Author Mary Gillgannon talks about publishing and e-publishing Sept. 20 at the library

My writing pal, Mary Gillgannon, is conducting a program at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 20, at the Laramie County Public Library in Cheyenne. She'll be talking about the strange world of publishing and the even stranger world of e-publishing. She will be answering questions and sharing her experiences in those odd realms. I also hear that she is making her delicious chocolate chip cookies for treats for the people who show up. So show up.

Let's pause for an unpaid commercial announcement:

The Silver Wheel, a novel of Celtic Britain, available now at
http://marygillgannon.com

I read an early version of The Silver Wheel at our critique group. It is terrific, made even better by the revision process. 

Zombiefest in Cheyenne looks frightfully good

Rich guy Mitt Romney trashes the rest of us in recent speech

See the secretly-recorded video, and read Mitt Romney's remarks to his rich donors, in David Corn's piece in Monday's Mother Jones. Here's a sampler of how Romney really feels about the rest of us:

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.

What a schmuck!

Democrats walk neighborhoods for progressive candidates this weekend

On Saturday, Sept. 22, Democrats will be walking the mid-town Cheyenne neighborhoods for one of the few women in the Wyoming State Legislature, Mary Throne of HD 11. We will be meeting at Mary's house, 720 E. 19th St., at 1 p.m. Mary is running against Republican Jerry Zellars, who hasn't been seen on the stump too often -- maybe he's lying low, waiting for a last-minute surge. Or maybe he thinks that having that (R) next to his name is all that he needs to beat Mary, the incumbent (D).

Weird, isn't it, that women are a scant minority in the legislature of The Equality State? Keep Mary in the mix!

Lee Filer is a Democrat running in House District 12. He's also hitting the streets this weekend, and could use some help. Lee is a hard-working family man -- he's a railroader and a member of the Air National Guard -- and he's fired up to take on his Republican contender. He's only 32, which makes him another minority as he is several decades younger than the average Wyoming House member. As a Dem and a Gen Y guy, he would automatically add to the diversity of the Legislature.

Tim Chesnut has a battle on his hands, running against Republican John Barrasso for one of Wyoming's U.S. Senate seats. Tim is a former Albany County Commissioner. He has a lot of guts going up against the entrenched Barrasso, who has oodles of money and name recognition on his side. On Sunday, Sept. 23, Tim will host a barbecue and fund-raiser from noon until 3 p.m. at the picnic shelter in Holliday Park in Cheyenne. Get more info by calling Barbara Guilford at 307-634-0309 or Michael Crump at 307-631-9569.

During a long weekend, veteran suicides wipe out an entire platoon

This is not right.

From an AP wire service story:

So far this year the number of suicides in the military has surged beyond expectations, given that the pace of combat deployments has begun to slow. The Defense Department closely tracks suicides throughout the military but releases its figures only once a year. The Associated Press in June obtained an internal Defense Department document that revealed that there had been 154 suicides in the first 155 days of the year, though June 3. That marked the fastest pace of active-duty military suicides in the nation's decade of war.

This is not right.

This past weekend at the Equality State Book Festival in Casper, Wyo., we heard from a panel of veterans who also are writers. Brian Turner served seven years in the U.S. Army, with deployments in Bosnia-Herzegovinia (1999-2000) and Iraq (2003-2004). Luis Carlos Montalvan served 17 years in the U.S. Army, with a deployment in Iraq that earned him a Purple Heart and a lifelong limp and a case of TBI -- Traumatic Brain Injury. Patrick Amelotte was a U.S. Marine Corps Reservist who was deployed during Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1991. They all spoke during a panel entitled "Active Duty, Active Voices."

One of the most haunting quotes came from Brian Turner. He noted that 18 veterans or active duty troops commit suicide daily. That includes veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as all of the other conflicts the U.S. has been engaged in during my lifetime: Korea, Vietnam, Cold War, Vietnam (including Cambodia and Laos), Grenada, Central America, Desert Shield/Desert Storm (Iraq and Kuwait), Bosnia, Somalia, and other hotspots too numerous to mention. It seems odd to include The Good War in these stats but, yes, there are aging WWII vets who sometimes choose the gun or rope over the long march into the darkness caused by cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc.

Eighteen per day. At least one of those suicides is by a member if our active duty forces. You know, some 19-year-old kid who used to live next door to you and joined the Army to pay for college or a trade school or to gain citizenship.

Here's how Brian put it:

"There are 18 suicides today, 18 tomorrow and 18 on Sunday when I fly back out. By the time I get back to Orlando, my platoon is gone."

Every three days, we lose a platoon to suicide.

This is not right.

So what are you going to do about it?

I leave you with a Brian Turner poem on the subject (from Here, Bullet). Brian read this poem at the book festival:

Eulogy

It happens on a Monday, at 11:20 A.M.,
as tower guards eat sandwiches
and seagulls drift by on the Tigris River.
Prisoners tilt their heads to the west
though burlap sacks and duct tape blind them.
The sound reverberates down concertina coils
the way piano wire thrums when given slack.
And it happens like this, on a blue day of sun,
when Private Miller pulls the trigger
to take brass and fire into his mouth:
the sound lifts the birds up off the water,
a mongoose pauses under the orange trees,
and nothing can stop it now, no matter what
blur of motion surrounds him, no matter what voices
crackle over the radio in static confusion,
because if only for this moment the earth is stilled,
and Private Miller has found what low hush there is
down in the eucalyptus shade, there by the river.

PFC B. Miller
(1980-March 22, 2004)

Sam Western will deliver keynote at Wyoming Democrats' annual Roosevelt-Kennedy dinner

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social security Act on Aug. 14, 1935. Social Security is one of the many government programs that Democrats (Barack Obama and Joe Biden) work to protect and Republicans (Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan) want to eliminate and/or privatize, which is essentially the same thing.

Janel Korhonen-Goff, compliance director of the Wyoming Democratic Party, sends this info:

What: Central Committee Meeting and Roosevelt-Kennedy Dinner (formerly Jefferson-Jackson) with keynote address from noted author and Economist magazine and wyofile correspondent Sam Western, author of Pushed Off the Mountain, Sold Down the River: Wyoming's Search for its Soul. 

When: September 29, 2012

Central Committee Meeting 2-4 pm Cocktail Reception 6 pm Dinner 7 pm

Where: Riverton Holiday Inn Convention Center; 900 E. Sunset Blvd., Riverton, WY 82501, 800-315-2621

Cocktail Reception-$25
Dinner-$75
Combined-$90

Discounted room rates are available both Friday and Saturday nights by calling the 800 number above. Reservations can be made online at: http://www.wyodems.org/event/state-central-committee-meeting-roosevelt-kennedy-dinner

For those who would prefer to pay-at-the-door, we've created a convenient form, which allows us to keep track of reservations (click to go to link): 2012 Roosevelt-Kennedy Dinner

Please feel free to call the office at (307) 514-5282, Robin at (307) 213-9633, or Janel at (307) 277-1228 with any questions, comments or concerns.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Henry Rollins rides the spoken-word choo choo into Cheyenne on Sept. 20

Spoken word artist and musician and Cable TV personality Henry Rollins in Cheyenne?

You've got to be kidding.
NOT!

He will be at the Cheyenne Depot Museum on Thursday, Sept. 20, 7 p.m.

For more info and tix, go to http://www.facebook.com/events/343239682432805/

Countdown to the Equality State Book Festival

The Equality State Book Festival starts this Friday morning with a craft talk by David Romtvedt, poet and musician. David, who was Wyoming Poet Laureate for eight years, will speak about "Invisible Craft, Ordinary Language." I'll be introducing him in my role as Wyoming Arts Council literature guy. I'll also be sticking around to learn some things, as poets have much to teach us prose writers about craft and language.

Rebecca O'Connor

It will be an action-packed two days in Casper. Most of the events will be held in Casper College's shiny new Gateway Building. I urge you to attend for the many reasons spelled out in this line-up of events. Current Poet Laureate Pat Frolander will discuss revising, Rebecca O'Connor conducts a craft talk about "Finding your writing through blogging and journaling, and Renee d'Auost explores writing and dance.

Readings by Romtvedt and Linda Hasselstrom enliven the afternoon. Things get started with a 1 p.m. reading by the Wyoming Arts Council's poetry fellowship winners Matt Daly and Claudia Mauro of Jackson and W. Dale Nelson of Laramie. They'll be joined by soldier-poet and fellowship judge Brian Turner, author of "Here, Bullet" and "Phantom Noise."

The happenings head downtown that evening with a reception at The Corridor Gallery, a reading by Frolander at 7:30 at Metro Coffee Company followed by a poetry slam at 8:30. The slam is always the highlight of the bookfest as you never know who's going to show up. It's been rumored that there will be music as well as poetry.

Saturday is panel discussion day. Two biggies go head-to-head at 10 a.m. "Active Duty, Active Voices" features Iraq War veterans and writers Brian Turner and Luis Carlos Montalván talking about writing and war. The panel will be moderated by Casper College Professor and miltary veteran Patrick Amelotte.If you write children's books (or are thinking about it), you'll want to catch the publishing panel with Cat Urbigkit, Zak Pullen, Karla Oceanak and Kendra Spanjer.

Alyson Hagy

Fiction writer and UW Creative Writing Program Professor Alyson Hagy will be the luncheon speaker -- this is the only event that has a fee.The afternoon features a number of readings. At 3:30 p.m., there is a panel discussion, "Writing Nature, Writing Self," with four writers who know both subjects well: Frolander, Hasselstrom, O’Connor and Urbigkit. The events wrap up with a 5 p.m. book signing.

This is the fourth edition of Wyoming's statewide book festival, held each even year. It's a fantastic event with something for everyone who loves books. 

AIR's goal is to connect the creative community in the Rocky Mountain region

Beet Street, just down the road in Fort Collins, has announced that its new Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR) web site is up and running. As part of my job at the Wyoming Arts Council, I was involved in the planning stages for AIR. I invite you to check out the web site -- and to become a part of this innovative effort to "bring the Intermountain West creative community together in an exciting new way." I enrolled in the site at the Wyoming Arts Council when it was in the beta stage. Today I signed up as a writer. Check it out at www.airArtsIncubator.org. 

To get the most out of the AIR web site, become a member today! Free and paid memberships give you access to: 

• The Knowledge Center - home to the newest, best, and coolest resources available to help you in your creative endeavors. You can search by topic, discipline, file type, or just type in keywords. You can also help out the entire AIR community by uploading the articles, videos, podcasts, and blogs that you love too

• The Opportunity Center - where you'll find job listings and internships, calls for artists, details on auditions, funding, and much more. This is also the place to find or post a great opportunity in the Intermountain West. There are powerful search filters for you to locate specific opportunity types, disciplines, state specific information, and application due dates. Paid members get access to more details about each opportunity and reduced rates to feature a listing

• AIR Share - accessible to paid members - allows you to receive feedback on your work in progress, help someone solve a problem, and get to know your AIR community. You can also comment, recommend, bookmark, and upload as many files as you want. This is truly a collaborative tool. Just imagine the possibilities it will open up for you in creating new markets for your work, networking opportunities for collaboration, and so much more  

• The Member Directory - use your membership page as a new marketing tool to tell your story and share your creative prowess. You can find other creatives throughout the Intermountain West, connect with new people and places, be inspired by other's work, and display your own. Paid members can upload unlimited audio, video, and files of work           

The regional calendar - find a workshop, performance, or community event in your town or throughout the Intermountain West region. You can search by event category, date, state, or keyword. Paid members get discounted rates to feature events, but all members can submit events. The regional calendar can be your guide to all things art in the Intermountain West region. You can also market your amazing arts and culture events throughout the region by using the calendar.

On election day, Marguerite Herman will be MyLaramieCountyCommissioner

Linda Stowers of the Laramie County Democrats sends this invitation. The choice is very clear in this county commission race. She is the best person for the job, here in The Equality State.

Dear Friends and Fellow Democrats:

Please join us at a Meet & Greet mixer for Marguerite Herman. She is running for a two-year seat as a Laramie County Commissioner. 

It will be held at 711 Warren Avenue (Old Johnson Jr. High), Cheyenne. Use 7th St. Entrance.

Thursday, September 13, 2012, from 6-7:30 p.m.

Marguerite will serve dinner and talk to constituents. Supporters can learn how they can help her campaign. The event will also inaugurate her website at www.MyLaramieCountyCommissioner.com 

For more information, contact Marguerite at: 307-638-1468 or 307-630-8095. 

Depression Lies!

This is one of the posters designed by Laramie's Felicia Follum to mark World Suicide Prevention Day (today) and Suicide Awareness Week. She had this to say about this this poster: "Depression Lies: This poster is in response to the negatives we believe about ourselves. Sometimes we need tough love and someone to tell us that we are worthy of the best. The TRUTH is you are special; to believe you are anything less than beautiful and wonderful is to believe a lie." To this, I add that depression does lie and that very often, it doesn't respond to tough talk or even kindness alone. Those can help, depending on the person, but don't forget that depression is a physical illness that responds to antidepressant medication, although they take weeks and often months to work. So, my advice to my fellow sufferers of melancholia, is this: TALK, EXERCISE AND TAKE YOUR MEDS!

Jeran Artery posts in Out in Wyoming about his experiences as a DNC delegate

My fellow Wyoming prog-blogger Jeran Artery at Out in Wyoming will be posting this week about his experiences as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. His first post was on Sunday. Look for more in the days to come. He promises lots of photos!

"He had arrived at a cliff, with an abyss before him and a fire behind him"

Meredith Melnick writes in Time Magazine Online today about World Suicide Prevention Day, which will take place on Monday, Sept. 10 (tomorrow):

Every day 3,000 people end their own lives, and for every person who dies, there are 20 more people who unsuccessfully attempt a suicide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In the United States alone, that amounts to one death by suicide every 16 minutes, says the National Council for Suicide Prevention (NCSP).

It’s a bit tricky to figure out how to honor World Suicide Prevention Day and so the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and the WHO have collaborated on a list of activities for organizations to consider as a way to help support the cause. But what about individuals?

The NCSP launched a “Take 5 to Save Lives” campaign that summarizes how we can all help prevent suicide — simple steps like learning the signs of suicidal behavior, raising awareness by telling other people about the World Suicide Prevention Day, and asking for help if you are concerned about your own thoughts and behavior.

Some suggested activities include holding a press conference, writing an article for your local paper, distributing information about depression, posting the WSPD banner on your blog or web site, lobbying politicians about mental health issues and other activities. Seems to me that "spreading the word" is one of the most helpful things anyone can do, since the stigma surrounding depression and suicide seems to be the strongest barrier to prevention.

Cheyenne author Edith Cook wrote movingly in the Sept. 5 Wyoming Tribune-Eagle about her brother's and niece's suicides. The Sunday Denver Post carried a front-page story about the aftermath of the December 2011 suicide of one of the city's foremost philanthropists, Noel Cunningham. He hung himself in his basement. His wife, Tammy, found his body when she arrived home from work that evening:

"It was really difficult, because all I could see for the next couple weeks was Noel, and the way I found him."

Suicide is especially difficult on those loved ones left behind, especially if it arrives as a ghastly surprise, as it did with Mrs. Cunningham. While she tried to get her husband to open up about his inner pain, he never did.

The most moving and poetic quote from the Post article came from an unexpected place -- former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter's eulogy at the 62-year-old Cunningham's memorial service. He said that Cunningham's manic level of service to his community and to international hunger relief had a "dark brother:"

"Call it depression, or despondency, or despair, but it is real, and it has to be dealt with in this eulogy."

--clip--

"Like many of us in this life," Noel had arrived at a cliff, with an abyss before him and a fire behind him, Ritter said.

"He did not see us, he could not see us, on the other side of the fire, pleading with him, telling him we love him, telling him that we will do anything, anything in the world for him, if he would just let us help him put out the fire, and bring him back from the cliff," Ritter said.

The final powerful lesson that Noel gave us all, Ritter said, "is that self-care matters too, even for the selfless."

Not bad for a politician known more for fiscal austerity than metaphor.

How many people in Wyoming are at this cliff today? Too many. Teens and aging white males are especially vulnerable, or so say the statistics. Wyoming's rapidly greying population has many of the latter group, and they tend to kill themselves in dramatically Western ways -- by gun and by rope.

So spread the word: "You don't have to face the abyss and the fire alone. I am your friend. I can help."

Flobots at Gryphon Theatre in Laramie Nov. 2

Get your tix now

Remembering candidate Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Denver four years ago

It was too bad that many thousands of Democratic Party volunteers and supporters didn't get to hear President Obama's acceptance speech Thursday night at the Charlotte Panthers football stadium. Threats of thunderstorms forced the speech indoors. I was able to see and hear candidate Obama's first acceptance speech in 2008 at Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium on a warm August night. Wyoming Dem delegate Lori Millin took this photo that night. It makes me look like the party standard bearer when in reality I was merely an embedded blogger. Still, it was a heady night for this lifelong Dem who had never been to a convention and may never get there again. Read a nifty article by Patty Calhoun about the lingering effects that the convention had on Denver and its image in last week's Westword. Especially illuminating in the interview with then-Mayor John Hickenlooper and now Colorado Governor Hickenlooper who delivered a memorable speech in Charlotte. He remembers being very nervous about security and traffic and all of the thousand-and-one details that make up a national gathering of this magnitude. He was nervous right up to the closing-night party at his Wynkoop Brewpub in Lodo. Especially illuminating are the details of his decision to let a Rage Against the Machine-led peace march go from the Denver Coliseum to the convention at the Pepsi Center. Instead of having the police stop the march, he ordered the DPD to escort the marchers through town, a decision that probably meant the difference between a peaceful protest to one of mass arrests and violence. That Hick is one smart cookie. He's going places...

"Encore careers" seems to be the new buzzword for Baby Boomers

An AP article by personal finance writer Dave Carpenter was reprinted Friday in the NYT's Business Day section. It was all about us perpetually annoying Baby Boomers and a new trend for us to find "encore careers" that combine "personal meaning with social purpose."

As many as 9 million people ages 44 to 70 already are in such careers as the second or third acts of their working lives, according to nonprofit think tank Encore.org. 

But that number is poised to multiply as many boomers and others take steps to combine making a living with making a difference. Another 31 million older workers are interested in finding encore careers, based on a 2011 survey by the nonprofit. 

A mixture of longer lifespans, layoffs, shifting cultural attitudes and financial realities is causing this growing urge among over-50s to seek out more purposeful work. Sometimes it's just an itch to do something more purposeful in retirements that can now last for three decades, while still pulling in needed income. 

The demographics of 78 million baby boomers should ensure that this careers shift accelerates, says Encore.org vice president Marci Alboher. 

"This trend has the potential to be a new social norm much the way that the dream of the golden years, of a leisure-based retirement, was an aspiration for the generation before," she says. 

Alboher is the author of the soon-to-be-released "The Encore Career Handbook," is an invaluable resource for older workers looking for purposeful career alternatives.

"Purposeful career alternatives." Kind of a clunky term but it's a handy way to describe what many Baby Boomers are trying to do with their retirement (or per-retirement). For awhile now, retirement has become less of a "leisure-based" lifestyle than one that combines do-gooderism with a little bit of freedom to travel, visit grandkids and recuperative time following the usual knee or hip replacement. 

I grew up in Florida, capital of leisure-based retirement. As a beach town, Daytona had more than its share of retirees. You saw them moseying down the beach, playing shuffleboard at City Island Park, and driving 10 m.p.h. down A1A. Half of our beachside neighborhood was made up of snowbirds, Michiganders or New Yorkers or Ohioans who spent most of their year in Daytona but who migrated north to visit family and friends during the hellish Florida summers. Many were widows, still-vital women who had moved to Florida with their retired autoworker husband only to find themselves alone after their spouse expired after a couple years due to golf ennui or shuffleboard overdose. This used to be one of the hazards of retirement, especially for hard-working men. They had nothing to sustain them outside of work. No hobbies. No creative pursuits. Nothing. So they just fade away, like General McArthur's "old soldiers."

We Baby Boomers have different attitudes and, to be fair, worked different sorts of jobs than our parents. I've reinvented myself several times during my life, as has my wife Chris. We're both surprised that I've been at my job more than 21 years and she's been at hers more than 10 years. We even have retirement plans that haven't been gutted by corporate raiders (like Bain Capital) or right-wing, Tea Party legislators.

We also both work in careers that combine "personal meaning with social purpose." Chris is a supervisor at the Cheyenne Family YMCA. Most people know the Y for its exercise classes and swimming pool, but it also offers daycare, summer camps, a myriad of classes and workshops for seniors, and scholarships for people with limited incomes. The VA Hospital uses the swimming pool for patient rehab. The Y "does good" on a daily basis. 

I'm a state employee that works in the arts. My road to this carer took me through jobs as newspaper reporter, newspaper editor, magazine writer, corporate publications editor and community college teacher. My two decades as an arts administrator has been interspersed with intense bouts of fiction writing which, occasionally, lead to publishing, as well as stints on various boards of directors for nonprofit organizations. I've served on the Wyoming Governor's Mental Health Advisory Council. I served on the first Laramie County Habitat for Humanity board and have been a board member for local social service nonprofit UPLIFT for 12 years. I've been an officer for the county Democratic Party. 

Every so often, Chris and my efforts intersect, as when we both served on the YMCA's Writer's Voice committee that brought professional writers and poets to the Y for classes and workshops. 

Our encore carers seem to be happening before our very eyes. We will retire in the near future. We will not go silently into that good night, as if any Baby Boomer could do that. We are loud and we are proud. Especially loud.

So what will these retirees do? I can retire in four years but Chris has a few more years past that -- she's younger than I am. I plan to spend time writing and travelling and volunteering and/or working for my local arts organization, wherever that may be. Chris isn't a writer, but she loves to travel and volunteer, which she may do for our local Y, wherever that may be.

Where will that be? Ironically enough, that may be in Florida. Almost all of my relatives live there -- eight brothers and sisters and their many offspring. Chris's only sister lives there. Chris and I both went to high school in Florida and I graduated from the University of Florida. We have salt water in our veins from the many hundreds of hours spent on the beach. 

Still, we've lived on the Front Range of Colorado and Wyoming for 34 years, with two years off in Washington, D.C., for bad behavior (a temporary work assignment). We have lots of friends in Cheyenne, Fort Collins and Denver. Fort Collins is one of the region's most happening arts towns. Denver is my birthplace and where I spent ten years of working life, where our son was born.

Who knows? I have four years to figure this out. Four whole years! It won't go fast, will it?

Will it?

Unusual magic show about a British lunatic asylum had its roots in Cheyenne

"Battered Bride" by Forrest King

Today's Denver Westword carried a story about an unusual magic show that had its roots in Cheyenne. Denver magician Aiden Sinclair was asked by artist Forrest King to do a magic show in Cheyenne last summer to benefit for the Laramie County Safehouse. You may know Forrest King for his social engaged art. His most famous piece is "Battered Bride" (shown above) that he did in an effort to publicize the plight of the many abuse and battered women amongst us. He's travelled to churches and other venues, artwork in tow, to talk about the issue and to raise funds for Safehouse.

While in Cheyenne, Aiden Sinclair wrote an unusually magic show that revolved around abused women from another time and place. Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum was housed in a gorgeous British mansion. But what happened on the inside was far from gorgeous. Most of its "patients" were women committed bu their well-to-do husbands because it was easier (and cheaper) that getting a divorce. Most women were fairly young when committed, but they usually died there, because the only person who could release them were their husbands, who wielded all the power.

I'll let Westword tell the rest of the story:

At Aiden Sinclair's magic show, you won't see any bunnies pulled out of hats or ladies cut in half. Sinclair describes From a Padded Room: An Evening in Colney Hatch Asylum, which plays at 7 p.m. Saturday, September 8, at the Tattered Cover LoDo event hall in Denver, as an empathic journey back in time to the very real British asylum and the horrible practices that went on in its halls. Beyond the chilling entertainment, $5 from each ticket sold will go to support SafeHouse Denver, which provides emergency shelter, counseling and advocacy for survivors of domestic violence.

We caught up with Sinclair in advance of the show to learn about the history of Colney Hatch and his mission to raise awareness about domestic abuse.

Westword: How did the show come about?

Aiden Sinclair: The show came about by coincidence. A friend of mine in Cheyenne is a gentleman named Forrest King and he's an extremely talented artist. And the cool thing about him is all of his painting is really driven toward social issues that a lot of people don't talk about at all. So he did this painting that's called the "Battered Bride," and the first time I saw this painting it was extremely emotional. It's one of those things that's really hard to look at, but you can't look away at the same time.

So he had approached me about doing some magic at a benefit that he had, and as soon as he asked if I would do a benefit I said absolutely. It kind of struck me that normally when I perform magic for people the object of magic is the suspension of reality -- it's to take people away from the world and bring them into some imaginative creation that's somewhat impossible. Generally as a magician, for eighteen years I've been very happy to take people away from their problems. This, however, seemed like something that you needed to bring people to, not away from. And I thought it was important that if you have a bunch of people getting together to donate money to a cause, they should really be conscious of exactly what it is that they're donating to and that they're helping people.

So we stopped the show and took it off of production and went into pre-production of this show specifically for this cause. Just to raise money for safehouses. So that was the trick. How do you write a show about domestic violence and still have something that's entertaining, that people would want to sit down and watch?

--clip--

We basically designed the show around this place [Colney Hatch Asylum] and around the tragic tale of what happened to women in those days, and we take people on a very empathic trip back in time. It's not like any magic show that has ever really been done before. There are no card tricks, there are no bunnies out of hats, there is no traditional magic to it. We basically take those patient registries, hand them out to the audience, and we ask audience members to pick a patient. It's a free choice; these books have 500 different people in them, some of them are good, some of them are bad, and you basically will pick a person and become that person in your mind. You'll actually visualize what it would be like to be that person. And it's an extremely emotional experience for folks. It's really a neat show, mainly because it's not physical. It's very cerebral. It's exciting.

The first time we ever did it we presented at an art gallery in Cheyenne. We did four shows over a two day period and they were the most emotionally draining four days I think of my life. About 70 percent of the audience left in tears or visibly shaken. And not in a way that they were scared or anything, it just really struck them. And I wanted the show to have meaning but I was really unprepared for the response that I got, and that has been the consistent response.

To buy tickets for the Tattered Cover event, go to www.fromapaddedroom.com. For more information about SafeHouse Denver and 24-hour crisis help, call 303-318-9989 or visit www.safehouse-denver.org. For info about Forrest King, go to http://www.facebook.com/AlternativeArt.

Delegate Jeran Artery wraps up day two at the DNC

Rylee DeGood interviewed Cheyenne's Jeran Artery last night after the second day at the DNC in Charlotte. Go to DNC: Day 2 (10 o'clock)

Sister Simone Campbell fires up the DNC crowd

Eat locally by supporting a new community garden at Laramie County Community College

You can't have too many community gardens. There are two at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and many local churches have tilled the soil for their members and gardeners from the community. LCCC  is holding a [planning session for its own garden:

Laramie County Community College is laying the groundwork for a better community, one tomato at a time. A community garden is being constructed at LCCC. 

The garden will be open to all members of the Cheyenne community. Beyond creating a sense of community, the garden also will provide produce for those in need throughout the local area, but the college needs help from the community to get the idea growing. 

A planning and idea day for the community garden will be held 9:30-11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 14, in the Center for Conferences and Institutes, Room 121 on the LCCC campus. Ideas, expertise, and hands-on help are needed to help build the vision. 

For more information please contact Jeri Griego at 307.778.1279 or Cathy Rogers at 307.778.4322.

Wyoming DNC delegate Jeran Artery live from Charlotte on Channel 5

Cheyenne's Jeran Artery from Wyoming Equality is a delegate to the Democratic Party National Convention in Charlotte. He's being interviewed by Channel 5's Rylee DeGood during both the 5:30 and 10 p.m. telecasts. He has a lot to say, especially tonight as he contrasted the cultural diversity of the DNC crowd with the Fifty Shades of White crowd at the RNC. Hear Jeran's report at DNC: Day 1. You have to put up with a short clip of Paul Ryan at the end -- but you can always cut that part. 

The Fix scores winners and losers at the DNC podium

Chris Cillizza on The Fix at the Washington Post parses the speechifying winners and losers at the DNC at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/09/04/democratic-national-convention-day-one-winners-and-losers/

I liked Julian Castro, mayor of San Antonio. I'd vote for his twin brother, too, if I lived in his Texas district. I'd vote for their Mom! Also, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and the First Lady were terrific.

Who were your faves?

Radio interview from the DNC: Ken McCauley, Air Force veteran, isn't disappointed in Pres. Obama

From Cheyenne resident and USAF veteran Ken McCauley, a Wyoming delegate at the DNC:

Pete Laybourn [former member of the Cheyenne city council] is providing updates on 1480-AM KRAE in Cheyenne every morning at 7:45-8:00 a.m. I was his guest this a.m. and talked about how the GOP is pressing a message that Americans should be dissatisfied with our President. I gave a list of reasons I am NOT dissatisfied with President Obama, and focused my comments on military issues. Specifically:

 

As a veteran, I wasn’t disappointed when President Obama:

· Ended the war in Iraq, bringing our soldiers home after a decade of fighting.

· Began the process of drawing down troops in Afghanistan

· Ended the stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan beyond their enlistment date.

· Ended the media blackout of war casualties so the American people know the true cost of war.

· Provided troops with better body armor and approved funding for the Mine Resistant Ambush Vehicle.

· Improved conditions at Walter Reed and other military hospitals.

· Improved benefits for veterans, including mental health services and treatment for traumatic brain injury.

· Made the hard decision to deploy additional troops when needed in Afghanistan. He campaigned that he would refocus on Afghanistan to locate bin Laden, and he did!

· Killed Osama Bin Laden and eliminated several other top al Qaeda leaders, including tracking terrorists in Pakistan, Yeman, an Somalia.

• Ordered the Pentagon to cover expenses of families of fallen soldiers if they wish to be on site when the body arrives back in the US.

• Ordered a review of the existing “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military (2010)

• Improved the GI Bill for returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. 

• Eliminated co-payments for veterans who are catastrophically disabled.

• Signed The Families of Fallen Heroes Act, which covers the moving costs of immediate family members of those lost in service.

 

"Captured Justice" textbook cover features "Incarceration" poster designed by Laramie artist Felicia Follum

Laramie artist Felicia Follum shared this news today on her blog:

My poster "Incarceration" was recently used as a textbook cover for a Native American History and Public Law textbook.  I was ecstatic when I received the hard copy in the mail. It looks great!!

The idea for this poster was largely inspired by growing up in Rapid City, South Dakota, and seeing the mistreatment of, and racism toward, Native Americans.  The poster was created as part of a series addressing the conditions on American Indian Reservations (specifically Pine Ridge and Rosebud) after many hours of research.  The photo is an unknown chief from a portrait photography book.

"Captured Justice: Native Nations and Public Law 280″ is by Duane Champagne and Carole Goldberg. You can purchase the book online at Carolina Academic Press or on Amazon.com.

Watch President Obama's acceptance speech Thursday at the Dems' HQ in Cheyenne

Linda Stowers, chair of the Laramie County Democrats,

sends this invitation:

Come join us on Thursday night to see and listen 

to President Obama's acceptance speech at the DNC.

We will have Sloppy Joes at Democratic Party

Headquarters, 1909 Warren, Cheyenne, beginning 

at 6:30 p.m. Bring a snack or dessert.

Be there or be square. 

Democrats discuss the arts today in Charlotte at ARTSspeak@DNC

From Bob Lynch of Americans for the Arts: Madeleine Albright, Gov. Quinn, Bernie Williams, and Mayor Kevin Johnson will speak at the Arts Action Fund panel at the DNC (DemConvention) today at 3 p.m. EST. ARTSspeak will be a hit! FMI: http://bit.ly/OZ2beB or #DNC2012.

DNC delegates will hear social justice speech from Sister Simone Campbell on Sept. 5

The Democratic Party has the wisdom to realize that activist nuns have a lot to teach its convention delegates. This news comes from NETWORK, a national Catholic social justice lobby.

NETWORK is pleased to confirm that Sister Simone Campbell has accepted an invitation to speak at the Democratic National Convention on the evening of Wednesday, September 5. This will provide an important opportunity to talk about what she has learned after decades of work for social and economic justice.

We also regret that no similar invitation was extended by the Republican National Convention and that, despite our efforts, NETWORK was unable to find a venue there for sharing information about economic justice rooted in Catholic Social Teaching. Sister Campbell would have been delighted to speak at the convention.

We are pleased that Cardinal Dolan will be present at both the Republican and Democratic conventions.

Note: In addition to her speech, Sister Simone Campbell (and NETWORK staff) will be facilitating two social justice workshops during the Democratic convention: “Mind the Gap” on Wednesday, Sept. 5 from 10 AM to noon (http://charlottein2012.com/events/mind_the_gap_) and “Nuns on the Bus” on Thursday, Sept. 6 from 10 AM to noon (http://charlottein2012.com/events/nuns_on_the_bus). She will also provide the keynote address at the Faith Caucus meeting of the College Democrats of America annual convention prior to the Democratic National Convention.

Will Dem butts fill all of those seats Thursday night at B of A Stadium in Charlotte? We did it in Denver

An AP story by Julie Pace in this morning's Denver Post said that Democratic Party officials are concerned that Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte will not be filled when Pres. Barack Obama accepts the Democratic Party nomination on Thursday night. The stadium seats 74,000. That's a lot of seats to fill with Dem butts, or at least Dem butts and da butts of other curious Tarheels.

Anything short of a full house on the final night of the Democratic Party's national convention will be instant fodder for Republicans eager to use empty seats as symbols of waning voter enthusiasm for Obama.

Democrats have been fretting for months over whether the president can draw a capacity crowd at Bank of America Stadium. Polls show voter enthusiasm is down, as are Obama's crowds for his battleground state campaign rallies.

Obama advisers insist the stadium will be filled when Obama delivers his speech. Vice President Joe Biden also will speak Thursday night, along with Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who will vouch for Obama's national security credentials.

--clip--

Thursday's event is certain to draw comparisons to 2008, when Obama accepted the Democratic nomination before a capacity crowd at an 84,000-seat stadium in Denver. There was little concern back then over whether Obama would fill the stadium, in part because he was easily attracting tens of thousands of people to his campaign rallies across the country.

This time around, Obama's crowds are far smaller. He drew his biggest audience at his campaign kick-off rally in May, a 14,000-person crowd at Ohio State University. About 13,000 people attended Obama's rally on Sunday at the University of Colorado in Boulder. The campaign says the size of Obama's events this summer have purposely been kept low. Large rallies are more expensive and security requirements are more intense for a sitting president than a candidate.

I waited in line for hours to get into Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium on that warm August evening in 2008. The crowd was impressive, and I took some terrible cellphone photos to prove it. My technical skills haven't improved, nor has my equipment. I'm sure we'll get tons of smartphone and Instagram pix from Charlotte this Thursday. Meanwhile, ogle these pix from DNC Denver 2008.

Lining up at Denver's Mile High Stadium

Dem delegates on the 30-yard line (see anyone you know?)

Jesse Jackson almost buried by media types

Sen. John Kerry, who will speak Thursday night in Charlotte

"The Daily Show's" John Oliver, in a blur (I was moving fast)

Rev. Rodger McDaniel's Labor Day sermon: "Cesar, Samuel, Shanker & Moses"

The Rev. Rodger McDaniel is one of my fellow progressive bloggers. While none of us take any pledges as bloggers, Rodger has pledged a lifetime of service to God. As pastor at Highlands Presbyterian Church in Cheyenne, he has taken to heart the old adage, "to comfort the afflicted to to afflict the comfortable." Newspaper reporters used to believe in that, although in today's media, it seems as if that gets turned on its head to become "to comfort the comfortable and to afflict the afflicted."

That carries over into politics. Republicans make no secret of their disdain for working people, especially the working poor. They spent all last week comforting and praising their rich-boy presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who aims to gut government programs for working people while giving more tax breaks to his rich pals.

This week, the Democratic Party will showcase a different philosophy. While the Dems sometimes are beholden to the same corporate interests that own the Republicans, there is a clear-cut difference in their policies. They will speak in Charlotte about health care, liveable wages, protecting Social Security and Medicare, education, environmental policies and that nebulous thing known as "the future." It's up to us to hold them accountable once the convention is over. This is good to keep in mind on this Labor Day as we remember the workplace sacrifices of our ancestors.

In his Labor Day sermon reprinted on his Blowing in the Wyoming Wind blog,  Rodger reminds us that our religious traditions have a long history -- going back to Moses -- of standing up for working people. He also notes that our modern churches must do more than conduct the occasional holiday food drive, that they must actively champion the rights of people to receive a living wage and fair benefits. Read his sermon: "Cesar, Samuel, Shanker & Moses"

Live from the hummingbirdminds bunker -- not-so-live coverage of the DNC from Charlotte

To my readers:

You may have noticed that I did quite a bit of posting last week about the Republican National Convention in Tampa without the bother of leaving home. Many thanks to Meg Lanker-Simons at Cognitive Dissonance out of Laramie, who scooped all of us with interviews with former Repub Chair Michael Steele and NBC's Chuck Todd, and that post-convention Q&A with Clint Eastwood's chair. Also thanks to Progress Florida, who maintained a web site about goings-on in the streets during the RNC.

I'm gearing up to provide the same service during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Last night in Denver, I bade adieu to several Wyoming Democratic Party delegates on the eve of their departure for the convention. Jeran Artery, Kate Wright and Ken McCauley promised to keep in touch via the usual e-means. I have no reason to suspect that they won't keep their word, although once they hit the ground in Charlotte, time will speed up and they will be caught up in a wave of speeches and floor votes, not to mention the sea of  hors d'oeuvres they will be forced to consume at the endless flurry of receptions sponsored by unions, conservation groups, feminist organizations, civil rights activists and other nogoodnik socialists.

But they will keep us posted because they are Democrats and they will make sure that the blog posts get through, come hell or high water or mounds of Carolina BBQ ribs.  

You can get the news feed from Netroots Nation (9 a.m.-4 p.m. EST, Tues.-Thurs.). The NN folks are live-streaming from Charlotte. NN promises this:

We’re teaming up with Democracy for America this week in Charlotte to provide a live studio where progressive leaders, pundits, and your favorite bloggers and reporters will join us for progressive conversations. You’ll hear from folks like Rep. Keith Ellison, Rep. Donna Edwards, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Van Jones, Lizz Winstead, The Nation’s Ari Berman, Gov. Howard Dean and more.

The live coverage will be hosted by Cliff Schecter, founder and president of progressive public relations firm Libertas LLC, best-selling author (2008′s The Real McCain), nationally syndicated columnist and regular pundit on such shows as The Young Turks on Current TV, The Majority Report with Sam Seder and Take Action News with David Shuster. Cliff is also a co-founder of Washington DC’s progressive radio station, We Act Radio (AM 1480).

If you want to test your knowledge of N.C. (the Old North State), you can take this quiz here. I didn't do too well, although I did get the trick question about Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. I grew up with NASCAR, y'all. BTW, if you Dems get bored, the NASCAR Hall of Fame is located in Charlotte.

More later...

Call for entries (kids only!): International Peace Poster Contest

"Children Know Peace," 2011-2012 grand prize winner

I know Lions Clubs best for its sight programs. Club members collect old eyeglasses and provide glasses for people who need them but can't afford them. The club also sponsors an eye bank and vision screening. But the Lions apparently have other visions for us all:

Each year, Lions clubs around the world proudly sponsor the Lions International Peace Poster Contest in local schools and youth groups. This art contest for kids encourages young people worldwide to express their visions of peace. For 25 years, more than four million children from nearly 100 countries have participated in the contest.

The theme of the 2012-13 Peace Poster Contest is "Imagine Peace." Students, ages 11, 12 or 13 on November 15, are eligible to participate.

Each year's art contest for kids consists of an original theme incorporating peace. Participants use a variety of mediums, including charcoal, crayon, pencil and paint, to express the theme. The works created are unique and express the young artists' life experiences and culture.

Twenty-four international finalists are selected each year, representing the work of more than 350,000 young participants worldwide. Posters are shared globally via the Internet, the media and exhibits around the world.

To learn more about the Lions International Peace Poster Contest, please view our brochure, contest rules and deadlines, call 630-203-3812 or contact the Lions Clubs International Public Relations Department.

Call for entries: Peace Song Contest

My K.C. pal and old college roomie (Go Gators!) Bob Page sent me this call for entries from his old friend, musician Karen Dunning:

Karen Dunning sponsors $500 Peace Song Contest.

Contestants from around the world are invited!  

Submit up to three original songs about peace in mp3 format to:  Karen@karendunning.com

The winner receives $500.  TRI Studios is donating audio and video recording for the winner at TRI studios in San Rafael, CA (the studio of Bob Weir of Grateful Dead fame).

Thank you for contributing to world peace!

Details:

Submissions close September 21, 2012 -- World Peace Day.

Artists may submit up to 3 songs in mp3 format up to 20mg/song

Songs must be original music and lyrics.

Songs must be original to the artist submitting the song.

Each song must include a short vision statement from the artist/s.

Please submit each song to karen@karendunning.com and put your song title and Peace Song Contest in the subject line

Artists retain rights to their songs, and grant Karen Dunning rights to play the submitted songs for promotional uses to raise awareness for peace.

Artists are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses.

Amidst the convention hoopla, Republicans take time to praise arts education

Sometimes you have to depend on a city's alternative press to get the story behind the story. From Creative Loafing Tampa Bay's RNC web site:

Officials from varying levels of government talked on the importance of arts and arts education in a panel discussion moderated by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee at the Tampa Theatre Tuesday afternoon.

“Arts education is fundamental , not ornamental,” said Art Keeble, executive director of the Arts Council of Hillsborough County. He said those who will prosper and succeed in a new economy will be those who “think like artists.” He predicts MFA's will soon be as sought after as MBA’s.

In conjunction with the Arts Council and Tampa Theatre, the discussion was hosted by the non-profit Action Fund of Americans for the Arts, an organization which supports arts education within communities and schools. Americans for the Arts has about 200,000 members throughout the country. According to the Action Fund's website, students with an arts-rich education have higher GPA’s, better scores on standardized tests, and lower drop-out rates.

Utah Governor Gary Herbert said that the benefits of arts education extend beyond the classroom. He said supporting the arts has economic benefits, too, since creative people are keen problem-solvers and able to develop better solutions to market needs.

He added that arts education requires a two-pronged approach, combining reinforcement in the home and a comprehensive curriculum for arts appreciation in schools.

 “Frankly, I’m one who believes that a good balanced approach to education includes an appreciation of art and opportunities to be taught,” said Herbert.

MFA's as sought after as MBA's? Possibly. But MFA education will have to change to incorporate aspects of the MBA curriculum, don't you think? Artists are becoming (or expected to become) artrepreneurs, but have very little training in the entrepreneurial arts. That needs to change. And it's possible the MBA candidate would benefit from some visual arts, performing arts or creative writing courses.

Read the entire article at Creative Loafing Tampa Bay : Former Governor Huckabee moderates art education forum at Tampa Theatre

On the mean streets of Tampa with Meg from Cognitive Dissonance

Laramie's Meg Lanker-Simons interviews former Repubican Party Chair Michael Steele yesterday at the RNC in Tampa. Michael is dressed Repub casual (blazer and tennies) for the humid-hot Tampa day. Meg also interviewed Chuck Todd and Lawrence O'Donnell. Re-posted from Cognitive Dissonance.

Transitions Artisans hold an art show and sale Sept. 9 at Carnival Antiques

The Transitions Artisans create art as part of the healing process, as they transition from inpatient mental health care to a home environment. Sales of their work will go toward buying arts supplies and equipment for the CRMC-sponsored program.

AFL-CIO imagines "Mitt Romney's America"

Something fun to do in Tampa tomorrow:

“Welcome to Mitt Romney’s America” Parade: Sponsored by AFL-CIO. Tampa official parade route The event is called “Welcome to Mitt Romney’s America” and will look a lot like a carnival but will showcase what will happen to America if he is elected President in November. Contact: Cheryl Schroder at 813-368-7124 or cschroeder@wcffl.org or Joshua Anijar at 850-228-9841 or janijar@flaflcio.org.

RNC dispatches from my secret bunker in Cheyenne

So why is Mike Shay at hummingbirdminds covering the RNC in Tampa, Florida, from his bunker in Cheyenne, Wyoming?

I'm not. But I think that my landlocked readers are interested in all of the anti-RNC goings-on around Tampa Bay. You won't get it on the TV networks. You may get some of it from MSNBC and NPR and CSPAN. But you need to dial into the blogs to get the view from the street.

One other thing: I spent my formative years in Florida. I surfed its beaches and canoed its creeks and rivers. Traveled the state with my high school basketball team. Voted here in many elections and met the candidates, including Ronald Reagan during his unsuccessful 1976 campaign (apparently he learned a few things along the way). I am a Florida Gator, which gives me carte blanche to act like a fool during football season and to like Tim Tebow, no matter whom he plays for.

I haven't lived in Florida for 34 years but my roots are there, and so are my seven brothers and sisters and most of their offspring. Thirty years ago, my one and only marriage took place at a Catholic Church adjacent to the beach, salt-water scent drifting through its open windows. 

It's a wonderfully crazy place, a battleground state, pitting Miami Liberals vs. Panhandle Right-Wingers. If you know the place by reading Carl Hiaasen's novels and Miami Herald columns, you know some of its quirky nature.

Besides, things are quiet here in Wyoming -- for now. Our Republicans are battling each other, CROW vs. the RINOs. The Dems are struggling to keep the few seats we have in the state legislature. It will get much more interesting come October, so stay tuned.

Meanwhile, from Florida, there is this and that.  

RNC in Tampa due for a direct hit from Hurricane Meg

The Tampa Bay area may have received only a glancing blow from Hurricane Isaac, but it's about to be hit with the full impact of Hurricane Meg. On Monday, Meg Lanker-Simons of Cognitive Dissonance interviewed Libertarian candidate for prez and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. He's disgruntled with the Republicans and crony capitalism, among other things. Listen to the interview here.

Forget the networks -- get live video and on-the-street blogging from the Republican National Convention

We're beginning to get a sense of who will be covering what at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. Forget the major networks and their talking heads -- they'll miss all of the important stories. CSPAN will have unedited feeds of the proceedings, and may even catch some of the action on the streets. My attention will be tuned to Laramie's Meg Lanker-Simons and her Cognitive Dissonance blog, whose irreverent take on the world is always refreshing. Go to http://cognitivedissonance.tumblr.com/. Reporting live feeds from the Romneyville encampment a mile from the convention center will be Mobile Broadcast News. Go to http://mobilebroadcastnews.com. 

Progress Florida offers the Progressive's Guide to the RNC at  http://progressflorida.org/rnc/

To be continued...

Interested Party blog: Bakken pipeline could mean the end for Wyoming sage grouse

Our blogging pals at Interested Party out of South Dakota had a post this morning about the Bakken Pipeline.

If completed, it would transport raw natural gas liquids (NGLs) south through easternmost Montana and Wyoming into northern Colorado, where it will connect to the existing Overland Pass Pipeline.

It may also spell the end of the threatened Wyoming sage grouse, and endanger equally tenuous (and drought-plagued) water supplies. The pipeline's projected path through Laramie County takes it west of Burns and Carpenter and east of Cheyenne. Did you know that? I didn't.

Read the rest at interested party.

Thanks IP!

Magical thinking makes the GOP go 'round and 'round and 'round... like a hurricane

Neat column by Beau Friedlander on the Huffington Post:

While I was reading commentary about Rep. Todd Akin's overshare regarding abortion, the female body and the dark night of the GOP's soul, it occurred to me that the same attitude that allowed him to say what he said (call it ignorance, anti-intellectualism, magical thinking) has been at work in the GOP fight against Dodd-Frank, gay marriage, food and product safety, government spending and all the other GOP panic button social issues that have been causing a bottleneck in Congress since Obama took office.

Akin is today's GOP. The grease that moves things is magical thinking, whether we're talking about "self-regulating" businesses that can make or break the world economy or federal roads that build themselves or schools that somehow have everything they need to prepare kids for life without much in the way of tax revenue. What Akin thinks matters, because his thinking reveals a lot about the cultural conservative movement in the United States. It's the dunderheaded certainty of a religious person who believes God is not only concerned with individuals in a granular way, but that He will quite literally provide. This is a version of God that assures his followers there is no cause for alarm with regard to climate change (after all God knows what He's doing). This is a God that says, "Truly I say unto thee, shopping is beautiful in the eyes of the Lord. Nothing to see here. Get back to work."

Rest the rest at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beau-friedlander/while-i-was-reading-comme_b_1821617.html

REMINDER: Dem Picnic Today!

The Laramie County Democrats will hold its annual 

Meet the Candidates Picnic on Saturday, Aug. 25, 1-4 p.m.,

at 2218 Champion Drive, Cheyenne. Meet and hear from

our candidates. Get fired up for November!

Hamburgers, hot dogs, beer, sodas and water will be provided.

Please bring the following:

Last name A-I: Dessert

J-Q: Salad

R-Z: Covered dish

Cool conversations will abound! 

Donations will be accepted.