The Laramie County Democrats will hold its monthly business meeting this Tuesday, Feb. 26, 7 p.m., at the Plains Hotel in downtown Cheyenne. These meetings grow larger and busier as the presidential campaign heats up. Come on down!
Lots of business to discuss. The March 8 county caucus has been switched to the Cheyenne Civic Center to accommodate big crowds. An Obama office has opened and one for Clinton is opening soon, at least according to this morning's paper. Next weekend's a biggie for Dems with a legislative reception Jan. 29 and the Nellie Tayloe Ross dinner March 1. And -- surprise -- there's money to be raised!
FMI: Call the LarCoDems office at 307-634-9001.
Lots of business to discuss. The March 8 county caucus has been switched to the Cheyenne Civic Center to accommodate big crowds. An Obama office has opened and one for Clinton is opening soon, at least according to this morning's paper. Next weekend's a biggie for Dems with a legislative reception Jan. 29 and the Nellie Tayloe Ross dinner March 1. And -- surprise -- there's money to be raised!
FMI: Call the LarCoDems office at 307-634-9001.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Getting out the Obama voters in Wyoming
I made some phone calls the other night for the Obama campaign. A handful of volunteers were calling registered Democrats and independents in Sweetwater County. We urged them to get out to the county caucus March 8 at the Western Wyoming Community College campus in Green River. Nobody cussed me out, although I had a few hang up on me. I left a dozen messages on voice mail, wondering as I did so whether someone was on the other end looking at the caller ID screen and muttering that Barack Obama had a lot of nerve calling during dinner time. I talked high school basketball with a woman in Green River who said that she and her husband were 'leaning toward" supporting Obama. Problem was, they would be on the road with their daughter's high school b-ball team and couldn't be at the caucus.
I didn't find any determined Obama support with the people I spoke with. "Leaning toward" was about as good as it got. I did get a of couple registered Independents on the line who said they liked Obama but would not change their registration to Obama just to vote in the caucus. Wyoming lets you change your registration if you do it by the end of the day tomorrow (Feb. 22). During party primary elections in Wyoming you can walk into the polls and change your registration that day so you can either vote for a candidate you love or you can sabotage the opposing party's candidate(s).
I volunteered as a precinct captain for Obama. I'm charged with calling the Dems in my precinct and getting them out to the caucus in Cheyenne March 8. If I want, I can go door-to-door and see where they stand. I had a lot of interesting conversations in 2006 as I went door-to-door for Gary Trauner and Dave Freudenthal. A lot of people just didn't know who Trauner was, although more know the name this year. Gov. Freudenthal had a lot of name recognition which helped as he clinched the election by a wide margin over Republican opponent what's-his-name.
I'm sure I'll spend many more pleasant hours making calls and ringing doorbells this election year. It makes a difference. Your candidate doesn't always win, but it's the effort that counts. Do I want to tell my grandchildren I sat on my keister during the most important election of my lifetime?
I didn't find any determined Obama support with the people I spoke with. "Leaning toward" was about as good as it got. I did get a of couple registered Independents on the line who said they liked Obama but would not change their registration to Obama just to vote in the caucus. Wyoming lets you change your registration if you do it by the end of the day tomorrow (Feb. 22). During party primary elections in Wyoming you can walk into the polls and change your registration that day so you can either vote for a candidate you love or you can sabotage the opposing party's candidate(s).
I volunteered as a precinct captain for Obama. I'm charged with calling the Dems in my precinct and getting them out to the caucus in Cheyenne March 8. If I want, I can go door-to-door and see where they stand. I had a lot of interesting conversations in 2006 as I went door-to-door for Gary Trauner and Dave Freudenthal. A lot of people just didn't know who Trauner was, although more know the name this year. Gov. Freudenthal had a lot of name recognition which helped as he clinched the election by a wide margin over Republican opponent what's-his-name.
I'm sure I'll spend many more pleasant hours making calls and ringing doorbells this election year. It makes a difference. Your candidate doesn't always win, but it's the effort that counts. Do I want to tell my grandchildren I sat on my keister during the most important election of my lifetime?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
MoveOn: delegates before superdelegates
My name is in the background somewhere. The ad may appear as early as Thursday (tomorrow) in USA Today. FMI: http://www.moveon.org/.
Must register by Feb. 22 for Dem caucus
Voters have until this Friday, Feb. 22, to register as Democrats in order to be eligible to participate in the March 8 Wyoming Democratic Caucuses. This includes registered Republicans and Independents who want to caucus for Barack Obama, as well as new voters.
Seventeen-year-olds who turn 18 by November are eligible to participate in the Dem caucuses, but they must register by Feb. 22.
If you did not vote in the 2006 general election, or if you have moved to a new address since last registering, you must re-register by Feb. 22 in order to participate in the Wyoming Democratic Caucuses.
Voters can register to vote in the office of the county clerk or town clerk in the county where they live. Click here for a list of Wyoming County Clerk locations and contact information.
Seventeen-year-olds who turn 18 by November are eligible to participate in the Dem caucuses, but they must register by Feb. 22.
If you did not vote in the 2006 general election, or if you have moved to a new address since last registering, you must re-register by Feb. 22 in order to participate in the Wyoming Democratic Caucuses.
Voters can register to vote in the office of the county clerk or town clerk in the county where they live. Click here for a list of Wyoming County Clerk locations and contact information.
Grassroots Dems address education Feb. 21
The Laramie County Democratic Grassroots Coalition will meet on Thursday, Feb. 21, 6:30 p.m. in the Laramie County Public Library's Sage Room on the second floor. All interested county residents are invited to attend.
The gathering begins with a short business meeting, followed by a presentation on education issues and the No Child Left Behind legislation. Speakers will be Kathryn Valido, president of the Wyoming Education Association, and Ted Adams, superintendent of Laramie County School District No. 1.
The gathering begins with a short business meeting, followed by a presentation on education issues and the No Child Left Behind legislation. Speakers will be Kathryn Valido, president of the Wyoming Education Association, and Ted Adams, superintendent of Laramie County School District No. 1.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Dems' caucus site switched to Civic Center
It's official. The March 8 Laramie County Democratic Party caucus/convention will be held at the Cheyenne Civic Center at 510 W. 20th St. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the caucus starts at 9.
The caucus site was changed over the weekend when it became apparent that the original location, the UW Family Pratice Center auditorium, was going to be too small for the record turnout expected this year. Over the weekend, Mike Bell of the Laramie County Democrats guesstimated that up to 1,000 people might show up on March 8. The reason? The tight race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Every single delegate is important this year.
To participate in the caucus, you must be a registered Democrat by this Friday, Feb. 22. Seventeen-year-olds who'll be 18 by the Nov. 4 general election can register and participate in the caucus.
FMI: Contact the Cheyenne office of the county and state Democrats by calling 307-634-9001.
The caucus site was changed over the weekend when it became apparent that the original location, the UW Family Pratice Center auditorium, was going to be too small for the record turnout expected this year. Over the weekend, Mike Bell of the Laramie County Democrats guesstimated that up to 1,000 people might show up on March 8. The reason? The tight race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Every single delegate is important this year.
To participate in the caucus, you must be a registered Democrat by this Friday, Feb. 22. Seventeen-year-olds who'll be 18 by the Nov. 4 general election can register and participate in the caucus.
FMI: Contact the Cheyenne office of the county and state Democrats by calling 307-634-9001.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Rock the vote -- and show up at the polls
Stephen Winn, deputy editorial page editor at the Kansas City Star, wrote a column today in praise of the youth vote. I read it in our local paper, the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, while sipping coffee and listening to the blasted north wind whistle through the eaves. Winn applauds the younger generation for turning out in large numbers for Barack Obama. And then he bemoans the fact that Baby Boomers (his generation and mine) "have kind of screwed things up." He then lists the many ways that we have failed: electing George W. Bush not once but twice (maybe only once); lack of reform of Social Security and Medicare; running up the national debt; etc.
While our children get saddled with more of the national debt ($30,000 per person) and a whopping college loan debt (if they can even qualify for assistance), the country's older and oldest Americans keep getting more benefits. Why is that? They vote, work at the polls, write their congressional reps, and join powerful lobbying orgs such as AARP. Some of them even blog. They're loud and they're proud. A huge pain in the ass.
So youngsters, take a page from your elders' handbook and get involved to the point of pain-in-the-ass status. It's already happening, and it's good to see. My 23-year-old son, Kevin, voted in his first presidential election in 2004. He recently voted in the Arizona primary. He's outspoken in his support for Barack Obama, although he's too busy to do much electioneering, at least for now. He's paying for his own school, attending classes full-time and working nights. His girlfriend does the same. They're having a heck of a time finding enough financial aid. But they persevere. They're young and they have big plans.
My daughter is still too young to vote but will be in 2012. That same year, I'll be old enough to get Social Security checks. But I won't as retirement will still be a few years away. Will we have S.S. and Medicare reform by 2012? That depends on whether we have a Democrat as president or a Republican. To ensure that, we have to get to the polls and vote.
Speaking of polls, why is it that I'm the only one there who doesn't remember World War II? Born in 1950, I'm usually the youngest poll worker in my precinct. When we set up our e-voting machines in 2006, many of the poll workers gathered around and stared at the machines much like the primates in "2001: A Space Odyssey" stared at The Sentinel in the film's opening scene. They had about as much knowledge of the technology. We had techs from Diebold available to come in and fix any problems, but we did have to show others how to use the things to cast their vote.
Volunteers at polling places are primarily retirees. Younger people are at school or work or taking care of kids. Would that change if we had elections on weekends instead of weekdays? What if everyone had a paid day off on election day? Why not change polling day and see what happens. Or maybe we should change the entire system. We have local control of polling places, just as we have local control for schools. County clerks are responsible for setting up the system and making sure it runs smoothly.
But we've seen the results, most notably in the 2000 presidential elections. But even the latest round of primaries have shown ballot problems and machine breakdowns. Polling place workers are giving out faulty information, possibly because they forgot to take their morning meds.
So just add the crazy voting system to the things that we Baby Boomers should have fixed but didn't.
I've seen the young people getting involved in this election cycle. Men and women in their 20s and 30s are powering the Obama campaign nationally and right here in Wyoming. I think they see this as their opportunity to take charge of a broken system and make it better. There will be heartbreak and compromise along the way. But it's best not to think about that now. Win first, worry later.
While our children get saddled with more of the national debt ($30,000 per person) and a whopping college loan debt (if they can even qualify for assistance), the country's older and oldest Americans keep getting more benefits. Why is that? They vote, work at the polls, write their congressional reps, and join powerful lobbying orgs such as AARP. Some of them even blog. They're loud and they're proud. A huge pain in the ass.
So youngsters, take a page from your elders' handbook and get involved to the point of pain-in-the-ass status. It's already happening, and it's good to see. My 23-year-old son, Kevin, voted in his first presidential election in 2004. He recently voted in the Arizona primary. He's outspoken in his support for Barack Obama, although he's too busy to do much electioneering, at least for now. He's paying for his own school, attending classes full-time and working nights. His girlfriend does the same. They're having a heck of a time finding enough financial aid. But they persevere. They're young and they have big plans.
My daughter is still too young to vote but will be in 2012. That same year, I'll be old enough to get Social Security checks. But I won't as retirement will still be a few years away. Will we have S.S. and Medicare reform by 2012? That depends on whether we have a Democrat as president or a Republican. To ensure that, we have to get to the polls and vote.
Speaking of polls, why is it that I'm the only one there who doesn't remember World War II? Born in 1950, I'm usually the youngest poll worker in my precinct. When we set up our e-voting machines in 2006, many of the poll workers gathered around and stared at the machines much like the primates in "2001: A Space Odyssey" stared at The Sentinel in the film's opening scene. They had about as much knowledge of the technology. We had techs from Diebold available to come in and fix any problems, but we did have to show others how to use the things to cast their vote.
Volunteers at polling places are primarily retirees. Younger people are at school or work or taking care of kids. Would that change if we had elections on weekends instead of weekdays? What if everyone had a paid day off on election day? Why not change polling day and see what happens. Or maybe we should change the entire system. We have local control of polling places, just as we have local control for schools. County clerks are responsible for setting up the system and making sure it runs smoothly.
But we've seen the results, most notably in the 2000 presidential elections. But even the latest round of primaries have shown ballot problems and machine breakdowns. Polling place workers are giving out faulty information, possibly because they forgot to take their morning meds.
So just add the crazy voting system to the things that we Baby Boomers should have fixed but didn't.
I've seen the young people getting involved in this election cycle. Men and women in their 20s and 30s are powering the Obama campaign nationally and right here in Wyoming. I think they see this as their opportunity to take charge of a broken system and make it better. There will be heartbreak and compromise along the way. But it's best not to think about that now. Win first, worry later.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Vets face a "daunting & growing" problem
The Billings Gazette reports that Montana Sen. Jon Tester will accompany the new secretary of Veterans Affairs to Billings and Helena on Feb. 20. Tester, a Democrat elected in 2006, invited James Peake to Montana late last year to see firsthand the issues affecting Montana veterans. As is the case everywhere, Montana vets are facing a long list of mental health problems after long deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Peake and Tester will hold a public town hall meeting for veterans at the Hilton Garden Inn in Billings at 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 20. Peake also will tour the Billings VA Clinic. He and Tester will travel to Helena where they'll hold a round-table discussion at 2:30 p.m.
Too bad Peake can’t travel south to Wyoming while he’s in the neighborhood. Perhaps one of our esteemed senators, both Iraq War supporters and Republicans who presumably have close personal relationships with Bush appointees, can do some inviting of their own. Tester’s an opponent of the war, and a newbie to boot. Look what he’s been able to accomplish.
I’m not a veteran, but I do have some expertise on mental health issues both personally, in my own family, and as a governor-appointed member of the Wyoming Mental Health Planning Council. I’ve also been board chair of UPLIFT, the Wyoming affiliate of the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health.
Larry D. Barttelbort, executive director of the Wyoming Veterans Commission, sent out this press release about a program in the state aimed at addressing veterans’ mental health:
Veterans for America recently released a study of soldiers based at Fort Drum in Watertown, New York. You can read the full report at http://www.veteransforamerica.org/. Here are a few paragraphs from the introduction:
Too bad Peake can’t travel south to Wyoming while he’s in the neighborhood. Perhaps one of our esteemed senators, both Iraq War supporters and Republicans who presumably have close personal relationships with Bush appointees, can do some inviting of their own. Tester’s an opponent of the war, and a newbie to boot. Look what he’s been able to accomplish.
I’m not a veteran, but I do have some expertise on mental health issues both personally, in my own family, and as a governor-appointed member of the Wyoming Mental Health Planning Council. I’ve also been board chair of UPLIFT, the Wyoming affiliate of the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health.
Larry D. Barttelbort, executive director of the Wyoming Veterans Commission, sent out this press release about a program in the state aimed at addressing veterans’ mental health:
A joint venture pilot program between the Wyoming Military Department, Wyoming Veterans Commission, and the Wyoming Department of Health will ensure Wyoming Veterans are connected with state and federal resources. This pilot program is based on a recommendation from Wyoming's Veterans Mental Health Task Force. We have combined end-of-biennium funds to hire two contract Veteran's Advocates. They will link our Wyoming Veterans, their families, and their employers directly with state and federal resources. We will use Wyoming Military Department federal resources to assist with scheduling, data collection and reporting.
This program will help Veterans overcome the stigma of seeking help and help them connect with these wonderful resources. The advocates will meet with the Veteran, the family, and the employer to ensure the Veteran is using all the resources available to them.
Wyoming is also blessed with two of the finest VA Medical Centers in the U.S., at Sheridan and Cheyenne. The VA's Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) in Casper, Gillette, Green River, Newcastle, Powell, Riverton and Rock Springs provide outstanding care. The Vet Centers in Cheyenne and Casper provide confidential mental health counseling and also provide contract services in some outlying areas.If you are approached about a Wyoming Veteran experiencing problems with readjustment issues at home, with friends, or at work don't hesitate to call one of our advocates or the VA resources.
Veteran's Advocates:
Leon Chamberlain (307) 359-2430 (Northern Wyoming)
David Hall (307) 631-3736 (Southern Wyoming)
VA Health Information 1-877-222-8387FMI: Larry D. Barttelbort, 307-772-5016
Veterans for America recently released a study of soldiers based at Fort Drum in Watertown, New York. You can read the full report at http://www.veteransforamerica.org/. Here are a few paragraphs from the introduction:
A new, in-depth investigative report released by Veterans for America, documents the toll of repeated, lengthy, and unpredictable deployments on Soldiers stationed at Fort Drum, New York, raising powerful questions about the sustainability of U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Over the past decade, Fort Drum’s 10th Mountain Division has been one of the Army’s most heavily deployed divisions. Since September 11, 2001, Fort Drum’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT) is the most deployed brigade in the Army – with more than 40 months logged away from home in that time.
VFA’s new report highlights the lack of treatment available to combat soldiers and presents potential solutions to what the Pentagon acknowledges is a "daunting and growing" problem.
"Sooner or later, and likely sooner, we’re going to hit the wall and something will have to change," said Bobby Muller, VFA’s founder. "Simple morality and decency demand a change. We cannot continue taking such gross advantage of those who have offered themselves in service to our country."
On their latest Iraq tour, members of the 2nd BCT were more than five times more likely to have been killed than others who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and more than four times as likely to have been wounded. In all, the 2nd BCT has been deployed four times. Pentagon studies have found that a soldier’s chance of developing mental health problems increases 60 percent upon each deployment.
"Soldiers at Fort Drum have been repeatedly exposed to high intensity combat. Mental health resources must match this level of sacrifice," said Jason W. Forrester, one of the report authors.
More on House's "clean-coal" bills
As I mentioned on Thursday, two "clean-coal" bills moved forward in the Wyoming House. Both concern carbon sequestration. Neither bill supports a linguistic alternative to "sequestration," so it's up to me to keep looking for one.
Here's a bit more info from the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle on those two carbon bills:
Here's a bit more info from the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle on those two carbon bills:
CHEYENNE (WTE) -- On second reading Thursday, the Wyoming House of Representatives passed two pieces of clean-coal legislation requested by the governor. House Bill 89 states that surface landowners control the underground pore spaces where carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas and byproduct of burning coal to make electricity, could be stored. House Bill 90 sets up a regulatory regime for the practice of carbon sequestration under the supervision of the Department of Environmental Quality with assistance from the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The bills must pass one more reading in the House, pass the Senate and be signed by the governor to become law.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Obama office opening draws SRO crowd
I joined about 70 others this morning for the grand opening of the Barack Obama office at 415 W. 28th St. in Cheyenne. Surprised to see so many people there, and so many I'd never seen at local Democratic Party gatherings.
But that's what this campaign is about, drawing in those who haven't been involved before -- or not for a very long time. I ran into an old friend who said he hadn't been to such an exciting political gathering since Gary Hart ran for prez in the 1980s. In fact, he hadn't been involved in politics at all since then.
Gabe Cohen is the Obama campaign's Wyoming director. He'll be overseeing offices in Cheyenne, Laramie, Rock Springs, and Casper. To get started, he asked all of us to take out our cell phones and call 10 friends and tell them to get involved in the campaign. Gabe is young, in his 20s or 30s, as are all the Obama people I met. The crowd was a mix of ages, from 20-somethings to the retired. A lot younger demographic than we see at the average meeting of our county party.
Gabe said that "they" called the Obama campaign crazy for opening four offices in Wyoming, adding that he thought this was a natural thing to do "because we're going to get this kind of turnout everywhere." This was greeted with applause and huzzahs. He then quizzed us with this question: "Which state put JFK over the top in 1960?" Many of us shouted the answer: "Wyoming." The parallels have already been drawn between the Kennedy race for president and Obama's. The energy is there, especially with the young people.
This Cheyenne crowd was energized. Gabe introduced Matt Chandler, who's the campaign's communications director for Wyoming. We also met State Rep. Pete Jorgensen from Jackson, who's one of the Dems' five super-delegates. He said he was old enough to remember JFK, and that he'd worked overseas for a time during the 1960s and recalled "the good will we had around the world -- that's all gone now."
Pete named the other super-delegates: Cynthia Nunley, Nancy Drummond, John Millin (state party chair) and Gov. Dave Freudenthal. He also said that he'd just talked to his wife in Jackson who said that several kids from Rock Springs were coming to stay at their house to canvass Teton County for Obama.
Mike Bell, Laramie County Democrats state chair, spoke next. He said that the March 8 county convention will not be held at the UW Family Practice Center auditorium because there won't be enough room. He startled us by saying that as many as 1,000 people could attend the convention. "We need a bigger place," he said by way of understatement. Possibilities include the Civic Center and Storey Gym, but each of those have a $2,000 fee. Little America wants $6,000 for its new conference center. "We're Democrats. How we can we afford that?"
A hubbub erupted. One woman, who said she was a retired state employee on a fixed income, said she would write a $100 check so we could get the best place for our convention. Others said they would do the same thing. Sara Burlingame-Thomas lifted the cap from her three-month-old son's head and started passing it around. Within 10 minutes, we had $1,500 in cash and checks. Mike said he'd go down Monday and rent a bigger place. Huzzahs all around.
Mike had some tips for us. To participate in the caucus/convention, you must be a registered Democrat in Laramie County by Friday, Feb. 22. And don't count on being on the voter rolls if you didn't vote in the 2006 general election, as your name was probably purged at the county clerk's office. If in doubt, check with the county clerk.
Mike said that registration begins at 8 a.m. at the convention, but it may be helpful to be there by 7:30 if we're going to have such a big turnout. I may have to be there even earlier as I've agreed to be on the nominations committee. We'll kick things off with the presidential preference vote, and then move into delegate selection. "This could be a slugfest," said Mike, depending on how many people are there for each candidate. Following that, we'll discuss the party platform.
"The county caucus is very important," Mike added. "The presidential preference vote determines the delegate count." Up to 55 delegates will be chosen here for the state party convention set for Memorial Day weekend in Jackson.
To wrap things up, Obama organizer Pat Lane (another youngster) made a call for volunteers. "We've seen in the West that Barack Obama is well-liked," he said, noting that he's won primaries/caucuses in Colorado, Nebraska and Idaho. "But we didn't do that -- it was folks like you." He noted that the best way to volunteer was as a precinct captain. That person talks to registered Dems in each precinct and gets them out to the caucus. He also said that volunteers of all kinds are needed, whether for the phone bank or walking neighborhoods.
The meeting broke up and I got in line to sign up as a precinct captain. I could tell that people were excited. I took this as a very good sign that Wyoming, and possibly the U.S., will get the kind of change that we need after eight years of the Bush-Cheney regime.
To get more info about the March 8 caucus/convention, call the county and state party office in Cheyenne at 307-634-9001.
But that's what this campaign is about, drawing in those who haven't been involved before -- or not for a very long time. I ran into an old friend who said he hadn't been to such an exciting political gathering since Gary Hart ran for prez in the 1980s. In fact, he hadn't been involved in politics at all since then.
Gabe Cohen is the Obama campaign's Wyoming director. He'll be overseeing offices in Cheyenne, Laramie, Rock Springs, and Casper. To get started, he asked all of us to take out our cell phones and call 10 friends and tell them to get involved in the campaign. Gabe is young, in his 20s or 30s, as are all the Obama people I met. The crowd was a mix of ages, from 20-somethings to the retired. A lot younger demographic than we see at the average meeting of our county party.
Gabe said that "they" called the Obama campaign crazy for opening four offices in Wyoming, adding that he thought this was a natural thing to do "because we're going to get this kind of turnout everywhere." This was greeted with applause and huzzahs. He then quizzed us with this question: "Which state put JFK over the top in 1960?" Many of us shouted the answer: "Wyoming." The parallels have already been drawn between the Kennedy race for president and Obama's. The energy is there, especially with the young people.
This Cheyenne crowd was energized. Gabe introduced Matt Chandler, who's the campaign's communications director for Wyoming. We also met State Rep. Pete Jorgensen from Jackson, who's one of the Dems' five super-delegates. He said he was old enough to remember JFK, and that he'd worked overseas for a time during the 1960s and recalled "the good will we had around the world -- that's all gone now."
Pete named the other super-delegates: Cynthia Nunley, Nancy Drummond, John Millin (state party chair) and Gov. Dave Freudenthal. He also said that he'd just talked to his wife in Jackson who said that several kids from Rock Springs were coming to stay at their house to canvass Teton County for Obama.
Mike Bell, Laramie County Democrats state chair, spoke next. He said that the March 8 county convention will not be held at the UW Family Practice Center auditorium because there won't be enough room. He startled us by saying that as many as 1,000 people could attend the convention. "We need a bigger place," he said by way of understatement. Possibilities include the Civic Center and Storey Gym, but each of those have a $2,000 fee. Little America wants $6,000 for its new conference center. "We're Democrats. How we can we afford that?"
A hubbub erupted. One woman, who said she was a retired state employee on a fixed income, said she would write a $100 check so we could get the best place for our convention. Others said they would do the same thing. Sara Burlingame-Thomas lifted the cap from her three-month-old son's head and started passing it around. Within 10 minutes, we had $1,500 in cash and checks. Mike said he'd go down Monday and rent a bigger place. Huzzahs all around.
Mike had some tips for us. To participate in the caucus/convention, you must be a registered Democrat in Laramie County by Friday, Feb. 22. And don't count on being on the voter rolls if you didn't vote in the 2006 general election, as your name was probably purged at the county clerk's office. If in doubt, check with the county clerk.
Mike said that registration begins at 8 a.m. at the convention, but it may be helpful to be there by 7:30 if we're going to have such a big turnout. I may have to be there even earlier as I've agreed to be on the nominations committee. We'll kick things off with the presidential preference vote, and then move into delegate selection. "This could be a slugfest," said Mike, depending on how many people are there for each candidate. Following that, we'll discuss the party platform.
"The county caucus is very important," Mike added. "The presidential preference vote determines the delegate count." Up to 55 delegates will be chosen here for the state party convention set for Memorial Day weekend in Jackson.
To wrap things up, Obama organizer Pat Lane (another youngster) made a call for volunteers. "We've seen in the West that Barack Obama is well-liked," he said, noting that he's won primaries/caucuses in Colorado, Nebraska and Idaho. "But we didn't do that -- it was folks like you." He noted that the best way to volunteer was as a precinct captain. That person talks to registered Dems in each precinct and gets them out to the caucus. He also said that volunteers of all kinds are needed, whether for the phone bank or walking neighborhoods.
The meeting broke up and I got in line to sign up as a precinct captain. I could tell that people were excited. I took this as a very good sign that Wyoming, and possibly the U.S., will get the kind of change that we need after eight years of the Bush-Cheney regime.
To get more info about the March 8 caucus/convention, call the county and state party office in Cheyenne at 307-634-9001.
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Super-Delegate!
Grumblings and petitions and angry posts about Democratic Party super-delegates are popping up all over the blogosphere. Democrats who work in the trenches and show up at meetings and cast votes in primaries are concerned that these odd creatures, super-delegates, will swoop into the national convention in August and negate all our hard work.
We have four SD's in Wyoming (correction 2/17: there are five). Governor Dave Freudenthal is one; another is state party chair John Millin. The others are (corrected 2/17) Pete Jorgensen, Cynthia Nunley, and Nancy Drummond. They are being courted by both the Obama and Clinton camps. What they're supposed to do is wait until the convention, determine the will of the Wyoming delegation, and then support that by casting their votes accordingly. Will that happen? Who knows. Some media outlets, such as CNN, are throwing super-delegate counts into their delegate numbers for Clinton and Obama. A petition is circulating urging CNN to stop that.
Another petition is over at moveon.org. It's designed to become a paid ad in USA Today. Here's the wording of the petition:
I think all of the SD hubbub is another exciting aspect of an already stimulating election season. I am a bit paranoid that super-delegates could screw things up. Let's face it -- Dems are good at that, especially during presidential years. So be vigilant, fellow Democrats, and keep an eye on your own state's designated SD's. Chat with them, drop them notes, and tell them to butt out until August in Denver.
We have four SD's in Wyoming (correction 2/17: there are five). Governor Dave Freudenthal is one; another is state party chair John Millin. The others are (corrected 2/17) Pete Jorgensen, Cynthia Nunley, and Nancy Drummond. They are being courted by both the Obama and Clinton camps. What they're supposed to do is wait until the convention, determine the will of the Wyoming delegation, and then support that by casting their votes accordingly. Will that happen? Who knows. Some media outlets, such as CNN, are throwing super-delegate counts into their delegate numbers for Clinton and Obama. A petition is circulating urging CNN to stop that.
Another petition is over at moveon.org. It's designed to become a paid ad in USA Today. Here's the wording of the petition:
Hi, you've probably heard about the "superdelegates" who could end up deciding the Democratic nominee.The superdelegates are under lots of pressure right now to come out for one candidate or the other. We urgently need to encourage them to let the voters decide between Clinton and Obama—and then to support the will of the people. I signed a petition urging the superdelegates to respect the will of the voters. Can you join me at the link below?http://pol.moveon.org/superdelegates/?r_by=12150-1460962-nGQYmh&rc=comment_paste. Thanks!
I think all of the SD hubbub is another exciting aspect of an already stimulating election season. I am a bit paranoid that super-delegates could screw things up. Let's face it -- Dems are good at that, especially during presidential years. So be vigilant, fellow Democrats, and keep an eye on your own state's designated SD's. Chat with them, drop them notes, and tell them to butt out until August in Denver.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Clinton & Obama target WYO & MONT
On Montana's 4&20 Blackbirds, jhwygirl talks about the Obama-Clinton race, particularly how the battle is shaping up in her state of Montana and her former state of Wyoming. Here's an excerpt:
I hadn't heard about Hillary hiring Wyoming staff. But we do know that Barack Obama is opening offices in Cheyenne and Laramie (reported Tuesday). To back up the claim that the Democratic candidates are only interested in capturing delegates in the primaries, I heard through the grapevine that the Obama people have only leased their Cheyenne office for four months, which would take them through the Democratic state convention on Memorial Day weekend. Still, a short-term presence is at least some presence. It may encourage turnout at the county conventions, and raise Sen. Obama's profile in Wyoming. As for Ms. Clinton, her profile is pretty low among Wyomingites, even Dems. A few staffers roaming the state won't be enough to repair damage done a long time ago -- in the 1990s.
As LiTW reports today, Hillary is now hiring staff in Montana, Wyoming, and even Puerto Rico. [Matt] Singer says that he thinks that the staff is going to be up and running only for the primaries -- in other words, they’ll pull out or be redirected for the general. He’s probably right….and isn’t that ironic? Even though it has been shown that Dean’s 50-state strategy is really the way to go (flashback 2006), neither candidate will give it the respect it deserves -- until it’s in the rearview mirror. And even then -- only as much respect as they absolutely have to give it. (”Oops!”)
I hadn't heard about Hillary hiring Wyoming staff. But we do know that Barack Obama is opening offices in Cheyenne and Laramie (reported Tuesday). To back up the claim that the Democratic candidates are only interested in capturing delegates in the primaries, I heard through the grapevine that the Obama people have only leased their Cheyenne office for four months, which would take them through the Democratic state convention on Memorial Day weekend. Still, a short-term presence is at least some presence. It may encourage turnout at the county conventions, and raise Sen. Obama's profile in Wyoming. As for Ms. Clinton, her profile is pretty low among Wyomingites, even Dems. A few staffers roaming the state won't be enough to repair damage done a long time ago -- in the 1990s.
UW and GE sign deal on clean-coal project
The big coal-driven news yesterday was a deal between the University of Wyoming and General Electric Energy to develop an Advanced Coal Technology Center.
And in the Legislature, two bills about carbon sequestration passed first reading in the House.
The proposed GE Energy/UW project would, according to a UW press release, "consist of a small-scale gasification system that would allow UW and GE researchers to develop advanced coal gasification technology solutions for Powder River Basin (PRB) and other Wyoming coals."
There’s more:
Florida is known more for its orange groves than coal fields, so citrus gasification would be a suitable route for the Sunshine State. But Wyoming produces more than 400 million tons of coal annually which, according to UW, "fuels more than 30 percent of the national electrical power generation needs."
Before this project can proceed, the GE/UW alliance is asking the Legislature for a $20 million match to build the plant outside of Laramie. Gov. Freudenthal backs the project, so do some legislators. My guess is that the Legislature will approve the funds.
While I would prefer that we should focus on conservation and alternative energy sources such as wind and solar, it’s not realistic to think that could replace carbon fuels overnight. Besides, the State of Wyoming’s budget is powered by carbon too, those royalties collected when oil and gas and coal are pulled out of the ground.
Both Wyoming and Montana are looking at clean-coal technologies. While they may be interim steps on the way to energy independence, we can’t forget that we can’t put global warming on hold while we work this stuff out.
And in the Legislature, two bills about carbon sequestration passed first reading in the House.
The proposed GE Energy/UW project would, according to a UW press release, "consist of a small-scale gasification system that would allow UW and GE researchers to develop advanced coal gasification technology solutions for Powder River Basin (PRB) and other Wyoming coals."
There’s more:
GE’s cleaner-coal integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) and gasification technology... has been in use at the 230-megawatt TECO Polk I Station in Florida for more than 10 years. The company currently offers a 630-megawatt commercial-scale plant that produces 75 percent less Sox (oxides of sulfur), 33 percent less NOx (oxides of nitrogen), 40 percent less particulate matter, captures 90 percent more mercury and uses 30 percent less water than a pulverized coal plant. Duke Energy, AEP and other utilities in the eastern U.S. have committed to using GE's IGCC technology in proposed projects.
Florida is known more for its orange groves than coal fields, so citrus gasification would be a suitable route for the Sunshine State. But Wyoming produces more than 400 million tons of coal annually which, according to UW, "fuels more than 30 percent of the national electrical power generation needs."
Before this project can proceed, the GE/UW alliance is asking the Legislature for a $20 million match to build the plant outside of Laramie. Gov. Freudenthal backs the project, so do some legislators. My guess is that the Legislature will approve the funds.
While I would prefer that we should focus on conservation and alternative energy sources such as wind and solar, it’s not realistic to think that could replace carbon fuels overnight. Besides, the State of Wyoming’s budget is powered by carbon too, those royalties collected when oil and gas and coal are pulled out of the ground.
Both Wyoming and Montana are looking at clean-coal technologies. While they may be interim steps on the way to energy independence, we can’t forget that we can’t put global warming on hold while we work this stuff out.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Obama to open Cheyenne & Laramie offices
As the Democratic candidates hunt for every delegate, Wyoming enters the picture. According to Channel 5 tonight, Barack Obama is opening offices in Cheyenne and Laramie and sending a team to WYO to campaign during the three weeks remaining before the Democratic county conventions.
I watched Obama's speech tonight from Madison, Wisconsin. He had won the primaries/caucuses in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. More than 18,000 people packed the university arena and cheered the candidate. In the background, you could see white and black and brown and young and middle-aged and maybe a few oldsters thrown in for good measure. It wasn't necessarily a fiery speech. He did note the victories, and also spent a little time trashing "Bush/McCain" policies on Iraq, the economy, climate change to name a few. I liked how he said "Bush/McCain." It's about time we began linking the two because four years of McCain will be like a repeat of George W. Bush. Bush has endorsed McCain as a "true conservative," and McCain has backed Bush's bankrupt policies in Iraq. He predicts that the U.S. may need troops in Iraq for 100 years. Let's bring them home now.
I listened to as much of McCain's victory speech as I could stomach. He swept all three states for the Repubs. He spoke in front of a half-dozen rapidly aging white folks, including John Warner. I guess he was somewhere in Virginia. All I hear when McCain speaks is "more of the same." Blah, blah, blah. He's 72, Obama's 46. This is the largest age gap we've ever had between major party presidential candidates. That tells you a lot.
Meanwhile, here in Wyoming, we're getting cranked up for our March 8 county gatherings. In Laramie County, we'll select 55 delegates for the state Democratic Party convention set for Memorial Day weekend in Jackson. These county confabs are going to be jammed. See you there!
I watched Obama's speech tonight from Madison, Wisconsin. He had won the primaries/caucuses in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. More than 18,000 people packed the university arena and cheered the candidate. In the background, you could see white and black and brown and young and middle-aged and maybe a few oldsters thrown in for good measure. It wasn't necessarily a fiery speech. He did note the victories, and also spent a little time trashing "Bush/McCain" policies on Iraq, the economy, climate change to name a few. I liked how he said "Bush/McCain." It's about time we began linking the two because four years of McCain will be like a repeat of George W. Bush. Bush has endorsed McCain as a "true conservative," and McCain has backed Bush's bankrupt policies in Iraq. He predicts that the U.S. may need troops in Iraq for 100 years. Let's bring them home now.
I listened to as much of McCain's victory speech as I could stomach. He swept all three states for the Repubs. He spoke in front of a half-dozen rapidly aging white folks, including John Warner. I guess he was somewhere in Virginia. All I hear when McCain speaks is "more of the same." Blah, blah, blah. He's 72, Obama's 46. This is the largest age gap we've ever had between major party presidential candidates. That tells you a lot.
Meanwhile, here in Wyoming, we're getting cranked up for our March 8 county gatherings. In Laramie County, we'll select 55 delegates for the state Democratic Party convention set for Memorial Day weekend in Jackson. These county confabs are going to be jammed. See you there!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Capturing carbon a big topic this year
So many bills, so little time.
There is much to keep track of during a 20-day legislative session. Day two hasn't even started and a whole list of things have already happened.
To narrow the scope of my reports, I'll concentrate on one subject and attempt to understand it by the end of the session. Carbon sequestration is intriguing, not only because of the terminology. If I understand it correctly, its aim is to capture the carbon dioxide emitted by coal-burning plants and store it underground until we can figure out what to do with it. So a better term would be Carbon Dioxide Sequestration or, for short, CO2 Storage. We'll work on the wording as the Legislature decides what to do with the bills on the subject it has approved thus far.
Yesterday, the Wyoming House okayed introduction of a bill that would give the state Department of Environmental Quality authority over "carbon injection and sequestration." Another approved bill would give surface owners rights to "any subsurface space that could be used for carbon injection."
As the carbon-based life forms in the Legislature debate the topic, I'll capture more news at this site. Sequestration will be kept to a minimum.
There is much to keep track of during a 20-day legislative session. Day two hasn't even started and a whole list of things have already happened.
To narrow the scope of my reports, I'll concentrate on one subject and attempt to understand it by the end of the session. Carbon sequestration is intriguing, not only because of the terminology. If I understand it correctly, its aim is to capture the carbon dioxide emitted by coal-burning plants and store it underground until we can figure out what to do with it. So a better term would be Carbon Dioxide Sequestration or, for short, CO2 Storage. We'll work on the wording as the Legislature decides what to do with the bills on the subject it has approved thus far.
Yesterday, the Wyoming House okayed introduction of a bill that would give the state Department of Environmental Quality authority over "carbon injection and sequestration." Another approved bill would give surface owners rights to "any subsurface space that could be used for carbon injection."
As the carbon-based life forms in the Legislature debate the topic, I'll capture more news at this site. Sequestration will be kept to a minimum.
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