Rally for the Uninsured Jan. 9 in Cheyenne

Isn't it swell to be in the same group of health-conscious states as Louisiana, Alabama, Idaho and Missouri?

From the Rally for the Uninsured Facebook page: 

Come and participate in a Rally of Support for Medicaid Expansion in Cheyenne, at the Herschler Building Plaza next to the Capitol Building on Thursday, January 9 at 11:45 am until 12:45 pm. Let the legislature know what you think!

Here's what Tom Forslund, Republican Gov. Matt Mead's appointee to direct the Wyoming Department of Health, says about Medicaid Expansion:

1950s filled with creeds, oaths and pledges for us Boomers

Remember Hopalong Cassidy on 1950s black-and-white TV?

Remember Hopalong Cassidy's Creed?

Hopalong was in the news this week, A press release from the University of Wyoming noted that the archives at the American Heritage Center contain hundreds of items from the mythic cowboy's career in TV, radio and movies: LP records, photos, scripts, personal memorabilia, copies of the creed and all of the rest.


Wholesomeness was crucial. Hopalong was the “epitome of gallantry and fair play” and his creed reflected that. Honesty, cleanliness, respect for parents, love of country, etc. All great things. We recited the creed along with our TV cowboy hero -- and meant it. If you've lost your copy of the creed, get a copy at Hoppy's web site.

The 1950s were filled with creeds, oaths and pledges for us Boomer kids.

I was a Catholic, too. That meant memorizing the Ten Commandments and various prayers, including the Hail Mary, the Prayer to Saint Francis and the Apostles' Creed. The liturgy still was in Latin, but the nuns and priests and parents had mercy on us and let us memorize prayers in the vernacular. The Apostles' Creed:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost....

We always said "Holy Ghost" back then instead of "Holy Spirit." I still like saying it. Holy Ghost!

I was a Cub Scout, too. At meetings held at our den mother's house, we recited the oath before launching into various crappy crafts activities. We always wanted to go outside, play tag, shoot BB guns at squirrels, throw snowballs at cars and engage in other healthy outdoor activities. We did like the snacks. They were all-American 1950s snacks. Hostess Twinkees, Snoballs, homemade chocolate chip cookies, Kool-Aid, fat-rich milk, and all the rest. No carrot sticks,  apple slices or chia-infused organic juices for us. This was the beginning of the plaque build-up in my coronary arteries. Thanks a lot, Mrs. Lemon. 

At school, we recited The Pledge of Allegiance every morning, hand over our hearts.

We were good kids. We meant what we said.

To borrow a few lines from Catch-22 (remember Major Major?): When adults told us to look before we leapt, we looked and then leapt. When they said don't take candy from strangers, we didn't take any candy from strangers -- unless it was chocolate. When they said don't take any wooden nickels, I didn't take any wooden nickels.

It was only later, in the 1960s, when we learned that those creeds and oaths and pledges could not protect us from some things. Heartache, for one. No known creed protects against a broken heart. There may be a "I Will Never Love Anyone" creed but I never heard it. I've heard plenty of friends say they were never going to fall in love again. I've said it. Next thing you know, that friend is up to his eyeballs in love and there's not a thing to be done for it. Love stinks, hell yeah, but it's also a drug. Go figure.

We pledged out troth to institutions: The Church, Boy Scouts, U.S.A. They all betrayed us. The worst betrayal came at the hands of our government. It tried to send all of us to Southeast Asia to get killed for a lie. We know that now, and most of us suspected it then. Problem is, it seemed as if we would betray all of our institutions if we didn't do our duty and go to war. All those creeds and oaths and pledges! I didn't go, but that was only through the luck of the draw and strange circumstances. Some of my peers felt it was their duty to fight communism in Vietnam, to help stop the dominoes from falling. They had pledged loyalty to their government and now their government told them it was time to fulfill that pledge. We all took another oath, even us ROTC types, that said we would defend the constitution of the United States, so help us God.

God help us.

It's a long time gone, as the song says. But some of us still remember what it was like to feel betrayed. It caused some of my pals to take a hard right and blame the gubment for all of their ills. I don't blame them, really. I'm a liberal, though, one of those people who tend to put their faith in institutions. But that faith comes with a skeptical eye. Being a Boomer during Vietnam should have left us all with a bit of skepticism. The war was a lie and the draft lottery was rigged. Our elders would tell us anything to sway us to their righteous cause. Can't really blame then, either, as they had made their own pledges,  fought in the war, and been rewarded with peace and prosperity. Why were their children such ingrates?

Generations bang up against each other, sometimes in violent ways. At this moment, we are undoubtedly betraying our children and grandchildren. Some conservatives still bemoan the loose morals of their Boomer peers, blaming all of our present ills on those darn sixties. We lefties tend to regret the scourges of pollution and global warming. Sorry, kids, but you'll be underwater by 2200, maybe sooner. Not in Wyoming, but here in Cheyenne we'll have all of those coastal immigrants to worry about. Wonder if we'll be putting up a fence to keep out fleeing Californians and Carolinians?

If only we could come up with a pledge to save us from ourselves.

As new year dawns in Colorado, authorities on the lookout for stoned Wyoming Boomers

An Iraq War veteran with PTSD was the first in line to purchase pot this morning in Colorado, according to a story on NBC News Online.

"I feel amazing. This is a huge step forward for veterans," said Sean Azzariti of Denver, who helped campaign for Amendment 64. "Now I get to use recreational cannabis to alleviate my PTSD."

Meanwhile, the state's “potrepreneurs” are preparing for an onslaught of Cannabis tourists.

From the Colorado Highlife Facebook page

Colorado Highlife Tours promises “fun, affordable and discreet” cannabis-centered excursions on its bus and limo tours. From NBC:

“You’ll be able to buy a little pot here and there, see a commercial grow, visit iconic Colorado landmarks and take lots of pictures,” said company owner Timothy Vee. “It will be like a Napa Valley wine tour.”

--clip--

Unlike Napa Valley wine tours, however, out-of-states tourists to Colorado’s pot retail stores won’t be able to take home most products they purchase. “It remains illegal to take marijuana out of the state,” said Michael Elliott of the Medical Marijuana Industry Group. And because marijuana also remains on the Transportation Security Administration's list of prohibited items, Denver International Airport will enforce a new policy that bans pot throughout the airport.

Prior to Jan. 1, Colorado Highlife Tours has mixed sightseeing with stops at glass-blowing shops, marijuana grow centers and has offered customers “free samples” — because buying pot was not yet legal.

“You live and learn,” said Vee. “On our tours, we’re getting a lot of empty nesters that haven’t smoked pot in 20 years. We’ve also had people who have never smoked pot take our tours and had one couple get high and so paranoid that we had to interrupt the tour and take them back to their hotel.” 

Stoned empty nesters. Baby Boomers, high on Bubba Kush, reeling around downtown Denver is search of organic munchies. Busloads of Wyoming retirees rolling down the highway, sweet smoke and Doobie Brothers tunes wafting out the windows.

All hell is breaking loose in my home state of Colorado. Across the border in Cheyenne, we are sober as judges -- most judges, anyway. No legal pot here.

But Wyoming NORML is working on it. It will sponsor a "Walk for Weed" Feb. 10 in Cheyenne. At least two Republican legislators have been discussing marijuana publicly. Sen. Bruce Burns (R-Sheridan) made the news recently when he revealed that 30 years ago he transported illegal ganja to his cancer-stricken uncle (a priest!) back in New York. His momma asked him to do it and he delivered. His uncle started eating better and gained 15 pounds. Burns knows first-hand the benefits of medicinal weed, which is where Wyoming may start. Rep. Sue Wallis (R-Recluse), she of the strong Libertarian streak, has already talked about promoting medicinal marijuana legislation. On most issues, Rep. Wallis is as conservative as most of her neighbors in rural Campbell County. But she is a big promoter of the local food movement, spoke out last year in favor of a civil unions bill and has been very vocal in opposition to anti-women legislation promulgated by the wackos in her own party.

So who knows? Will Legislature focus on pot amongst all of the budgetary items? On day one, 2014 already looks interesting. Don't know about you, but I'm glad to be here.

Sunday morning round-up

Anyone out there had norovirus, gastroenteritis, the intestinal bug, stomach flu, the cruise ship curse? It's all the same thing. Unpleasant but fast moving. I should be fine by start of work on Monday. Last year at this time, I was told by my doc that my stomach cramps were the onset of the bug. He gave me a nausea shot and sent me home. Meanwhile, my heart kept revolting and I didn't get help until the new year. Yes, I keep bringing this up. And no, I won't stop. Not because I blame my doc. But because heart attack symptoms can be almost anything. A pain in the ass? That's probably something else, such as watching too much Fox TV or spending too much time with that Tea Party relative. But unexplainable pains in the stomach, side, arm, head, back? As my old Wyoming pal Dick Cheney says: "When in doubt, check it out." That doesn't go for weapons of mass destruction in a troublesome foreign country whose initials are I-R-A-Q. But it does for the H-E-A-R-T.

The Broncos play in Oakland today.  Normally this would be a cause of great drama, but the Raiders are only a shadow of their former selves and the Broncos have Peyton Manning. This used to be one of the greatest rivalries in the NFL, but you almost have to go back to the John Madden days for that. Howard Cosell belittling the Broncos on Monday Night Football. All those crazy fans in the rickety south stands of the old Mile High Stadium. The fans used to get on Madden, but he has said on national TV that he and his team would always get revved up to play in Denver. Madden, now a video-gaming gazillionaire, probably has softened with time. Those games could be brutal. Gradishar and Alzado and Jackson and Hayes and Stabler-to-Biletnikoff and Morton-to-Moses. My late brother Pat, the only one of us five brothers to play football in high school, was a Raiders fan. He liked the Broncos, too, but only when they weren't playing the Raiders. Wonder what he'd think of the present-day Raiders? I'll think of you today, Pat, when I'm watching the game, especially if (when) a fight breaks out.

I hear that Florida will soon bypass New York as the third most populous state. Not surprising, considering that millions of New Yorkers have deserted Syracuse and Buffalo and Albany for the Sunshine State. I spent about half of November in Florida and experienced first-hand that population boom. Orlando traffic is crazy. A commuter line, SunRail, is being built by Canadians (the original snowbirds) but even that may not help alleviate the congestion. I'm going to central Florida in a couple weeks for my niece's wedding. The difference this time is that I'll be driving instead of leaving that to others. Wish me luck. I live in a small city, one where drivers think nothing of stopping in the middle of the road to chat with neighbors. Our new two-lane roundabout has caused apoplexy in some old-timers who see it as a commie plot against the all-American tradition of streetlights and running those very same lights to cause horrible crashes. As I said, wish me luck.

Have a happy and healthy new year.

And when in doubt, check it out.

Beer drinking around the world -- and close to home

Watching The Sound of Music Monday night, the 1965 version with Julie Andrews, I grew curious about the setting. Supposedly Salzburg, Austria, pre- and post-anschluss (1938). The action takes place during the summer which must be extremely long in Salzburg, as the anschluss happened in early March 1938 and before the Nazis made their move on the Austrians, Maria was scampering with the Von Trapp kids in lush high meadows and boating with them on an ice-free lake. She fled to the convent, then returned, the Captain fell hard for her, gave the baroness the bum's rush, Cap and Maria got married, took a long honeymoon, and when they returned, the anschluss was over, Nazi flags were draped all over creation and it was still summer.

That's Hollywood.

So I looked up Salzburg's web site. The first link under "Things to do" was "Beer." I immediately fell in love with the place. There are cities in the world known for its beer: Munich, Fort Collins, Colo., St. Louis, Philadelphia. Yet only one of these bergs feature beer prominently on its official web site. Muenchen.de -- Das offizielle Stadtportal, is proud of its Octoberfest and even gives visitors the dates for 2014.

I'm obviously living in the wrong country.

Or the wrong part of the right country.

In November, as I was trying to find my way through the maze of the Philadelphia Airport, I chanced across a display of the city's historic beers. Yuengling ("America's Oldest Brewery" at 180-plus years) figured prominently -- a pretty good beer popular up and down the East Coast. There were beer bottles dating back to Colonial times and cool new craft beers for contemporary tipplers. Given time, I would have settled into a concourses pub and tried some. I'll have to wait for a longer layover.

Another neat exhibit at the airport featured Philadelphia's writers. There was a whole wall of them. Owen Wister was one, a well-to-do native of the city who went to Wyoming for a time and later found fame and fortune with his best-seller, The Virginian: Horseman of the Plains. It may be the first cowboy novel. Wister and Ernest Hemingway went fishing once, although there was nothing about that in Wister's airport bio. Wister wrote The Virginian in the library of The swanky Philadelphia Club, where he was a member, and dedicated it to Theodore Roosevelt, his classmate at Harvard. Other writers from Philadelphia: Sci-fi writer Ben Bova, poet and fiction writer (and physician) William Carlos Williams, legal eagle and thriller writer Lisa Scottoline, one-time U.S. Poet Laureate Maxine Kumin, linguist and author Noam Chomsky and novelist Pearl S. Buck. Pretty good list -- and that's only a few. The author exhibit was very near the beer exhibit, which is only fitting.

Why write about beer? Craft breweries are booming, sprouting in the most unlikely places. Ten Sleep Brewing Company is the newest addition to sleepy Ten Sleep, Wyo., pop. 257. I plan on checking it out next time I'm up that way, most likely summertime, when the living is easy in the Big Horn Basin. Meanwhile, check it out on its Facebook page.

Craft breweries are cool because its founders tend to be young and adventurous, and its products are homegrown. This is the age of "local" and crafters fill the bill. Not all of them can walk out their back doors and harvest a batch of hops and grain for the brewing process. But they make the beer on site, and almost every one has at least a modest-sized tasting room. Snake River Brewing in Jackson is the old man of Wyoming breweries, a place that serves amazing beer (Pako's!), good food and even takes on interns from the nation's craft brewing college programs. They have art displays, such as the unique one last year that displayed hand-crafted bicycles. Hand-crafted beer and hand-crafted bikes.

Cheyenne is relatively new to craft brewing. A brewpub cropped up in the late 1990s downtown but went out of business. We now have Freedom's Edge Brewing Company and Shadows, both housed in historic downtown buildings. Freedom's Edge is bottling its beer, even creating some limited edition brews in fancy bottles. FEBC is expanding into the beer nirvana in 2014:

We will be opening in the historic Antlers Hotel building at 224 Linden St. [in Fort Collins] with a target opening of late February 2014. This new location will be a true small batch craft brewery that will serve as our pilot brewery, so lots and lots of experimentation! We will also be heavily involved with the home brewing community allowing local brewers to come in and brew along side of us.

FoCo already boasts a dozen breweries, including two of the best in the U.S.: New Belgium and Odell. Their customer base down there is appreciably larger than it is in Cheyenne, still predominately a Budweiser city.

The state's liquor laws don't help either. I don't want to get into details, but all the beer, booze and wine in the state is regulated by the Wyoming Liquor Division. All the beer on liquor store shelves has to be vetted by the WLC. So, when you wonder why you aren't seeing the newest and coolest and most experimental brews on the shelves at Town & Country and Uncle Charlie's, you know why. I'm a statie myself, so know better than to blame the WLC people for their outmoded rules and regs. The fact is, the craft brewing industry is moving at lightning speed while governmental agencies move at a snail's pace.

So you can do a couple different things. Do your beer drinking at Wyoming's excellent brewpubs, taking home the good stuff in growlers for later consumption. Or you can do all of your drinking in Fort Collins and Longmont or Denver, and your store shopping at Supermarket Liquor's on Mulberry in FoCo, which is what Town and Country could be if it was located eight miles south on the Greeley Highway on the Colorado side of the border.

But Wyoming will catch up. It has to.

Year in Review: The Big C

My year can be summed up in one word: heart. Cardiac may be a better term, as my year was filled with issues related to the parts of the hospital with the other C-word in their names: Cardiac Lab, Cardiac Rehab, Cardiology, etc.

The condition of my heart first came to my attention on Jan. 2. The pain in my belly that was first diagnosed as intestinal flu and then as pneumonia, became a full-fledged heart attack on the day after New Year's Day. I related the story in my blog here and here. These blog posts came after the fact, as I was busily being ill for the first two weeks in January. During recovery, I had plenty of time to bemoan my fate and to ponder it. After generous doses of meds and rehab, I went under the knife again in July for an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator, a device that goes by the initials ICD. More recovery and exercise followed. Finally a clean bill of health was issued by my docs in the fall. They don't issue an actual Clean Bill of Health, although a cardiac patient is issued a dazzling arrays of bills for service.

The Cardiac Year.

The original Big C -- cancer -- played a big part in my year. Not for me, but for three of my siblings and several of my friends. Cancer runs in our family. My mother died of ovarian cancer at 59 and my father from prostate cancer at 77. My eight siblings and I all have been diagnosed with various forms of skin cancer, the legacy of growing up Irish on Florida beaches. My brother Dan was diagnosed with melanoma in his early 50s, but the docs caught it in time. Same with prostate cancer, which was treated and dismissed a few years later. Then leukemia came calling. This is the big leagues of cancer. Dan received big-league treatment at Houston's MD Anderson Cancer Center. But it came to naught, as Dan passed away just a few days shy of his 61st birthday. I wrote about this, too, but the words do not seem to assuage the pain. Some farewell posts for my brother here and here and here and here.

The Cancer Year.

Amidst the pain comes humor and its first cousin, politics. I had some fun with our conservative opponents this year. They are such easy targets, especially in this age of viral videos that reveal to all the world their knuckleheaded intentions. I had a great time documenting the comments of the legislature as it discussed a civil unions bill. You can revisit that event here. No aircraft carrier bill on the docket this year, but we can always look forward to 2014.

Some attempted humor on other topics here and here.

The Year of Living Crazily.

To sum up, Cardiac, Cancer and Crazies. The year of the Big C.

Wants the facts on the ACA? Go to the sources

Keep a few things in mind when trying to understand the Affordable Care Act.

Go to the correct sources for information. The main web site is http://healthcare.gov. That's where you find out the facts, ma'am (and sir). In Wyoming, look up Enroll Wyoming at http://enrollwyo.org. If you prefer talking on the phone, call 2-1-1. That's what smartphones are for.

Enroll Wyoming has a batch of navigators spread around the state. Three of them were at the town hall meeting in Cheyenne on Monday night. Their director said that she and her crew had given more than 30 presentations last week in Laramie County alone. At this point, there is probably no question that they haven't heard.

A crowd of 40 or so people heard a panel of experts spell out the ACA details at the Monday meeting.

In Wyoming, we are bombarded with misinformation from Know-Nothings. If you want to know the facts, avoid any comment or communique from the Republican Party. Don't read Rep. Cynthia Lummis's e-mail missives about Obamacare. Senators Barrasso and Enzi are no help either. Neither are state legislators with an "R" after their names. They all are so blinded by hate for our president that their lies never cease.

And Medicaid expansion? According to Phyllis Sherard, Cheyenne Regional Medical Center Population Health Officer, who was at the meeting, the Wyoming Hospital Association has spelled out the four main objections to Medicaid expansion and refuted each one. Go to http://wyohospitals.com. Here are some highlights of a recent press release from the WHA:

There are at least three key reasons that legislators should support the full expansion.   

First, the full expansion is good for Wyoming’s patients. One of the surest ways to improve overall health and control costs is for patients to receive the right care, from the right provider, at the right time. 

Providing coverage for more than 28,000 Wyoming citizens – often described as the working poor – will provide that access to care. We know that patients who receive preventive care, or who receive care earlier, tend not to be as sick when they do need care.

Second, the full expansion could save the state $47 million over six years, according to a study released by the Department of Health. These savings can only be achieved, however, if the Legislature supports the full expansion of the program. 

Finally, the full expansion will help ensure that Wyoming’s providers can continue to provide care for our vulnerable populations. In 2011, Wyoming hospitals provided about $200 million in uncompensated care – up from about $126 million in 2007.  At the same time, federal assistance for hospitals that treat large numbers of low-income and uninsured patients has been slashed. The impact of both the dramatic growth in uncompensated care and the reductions in this federal assistance would be significantly offset through the full Medicaid expansion.,

Who cares about hospitals? We do. Every community wants its own hospital so its citizens can be close to quality medical care. This isn't possible in Wyoming with its low population and great distances between centers of medical care. Casper currently is discussing the wisdom of adding a third hospital to its ranks. Cheyenne Medical Center recently added a cancer center and a state-of-the-art ER. Meanwhile, hospitals in Colorado and Montana and Utah beckon us with slick ads and promises of big-city medical care just a short drive over the border.

Medicaid expansion, it seems, is one way to ensure that our home-grown hospitals stay solvent and able to treat our rapidly aging population. I spent a fair amount of time and treasure this year at CRMC. As is the case with many in Cheyenne, I cast a dubious eye on our local hospital. I had a heart attack in late December and on January 2 had to be rushed to CRMC. I could have gone to Fort Collins or Denver but "minutes mean muscle" as those alliterative cardiologists say. The longer a heart patient goes without treatment, the more heart muscle can be lost. It's important that good care is close to home especially when it comes to the beating heart. I discovered that the Kardiac Kids at CRMC run a tight ship and make minutes count. There's a fine cardiac lab and a top-notch telemetry unit for recovery and a whole regimen of rehab.

I spent several hundred thousand dollars on my heart. I was lucky as I have insurance that I (and the State of Wyoming) has been paying into for 22 years. Some of those payments go toward paying some of $83 million over the past three years that CRMC has written off in uncompensated care. That shortfall has to come from somewhere. I've done my part and I'm not sorry. I could resent those "freeriders" that I paid for, but that wouldn't be very Christian of me, would it?

So get on with it, Wyoming Legislature, and expand Medicaid.

Reminder: Affordable Care Act town hall meeting tonight at library

From the Laramie County Democrats Facebook page:

Do you still have questions about the Affordable Care Act, the health insurance marketplace and exchanges, exchange policies, costs and included benefits, eligibility for tax subsidies or Medicaid, etc. or want to learn how to enroll? If so, please attend and let our expert panel take some of the mystery out of the Affordable Care Act for you. Enrollment for coverage to start January 1, 2014 ends on December 23, 2013 (open enrollment continues through March 2014).

This session will be held at the Laramie County Public Library in downtown Cheyenne from 6-9 p.m. tonight (Monday), Dec. 16. Free and open to the public.

Much more difficult to register for health care in red states

Justin Baragona writing on PoliticusUSA about Republicans sabotaging health care registrations in Red States (Wyoming, for instance):

The one huge point that needs to be hammered home again and again and again is that that millions and millions or Americans would already be signed up for insurance or be covered by Medicaid if Republicans would have just accepted the law instead of trying to sabotage it at every turn.  The fact that 1.2 million got coverage by the end of last month is miraculous when you consider the roadblocks that were laid in place. The sad fact is that if you currently live in a state that is mostly controlled by Democrats, it is quite easy to get covered. If you are in a state controlled by Republicans, it is much more difficult for you to get coverage for no other reason than the people governing your state, as well as the majority of citizens occupying it, just plain hate the President.

Read the entire article at http://www.politicususa.com/2013/12/13/rachel-maddow-highlights-ap-story-showing-red-states-sabotaging-uninsured.html

Hacking the heart signal

Imagine this....

You're the vice president of the United States. You have a heart attack and are fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator or ICD. At your bedside is a monitor that pulls readings from your ICD at 2 every morning and sends them to a computer at your cardiologist's office. An enterprising terrorist discovers a way to hack those signals. He sends a rogue signal to the Veep's ICD causing it to generate a massive shock that stops the Veep's heart and kills him.

I didn't make that up. It was a recent plot on the Showtime series Homeland. I read about it in this morning's edition of the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. It was part of a story about former V.P. Dick Cheney 's Friday stop in Cheyenne to promote the book he co-wrote with his daughter Liz and his cardiologist about his long battle with heart disease. The book is Heart: An American Medical Odyssey. 

Cheney received an ICD in 2007. When he discovered its remote signal, he had the technicians disable it, stymieing any attempt by a hacktivist to hijack the signal and transform Cheney's main muscle into a bleeding heart. That's not the way he put it. But that's the way this bleeding heart interpreted it. He did have them disable the signal, which shows an active imagination and more than a little bit of paranoia. But any politician that started two interminable wars and considered waterboarding a patriotic act has a right to his paranoia.

Thinking back, it would have been keen to attend the noon book-signing and talk yesterday hosted by the Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce. Tickets were $50 apiece and that included a copy of the book. The last time I attended a book-signing by a conservative stalwart was in 1995 when I waited in line for hours to get Newt Gingrich's Restoring the Dream. It was a present for my conservative father. I would have done almost anything for my conservative father, including buying a Gingrich or Cheney book and even running for the U.S. Senate in Wyoming. Alas, my father passed in 2002 and has no more need of books or Senate seats.

Dick Cheney and I share a few cardiac traits. He had his first heart attack in Cheyenne, the first of five. I had my one and only heart attack in Cheyenne. He has an ICD and I have an ICD. As far as I know, none of my foes in the right-wing blogosphere has tried to hijack my signal, but that's only as far as I know. Cheney and I both have a daughter, although mine is not running for the U.S. Senate. He has another daughter, too, a married lesbian with a nice family. That daughter is not running for the U.S. Senate, although it's OK with me if she moves back to Wyoming and runs against her right-wing sister. That's not going to happen.

I have to hand it to Dick Cheney -- the guy has been through the ringer, health-wise. Heart attacks and heart transplants and ICDs. Now that I'm a heart attack survivor, I appreciate his struggles. He is right when he says about symptoms: "When in doubt, check it out." He is shouting out the news that heart disease is still the number one killer in the U.S. He praises good ol' American know how when it comes to heart gadgets and surgical techniques.

I do find it odd that the most heartless of contemporary U.S. politicians has had to face mortality via a faulty heart. Literally, he is not heartless.

The return of ALEC to Wyoming

Wyofile's Kerry Drake wrote another excellent column Dec. 10 about the American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC, This time, he wonders why Wyoming Gov. Mead traveled to a recent ALEC gathering to deliver a speech.

Good question.

ALEC is the well-funded arm of conservative corporate donors such as the Koch Brothers. It drafts model retro legislation, pours it into the empty heads of conservative legislators, and sends them home to craft anti-democratic legislation that abridges workers' rights, make it harder to vote for minorities and the elderly and curtails environmental protections. ALEC was behind Florida's "make my day" gun legislation made infamous in the Trayvon Martin killing. ALEC's latest crusade is to make it illegal for homeowners to install their own solar panels, calling them "free-riders" on the U.S. energy grid. Interesting that a conservative group would use a term commonly used by union memberss to describe their non-union co-workers. Arizona has already passed such a bill. See the Dec. 4 article in the Guardian.

ALEC has found some willing dupes among Wyoming Republican legislators (see list at http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Wyoming_ALEC_Politicians). Only one Democrat was a member but did not renew his membership in 2012. All of this means we can look forward to more wacko bills when the 2014 session convenes. Expect more attempts to weaken the state employee retirement system and new and interesting ways to steal all employees' hard-earned sick and vacation days. I am a state employee and pay close attention to these types of bills. Trustees of the state retirement system have consistently asserted that the retirement system is strong and well-funded, unlike those in other states and cities. Legislation has mandated an increase in employee contributions to the fund. Other modest increases are expected and that is only fair. That hasn't stopped regressive legislators from devising ways to sabotage the entire system.

As noted western conservative Barry Goldwater once said: "Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom." Especially important for us outnumbered progressives living in a conservative state.

Read Kerry Drake's column at http://wyofile.com/kerrydrake/alec-wyoming/

Read a Dec. 12 wyofile article about Gov. Mead's ALEC speech at http://wyofile.com/dustin/matt-mead-alec/

Santa's Little Helpers Charity Lunch benefits Habitat for Humanity

This info comes from Laramie Habitat for Humanity Director Kate Wright:

On Friday, Dec. 13, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Texas Roadhouse will open for a FREE lunch of pulled pork sandwiches, two sides and a drink in exchange for a donation.

To-go meals will be available during the event by calling 307-638-1234.

Donations generated from the eighth annual Santa's Little Helpers Charity Lunch will go toward building the 37th Habitat home in Laramie County and The Salvation Army.

Purchase your holiday gift cards at Texas Roadhouse during Santa’s Little Helpers Charity Lunch and 15% of your total purchase will be donated back to the charities.

Sponsored by: Cheyenne Light Fuel & Power, Texas Roadhouse and FedEx Office.

"Cowboy Stories" for Christmas

A few months ago, my story "Cowboy Stories" came out in the anthology Manifest West: Even Cowboys Carry Cell Phones. If you like stories, poetry and essays about contemporary cowboys, this book may be for you -- or for a friend. Publisher is Western Press in Gunnison, Colo. Order it from your favorite indie bookstore. To whet your appetite, here are the first few paragraphs:

Robert Wills was five beers into a Cheyenne Friday night as he told his favorite story to a middle-aged couple from Cincinnati.  

“Buddies used to introduce me as Bob Wills and the women would say ‘you must be a Texas Playboy’ and I’d say that I wasn’t any kind of Texan – I’m from Wyoming!” He cackled, tried not to trigger the cough that could go on and on and interfere with talking and drinking. He swallowed the last of the cheap draft and slapped the empty beer glass on the bar’s soggy coaster. He rocked the glass, hoping that these tourists would notice his thirsty state and spring for another round.  

“Who’s Bob Wills?” The woman exhaled a stream of smoke and then waved it away with a sweep of her flabby arm.  

Robert noticed her long lashes and blue eyes. They belonged to a face that was once pretty but now was creased with lines and droopy at the jaw line.  

“You never heard of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys?” Robert asked.

Get info on Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys here. Watch some of the band's clips on YouTube.

Sunday morning round-up

It's still winter here in southeast Wyoming.

It won't officially be winter until the solstice arrives on Dec. 21, which is still a few weeks off. But this late-fall cold snap feels like winter. Cheyenne saw some record low temps this past week. Minus 13 on Wednesday with a high temp below zero. It was only a little better the rest of the week. Our two American-made cars started right up every morning. I had to drag the gloves out of storage lest my delicate artistic fingers get frostbitten as I cleared the car windows. Weird how you look at those gloves and scarves and boots during the summer and say let's put these away, winter's a long way off. And, suddenly, it's winter (or late-fall) and you can't remember where you put the darn things.

Bill Sniffin recommended buying Wyoming books for Christmas in today's column syndicated in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. C.J. Box and Craig Johnson led the list, followed by Nina McConigley's "Cowboys and East Indians" with its intriguing short stories and cover photo of a roadside motel sign in Cheyenne. He recently bought some books by cowboy romance writer Joanne Kennedy. He referred to them as "bodice rippers." I must caution Bill that this term is not beloved among romance writers. While it is true that some romance book covers feature damsels in distress who may or may not be at risk of having their bodices ripped by some dashing hero, that stereotype no longer applies to the complicated world of romance. In Joanne's books, there is nary a bodice to be seen, as Joanne's heroines are thoroughly modern creations. All of her covers feature a hunky contemporary cowboy who, according to her husband Ken, bear a striking resemblance to him. As far as I know, Ken never has worn a bodice. Word to the wise, Bill -- watch your labels when describing books written by romance writers. They can hold a grudge. You may end up as the model for the slimy villain in the next book.

The Democrats are assembling on Thursday, Dec. 12, 6 p.m., for a Drinking Liberally gathering at 3439 Essex Rd. in Cheyenne. The Laramie County Democrats will be collecting presents for two less fortunate families. (BYOB/BYOP -- Bring Your Own Booze/Presents). Big thanks to Wendy Soto for hosting this event. BTW, Drinking Liberally is a national movement that promotes the idea that Liberals need to get together occasionally to talk politics over a beer or other favorite beverage. To RSVP for the Dec. 12 event, go here. 

Also on Thursday is the last Art Design and Dine event until spring. AD&D is Cheyenne's art walk, held every second Thursday, 5-8 p.m., April through December. Interesting group of entities hosting events this week. Check out the work by the Cheyenne Camera Club at the Nagle Warren Mansion downtown. See the complete list of shows at http://artdesigndine.org/

Lots of arts-related holiday events still on the schedule. Find a list at Arts Cheyenne. 

History is not a game

We live in the age of miracles and innovations. I walk around with a device that helps my heart correct arrhythmia -- I got rhythm! I just watched an online tutorial (complete with code) by a young man explaining how to hack a drone and take it over for your own purposes. Amazon, beware! 

At work, I supervise print and online communications. I typed my first book manuscript on a portable non-electric typewriter. My younger colleagues have never seen such a device. 

The year I was born, 1950, was closer to the bombing of Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941) by propeller-driven aircraft than to the 1969 launch of the Atlas rocket that carried the astronauts to the moon.

1950 was closer to the Russian Revolution (1917) than it was to the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and the end of the global Cold War (1991). 

My birth year was closer to the first 1951 airing of "Duck and Cover," a film by the U.S. Civil Defense Administration, than to the dawn of the atomic age (1945). 

My birth year was closer to the founding of Hewlett-Packard in 1939 than it was to the 1976 launch of the Apple-1, a single-board computer for hobbyists, designed by Steve Wozniak, and the founding of Apple Computer by Wozniak and Steve Jobs. 

We are approaching the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. 1914 was a very big year. An archduke was assassinated in Sarajevo, the machines of war were set in motion, and four years later, millions were dead, the world map was changed and the seeds were planted for the next world war. 

One hundred years ago (1913), members of the United Mine Workers of America at Ludlow, Colorado, went on strike. At Christmas, it's possible that a little girl in the miners' tent colony received the gift of a bisque doll that was made in Germany and purchased from a Sears and Roebucks catalog. The remains of that doll were recovered in the exhumation of the tent colony. Also recovered were the remains of somewhere between 19 and 25 men, women and children slaughtered by Colorado National Guard troops and goons from John D. Rockefeller's Colorado Coal, Fuel and Iron Works on April 20, 1914. Most of them were immigrants, trying to make a living in their adopted country.

The remains of that doll is now part of the collection held by the UMWA. It also is a significant Colorado historical artifact, according to the Center for Colorado and the West at the Auraria Library in Denver. 

How this artifact relates to Colorado history: 

At the turn of the century coal mining was a large part of the labor force in Colorado, and the working conditions were poor, which prompted the miners with the help of UMWA to go on strike. This artifact reflects the families that were directly involved in the violence and turmoil during that time. This coal strike affected Colorado as well as the nation. On April 20, 1914, the death of the women and children at the Ludlow Massacre shocked the nation. This watershed moment spurred stricter labor laws to be enforced, and is considered the breaking point for American labor relations.

The doll's head is chilling to behold, its sightless eyes staring out at us a century later.

You can vote for Colorado’s most significant artifacts by Dec. 31 at https://collectioncare.auraria.edu/content/vote-colorados-most-significant-artifacts

I voted. My duty as a Colorado native and a union member. 

The object also has a connection to Wyoming history. Rockefeller moved much of his iron-ore mining operations to Platte County, Wyoming, in the wake of the bad press he received after Ludlow. Sunrise was a company town, far away (Rockefeller hoped) from trouble-making unions.  

Now Sunrise is a fenced-off ghost town, much like the Ludlow town site. By 1928, the Sunrise mine employed 547 and featured brick housing, modern utilities, a hospital, parks, playgrounds and the state's first YMCA. It closed in 1980. Both Ludlow and Sunrise are National Historic Sites.

Rockefeller learned some lessons from Ludlow. 

A beat-up doll's head helps us remember Ludlow. 

Democratic response to Gov. Mead's decision on Medicaid expansion

From the Wyoming Democratic Party web site (Dec. 2):

Today, Pete Gosar, Chairman of the Wyoming Democratic Party made the following statement regarding Governor Mead’s decision to not recommend Medicaid expansion in Wyoming.

 “Governor Mead made sure that the day after Thanksgiving was the blackest of all Fridays for Wyoming's entire health care system.  His refusal to support Medicaid expansion all but ensures that Wyoming's less fortunate and working poor will continue to be without access to Wyoming's healthcare system.”

Rest the rest here.

Sunday morning round-up

Beautiful morning. Sun, light winds, no snow.

So what am I doing inside?

Collecting random thoughts on a Sunday morning.

Received a fund-raising e-mail this week from Markos Moulitsas at Daily Kos. Ads and other funding mechanisms not paying the freight these days. So I contributed $10. Not much but it's something to help this feisty 11-year-old blog:

Can you chip in $5 so that Daily Kos can keep fighting?

If every one of our readers this month chipped in two cents, we’d be all set. If every reader chipped in a dollar, we’d be able to finance operations for two years.

Not everyone is in a position to give. So, if you’re fortunate enough to make it through Black Friday with a few bucks in your pocket, please chip in to help Daily Kos keep fighting for the issues that matter to us.

I blog infrequently under Cheyenne Mike at Kos. My average readership is a lot higher there, but it takes time to do blogging well. To do it well, you have to pay attention to your platform. You have to read the posts of others and respond. While Kos is the blog is read most regularly, I seldom have time to do it justice. Go check it out. Engage!

Article in Wyofile (reprinted in today's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle) about a new book by writer Porter Fox with Jackson roots. Deep: The Story of Skiing and the Future of Snow is the story of the rise of the ski industry and how global warming may spell its demise. Interesting to note that three Jacksonites hatched the idea for the book while surfing in Nicaragua. Skiing may be doomed, but the surf will be bitchin' in L.A. and NYC! We'll be surfing, surfing in the streets....

I spent the past year as a literary slacker.  I wasn't reading books -- my heart just wasn't in it. I've been trying to catch up. Nosferatu by Jim Shepard has been sitting on my bookshelf for years. Finally picked it up and dove head-first into a fine story based on the life of silent film director W.F. Murnau. While a World War I German Air Force pilot, he imagined a movie camera that moved with the freedom of an aircraft. Cameras in those days were bulky monsters. Murnau went on to direct ground-breaking films such as Nosferatu, based on a term in Bram Stoker's Dracula -- Stoker's estate sued Murnau for purloining the vampire concept. He kick-started the German film industry after the war (and before Hitler) and made his way to Hollywood where he directed Sunrise, a film included in many top 100 lists.If you don't know Shepard's work, he's a fantastic short story writer. This novel was based on one of the stories included in his first collection, Batting Against Castro.

Most of my reading of Nosferatu took place seated in 21st century airplanes surrounded by young guys playing war games on laptops, I kept thinking that the anniversary of the start of World War I is next year. Some great books written about The Great War. That's another post entirely. What are your favorites?

I'm catching up on old copies of The Missouri Review. One of the best of the literary mags, TMR takes risks and also features some of the best writers. In the winter 2012 issue, "The Unnatural World," I read an essay entitled "Under the Cloud" by pathologist Susan E. Detweiler. It was well-written personal essay about her Cold War experiences. It also contained some fascinating history. While the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ushered in the nuclear age, many of the stories surrounding the decision to go atomic have been neglected or maybe misunderstood. You would think it was a no-brainer for Japan to surrender after the death of so many of its citizens. It had already lost hundreds of thousands in combat and in the terror bombings of Tokyo and other cities. Surrender, however, was not a part of its warrior code. The U.S. and its allies knew that millions on both sides might die in an invasion of the home islands.

The Japanese may have seen the atomic blasts as supernatural forces outside the realm of modern war-making. So Japan surrendered in the face of another kind of "divine wind."

Fascinating.

Scenes from my brother's wake

I bled at my brother Dan’s wake.

Dressed for an 85-degree Florida Saturday. Flowered baggies and a “Life is Good” T-shirt. Barefoot. Speaking on the phone to my wife Chris in Wyoming, I wandered among the people gathered for the send-off in Dan’s backyard.

"You’re bleeding,” said a young woman not of my acquaintance. She pointed at my left leg.

I looked. On the back of my left calf, a rivulet of blood flowed amongst the islands of freckles spawned during my long-ago beach days.

"I’m bleeding,” I said into the phone.

“How did that happen?” Chris said.

“I don’t know.” And I didn’t.

“Better get a bandage.”

We hung up and I set out to get a bandage. I was distracted along the way. Old friends. Family. I stopped to talk with a first cousin John I hadn’t seen in decades.

“You’re bleeding,” said my sister Molly. She looked concerned.

“I bleed easily these days,” I said. “Blood thinners.”

“Better get a Band-Aid.”

Such helpfulness. I didn’t care about my leg. But others did. It was a day of caring. A day we said good-bye to my brother. I could suddenly see what others saw. A 62-year-old man carting around a cardiac device, circulatory system pumped full of drugs. He sports a nifty goatee but we’re not fooled. Take care of yourself, old guy.

I hunted for a Band-Aid. Rifled the drawers in the bathrooms. Didn’t want to bother Dan’s widow Nancy. She was busy.

I wandered into the garage in search of a beer. This was an Irish-American wake, after all. Found the beer and talked with my brother Tom and some of his friends out front in the smoking section. Today, I think mortality. Why are these people smoking? Heart patients dwell on smoke and mortality.

“You’re bleeding,” Tom said.

I explained the blood thinners, heart disease, etc.

“You have blood on your right leg too.” He pointed. A fist-sized copper smudge marked my right calf.

This was getting ridiculous. I found an open restroom and wiped the blood clean. The wound was less than impressive. Two dots the size of pencil points. Looked like a very short vampire had sunk his fangs into me in the bright sunlight of the Florida afternoon. I unrolled some toilet paper to carry around with me. First aid.

“You’re bleeding.” I looked at my leg. The blood river was back.

“These blood thinners are ridiculous,” said the 62-year-old heart patient.

I was walking around a wake with my leg drooling blood. Bad manners. Bad juju. Blood on the tracks. Blood on the furniture.

Nancy found me some bandaging equipment and a warm towel. I wiped the blood clean again. Put two Band-Aids on the wounds. "There,” I said. I put away the first-aid kit.

Hours later. It was dark. The tiki lamps were lit.

"You’re bleeding,” someone said.

“You must be kidding,” I said.

But it was no joke. The blood was back. I was woozy from blood loss. Or maybe it was the three beers I’d managed to imbibe during the course of the last four hours. Could have been stunned by the fine homemade food – Boston beef, hot wings, pasta salad, cookies. Fortified blood. Healthy blood yet thin.

This is when my nephew Thomas came to the rescue. The first-year med student took me by the arm and told me to sit. Nancy again fetched the first-aid materials. Tom snapped on gloves and proceeded to patch me up. It was a spectacle. I sat at the dining room table as dozens looked on. The operating theatre. Tom removed the Band-Aids and cleaned up the wound.

“That’s it?” He pointed at the tiny wounds.

“Blood thinners,” I said.

Doctor-like, he furrowed his brow. “I see.” He was practicing his bedside manner.

He slapped a dressing on the wound. He wrapped it tight with gauze, enough gauze to patch up all of the wounded in that Atlanta depot scene from “Gone with the Wind.”

“There,” he said, obviously pleased with his work. I wasn’t bleeding openly any more. Everyone seemed relieved.

At Blake’s urging, we all went outside on the dock to sing a rendition of “Goodnight Irene.” This is an ancient ritual with Blake and I. Old friends singing old songs late into the night. Blake was Dan’s good friend for 40-some years. My friend too. We sang for Dan and for ourselves. My sister filmed us. Somewhere on Facebook, that film is entertaining the multitudes.

I bled at my brother’s wake.

That was only the bleeding you could see.

Highlands Presbyterian shines "More Light" on equality in Wyoming

From the Channel 5 web site:

The Highlands Presbyterian Church board [in Cheyenne] voted Monday to become a "More Light" church. More Light churches invite members of the LGBTQ community to worship. More Light also advocates for the rights of gays and lesbians across the country.  

Highlands Presbyterian is the first church in the state of Wyoming to adopt this practice. The Reverend Rodger McDaniel said the two-month process was met with little opposition. Highlands was also the first Presbyterian church in the state to elect and openly gay member to it's board.  

More Light churches originated at the 1978 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. Since then they've encouraged individual members and congregations to signal that they welcome the LGBTQ community into their church.

Affordable Care Act Town Hall Meeting set for December 16

Want to cut through the spin and misinformation and hot air about the Affordable Care Act?

 

On Monday, December 16, at the Laramie County Public Library in Cheyenne, the Democrats will be putting on an Affordable Care Act Town Hall Meeting.

 

For more information, contact Lori Brand at laramiedems@gmail.com.

 

Stay tuned to these pages for more details.