Matt Mead's statement on Bill Ayers' visit

Anon sent me a link to a press release from Matt Mead's campaign. In my April 29 post, I had official statements from the other three Republican gubernatorial candidates about the Bill Ayers visit to UW -- and the attendant freedom of speech lawsuit. But I relied on the Casper Star-Trib for Mead's words.

Since Mr. Mead was in my headline, I thought it only fair to include his statement:

Matt Mead, Republican candidate for Governor, issued the following statement regarding Chief Judge William Downes’ ruling in Meg Lanker’s and William Ayers’ suit against the University of Wyoming.

“I am disappointed by Chief Judge Downes’ ruling today. I still believe UW should not be lending its reputation to a known terrorist who has targeted this country. William Ayers does not belong at the University of Wyoming, plain and simple, and I wish he had never been invited. ”

“A federal court proceeding in Wyoming was the correct forum for Ayers’ suit requesting injunctive relief. While not all will agree with the decision rendered today by the chief district court judge, which enjoined the University of Wyoming from prohibiting Ayers’ speech on campus tomorrow, absent an appeal, the matter has been decided. We can be thankful that our judicial system provides for the timely resolution of disputes of difficult legal questions such as the one involved here — the extent of First Amendment protections.”

“I would ask that opponents of this visit remain peaceful and orderly in their opposition to William Ayers’ visit to Laramie. Moving forward, I hope there is clarification by the university of its policies regarding the availability of its facilities.”

Ahhhhh! I feel fair and balanced now.

Memories erupt when you drop the V-bomb

Among people of a certain age, you cannot utter the "Vietnam" bomb without causing an explosion of emotions.

That "certain age" comes under the banner of Baby Boomer. There were many of us in this cohort last Wednesday night as another member of this complicated and conflicted group -- Dr. Bill Ayers -- spoke at the UniWyo Sports Complex at UW in Laramie.

Vietnam, Viet Nam, "Nam." Historians call it the Vietnam War, Second Indochina War, the Vietnam Conflict or the American War. Vets have their own terms.

The war ended April 30, 1975 -- 35 years ago yesterday -- with the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. May 4 marks the 40th anniversary of the Kent State shootings.

Outside the sports complex, a protester too young for VN held a sign blaming Dr. Ayers for the deaths of 10,000 G.I.s. Not sure why "10,000" and not the 58,000 who officially perished in the conflict, not counting the many thousands who perished when they came home.

Inside the complex, fellow Dem Bobby Marcum wore his Vietnam Veteran cap. He had seen the sign outside and said to me that freedom of speech was one of the causes he was fighting for in Vietnam.

During the Q&A, one Baby Boomer came to the microphone and asked Dr. Ayers if he had apologized for his "terrorist acts" with the Weather Underground. The man said that he knew people who went to Vietnam but he himself did not go due to the fact he was on campus "partying and chasing girls."

Ayers replied that he had apologized many times, yet he became involved with the Vietnam resistance because the U.S. -- his country -- was murdering Vietnamese civilians at an alarming rate. This involvement was an outgrowth of his civil rights activities.

Who's the bad guy here -- Campus Party Boy or Bill Ayers? Both? Neither?

Who's to blame for this never-forgotten forever war? Shall we spread it around among demonstrators and frat boy partiers and chickenhawks (e.g. Dick Cheney and Karl Rove), and draftees and draft dodgers and College Young Republicans and SDS members and SDS FBI informants and misguided generals and oh-so-many politicians such as McNamara's best-and-brightest and Harry T and Ike and JFK and LBJ and RMN? Me?

Not so simple to choose, especially if you have your own complicated history of that era. To read fragments of my own "Conscription Chronicles," go to my web page.

P.S.: "The Forever War" is the title of a fine 1974 sci-fi novel by Vietnam veteran Joe Haldeman.

History of Latinos and Latinas in Wyoming celebrated in new mural

This is very timely, considering what's happening in Arizona:

On Saturday, May 1, Paredes Hablando - Walls That Speak, will be unveiled by La Radio Montenesa Voz de la Gente KOCA in Laramie. The mural by Stevon Lucero commemorates Latinas and Latinos in Wyoming.

There will be an 11 a.m. luncheon followed at 1:30 p.m. by the unveiling of the mural, with an Artist's Talk by Stevon Lucero, “The Unyielding Process of Chicano Art.” All events at the Alice Hardy Stevens Center, 603 E. Ivinson Ave., Laramie. At 5 p.m., there will be a screening of a film by Yolanda Cruz, 2501 Migrantes, about a population of a town in Mexico that has been forced to leave to find work.

Info: Connie, 742-2842 cocaj58@aol.com

Volunteers needed for 54th annual Cheyenne Summer Melodrama

This e-mail bulletin was sent out today by the Cheyenne Little Theatre Players. You will note some familiar names taking the helm of melodrama volunteers. read on...

It's Melodrama Time!

Mike and Chris Shay have agreed to Co-Chair the 54th Melodrama, and they are in need of people to chair the Marketing/PR and Front-Of-House(Front of House consists of Box Office, Concessions, Bar & Wait Staff)Sub-Committees. If you are interested, please email them at melodrama@cheyennelittletheatre.org

We will also be seeking volunteers to staff our bar area during the run of the show. Anyone interested in pouring our refreshments must be 21 or over and TIPS trained. Free TIPS training sessions will be offered from 5-9:30 p.m. on:
Tuesday May 4
Tuesday June 1
Tuesday July 6

Location -- at The American Legion Post 6, 2001 East Lincolnway, Cheyenne

No need to register, just show up and they'll fit you in!

TIPS training is valid for 3 years. If you have been previously trained remember to check your TIPS card or online for the expiration date!

Information to follow soon on our annual Volunteer Round Up and Atlas Clean Up Day to be held at the Atlas Theatre in June. We will provide all of the needed information regarding our other Melodrama Volunteer Opportunities available to those age 16 and up at that time.

Matt Mead: UW should "filter" speakers

The Casper Star-Tribune interviewed three of the four announced Republican candidates for governor on Judge Downes' decision to let Bill Ayers speak on the UW campus. The fourth was quoted from a speech during a First Amendment panel discussion at UW.

Here are some excerpts:

The University of Wyoming should put some kind of "filter" in place to determine who can speak on campus, Matt Mead, Republican gubernatorial candidate and former U.S. attorney for Wyoming, said at a First Amendment panel discussion at the College of Law on Wednesday.

Ron Micheli: "The freedom of speech is one of the most important liberties of a free society. The Constitution protects the rights of individuals to say what they believe. Bill Ayers has that right, along with everyone else. My objection has always been that Mr. Ayers had been invited to speak by the University of Wyoming giving him legitimacy that the people of Wyoming do not wish to bestow. If Mr. Ayers is allowed to speak on the campus of UW, then it is only fair to demand that he and the individuals who invited him pay for 100 percent of the costs of the visit out of their own pockets. If we tax payers must suffer Bill Ayers at UW, fine, but we should not be expected to pay for it as well."

Rita Meyer: "I have been asked what I would do as governor in this situation. I believe that it is not the governor's role to say who should or should not speak at the University of Wyoming. The governor should not reach into that level of activity in the university. The governor's role is appointing the Board of Trustees who hire the president and provide broad oversight for the fiduciary management, academic policies, and general welfare of the students of the university. Clearly some at the university lost situational awareness by inviting Mr. Ayers to speak in the first place. Uninviting him has opened Pandora's box of raising freedom of speech issues in a university environment and given this man a bigger soapbox to shout from."

Colin Simpson: "I think the university did the right thing, and I wish that other types of issues like this would receive the same type of expedient hearing and ruling."

I would love to read quotes on this issue from Democratic Party Gubernatorial candidates.

But there ain't none. No candidates and no quotes.

Bill Ayers talks education and people listen

Bill Ayers speaks Wednesday at the UniWyo Sports Complex in Laramie. Photo by Meg Lanker.

Not everyone in the UniWyo Sports Complex at UW Wednesday evening ventured through a spring snowstorm to hear Dr. Bill Ayers talk about education reform. Some were just curious and wanted to see the subject of a month-long wrangle over freedom of speech. Others came to lodge a protest.

No matter. More than a thousand people heard about the state of education in the U.S. Dr. Ayers has written many books on the subject -- and is still a practicing teacher.

Some boos erupted with the cheers with Ayers was introduced by UW Dept. of Education Professor Steve Bialistock.

That didn't seem to faze Ayers. He acknowledged that the struggle over freedom of speech and academic freedom had taken precedence over the speech itself.

"Students and faculty wanted to enageg in a dialogue with me and they couldn't," he said.

But they could on Wednesday night. Ayers spoke for about 50 minutes, using a stopwatch to time himself.

He offered no magic solution to education in the U.S.A. That's just the problem -- we're stuck in a "sterile debate on education."

On the one hand are the "free-market reformers" who believe in "charter schools and punishment." Then there are the "liberal traditionalists" who think that "the status quo is just great."

He reminded the audience that during the 2008 election, Republican John McCain said "we need to get all those lazy incompetent teachers out of the classroom."

"Didn't we all nod just a little at that?"

Punishing teachers and schools is not the answer -- but neither is just doing nothing.

"We have certain boundaries and barriers of thinking we have to imagine ourselves out of," Ayers said.

He advocates a "curriculum of questioning." Remember those bumper stickers, "Question Authority?" Like that, but apply it to all things.

I grow tired of the topic. I'm taking the reporter route on this piece but others have done it far better than me.

This one I have to mull over....

Cheyenne native Daniel Junge will be honored at Cheyenne International Film Festival

The local arts scene in Cheyenne is expanding its repertoire with the first-ever Cheyenne International Film Festival May 21-23.

On its opening night on Friday, May 21, the CIFF honors Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and Cheyenne native Daniel Junge by screening three of his latest films, “No Strings”, “Come Back to Sudan” and Oscar-nominated “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner”.

The screening and “talk-back” with the filmmaker is also a fund-raising event for the Laramie County Library Foundation. Daniel, who now lives in Denver, will be on hand to sell and autograph DVD versions of his movies with the proceeds to benefit the Library Foundation.

The Filmmakers’ Reception will be held on Saturday, May 22. Following the screening of “My Life Without Sex,” the audience will have a chance to visit with the Australian film’s director Sarah Watt live via Skype. Attendees will have a chance to meet and talk movies with film makers and producers. Also screening is the Oscar nominated live action comedic short from Sweden, “Instead of Abracadabra”.

Closing night on May 23 will be a Wyoming Showcase, "Pioneering Spirit," from two different historical perspectives. “On the Trail: Jack Kerouac in Cheyenne” features a personal appearance by John Allen Cassady (son of Beat idols Neal and Carolyn Cassady). That will be followed by the award-winning feature, “In Pursuit of a Dream” by Candy Moulton of Encampment.

John Allen Cassady will be at Phoenix Books in downtown Cheyenne signing copies of his book on Saturday May 22. Candy Moulton will be moderating a panel of women filmmakers Christine Bonn, Sarah Curry and Egija Hartmane–Salem.

The CIFF offers nine programs consisting of 33 films from around the world. The CIFF Call2Action program matches up movies with local non-profit organizations. This year, the Call2Action co-presenting groups include the YMCA youth arts and video program; The Laramie County Library Foundation; Cheyenne area veteran organizations; and the Southeast Wyoming Intertribal Powwow Association.

FMI: Wyoming Community Media at 307-509-0182.

So that's where it's all going?

Cheyenne is shipping its s*** to Colorado

Go to http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20100428/NEWS01/4280340/1002/CUSTOMERSERVICE02

Perhaps "The Laramie Project" needs a sequel -- or an update?

A poem for today by Micah X Wyatt, Wyoming writer and teacher and attorney:

Bill Ayers prepares to speak
in the midst of my state, in
the same place and in the same
manner that Fred Phelps decried
America as the doomed nation
of homosexuals and debauchery.
In the same place and manner
that students perform Albee
and Shakespeare, and Kipling,
where tenured professors
speak of Nazis and Hindi, of
terrorists and patriots, of
humans and beasts as though
those things were different;
the one from the other.

Continue reading at http://www.facebook.com/notes/micah-x-wyatt/the-odd-bedfellows-of-freedom-of-speech/389332644356

Free-speech & music night in Laramie

This will be a very active night on the University of Wyoming campus. Free-speech speaking combined with free-speech music.

From 7-9 p.m., educator and 1960s antiwar radical Bill Ayers will speak on campus at the UniWyo Sports Complex. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Read more about Bill Ayers at http://billayers.wordpress.com/. This is the long-delayed talk that just got its court hearing this week. Should be a very interesting and educational event.

Speaking of interesting -- the Flobots from Denver will perform a free concert tonight at 8:30 p.m. in the University of Wyoming Union ballroom.

Not too many people outside of Denver knew of the Flobots until its first major label release, "Fighting with Tools." The song "Handlebars" became a radio hit in 2008. The group's newest CD, "Survival Story," came out last month.

As you can see in the "Handlebars" vid at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLUX0y4EptA, the Flobots are unabashedly political. Some might call it leftist or radical or maybe even anti-American. Radical it may be, but this talented multi-racial group has a vision for America and spends most of its creative energy looking forward rather than backward.

Opening the concert for The Bots will be Air Dubai, a hip hop group out of Denver. So, you can be at the speech by Mr. Ayers and still catch the music unless the ballroom is totally packed, which it may be.

FMI: 307-766-6340.

A white middle-aged Mid-America voter hitches a ride on the 2010 Obama Express

This comes from the Fox News web site:

President Obama left white, middle-age male voters in his rear-view mirror Monday in launching his first midterm election pitch, calling on "young people, African Americans, Latinos and women" to deliver for Democrats in November.

In a video to supporters, Obama urged those who helped get him elected in 2008 not to abandon Democrats in an election year that is shaping up to take a chunk out of the Democratic majority in Congress.

Every so often I go slumming at Fox News. I especially like this item because I am a white middle-aged voter in Red State Wyoming who should be watching Pres. Obama's 2010 cavalcade disappear into the distance.

But this is more generalization from Fox. Sure, CNN and MSNBC engage in it too, but you always know that Fox stands foursquare against Obama and Progressives. They like to lump white folks together, as if Tom Teabagger and Paul Prog-Blogger were all in the same club.

I worked hard for Obama in 2008. I knocked on doors and made phone calls and blogged my heart out. Am I disappointed in some things that have happened (and not happened) in the past 16 months? Damn straight I am. I wanted a public option in that health care bill. Still do. I want climate change legislation and economic reform. And there is hope that we'll get all that as long as Obama is in the White House and Dems hold some sort of majority in the House and Senate.

I can't imagine John McCain or Mitt Romney or Mike Hucakabee or (God forbid) Sarah Palin in charge. It would be more of the same stuff we saw under George W. Bush from 2001-2009. The Repubs are tired old white guys, mostly Southerners and Westerners, who are scrambling to control a nation that has outgrown them. They are the middle-aged and elderly white folks angrily shaking their fists as Young & Energetic & Ethnically Diverse America drives off into the future.

I will cast my lot with "young people, African-Americans, Latinos and women" for the forseeable future.

I can't imagine it any other way.

Day 2 of Wyoming Repub Senators siding with their Wall Street Overlords

From a WyoDems press release:

Yesterday and today, Senate Republicans voted to block critical Wall Street reforms. In response, Wyoming Democratic Party Chair Leslie Petersen issued the following statement:

“Yesterday and today, Senators Barrasso and Enzi and the Republican Party voted to block Wall Street reforms that will protect American taxpayers by holding Wall Street accountable. President Obama and Senate Democrats are working hard to pass this critical legislation that will restrict Wall Street’s risky practices and protects consumers. This is disappointing, but it’s no surprise. Once again the Republican Party is playing the role of obstructionist to meaningful change.

“For too long, lax regulations and free-wheeling Wall Street practices fattened bankers’ wallets. And when their house of cards fell apart, American taxpayers were stuck with the fallout. More than 8 million Americans lost their jobs, and American families lost trillions of dollars in savings and assets. It’s time for Republicans to stop playing political games, join Democrats, and pass this critical Wall Street reform that will bring an end to taxpayer-funded bailouts, protect consumers, and help rein in Wall Street’s risky practices”

Specifically, the reform plan before Congress would:

Ensure that Americans have the information they need to make the right financial choices for their families by putting an end to unfair and abusive lending policies and requiring banks and credit card companies to provide clear and complete information about their products.

Hold Wall Street accountable by giving shareholders and investors greater control over company decisions, like the choice of company leaders or the amount of bonuses to be awarded.

Introduce new transparency by requiring that complicated financial transactions occur out in the open – steps that will help to prevent future economic disasters.

Close the legal loopholes that allowed big banks to take big risks – endangering not only their own companies, but also the whole American economy.

Enforce tough new rules that will make sure Wall Street banks pay for their own bad decisions and take taxpayers off the hook for expensive bailouts for institutions some say are ‘too big to fail’.

This judge understands freedom of speech

William Ayers will speak Wednesday 7-9 p.m. at the University of Wyoming Sports Complex.

The ruling came down this afternoon from Federal Judge William Downes in Casper. It's an especially poignant moment for these reasons (as outlined in the Casper Star-Trib):

While William Downes was a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, William Ayers was bombing U.S. government buildings as co-founder of a militant anti-war group called the Weather Underground.

Downes, now a U.S. district judge, made special note of those contrasting backgrounds when he ruled Tuesday against the University of Wyoming's decision to ban Ayers from speaking on campus.

"This court is of age to remember the Weather Underground. When his group was bombing the U.S. Capitol in 1971, I was serving in the uniform of my country," Downes said. "Even to this day, when I hear that name, I can scarcely swallow the bile of my contempt for it. But Mr. Ayers is a citizen of the United States who wishes to speak, and he need not offer any more justification than that."

Downes delivered his ruling Tuesday afternoon in his federal courtroom in Casper, after hearing more than five hours of testimony Monday. The judge, finding that UW had violated Ayers' First Amendment rights, issued an injunction sought by Ayers and UW student Meg Lanker forcing UW to allow Ayers to speak Wednesday at the UniWyo Sports Complex on campus in Laramie.

Ayers is now scheduled to speak from 7-9 p.m. in the sports complex, Lanker said after the ruling. That speech bumps his scheduled appearance at the Laramie Civic Center from the schedule.

"I'm in shock, I'm floating, I'm on cloud nine, I'm excited," Lanker said. "This went better than I expected. I was expecting to win, but I wasn't expecting to win so well, I guess -- to win and get everything that we wanted."

A couple things to note here. The federal courthouse in Casper is named after draft dodger and war criminal Dick Cheney of Casper. While Judge Downes was a Marine fighting in Vietnam and Bill Ayers felt strongly enough about the war to do something about it, Cheney was looking out for his own self and his own political career, enjoying one of his five draft deferments.

Dick Cheney went to law school but has never been a judge. I can't imagine him making such as unbiased decision about Constitutional rights. He certainly did not when he was V.P. of these United States.

UW student and free speech advocate Meg Lanker is a Navy veteran. David Lane, rabble-rousing free-speech attorney from Denver, declared conscientious objector status during the Vietnam War. However, Craig Silverman in Denver, the guy who faced Lane in court more than once, said this about him in a 2009 Denver Post article: "Nobody that I know of goes to trial more than he does. He is a combat veteran."

Intriguing dichotomy here, eh? Young people who cared enough to get involved with their country's present and future, whether in the military or in antiwar activities or in the courtroom, are still engaged in the day-to-day workings of their country.

I hope there are protesters at UW tomorrow night. I may not agree with them, but they'll be spending their evening away from the TV set and out in the rain or snow, speaking (or maybe shouting) their deeply-held thoughts about the situation.

Bring it on...

Enzi & Barrasso abandon Main Streets in Gillette and Casper to vote for Wall Street

Sen. Mike Enzi today joined his Wyoming Republican colleague, Sen. John Barrasso, to vote against debating financial reform in the U.S. Senate.

Not surprising that Senators Enzi and Barrasso vote with the Repub pack. They do that with everything. Like toddlers, they just love to say "NO!"

Ironic to see that Sen. Enzi was one of the backers of this piece of legislation (from his web site):

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Senate passed a resolution (S. Res. 485) sponsored by Senators Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Michael B. Enzi (R-Wyoming) designating April as Financial Literacy Month. The resolution raises awareness about the importance of personal financial education and the serious consequences that may result from a lack of understanding about personal finances. It passed last night by a unanimous voice vote.

"Americans held $13.6 trillion in household debt last year according to the Federal Reserve," said Senator Akaka. "Increased financial and economic literacy can empower people to more effectively navigate the marketplace and make smart decisions for their families. Financial education helps people save for their homes, their children's education, and deal with financial challenges."

"In the 21st century it is essential for individuals to be financially literate. Financial literacy isn’t just about balancing a check book, it is about having all the resources and information to plan your own financial future with full understanding of the risks and rewards. The more importance financial literacy is given-- the better off this country will be," said Senator Enzi.

The bipartisan resolution is cosponsored by Senators Dodd, Crapo, Johnson, Corker, Schumer, Cochran, Menendez, Wicker, Kohl, Merkley, Inouye, Durbin, Baucus, Murray, Lincoln, Begich, Gillibrand, Feingold, Levin, Carper, Cardin, Stabenow, and Hagan.

If he thinks that rapacious Big Banks and Wall Street corporations are models of responsible finance, Sen. Enzi needs to brush up on his own financial literacy.

Lots of creative writing going on in Wyoming this summer

Micah Wyatt coordinates the Young Writers Camp each summer at the Thorne-Rider Youth Camp near Story, Wyo. The YWC was on hiatus last summer but is back on track for 2010. And now Mr. Wyatt, a YWC alumnus (as is my son Kevin) sends me news about another cool summer creative writing workshop, one that combines writing and backpacking and wilderness awareness.

Here it is:

Join Gretel Ehrlich and the Wyoming Wilderness Association in a journey into the Rock Creek recommended wilderness in the Bighorn National Forest August 6-9 for adventure, reflection, and writing.

Wyoming-based author and poet Gretel Ehrlich will lead workshops and readings during the Wilderness Writer’s Retreat. Gretel is an accomplished author of This Cold Heaven, The Solace of Open Spaces, and The Future of Ice, among other works of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Gretel Ehrlich’s essays, short stories, and poems have been included in many anthologies and publications. She has received many prestigious awards and is currently at work on a novel.

Are you a writer? All levels and varieties welcome!

Do you feel comfortable in the backcountry? We will be out for 3 nights and 4 days (with a fabulous camp cook and main camp equipment supplied).

Can you hike uphill carrying a mid-sized pack for 5 miles? The horses will carry camp in, but you’ll have to pack your personal gear.

Scholarship Information: Two full tuition scholarships are available for the 2010 Wilderness Writer's Retreat. Successful applicants will have demonstrated financial need in addition to an aptitude and vocation in the field of writing.

To apply, please submit the following to WWA, PO Box 6588, Sheridan, WY 82801 by noon on June 7, 2010:

Your name, mailing address, phone number and email contact information

Tax return receipt for 2009

One 1,000-word essay demonstrating why your participation in the Wilderness Writer's Camp will have value.

An additional sample of your work in the form of poetry or prose, at least 3 poems/pages.

Essays and writing samples will be judged for composition and development of style, and winners will be announced by noon on June 28.

Fee for the Wilderness Writer's Retreat is $700.

FMI: Contact Sara at the Wyoming Wilderness Association -- 307-672-2751; sara@wildwyo.org; 325 E Loucks St., PO Box 6588, Sheridan, WY 82801

There are two writers' conferences happening in Wyoming in June. First up is the annual Wyoming Writers, Inc., conference June 4-6 in Cody. Presenters include Max McCoy and Lee Ann Roripaugh. The Jackson Hole Writers Conference will be held June 24-27 at the Arts Center in Jackson. Presenters include Janet Fitch, Tim Cahill and Winnifred Gallagher.

Can a blog post be literary in a "narrative, narrative, narrative" sort of way?

This comes from Poets & Writers:

Inspired by a rumination on the New York Times Paper Cuts blog that asked whether a blog could ever rise to the level of literature, the literary magazine Creative Nonfiction is asking blog readers and writers to nominate "vibrant new voices with interesting, true stories to tell" for a special issue of the magazine. Specifically, the magazine is looking for entries of literary ("narrative, narrative, narrative") blog posts that were published between November 1, 2009, and March 31 of this year.

The winning essays will be published in the July 2010 issue of Creative Nonfiction and each author will receive a fifty-dollar reward for one-time reprint rights.

Can a blog post transcend the tendency of its kind toward, as Gregory Cowles of Paper Cuts puts it, being "too topical and too fleeting to count as literature"? The deadline for nominations of previously blogged essays—your own, a friend's, a stranger's—totaling no more than two thousand words each is Monday, April 26. More information is available on Creative Nonfiction's Web site.

Food is the key to being Green

Watched "Food Inc." last night on PBS.

There were the usual villains, corporate ag monsters such as Monsanto and Monfort.

Unexpected heroes in small farmers and ranchers.

It was entertaining and disgusting. Empowering, too. Three years ago I resumed my intermittent gardening career. A few container tomatoes became a backyard garden plot and then two plots and an expanded area this year. I enjoy growing things and eating them. So, my motives in the beginning were entirely selfish.

Well, not entirely. I caught on to the "Victory Garden" idea. The garden had a political sense, a way to stick it in the eye of George W. Bush and his overseas wars and rapacious oil companies and the energy inefficiency of corporate ag. My three tomato plants against the world.

I didn't discover the local food movement until I was well into the process. I live in Wyoming where food is trucked in from temperate climes. No way to be a locavore in this cold and windy place.

Or so I thought. I had to expand my idea of "local" to encompass a 100-mile radius. That brings in the many local and organic farms on undeveloped acreage along Colorado's Front Range. I had to do my homework, get out and meet people at farmers' markets and research local food producers online. I've been sharing asome of my research here. I also have sidebar links on this blog to Wolf Moon Farms and Grant Farms. There are resources in Wyoming and western Nebraska.

So, on Earth Day, there's no reason to look to the skies -- unless you're watching out for hail and snow and tornadoes. Look to the dirt. Plant something. Grow it. Eat it.

LarCoDems meet April 26 at IBEW Hall

From the LarCoDems:

The Laramie County Democratic Party will hold its monthly meeting on Monday, April 26th at 7 p.m. at the IBEW Hall, 810 Fremont Street in Cheyenne.

The meeting will include a panel discussing how to run a campaign. The panel will discuss communications, finances, activities and issues needed to run a campaign in Laramie County.

Panel members include Dave Lerner, Bobby Marcum, Mike Bell and Katherine Van Dell. All candidates, potential candidates and interested individuals are invited to attend this meeting.

For more information about the meeting, please contact Linda Stowers at 307-634-0768.

Writer Lauren Myracle speaks about "Peace, Love & Freedom"

Writer Lauren Myracle spoke about "Peace, Love & Freedom" tonight at LCCC's Bill and Marietta Dineen Writers Series.

Lauren is a best-selling author of books for tween and teen girls. A few years back, when my daughter was somewhere between tween and teen, I bought her a copy of "ttyl." It's a novel told in IM text, a foreign language to some of us Boomers but perfectly comprehensible to 12-year-olds.

Annie said she liked it. That was the last time she said anything positive about anything, as she then was sucked into the vortex of angst-ridden teenhood.

She's still there. But I went to Lauren's presentation and bought her a book, "How to be Bad," co-written by Lauren and two of her teen-writer pals. I liked the book immediately because it had a gator on the cover. A plastic one, but still a gator. Not sure about the plastic reptile's significance. Maybe Annie will fill me in later. She may text me her opinions.

Lauren Myracle has appeared high up on the American Library Association's banned books list. Major target is books in her Internet Girls series, which includes "ttyl," "ttfn" and "l8r g8r." The girl characters in the books talk about teen things. Lauren and her friend Kimberly read an excerpt. Seemed very funny and creative to me. Boys are mentioned a lot. Parties too. A tiny bit of loose language. Nothing even close to the epithets unleashed by the 11-year-old girl character in the new movie, "Kick-Ass." But alarming just the same to some parents.

"People are freaked out by female sexuality," said Lauren.

She read some letters from parents. One father named Chuck used the following words to describe Lauren and her work: "loose morals," "pedophile," crap," "no conscience," and "misguiding youth."

A woman named Leslie from Idaho wrote a letter blasting Lauren, saying she was going to complain to the school library and get the book taken off the shelves. But Lauren says that she always replied -- and tries to "kill them with kindness."

In this case, it worked. Leslie had a sense of humor and by the end of a series of letters, began to come around. She still wasn't going to let her 12-year-old daughter read Lauren's books.

Not sure I would have the patience or kindness to respond to these kind of letters. Kurt Vonnegut used to say that he welcomed book-banning, book-burning and all kinds of censorship because it boosted sales. I'm sure he also got a vicarious thrill out of laughing in the faces of the troglodytes.

Lauren drew a line in the sand over one challenge. Scholastic Book Fairs told Lauren that her book "Luv Ya Bunches" would be accepted if she removed all the references to the "two moms" of one of her characters. Lauren said no -- and her editor backed her up.

She tells stories of parents challenging her books at school and public libraries. Library copies of her books have been found in dumpsters. There have been cases of people stealing all her books from the library and disappearing.

These aren't kids doing this.

The author is a Christian and sings in her church choir. She made a point in saying that there are many types of Christians. In her church, she noted, Jesus wouldn't hate a girl that had two moms.

Lauren Myracle lives in Fort Collins with her kids and husband, poet and high school teacher Jack Martin. Her web site is www.laurenmyracle.com

The 3/50 Project promotes local businesses

Rebecca Barrett of downtown Cheyenne's Link Gallery was on Channel 5 this morning promoting The 3/50 Project. She said look it up on the Internet and since Rebecca commands respect with her Brit accent and big hair, I obeyed.

The 3/50 Project has simple goals. Go to three local businesses and spend $50. The nicely-designed web site says it this way:

What three independently owned businesses would you miss if they disappeared? Stop in. Say hello. Pick up something that brings a smile. Your purchases are what keeps this business around.

It doesn't ask you to spend all of your disposable income at local stores and restaurants. Just $50. The 3/50 project site says that "if half the population spent $50 a month locally, they would generate $42.6 billion in revenue." Such a modest goal. You'll spend $50 taking your spouse out to dinner for Mother's Day. In fact, you're pretty darn cheap if you just spend $50 at your locally-owned restaurant. May I suggest some local artwork or possibly a book written by a local author?

In Cheyenne, we're challenged by a hard fact -- most of our restaurants are chains. Mom-and-pop diners and locally-owned restaurants don't seem to go over too well in Cheyenne. We have some nice ones downtown but drive along Dell Range and all you see is a conglomeration of olivegardenapplebeeschilisihopsherrys. I eat at these places. The 3/50 Project wants to me to spend some of my money at local places. I can do that.

I've been to Laramie many times lately. Downtown are Sweet Melissa's Vegetarian Cafe, Jeffrey's Bistro, Coal Creek Coffee and the Anong's Thai Cuisine which is the second of a two-restaurant conglomerate that started in Rawlins. Downtown Laramie also has two indie bookstores. Some cool little shops to buy arts and crafts and bread and all kinds of stuff. The Big Hollow Food Co-op too.

Sure, it's a college town, and its clientele may be a bit more eclectic that Cheyenne's. I live in a government and military and railroad town, crossroads of two major interstates. City of some pretty big shoulders. Rocky Mountains shoulders -- not Sandburg's Midwestern big-city variety.

Still, no matter where they live, shoulders have to eat. And shop.