All the propaganda I am falling for

 

Courtesy the Denver Public Library by way of a librarian/propagandist/writer
 from Wyoming. The downtown DPL was the first library my parents took me to
in the 1950s. Falling for propaganda even in kindergarten.

Cohort replacement is the only cure for Trumpism

It's an "age" thing.

In September 2016, just weeks before Trump's election, writer Chris Ladd in Forbes foretold the future. The article, "The Last Jim Crow Generation," spells out the roots of white anger that led us to this earthly paradise called Trumplandia. If you were a 70-year-old white man at the time of the election, you had led a mostly white life in the U.S. Here's a sample:

Like Donald Trump, white voters turning 70 this year had already reached adulthood in 1964, the year that the first Civil Rights Act was passed. They started kindergarten in schools that were almost universally white. Most were in third grade when the Supreme Court decided Brown v. Board of Education. A good number of them would complete their public education in formally segregated schools. 

Read the rest here.

Is it just me, or some of the best articles on Trumpism have been in Forbes and the Wall Street Journal.? This liberal baby boomer must be getting soft in his old age.

I am in this same cohort, those of us born in the first five years after World War II. I was born in December 1950. All of us boomers born in December of 1950 share one thing -- we were born in the same month and year. We do share some touchstones of our journey from birth to 18. Depending on who you were and where you lived, you had at least a passing knowledge of the Civil Rights struggle and Vietnam. You may have been involved in them, or blissfully ignorant. "Turbulent," they call the sixties. That term came up more than once last night in the first two segments of CNN's "1968."

Children and teens, as a rule, are focused more in school and sports and dating than they are in social justice movements. In my senior year of high school, my attention was on getting my basketball team to the state tournament, finding a date for the prom, and deciding on which college I could (or couldn't) afford. I was a good student, but not great, and a pretty good surfer. I had a car that ran most of the time. My parents were good people, but imperfect, which describes most of us humans trying to do our best. At 18, I complained about my parents to my friends. At home, I was respectful as any tormented teen.

My school was integrated, sort of. An all-white Catholic school recruited black athletes. My class of 69 had three African-Americans, two of whom were my teammates. Some of the football players were recruited from our town's all-black high school. Integration was still a few years in the future. My class also had an Iranian place-kicker and first-generation Cuban immigrant who looked more Irish than me. That was the extent of our ethnic diversity.

Ladd's Forbes article  talked about a workplace, unions, schools, churches, military -- all dominated by white males. That was our experience in our formative years. So, is it any wonder that men from the early baby boomer cohort look around, see a changing America, and freak out. And that is the cohort that turns out to vote, this time for Trump.

I am 67. I did not freak out in 2016. I am freaking out now. Racism and jingoism have returned with a vengeance. I was susceptible to these influences when I was 18. I am susceptible to them now. I choose a different path. The question remains: How did I get here?

How did we get here?

The Birth of a Nation Feb. 17 at LCCC in Cheyenne

I first saw "Birth of a Nation" in a college film class 43 years ago. I had some electives to burn in my pursuit of a degree in English. The prof showed us "The Great Train Robbery," the first American Western film in 1903. It may have been based on Butch Cassidy's famous Wyoming train robbery. But did they film it in Wyoming? No -- New Jersey.

In the film class, we moved on to D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation" or, as it was originally titled, "The Clansman." You can see the entire film on YouTube. Or you can see it in Cheyenne at 9 a.m.on Saturday, Feb. 17, at LCCC as part of the African-American Black Film Exposition Feb. 14-17. It's a long film -- more than three hours -- but worth the viewing. It's one director's view of race relations. Griffith was a Southerner, steeped in myth and ritual and prejudice. His movie doesn't only reflect his views but those of many Americans at the time -- and now.

1915 is 103 years ago. My grandparents were young adults. My parents were ten years away from birth. It would be 35 years before I arrived on the scene. Racism was a fact of life when I was a kid in the West and South. Racism still is alive and well in the U.S. I wish it weren't so but it is.

"Birth of a Nation" was a big hit at theaters. Promoter for the film was George Bowles, the PR whiz who worked with the Committee on Public Information to make its film, "Pershing's Crusaders." a hit in May 1918.  The CPI was just hitting its stride on disseminating propaganda when the armistice was declared. But it would also be used to stir up the threat against Bolshevism after the war.

A CPI propaganda illustration sent out during the war:. The U.S. was thinking ahead to the fight against Bolsheviks. Note the foreign-looking commie.  

Donald Trump's Know-Nothing attitude would have doomed my Famine Irish ancestors

A Thomas Nast cartoon in Harper's Weekly depicts ape-like Irishmen beating up police on St. Patrick's Day 1867.  

Great read from a 1/10/18 article on Irish Central by Cahir O'Doherty: "President Donald Trump would have turned away the Famine Irish just like the Salvadorans."  Go to https://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/cahirodoherty/donald-trump-famine-irish-el-salvador

I don't know much about my great-great grandfather Thomas Shay.

He was Irish, as you might deduce from his last name, born in County Clare.

He left Ireland in the late 1840s (probably 1848) bound for the U.S.

He married Anna Agnes Burns and had three children when they were recorded in the 1850 census as residents of Monroe County, N.Y. By the 1870 census, the Shay family had moved to Iowa and eight children were listed on the rolls.

Thomas died in 1879 and is buried in Johnson County, Iowa.

His first name is my late father's first name and my middle name

My late Aunt Patricia researched these details before the wide use of the Internet and the advent of ancestry.com. She printed out a family tree on a dot-matrix printer. She put the evidence into a memory book for my daughter, born in 1993.

That's what I know. I also have read about anti-Irish sentiment in the mid-19th century. White people feared non-white people, although they were willing to use them as slaves and indentured servants. Strange to think that Irish immigrants were depicted in American papers as unwashed, uncouth bumpkins, or as monkeys and apes. They were Catholic, too, as were their swarthy cousins from Spain, Italy, and Mexico. You know, "Shithole" countries as Trumpists say.

The Know Nothings live. They were out in force last fall in Charlottesville, them and  their vile attitudes and precious tiki torches. They are descendants of the anti-Irish Know Nothings, although I would guess that some of them have Irish or Scots-Irish bloodlines. Scary to think how many Trumpists have Irish surnames. They do not know their history, and they don't care to learn.

Trump's policies may have doomed my Irish ancestors. But who knows -- maybe the Irish Shays would have survived in Ireland and my DNA would have never taken the pathways that eventually led to me. The Shay line would not be in its seventh generation of causing trouble in the U.S.

Immigration can sure be a random thing. You never know where curtailing it or encouraging it will lead. Sometimes you get a Barack Obama.

And sometimes you get a Donald Trump.

A cartoon from the 1850s by the "Know-Nothings" accusing the Irish and German immigrants of negatively affecting an election. From Victoriana Magazine.

Here are some tips to avoid those typo gremlins

Nobody in the Trump administration asked me for help, but I am offering it anyway.

First of all, a bit of history about typographical errors. They have been with us since the advent of the printing press. And spelling errors, well, they have been with us since humankind began sketching out a language on mud tablets or papyrus or cave walls, whatever was handy.

Humans are fallible. When  you combine that with high visibility, it's an invitation for trouble. I know this from almost 40 years as a writer and editor.

#45's first poster featured either a spelling error or a typo. SCSOE Betsy DeVos's office misspelled African-American activist's W.E.B. Dubois's name on a press release for Black History Month and compounded the problem by apologizing with the wrong form of apology.

We know that these people have the advantage of higher education. In other words, they're not uneducated. Gross negligence is another problem. Impulsivity, maybe, as we know that POTUS is impulsive on Twitter at 5 a.m.

I offer some tips on avoiding these little gremlins in your written documents, whether they appear only on social media or on thousands of posters, one of which will end up in the National Archives. The term "gremlins" is a good description for these little devils. It comes from British pilots in the 1920s, who needed something (rather than somone) to blame for the failings of their rickety aircraft. It really caught on during WWII, when pilots in the Battle of Britain referred to gremlins as the thing that gummed up the throttle, caused fuel leaks and generally ran amok over the whole works. Gremlins persist, which may be the cause of constant dysfunction at the Trump White House.

 One more thing. Do not treat Spell Check as the last word on your document. Apology, apologies and apologize(s) are all correct. Too and to are both words. Their use depends on context. Can you say context?

Some recent examples:

1. Michael Flynn, former National Security Advisor, wasn't too careful when he talked to two (or maybe two-and-twenty) Russian sources about U.S. national secrets.

You can see how to, too and two are used. Two-and-twenty is antiquated, best relegated to nursery rhyme and blogs. Besides, it could have been two million for all we will ever know.

2. Betsy DeVos offered no apology for giving money to all of the Republicans who voted for her nomination as Secretary of Education. She does apologize that it wasn't more, but that will be taken care of shortly.

Apology is a noun and is used here correctly. Apologize is a verb and it is also used correctly here. One of these days, all of these hacks will apologize to the American people but we won't hold our breath.

3. White House spokesman Stephen Miller msaid out loud that we shouldn't dare question POTUS's decision, whether it by on national security or Ivanka's clothing line. We can only conclude that he speaks with great precision, but obviously is batshit crazy.

That's all for today, language nerds. Your humble narrator signs off until I am needed again, which will be soon.

Think about this before you shop at the new Menards store being built in Cheyenne

This story originally ran on AlterNet and was reposted on Salon Nov. 1:

This January, as the Iowa Caucuses were underway, Menards began encouraging employees to take an at-home online “civics” course that characterizes the economic policies of President Barack Obama as a threat to the success of businesses such as Menards, and by extension, to the employees’ own well-being.

The course, titled “Civics 101: The National Self Governing Will In-Home Training,” incorporates much of the material comprising the Prosperity 101 program that AlterNet, working in partnership with the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute, exposed last year — a program concocted by Koch-linked political operatives Mark Block and Linda Hansen, late of the now-defunct Herman Cain presidential campaign. In March, Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the FBI is investigating possible financial improprieties involving two non-profit organizations founded by Block that are linked to Prosperity 101, which is a for-profit venture.

Full story at Retailer pressures workers to take anti-Obama “civics course”

I shock Tea Party Slim: "You guys are geniuses!"

Tea Party Slim couldn't wait to hear what I learned at Netroots Nation. He was pounding on my door five minutes after I returned from my trip.

"Let me sum it up," I said. "You Tea Party types are (pause for effect) geniuses."

This knocked Slim for a loop. "Geniuses?"

There was a time when I would have responded the same way. Geniuses? The same guys and gals with kindergarten spelling skills, who get all their news from the Fox Propaganda Channel, who shout nonsense at Congressional town meetings?

"Let me rephrase. I'm a little groggy from five days of Liberal politics."

"God forbid." There was a strange light in Slim's eyes, as if imagining Life in Hell.

"The Tea Party movement is genius," I rephrased.

"The Tea Party movement?"

"The big picture, Slim. The motivating force behind all of you."

"You mean the Constitution? The dreams that motivated our founding fathers?"

I summarized a presentation by Van Jones. Van Jones is an environmental advocate, civil rights activist and attorney. He's black, too. All of these assets made him a conservative target in 2009 when Pres. Obama appointed him as point man for the Green Jobs Economy.

"Van Jones said that he spent the past year studying the Tea Party," I said. "His conclusion: there is no Tea Party. It has no director, no D.C. office, no receptionist. It's an open-source brand."

I could tell that Slim was wary, as if he was being lured led into some kind of Liberal trap.

"I know what that is," he said. "It' something anyone can use."

"That's right. A brand ready-made for every Right Wing group in the country. Anti-immigrant groups, Ayn Rand Book Groups, KKK..."

"There you go," he said. "We're not Right Wing, we're true conservatives. You Lefties want to paint us a radicals."

"Lefties?" I smiled. "You got me. Anyway, there were thousands of 'true conservative" organizations ready to adopt the Tea Party mantle. Those small groups became a large force of like-minded people pushing their politicians."

"And we won in 2010."

"Yes, and you want to win forever. But you can't."

A wry smile from Slim. "Wanna bet?"

"No offense, Slim, but you're old and white. I'm getting there too. Tea Party rallies feature gray hairs and gray beards and people with walkers."

"And we vote in large numbers."

"Agreed. But you and I are an endangered species, Slim. Sure, you elected people like Rick Scott and Scott Walker and hundreds of ultra-conservative legislators in Wyoming and all across the U.S."

"And a U.S. House majority -- don't forget that."

"How could I?" I shivered as my mind flashed on an image of Michelle Bachmann. "But your crazies are motivating us. Those Wisconsin legislators who bullied teachers and firefighters are being recalled. Young people are rising up. And progressives have open-source brands of our own."

"Name one."

"Rebuild the Dream, for one."

"And Van Jones is the big cheese?"

"No, he's just getting the ball rolling. Local groups in Wyoming can be a part of it and won't have to pay dues or kowtow to some vaunted leader. The Netroots will be a part of it too."

"Bloggers." Slim said it with scorn.

I decided to switch the narrative, a timeworn Republican trick that Dems are slowly beginning to learn. "How does it feel to be a trailblazer?"

He brightened. "So you're coming to our Open-Source Brand Tea Party rally Friday at the State Capitol?"

"I'm at every Tea Party rally, Slim. Usually I come to privately revel in my scorn. This time I'm attending for research."

"Research?"

"Sure. Van Jones said he wants his open-source brand to be as warm and fuzzy, kind and sharing, as the Tea Party. And as patriotic -- liberty and justice for all, eh?"

Slim rose and headed for the door. "I'll see Friday at noon. Better wear protective coloration and not that." He pointed at my red-white-and-blue Democracy for America T-shirt.

"You guys don't believe in democracy?"

"We're a republic -- as in Republican."

And I thought we were making progress, Slim and I. Maybe we will find common ground Friday at the Tea Party rally.

Photo: Van Jones says that the Tea Party could be a model for Liberal activists.

Tom Brokaw fails to define Boomers

I suffered through 10 cloying minutes of "Boomer$" (note the annoying dollar sign) on CNBC before Tom Brokaw broke in with a paean to the Boomers' parents "whom I call the Greatest Generation." Yes, Tom, we know that your "Greatest Generation" suffered through the Depression and beat the bad guys in "the Good War" and faced down the Soviets during "40 years of The Cold War." And we know that, in comparison, we Baby Boomers were a bunch of sniveling whiny brats who smoked pot at Woodstock and protested at swell land-grant universities such as University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Brokaw can't help it that he despises the Boomers. He was born in 1940, too late to be a member of the Greatest Generation and too early to go to Woodstock and/or Vietnam. Besides, Brokaw has made a living out of praising my parents' generation. They were pretty fine people. In that Tom and I agree.

But he isn't up to the task of defining the the contributions and idiocies of 74 million Americans born between 1946-1964. I made it through 20 total minutes of the show and I had enough.

To understand the Boomers -- and the last 60-some years of American history -- you had to be paying attention. Living your life, for one thing, and contributing to society in some sort of constructive way. The Boomers I know are big on volunteering. It could be the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure or the rodeo at Cheyenne Frontier Days. Takes a lot of volunteers to run a political campaign. Those I met during Gary Trauner's unsuccessful race for the U.S. House in 2008 ranged in age from Greatest Generation to Gen-X-Y-Z. In between, of course, were the Baby Boomers. We worked together, not necessarily in perfect harmony but pretty close.

I meet some nice Repub Boomers when I volunteer at the polls. We don't have a single thing in common except that we love our country and think working at the polls is a damn fine way to give back.

It's not only volunteering. It's working at something you like and raising decent kids and keeping in shape and making some dough and buying a house and 101 other things that people do.

It's nice to see Tom Brokaw interviewing aging jocks and Woodstock survivors and P.J. O'Rourke and Bill Clinton and an unemployed 50-something woman and potbellied guys who once twirled hula-hoops. But what did we learn from "Boomer$?" Not much, but I only watched 20 minutes. Perhaps if I watched the whole hour I'd be a smarter Boomer, almost as smart (and smarmy) as Tom Brokaw.

Million Thousand Moron March on D.C. included sons & daughters of the CSA

The South shall rise again! People who paid attention in history class know that the original Freedom Riders were advocates for Civil Rights in the South during the 1960s. This person's granddaddy no doubt beat up real Freedom Riders in Selma and Montgomery and Jackson.

I don't care if your mother says it's true. Check it out!

See Dick write a book

The blogosphere and twitternet are abuzz with news about Dick Cheney's book deal.

In Wyoming, any news about the Cheneys is buzzworthy, due to the fact that Dick developed his creepy underhanded political strategies here in Wyoming before sharing them with the rest of the world.

Here are the sordid details from CNN Online:

Cheney has struck a deal with publishing house Simon & Schuster to write his memoirs covering a more than 40-year career in government, stretching all the way back to his roles in the Nixon and Ford administrations. The book will be published by Simon & Schuster's Threshold Editions, where former Cheney aide and current CNN contributor Mary Matalin serves as editor-in-chief.

The deal — which media reports have suggested is worth in excess of $2 million — is the latest to be struck by Robert Barnett, the Washington lawyer who most recently negotiated a book deal for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Barnett has also negotiated multimillion dollar deals for the Clintons and President Obama.

Daughter Liz Cheney called her father a "student of history" and said he has already begun collecting his thoughts in longhand and on his laptop computer.

"He wants to make sure that his story is told, and told in a way that his grandchildren will be able to understand and appreciate even 20 or 30 years from now," Liz Cheney told the New York Times.

His book, set to hit stores in the spring of 2011, will come on the heels of President Bush's memoir. That book is slated for release in fall of 2010.

Other Bush administration officials currently working on books including top aide Karl Rove, former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

One hardly knows where to begin. Cheney a "student of history?" HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa, etc. I am glad that he wishes to tell the story in a way that his grandchildren will appreciate in the future. Perhaps my own grandchildren will appreciate it as well. I hope I'm around to translate it for them, to give the lies some perspective. If Cheney really wants to write a book understandable to future generations, perhaps his wife Lynne can put it in the form of a children's book as she does so well with U.S. History. Can you say propaganda, boys and girls?

As a writer, I am jealous about the advance. I once dreamed of million-dollar advances, but that was before all the U.S. publishers became "too big to fail" and decided to sink all their money into "celebrities" with "platforms." People like Condi and Dubya and Rummy and the Alaskan Moose Hunter and Fartblossom. The kind of books that people buy in hopes they can get a signed copy to leave to their grandchildren who then will sell it for a quarter at a garage sale in 2050. Or use it for a doorstop. Nobody reads these books.

I once stood in line for two hours at a Border's store in suburban Maryland to get a signed copy of Newt Gingrich's memoir. Had some real interesting conversations with my fellow line-standers, most of whom were Republicans and liked Gingrich. I got my signed copy and was hurried along to make way for the next sucker. I mailed the book to my father, who liked Gingrich. It was a birthday gift. When my father divided his library prior to his death, I received his books about U.S. presidents (including Ike, Nixon and Reagan) while one of my brothers got books by and about lesser-known politicos. I haven't asked him yet if he sold the Gingrich book at a garage sale.

I've seen several blogs post possible titles. I have a few suggestions of my own:
Dick Cheney, Student of History -- Not!
Vice President Dick Cheney -- Second Fiddle to Nobody.
Dick, We Hardly Knew Ye -- and Liked It that Way.
Notes from the Underground Bunker.
War and Peace War

Other titles?

Why is this man smiling?

He's happy for all the reasons you might expect -- and some you could only imagine.

Major happiness reigns in the wingnutosphere now that Dick has a Facebook page. The comments are a hoot.

Go to Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Richard-Bruce-Dick-Cheney/33820388138?v=feed&story_fbid=82345136733.

Watch what you say. He and his minions at the mountain redoubt outside Jackson are tracking every word.

"Daddy Grandpa, what's a "Socialist"

Gather 'round kids, and let me tell you a story about the old days of the Cold War, a war so cold that it almost froze us with fear.

We were afraid of a country called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or U.S.S.R. Never heard of it, not even in History class? Well, the core of the U.S.S.R was Russia. The U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. butted heads on nearly everything. Our philosophies were as different as night and day. Back in the 1950s when I was a kid, America believed in freedom and equality, except for Negroes (African-Americans were known by this term), immigrants, homosexuals and women. The Soviets believed in the enslavement of all people, including Negroes, immigrants, homosexuals and women.

The Soviets wanted to spread their philosophy to all corners of the world, including Wyoming, and we fought them every step on the way. That's why we have so many nuclear missiles burrowed into the prairie outside Cheyenne. If the Russkis came to Wyoming and tried to change our way of life, we were going to shoot their eyes out with nukes. In the process, we would all be blind too, but nevermind that.

Because Americans were so afraid, they labeled anyone who didn't agree with them as "communists." Being a communist is kind of like being a socialist, although much scarier. So, if you were suspicious of your neighbor, if you thought he was some kind of community organizer or peacenik or civil rights activist, you labeled him a communist. Every Saturday at noon, people would gather in town squares all across American and curse the communists, who had been gathered there for convenience sake. We would call them "commie" or "commie symp" (sympathizer) or "Red" or "pinko" even "Socialist." If an insolent pinko spoke up, we would stone him or her to death. This made us feel so much better. The next day, we all went to church.

So you see, kids, Americans have a long tradition of name-calling. You can see the same tradition in action every day at a John McCain or Sarah Palin rally. "Socialist!" they shout, as if they actually knew what that meant. "Community organizer!" Ouch, that hurts. "Believer in redistribution of wealth!" Uh oh, someone's been reading "The Communist Manifesto." If anyone shouts "terrorist," you know that person watches Fox News.

I wouldn't be too concerned that all of this name calling will lead to the actual stoning to death of your neighbor. But you never know...

Irritate a Know Nothing -- wear your Obama T-shirt to Wal-Mart today

Steelmaggie13 in Alabama is one of those Steel Magnolias who give the South a good name. Here’s part of her diary on Daily Kos:

Soooo... Tonight I needed to go to Wal-Mart. I try to avoid it as much as I can because I prefer to give my money to the local businesses in town, but I had to go tonight. I try to wear one of my Obama Tshirts whenever possible because I am just really proud of my candidate. Tonight it was my HOPE MONGER tee ;o) It's funny the looks you get from people when you're in the minority.. Sometimes people look at my shirt and then at my face like I'm crazy.. Some smile, some say "Love that shirt!" And tonight... a woman actually confronted me about it.

I was behind her in line thru the self check out... and she looked at me and in a tone dripping with disdain, said, "Can I just ask you 'Why'"? (I knew immediately what she meant), but I asked her, "Why what?" She made a motion with her hand over her own chest, indicating my shirt... She said "Why? Why all that?" My first reaction was really incredulousness, and I said back, smiling, "Why NOT?!" I asked her what our other choices were. And she said.. "Well, not SOCIALISM!"

I said to her, "Oh, you must watch Fox News because they're the ones who are pushing that storyline.". I could feel my heart start pounding harder... She said something about his record, and I know the look on my face was complete disgust (I've GOT to work on that, I never have had a very good poker face), and I said back to her... "Records?? Consider if you will that the Republicans have been in charge of the gov't for the past 12 years.. and LOOK where we are!"

I'm very passionate about this stuff and I think maybe I scared her a little when I answered her back so sharply and quickly, so she said.. "I don't want to argue with you, I just wanted to know why.". So I, still smiling said... "Well, the reason for 'all this' (imitating the same movement she made indicating my shirt) is because THIS is a positive movement. I feel excited and joyful and hopeful about this election. I believe in this guy. I'm very happy with my candidate and I support Obama completely. It's not the dismal, hateful, scary stuff the other side is offering. That's why." I was smiling, but I think she and a few others around us, knew I was spring loaded and ready LOL... I've GOT to work on that. I only want to come across as joyful and confident.. Not snippy and bitchy. I mighta been a little snippy and bitchy in my delivery, but I felt proud of my answers.

Read all of it at http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/12/02934/468/450/628050

Rep. Cubin reports from the war zone

If Iraq’s such a fine place, why aren’t either of your sons over there?

That’s my question for Wyoming’s lone rep in the U.S. House, Barbara Cubin. She traveled to Iraq recently and wrote an account for her e-mail newsletter. I am very thankful that Ms. Cubin risked her neck to bring me this first-hand report of the battle zone. Knowledge is better than ignorance, which is all that we usually hear from Ms. Cubin. She has stubbornly clung to the claim by Bush & Cheney that Saddam Hussein was in cahoots with Osama bin Laden. She tells us that Iraq is the front line in the so-called War on terror. Well, it wasn’t before we invaded -- but it is now.

You can get more balderdash about the war at Cubin's web site: http://www.house.gov/cubin/.

Here are some highlights of her dispatches from the war:

Imagine anything you have ever seen on television, in the movies or in newspapers depicting war – being on the ground in a war zone in Baghdad and Balad is incredibly more dramatic and intense. I traveled with four other Members of Congress. We rode for hours on C-130 planes, strapped to the same uncomfortable seats in which our military men and women travel into war. We slept in military beds, ate in chow halls and in Baghdad traveled through a "red zone" (an unsafe, unsecured area) in humvees, all the while wearing approximately 30 pounds of heavy protective armor.

*********************

I have always believed we as lawmakers have a responsibility to listen to our military commanders on the ground and trust in their first-hand experience of battle. During my time in Iraq, that is just what I did -- listen. I met American generals, Iraqi police, State Department officials, military medical teams, officers and enlisted men and women, including several out of the hundreds of Wyoming's own sons and daughters. I asked the same three questions of everyone I met while in Iraq. I asked how the current U.S. political debate affected their efforts, how we were doing on the ground and if we were making progress. The people with whom I spoke told me frankly that the debate in Washington over troop withdrawal and the lack of support for the war hurts morale. They said it makes their jobs harder and diminishes their overall chance of success in Iraq. They do not understand how opponents of the war can say they support the troops, but not the war. The soldiers are proud of their jobs, their work in Iraq and their country. They see their jobs and the war as, understandably, linked.

*********************

Each person with whom I spoke said that while the situation in Iraq remained critical, real progress is being made. Sectarian violence has been curbed in many areas, security in some contested regions has improved and the Iraqi people have been joining with U.S. forces against Al-Qaeda. I was told that our presence in the country was not only important for Iraq and the region, but important for the United States and the entire world in deterring terrorism.

***********************

In my opinion, as a country we must stop bickering and unite behind our troops and their mission. Not adequately funding this war in a timely fashion would be a severe mistake for our nations' security and would not serve our troops. If we truly support our soldiers and their families, we must give them the means to carry out their mission and return home after success, not failure.

**********************

Our service men and women truly make the red, white and blue proud.

Urge advertisers to say no to O'Reilly

Here's the message I attached to the petition urging advertisers to reconsider money spent on the FOX New Channel's The O'Reilly Factor:

I am a Liberal who consumes liberally (but also thoughtfully). Our family buys a new fuel-efficient car every three years. We own a home and spend money on furnishings and upgrades. We buy clothes and food and videos. We invest in stocks. From now on, before each purchase, we will consult the list of FOX advertisers. That will be our NO-SHOP LIST.

This follows a spate of hate-filled outbursts by O'Reilly directed at the progressive blog Daily Kos. Sign the boycott petition here.