Aran Gupta: "The Wonderful, Unpredictable Life of the Occupy Movement"

Progressive journalist Aran Gupta has been reporting on the Occupy Movement since it began Sept. 17 with Occupy Wall Street. Here's his latest report: The Wonderful, Unpredictable Life of the Occupy Movement. Last fall, he toured the U.S. and stopped in Cheyenne to interview local Occupiers. Read my post on that here.

Take part March 11 in the filming of a Democratic Party music video

This announcement comes from Wendy Soto of the Democratic Grassroots Coalition:

Be A Part of A Professionally Produced Music Video

Enthusiastic Audience Needed for an adaptation of WOODY GUTHRIE’S “UNION MAID”

To Celebrate Our Great Democratic Party

Arrive at 2 p.m. for Refreshments & Instruction

Filming Begins at 3 p.m.

Sunday March 11

Atlas Theatre

211 W. 16th St.

Downtown Cheyenne

"Inside Job" movie party Feb. 12 at Laramie County Library in Cheyenne

In the Academy Award winning documentary, Inside Job, director Charles Ferguson breaks down in a clear and comprehensible way how the housing and economic collapse happened—and names the politicians and Wall Street bankers who are responsible.

The Cheyenne screening of Inside Job will be held at the Laramie County Public Librasry in Cheyenne at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12. It’s free and open to the public. After the film, we'll discuss how to keep the 99% movement strong in communities across the country.

Sign up at http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/attendees/index.html?event_id=126886&id=-1460962-8KUfFcx

New from Bruce: "We Take Care of Our Own"

Is it art or is it Occupy -- or both?

On Sunday, The Denver Post's Ray Mark Rinaldi reviewed some of the first alarming outbreaks of Occupy-themed art in the city. An excerpt:

"As an artist you have a responsibility to be relevant, to put something out there that has meaning," said Denver hip-hop artist Molina Speaks, explaining why he feels connected to Occupy. 

Molina talked at a community forum Monday [Jan. 16], at RedLine gallery/studios in downtown Denver, an event that literally brought art and Occupy into the same room. The afternoon of speeches, performance and workshops, coinciding with Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, was a smashing success, at least in spirit. 

More than 300 people showed up, and many had never stepped into the high-end gallery before. The Occupiers brought their message, the artists had their work on display, and the two meshed quite naturally. 

One workshop, about using music as a community-organizing tool featured Dee Galloway of the Spirituals Project and Jonny 5 from Flobots. Music met politics, and the singing could be heard down the street. 

"We are really beginning to break down those artificial walls between art and community," said RedLine's executive director, P.J. D'Amico. "Art has the power to radically reframe the conversation." 

--snip-- 

OCCUPY ART: View excerpts from the Civilians' cabaret show "Let Me Ascertain You" at thecivilians.org. The Lockerpartners have posted "The 99th Problem" on their website, lockerpartners.com (see video above). 

Read more: Rinaldi: The fine art of the Occupy movement shows stripped-down, naked anger.

New UW speaker series honors contributions of Harriet Elizabeth "Liz" Byrd

Sen. Liz Byrd looks on as Wyoming Gov. Mike Sullivan signs law authorizing Martin Luther King, Jr./WY Equality Day at a 1990 ceremony in the State Capitol.

On Monday, we commemorated Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday with events around the country. The one held in Cheyenne featured a march by several hundred people from Depot Plaza to the State Capitol. Leading the parade were African-American leaders accompanied by Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead and his wife Carol, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill, State Auditor Cynthia Cloud, and Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen.

Love & Charity Club organized the day’s events. The club’s Rita Watson was emcee. She introduced the state’s elected officials who made non-memorable speeches. They are all Republicans. On a daily basis, their policies seek to undo gains in social justice made by Dr. King and others in the Civil Rights movement. Inside the Capitol, Republican legislators were celebrating MLK/Equality Day by drafting legislation to roll back pensions of state workers, curtail social programs, destroy public education, and gerrymander voting districts to dilute the state’s minority vote which tends to be urban and Democratic. “Urban” you say? Wyoming is rural! “Minority” you say? Wyoming is white!

Take a look at the current redistricting maps and tell me why they look so funny. Why are the votes of city dwellers being watered down by the votes of dispersed rural populations. Cities tend to be more moderate and even liberal. There does seem to be an exception, and that’s Casper. What’s the matter with Casper? But overall, this holds true. Show me a Democrat in the state legislature who isn’t from a city or the Wind River Reservation and I’ll eat my hat.

Martin Luther King, Jr./WY Equality Day march in Cheyenne.

On Monday, Rita Watson mentioned the contributions of Harriet Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd, former state senator who was ill and couldn’t attend the festivities. Liz Byrd worked for almost a decade to pass legislation for a Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. Seems odd that it would take a decade for The Equality State to honor a champion of equality such as Dr. King. In the end, the legislature named the holiday “Martin Luther King, Jr./Wyoming Equality Day. We have a hyphenated holiday. But we do have a holiday for Dr. King, just like the rest of the states.

Liz Byrd has deeper Wyoming roots than most of us. She went away to college and returned to find that teaching jobs with the Laramie County School District were closed to blacks. So she taught the children at F.E. Warren AFB. Remember that Republican Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower oversaw the end of segregation in the armed forces (and its schools). Sen. Byrd could enter the gates of our local military base and find a job. Not acceptance from everyone, but her value as a human being and a teacher were duly noted by the U.S. Government.

It’s gratifying to see that Sen. Byrd’s contributions are being celebrated by the University of Wyoming this week. UW’s African American and Diaspora Studies office has created the Harriet Elizabeth "Liz" Byrd Speaker Series.

Here’s info from a UW press release:

To recognize her many contributions to Wyoming, both as an educator and legislator, UW . AADS is working to raise $25,000 to endow the series, which will bring minority educators and speakers to UW and serve to honor the woman who sponsored legislation that, in 1990, established Martin Luther King, Jr./Wyoming Equality Day as a state holiday. 

"I can't think of a better person to represent the University of Wyoming," says AADS Director Tracey O. Patton. "She's emblematic of what we all hope to accomplish in life. I think every person on this planet would like to affect positive change for the world. Very few of us get to do that but she did. She has made lives better in the state of Wyoming."

Find out more about Liz Byrd at http://www.uwyo.edu/profiles/extras/liz-byrd.html

Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen speaks at the State Capitol Building on Martin Luther King, Jr./WY Equality Day.

Occupy Greeley invites us to an "Inside Job" screening Jan. 21

From our pals at Occupy Greeley.

UPDATE: Occupy Cheyenne's plan for Monday's Martin Luther King, Jr., Day march

Here's an update on the Martin Luther King Day Jr. Day march in Cheyenne.

On Wednesday, after taking our cause to Monday's NAACP meeting, I advised Occupy Cheyenne people not to bring signs to Monday's Martin Luther King, Jr., Day march in downtown Cheyenne. My advice was a bit premature -- my hummingbirdminds' impulsivity took over. Yesterday I heard from Gloradene Stevenson, president of Love & Charity Club, organizer of the march. She was out of town. Gloradene said that Love & Charity has no problem with us bring respectful signs to the march.

So bring your signs. Participate in the march and accompanying MLK Day events.

Attention Occupy Cheyenne: Here's the plan for Monday's Martin Luther King, Jr., Day march

This is a copy of the status update I sent to my fellow occupiers on Occupy Cheyenne:

My wife Chris and I attended the local NAACP meeting Monday night at the Laramie County Public Library. Chris chairs the planning committee for Juneteenth, the annual summer celebration held in Cheyenne’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Park. Rev. McDowell gave up 15 minutes in the NAACP agenda so I could talk to the membership about Occupy Cheyenne.

I spoke about our street actions and protests. I talked about our General Assemblies and the work we did on the declaration. I read the first two paragraphs of the declaration. As I read, I thought that there was little in the declaration that Dr. King would disagree with.

I then told the group about our plans to participate in Monday’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Day (known in Wyoming as “Equality Day”) march from the Depot Plaza to the Capitol. I told them that our plans were to bring signs that were respectful to Dr. King but also carried a message from Occupy Cheyenne.

Several members spoke out against the sign idea. They felt it would distract from the commemoration. Rev. McDowell, president of the local NAACP chapter, suggested we talk to the actual organizers of the march, Love & Charity, about our plans. I plan to do that before the march.

My suggestion is that we forget about the signs and attend the march. How many of you have participated in the local MLK Day march? It’s well attended but the numbers could be better. Rev. McDowell and others spoke last night about the crucial nature of the 2012 elections. Equality is threatened on all fronts, but especially in Wyoming with its Tea Party Republican-dominated Legislature. Unnecessary cuts will be made to programs crucial to the 99% while legislators will busily be turning over the store to their benefactors in the energy industry.

The NAACP members support our goals. They were interested in hearing about our actions. They were very interested in participating in the action we plan for the first day of the Legislature, although I had few details.

On Occupy Cheyenne's Dec. 10 action, we were allied with union members in Wyoming AFL-CIO affiliates. As far as I can tell, we’re one of the few Occupy movements in WY and CO that have done this. Other alliances would be welcomed. Attend the MLK Day march, meet some of your fellow marchers, introduce yourself as a member of Occupy Cheyenne, attend the soup and crackers luncheon after the march at the Allen AME Chapel, attend the “Youth Salute” to Dr. King at 4 p.m., at the Second Baptist Church. And there’s also a full slate of events this weekend.

See you Monday at noon for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day/Equality Day march.

UW grad Bob Vernon-Kubichek named new Wyoming director for Obama for America

Candidate Barack Obama talks to SRO crowd at UW on March 7, 2008.

This news comes from Chuck Herz, chairman of the Wyoming Democratic Party:

My name is Bob Vernon-Kubichek and I am the new Wyoming Director of Obama for America. 

I would like to briefly introduce myself and provide a brief overview of the work OFA will be doing in 2012. 

I grew up in Casper, and graduated from Natrona County High School in 2006. During the summer of 2006 I worked on the Gary Trauner for US House campaign, and fell in love with the political business. I spent the following two years working on campaigns in Utah while attending the University of Utah.

In 2010 I graduated from the University of Wyoming with a B.A. in political science, after which I began working towards my M.A. in political science as a Graduate Assistant at UW. While I absolutely loved my time at UW, near the end of the fall semester I was presented the opportunity to become the new OFA State Director in Wyoming. I was compelled to accept this opportunity because I felt this fight was too important to simply sit on the sidelines and watch. 

In the coming months I will be meeting with citizens across Wyoming to begin building teams of volunteers to work towards the reelection of President Obama. The primary objective of our work in Wyoming will be support the campaign by making calls to supporters, canvassing neighborhoods, and ensuring that Americans across the county get out and vote for the President next November. 

This campaign is critical to the future of our country, and I cannot understate what is at stake. Failure would mean the reversal of the progress we have made over the last four years, and giving the country over to Republicans who have no interest in defending the middle class, expanding access to health care, or supporting a public education that is the engine of our future. 

I ask you to join me in this fight for the future of our people. There are people counting on us, and we cannot let them down. 

If you are interested in taking an active role in our efforts, I would ask you to either contact me directly at RVernonKubichek@BarackObama.com, or go to the Barack Obama home page and sign up to join. Upon signing up online we will receive your information and will contact you shortly. Soon there will be a calendar up with a list of upcoming events in your area along with how to get involved in the movement. 

Thank you so much for your time, and I look forward to serving you in the year ahead.

"Occupy Your Heart" the theme of this Sunday's service at UU Church of Cheyenne

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Cheyenne has been very supportive of Occupy Cheyenne during its formative phase. We've held several GAs at the church, as well as sign-making sessions before public actions at the State Capitol and the Depot Plaza. UU Church members Leah Zegan and Forrest King and others have been very welcoming. I'm not a member but, during the past five years, I've been inside the walls of this church much more often than I have been in any other, including the two local Catholic churches (and one big downtown cathedral) that represent my faith tradition. 

I am drawn to the UU's commitment to social justice. This Sunday, Jan. 8, at 10:30 a.m., Rev. Dana Lightsey will conduct a service with the theme of "Occupy Your Heart." Here's a short description:

Time magazine's person of the year for 2011 is "the protester." Our world is being changed by mass protests all over the world. What are the common themes of these protests and what can we learn from them to make our world a better place for all?

Cheyenne NAACP and Occupy Cheyenne search for common ground

The next meeting of the NAACP Unit #4108 is scheduled for Monday, January 9, beginning at 6:30 p.m., in the Sunflower Room of the Laramie County Public Library in downtown Cheyenne.  The meeting will focus on finalizing events and activities for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 16 and February’s Black History Month.


NAACP members are invited to General Assembly meeting sponsored by Occupy Cheyenne on Thursday, Jan. 5, 5:30-7 p.m., at the Paramount Cafe, 1607 Capitol Ave., in downtown Cheyenne. We have common ground in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, philosophy of nonviolent protests against the powers and principalities that join forces to keep us all down. More info at Occupy Cheyenne on Facebook.

First Occupy Cheyenne GA of the new year Jan. 5 at Paramount Cafe

We got the nod from Leah Z that we can hold the next Occupy Cheyenne General Assembly at the Paramount Cafe, 1607 Capitol Ave., on Thursday, Jan. 5, 5:30-7 p.m. Bring some dough to buy an idea-enhancing coffee. Agenda items include plans for January actions, a protest at the Capitol when the Legislature convenes in February, and ideas about participating in the regional Occupy GA in Boulder, Colo., Feb. 18-19. Agenda will be up and running in a few days on the Occupy Cheyenne Facebook page for additions and subtractions. Happy New Year, Occupiers! Looking for full equality in The Equality State in 2012!

The SEIU marches for jobs for the 99%

My national union hits the streets to support the 99%. Proud to be a member  -- my local is WPEA, the Wyoming Public Employees Union. The Wyoming State Legislature will be attacking our jobs, our pay and our benefits when the session begins in February. We also will be out on the streets. Meanwhile, tell Congress that you stand with the 99% at www.seiu.org

Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis: "She is the 1%! She is the 1%!"

Wyoming Republican Rep. Cynthia Lummis speaks as Rep. Eric Cantor looks on (from Rep. Lummis's Facebook page)

Depending in which year's Congressional financial disclosure you use, Wyoming Republican Rep. Cynthia Lummis is either the 25th-richest or 29th-richest member of the U.S. Congress. This, in itself, is not bad. But this status as a member in good standing of the 1% does help explain her voting patterns in support of big corporations, tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans (the 1%), cuts in federal programs for the 99%, drill-baby-drill, weakening of environmental regulations, anti-worker legislation, corporate personhood and all the rest. Read Greg Nickerson's excellent WyoFile article at http://wyofile.com/2011/12/wyoming-delegation-rep-cynthia-lummis-among-richest-members-of-congress/

New web resources for Occupy Wyoming and Occupy Cheyenne

Occupy Wall Street/Wyoming, USA, is a new "resource aggregation" blog. It's carrying some handy statewide news about the Occupy movement. Go to its post featuring links at http://occupywyoming.wordpress.com/occupy-groups/.

The fact that comments are hidden on the new site is a good thing. Right-wing trolls are beginning to pop up on the Occupy Cheyenne Facebook page and photo posts by members. Trolls are not impossible to banish but those who don't understand their insidious little games let them hitchhike on their status updates.

It's tough to keep calm in the face of stupid. But I try.

On the other hand, Occupiers can't be too defensive. One intriguing aspect of Occupy is that you never know who's going to show up for gatherings. A young guy at the open mic Saturday said he didn't agree with most of what had been said but he did agree that a dangerous alliance had developed between big money and elected government. I don't have a photo of his sign but the header was "I am" and then there were three checkboxes below that: Democrat, Republican, Pissed Off. There was a checkmark in the "Pissed Off" box. A life-long Dem, I am more likely these days to check off that same box.

I've been snarky with those who blast Occupy Cheyenne. A better strategy is to nod and smile and move on. I'll try to keep that in mind.

Note that there's also a new web site for Occupy Cheyenne. Check it out. It just got started so we're trying to keep up. Keep posted...

"Come Together" at Occupy Cheyenne

YouTube video by Annie Shay

Beautiful day for "We are the 99%" rally in Cheyenne

Union members at Occupy Cheyenne

Railroaders, electricians, state employees, teachers, construction workers, students, artists, a contingent from Occupy Fort Collins, retirees and at least one minister gathered together for the "We are the 99%" rally today in Cheyenne. That minister, Rodger McDaniel, delivered a heartfelt speech in which he urged us all to get much more involved in the political process. He was especially tough on his fellow Baby Boomers, asking us to to get back into the public arena so we don't leave a wasteland for our children and grandchildren.

Rev. Rodger McDaniel addresses Occupy Cheyenne rally

Kim Floyd was there, representing the 18,000 AFL-CIO members in Wyoming. He was adamant that we need to work together to oust the 24 Tea Party legislators that found their way into the Wyoming State Legislature during the 2010 elections. They will be back for the 2012 session, and we need to make sure that this is their last legislative outing, said Floyd.

Occupy Cheyenne protesters with Chief Washakie statue in the background

Local artist Forrest King read the newly-minted proclamation drafted by Occupy Cheyenne over the course of painstaking GA gatherings during the past month. A number of attendees spoke truth to power, telling their own stories about their involvement in Occupy Cheyenne. Erin Madson was one of them.

Occupy Cheyenne family photo on the steps of the Wyoming State Capitol

Following the Capitol steps gathering, we walked down Capitol Ave. to the Depot Plaza. We sang songs and carried signs. Activist and physician Jason Bloomberg led the procession, bearing one of Cheyenne's biggest American flags. There were 50 of us by the time we got to the Depot Plaza (rampaging wolves claimed several of our number). We did call-and-response chants across 16th Street, urging motorists to "honk if you're the 99%." Much honking ensued. Becky Orr from the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle interviewed several of us. We have fun when we gather together. We ended the day with a walk along Central Avenue back to the State Capitol steps.

Taking it to the streets at Occupy Cheyenne

It was a beautiful day filled with beautiful people.

Keep posted. You will be hearing a lot more from Occupy Cheyenne.

Defying the odds, Occupy movements take to the streets in Red State Wyoming

Indie  journalist Arun Gupta has been traveling the country with videographer Michele Fawcett interviewing Occupy protesters and attending rallies. He interviewed eight Occupy Cheyenne members on Nov. 28. I was one of them. I’m included in the following story from Salon. Let me just pause here to say that the Occupy Cheyenne members I’ve met are a brave and dedicated bunch.  They care for the cause and they care for each other. They have spent countless hours demonstrating peacefully in freezing temps. They sing songs and carry signs, as the song says, and many say hurray for our side – the 99%. They have spent many hours drafting a declaration that you can read it here. I also salute those Occupy Laramie folks interviewed for this story. I know some of them, notably Nancy Sindelar, a military veteran who’s been on that same downtown street corner for a decade protesting needless wars.

Read the following story and think about where you’d like to be on Saturday, Dec. 10. I’ll be at the State Capitol at noon. Which side are you on? The 99%? Or the 1%?

We are the 99%!

Here’s the Wyoming segment of “Fear and Occupation in Red State America” on Salon:

Occupy Cheyenne supporters say fierce winds and bitter cold have prevented them from camping outside so we caught up with eight of them on a weekday at the sleek new Laramie County Public Library. Beth Buczynski, a rapid-talking freelance editor and writer, said the Occupy movement made her “hopeful for the first time in a long time” because now “there are millions of people … all speaking together.” 

In addition to standing on street corners protesting wealth and power inequalities, the group has twice presented a workshop called “how the 1 percent crashed the economy.” Buczynski said one advantage of the workshop is that “people can hear things and talk about things without having to take a public stand.” 

Leah Zegan, a coffee-shop manager who is active in a local Unitarian Universalist Church, said education was important because of the various responses to their demonstrations. 

“People would come up and talk to us about it but they knew nothing about it,” she said. “Or if they knew about the Occupy movement they had no idea something like this was happening in Cheyenne.” Or they were unsure if “it would be safe for them to come because of the way that Wyoming is.” 

Mike Shay, a father of two college-age children and anti-Vietnam War protester as a youth, takes the hostility in stride. “I’m a veteran of enough protests to realize you’re going to get flipped off. You’re going to get yelled at. We all know how to handle that as nonviolent protesters.” 

What did surprise Shay is “how much interest there has been,” plus the fact that the movement is “nonviolent, is thoughtful, and comes from an organic place. When Occupy Cheyenne appeared it was sort of out of the ground. I said … ‘This is great, now who are these people?’” 

About 100 people attended the first protest on Oct. 15, which everyone said “was a lot for Cheyenne.” As elsewhere, the economy is a core concern as the country’s economic crisis has arrived on many people’s doorsteps. 

Robert Crawford, an unemployed 44-year-old photographer, says healthcare is a big issue because “I’m a diabetic, my 7-year-old son has already had back surgery, and he has multiple health issues.” Erin Madson says she can’t find a job despite having a master’s in biology, and both she and her sister are disabled and unable to receive proper healthcare. Ed Waddell said while people in Cheyenne are “fed up and upset” about the suffering, the problem is “they don’t understand what’s happening. They don’t know what’s being done to them.” 

Blame that on the media, say occupiers. Zegan says, “People just don’t know what’s going on or they just hear about it from Fox News.” 

Larry Struempf grew up on his parents’ cattle ranch near Laramie, which is infamous as the site of the murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard in 1998. The 41-year-old Struempf describes his parents as “extreme GOP members.” Of his six siblings, he says, those “who went to college became liberal. The ones who didn’t remained conservative.” He says “many, many people in the community are extremely against the Occupy Movement.” The press, especially Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, portrays occupiers “as all unemployed, people who want to mooch off society, that are trying to just have the wealthy people give the poor people their money.” 

In Laramie, Struempf explains, “It’s so much easier, even if you do support [the Occupy movement], to just be quiet.” He adds, “It’s scary.  Times are hard, even though Wyoming is doing well. If you lose your job, you lose your house, you go live on the streets, and it’s not a forgiving environment.” 

A 12-year resident of Laramie, Lindy Murphy was laid off recently from the U.S. Postal Service. She says her co-workers would bad-mouth the union. 

“Nobody seemed to understand that the union was what gave them these great jobs,” she said. “They played Rush Limbaugh over the radio at the post office when we were sorting mail. When you got into the mail vehicle the radio was tuned to Rush Limbaugh. It was very much part of the culture.” 

Murphy, who owned a bar and restaurant in Texas for 18 years prior to being a mail carrier, says the post office let her go after a three-year stint as a “transitional employee” rather than make her a union member as required. 

Despite being unemployed for 10 months at the age of 56, Murphy said, “The Occupy movement is the most amazing thing that has ever happened in my lifetime and I would never believe it would happen. I have some disdain for Americans … We’re the ones who just go plunder other countries so we can have more.  And it’s like, oh, people have been paying attention!  People do know what’s going on!” She adds that she is “disappointed that more people aren’t standing up” in Laramie, but she is excited by the broader movements, including the Arab Spring. 

While Laramie’s Facebook page has just 68 members and eight occupiers joined the Christmas parade with signs encouraging people to “buy local, pay cash,” it does provide a sense of community to people who previously felt isolated. Mandi Leigh, who is earning a master’s in natural science education at the University of Wyoming, says, “It’s easier to stand up and get over your fear when you have that support and when you have community.” 

The fear is real. Nancy Sindelar, who served 21 years in the Wyoming National Guard and has been conducting a weekly peace vigil in Laramie for more than 10 years, says of the last person who tried to attack her, “I don’t want to brag, but I was still holding my flag and my sign in one hand and he was on the pavement.” A member of Veterans for Peace, Sindelar says that before the first Occupy event, held at the Laramie Peace House, she told a reporter for the Laramie Boomerang, “Absolutely do not put the address of the Peace House in the paper.” She says there have been many “vicious” comments on articles about the Occupy movement. 

The occupations in Wyoming benefit from a spillover effect from other occupations. Leigh says after participating in an Occupy Denver march of some 3,000 people, “I was really inspired, so I got involved with these guys,” in Laramie. 

Sindelar says the first Occupy event she attended with a few other people was in Casper, Wyo. “The next week it was in Cheyenne and I said, we’re Laramie, we gotta do something, so we called one here, and had it in the plaza.” 

Beth Buczynski says she happened to be in Austin, Texas, on the day the occupation began and “just completely felt that something I was waiting for was happening, so when I got back here and found an Occupy Cheyenne page I was thrilled and surprised and decided to meet these folks and do whatever I could to help out.”

Drinking Liberally on a cold Wyoming night

We occupied comfy chairs at a local bar Tuesday night. The fireplace at the center of the room roared -- baby it's cold outside. We talked about all of the burning local issues. We drank beer and wine. The tall guy from Laramie ordered a mixed drink with roots in the fifties, just like this place with its dark paneled walls and pub-style name and trappings. A few years back, it would have been filled with smoke but those days are over thanks to a few forward-thinking city leaders.

Drinking Liberally. That's the umbrella we operate under on this December night. Title of a national org that promotes the idea that Liberals should gather every so often to drink and swap stories. A few days earlier, an invitation had popped up on Facebook. There have been four of five of these locally during the past year. Last time about ten of us showed up at Shadows Brewpub downtown. We shared the big room with two big-screen TVs and a meeting of the local railroad history club and its Powerpoint presentation. I found myself sneaking peeks at images of old trains. Cheyenne was founded as a railroad supply camp, as were most of the towns along the UP lines in southern Wyoming.

Tuesday night at Poor Richard's. We discussed the issues. Dave wondered why the state Democratic Party was not more assertive. That's a question we've all asked. Thus far, we have no answers. Much talk about Republican Rep. Bob Nicholas and his arrest in Florida. He was accused of beating his mentally challenged son outside of a restaurant. The media and blogs have had a field day with the issue but Nicholas said he did nothing wrong and has no plans to step down. He's a Republican in this one-party state so he has protected status. Others spoke of the continuing defection of Cindy Hill's staff at the State Department of Education. Seven of nine of the DOE's agency directors have abandoned ship in the face of right-wing craziness. The latest to depart was Peg Brown-Clark, the had of special education. Peg is departing for another state, one that presumably takes special education seriously. I worked with her a few years ago and she's a smart and dedicated champion of at-risk kids.

Leah spoke about her campaign to support Safehouse. The local battered women's shelter keeps expanding because the need is so great. She and her artist fiance conduct domestic violence presentation each Sunday at local churches. A few of us (me included) had flyers for the "We are the 99%" rally sponsored by Occupy Cheyenne. Many of the two dozen people in the room at been to a local Occupy rally. Some planned to attend this weekend.

Service was slow so I sauntered over to the bar. A guy in his thirties asked me what the "convention" was for. I told him it wasn't a convention, just some Liberals gathered together to drink liberally. He asked me to name three phrases to describe what we were all about. So good of you to ask! But I knew what he was up to. Republicans in Wyoming think that Liberals must justify their existence in this place that seems to demand fealty to Republicanism, whatever that is. "Why would I want to do that?" I said sweetly. Then I did what most of us do. I made fun. "Over there are all of the Democrats in Wyoming." The other guy at the bar asked, "I didn't know there were so many." Ha ha. The bartender poured my wind-powered New Belgium beer and one of the barflies asked me if I supported Obama. "All the way," I said. "Just look at my bumper sticker." I pointed to the parking lot. A waitress walked up and said the only Obama sticker she would have on her car would be a big O with an X through it. She made a big X in the air with her finger. I wondered why I was even talking to these people. And I wasn't as soon as I had my beers.

"You go to the bar next time," I said to Chris, my wife, as I handed off her beer. She nodded, busily conversing with her friend, Joanne the cowboy romance novelist. I turned to talk to Jim the legislator. He was the only one of us wearing a cowboy hat. He's also the only African-American legislator in the state. His Wyoming roots go way back. His mother Liz grew up in Cheyenne and had one heck of a job getting a teaching job in the school district. She was black, you see. She went on to become a state senator.

I eventually finished my second beer and coaxed Chris toward the door. I stopped to chat with Ken the airline pilot and combat veteran. He nodded toward the crowd and asked if we should have talks or some sort of prepared programs at these gatherings. We both looked around at a room filled with people engaged in lively conversation. "I don't think so," I said, putting on my coat. He looked at me and smiled. Why ruin a good thing, right? The Powerpoints and speeches can wait.