Pete Gosar is featured speaker at tonight's meeting of Platte County Dems in Wheatland

Terry R. Jones, Chairman of the Platte County Democrats, sends this: Platte County Democrats will meet Monday, November 28, at the First State Bank Conference Center at 7 p.m. Pete Gosar ran for Governor in 2010 and will be the featured speaker. Chris Kanwischer, Platte County Clerk, is tracking the redistricting effort and will provide insight on this important issue.Please plan to attend and bring your friends. It will be informative and fun. 

Wyoming Tribune-Eagle: "Some angry about Wyoming's High Plains Initiative"

Land-use planning? We don't need no U.N.-sponsored Agenda 21 land-use planning in Platte and Goshen counties! Read article here.

Who's the "Bull Goose Loony" among Wyoming Congressional Republicans?

Congressional Republicans ponder the "Repeal Amendment" while waiting for their meds 

O.K.. "looniness" isn't a word, at least according to Webster's. You can be loony or looney. I can be loonier that thou, or even the looniest one in the bunch. I can imagine myself as the non-politically-correct "Bull Goose Loony" in an imaginary mental ward ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest") or be a member of the "Looney Tunes" stable of animated characters -- Daffy Duck comes to mind.

But looniness is a good descriptor for the legislation issuing forth from Congressional Republicans these days. Wyoming's Congressional delegation was once known as a moderate bunch. Sure, they were all Republicans, but senators such as Al Simpson and Craig Thomas and Mike Enzi usually avoided siding with the Far Right on their looniest causes.

There were causes for concern. During his first term, Mike Enzi sided with Sen. Dr. Bill Frist on Terry Schiavo's right to live a long and healthy life in a vegetative state. Sen. Dr. Frist contended that he could diagnose Mrs. Frist via video and, apparently, that was good enough for Sen. Enzi. It was a tempest in a teapot, like so many of these Far Right causes. Education system not working? Blame unionized teachers and their fat paychecks. Don't like abortion? Force women to view ultrasounds of their fetus -- or charge them with murder after the fact. Budget deficits? Cut taxes for the wealthy and kill Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for the poor.

As I said, looniness.

Now Sen. Enzi and Sen. Dr. John Barrasso (we don't need no universal health care!) and Rep. Cynthia Lummis (a.k.a. seventh-richest member of Congress) are touting the so-called "Repeal Amendment" which would allow states to get rid of federal rules and regulations they don't like. This is a favorite bugaboo of the Far Right. That damn federal gubment is out to get them with needless regulations about wolves and black-footed ferrets and guns and oil drilling and health care and Gays. Wyoming Tea Partiers, many of whom haver never seen a live wolf, call wolves terrorists and want to be able to shoot them on sight if they wander into their ranchette to munch on Fluffy. But that darn gubment keeps getting in their way.

Meanwhile, as rivers flood and tornadoes drop from the sky or rain refuses to fall, these same people holler for federal disaster relief and scream even louder if they don't get it immediately.

Wyoming is one of those states that pays in fewer taxes than it gets in federal funding. It also has a fair amount of federal land. We have two national parks, Yellowstone being the first in the U.S., and some national monuments, including the first in the U.S. in Devils Tower. We have the huge Wind River Indian Reservation and nuke central at F.E. Warren AFB -- I hear reveille sound every morning from the base's loudspeakers. We have the huge national training base at Camp Guernsey. We have national grasslands and reclamation projects and many millions of federal dollars in our interstate highway system and airports. Wyoming relies on energy and tourism, both heavily subsidized by government infrastructure.

Wyoming will wither up and blow away to Nebraska without federal funding from U.S. taxpayers.

All three members of the Wyoming Congressional delegation will be in Platte County this week. Check out the Platte County Democrats' blog to see the schedule. I am not sure if they also will be in Laramie County. Looked for Sen. Enzi's travel schedule on his web site and couldn't find anything up-to-date.

The Casper Star-Tribune had an excellent editorial today about the loony "Repeal Amendment." Here's the opening:

The last time a coalition of states decided it had the power to nullify federal laws was in 1860, when 11 Southern states objected to the ban on slavery and seceded from the union. We all know how that turned out.  Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., who has decided to ignore history and steer the current states’ rights bandwagon, is sponsoring the so-called Repeal Amendment, the ultimate anti-federal measure. It has almost no value beyond scoring some political points with the tea party crowd and the far right fringe of the Republican Party.

Read the rest here

In Wheatland, the students are the ones who make sense

Susan Greene wrote a column in today's Denver Post about the now-infamous banning of the ADL's "No Place for Hate" banners by the Platte County School Board in Wheatland. This is the first place where I've seen the term "Hategate." I, for one, am disappointed that we've come to the point where this incident is now a "-gate." I thought we'd all outgrown Watergate and Plamegate and Troopergate and Gategate (made up that last one).

The column ends with a thoughtful quote from a Wheatland High School student. Many of the most incisive protests against the school board's decision have come from students. They are learning a valuable lesson in "How the Real World Works." Let's hope they use this hard-earned knowledge to lead Wyoming forward rather than backward into a dark past.

Here's the comment:

Abbie Geringer, an 18-year-old Wheatland High senior, said she regrets that Hategate is giving her town a bad name.

"The world is looking at us now like we all hate gay people," she says. "Removing the banner reflects the opinions of the school board, not the student body. The world is changing. Board members are way behind the times in that respect."

Geringer is a well-known family name in Platte County. Jim Geringer was governor before Dave Freudenthal. Not sure if Abbie is an offspring of the former Republican Governor, but some parents up there know how to teach their children well -- as the song says.

Read entire Denver Post article at http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_14451599?source=commented-#ixzz0gMxXaiEJ

ADL Director asks to address Wheatland school board meeting

Amber Ningen writes in the Platte County Record Times e-edition on Feb. 10:

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Mountain States Regional Director Bruce H. DeBoskey has asked to address the Platte County School District #1 Board during their Feb. 15 meeting.

In a recent press release issued by the ADL, DeBoskey stated the ADL has requested an opportunity to address the Board in order to urge its members to "reverse its decision to prohibit banners for ADL's No Place For Hate program."

DeBoskey said he has yet to hear from any of the Board members on whether or not the ADL may address the School Board during their meeting.

Read the entire article at http://www.pcrecordtimes.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=1517&page=72

Also check out the letters on the opinion page. Interesting.

In case you're interested in attending, the school board meeting will be held Feb. 15, 7 p.m., in the Administration Office, located at 1350 Oak St. in Wheatland.

"Wyoming School’s Anti-Hate Program Reveals Intolerance"

In today's New West, Michael Pearlman wrote about the Wheatland "No Place for Hate" controversy:

Wyoming School’s Anti-Hate Program Reveals Intolerance

A strange calm has descended on Wheatland "No Place for Hate" Wyoming

Wheaterville sums up the current state of calm in Wheatland:

Quotes and commentary from the School Board Four are sadly lacking, as are statements from the three who voted to keep the banners up. Why is that? If you haven’t had a chance to ask any of the seven personally why they voted as they did, why not? Ask. Sunlight Disinfects.

Plan on attending the school board meeting on Monday, Feb. 15th. Come early. It doesn’t look as if the School Board is planning to make any accommodations whatsoever for the crowd that they know will be there. Why not?

See you Feb. 15 in Wheaterville.

In Wheatland, they're tired of banner-talk

Wheatland residents are tired as hell and they're not going to take it any more.

Michael Van Cassell writes in today's Casper Star-Tribune:

In doughnut shops, breakfast joints and at the local high school, everyone knows about "the banner."

It's the talk of the town, and they're ready for it to end.

Readers of Wyoming newspapers and blogs (and listeners on KOCA-FM in Laramie) know all about the banning of the "No Place for Hate" banners in Wheatland.

Platte County Schools Superintendent Stuart Nelson is tired as hell about the whole fooferaw over the banner. He apparently has talked to every single person in Wheatland (all 3,300 of them) and every one of them supports the banning of the banners.

...the only negative comments he has heard about the board's decision are from out-of-towners, special-interest groups and former residents.

He said all the local parents he's spoken with have supported the board's decision.

Outside agitators!

Nelson told the school's principal to take down the "No Place for Hate" banners after he received calls from five parents. That's five parents out of how many? Apparently the Christian Right rules the roost in Wheatland.

Give credit to the students who continue to post "No Place for Hate" signs on their lockers and are lobbying the school board to reconsider their decision. One of the students interviewed in the CST article was wearing a "No Place for Hate" button.

What did Nelson learn from all this?

The board had not approved the banner. Nelson said he believes the board will filter programs more now.

What filter will the board be using? Four out of seven school board members used the anti-gay filter the last time around. I'll bet that filter still has plenty of good use in it.

Wheatland students react to school board's decision to remove "No Place for Hate" banners

Wheaterville doing a great job as center of activity for the "Don't Ban the Banner" campaign.

As faithful readers may recall, the Platte County School Board in Wheatland voted 4-3 to take down the "No Place for Hate" banners at Wheatland H.S. and West Elementary. The banner campaign is sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League. That wasn't the problem. A few town busybodies noticed that a co-sponsor of the banners is the Gay & Lesbian Fund of Colorado. They complained to the school board and the board voted to take those banners down.

Some former students wrote this:

LETTER TO Superintendent Nelson and Board of Trustees
Melody Wilhelm Brooks (class of 1986)

Dear Superintendent Nelson and Board of Trustees:

We were shocked and dismayed to read about the school board’s decision against the “No Place for Hate” banners. As graduates of Wheatland High School, we have always been proud of the excellent education we received. However, after this short-sighted decision by the school board, we have serious doubts about the elected leadership of PCSD #1.

Let us say that Wheatland is full of decent, fair-minded people. They need to stand up to intolerance, because nothing positive will come about until they do. This is not about liberal vs. conservative or Republican vs. Democrat. This is a fair vs. unfair and right vs. wrong issue.

The four members of the school board who voted against the banners are not promoting the district’s vision of “Empowerment through learning so students can be successful now and in the future.” Nor are they “Preparing children for the 21st Century”, as noted on the district’s website. In fact, they are actively working against and discouraging both.

The letter is signed by 50 former WHS students.

Read the entire letter (and many comments, most supportive) at Wheaterville.

Wheatland -- put those banners back up!

"Don't Ban NO PLACE FOR HATE banner" petition now up at http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/NoBanningTheBanner

Get more info about the drive to get the banners back up at Wheatland High School and Wheatland's West Elementary at Wheaterville.

See previous posts about the controversy below...

No place for "No Place for Hate" campaign in Wheatland

Everything was going along swimmingly in Wheatland. Both West Elementary and Wheatland H.S. had signed up for the "No Place for Hate" campaign, sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League. Posters like the one above were hung on the chimneys with care. Jews and Gentiles were engaging in peaceful coexistence. Lions were lying down with lambs, and dogs and cats were living together. Even the off-white citizens were getting along with the egg-shell white and slightly freckled denizens of Wheaterville.

Then something terrible happened. A concerned citizen noticed that one of the program's sponsors is (close your eyes) The Gay and Lesbian Fund for Colorado.

Uh oh. The program's goal "to organize schools to work together and develop projects that enhance the appreciation of diversity and foster harmony amongst diverse groups" was in jeopardy. The campaign also proposes "to empower schools to promote respect for individual and group differences while challenging prejudice and bigotry."

Here's what happened next, according to an AP article in the Billings Gazette:

Platte County School District 1 trustees voted 4-3 this week to reject a request to keep the Anti-Defamation League’s “No Place for Hate” banners at Wheatland High and West Elementary. District administrators removed the signs after parents and school board members raised concern because the banners list the Gay and Lesbian Fund for Colorado as a sponsor. Some students requested that the banners be replaced, but the board refused.

Wheatland, a southeast Wyoming town of about 3,300 residents, is "an ultraconservative community,” said school board member Lee Dunham.

“If this is the way one chooses, then they can lead this particular lifestyle, but I don’t believe it needs to be publicly displayed in a school,” Dunham said.

School board member Joe Fabian said he believes the Anti-Defamation League is pushing an “agenda that is pro-gay marriage” and that the community of Wheatland is not supportive of that.

“They wouldn’t want the organization, the Anti-Defamation League, dictating to their children that an alternate lifestyle is a normal lifestyle,” he said.

First of all, good job to the students who requested that the banners stay on the walls. They actually read the banners and absorbed the message. The school board gets an F for tolerance and diversity, but receives an "I" for irony.

Now for the rest of the story:

The district intended to allow the anti-discrimination campaign to continue, Superintendent Stuart Nelson said. But the Anti-Defamation League won’t allow the Wheatland schools to participate without the presence of the banners, said Bruce DeBoskey, mountain states regional director for the group.

The Anti-Defamation League “will no longer allow the program if it’s not being honored and used in its fullest intent,” he said.

DeBoskey said there are many Wheatland residents who support the anti-discrimination campaign, and he urged them to speak up.

“The (league) is extremely concerned that this whole program — which is designed to teach young people to respect the differences among us — has been derailed by people who appear to have biases,” he said.

Linda Burt of the Wyoming chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union also criticized the board’s decision, saying it’s “extraordinarily unfortunate and extraordinarily shortsighted.”

“Does that mean this is a place for hate?” she asked. “Does that mean this is a place for discrimination?”

Good questions, Linda.

West Elementary and Wheatland H.S. were two of the 25 schools participating in the 2009-2010 "No Place for Hate" campaign. The only other participating Wyoming school is Whiting H.S. in Laramie. No word yet whether the posters are still up over there.

Prog-blogging in Platte County

I'm a little slow finding out what's happening next door. Just discovered a great blog by Michael the Democrat (and not the only one) in Wheatland. Go to Platte County Democrats and get the lowdown about what's happening in the Big Rectangular County just to the north of Laramie County. And Cheyennites might want to drive the 7o-some miles to Wheatland on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2-4 p.m., for this "Meet the Candidates" event.

Great job, Michael. Great name, too.