No Black Friday shopping for me

Chris and I were talking about Black Friday.

"We've never shopped on Black Friday, right?" she asked.

I thought about it. I may have bought something on Black Friday. A book. A cup of coffee. Lunch. But we've never stood in line all night waiting to buy the newest electronic gadget at half price. If I had been thinking clearly in 1994, I would have stood in line all night to get Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers figures for our nine-year-old son, Kevin. As it turned out, I was scampering from store to store up until Christmas to find the figures which were flying off the store shelves as soon as they were trucked in from shops in China. We knew it was ludicrous to get manic about little pieces of colored plastic. But try looking your kid in the eye and telling them that Santa Claus failed to deliver a treasured toy. This could lead to a broken heart and lack of faith in the world which later would mean lots of therapy. Who wanted that?

Twenty years later, our kids are grown and in therapy, as are their parents. It all works out.

If only we'd gone to Black Friday....

Thanksgiving weekend shopping has become a battleground. Months ago, stores such as CostCo began advertising that they would not be open on Thanksgiving in order to give their employees a much-needed day off to spend with family.

The inference is that stores which decided to open on Thanksgiving, stores such as Wal-Mart, hated their employees and their families.

The battle lines were drawn even before Black Friday! Interesting to note that CostCo is the darling of union and liberal circles because it pays its employees well, offers benefits and still manages to thrive in a cutthroat business. Wal-Mart, on the other hand, pays such low wages that many of its employees qualify for food stamps and other social safety net services. Wal-Mart is beloved by conservatives because, well, just because.

Liberals don't shop at Wal-Mart, or at least don't admit it. Same goes for Hobby Lobby and Chick-Fil-A. My guess is that if we knew the politics of a store before we shopped there, we may never shop again.

Saturday is Small Business Saturday and is promoted by corporate giant American Express. If you can skip by the irony, you might get enthused enough to shop at your local independent businesses, if you can find any. Indie businesses are usually found in thriving downtowns nourished by the current localism mania. In the 70s and 80s, downtowns were left to fester as development thrived in the burbs and out on the peripheries, such as the formerly sleepy cowpath that became bustling Dell Range Boulevard in Cheyenne, home of Wal-Mart, Frontier Mall and many of the usual chain stores.

Shoppers in the know now look for purveyors of home-grown food and homemade arts and crafts usually located in the central parts of towns and cities. Coffee shops, craft breweries, art galleries, renovated theatres, boutique hotels and customized/ethnic restaurants make up vibrant downtowns. There are some chain stores, true, but they tend to be appropriate to downtown's quaint nature.

I may shop small on Saturday. Or I may not. What about Wal-Mart? I never rule it out. Many bargains. Great people-watching. And, well, Cheyenne has no CostCo. We are getting a second Wal-Mart. And there is a CostCo being built off I-25 in Fort Collins. But that means shopping in Colorado and paying Colorado sales taxes.  This boosts the Colorado economy and fuels growth that inexorably slouches toward Cheyenne. Colorado's liberal influences will seep into Cheyenne's culture and turn us slowly blue. I'd hate to see Cheyenne get Colorado-ized, but a tilt toward liberal politics would be a welcome change.

If you must shop, shop small and locally on Saturday, or any any day.

"If we're going to keep our young people in the state..."

"If we're going to keep our young people in the state....."

How often have you seen that phrase used by Wyoming politicians, community leaders and newspaper columnists?  I saw that phrase twice on the op-ed pages of this morning's paper.

"If we're going to keep our young people in the state we have to....."

We hear solutions. Diversify the economy. Transform our downtowns. Emphasize the state's "quality of life." Enhance our recreational opportunities. Give every UW grad a lifetime smartphone subscription and his/her own coffee shop or craft brewery.

I made up that last one. Although it's not bad, as ideas go. Wyoming has $2 billion in its rainy day fund and millions more stashed in coffee cans buried in Republican legislators' backyards. Let's take some of that dough and put it to work keeping our young people in the state and energizing the economy.

Alas, even this modest proposal is doomed to failure. There's more to life than crazy apps and pumpkin spice lattes and bitchin' IPAs.  Once these young people discover Wyoming's rapidly aging population, they will desert their funky new shops in Cheyenne to do what millennials do -- find other millennials to hang out with in FoCo and LoDo and Boulder and -- God help us all -- Greeley. Cheyenne could end up with legions of drunk, caffeine-infused oldsters tottering around downtown. Many of us will be flush with cash, recipients of those gold-plated state retirement plans. I, for one, plan to buy a gold-plated house and a gold-plated Caddy with all of my gold. I may even gild a lily or two and sell them in the Ye Olde Gilded Lily Emporium which I hope to open downtown.

It's hopeless, you see.

"If we're going to keep our young people in the state...."

In a pig's eye.

New generation of book censors play the same old tune

Fiction must be very dangerous.

Why else would parents and school officials be trying to censor Huckleberry Finn, The Scarlet Letter, and A Farewell to Arms?

Parents of students at Highland Park High School in Texas must sign permission slips for their little darlings to read the above classics. I read all of them in Catholic school. Nobody ever asked my parents if it was OK to read such horrible stuff. Nuns and priests assigned them so they must have been just fine, right?

I could see Sister Miriam Catherine laughing with glee if my mother would have said, “Huckleberry Finn is a dangerous book.” And the good sister didn’t laugh easily. My mother would never had said that. She was too busy raising a passel of kids and working as a nurse. My father? When I was in the fourth grade, he invited me to read any book in his expansive library, courtesy of the Book-of-the-Month Club. Keep in mind that he was a conservative Catholic parent, an accountant by trade who read voraciously. Not read Huckleberry Finn? Don’t be absurd. He would have never said “don’t be absurd.” It’s something a character in a novel might say, an English classic such as “Wuthering Heights” (read it in grade school) or maybe one of the fake royalty riding the raft down the Mississippi with Huck Finn and Jim.

My parents and my four grandparents all were readers. Until my father went to college on the G.I. Bill, none had advanced farther than high school. They all would have considered it strange and un-American to tell us what not to read.

Soon at Highland Park, more books will be added to the list:

They are The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Dracula by Bram Stoker, The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler.

I regret that I have only read two of the books on this list. Now I have added them to my reading list.

Meanwhile, in Arizona, rapidly trying to outpace Texas on the batshit-crazy list, teacher Dave Peterson is under fire for teaching “pornographic” literature to their children. The pornography includes classics, such as “Hills like White Elephants” by Hemingway and “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor, as well as gems of contemporary fiction by Junot Diaz, Amy Hempel, Tobias Wolff, Ron Carlson and Alice Walker. I’ve read the entire reading list which has been thoughtfully posted on Facebook. It tickles me that Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” is on the list, a tale about political correctness gone bonkers (did any of the critics actually read these pieces?). It’s a fine reading list, one that I printed out for my own edification. Peterson also included an introduction to his list which serves as both encouragement and a warning. This is obviously a responsible mentor to our children, which is more than I can say about his right-wing critics.

There is a petition on Facebook supporting Peterson. Go sign it, read his list and then go out and read all of the selections. My fellow fiction writers are counting on you.

Remember what Kurt Vonnegut wrote in a letter to the chairman of the Drake (N.C.) school board who had burned some of the author's books:

“If you were to bother to read my books, to behave as educated persons would, you would learn that they are not sexy, and do not argue in any favor of wildness of any kind. They beg that people be kinder and more responsible that they often are. It is true that some of the characters speak coarsely in real life. Especially soldiers and hard-working men speak coarsely, and even our most sheltered children know that. And we all know, too, that those words really don’t damage children much. They didn’t damage us when we were young. If was evil deeds and lying that hurt us.” 

Rep. Mary Throne brings some Dem humor to the cancer fight

Rep. Mary Throne, Democrat of Laramie County, posted this sign on Facebook. She caught some grief for it, support too. It's funny in ways that only a Democrat in Wyoming can understand. We lose a lot of battles but we win some too, and those victories are sweet. And if Mary's post helps raise funds for cancer, who are Republicans to complain? Cowboy up, Repubs, and give to a good cause! Here are Mary's Facebook comments: "With the election behind me, our 3-day Komen trip is just around the corner. I am oh so close to reaching my fundraising goal--please consider a donation to get me over the top. Here's the link:http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/2014/SanDiegoEvent2014?px=7360934&pg=personal&fr_id=1864 For inspiration, I am posting my quote from our local Komen race."

Might be time to change that obnoxious county name

The always-interesting Meteor Blades reported Wednesday on Daily Kos some good news that came out of  Tuesday's election. Amongst reports about Berkeley, Calif., passing the first tax on soda pop and voters approving legal pot in Oregon, Alaska and D.C., was this from South Dakota:

It's Oglala Lakota County now: Voters in Shannon County, South Dakota, whose residents are 92 percent Oglala, a division of the Lakota (Sioux) people, voted overwhelmingly to change the name to Oglala Lakota County Tuesday. The vote was 2161 to 526. Shannon was the name of a guy who a lot to do with prying South Dakota land out of Indian hands.

This could be a trend. Wonder if that could ever happen in other counties around the West? Wyoming already has a county named for Chief Washakie of the Shoshone. Washakie is celebrated throughout the state, with a statue in front of the state capitol in Cheyenne and a monumental piece of the chief on horseback in front of the main dining hall at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Ever wonder how many Native Americans are in Washakie County? Approximately 46 out of 8,289 residents. There was a time, of course, when all of the people in what is now Washakie County were Native Americans.

It's only fitting when a balance comes to Western history. Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana used to be called Custer Battlefield. It's web site now acts to correct some of the history surrounding this place:

This area memorializes the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry and the Sioux and Cheyenne in one of the Indians last armed efforts to preserve their way of life. Here on June 25 and 26 of 1876, 263 soldiers, including Lt. Col. George A. Custer and attached personnel of the U.S. Army, died fighting several thousand Lakota, and Cheyenne warriors. 

My town of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was first named Crow Creek Crossing by Gen. Grenville Dodge when he platted the place as a future railroad camp in 1857. Some of those who accompanied him on this expedition thought a better name was Cheyenne after the Cheyenne nation that traversed the area. I'm glad Cheyenne stuck, as Crow Creek Crossing sounds like the name for a gated community. Maybe there is one by that name. Not sure what Crow Creek looked like in 1857, but these days it's a quaint little stream that only gets significant during spring flash floods.

Our county is named for Jacques La Ramee, a French-Canadian fur trapper who frequented these parts. His name is attached to a Wyoming county, city, river and peak, among others.  

In Colorado, the name of Col. Chivington has been wiped from the map for his role in leading the Colorado militia that slaughtered Indians, many of them women and children, at the Sand Creek Massacre. The Sand Creek Massacre Trail now criss-crosses Wyoming and Colorado, its path marked by commemorative signs. Here's some info about it from the Miniscule Guide to Cheyenne blog:

The Sand Creek Massacre Trail in Wyoming follows the paths of the Northern Arapaho and Cheyenne in the years after the massacre. It traces them to their supposed wintering on the Wind River Indian Reservation near Riverton in central Wyoming, where the Arapaho remain today. The trail passes through Cheyenne, Laramie, Casper, and Riverton en route to Ethete in Fremont County on the reservation. In recent years, Arapaho youth have taken to running the length of the trail as endurance tests to bring healing to their nation. Alexa Roberts, superintendent of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, has said that the trail represents a living portion of the history of the two tribes.

The Wind River Reservation butts up against Fremont County, Wyoming, and is named for John C. Fremont, celebrated in history books as "Pathfinder of the Rocky Mountains." He also was incredibly ambitious, passive-aggressive and impulsive. He was the Republican Party's first presidential nominee but lost in a three-way race against the Democrats and the Know Nothing Party, which accused Fremont of being a Catholic. This incited horrors in the Know Nothing's immigrant-hating followers. You see the same reaction in Tea Party members today. When the Civil War erupted, Lincoln appointed Fremont as general of the armies of the West. Lincoln fired Fremont for issuing his own Emancipation Proclamation, although two years later, Lincoln issued a similar one. 

Wyoming's Fremont Peak, Fremont Canyon and Pathfinder Reservoir all are named after John C. Fremont. The Pathfinder's expeditions certainly opened up the West for the exploitation of its native inhabitants. But if we changed all of the places in the West named for impulsive explorers and money-grubbers and Indian traders and Indian killers and land-grabbers, well, we'd have to change a lot of names.

Or you could just say "cowboy up!"

This neat graphic comes from Robot Hugs via Science Dump.

Lifting of same-sex marriage ban in Wyoming a big surprise

I don't know about you, but I am still stunned by October's news that same-sex marriage is now the law of the land in Wyoming. I never thought I would see that day. I'm a supporter and have been for many years. The same goes for my wife Chris. We've been married for 32 years. In February 2011, we attended a rally at the Capitol supporting marriage equality. Rev. Rodger McDaniel and his wife Pat were scheduled to burn a copy of their 34-year-old marriage license as were the rest of us married folks who turned out to support the cause. The authorities frowned on burning things on public property so McDaniel used a paper shredder instead. Not as picturesque but we got the point across. If our LGBT friends can't get married, our marriage licenses aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

Now they are.

Credit goes to Wyoming Equality for its efforts. Kudos to Jeran Artery for being the face of the movement in his home state. Jeran and his partner Mike will be married soon. Wishing much happiness to this loving couple.

As is often the case in our strange state, it wasn't just Democrats who stand up for marriage equality. Republicans and Libertarians are also in the mix. Sen. Cale Case and Rep. Sue Wallis spoke out publicly for the legislature's civil unions bill.

Wyoming has come a long way in a short amount of time. So has the country. So have I. I grew up in the South of the sixties. Gays and lesbians were safely in the closet. Those who attempted to live openly gay lives were tormented and beat up. It was nominally OK for gay guys to be hairdressers and florists. It was not OK for them to be teachers, coaches, doctors, carpenters or politicians. Queers. Homos. Faggots. You've heard all of the terms. Name-calling hurts. Getting punched in the face hurts too.

Why am I tolerant when others are not? I lived in cities where I had LGBT neighbors and friends. I worked in the arts where many LGBT people work. The arts has always called those with different sensibilities. I once interviewed a successful dancer for a story. He grew up in Casper. He was an athlete who wanted to be a dancer and not a football player. He had some wonderful teachers, but also had to endure a lot of abuse from classmates. He ended up attending an arts high school in Massachusetts, college in New York City and now is a principal at a Canadian dance company. Why was this Wyomingite called to be a dancer and not a cowboy? There's some mystery in that, but thank goodness he found out what his calling was and had a chance to pursue his dreams.

BTW, there are gay cowboys in Wyoming, and not just in Annie Proulx's short stories.

I like who I have become. An aging tolerant white guy. This puts me at odds with some of my demographic cohort, but it has always been thus. Baby Boomers are a cantankerous lot. All of the battles we fight now, we also fought back in the sixties and seventies. I was a peacenik who was supposed to be a warrior. I was tolerant when I was supposed to be a bigot. I am a feminist who was supposed to be a know-it-all patriarch. I'm a liberal from a conservative family, A writer who was trained to be a priest or a corporate board president or one of those blowhards you see on FOX.

By taking a different path, I took a different path.

And that has made all of the difference.

Wyoming ACLU shares some tips for election day

Many people in Wyoming have already voted. I'm not one of them, as I'm an election day voter kind of guy. Not sure why really. Voting has always been a pleasurable experience, even when the results don't turn out as you hoped. It is a civic duty, crucial to our democracy. Too bad that half of all Americans don't bother to vote. Wonder how they sleep at night?

I've heard all of the arguments. It doesn't matter who you vote for. It's all rigged. Democrats and Republicans are all the same. I can't get off work. That last one is a real problem, especially for those who work hourly jobs or more than one job or don't have their own transportation or speak English as their second language. Republicans have been working overtime to make voting harder.

Here are some voting tips from the Wyoming ACLU:

Are you ready for Election Day? With less than a week until Election Day, it’s important to remember that every vote counts! 

In order to participate in the democratic process all voters need to understand the rules in our state, register on time, and show up at the correct polling place.  

Follow these steps to make sure can vote in this year’s election:

• Election Day is Tuesday, November 4

• Wyoming polls are open from 7 am to 7 pm 

• Make sure you are registered to vote. If you are not already registered, Wyoming allows qualified voters to register at the polls on Election Day. However, you must bring an acceptable form of ID to the polls for same day registration. (example: passport or Wyoming driver’s license)

•  Locate your polling place.

• Get to the polls early to avoid the rush

• Contact your Wyoming County Clerk’s office with any further questions

• Learn more about the ACLU’s efforts to protect voting rights.

We encourage all Wyoming voters to make their voice heard and vote in the upcoming election.

Voting is one of our most basic rights, and it is the fundamental right which all of our civil liberties rest. 

UW Prof Jeff Lockwood previews new book, "Living Behind the Carbon Curtain"

Jeff Lockwood

Who lives behind the carbon curtain?

I do. You do too if you're in Wyoming.

University of Wyoming prof and author Jeff Lockwood will preview his new book on the subject Saturday evening in Sheridan at the Powder River Basin Resource Council annual gathering.

Lockwood's book is Behind the Carbon Curtain: The Energy Industry, Political Censorship and Free Speech. The book won't be out for another year -- Lockwood's Saturday talk is but a teaser.

See Dustin Bleizeffer's article about this in Friday's Wyofile. Here's an excerpt:

On one level, the book is about a series of cases in which the energy industry has colluded with government in Wyoming to censor art and education. But in a larger sense, said Lockwood, Behind the Carbon Curtain is about something even more worrisome; it’s about how corporatocracy is rooted in the Equality State and throughout many levels of government nationwide. Corporatocracy is a term used to describe governments that are designed to serve the interests of corporations, and not necessarily citizens. A couple of examples of corporatocracy at work in Wyoming are the removal of Carbon Sink (the sculpture that offended coal industry interests) and the unofficially dubbed “Teeters Amendment” — a last-minute measure tagged onto the state budget bill that prohibited even the discussion of Next Generation Science Standards for its acknowledgment of man’s role in climate change. 

Read the rest at http://wyofile.com/dustin/uw-professor-previews-book-critical-energy-influence/#sthash.fhTLvQNs.dpuf

Wyoming Education Association withdraws Balow endorsement

The Casper Star-Tribune reported this last night:

A political group representing Wyoming teachers announced Monday it has withdrawn support for GOP schools chief candidate Jillian Balow based on attacks she made against Democratic opponent Mike Ceballos in a campaign fundraising letter sent last month.  

On late Sunday afternoon, the Wyoming Education Association's Political Action Committee for Education, decided to pull its support of Balow, said Kathy Vetter, who is both president of the 6,000-member WEA and chairwoman of the PAC. The group is composed of WEA members who voluntarily donate to the PAC and make decisions on which candidates to support. 

The PAC had previously endorsed both candidates for superintendent of public instruction, Vetter said.

You can read Balow's fund-raising letter on the CST site. Its content won't be surprising to anyone familiar with Republican tactics in Wyoming. She links her Democratic opponent, Mike Ceballos, with unions and those liberals in Washington, D.C., such as Pres. Obama and education chief Arne Duncan  who "hand-picked" Ceballos to "federalize" education in Wyoming. Balow also asked for campaign contributions, which is what candidates do, but writes that she will need the money to blunt attacks by her liberal opponent. I've been campaigning for Ceballos and haven't seen any attack ads -- or attack letters -- from his team.  

As for his ties with all those wicked liberals inside the Beltway:

Ceballos has said the only people he knows in Washington are Wyoming’s all-Republican congressional delegation.

No surprise that our Repub trio in D.C. have all endorsed Balow and, by inference, her tactics. They've all used the "blame Obama for everything" approach in their own campaigns. They're reliably anti-union. This union member wonders why all of these inside the Beltway conservatives always take the side of corporate interests over those of working people such as teachers and state employees.

Another great reason to vote -- the future of mental health care

Voting on Nov. 4 is important for so many reasons. For us Democrats, it's an opportunity to get our message out and to elect progressives to our Republican-dominated legislature which, frankly, often appears as if it's lost its ever-lovin' mind. Right now, Democrats hold 14 of the 90 seats in this august body. We need new voices, ones that represent women, ethnic minorities, the LGBT community and a younger demographic. We have Democrats running in all of those categories this time. We need them in the legislature. We also have great candidates for governor (Pete Gosar) and superintendent of public instruction (Mike Ceballos). Social-justice advocate Charlie Hardy is running for U.S. Senate. Vote!

There are other good reasons for voting. It gets you out of the office for an hour or two -- if your employer deigns to have this benefit. You see old friends working the polls -- if you're a certain age (mine!). You get that nifty "I Voted" sticker for your shirt or blouse.

Here's another. Mental health care depends on voting for the best candidates.Those candidates are usually Democrats. Don't expect Republicans or Libertarians to give two shits about the mentally ill. What about Dems? Well, our country's mental health system is terrible. Blame Obama! He gets a sliver of the blame, but he also gets credit for the Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity Act. Give some credit to George W. Bush for the latter. There are Republicans that have had mental health challenges and others who have mentally ill family members. But their ideology often gets in the way of logic and compassion. You need a structure to care for those who need it. That usually means gubment. Just saying "get over it" or "cowboy up" won't do it. Wishing it will go away doesn't cut it. It doesn't work for other threats, such as terrorists or Ebola or cat-five hurricanes. You need a sensible structure to deal with these threats.

Republicans have also worked overtime -- with their SCOTUS pals -- to disenfranchise voters. You can count the mentally ill in the category of marginalized citizens. Also include the poor, the undocumented, the elderly, those who speak English as a second language, etc.

And then there's the lack of Medicaid expansion, mostly in red states such as Wyoming.

Dania Douglas wrote this recent post for the NAMI blog. I decided to publish it intact on this blog. Call me lazy. Call me concerned. Just don't call me late for dinner.

Go Vote. Mental Health Care Depends On It

By Dania Douglas, NAMI State Advocacy Manager 

It’s that time of year when various colored signs start popping up on lawns and medians across the country. Going to the farmers markets or getting on and off public transportation most likely means you’re going to be handed a pamphlet of sort. In other words, it’s election season. Political advertisements fill the radio airwaves and newspapers are bursting with election-related articles. So what does any of it have to do with mental health? Each year elected officials make decisions related to health care, education, housing and employment that will directly impact the lives of people living with mental illness. Today’s candidates will become tomorrow’s elected officials, with the power to make important decisions. As voters concerned about mental health care, it is critical that we learn about issues, educate candidates about the importance of mental health, and use our votes to elect representatives that will help improve mental health care in this country.

Be Prepared

There are a few important steps you can take to make sure you’re ready for Election Day! Check to make sure you are registered to vote. Make sure you know where to go to cast your vote on Election Day as local polling places can change. Make sure your voter ID is up to date.

Get to Know the Candidates

Do your homework. Listen to what candidates are saying about mental health. Better yet, ask questions. If you feel that candidates are not addressing important issues contact their campaign. Ask them about the issues that are most important to you. If you don’t know where to start, check out our materials for sample questions. Be ready to educate the candidates, to dispel myths or stereotypes, and to explain why mental health issues are so important. If you have a chance tomeet with your candidate in person, take advantage of that opportunity. If not, email, call or write. Visit NAMI’s website for more important tips on talking with candidates.

Know Your Rights

Voting is a Constitutional right and the foundation of our democracy. People with mental illness should have full and equal access to polling places. Unfortunately, misinformation and misunderstanding about mental illness can lead to discrimination. However, there are numerousfederal laws that help safeguard your right to vote. Learning about these laws can help you make sure your rights are protected. Voters with mental illness also have the right to have assistance on voting day. If you need assistance with voting, federal law gives you the right to choose the person, such as a friend or family member, who will help you cast your ballot. In some states, people can be disqualified from voting if they have a guardian or have been declared incapacitated by a court of law. NAMI has created a guide to state laws that affect the voting rights of people with mental illness.

Election Day, Go Vote!

Nov. 4, 2014 is Election Day. Make sure you show up to the polls or find out how to cast an absentee ballot. Every vote counts. Your vote is your voice. Use it to tell candidates that mental health care matters!

For Democrat Charlie Hardy -- Have lights, will travel

Wyoming Democrat Charlie Hardy doesn't have the funds for fancy billboards, be they old-fashioned variety or the new e-versions. However, he does have some old stage lights and a "Charlie Hardy for U.S. Senate" template. He takes his jerry-rigged projection system around Wyoming on a refurbished 1960 city bus festooned with campaign signs. He projects his electioneering slogan and the simple "Vote!" on the sides of buildings around the state. His favorite screen is the front of Wal-Mart stores, when he can find one.

The projection medium above is one of the many excellent outdoor murals in Laramie, where Charlie and his red-white-and-blue bus prowled last weekend during University of Wyoming's homecoming weekend. When he's not campaigning, he parks the bus in the corner of the most visible intersections in his hometown of Cheyenne.

Charlie is an ex-priest. He ministered to flocks throughout Wyoming then, from 1985-1993, he ministered in poverty-stricken areas in South America. He lived for most of those eight years in a pressed-cardboard-and-tin shack in a barrio on the edge of Caracas, Venezuela.

Charlie's opponent in the U.S. Senate race is incumbent Republican Mike Enzi. He's a kindly gentleman, an indie businessman, a dedicated reader and long-time arts supporter. Problem is, he votes with the right-wing loonies 98 percent of the time. He has to go.

Don't miss Wyoming author Mark Spragg this Friday at Booklovers' Bash

Plan to attend the Booklovers’ Bash, the primary annual fund-raiser for the Laramie County Library Foundation, on Friday, October 24, 6 p.m., at Little America Hotel & Resort in Cheyenne. Featured speaker this year will be well-known author Mark Spragg.

Mark Spragg grew up working on Wyoming’s oldest dude ranch just east of Yellowstone National Park and is a graduate of the University of Wyoming.  His memoir, Where Rivers Change Direction, won the Mountains & Plains Book award for nonfiction in 2000.  He is also the author of the novels The Fruit of Stone, An Unfinished Life and Bone Fire. All four were top-ten Book Sense selections and have been translated into fifteen languages. An Unfinished Life was made into a major motion picture starring Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez and Morgan Freeman in 2005. Spragg and his wife Virginia co-wrote the screenplay. The couple live in Cody, Wyoming.

There will be silent and live auction items.Tickets must be purchased in advance. Call 307.773.7221 for more information. 

Wyoming Liberty Group threatens state retirement plans

A big thanks to Patrick Crank for his fiery op-ed in Saturday's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, "Liberty Group threatens state retirement plans."

Crank, a local attorney and former attorney general of Wyoming, attended the Wyoming Liberty Group's "Pension Reform Summit" Oct. 6 in Cheyenne. In case you don't know, the Liberty Group is a right-wing fringe organization funded by ultra-conservative Texas gazillionaire Susan Gore. Its sole purpose, it seems, is to destroy the state's excellent retirement system to further marginalize the state's workers.

About 25 firefighters covered by the state retirement plan showed up at this so-called summit. They were denied entrance. Crank and one other retired firefighter finally were allowed to observe the meeting. Keynote speaker was State Rep. Donald Burkhart (R-Rawlins). Rep. Burkhart has a seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and was selected by the speaker of the house to serve as liaison to the Wyoming Retirement Board.

He was joined at the summit by a batch of Republican lawmakers. Two of them are legislative liaisons to the Retirement Board: Sen. Curt Meier (R-LaGrange) and Rep. Mike Madden (R-Buffalo), The others were Republican representatives Sue Wilson of Cheyenne and Marti Halverson of Etna and Republican senator Cale Case of Lander. Not sure where the Democrats were, especially those from Laramie County, home to a majority of state workers. Perhaps their invitations were lost in the mail.

Who else was at the meeting?

Other than these legislators, virtually everyone else at the meeting appeared to be either Liberty Group staff and members and paid out-of-state lobbyists.

This is a key element of the Liberty Group -- its funded by out-of-state money, run by out-of-staters and it employs out-of-state lobbyists in an attempt to destroy Wyoming's excellent retirement system. One has to wonder why all of these people from Texas and Colorado and elsewhere don't have something else to do, such as foreclosing on widows and gaming the stock market. They're doing that too. I'm just surprised that they have time for little ol' Wyoming retirees.

Patrick Crank wonders about that too:

Why are ultra-rich right-wing groups, financed by multi-billionaires, attacking our ability to have a reasonable income during our golden years? 

Why are they attacking our children's ability to obtain a reasonable retirement plan for their years of work yet to come?

We also have to wonder why so many of our Republican legislators are eager to sign on to the Liberty Group/Susan Gore agenda? Yes, they hate gubment and think state employees such as myself are bums. These right-wingers are angry as hell and aren't going to take it anymore. Just why they are angry when they seem to have it all is another question entirely.

Republican-dominated and sparsely-populated Wyoming must seem like a juicy test case for these out-of-state interests. They may look at us as some sort of backwater that can be turned into a colony for oligarchs served by an army of compliant serfs who get paid peanuts and go into their golden years without a farthing. We are, after all, the state with the highest number of billionaires per capita. Hey, it's only six, but all of their pals are looking to the future to see how subservient they can make the population, how compliant they can make our Republican-dominated legislature.

Crank wrapped up his op-ed succinctly:

It is wrong that ultra-right-wing millionaires, with the assistance of elected representatives like Mr. Burkhart, have chose to attack this benefit of work life that has served the United States well for the last century.

It is wrong.

Time to talk to your legislator about this issue. BTW, Rep. Burkhart's e-mail is Donald.Burkhart@wyoleg.gov. You can find more e-mails and phone numbers of legislators at Wyoming LegisWeb.

Campaigning for Mike in Cheyenne

Walked neighborhoods for Mike Ceballos this afternoon. Mike is the Democratic Party candidate for superintendent of public instruction. A fine candidate, as I told anyone who was home and not off at the UW homecoming game in Laramie. People tend to be friendly in Cheyenne, even when you're coming to their door and possibly disrupting the arc of an Indian Summer Saturday afternoon. I kept thinking: Why am I not in my backyard, sitting in an easy chair under the shade of my big elm, reading a good book, golden leaves falling around my shoulders? But here I was, knocking on doors, talking to people, and strolling down quiet streets.

The Ceballos campaign will be busy from now until election day. Some TV ads, and some GOTV events are planned. His Republican opponent has been running attack ads on TV and radio. She must be getting desperate.

Check out Mike's web site for more info.

And remember to vote on Nov. 4. You can vote early, too.

Sunday round-up: Heating up -- Political races & Cheyenne's downtown

Newspapers and online sources seem to agree that the Wyoming political races are heating up. This week, Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate Pete Gosar went on the offensive against Matt Mead at the debate. And Democrat Mike Ceballos and Republican Jillian Barlow went at it regarding some critical social media comments. At this point, three weeks and two days away from election day, races should be heating up. Facebook may be the best way to follow Pete and Mike's campaigns. As for the debates, Wyoming PBS will simulcast those this week and stream them online. Get more info here.

The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle punctuated its week-long series about Cheyenne's downtown with its lead editorial this morning, "DDA must focus on the essentials." I knew it was important due to the very large headline. Downtown way be the most important issue Cheyenne faces. As downtown goes, so goes the city. I agree that all of the entities involved need to do this: "Time, energy and money must be targeted, not shotgunned out in hope that something good will happen."

Speaking of downtown... My work colleague, artist Camellia El-Antably, and artist and educator Mark Vinich, staged a "soft" opening of their new gallery space on Thursday during Art Design & Dine. Called Clay Paper Scissors Gallery & Studio, these artrepreneurs have created a striking, well-lighted space geared to featuring regional artists. Go by and see the new space at 1513 Carey Avenue. See for yourself how downtown can become a more vital and artful place.

A reminder that Democrats are holding a FUNdraiser today from 2-4 p.m. at Joe's house, 3626 Dover Rd. If you truly want to see the campaigns heat up, come on by, meet the candidates, contribute to the cause and eat some scrumptious desserts, such as Mike and Jeran's homemade pumpkin cheeesecake.

Some final words about Mental Health Awareness Week

I could not let Mental Health Awareness Week go by without commenting.

The week, promoted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), was a week filled with a flurry of social media posts, including a series of images (see one above). Thursday, Oct. 9, was National Depression Screening Day. I’ve already had mine – several in fact -- and depression was located in various regions of my body – my heart, my celebral cortex, my Islets of Langerhans. I take meds for it, see my psychiatrist every six months and my therapist every week. I work out at the YMCA every other day and eat right.

Last weekend I made chili for the Broncos game. This is not a recommended treatment for depression. Following the Broncos may even cause depression – the jury’s still out. I make my own chili because I love chili and the store-bought variety comes with tons of salt. Too much salt causes my heart to work harder to get rid of fluid build-up. An overworked heart negates the medication I take to keep it calm and reliable. An overworked heart may go into a fatal arrhythmia and would cause my ICD to kick in which, in turn, would cause me to flop around on the floor like a fish. Depression would follow, as would stares of passers-by.

Homemade chili, you see, can ease both heart disease and depression. Mine features lots of pepper slices and tomatoes, our planet’s super-food. No-salt-added tomato sauce. It’s meaty with the lowest-fat hamburger I can find. Flavoring is a problem that no amount of Mrs. Dash, cumin, and chili power can remedy. Our taste buds are primed for salt and lots of it. We need some salt as our body’s origins are in the briny deep. I’m still working on that part of the chili challenge.

It’s not that easy to get the same attention for mental illness as is given to heart disease. I’m pleased that heart disease gets lots of attention and much funding. I might not be alive if that were not the case. I am pleased that my local hospital has a spiffy new cancer center and that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Everyone wears pink, even NFL players and cowboys (at least they do every summer at the CFD Rodeo's "Tough enough to wear pink" day). As for the NFL -- those were some bitchin’ pink cleats that the Houston and Indy players were wearing on Thursday Night Football. Good game, too.

I didn’t spy many green ribbons or green shoes this week. As I said, social media lit up with references to depression and schizophrenia and bipolar. USA Today did a series on mental illness and suicide. Nice job – I read it all. Shocking stats revealed that 40,000 Americans killed themselves last year. It’s shocking enough that an average of 22 military veterans take their lives daily. But to really be shocked, you have to read their stories. Many don’t get any help at all, or the right kind of help. But many do and still kill themselves. Many civilians with mental illnesses don’t get any help at all, or can’t afford it, or don’t get the proper treatments. They jump off bridges or shoot themselves or OD on pills with alarming regularity. Does that mean it’s hopeless? No, but people who feel hopeless may not get help because of the stigma attached to mental illness or the “cowboy up” mentality that we have in Wyoming and other western states. “Cowboy up” is not a helpful response to someone who needs help. “Tough it out” or “lighten up” – also not helpful responses. But you can’t really blame people. If they haven’t experienced a mental health challenge themselves or with a friend or family members, they may be clueless.

I walk around with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator in my chest. My wife Chris walks around with an insulin pump on her hip. We often get into lively discussions with people with heart disease and diabetes. We compare experiences and devices. Growing old, it seems, is filled with these types of conversations. Having a heart attack gives you carte blanche to bore everyone silly with your story.

Want to stop a lively conversation in its tracks? Bring up mental illness. Chris was at a community gathering this week and was having a good old time talking to old friends about her meter and my ICD. Lots of people have encounters with heart abnormalities and blood sugar levels. But when they asked about our daughter -- let's call her Margaret -- and Chris told them she was in a mental health treatment center, the conversation stopped. Crickets chirped. Tumbleweeds rolled through the room. The friends excused themselves and Chris was left standing there, an intriguing story hanging from her lips.

Too bad they didn’t stick around to hear the story. Margaret has received a variety of diagnoses. Bipolar. Borderline personal disorder, with and without bipolar. Severe depression. She’s a cutter too, you see, which usually freaks out the uninitiated. It freaked me out when I first found out about it. She’s used knives, box cutters, razors and even broken glass to carve a topo map of scars on her arms and legs and stomach. It’s a constant reminder of her traumas. It will always be a reminder to her as the challenges she faced as a teen and young woman. She may arrive at a place where she can live with her mental illness, maybe even outgrow the worst symptoms. But she’ll always have the scars. When she’s 63 as I am now, her grandchildren may ask, “Grandma, where did you get those scars?” She can tell any story she wants, as grandparents do. But I have a feeling she will share the truth. That may help them somewhere down the line. This mental illness runs in our family, you see, and DNA has a funny way of replicating itself. Science may come up with answers. Better, more targeted drugs with fewer side-effects. Better and more widely available therapy. Less stigma. Empathy breaking out all over.

Meanwhile, there are social media images to post and blogs to write. Chili warms on the stove. Life is a series of little treatments, tiny steps, unexpected laughter. Sorrow awaits you around every turn. Be aware.      

The BBC transforms a great Brian Wilson song into a video promo

Brian Wilson's great "God Only Knows" has been transformed by the BBC into a "for the love of music" video promo with a cast of thousands. I like it. The song comes from Pet Sounds, the Beach Boys' masterpiece, according to many critics, and one of the influences for The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I barely paid any attention when Pet Sounds came out in the summer of 1966 as I was busy sharpening my dancing skills for Motown hits. Take a look...

What is your vision for the future of Cheyenne's downtown?

Thanks to the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle for this week's series on Cheyenne's downtown. It covered many aspects of downtown's current plight and ended today with an upbeat forecast for the future. I happen to agree that the city's mid-town area has improved remarkably during the past few years and will look quite a bit different in 3-5 years. Cheyenne is lucky in that it has a distinctive downtown and that it is riding the "downtown is cool" wave that is dawning all over the U.S.

And you don't have to go to Colorado to find good examples of this trend. We have some cool downtowns in this state and I suggest that you check them out as you travel. Laramie is a great example, and it's right over the hill. New homegrown businesses, funky cafes and brewpubs, lots of colorful murals, and new western-themed bike racks. You can sip a craft beer and watch the trains chug by. Rawlins just rebuilt its downtown, and Rock Springs is in the process of sprucing up its odd mid-city that is cut in half by train tracks. Think of Sheridan's beautiful downtown, Cody and Lander, too. Thermopolis has thriving downtown businesses and a lively art walk. There are many others.

Best thing that Wyomingites can do is to get involved in the local scene. Shop locally, eat locally, drink locally, and think locally. Because I live in Cheyenne, I often look south for entertainment and sports and food. The border, after all, is permeable.And there's a new CostCo going up just off I-25 in Fort Collins. And you can't get Ethiopian food in Cheyenne. Or see the new Broadway touring plays -- or even old ones. The Rockies don't play in Wyoming -- maybe that's a reason to count our blessings.

But Wyoming has things that Colorado does not. Find out what they are and spend your dough there. One of the topics that was woven into the WTE series was those aspects of Cheyenne that make it special. Our history is as rich as Denver's -- just take a look at all of the murder and intrigue happening in Cheyenne this season on AMC's "Hell on Wheels." Fictionalized but based on fact. We've only begun to explore our railroad and Native American and geologic history. Yes, there's Cheyenne Frontier Days. But that represents only a small slice of local lore. Native Americans made these parts home for a lot longer than cowboys, but their stories are barely told. And what about dinosaurs of land and sea? For millions of years they made this place home.

So, when locals start talking about a western-themed downtown, ask them which West they are referring to. A cowboy sculpture on every corner is not my idea of a lively downtown. All kinds of art all over downtown is a great idea. That takes vision.  And planning. Cooperation among government and business and patrons and artists.

When I retire in a few years, I plan on getting involved in downtown in some way. I will write about it, too, as I am now. My question for now is the same one asked by the WTE series: What's is your vision for the future of Cheyenne's downtown?

Well?

Meet and greet Democratic Party candidates for Gov and Dept. of Ed. at Oct. 12 fund-raiser

On Sunday, October 12, at 2 p.m., local Democrats are hosting a Meet and Greet/Fund-raiser for Pete Gosar and Mike Ceballos. In case you haven't been paying attention, Laramie Democrat Pete Gosar is running against incumbent Republican Matt Mead for governor. Cheyenne Democrat Mike Ceballos is running against Republican Jillian Balow for Superintendent of Public Instruction. The get-together is at Joe's House, 3626 Dover Rd. in Cheyenne. Enjoy a dessert reception, refreshments and hear their ideas and show them your support! Suggested Donation levels of $30/$60/$90.

Yes, this is a fund-raiser. Even in Wyoming, all politicians need money to wage their campaigns. This is especially true in Wyoming, where registered Dems are outnumbered two-to-one.

Democrats do several things well. We know how to put on fund-raisers. We know how to wisely spend money. We like to have a good time. 

So come on out. If you're curious about what makes Wyoming Democrats run, this would be a good time to find out. My wife Chris and I signed up to invite 10 Dems or Indies who have been too shy to get involved or who have just moved here from a blue state and wondered if they are actually any liberals in this whole dang state. There are! Drop us a line in the comment section if you are interested. Or just show up with your checkbook. Any donations are eagerly accepted. And you will be fed sweets and welcomed by an engaging group of engaged citizens.

Questions: E-mail robin@wyodems.org or go to Laramie County Democrats on Facebook.

Young Wyoming activists come up with unique way to save the elephants

The Tooth Fairy is real. 

Two young people in Jackson Hole have come up with a compelling project to help save elephants. You may have heard that elephant poaching increases even in the face of stepped-up preservation efforts. The reason: ivory from elephant tusks. The market: China, which seems to have an insatiable appetite for the stuff. Here's the project:

THE TOOTH FAIRY PROJECT presented by Elephant Daze and WILD SCIENCE

October 4-5 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Center Theater Lobby, Jackson

- Elephant photography exhibit by Joachim Schmeisser and Kate Brooks
- Elephant Art Contest (awards announced Oct. 5 at 4 p.m.)
- Elephant Lifespan Exhibit
- Activism: Kids write letters asking the Tooth Fairy to send his baby teeth stockpile to China where 70 percent of elephant ivory tusks end up and where 70 percent of Chinese citizens believe elephant tusks FALL OFF and REGROW. This provocative and endearing community activation message will engage the public and the press to advance our mission: to garner media attention to save the elephant by ending legal (and illegal) ivory trade and carving in China.

The Tooth Fairy Project is supported by two young Jackson Hole activists: LILY MARVIN (11) and ALEX FRENCH (9), who are working hard to save the elephant, which they know also saves you and me.

Americanism trumps Conservatism this week in JeffCo schools

Kudos to those Jefferson County, Colorado, students who staged a walkout this week to protest to new conservative school board's attempt to to ram their "America is Perfect!" history curriculum down student throats. They are perhaps a bit more wise that we were, back in the 1950s and 1960s, when we blithely attended our "Americanism vs. Communism" classes. BTW, Americanism, whatever that is, won.

One thing I will tell those students: history education only begins when we get out of school. Experience will teach you that Americanism has many faces, some of them glorious and some quite ugly. I'm hoping that you will read widely, watch a lot of offbeat indie films, learn another language, travel all over, and talk to everyone you meet. People will tell you the darndest things, if only you lift your head from the iPhone and really listen. Family elders are a great source of information and bullshit. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. My suggestion is to check your elders' facts. If they tell you, as Bluto Blutarsky did so famously in "Animal House," that the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor, check it out. After all, fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

I'm impressed with the student activism I've seen out of this generation. Elders are supposed to spend an inordinate amount of time criticizing the younger generations. I suppose I've done some of that. But those 20-somethings and 30-somethings that I've met in the arts world and progressive politics, well, they are amazing. Young artists, impatient with the entrenched art establishment, have gone to crowd-funding and other resources to meet their goals. The Wyoming Democrats employed a young undocumented UW graduate as its PR person until recently, when he decamped to Austin to help the Texas Democrats hone their social media outreach. When the Occupy Movement was in full flower, I met young people from throughout Wyoming who were fed up with the status quo and willing to take to the streets to do something about it. Just as those JeffCo students did this week.

Now here comes the advice -- you knew that was inevitable, right? Activism is not a short-term strategy. You have to be in it for the long haul. You will be disappointed. You will fail. At times, you will succeed. When you get to be 60-something, you can look back with satisfaction and say that you fought the good fight.

And that you are fighting it still.

Kurt Caswell returns to LCCC Oct. 3-4 for the Literary Connection

The Literary Connection features a four-hour free workshop for writers on Friday, Oct. 3, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., in the LCCC Center for Conferences & Institutes in Cheyenne. Featured writers this year are Kurt Caswell, Ernie Cline and Danielle Pafunda. Great to see Kurt Caswell back at LCCC, where he taught English and writing classes back in the day. LCCC Theatre Director Jason Pasqua will serve as emcee.

Registration deadline has passed, but you can probably show up next Friday and find a seat. LCCC usually offers some fine treats and coffee.

Here's the schedule:

8 a.m.: Bookstore opens. Buy books.

8:30 a.m.: Registration and Breakfast. Lots of good munchies and coffee.

9:15-10:15 a.m.: Danielle Pafunda -- "Loss for Words: How Poetry Helps Us Say What We Mean"

10:30-11:30 a.m.: Kurt Caswell -- "Spiritual Mathematics: Reconsidering Structure in Your Writing"

11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. -- Ernest Cline -- "Writing W hat You Know By Writing About What You Love"

Saturday's events at LCCC Conferences & Institutes require a fee. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. and the program starts at 10 a.m. No breakfast, but lunch will be served.

Go to the Friday workshops. But the Saturday events are worth the cost. You get to schmooze with fellow writers and talk to the presenters. Buy books, too.

Get more info here: 307-778-1285

You can see the end of coal from the People's Climate March

More than 300,000 rally for the People's Climate March Sunday in NYC. Can you say, "Goodbye, coal?" I thought you could.

The rich are different --- they want to destroy Wyoming's public pension plan

Thanks to fellow prog-blogger Rodger McDaniel for his excellent column yesterday in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle and later reprinted on his Blowing in the Wyoming Wind blog. The newspaper's op-ed editor paraphrased a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald for the headline: "The rich think differently." Fitzgerald's quote comes from his short story "The Rich Boy" published in 1926 in Redbook Magazine:

“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and kcynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves. Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we are. They are different. ”

The esteemed author had already artfully described how the rich are different in his 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald also had a bad case of wealth-envy. Maybe that's a trait we all possess, thinking that we shouldn't criticize the wealthy too harshly lest we hit it big on the Powerball or strike oil in our backyard.

Most of us are content to labor hard and retire comfortably. That's my philosophy, passed down to me from my father the accountant and my mother the nurse and scores of immigrant ancestors who worked on the railroad and in the factory or on the farm.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I am a state employee of 23 years and expect to retire some time in the next decade.

In Wyoming, rich out-of-staters want to dismantle our state employee pension plan because, well, just because they can -- or think they can. Canadian Maureen "The Hater" Bader of the Wyoming Liberty Group recently wrote a venomous op-ed describing the state retirement plan as "the gold-plated promise of retirement security." Our pension plan is the envy of many, not because it is "gold-plated" but because it has been managed so efficiently that "30-year projections show that the plan is on a trajectory leading to assets totalling 114.7 percent of benefit costs," writes Rodger.

The Liberty Group was founded by Susan Gore, wealthy Texas heiress to the Gore-Tex fortune. This group is a member of the State Policy Network which is a driver of the American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC, the organization that hands canned right-wing legislation to Wyoming legislators so they can sabotage the state's workers.

So...

Wyoming Liberty Group's attack on Wyoming's pension plan is nothing more than a cookie cutter provided to them by ALEC and the Policy Network. 

The rich indeed are different. They're out to destroy the middle class. They're doing a fine job. The elimination of the state's pension plan would go a long way to making us lackeys of the oligarchs represented by ALEC, the State Policy Network and the Wyoming Liberty Group.