I dispute the claim that all Tea Partiers are Baby Boomers -- and vice versa

A few weeks ago on Keith Olbermann's show, comedian and political commentator Christian Finnegan has a comment about members of the Tea Party Movement. It went something like this: "Teabaggers are a bunch of Baby Boomers scared that the world has passed them by."

I took umbrage with this. Normally umbrage is the last thing I take with the proceedings on Keith's show. I'm yelling at my flat-screen TV: "Yeah, Keith, go baby go!" Sometimes I'm yelling at Keith's guests: "Yeah [guest's name], go baby go."

But I had to chew on Finnegan's comment. As I've said on these pages before -- I'm a Baby Boomer who's a bit scared that the world has passed me by. I'm chewing though my 60th year on Planet Earth. I'm not overly scared about this world-passing-me-by-thingy -- but I do have some suspicions.

I'm a writer and I work in the field of arts administration. I could easily be an accountant like my father or a nurse like my mother or a machinist like one of my brothers or a postal delivery person like another one of my brothers. I'd have a lot more job security if I had chosen a more practical field. But I drifted into my career through stints in print journalism and corporate PR. If I had stayed in any of those fields, I'd probably be unemployed now. I could have fallen into other careers or other jobs. But here I am, an aging English major Baby Boomer who wants nothing to do with the Tea Party.

So note to Christian Finnegan: Baby Boomers come in all shapes and sizes and political persuasions. Just like you and your fellow Gen-Ys or Gen-Xs or Gen-Zs (how old are you anyway?).

Yes, it does appear that Tea Party demonstrators tend to be white and male and rotund. That could easily describe me, although I like to think that I'm not rotund but slightly overweight. I am white, with a Celt's traditional array of freckles. I'm male, and have been for almost 60 years. I'm a member of the Baby Boomer generation, one of the most annoying cohorts in U.S. history.

But not a member of the Tea Party.

I drink coffee.

Reading the Sunday paper -- food co-ops, neglected houses and news about upcoming governor's race

I read today's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle almost cover-to-cover. I spend more time reading news online these days than I do in the paper. But the Sunday paper is still a ritual. Something about the tradition -- the rustle of the pages and the smell of the coffee and not having to go to work. Local stories, too. These are tough to find online, especially since the WTE has such a lousy web site.

One local news headline got my attention: "Alternative grocery store might replace old Safeway." News came a few weeks ago that the State of Wyoming bought the downtown Safeway property. The store will shut down this week. The wrecking ball will follow.

On Saturday, about 30 people met at the library to discuss forming a food co-op downtown. I wouldn't actually call a food co-op an "alternative grocery store." It's a membership organization that usually stocks food not available in chain grocery stores. Twenty years ago, I belonged to the food co-op in Fort Collins. I bought granola in bulk, and organic rolled oats and local honey and veggies in season. Thing is, you can get most of this stuff at Safeway or King Soopers, even Albertson's. My local Albertson's stocks a great selection of mixes from Bob's Red Mill, including Buckwheat Pancake Mix, my favorite.

But it's not about discounts or replacing a chain store in the downtown area. It's about community. It's about growing and eating and purchasing locally. It's about making downtown a thriving livable place. So many empty buildings in our downtown. So few residents, especially in the city's core area. A food co-op would be a great addition. Hope the organizers are certain of their goals. If you're interested, the next meeting will be on Saturday, March 6, 2 p.m. at the Laramie County Public Library in Cheyenne.

I was glad to see that the Cheyenne City Council is taking up an ordinance on vacated residences. This fits in with the previous story. The houses on the block adjacent to the downtown Safeway have been abandoned and boarded-up for more than a year. Safeway bought the houses and once had plans to tear down the old store and build a new Super Safeway with a big parking lot such as the one on South Greeley Highway. But the economy turned south, and the neighbors were stuck with a block of abandoned houses. Safeway should have been fined for every day those houses stood abandoned and neglected.

That's what we should due to other negligent slumlords in Cheyenne. Until a few weeks ago, we had an abandoned house in our neighborhood. It was an eyesore. Abandoned along with the house was a beat-up pick-up and a van. They just sit on the street, blocking the road grader which smooths our dirt street each month. I saw today that someone has bought the house and has put up a "for rent" sign. Let's hope this landlord doesn't morph into a slumlord. By the way, I have nothing against renters. I was a renter for more years that I've been a homeowner.

Syndicated columnist Bill Sniffin out of Lander announced that Wyoming U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi will not be running for governor. Huh? Late last year, Mr. Sniffin had teased us about a mystery candidate for the governor's race.

A lot of wild speculation was dished my way as people speculated that I was talking about Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney, John Barrasso, Cynthia Lummis, Dave Freudenthal turning Republican, Ray Hunkins, Eli Bebout and even this writer (wow!).

Dick Cheney? Liz Cheney? God forbid that those plagues would be loosed upon the state. Ditto Cynthia Lummis. Gov Dave turning Republican? Guess it could happen. Some of my lefty friends might say that Dave is DINO -- Democrat in Name Only. But this is Wyoming with its one-party system. I guess you could say there are two parties -- Republicans and Republicrats. I belong to the fringe party that nobody pays atention to -- Democrats.

But Enzi isn't running. He's too busy singing in the No Chorus of Senate Republicans. Maybe next time...

Welcome to spring training -- origins of Arizona's Cactus League

Douglas McDaniel writes an intriguing article for the Phoenix Performing Arts Examiner on the origins of the Cactus League. Very timely as Major League Baseball starts spring training in Arizona and Florida. Read the entire article at http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-2040-Phoenix-Performing-Arts-Examiner~y2010m2d27-Spring-training-brought-civil-rights-legacy-to-Arizona

When baseball "broke the color barrier," there were all kinds of ripple effects. Arizona hasn't always been the most hospitable place for non-white people. Those migrating across the border aren't always welcome, unless they're mowing golf courses or washing dishes at your favorite Mexican restaurant. Arizona voters turned down a 1990 MLK Day proposal. The NFL yanked the 1990 Super Bowl out of Arizona. In 1992, state voters finally recognized the evil of their ways and okayed the MLK Day holiday. The Super Bowl finally came to Sun Devil stadium in 1996.

In the 1940s, economics and nice weather and a few pushy individuals such as Bill Veeck made the Cactus League happen.

Florida, on the other hand, was definitely a part of the Dixie South. I just finished listening to a PBS series about the very slow dissolution of the color barrier at NASA during the 1960s. Some of the NASA employees interviewed cited Cape Canaveral as the worst place for a black employee. Worse than Huntsville, Alabama? Well, Huntsville had a long-standing federal presence. The military had been integrated since 1948 and many had been stationed in Huntsville. Scientists and researchers had been coming to Huntsville from all over the world. Houston, home to the Johnson Space Center, was at least a big city where blacks and white occasionally mingled.

Brevard County, Florida, was not so enlightened. An African-American town was obliterated to make way to launch facilities. "Separate but equal" was still in effect at schools and restaurants and the workplace.

I grew up one county to the north. Volusia County was home to the Daytona Speedway and the World's Most Famous Beach. Blacks couldn't go to this famous beach. They had to go to Bethune Beach, or N----- Beach as it was known to Crackers. Sundown laws kept blacks off of the beach side at night. Schools were segregated through the 1960s. The KKK was active into the 1970s and may still be.

How did black players on MLB teams fare in Florida? Did they have to stay in separate hotels and eat at separate restaurants? I don't know the answer to those questions. But I plan to find out.

To view a hilarious mockumentary on "The Old Negro Space Program," go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6xJzAYYrX8

HCR Summit clip: "Would your healthcare platform be the same if you made $40K?"

Video clip of the day from Health Care Reform Summit (via a TPM post): POTUS vs. The Colossus of Casper. No contest!

"Science is the Poetry of Reality"

Thanks to Ellie Chamberlain and Kevin Shay of Tucson for referring me to this beautiful vid about "real poetry in the real world."

Pres. Obama takes Sen. Barrasso to the woodshed today at Health Care Summit

Something weird happens to physicians when they're elected to the U.S. Senate. Especially Republican physicians.

I thought Sen. Barrasso's remarks at today's Health Care Summit would be just as thoughtful and as succinct as Sen. Enzi's. They are both conservative Republicans from Wyoming -- Barrasso from Casper and Enzi from Gillette. They have both been in lockstep opposing Pres. Obama's health care reform ideas. As U.S. Senators, they both dwell in a higher income bracket than you and me.

But there are differences. And these may be issues of class and income bracket, possibly even empathy.

Anyway, Sen./Dr. Barrasso said some bizarre things today.

More from Washington Post transcripts (in entirety):

MCCONNELL: Yes, Mr. President, Dr. John Barrasso is going to make our opening statement...

OBAMA: OK.

MCCONNELL: ... on (inaudible).

OBAMA: And then I will call Henry Waxman, and we'll just go back and forth.

BARRASSO: Thank you very much.

OBAMA: And because we are short on time, let's keep our remarks relatively brief.

BARRASSO: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

For people who don't know me, I practiced medicine in Casper, Wyoming for 25 years as an orthopedic surgeon, taking care of families in Wyoming. I've been chief of staff of the largest hospital in our state. My wife is a breast cancer survivor. Bobbi's been through three operations, a couple of bouts of chemotherapy. We've seen this from all the different sides of -- of care.

And this discussion needs to be about all Americans because everyone is affected, not just people that don't have insurance. And I've had dozens and dozens of visits to senior centers and town hall meetings and visited at -- at service clubs. And if you go to any community in America, and you ask the question, do you believe that this bill up here, that this bill will, if it becomes law -- do you believe you will pay more for your health care, you personally, every hand goes up.

And then you say, do you believe, if this bill becomes law, overall health care and the spending -- and spending in the country will go up, every hand goes up.

And then you ask the most personal question of all, do you believe, if this bill becomes law, the quality of your own personal care will get worse? Every hand goes up.

And most worried of all are the seniors, when you go to the senior centers, because they know there's going to be $500 billion taken away from those who depend upon Medicare for their health care. And it's not just Medicare Advantage. It's hospitals; it's the doctors; it's the nursing homes; it's home health, which is a lifeline for people that are home alone; hospice, for people in their final days of life.

That's all going to be cut. That's why the seniors are most concerned. And even the White House's own actuary says, if this goes into play, one in five hospitals, one in five nursing homes will be operating at a loss in 10 years. That's what we're looking at.

Now, for 25 years practicing medicine, I never asked anybody if they were a Republican or a Democratic or an independent and asked if they had insurance or not. I took care of everybody. And many, many doctors -- and I know Dr. Coburn, Dr. Boustany -- do that. We take care of everyone, regardless of ability to pay. Doctors work long hours. Nurses work long hours.

And, Mr. President, when you say, with catastrophic plans, they don't go for care until later, I say sometimes the people with catastrophic plans are the people that are best consumers of health care, in using -- the way they use their health care dollars.

Because a lot of people come in and say, you know, my knee hurts; maybe I should get an MRI. They say -- and then they say, "Will my insurance cover it?" That's the first question.

And if I say yes, then they say, "OK, let's do it." If I say no, then they say, "Well, what is it going to cost?"

And "What's it cost?" ought to be the first question. And that's why, sometimes, people with catastrophic -- catastrophic health plans ask the best questions, shop around, are the best consumers of health care.

But to put 15 million more people on Medicaid, a program where many doctors in the country do not see them, as Grassley said -- you know, you say, how are going to help those folks?

And, Mr. President, you know, when I talk to doctors, I say, I have a way; put all the doctors who take care of Medicaid patients under the Federal Torts Claims Act. That will help them, because they're not getting paid enough to see the patients. But if their Medicare -- if they accept those patients and then their liability insurance is covered under the Federal Tort Claims Act, I think you have a lot more participation in that program.

I do believe we have the best health care system in the world. That's why the premier of one of the Canadian provinces came here just last week to have his heart operated on. He said it's my heart; it's my life; I want to go where it's the best, and he came to the United States.

It's where a member of parliament, a Canadian member of parliament with cancer came to the United States for their care. They all have coverage there, but they want is care. So coverage does not equal care.

What we heard from Senator Conrad is actually -- is also right. Half of all the money we spend in this country on health care is on just 5 percent of the people. Those are people, for the most part, that eat too much, exercise too little and smoke. And as a result, we need to focus on those people.

So the focus ought to be on the best possible care. People are happy with the quality of care they get and the availability, but they sure don't like the affordability because it's not affordable.

And, you know, Mr. President, the first week in medical school, we got our stethoscopes, and the professor of cardiology, who just died this past year -- he said this is to listen. This is to listen to your patients, listen to their heart, listen to their lungs. But it's a constant reminder to listen to them, listen to what they are telling you. And it means to listen to the other people in the room.

If you're seeing a child, listen to what the mother is saying. If you're with an elderly person, listen to what their -- their adult child is saying. And it's a constant reminder to listen.

And I have great concerns that people around this table are not listening to the American people and are fearful of the consequences of this large bill, which is why only one in three people of American support what is being proposed here. And that's why so many people, Mr. President, are saying it's time to start over.

OBAMA: The -- I mean, let me just -- there's one thing I've got to -- there are a number of issues, as usually, that I've got significant difference with.

I just am curious. Would you be satisfied if every member of Congress just had catastrophic care? Do you think we'd be better health care purchasers?

I mean, do you think -- is that a change that we should make?

BARRASSO: Yes, I think -- I think, actually, we would. We'd really focus on it. You'd have more, as you'd say, skin in the game...

OBAMA: Because...

BARRASSO: ... and especially if they had a savings account...

(CROSSTALK)

BARRASSO: ... a health savings account. They could put their money into that and they'd be spending the money out of that.

OBAMA: Would you feel the same way if you were making $40,000 or you had -- that was your income?

Because that's the reality for a lot of folks. I mean, it is very important, when you say to listen, to listen to that farmer that Tom mentioned in Iowa, to listen to the folks that we get letters from.

Because the truth of the matter, John, is they're not premiers of any place. They're not sultans from wherever. They don't fly in to Mayo and suddenly, you know, decide they're going to spend a couple million on the absolute best health care. They're folks who are left out.

OBAMA: And this notion somehow that for them the system was working and that if they just ate a little better and were better health care consumers they could manage is just not the case. The vast majority of these 27 million or 30 million people that we're talking about, they work, every day. Some of them work two jobs. But if they're working for a small business they can't get health care. If they are self-employed, they can't get health care.

And you know what? It is a scary proposition for them.

And so we can debate whether or not we can afford to help them, but we shouldn't pretend somehow that they don't need help. I get too many letters saying they need help.

And so I want to go to...

BARRASSO: Mr. President, having a high deductible plan and a health savings account is an option for members of Congress and federal employees...

OBAMA: That's right, because members of Congress get paid $176,000 a year.

(CROSSTALK)

BARRASSO: ... 16,000 -- 16,000 employees take advantage of that.

OBAMA: Because they -- because members of Congress...

(CROSSTALK)

BARRASSO: It's the same plan that the -- that the park rangers get...

OBAMA: John...

BARRASSO: ... in Yellowstone National Park.

OBAMA: John, members of Congress are in the top income brackets of the country, and health savings accounts I think can be a useful tool, but every study has shown that the people who use them are folks who've got a lot of disposable income. And the people that we're talking about don't.

So... (CROSSTALK)

As always, CROSSTALK gets the last word...

Now we know what Sen. Barrasso believes. If all of us middle class Americans just had catastrophic coverage -- better yet, no insurance at all --- we'd all be better shoppers of health care.

Transcript of Sen. Enzi's remarks at Health Care Summit

Since I've been jabbering on about Wyoming's obstructionist GOP senators, I thought it would be wise to reprint in full Sen. Mike Enzi's remarks today at the Health Care Summit in D.C. This was billed as an exercise in bipartisanship, so it was interesting that Sen. Enzi took the theme seriously (see boldface section) and recounted ways he worked together with the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, as liberal as Enzi is conservative.

From transcripts on the Washington Post web site:

ENZI: Thank you, Mr. President, colleagues.

When we're -- when we're talking about insurance reform, we haven't really talked about, but Representative Slaughter kind of opened the door on it, and that's Medicare.

Seniors out there are really nervous. Seniors are the ones objecting the most to the program, and it's because they see half a trillion dollars coming out of their program.

If Medicare were separate, and any savings that we did in Medicare reform went back into Medicare, it would do a lot to relieve the tension that's out there. It'd even be a way to pay for the doc fix.

So I'm hoping that can be a piece of what we're doing.

I really appreciate this exchange. It would have been helpful had we had this nine months or a year earlier and had it in even more detail and for more days.

What we were presented with in the HELP Committee of course was a bill that was already half drafted, and we started the markup on it, and then we got the other half later, and since we had not had any input to the drafting we're credited with 150 amendments. Well, 17 of those amendments were Senator Murkowski where she was inserting Native Americans and tribal in 17 different places. I had 11 of them where we put in a thing that required agencies to cooperate.

So the ideas that we had -- when Senator Kennedy and I were working bills, we'd set down some principles and then put some detail in, and then draft the bills together. And I hope that that's something that we go to on future bills. It works. In a three-year period, he and I got 38 bills signed by the president. In the last year I've gotten two that I've gotten pens from this president. And the way that we've done those has been through that kind -- that kind of a process, and unless we go through that kind of a process, I don't think we're going to -- I don't think we can get to the bipartisan thing, and that's what the purpose of this meeting is, is to kind of get all these ideas together and see how they gel.

In insurance reform, small-business health plans, that's different than the AHPs, which is what they were talking about, and it covers some of the problems that were talked about.

One of the problems is mandates. And Olympia Snowe contributed to that part. She had a provision that if 26 of the states adopted a mandate, it would be a mandate nationwide. And as other mandates became 26, they would be included with it, too.

We talked about health savings accounts. I don't think that meets some of the federal minimum standards that the federal government might put on it, and that's going to disappoint some of our employees, because that is one of the options that federal employees have, is health savings accounts.

And it's particularly good for the younger, healthier people. They can get that. They've got catastrophic coverage. If they put the amount of money that they would have spent on a Blue Cross plan or some other plan, the difference between the two, into a savings account, in three years they've covered the huge deductible, and they can continue to do that tax-free. So it's a -- it's a process that would be really objected to if it's excluded or changed.

I like the exchanges, and the reason I like the exchanges is it's kind of a form of bidding, it's more transparency, people can see what they're buying, and that would be a big help. When we were in the shoe business, my wife used to -- after 10 years she decided she'd bid out our insurance.

We didn't know there was that much flexibility in insurance. She saved a bunch. And then, of course, she didn't -- since we were selling shoes, it's kind of a fixed price, so she didn't really take the low bid and then go back to somebody else and say, "Can you make this a little lower?" But that insurance company we'd been with for 10 years came to us and said, "We could have done a better deal." She said, "You should have when I was buying the insurance." And we got much better -- much better bids the next year.

So these exchanges can be good. But what I would hope you would consider is having the exchanges to list anybody's insurance that wants to put in on there, and then mark the ones that meet the federal minimum standards so that people can decide really what's out there in the market, and I think it would pull up some of the ones that are lower down up into the category, and at the same time everybody could see what all is on the market out there, and hopefully regardless of states.

Thank you, Mr. President.

OBAMA: Thank you very much, Mike. And thanks for (inaudible) succinct. Thank you very much. And I thought you shared some important ideas there.

Repubs shut out of health care reform debate? I think not...

Anyone who doubts that Repub ideas have been included in Pres. Obama's health care reform proposal -- check this out:

It’s clear that the American people want health insurance reform. They aren’t interested in Democratic ideas or Republican ideas. They’re interested in the best ideas to reduce costs, guarantee choices and ensure the highest quality care.

They’re interested in ideas that will put them back in control of their own health care.

Throughout the debate on health insurance reform, Republican concepts and proposals have been included in legislation. In fact, hundreds of Republican amendments were adopted during the committee mark-up process. As a result, both the Senate and the House passed key Republican proposals that are incorporated into the President’s Proposal.

Here is one that I especially like:

Community Mental Health Centers. The President’s Proposal ensures that individuals have access to comprehensive mental health services in the community setting, but strengthens standards for facilities that seek reimbursement as community mental health centers by ensuring these facilities are not taking advantage of Medicare patients or the taxpayers. (Source: H.R. 3970, “Medical Rights & Reform Act”)

I just read Sen. Enzi's ten-point plan for reforming health care. I even went to the extended version incorporated into a Senate bill. I now have a headache. I can't find anything about "comprehensive mental health services in the community setting." Very important issue in rural Wyoming with its shortage of mental health professionals for children and teens -- and shockingly low Medicare reimbursement rates.

Nothing for my headache but to turn on CSPAN-3 and listen to today's health care summit at the Blair House in D.C.

Lamar Alexander speaking. Now I have a whopper of a headache.

Next up: Know Nothing Republican Physician Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. When Coburn refers to government, he says "gubmint."

Both of Wyoming's GOP obstructionist senators will be at health care summit

Hope spring eternal, eh?

From the Wyoming Democrats:

The Wyoming Democratic Party calls on Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso to make honest efforts to negotiate in good faith with Democrats to find solutions to the health care crisis during the White House summit on Thursday.

Senate Republicans announced Tuesday that Enzi and Barrasso would be two of the seven senators the party will send to the summit scheduled by President Obama to break through the congressional log jam on health care reform.

"We encourage Senators Enzi and Barrasso to go to the summit with open minds, bring their own plans for comprehensive health insurance reform, and engage in honest negotiations instead of playing politics," said Wyoming Democratic Party State Chair Leslie Petersen. "The people of Wyoming and this nation demand and deserve nothing less."

Petersen noted that a poll released Tuesday by the widely respected Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that key components of health reform legislation receive broad, bipartisan support and that 58 percent of the public would be "angry" or "disappointed" if Congress failed to pass health reform.[http://mlist.orchidsuites.net/lists/lt.php?id=KkoGBAJTVAFQBx4BC1dWSgACBlNb]

The poll showed that 76 percent of Americans support "reforming the way health insurance works," while more than two-thirds support providing tax credits to small business, creating a health insurance exchange/marketplace, helping close the Medicare "doughnut hole," expanding high risk insurance pools, and providing financial help for low/middle income people.

"There is strong support for many aspects of health insurance reform, and a a widespread expectation that Congress must act now on health reform," Petersen said. "We urge Senators Enzi and Barrasso to rise above the petty partisanship of those who calculate that it's better for them politically to block solutions than to address this crisis. As President Obama said in his Inaugural Address, quoting Scripture, 'The time has come to set aside childish things.'"

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

Wyoming Democrats celebrate diversity Feb. 27 at Nellie Tayloe Ross banquet

This comes from Bill Luckett, WyoDems E.D.:

Nearly 200 Democrats from across the state will gather in Cheyenne on Saturday, Feb. 27, for the 2010 Nellie Tayloe Ross Banquet, the state party’s annual celebration of Diversity in Politics and Government.

This year’s keynote speaker will be Colorado State House Speaker Terrance Carroll, a dynamic speaker who is both an ordained minister and an attorney from Denver. He is the first African-American to hold the position of Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives.

Among the other event highlights will be the announcement of the Nellie Tayloe Ross Award for outstanding contributions to the state and the Democratic Party.

The dinner follows a 1 p.m. meeting of the Wyoming Democratic Party Central Committee at the Plains Hotel at the corner of Lincolnway and Central Avenue. No-host cocktails begin at 6 p.m., followed by the dinner at 7 p.m., also at the Plains.

Tickets are still available for the dinner. They are $75 per person. People can reserve tickets by calling 800-729-3367, or by visiting http://www.wyomingdemocrats.com/. A very limited number will also be available at the door.

The annual event honors Nellie Tayloe Ross, who was elected to fill her husband's unexpired term as governor following his death in 1924. Campaigning in a "dignified and honest manner," Ross' straightforward approach helped her win against the Republican nominee, who was caught up in a special interest scandal. The state party's dinner honors that example and our shared Democratic values. In her first speech as governor, Ross reflected those values calling for "government assistance for poor farmers, banking reform, and laws protecting children, women workers, and
miners."

Livingston provides a model for local foods movement in Wyoming

Great idea I read about in the Billings Gazette:

The Western Sustainability Exchange of Livingston will provide information on the production, distribution and purchase of local foods during a workshop from 1-5 p.m. Monday at the Mansfield Health Education Center at St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings.

The organization’s Local Foods Commerce Day is advertised as the state’s premier training and marketing event for simplifying the processes involved in supporting locally grown foods. The event will feature a panel of producers, distributors and chefs who are already successfully buying, selling and using local foods. The first half of the workshop is open to the public.

Registration is $25 for nonmembers and $10 for members. The “Speed Dating” session, which consists of fast-paced meetings between producers, buyers and distributors, is reserved for members who have passed sustainability criteria. For more information, call 406-222-0730.

I like the phrase "simplify the processes involved in supporting locally grown foods." It is a bit confusing trying to find out what's local and where you can get it. Two farmers' markets in Cheyenne. Many vendors are within-100-miles local, and some aren't. Still, I like the fruit that comes from Utah. As far as I know, no part of Utah is within 100 miles of Cheyenne. There's canteloupe from Rocky Ford and peaches from Fruita. I would rather buy those at the Depot Plaza Market than tasteless varieties at the grocery store. Fruit from California and Texas. But Utah and Colorado closer than Salinas, California.

The Livingston folks seem more interested in really local -- the food grown around their fair city. And connecting local producers and distributors and chefs. Last week on Facebook, someone suggested that all of us should ask our waiters and waitresses for dishes that are made from local foods. I have never done this in Cheyenne.

Me: I want to eat only locally grown food tonight.

Waitress: Blank look. Crickets chirping in background.

We have a burgeoning local foods movement. We're a bit handicapped by the fact that our growing season is short and the soil is not soo good. But more of us are growing at least some of our own food.

What we need now is a way to connect us all.

Wyoming's new "Code of the West"

A couple of lawmakers were sitting around the Wyoming Capitol Building.

Lawmaker 1: What we need is a new Code of the West.

Lawmaker 2: We already have a Code of the West.

Lawmaker 1: But that's an old Code of the Old West. We need a new Code of West, one that seems old but also is up to date.

Lawmaker 2: What's wrong with the old one? If it ain't broke...

Lawmaker 1: Just seems like some of those old values and traditions are slipping away from us. We need reminders of the way things used to be.

Lawmaker 2: Like that bumper sticker: "Wyoming is what America was."

Lawmaker 1: Just like that.

Lawmaker 2: Maybe there's something in the old code that would be useful.

Lawmaker 1: Don't spit into the wind?

Lawmaker 2: That's more common sense than code.

Lawmaker 1: Never draw against a man named Doc?

Lawmaker 2: Never sit with your back to the saloon door?

Lawmaker 1: Those are both good. But I was looking at something a bit more generalized. Some wise saying a modern cowboy might utter.

Lawmaker 2: "Better smile when you say that, pardner."

Lawmaker 1: Still a bit too specific. I like Owen Wister and The Virginian. If we had an official state book, that would be the one.

Lawmaker 2: I think I see what you're getting at. Universal truths, as in the Bible. Do unto others, etc.

Lawmaker 1: That's right. Words to live by.

Lawmaker 2: I got one: take pride in your work.

Lawmaker 1: That's great. Write it down.

Lawmaker 2: Ride for the brand.

Lawmaker 1: Sure, just like the old cowboys. Be loyal to your employer, even if you're paid a dollar a day like cowboys were.

Lawmaker 2: They got beans for dinner, didn't they?

Lawmaker 1: I see your point. Ride for the brand -- and don't complain.

Lawmaker 2: Ride for the brand -- and don't complain. I'll write that down.

Lawmaker 1: Erase the last part. Some people will complain about it.

Lawmaker 2 (erasing the last part): What's next?

Lawmaker 1: Remember that some things are not for sale.

Lawmaker 2: Do you think that's wise? Won't the oil and gas and coal companies get mad? We've sold them just about every square inch of land that we can.

Lawmaker 1: Yeah, damn federal government. If they didn't control half the state, could have sold those parts too.

Lawmaker 2: Damn federal government -- is that part of the code?

Lawmaker 1: Better leave that one out. Wyoming gets more in federal funds than we pay in taxes.

Lawmaker 2: Maybe we can put that in the footnotes.

Lawmaker 1: Can't have a Code of the West with footnotes. A Code of the West has to be simple and pure of heart, like the people of Wyoming.

Lawmaker 2: Simple and pure at heart -- does that go in?

Lawmaker 1: Better say it this way: Talk less, say more.

Lawmaker 2: I like it. What else?

Later that same day.

Lawmaker 1: The code is finished. We now have ten good points on the list.

Lawmaker 2: It's a fine code. Our colleagues will like it. The Governor will like it. Cowboys should like it.

Lawmaker 1: Energy companies will like it.

Lawmaker 2: You betcha. It's a kind of code that can change history.

Lawmaker 1: Prog-bloggers may not like it.

They both laugh hysterically.

Lawmaker 2 (harumphing loudly): Prog-bloggers! There ought to be a law.

Lawmaker 1: Or a code. We'll work on that one tomorrow.

FOOTNOTE: On Thursday, the Wyoming Senate passed a bill authorizing a new state code. The votes were almost unanimous, with one nay from Sen. Bruce Burns, a Republican from Sheridan. What's with that? Sheridan (according to its web site) has been "voted in the Top 25 Cities & Towns with the Best American Values and No. 1 Western Town in America!" A town of the West certainly needs a Code of the West. When this new code becomes law, Sen. Burns shall be dealt with by the proper authorities. I hope everyone in the state gets deputized to enforce the new code. Can't wait to "Get Western" on some of my neighbors.

Here's the new state code, as derived from the book, "Cowboy Ethics," by James P. Owen:

(i) Live each day with courage
(ii) Take pride in your work
(iii) Always finish what you start
(iv) Do what has to be done
(v) Be tough, but fair
(vi) When you make a promise, keep it
(vii) Ride for the brand;
(viii) Talk less, say more;
(ix) Remember that some things are not for sale
(x) Know where to draw the line.

Among Baby Boomers, there are many visions -- and plenty of non-visions

On Keith Olbermann the other night, guest commentator Christian Finnegan made an interesting comment about Tea Party attendees (a.k.a. teabaggers) who happen to be white and middle-aged and elderly and angry, etc. He called them "a bunch of Baby Boomers scared that the world has passed them by."

I've been thinking about this. I'm a Baby Boomer that is quite certain that the world is passing me by. Obama's election confirmed this notion. He was elected by youngsters and ethnic minorities and aging Liberals and Raging Grannies and disaffected veterans and gun-toting union members and transsexuals and people of all ages fed up with the status quo. People like me.

Baby Boomers were in there somewhere. After the 2008 election results came in, I texted my son in Tucson, thanking him for voting and getting his friends out to vote. They will continue to vote for change because change is what they know. My Tucson son looks at his fellow Arizonan, John McCain, fulminating against liberals and gays and Obama and change and he thinks: "Why is that old guy yelling at me?" And then this: "This angry old guy expects me to vote for him?"

I'm just guessing what my son thinks. He's full of surprises.

People get scared when life speeds up so much that they can't keep up. People get scared when someone who doesn't look like them gets elected president. People get scared when answers to their questions aren't readily available.

I'm scared, too. But I can't slow down the world. I am along for the ride. More than that. I have hopped on the intergalactic bandwagon and I'm on for the long haul.

Diabetics in rural Wyoming on their own

From an AP story (via Billings Gazette):

The Wyoming Department of Health reports that the number of Wyoming adults with diabetes more than doubled in the past 13 years.

The department said Thursday that more than 7 percent of Wyoming adults have been diagnosed with diabetes, up from 3 percent in 1997.

Diabetes prevention and control manager Star Morrison said the disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the state.

From July 2006 to June 2007, diabetes led to 615 Wyoming hospitalizations costing $7.5 million, according to the department.

Washakie County has the highest rate of adult diabetes at 9.3 percent. Teton County has the lowest rate at 2.4 percent.

Morrison said the prevalence of diabetes is expected to increase as the state's population ages.

Let's see. Wyoming's population is aging. The diabetes rate is climbing. Our family knows something about diabetes. Chris was diagnosed with Type II diabetes 17 years ago when she was pregnant with our daughter. She sees an endocrinologist in Fort Collins across the border in Colorado. Each month, she goes to her diabetes educators (also in Fort Collins). She is careful about what she eats. She monitors her blood sugar. Our local pharmacist knows her and her prescriptions. In short -- it takes a team to manage diabetes. Family physician, specialist, nurses, educators, pharmacists.

Last year, the Wyoming Office of Rural Health release a report that showed 13 of the state's 23 counties had a shortage of primary-care doctors.

I posted this on the blog Dec. 26:

Washakie County in the Big Horn Basin hasn't a single primary care practitioner for its 8,000-some residents. No OB/GYN docs for healthy baby checkups. No pediatricians for when Johnny pokes his eye with a stick. No nurse practitioner to find out whether you have the flu or just a bad cold.

Or diabetes.

Star Morrison at the Wyoming Department of Health has her job cut out for her. "Aging" is just one factor. Lack of proper medical care in rural areas is another.

Will national healthcare reform address these issues? Perhaps we should ask Senator and physician John Barrasso. He and his Republican cohorts have done their best to derail healthcare reform. Why? Don't he and Sen. Enzi and Rep. Lummis have any empathy for the rural residents of this state? They say they do. But saying and doing are two different things.

Barrasso practiced medicine and politics in Casper, Wyoming's second largest city. Enzi lived in Gillette, booming coal capital of the nation. Lummis is from Cheyenne, the largest city in the state and the capital.

All of these places have hospitals. All have family physicians and specialists. Sure, some of us with insurance still go out of state for better care. We have that option.

But what are rural residents to do?

Suffer, I guess. Live with the fact that if they get diabetes, they're on their own.

Big Al Simpson appointed to deficit commission by Pres. Obama

Alan "Big Al" Simpson, a senator from Wyoming back in the day when GOPers and Dems would sometimes lie down together, lion-and-lamb-like, has been named by Pres. Obama as co-chair of a commission on reducing the federal deficit. His Dem co-chair is former Clintonian Erskine Bowles.

I sighted Sen. Simpson Friday evening at the annual Governor's Arts Awards in Cheyenne. Big Al is a big arts supporter, sitting on the board of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody. His wife Ann has been such a solid arts supporter statewide that the University of Wyoming Art Museum named its roving Artmobile program after her. Big Al was at the annual arts awards event because one of his fellow board members, Naoma Tate, was being honored. Half of Cody was at the event, it seemed.

Progressives don't seem to know if this commission is the real thing or just one of those "inside the Beltway" exercises. But it is good to see Sen. Simpson back in the saddle in D.C.

Bloomberg had more info (via Cowboy State Free Press):

“Erskine and I have a philosophy that’s very simple: We’re going to move this issue forward,” Simpson said in a telephone interview from Wyoming. “We’re going to say, you’re entitled to all of your emotion and guilt and fear and whatever you want to throw in to the game, but you’re not entitled to your own facts.”

Meanwhile, emotion- and guilt- and fear-mongers Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio "declined today to say whether the party would participate."

“Blue-ribbon commissions are fine and dandy, but we’re still waiting for a response from the president on our proposal to start cutting spending right now,” Boehner’s spokesman, Michael Steel, said.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said earlier this month Obama would name other Republicans, “perhaps former members” of Congress, if they chose not to participate.

Obama may call. But it will be interesting to see if any Repubs (other than Sen. Simpson) answer. As you know, the present-day GOP is The Party of N-O Spells No.

The Flobots to receive Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts

Congrats to The Flobots:

We’re honored to be receiving the Denver Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts on Wednesday, February 17. On the eve of a new album, the band will perform at the February 17 award ceremony.

It’s a big week for The Flobots. The Denver band has been selected as one of four recipients of the 2010 Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, an honor bestowed by Mayor John Hickenlooper and the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs. The Flobots share this honor with fellow recipients El Centro Su Teatro, Access Gallery and Jeffrey Nickelson, the late founder of Shadow Theater Company.

Flobots were selected on the strength of their artistic and commercial successes, including winning over audiences around the world with a bombastic and inspiring live show. Their major-label debut, Fight with Tools, sold more than 300,000 copies, and the hit song “Handlebars” was one of the biggest songs of 2008. The Mayor’s award also recognizes Flobots’ social activism and civic engagement, values that they promote from the stage and practice through their non-profit organization Flobots.org.

In a ceremony on February 17, Flobots will perform a track from their upcoming record Survival Story, which is due on Universal Records in mid-March. The album’s first single, “White Flag Warriors,” is now in rotation on radio stations around the country. The song features vocals by Tim Mcllrath of Rise Against. Long-time Flobots friend and collaborator Matt Morris also appears on the record.

Sixty years gone -- my parents' wedding

My parents were married on Feb. 18, 1950 --- 60 years ago this week.

The ceremony was at St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church on South University Blvd. near Washington Park in southeast Denver. That's a pricey chi-chi neighborhood now. Yuppieville. Then it was full of Irish immigrants such as my grandfather, Martin Hett, and his wife, Agnes. Grandpa immigrated from the U.K. in 1917 after leaving home in County Roscommon, Republic of Ireland, when he was 12. Agnes McDermott grew up in rural southern Ohio, the Appalachian part of the state that butts up against Kentucky. She and her sister and two woman friends drove from Ohio to the Rockies during the summer of 1920. Agnes McDermott loved the mountains. She and her sister returned to Ohio, packed their bags, and returned to Denver for good.

Those were my mother's parents. Anna Marie Hett was a wonderful person, the second of three children. The Navy paid for her nurse's training, but she didn't have to serve due to the fact that by the time she graduated, the war was over. That war, anyway.

My father, Thomas Reed Shay, a World War II veteran, grew up in Park Hill. His father was Raymond Shay from Iowa City, oldest of nine children from a long line of Micks with big families. But he married a Protestant, Florence Green of Baltimore. A mixed marriage. Both families were ticked off at the young couple.

But when my Mom and Dad joined hands at the altar on that wintry February day, my father had gone Catholic in a big way. He had a choice -- Baltimore Presbyterian or Iowa Catholic? He chose Catholic because that was my mother's faith and he was so in love with her. He'd been studying ethics and religion with the Jesuits at Regis University, paid for by the G.I. Bill. He liked Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine and the rigor of the church. Most of his friends were Catholic, all of then World War II vets in various states of post-traumatic stress.

This matters to me because I was born 10 months to the day after my parents' wedding. Born at Denver's Mercy Hospital where my mother worked as a nurse. I am a product of the mid-century in the middle of the U.S.A. I have absorbed all of the religiosity and ethics and love and craziness from the people who came before me. That's why I write. That's why I blog. That's why I care about what happens to my country.

I miss my Mom and Dad. My mother died from a virulent case of ovarian cancer in 1986. That's almost a quarter-century ago. I miss her so. My father died in the spring of 2002. On his deathbed, we were still arguing politics. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I am not a practicing Catholic any more. I figure I've had enough practice and now I'm a pro and can retire in peace. Who knows? I do know that I live on in the genetics and the intangibles that made up these two people who were my parents.

U.S. still trying to create a "Little America" in Afghanistan

Article from the Morris Knudsen newsletter about the company's 1950s Afghanistan project

Just spent the last hour reading Jim White's post (and linked articles) at Firedoglake, “Little America” in Afghanistan: Is the US Repeating a Failed 1950’s Experiment in Social Engineering?

It tracks the U.S. development projects that were tried out in Afghanistan during the Cold War. With U.S. backing, the Morris Knudsen engineering firm was brought into Helmand Province in the 1950s to create a "Little America" for those wandering Pashtun tribesmen who have been such nuisances to invaders. The idea was to transform them from roving fighters to sedentary farmers. The village was Lashkar Gah and to visiting Brit writer Arnold Toynbee, it was like an American suburb has been dropped out of the sky and into the desert.

I'm amused that the title "Little America" was used to describe the project. Little America was the name of a series of outposts in Antarctica, the first one established by Robert Byrd in 1929. Many of those outposts have now been carried out to sea on the backs of melting icebergs.

Little America is also the name of an oasis in the Wyoming desert along I-80 between Rock Springs and Evanston. It's an actual Census Designated Place (CDP) with a population of 56, most of whom work at the Little America hotel and restaurant and gas stop. It's part of a bigger hotel chain, with hotels in Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming. It's also the title of a satiric novel of the same name by Rob Swigart which is set at the Little America in Wyoming's Sweetwater County.

Helmand, site of the now-decaying "Little America," is now the scene of the current U.S. offensive. Those wandering tribesmen never settled down. They fought the Russians, became Taliban and now fight the Coalition. All our technical and social engineering came to naught. Maybe it will succeed this time. Keep your fingers crossed.

One of the FDL links led to a 2009 BBC Online article "The Lost History of Helmand" written by documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis. It tracks these Cold War projects in Afghanistan and includes lots of documentation. The most bizarre is a 1961 project led by a group of American woman who were the wives of executives running the Afghan airline. The project's goal was to teach Afghan tribal women how to make American fashions and wear them properly. It culminated in a fashion show. The Afghan government at the time was getting rid of the burqa and promulgating a new westernized dress code for women.

We all know how well that turned out.

All this is so bizarre that it must be true. One big problem -- where are the big satiric novels about this? Evelyn Waugh would have had a field day if dropped into Helmand's "Little America." He did such a fine job with the mess that was Ethiopia in the 1930s. I do not know if Republican Lounge Lizard P.J. O'Rourke is traipsing through war zones any more, but he could do the same job with Afghanistan and Iraq that he did with Nicaragua and Lebanon back in the day. I couldn't think of a better project than sending T.C. Boyle off to Afghanistan for his next scathing novel.

I was listening to "Catch-22" on CD during a long Wyoming drive last weekend. Such scathing commentary on "The Good War." And so wildly funny. This was Heller's war. Maybe we should be asking this question: "Where are the Catch-22's of the 21st century?" There is certainly plenty of material. And what about "Slaughterhouse Five" and Vonnegut's blast against the same technocrats that were Americanizing Afghanistan in "Cat's Cradle?"

Last week, the New York Times had a piece about books penned by veterans coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Most are quite tame compared to books by the vet writers of the Vietnam War. The reviewer chalked that up to the all-volunteer military and the need by soldiers not to criticize their own while the wars continue to rage. Tim O'Brien noted that his Vietnam classic, "Going After Cacciato," didn't come out until 1978, three years after the evacuation of Saigon. "The Things They carried" came out even later. "Catch-22" was published in 1962, 17 years after V-J Day.

There is plenty of time, dear readers, for satire. Let's hope it arrives soon. Meanwhile, we continue to scan the web for posts like the one above in FDL.

Make calls for health care reform 2/24-25

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.

Artist dies due to lack of health insurance

Artist Tom Fowler "died because he didn't go to the dentist and didn't go to the doctor because he was trying to be an artist and didn't have health insurance and didn't think it would kill him."

But it did. Writer Cary Tennis wrote about his artist friend's death yesterday in Salon. Read the full story (reposted on Michael Moore's site) at http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/must-read/how-lack-health-insurance-kills-artists

Tennis's main point is that artists need to create. Most of us artists and writers and performers work full-time jobs to support our habits. Those jobs have health insurance. Everyone should have health insurance but if you're a self-employed artist, it's too expensive -- even if you can qualify. Many artists live on the margins where health insurance doesn't exist.

"Get a job." That's what we used to yell out car windows at street people. I was a kid then and stupid, not realizing that that disheveled guy walking down the street could be a schizophrenic off his meds or a war veteran with PTSD or any number of things, including an itinerant artist. It can have been me or one of my rowdy friends. We could have been looking at our futures.

We appreciate the artist's work when it's hanging on our wall or playing on the iPod. But we don't appreciate the artist's struggle. Sure, on every Grammy telecast there's a millionaire performer telling the sad story about growing up on the streets but now he owns the street and all the houses on it. Great story. The artist struggled and made millions.

But the majority of artists in the U.S. don't even make minimum wage. They don't have health insurance. It might not matter when they're young, but youth fades into the infirmities of age. And then, in this country, you die.

Tennis continues:

A just and wise society would care for its artists. A just and wise society would recognize that on the margins of its norm live its geniuses, and though they are strange and sometimes difficult, they must be cared for, for they are the treasures of our time, and they produce the treasures of our time.

But our society is not just and wise. Still, the artists in our society choose to do their work and find a way to survive somehow, sacrificing things such as health insurance and paid time off. That is what my friend Tom Fowler did. He admitted that he was an artist and the only true thing to do was to paint and see how he could get along. So he painted and saw how he could get along.

"A just and wise society would care for its artists."

In a just and wise society, everyone would have health insurance. Even artists.

Tea Party-supported measure dies in House

Brianna Jones of WyoDems sends this:

Yesterday, Wyoming House Democrats, voting together, defeated a proposed amendment to the Wyoming state constitution. The measure was a national initiative brought through the far right tea party movement and designed to reject nationwide health care solutions. The proposal failed with a vote of 38 in favor, 19 opposed, and 3 excused. A two-thirds majority or 40 votes are required to introduce a bill during the budget session.

Minority Floor Leader Patrick Goggles of Ethete said, “This is a premature proposal. We haven’t seen any national health plan and this isn’t the right time to take the drastic step of amending our constitution. I don’t think many have looked at the far reaching consequences this could have on Wyoming’s health care system.”

“Wyoming’s health care would be seriously jeopardized by such a constitutional amendment. Wyoming currently receives more than $500 million in annual Medicaid matching funds and other programs such as mental health services, foster care, food stamps, and Head Start would be at risk. At a time with seriously strained budgets we should not further hamper the delivery of care,” said Rep. Cathy Connolly of Laramie.

AARP Wyoming Director Tim Summers argued that this move would remove consumer protections, increase uncompensated care, and harm existing programs.

The proposal was strongly opposed by the Wyoming Hospital Association, Wyoming AFL-CIO, AARP Wyoming, and the Wyoming Health Care Association. These groups assert that this resolution was designed to create litigation and that health care decisions do not belong with the courts, but with the individual.

The legislation was sponsored by Reps. Lubnau, Buchanan, Quarberg, and Simpson and Sen. Bebout.

They are all Republicans.

Legislature ditches living wage but okays carrying guns anywhere we damn please

From a WyoDems press release:

Members of the Wyoming House voted today to not introduce a bill that would raise the minimum wage for tipped employees, such as waitresses and bartenders, from $2.13 per hour to $5.00 per hour. The bill failed on a vote of 23 in favor and 35 against; a bill requires 2/3, or 40 votes, for introduction during a budget session.

The bill was introduced by Rep. George Bagby of Rawlins, who was discouraged the bill did not reach committee. “This is not a fight we are willing to give up. There are too many Wyoming residents who are in this situation and too intimidated about losing their job to ask their employer to make up the difference when the tips don’t.”

“This is a common sense bill that would do so much good. It would bring greater economic stability to many more Wyoming workers and would not slow business growth or harm our small businesses,” commented Rep. Stan Blake of Green River.

Rep. Mary Throne of Cheyenne noted that this bill would have helped combat the gender wage gap in Wyoming. "The overwhelming majority of tipped wage workers are women and the failure to act on this issue perpetuates the gender wage gap in Wyoming--the worst in the nation. We talk about this problem, but when the opportunity arises to help hard-working women--we fail to act,” said Throne.

Rep. Joe Barbuto of Rock Springs said, “It is a disservice to the people of Wyoming to not even give them the chance to testify on something that would have such an
overwhelming impact on so many of their lives.”

According to the National Employment Law Project (NELP) the minimum wage for tipped workers in Wyoming has been the same since 1996 and has not been adjusted for inflation. In an August 2009 report NELP estimated that if the wage had kept up with inflation it would be approximately $4.90.

Rep. Mike Gilmore of Casper pointed out, “These men and women deserve to make a living wage. Basing an entire salary upon tips, because honestly $2.13 cannot be called a salary, makes a whole sector of our population very susceptible and with this economy I would think we would want everyone to be on the best footing possible.”

Rep. Bagby introduced the legislation and plans to bring it back in the future.

Meanwhile, any damn one will be able to carry their damn guns into any damn place.

Let's hope these less-than-minimum-wage employees don't get any ideas:

Rep. Lorraine Quarberg (R-Thermopolis) introduced a bill giving concealed weapon authority to Wyoming residents over the age of 21. This would do away with the current requirement that residents show knowledge of firearm use and register and receive a concealed weapon permit from the state of Wyoming. This proposal changes the standard considerably by making the requirements to carry a concealed weapon limited to “not suffering from a physical infirmity which prevents the safe handling of a firearm,” not being a convicted felon, not being an abuser of controlled substances or alcohol.

This bill has been referred to the Judiciary Committee.

PETA in pool bed at Capitol

PETA protestors canoodle in an inflatable bed in front of the Wyoming State Capitol. Media was intrigued; bystanders puzzled.

Baby it's cold outside.

And don't you just love it when the Legislature comes to town?

Meanwhile, smiley-faced anti-abortion protest on Wyoming Capitol steps

Suffragette Esther Hobart Morris shows her back to Cheyenne anti-abortion protestors.

More good news from the legislative session

Another dumb bill failed to advance during the Wyoming State Legislature's 20-day budget session. This dumb bill was based on the recent anti-democratic Supreme Court ruling endowing corporations with the rights of citizens especially the right to buy any election they want.

Here's the info, via Jeremy Pelzer's story in the Casper Star-Tribune:

State representatives on Wednesday voted down a proposal that would have erased state restrictions on independent political spending by corporations, labor unions and other groups.

The rejection keeps Wyoming's election law at odds with a recent landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision and could make the state the target of lawsuits this election season.

Currently, corporations, labor unions and other groups are not allowed to make independent expenditures on behalf of political candidates in Wyoming. But last month, the Supreme Court ruled that such bans on the federal level violated corporations' First Amendment rights to free speech.

------

Ben Barr, a Maryland-based constitutional attorney with the Wyoming Liberty Group who wrote a legal brief cited in the Supreme Court decision, said a corporation or other group could resort to a lawsuit to overturn the state rules.

"The Legislature does need to act on this, otherwise Wyoming is in a way being a renegade and quite frankly unlawful after the Supreme Court has spoken on the issue so definitively," Barr said.

Yes, Mr. Barr, the Supreme Court spoke definitively and its five reactionary judges are beyond the pale on this issue. They're not so much renegades as Palin-style mavericks pretending to be populist champions but really being stooges for multinational corporations. Congress is working on legislation to block the impact of the Supreme Court's ruling.

Why would Wyomingites want to turn over their elections to big corporations? Aren't Wyoming Republicans concerned about the right of individual citizens? We know that they are very concerned about second amendment rights (more legislation coming up on that topic). But what about the all-important first amendment?

And who is this Mr. Barr? Another darn outside agitator? Doesn't he know that Wyoming likes being a renegade? Much better than being mavericky.

"Health Freedom of Choice" resolution voted down on first reading in Wyoming Senate

Don't you just the love the names that Repubs give to legislation that announce the exact opposite of what they really mean.


From Cowboy State Free Press:

The Wyoming Senate today voted down on its first reading a bill that would have “sent a message to Washington,” according to it’s sponsors, to not impose it’s health care changes on the state.

Senate President John Hines, R-Campbell County, proposed the “Health freedom of choice,” as a resolution, which stated, “the federal government shall not interfere with an individual’s health care decisions.” The bill also called for “prohibiting any penalty, fine or tax imposed because of a decision to participate in or decline health insurance, or to pay directly or receive payment directly for health care services.”

The bill failed its introductory reading by just three votes.

Denver classical concert Feb. 20 to raise funds for Haiti earthquake relief

This announcement comes from the online newsletter from my old church -- the 10:30 Catholic Community/Capitol Heights Presbyterian in Denver:

HAITI BENEFIT CONCERT AT SAINT JOHN’S CATHEDRAL, DENVER, ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 7:30 P.M.

Responding to the devastation in Haiti, Saint John’s Cathedral and many Colorado musicians are planning a benefit classical concert for the people of Haiti. This event will be held at Saint John’s Cathedral, 1350 Washington St., Denver, on Saturday, February 20, at 7:30 p.m. Saint John’s Cathedral has a longstanding and rich musical history in Colorado and also has been actively engaged with the Colorado Haiti Project as part of its many community outreach programs.

FMI: http://www.coloradohaitiproject.org/ or http://www.sjcathedral.org

"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

Keep gubment out of our health care decisions!

Wonder if this has anything to do with the Democrats' health care reform efforts:

S.J. 0001 to be considered when the Wyoming Legislature convenes tomorrow:

Sponsored By: Representative(s) Hallinan and Lubnau and Senator(s) Anderson, J. and Bebout and Case and Hines

A JOINT RESOLUTION proposing to amend the Wyoming Constitution by creating a new section specifying that the federal government shall not interfere with an individual's health care decisions and prohibiting any penalty, fine or tax imposed because of a decision to participate in or decline health insurance, or to pay directly or receive payment directly for health care services.

Yes, we only want health insurance conglomerates to interfere in our health care decisions.

Go to http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2010/Introduced/SJ0001.pdf for full text of bill.

The "Tumbleweed Connection" rolls on

Listened to Elton John's "Tumbleweed Connection" as I drove through snow showers last night. Returning from a meeting in Casper and I was thinking I might see a tumbleweed roll out of the night and into the grill of my Ford. But the wind was strangely absent. Tumbleweeds were idling in the fields; the only thing rolling along was the country-rock on the CD player.

I wondered why Elton John and Bernie Taupin tackled the American West in this CD. I tracked down this Feb. 18, 1971, Rolling Stone review by Jon Landau:

Tumbleweed Connection centers around and is structured by Bernie Taupin's lyrics. Like the Band and Creedence, both of whom have influenced him, Taupin writes about the mythical American south and west and seems to prefer the past to the present as a subject. "There Goes a Well Known Gun" is about an outlaw on the run; "Country Comfort" concerns the pleasures of the farm. One of its verses brilliantly announces the coming of industrialization:

Down at the well they've got a new machine
Foreman says it cuts manpower by fifteen
But that ain't natural, well so old Clay would say
You see he's a horse drawn man until his dying day.

"Son of Your Father" is a moralistic tale which, after describing a fight between friends that leaves them both dead, concludes that "... charity's an argument that only leads to harm."

Violence is very much a part of the vision Taupin has created here. Besides in "Well Known Gun" and "Son of Your Father," it recurs in "My Father's Gun," which is distinctly reminiscent of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."

I'm also a big fan of The Band and Creedence -- grew up with them. That's one reason I like the John/Taupin album so much. So it has something to do with nostalgia. Travel, too. Rolling through Wyoming on a February evening, listening to a country-rock album by a man who's now a "Sir," and considered by most people to be as far away from country as, say, Snoop Dog or Yo Yo Ma.

A year before this album, Bob Dylan recorded "Nashville Skyline" with Johnny Cash. In this case, Dylan was a folk singer and rocker from the Midwest and Cash was a country musician from the South who loved Rock 'n' roll -- was considered a rocker in the early days. So their roots are a bit more clear cut than are those of the two Brits.

Still, imagination is imagination. You don't have to live the life to write or sing about it. Dylan was a nice Jewish kid from Hibbing, Minn., who could sing convincingly about the plight of coal miners and hobos. Keith Richard of the Rolling Stones can play Robert Johnson's blues.

I've liked so many of the rock and country music collaborations. Recently, there was Jack White and Loretta Lynn, and Allison Krauss and Robert Plant. I go way back with the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers and Poco and Little Feat. The Americana artists of today (Jayhawks, BoDeans, Wilco, Son Volt, Old '97s) continue the tradition. Wish there was a way to get the Cheyenne Frontier Days entertainment committee to book some of this alt-country instead of country pop like Taylor Swift. Steve Earle playing Townes Van Zandt at Frontier Days! Now you're talking.

Burn down the mission, if you want to stay alive...

Iraq vet from Pine Bluffs appears in VoteVets ad blasting Sen. Barrasso

Benjamin Cossel from Pine Bluffs served in the U.S. Army in Iraq in 2004-2005. Now he's in a VoteVets ad blasting the short-sighted policies of Wyo. Sen. John Barrasso, global warming naysayer and friend of multinational corporations who do business with Middle East shiekdoms.

Barrasso's spokeswoman said this about the ads in a story by Bill McCarthy on wyomingnews.com:

"The liberal, out-of-state special interest group paying for this ad does not represent Wyoming," Barrasso said Wednesday through his spokeswoman.

Dagnabit. Not those outside agitators again. There are some outsiders Wyomingites like -- oil and gas and coal companies, for instance, and the Republican National Committee. And some they don't like -- the Anti-Defamation League and the Gay and Lesbian Fund of Colorado (see previous posts on the Wheatland controversy) and MoveOn and VoteVets, to name a few.

But Jon Stoltz, co-founder and chairman of Votevets.org, responded this way to Barrasso:

"That's just childish."

Stoltz said the issue is whether the U.S. should continue sacrificing lives of the military and spending a fortune to maintain an unsustainable dependence on foreign oil that causes climate change.Liberal and conservative labels are irrelevant, Stoltz said.

Climate change hampers agricultural production and diminishes water supplies, and that can lead to unstable governments and the dislocation of large populations, according to organizations such as Secure American Future.

Stoltz said that is a national security issue.

Watch the ad. And spread the word.

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.

Mike Mansfield and the 18-year-old vote

Ian Marquand wrote a guest opinion for the Feb. 3 Billings Gazette about the role Montana Sen. Mike Mansfield played in granting voting rights to 18-year-olds.

I turned 18 in December 1968 while a senior in high school. I registered for the military draft, yet I couldn't drink legally and couldn't vote.

That began to change 40 years ago in March when Sen. Mansfield made an historic speech on the Senate floor:

“I happen to think that Congress believes that those between 18 and 21 are excluded unreasonably from the ballot box,” Mansfield said. “I happen to think that the record of such discrimination is clear beyond doubt.”

Mansfield also argued that the 14th Amendment provided Congress with the power to change the voting age on its own, a position supported by legal scholars. His fellow senators agreed and tacked on the voting age provision as a “rider” to the Voting Rights Act. It cleared both the House and Senate and received Pres. Nixon’s signature.

Soon after, the states of Oregon and Texas challenged the voting age provision in federal court. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the law would apply only to federal elections.

On March 10, 1971, almost a year to the day after Mansfield’s floor speech, the Senate approved a constitutional amendment making 18 the legal voting age nationwide. The House soon followed suit and within four months, 41 states ratified the 26th Amendment. Americans between the ages of 18 and 21 finally could vote, anywhere, anytime.

Mansfield’s quickness in recognizing an opportunity and then seizing the initiative drew praise from his fellow senators. Michigan Democrat Philip Hart called the Montanan’s action “boldness and creative politics at its finest,” while Maryland Democrat Joseph Tydings declared, “This was Senator Mansfield at his best.”

I didn't get to vote until 1972, when I was 21 and living in Boston. A Democrat from Montana's (and Wyoming's) neighbor, South Dakota, took an historic drubbing in that election. I'm still glad that I cast my first presidential vote for another courageous senator, George McGovern.

I haven't missed a presidential election yet. And I'm proud to say that my son Kevin voted in the 2004 elections as a 19-year-old. I was working at the precinct when he came in to cast his vote. A proud day for Pops.

Thanks, Sen. Mansfield. Those young voters helped turn the tide in 2008. My hope is that they stay involved. There will be many disappointments along the way. Hell, I lived through Nixon, Reagan and Dubya. I suffered many disappointments at the hands of my own party. We saw good times in '08, and now we're seeing some of the bad. Hang in there!

2011 budget as corny as Kansas in August

The New York Times provided some much-needed budgetary visuals with Obama's 2011 Budget Proposal: How It's Spent

The checkerboard graphic shows blocks of spending in earthy colors. It looks like what you see flying 30,000 feet over Kansas on a clear summer day. On the upper left, is the huge field of corn that's defense. On the bottom left is the equally big swath of wheat that represents Social Security.

On the bottom right are the teeny tiny boxes for science and energy conservation programs.

The $161.3 million proposed for the National Endowment for the Arts comes in a square so tiny that it can't be seen. It's as if my summer garden were tucked into the far southeastern corner of Kansas, somewhere east of Baxter Springs. I couldn't see it from six miles high.

Check out the graphic. Very sobering.

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.

Musicians without health care tell their stories

The Musicians Project is making a film about the dreadful lack of health care for musicians. FMI: http://www.musiciansproject.com

Here's some info about the project. If you want to tell your story, go to the web site.

We might shock and surprise you.

• Did you know that the latest Harvard Medical School study shows that more than 44,789 excess deaths occur each year, because people do not have medical insurance?
• Did you know that if you enter a hospital emergency room with a life threatening condition, and you do not have health insurance, you can be turned away?
• Did you know that in 2009 alone, 2,200 veterans died from a lack of health insurance?
• Did you know that every day, 2,500 Americans are forced into bankruptcy by medical costs, the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States?
  
  We are the musicians project. We are an independent group of musicians, film makers and health care advocates who are making a film about a very special segment of the American population – your favorite Musician.
  
  For many of us, music fills our every day lives, whether it is the dulcet tones of our favorite symphony, the hard rocking beat of our favorite metal band, or the heart breaking revelations of our favorite folk musician.
  
  Music is important to us. We pick songs to enhance our wedding day. We sing to our favorite tunes to pass the time on a long car ride. We remember the first concert we ever went to. Some of us even get tattoos of our favorite musicians and bands immortalized on our flesh. We create fan clubs, we load up our MP-3 players, and we follow our favorite bands on tour.
  
  Music, and the musicians that create it, are interwoven into the fabric of our lives.
  They are a segment of the population of the U.S., dying preventable deaths due to lack of health care.
  
  Please watch, as we give them a voice. These are their words, their tales, their reality.

More wailing and gnashing of teeth over Wyoming's wolves

Jeremy Pelzer wrote about the ongoing wolf delisting controversy in today's Casper Star-Tribune:

Lawyers for the state told a federal judge today that Wyoming should be given control over wolves in the state, calling the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's rejection of Wyoming's wolf management plan "arbitrary and capricious."

Federal attorneys responded that Wyoming's plan would put the state's wolf population at risk because it would allow the animals to be killed anywhere in the state besides national park lands.

Attorneys for Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Department of Justice faced off with lawyers from the state and Park County during oral arguments before U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson. Both sides now await a ruling from Johnson, which could take anywhere from a few days to several months to be released.

This is a big issue in Wyoming. It's not unusual to see bumper stickers advocating wolf hunting and even wolf elimination. Some Republican media stars have advocated hunting wolves from helicopters.

On my way to work this morning, I happened across a "Delist the wolf" rally on the State Capitol steps. About 30 people in attendance, some holding signs advocating delisting. One said "Delist the terrorists."

Wolves as terrorists? That's a new one. One speaker said that 96,000 elk could be killed by wolves in the next five years. I have no idea if this is true. But the man at the podium said so many wolf kills would take food out of the mouths of Wyomingites and cause hunters not to come to the state and spend tourist dollars.

It is a fact that a number of out-of-state hunters come to Wyoming in the fall. It's also true that there are many hunters in Wyoming who bring the meat home to their families. Some of those families depend on this as part of the yearly food budget. But not all.

Tourists come from all over the world to view Yellowstone wolves in their natural habitat. If you compared number of out-of-state hunters with number of out-of-state wolf peepers -- which would be the larger number? You'd obviously want to know how much money each type of tourist spends in the state. We already know that lodging numbers in 2009 are down quite a bit from 2008, even though visitation to national parks increased dramatically. But who spends more money -- hunters or tourists?

Something else I have to research...

Come on down to Meg's Cognitive Dissonance to comment on banner issue

From Meg Lanker of Laramie:

My name is Meg Lanker and I've met some of you before. I am currently hosting a radio show called Cognitive Dissonance from 10 p.m. to midnight every Friday night on 93.5 KOCA FM in Laramie. This Friday, Jan. 29, I am opening my show to public comment on the Platte County School District #1 tearing down the "No Hate" banners from the Anti-Defamation League due to the banners containing the Gay and Lesbian Fund of Colorado as a sponsor.

School board members have commented that Wheatland is not ready for a pro-gay agenda and is "ultraconservative." I believe this is a slap in the face to anyone who cares about tolerance and diversity in schools.

So, how do you comment? Well, you show up to the studio, I turn on the mic, and you say what you want to say. I will be recording the show and each school board member will get a CD copy next week.

Here's the who and when and all that jazz: (pasted from the event on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=274390997172&ref=mf).

If you're on Facebook, please visit the event to RSVP.

Start Time: Friday, January 29, 2010 at 10:00 p.m.
End Time: Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 12:30am
Location: KOCA Studios
Street: 365 W. Grand
City/Town: West Laramie, WY

New Repub tactic for luring physicians to Wyoming -- ban same-sex marriage

Several Sundays ago, local right-winger Richard Wall surprised me with some common sense in a Wyoming Tribune-Eagle guest column.

He urged increased efforts to recruit more physicians in sub-specialties to move to Wyoming. He was especially insistent that we don't have enough pediatricians who address the medical and mental health needs of children and teens.

That's a bandwagon I've been riding for awhile. More than once I've pointed out that Wyoming lacks child psychiatrists. When I say "lacks," I mean that literally -- there is not one child psychiatrist in the entire state.

Huzzah for Mr. Wall! Now we have common cause on a very important issue.

But my joyfullness was short-lived. In the very same column, Mr. Wall leaped on his favorite bandwagon -- the evils of homosexuality. He wants the Wyoming Legislature to legislate against same-sex marriage. It's not same-sex marriage that irks him. It's the fact that married gays and lesbians can move into Wyoming and expect the Equality State to live up to its name.

During two of the past three legislative sessions, bills were introduced to ban approval of same-sex marriages performed in other states. Both times, the legislation was killed by outspoken Republicans who obviously take seriously our "Equality State" motto. Since our Legislature is heavily Republican, it's easy to pass any bill if all Repubs hop on board. If some hop off, well...

Read details about last year's anti-gay bill at http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/2009/01/wyoming-legislators-confront-same-sex.html. At the time, I noticed that one of the bill's backers was the Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, the same equality-minded entity that brings you today's Super Bowl ad that aims to demonize every woman who's had an abortion -- or even thought about it.

Also find info about the 2007 bill at http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/2007/03/zwonitzer-takes-stand-for-basic.html

As I look at this year's docket on the Legislature's web site, I find nothing about gay marriage. That's not unusual, as this is a 20-day budget session and consideration of new bills is limited (although you wouldn't know it after looking at the long list).

Maybe by the time 2011 rolls around, the legislative loonies who sponsor these bills will have given up. By then, "Don't Ask Don't Tell" will be a thing of the past in the U.S. military and Wheatland, Wyoming, will have re-installed the "No Place for Hate" banners.

There is a dark cloud on the horizon, equality-wise. In his column, Mr. Wall pledged his support to the 2010 gubernatorial campaign of right-winger Repub Ron Micheli. Mr. Micheli is a rancher from Fort Bridger who spent most of his 16 years in the state legislature towing the fundie line on abortion and gay rights. He's also on the 10th amendment bandwagon (so many bandwagons these days) which puts him in the same category as the Tea Partiers who were whooping it up with Sarah Palin last night in Nashville. Of course, this emphasis on the 10th amendment, which most of us never paid attention to until recently, is also a newly-discovered cause of our Democratic Governor Dave Freudenthal.

Let me get back to Mr. Wall. I still support his call for more and better-educated physicians in Wyoming. I just wonder how that recruitment will go when our Equality State slogan has been so tarnished by the likes of the hate-filled wingnuts among us. Yes, some young physicians are conservatives and will prefer the ambience of high plains small towns such as Wheatland.

But most physicians come from cities (even the majority of Westerners now live in statistical metropolitan areas) and are educated in cities and go to school with ethnic minorities and might even be minorities themselves. They may even be LGBT! Specialists in particular seem to gravitate to city life. Cities boast an array of schools and soccer fields and music classes and theatres and shopping. Pay is better, especially for docs.

Rural living is a hard sell anyway. Add to that an unwelcoming attitude toward people who may be a little different -- you really have a problem.

Philip Gourevitch reads in Cheyenne

I attended the Philip Gourevitch talk this evening at the Laramie County Public Library in Cheyenne.

He writes about what happens when human nature is tested under harsh conditions such as war and genocidal rampages.

Humans don't always come down on the side of the angels.

No news for those of us who see the world in shades of color and shadows instead of black-and-white. But do enlightened liberals really know what they'll do when the killing begins? I don't.

I've already started reading his 2008 book, "Standard Operating Procedure," which Gourevitch co-wrote with documentary filmmaker Errol Morris. It starts with a chilling scene from October 2002. Saddam releases thousands of prisoners from Abu Ghraib Prison in Baghdad. Six months before the U.S. invasion. Cut to the next chapter, where corrections officials from Utah are driving around Iraq in August 2003 looking for someone to make bunk beds for imprisoned Iraqis. Things get a little out of control after that.

The author read sections from his three books that fall under the heading of "confessions."

First up was a Hutu killer from the Rwandan genocides as told in the award-winning book, "We Wish to Inform You that We Will be Killed with our Families." Then we heard from the professional killer in "A Cold Case." Last but not least -- Lyndie England's story from the Abu Ghraib Prison.

Goureveitch writes beautifully. Corporal England is revealed frame by frame, as in a film. In the book's final interview with her following her release from jail, England is taking antidepressants and says "I don't think about anything." She seems to have no real remorse. But basically she was a prop, a young soldier, unsupervised, at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"The political order you are living under makes a big difference," says Goureveitch. "There's no evidence to show that these people would have done this outside of this political order.

"In a well-run army, girlfriends don't hang out in the prison during the night shift with their boyfriends. This was a systems' problem."

"This is the kind of breakdown you have when you allow torture," he concluded.

The government oversaw the Rwandan slaughter. "This wasn't chaos," says Gourevitch. "The genocide was very well planned. Great organization is required to do such a thing."

In the Q&A session, the author was asked if he had learned any lessons about human nature during research for his books.

According to Gourevietch: "We like to think that there is a categorical difference between those who will do a thing and those who won't. Then come circumstances that put people to the test. Some resist but..."

But others can't and don't. They take their machetes and go next door to hack the neighbors to pieces.

Time to get back to my book...