No road trip for me

I decided to cancel my Aug. 3 appearance at ARTCORE'S Music & Poetry Series in Casper. I was on a double bill with musician Lauren Podjun. Writer Gayle Irwin will replace me. I met Gayle through Wyoming Writers, Inc, our statewide writing group.

Why did I cancel? Covid-19. Knowing ARTCORE Director Carolyn Deuel as I do, I am sure that the Bourgeois Pig venue would be as virus-safe as possible. ARTCORE is one of the first local arts agencies in Wyoming. Carolyn has been at its helm for most of that time.

That said, there is one overriding problem. I am a high-risk human during this pandemic. I am 69 and a cardiac patient since 2013. I experienced a widowmaker heart attack and, because I delayed getting help, now walk around with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator or ICD in my chest. This makes me a prime target for the coronavirus. From the beginning, the top three riskiest groups are the elderly, cardiac patients and diabetics. I'm in the first two categories and Chris is one and three. Young, healthy people have caught the virus and died. Often, they also have pre-existing conditions. Any complication can be a deadly one. Young people like to gather and when they do, they pass along COVID-19 and being it home to older parents and other family members.

This doesn't have to be. Wear a mask. Practice social distancing and, if possible, stay home. And wash your hands. Sanitize kitchen and bathroom surfaces.

Wyoming Governor Gordon conducts COVID-19 briefings and has issued a series of orders. Those policies never included a mandatory mask policy which puts us in the company of such Coronavirus success stories as Florida and Texas. In March, the Governor did issue some strict policies that closed many businesses, performing venues, restaurants and coffee shops. He has gradually loosened the restrictions although he had to extend the latest one from July 31 to Aug. 15 due to a spike in infections that put us on the New York Times and Johns Hopkins COVID site hot zone charts. Today, Idaho is on the list due to rising cases. Tomorrow, it may be your state.

When I do get out of my bunker to the grocery store, I note that many people do not wear masks. I do. Employees do. Others don't. We've all seen mask-shaming and no-mask-shaming incidents online. I don't tell people what to do and that's the prevailing attitude in Wyoming. But the science is clear -- masks help protect you and those around you. Social-distancing does too, and that has been suggested to businesses around the state but not required. Grocery stores guide you with floor signs which keep us separated in line. Arrows point out directions for carts to travel, although that's violated regularly. No head-on casualties thus far, as far as I know.

No travel for me. No reading from my new book. That means I have to stay home to rewrite and revise, a major part of any writing enterprise.

So, in a time when getting out of the house is a blessing, I am not getting out of the house. I have lots of books and know where to get more without leaving home.

P.S.: U.S. COVID-19 death toll passed 150,000 today.

Wyoming Rep. Tim Stubson plans to punish state employees by taking away benefits

Wondering what Republicans talk about when they have time on their hands?

If you're Rep. Tim Stubson, House Majority Whip, an attorney and an independently wealthy man-about-town from Casper, you think to yourself: "Those state employees make too much money and have too many benefits. Let's take something away from them just for the hell of it."

Stubson's spouse, Susan, should know better, as she once served on the Wyoming Arts Council board. Stubson also has two sons, one of whom served as a page at the legislature. Said the Rep. Stubson to his son: "This is how we Republicans stick it to state employees, son."

Here's Stubson's big plan:

House Bill 0079 - Redefining vacation as unpaid wages: Sponsored by Representative Tim Stubson, it passed the State House last week and is awaiting introduction in the State Senate.  It would remove vacation pay as a "unpaid wage" in the case of termination from employment, effectively removing it from the worker's final paycheck.  We do NOT SUPPORT this bill in the Senate, and believe it would harm workers in this state greatly by withholding necessary income that they earned during the time they were employed.  Please contact your Senator and let them know you do NOT support this bill! Tell your senator you don't believe in punishing state employees: Just in case you didn't know....the State of Wyoming changed all of the Legislator's emails this year to a uniform email address: Firstname.Lastname@wyoleg.gov

Shame on you, Rep. Stubson.

What the heck is wrong with these stingy, right-wing politicians from Casper?

Soldier-poet Brian Turner will talk about his work at Equality State Book Festival Sept. 14-15 in Casper

Brian Turner

Here's some exciting news. The Wyoming Arts Council announced yesterday that soldier-poet Brian Turner will serve as judge for its creative writing fellowships in poetry. Turner will travel to Casper Sept. 14-15 for the Equality State Book festival to read from his work with the three poetry fellowship winners. He also will participate on a panel with fellow Iraq War vet Luis Carlos Montalvan. He's a U.S. Army Iraq War veteran and author of "Until Tuesday: The Story of a Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him." Here's some info on Turner and his books:

He is a soldier-poet who is the author of two poetry collections, Phantom Noise (2010) and Here, Bullet (2005) which won the 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award, the New York Times “Editor's Choice” selection, the 2006 Pen Center USA "Best in the West" award, and the 2007 Poets Prize, among others. Turner served seven years in the U.S. Army, including one year as an infantry team leader in Iraq with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. Prior to that, he was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1999-2000 with the 10th Mountain Division. Turner's poetry has been published in Poetry Daily, The Georgia Review, and other journals, and in the Voices in Wartime Anthology published in conjunction with the feature-length documentary film of the same name. Turner was also featured in Operation Homecoming, a unique documentary that explores the firsthand accounts of American servicemen and women through their own words. He earned an MFA from the University of Oregon and has lived abroad in South Korea. In 2009, Turner was selected as one of 50 United States Artists Fellows.
At the Casper College Literary Conference Sept. 14-15, 2012, Brian Turner will read from his work together with the fellowship winners. He also will participate on a panel about soldier-writers.
Here’s what critics had to say about Here, Bullet: 

 "In sharp, straightforward, yet lyrical language, Turner exposes the many costs of war.” — Library Journal 

“The day of the first moonwalk, my father's college literature professor told his class, ‘Someday they'll send a poet, and we'll find out what it's really like.’ Turner has sent back a dispatch from a place arguably more incomprehensible than the moon—the war in Iraq—and deserves our thanks...” — New York Times Book Review

Printed fellowship applications will be available next week on the WAC blog and web site.

The postmark deadline is June 8, 2012.For more information, contact Michael Shay, 307-777-5234 or mike.shay@wyo.gov, or visit the WAC web site at www.wyomingartscouncil.org.

Wyoming Democrats move 2012 county conventions to April 14

News from Bill Luckett, executive director of the Wyoming Democratic Party:

The Wyoming Democratic Party State Central Committee convened today Casper College in the Sharon Nichols Auditorium, to elect state officers finalize the delegate selection plan for 2012 state and national conventions.
 
Central Committee members elected, by acclamation, the following leadership for a two-year term and to lead the party through the 2012 election cycle:
        Chuck Herz of Moose as State Chair
        Jodi Guerin of Laramie as Vice Chair
        Sherry Shelley of Riverton as Secretary
        Leslie Petersen of Wilson as Treasurer  
 
The Central Committee amended the 2012 Delegate Selection Plan to hold County Conventions on April 14, 2012, in every county seat across the state. The selection of this specific date will make Wyoming eligible to earn two bonuses in the size of its delegation: one by virtue of waiting until April to hold its “first-step” events in the presidential selection process, and the other for holding its events on the same date as neighboring states. The Nebraska Democratic Party is currently planning to hold its event on April 14, and the Democratic parties of Kansas and Idaho are also considering whether to schedule their events on the same date, pending votes by their respective state committees.

After approving the amendments, the Wyoming Democratic State Central Committee today voted to formally adopt and submit the plan to the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee for approval.  Under the plan Wyoming will elect 19 delegates and 2 alternates to the 2012 Democratic National Convention. In addition, the state should be eligible for four bonus delegates, pending the formal approval of the plan by the DNC.
 
The Wyoming Democratic Party Central Committee is composed of the Chairs, Vice Chairs, State Committeemen, and Committeewomen from each county, State Chair and Vice Chair, State Secretary and Treasurer, National Committeeman and Committeewoman, Legislative Representatives selected by the House Caucus and Senate Caucus, and the Young Democrats Chair, Vice Chair, State Committeeman, and State Committeewoman.  

Why should anyone anywhere ever listen to anything said by a Cheney?

Some Wyomingites defend Dick Cheney because they knew him in Casper or met him during his stint in the state legislature. This is a pretty chummy state, after all, which more antelope than people. If you alienate your neighbor, you just might not have anyone to talk to all winter. You could end up standing next to Dick or Lynne Cheney at an event at University of Wyoming or at some Republican fund-raiser in Jackson. Not me, of course, as I rarely go to
Jackson and never go to Republican fund-raisers -- can't even afford the admission fee.

I have met neither Dick or Lynne. I know people in Casper who know them. I once came very close to V.P. Cheney when his motorcade zoomed from my neighborhood airport to the state legislature. The speech was broadcast to the multitudes. We were all suitably impressed.

Dick made a big deal of speaking his mind in the months following Pres. Obama's inaguaration. He's been quiet, of late.

But the same can't be said of his daughter Liz.

Liz, I think, was born in Wyoming. But she's lived most of her life inside the Beltway. She's been bust lately promoting a new group opposed to the "radical" foreign policy of the Obama administration, says Politico.com. The group is called Keep America Safe, or KAS. She's have work on that abbreviation to make it an acronym.

From Politico:

“The policies being proposed by the Obama administration are so radical across the board,” Cheney said. “Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, you want the nation to be strong and so many steps this president is taking are making the nation weaker.”

Keep America Safe will focus on issues like troop levels, missile defense, detainees, and interrogation, according to Liz Cheney, who is heading the group along with Weekly Standard editor William Kristol and Debra Burlingame, the hawkish sister of an American Airlines pilot killed in the September 11 attacks.

The group, incorporated as a 501 (c ) 4 non-profit, launches its fundraising drive online Tuesday with a web video accusing Obama of failing to back up his “tough talk” and with a website aimed to provide an organizing tool for hawks.

I shall give as much credence to Liz Cheney as I did to her father. Hardly any at all...

WYO voters turn out in record numbers

Peter O'Dowd reported this on Wyoming Public Radio this afternoon:

The Natrona County Clerk [in Casper] says her office had to request extra ballots to keep up with demand for early voting. Renea Vitto says she saw record turnout in the days leading up to the election. She expects 750 people to cast their ballots on Monday alone. Because residents can register at the polls, Vitto predicts 120 percent voter turnout. She says voters should be prepared to wait up to 20 minutes in line on Election Day.

Statewide, early voting continues to smash records. The Secretary of State says 23 percent of registered voters have already cast ballots. That nearly doubles the average of votes traditionally cast before Election Day in Wyoming.

Poll workers at the Laramie County Court House in Cheyenne reported an average of 700 early voters per day when I was there voting on Thursday. Lines were longer last Friday and I don't know what it was like today. So, if one-quarter of registered voters have cast ballots statewide, that's about 60,000 voters. It's still going to be busy at the polls tomorrow, so get there early. Or go during lunchtime and bring a sandwich.

In Colorado, about half of all eligible voters have cast ballots. In Florida, 4.2 million people have cast ballots. Something like 330,000 voters have been to the polls in Utah. This is one big turnout, with election day still ahead of us.

FMI: http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/wpr/

After primary defeat, Goodenough works to elect Natrona County candidates

Casper's Keith Goodenough, defeated by Nick Carter in the primary race for John Barrasso's U.S. Senate seat, sent this message the other day:

Just a quick note to say "thank you" to all of the fine Wyomingites and otheres that helped with my effort to become the Democratic nominee for the U.S.Senate.

The final numbers were 11,984 for myself, and 12,316 for Nick Carter. A difference of 332.

I raised and spent around $5,000.

Now I am going to focus my political efforts on helping some other candidates here in Natrona County. And you will be hearing from me on that front in the coming weeks.

Casper Star-Tribune endorses Nick Carter

This comes from Eric Hevenor, campaign manager for the Nick Carter for Senate campaign: We received an important endorsement today: The Casper Star Tribune officially threw their support behind Nick Carter. Read the Tribune's glowing endorsement of Nick here.

In its editorial endorsement, the Casper Star Tribune noted of Nick that "he has a wealth of knowledge about the issues" and that Nick is "the strongest candidate to take on Barrasso in November."

Clearly, when the state's most important and widely distributed publication throws their support behind Nick's campaign, it's because Nick is a viable candidate to fight for solutions for the people of Wyoming. On the issues, the Tribune reports that "Carter is also correct when he criticizes the government's failure to build a high-speed rail system, which would be much more energy efficient than auto and air traffic. He says it's the kind of issue that should be debated in the Senate today, so the planning can start as soon as possible.

"Carter has also taken an interesting approach on health care, promoting federal
catastrophic insurance coverage for everyone. Such a system would likely help the economy by reducing the number of bankruptcies people file due to high medical bills."

Clearly, the editorial board of the Tribune realizes that there are many problems facing Wyoming and that Nick Carter is the man to deliver real solutions. The verdict is in: The state's largest newspaper threw their support behind Nick Carter because they realized that Nick Carter is the right candidate to create solutions for Wyoming.

UPDATE: Saturday's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle in Cheyenne added its endorement for Nick Carter over Casper's Keith Goodenough in Tuesday's primary. The paper also featured a side-by-side Q&A with Carter and Goodenough.

Book festival arrives on heels of primaries

Although many Wyomingites are focusing on political issues this time of year, such as whether or not U.S. House candidate Mark Gordon is a "real Republican" (a question posed in Cynthia Lummis's TV ads), others are looking ahead to the second annual Equality State Book Festival Sept. 18-20 in Casper. Some of us are doing both at the same time! A group of very energetic planners in Casper brought Wyoming its first statewide book festival in October 2006.

This one is bigger and better than ever. featured writers include Alexandra Fuller, Jack Gantos, Laurie Kutchins, Gary Ferguson, C.J. Box, John Gierach, Laura Pritchett, and many more (35 in all).

Four, two-day writing workshops offering Casper College continuing education units will be offered Thursday and Friday, Sept. 18 and 19. They’ll be taught by faculty from the University of Wyoming’s Masters of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing: prizewinning poet H.L. Hix, fiction writer Alyson Hagy, nonfiction author Beth Loffreda, and Wyoming Poet Laureate, essayist, folklorist and accordion player David Romtvedt.

Anyone else with a book in print is welcome, too, to reserve a spot for a 15 minute reading and signing at the book fair on Saturday, Sept. 20. Works from anthologies will be accepted for readings as well. Contact kcoe@caspercollege.edu for information. These slots are limited, however, and will fill on a first-come, first-served basis. To register for the workshops, banquet and to reserve a table at the Fair on Saturday, click on the “register” tab on the bookfest web site.

Keith Goodenough opens Casper HQ

Keith Goodenough's "Weekly Underdog Report" of June 15 contained this news:

The Casper campaign office is finally ready to occupy, and we have our first gathering there tomorrow night. It’s a small place, but has the advantage of being next to the Federal Courthouse. So when I have a gripe with the Federal court system, they’ll be able to get the message by just looking out the window and reading my slogans. If I need bail money, I’ll send a note.

When he says tomorrow night, he must mean tonight, Monday. No time was given but you can e-mail Mr. Goodenough, a Democrat, at citizen@citizengoodenough.com. I'd tell you to go to his web site but it's in the process of being updated.

Goodenough is running against Gillette's Nick Carter for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Casper Republican John Barrasso. They will face off in the Aug. 19 primary.

Carter officially announces candidacy today

Gillette's Nick Carter was in town last week to talk to the Laramie County Democrats about his impending candidacy for U.S. Senate. See my March 26 post.

His candidacy is impending no more. Here's why:

Nick Carter will hold a press conference to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate on Thursday, April 3, 11 a.m., at Wyoming Democratic Party headquarters, 254 N. Center St., Suite 205, in Casper.

Media outside Casper can call in to the press conference. FMI: Linda Stoval, 307-262-0085 or Bill Luckett, 307-473-1457.

Carter is running against Sen. John Barrasso of Casper who was appointed by the Governor to fill out the remaining term of Sen. Craig Thomas, who died in office.

No baseball weather in Casper

While in Casper for conferences this past week, I started each morning with a walk on the town's trail along the North Platte. The river is in view most of the time, and there are a few places where you can park your keister on a bench and just watch the river flow. On one lookout, I stood and watched dark clouds boil over Casper Mountain. It had snowed overnight and the mountain range was white against the gray-brown prairie. The city was just waking up.

On my way back, I passed Mike Lansing Field (built by the Casperite who once played with Colorado) where the Class A Casper Rockies play each summer. I've been in the stands here to watch games against Idaho Falls and Billings. In early August, I took the family to a Colorado Rockies game against Milwaukee. Little did we know then what the MLB Rockies were capable of. Now they're in the World Series against the Sox or the Indians.

Baseball fields look odd outside the parameters of summer. The wind blows harsh from the West and yellow leaves skitter across the infield. The outfield grass is still green but no skinny 19-year-old from Texarkana is out there shagging flies. No day for sitting in the stands for a 14-inning pitcher's duel. But then I think: the Colorado Rockies will probably be playing ball in this weather in Denver. Bring your parka, football blanket, and something warming to drink.

Go Rockies!

Republicans flock (sort of) to Casper

Republican presidential candidates are flocking to Casper for a fund-raiser and forum.

Not exactly flocking, as only two candidates are expected. Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, a right-wing fundamentalist, spoke to 40 Friday night at a dinner put on by the Wyoming Family Coalition, a political action committee that supports fundie policies. According to the Casper Star-Tribune, "California Rep. Duncan Hunter, who was scheduled to attend the dinner in person, instead delivered his speech via speaker phone from the Minneapolis airport." (Now wasn’t that where Larry Craig got into trouble?)

Also from the CST:

Hunter called the dinner as his wife Lynne, a former Wheatland resident, was giving a speech in his absence. She described him as a "buy American Republican," who won't wear clothes that aren't made in the United States. "Some people call him a dark horse," she said. "I think he's going to surprise a lot of people."

Didn’t know that Lynne Hunter once lived in Wheatland, just 70 miles north of Cheyenne. I do like the fact that she will only wear clothes made in the U.S. If so, why does her husband keep voting with other Republicans to export U.S. jobs overseas? Why has he voted to give tax breaks to corporations to do just that? Pretty soon, Lynne, you'll have to make your own clothes if you want the "Made in the U.S.A." label.

Lynne Cheney remembers her hometown

The Casper Star-Tribune reports that Second Lady Lynne Cheney was seen hanging around her alma mater, Natrona County High School, last week. She was being interviewed by CBS News Sunday Morning correspondent Rita Braver. The CBS story allegedly focuses on Cheney’s latest book, a memoir entitled "Blue Skies, No Fences." It’s set during Lynne Cheney’s youth, the 1950s and 1960s, and will include historic photos of the "Oil City."

The Second lady apparently was a pretty good baton twirler, so good, in fact, that she won two state titles in twirling. That may be what caught the eye of young buck Dick Cheney, who even then was dreaming of world conquest.

The interview is set to air on Sunday, Oct. 7, on CBS. "Blue Skies, No Fences" will be released Oct. 9, and Lynne Cheney may drop into town on Air Force 2A for a signing.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get my hands on the book. It may become a huge collectors’ item once her husband Dick, the current Veep, goes to jail for international war crimes.

Hales new rep from Natrona Co.

The Wyoming Democartic Party announced yesterday that Mary Hales has been selected by the Natrona County Commission to fill the vacancy in state House District 36 left by the resignation last month of Liz Gentile of Evansville.

Mary has served the Wyoming Democratic Party as state party secretary for a number of years, and she is a long-time local real estate agent. Her district represents parts of east Casper and Evansville.

Hales was one of three candidates nominated for the position. The others were Gretchen Wheeler and Penney Miller.

The WyoDems web site pointed out that it's fitting that "one of the few women in the Wyoming Legislature has been replaced by another woman." Kind of a sad state of affairs when The Equality State has only a few women in the Legislature. In 2006, we elected two new Dem women reps from Laramie County: Lori Millin and Mary Throne. Lori represents my district and beat Republican Larry Meuli by nine votes. Those are the votes in our household plus four others, if you figure that most households have at least two voters. The turnout was not so great in 2006, with our precinct coming in at about 70 percent of registered voters.

Three finalists selected for House vacancy

From a Wyoming Democratic Party press release:

Monday night, the Democratic precinct committee men and women selected Gretchen Wheeler, Penny Miller and Mary Hales as our three finalists to fill the state House District 36 vacancy left by the recent resignation of Rep. Liz Gentile of Evansville. Now, those three names have been submitted to the Natrona County Commission, and the commissioners have five days to appoint one of them to fill the legislative seat. Apparently, they're planning to meet at 1 p.m. Monday, July 9, for the purpose of interviewing the candidates and making their appointment. Meanwhile, congratulations to our three excellent finalists, and let's hope that all three will remain active in the party (Mary, our state party secretary, has a great track record at that, as you well know) and considerrunning for office in the future.

Democrats seek replacement for Gentile

Bill Luckett posted the following notice on the WYO Democratic Party web site. Word on the Dem street is that Rep. Gentile resigned because her employer was not supporting her need to have time off to serve in the Wyoming State Legislature. Shame!

Here's the word:

The Wyoming Democratic Party is seeking applicants to replace state Rep. Liz Gentile of Evansville in the Legislature. Gentile resigned to pursue career opportunities. The party is accepting expressions of interest through 5 p.m. Thursday [TODAY!] from people interested in filling out the remaining year-and-a-half in Gentile's term, representing House District 36, which includes Evansville and parts of East Casper.

Interestingly, as Republican John Barrasso resigned his state Senate seat for his new U.S. Senate position, the residents of House District 36 find themselves without either a state senator or a state representative, as Barrasso's Senate District (SD 27)includes HD's 35 and 36. But state law requires the positions to be filled within 20 days, so the good people of east Casper and Evansville won't have to go too long without legislative representation.