Library's Maurice Sendak exhibit closes June 24

One more day to see this cool exhibit at the Laramie County Public Library in Cheyenne:

IN A NUTSHELL: THE WORLDS OF MAURICE SENDAK EXHIBIT

This exhibition explores the influence of the Old and New worlds in the work of renowned illustrator Maurice Sendak, best known for children’s books, “Where the Wild Things Are,” and “In the Night Kitchen.” (All ages, Entrance Gallery)

UPDATE: Wyoming Progressives -- you may be alone!

My previous post was all about the Wide, Wide World of Online Progressives. I wanted to reassure my fellow Wyoming Liberals/Democrats/Progressives that there is an ever-widening online world at our disposal and that we all should make haste to use it.

Global Internet resources are one thing. But what about Wyoming online resources? What about resources on the ground for our far-flung folks in Crook and Big Horn counties?

I talked yesterday about some fine prog resources that focus on Wyoming issues and dilemmas. You can see many of them on the blog feed on the right sidebar. I invite other progressive bloggers who post regularly to drop me a line and I will happily add you.

We are all painfully aware how few resources are available on the ground. Last night at an Organizing for America planning session at the IBEW Union Hall in Cheyenne, OFA's Bryon Lee outlined a 2012 election strategy that focused on seven crucial counties. I didn't ask him for the list but I know that Laramie County is on the list and neighboring Platte and Converse counties are not. Platte County has a particularly active group of Democrats. Their web site is worth checking out. Wheaterville does a great job of keeping track of wacky activities in Wheatland and Glendo and Guernsey. Natrona County Democrats are organizing to oust the most Tea Party-prone of their legislators which, unfortunately, is all of them.

But Bryon Lee is it as far as the OFA structure. His intern Hannah was assisting as last night's meeting in Cheyenne. The state party is directed by Bill Luckett and just added Dana Walton (sp?) as field director. Congratulations to Dana.

So those of us who have active county parties are in the minority. On the plus side, that leaves many opportunities to get involved. The Wyoming Democratic Party features a list of county party meetings and contact info. Once you volunteer, you may still be alone but you will be too busy to notice, what with canvassing and phone banks and leafletting at the county fair. You can always head down the road to Cheyenne and attend Super Day this Saturday and seek out the Laramie County Democrats' booth -- I'll be there signing up people for Obama in 2012. You can also attend the monthly meeting of Laramie County Democrats on Monday, June 27, 7:30 p.m. I will give a short talk on my experiences at Netroots Nation 11.

And you always know where I am on the web...

Wyoming Progressives -- you are not alone!

One of the most encouraging aspects of Netroots Nation was this: we are not alone. Lots of progressive bloggers out there -- lots of progressives, period! As one speaker said, NN is the annual occasion to recharge and then charge back into the fray at the local level. Netroots bloggers are globally connected but are most effective at acting locally. Where have I heard that before? I learned the tricks of the blogging trade from my fellow bloggers at 4&20 blackbirds and Left in the West in Montana, and from the Kossacks at Daily Kos.

Here's an invitation to progressive bloggers in Wyoming. Get connected with one another. I was a lone wolf for years. I'm a writer, after all, and an independent-minded westerner. Only lately have I started reaching out to my Wyoming brethren and sistren. We need to connect with on another. This blog has a news feed from active WY bloggers such as Out in the West and Blowing in the Wyoming Wind and Equality State Watch.

Next step: start planning for Netroots Nation 12 in Providence, R.I. Democracy for America, America's Voice, Presente and Sojourners. DFA will begin voting next spring for scholarship candidates. Vote early and often, as you did for me. And start saving now for a plane ticket.

Netroots Nation has many sponsors, including SEIU (my union), MoveOn.org, the National Education Association, LiUNA!, AFL-CIO, and a host of others. Hundreds of people contributed to the DFA scholarship fund. I contributed to next year's fund. As I wrote my check, other people at the closing keynote session slipped credit card slips and $20 bills into envelopes as the hat was passed. A generous bunch. We were thinking about how much we got out of this gathering and how energizing it would be for others.

NN12 will be June 7-10. We already know that our presidential candidate will be Barack Obama. But who will be the Republican choice? Whoever it is, he or she will not have our best interests in mind on the long campaign trail to the November elections. He (Mitt Romney?) or she (Michelle Bachmann?) will be actively working to kill union jobs, curtail voting rights, privatize Social Security, dismantle Medicare and Medicaid, and expand tax cuts for corporations and millionaires. Sounds like an anti-American agenda to me.

NN12 will be exciting and energizing. I will be there. Will you?

Wyoming Tribune-Eagle: "Some angry about Wyoming's High Plains Initiative"

Land-use planning? We don't need no U.N.-sponsored Agenda 21 land-use planning in Platte and Goshen counties! Read article here.

Wyoming Organizing for America meeting June 22 at IBEW Hall

From Bryon Lee, Wyoming Organizing for America:

Cheyenne meeting for Organizing for America, Wednesday, June 22, 6 p.m., IBEW Union Hall, 810 Fremont St.

I would like to invite you to a Grassroots Planning Session being hosted by Organizing for America. The purpose of this meeting is to:

1. Discuss the President's accomplishments

2. Highlight volunteer work and hear their successes (at Juneteenth, phone banks, on Facebook, etc.)

3. Create constituency outreach goals for Laramie County (nearly 12,000 Democrats and nearly 800 Obama supporting individuals that want to help)

4. Define and then construct neighborhood teams (work within our precincts)

5. Develop and implement our next steps in making the Laramie Co. Democrats a strong political force that wins elections

If you have any thoughts, questions, or ideas, please feel free to email me or call me at (307) 752-5972.

Thanks, and I hope to see you all tomorrow.

Bryon Lee

Organizing for America - Wyoming

State Director

(307) 752-5972

http://www.facebook.com/ofa.wy

Jill Sobule: "They say they want their America back, WTF do they mean?"

Communing with "just folks" at Netroots Nation 11

At Netroots Nation, I was surprised by the people I met who were not bloggers and not affiliated with a progressive organization. It was the biggest crowd ever for NN's sixth year, with attendance of somewhere between 2,400-2,500.

There was Kathleen, a primary care physician from Minneapolis who, after 17 years, gave up full-time doctoring for life as a neighborhood activist. She has this idea that a neighborhood of no more than 200 homes can support itself with food, pay-as-you-go healthcare and education. A school or community center would be the hub of the neighborhood. I did not tell Kathleen this, but this seemed like a conservative's wet dream. Neighborhood schools. Mom and pop grocery store. Front porches and backyard gardens. And then I realized that this type of forward-thinking approach is opposed by Tea Party types as Leftist social engineering prompted by the scary U.N. "Agenda 21." Good luck, Kathleen! Leftie neighborhood organizers are the new conservatives!

I met a 50-something woman from southwest Kansas who came to Netroots Nation 11 just to hobnob with other Liberals. It's Kansas, after all. The legislature just killed its state arts agency and thinks that creationism should replace real science in school curriculum. I didn't catch her name but wish her all the luck in the world. She will need it.

I've already written about Pamela and her search for progressive policies in northern Virginia. She is a lifelong Catholic who attends mass in D.C. rather that putting up with the condescending anti-Liberal homilies from the narrow-minded Right Wing of the priestly fraternity. At least she can take the Metro to church.

There was the woman from North Dakota who was volunteering for the West Virginia organization working against mountaintop removal. She comes from the land of wind and cold and fracking and bad air. Sounds a lot like Laramie County, Wyoming.

There was the researcher from a San Antonio firm that does human testing for new medications. Not as scary as it sounds. Especially since his cause is revamping the U.S. electoral system. This was his fifth Netroots Nation conference. We rode the Light Rail together to the airport. It's one hell of a publicly-funded government transportation system. I am looking forward to the day when Denver's Light Rail extends to the airport on the eastern prairie.

It always comes down to this -- people, just people.

Outing ALEC legislators in Wyoming and elsewhere

From Daily Kos

Bloggers at Netroots Nation 11 had many discussions about our crazed state legislatures. We know that many of the wildest and most anti-human bills come from ALEC -- the Koch Brothers-funded American Legislative Exchange Council.

We can go down the list of similar bills promoted in our states, especially those in the Rocky Mountain West. Anti-Obamacare. Check. Anti-immigrant. Check. Anti-labor. Check. Anti-public education. Check. Anti-women. Check. Anti-choice. Check. Anti-reason. Check, check and double-check.

ALEC lobbyists write the bills and pass them on to state legislators during sessions at its annual convention. This year, that convention will be in New Orleans in August (great choice, ALEC planners -- Jackson Hole would have been a much better choice for a dog days gathering -- and you could party at Dick Cheney's mountain redoubt). Anti-ALEC and Koch Brothers demonstrations are planned. And a concerted effort is in the works to out those legislators who are lackeys of the Far Right Rich. These state legislators say that they only have the wishes of their district's voters at heart. At the same time, they travel on the Koch Brothers dime to a national convention where shady Right Wing Bagmen slip them briefcases filled with boilerplate bills.

Sounds weird, doesn't it? A scene from a Robert Stone conspiracy flick? We wish....

Much more will be coming out on this topic during the next few months. Stay tuned to your local progressive blogger.

Sources: See Bob Sloan's post today on Daily Kos about ALEC and a model of a petition that can be sent to your state legislators. Go to http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/06/20/986970/-Exposing-ALECupdate-3-+-Petition-for-your-State-Lawmakers?via=search

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

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

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

This knocked Slim for a loop. "Geniuses?"

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

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

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

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

"The Tea Party movement?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"And we won in 2010."

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

A wry smile from Slim. "Wanna bet?"

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

"And we vote in large numbers."

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

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

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

"Name one."

"Rebuild the Dream, for one."

"And Van Jones is the big cheese?"

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

"Bloggers." Slim said it with scorn.

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

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

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

"Research?"

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

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

"You guys don't believe in democracy?"

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

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

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

Dear Pops: Happy Father's Day from Netroots Nation

Thomas Reed Shay (a.k.a. Big Tom)

Alone on Father's Day. That occurred to me as I awoke this morning. I'm in Minneapolis, Chris is in Cheyenne, Kevin is in Tucson and Annie in Denver. By the end of the day, Chris and I will be together on Father's Day, which is important to both of us. Our kiddos have their own lives, as they should.

My father, Thomas Reed Shay, passed away eight years ago. Wonder what he would have made of the Netroots Nation conference? He turned my age of 60 in 1983, when we were knee-deep in the Reagan era. He was happy with the Reagan era and I was not. He was a moderate conservative, one of those people in the South who first went from Democratic to Republican for Nixon in 1968 and again in 1972. The beginnings of the vaunted Republican Southern Strategy, which culminated in two terms of Ronald Reagan chipping away at federal government programs and protections. And now look what we have.

My father would have found some common ground among the working people at Netroots Nation. He would have objected to some of the tough talk against Republicans. Not sure if he would have much in common with Tea Party Republicans such as Michelle Bachmann, a guest speaker at The Right Online conference held across the street from Netroots Nation. T.R. Shay was a William F. Buckley fan and watched him regularly. Free enterprise, hard work, small government. He believed in all of those principles. So do I.

He was the first in his family to go to college and he did it on the G.I. Bill after four years (two in Europe) as Government Issue (G.I.). He bought his first house with no down payment courtesy of the U.S. Government. He worked on government contracts for Martin-Marietta (now Lockheed-Martin) building ICBM missile silos across the West. Later, he worked on the space program with G.E. and NASA. Government programs.

He was a Florida state government employee (now an endangered species, thanks to wacky Republicans) and later had his own accounting business. He was the first one of us to own a personal computer -- the Apple IIe. We considered it a strange and wondrous thing. He seemed at home with it. He built his own crystal radio sets as a boy in the 1930s and, in the 1950s, built his own hi-fi. Not surprising that he was a radio operator with the U.S. Army Signal Corps in World War II.

If my father were still alive, would he be a blogger? I have no doubt that he would be a confirmed user of Facebook. His handle would be Big Tom, which is what his grandkids called him -- at his insistence ("I'm too young to be a grandfather!") If he blogged, he would be somewhere in the middle, caught between moonbats such as myself and wingnuts such as Andrew Breitbart et.al. He might also find himself closer to what I do, as the center has moved to the Right at the insistence of the Right.

As you can see, I'm thinking about my father today. We didn't always agree. But he was always my father. I miss him.

NN11: Telling our stories in in art, in words, in music

One of the mantras I've heard at this conference: we must tell our stories.

A writer knows this. Story telling is our trade. But there are always new stories -- and new ways to tell them.

Favianna Rodriguez is an artist and activist. She's taken on the immigration battle -- specifically Arizona's SB1070 -- with posters. They are designed around the slogan "undocumented and unafraid." It's her way of changing the conservation from thew scary term "illegal immigrants" to "we may not have papers but we are not afraid to stand up and be counted."  Her goal is to blend "the power of image with stories." Proceeds from sales of "undocumented and unafraid" posters go to AltoArizona, one of the groups fighting SB1070 and its many spinoffs. Wyoming saw at least one of those in its recent legislative session.

Favianna was moderator of a panel "Educate, Agitate, Inspire: How Artists are Fighting Anti-migrant Hate." Panelists spoke about the many methods being used in the fight. Musicians have organized a boycott of Arizona gigs. It's called Sound Strike. L.A.'s Javier Gonzales said a number of musicians and groups have signed on. The effort is being pushed by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Zack de la Rocha. Boycotting artists include Cypress Hill, Conor Oberst, Kanye West, My Chemical Romance, Ben Harper, Steve Earle, My Morning Jacket, Mos Def, Chris Rock, Steve Earle and others. Sparks have flown over the boycott, with some performers wondering how their stories can be told to a live audience if they are not playing in Phoenix and Tucson and Flagstaff. But boycotts against Arizona's excesses have been successful in the past. Amazing how quickly some legislators can change their minds (and votes) when the tourism and convention businesses take a hit. We saw that in the wrangle over the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday.

Artists and musicians tell stories. Amazingly enough, so do writers. Poet Ken Chen of the Asian American Writers Network was a panelist. He spoke about Word Strike, an effort to bring a group of writers to Arizona in September to speak out against SB1070. A September caravan is planned from New York City to the Southwest. Imagine a bus full of writers and poets! I spoke to Ken later and said we'd like to have him stop in Cheyenne or Laramie. He wasn't sure of the itinerary, but we'll be in touch.

The most touching story came from Gaby Pacheco of Miami. She and three of her friends grew tired of the immigrant battle at home and decided to walk to D.C. to meet with Pres. Obama. The story was : "this is what illegal looks like." Four intelligent and motivated young people who are sick and tried of being harassed and harangued and portrayed as "The Other" in the MSM.

Gaby Pacheco

"It was scary walking through the South," said Gaby. "We told our stories thousands of times. We Tweeted and blogged as went, and videotaped the whole thing."

They were surprised by the media coverage. They also were surprised by the huge support generated by social media. They also were unafraid. They went to small town police stations and confronted them about their harassment of local Hispanics. The KKK protested at one stop -- shades of the Freedom Riders of the 1960s. Lots of Tea Party types showed up with big flags and hateful words. It was turned into a short film -- we saw a clip. For more, go to www.trail2010.org.

Many stories and many ways to tell them in the age of new media.

Wyoming asks that darn federal gubment for disaster relief

Tonight, Wyomingites along creeks and rivers in Crook, Carbon, Albany, Lincoln and Sheridan counties are thanking their lucky stars and Gov. Mead that there is federal government assistance available in their time of need. If U.S. House Republicans (and presidential candidate Mitt Romney) have their way, federal disaster assistance will dry up and blow away -- or maybe be washed away in a tide of hypocrisy. From the Casper Star-Tribune:

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead has signed a disaster declaration for damages around the state caused by the ongoing flooding.

The state estimates more than $3 million in damages so far. That includes the cost of preventative efforts, mainly Mead's decision to deploy Wyoming National Guard members.

Rain and snowmelt have flooded several areas of the state, including Crook, Carbon, Albany, Lincoln and Sheridan counties. Many other rivers and streams are running high or near flood stage.

The governor's office says the state Transportation Department has responded to or is monitoring 37 landslides across the state.

Mead says the disaster declaration is needed for Wyoming to qualify for assistance from the federal government.

NN11: Make Clean Energy Not War (through art)

Artwork by Susan Slavick

Minneapolis Convention Center protest by the group 10 Years and Counting, as artists try to put a face to 10 years of war. Protesters hold up a 13-figure number that represents the bill for a decade of wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and various other locales.

Sept 11 - Oct 7, 2011 will mark the ten year anniversary of our nation continuously at war. 10 Years + Counting invites artists and others to take this historic moment as inspiration and use the power of creativity to illustrate the costs of war and image a more peaceful world. 

Paint it, dance it, sculpt it, write it, sing it! Imagine peace and create connections. Concerts, public art projects, garden parties, bake-offs, gallery exhibitions, street art, flash mobs, walks and runs: the possibilities are endless. 

Turn the weeks of this anniversary of devastation into an unstoppable, irrepressible explosion of imagining the possible, a new beginning.

Add your creation, gathering or event to the 10 YEARS + COUNTING calendar by going to www.10yearsandcounting.org

Plea to DNC: Don't forget Wyoming as you plan for the 2012 50-state strategy

Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz at a 2009  town hall meeting in Florida 

Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.), new chair of the DNC, spoke at the noon keynote. She wanted to let us know that Howard Dean's 50-state strategy will return for the 2012 election. In fact, she will meet with Howard Dean next week to talk about that very thing. She also said this:

The Netroots brought the nation together for Pres. Obama in 2008. Our top priority for next year -- ramping up the participation of the Netroots. We can't do it without you.

It's great to be valued. The DNC dropped a field team into Wyoming prior to the 2008 Democratic caucuses. Every county reported record turnouts. Thousands of new voters registered in Laramie County. They voted that year but then quickly disappeared in 2010. Big question: how do we get back those voters and keep them engaged?

I'm here looking for some answers....

Meanwhile, back in Wyoming...

Photos from the Wyoming Outdoor Council, a reminder of the state's beautiful landscape and why we want to keep it that way.

Netroots Nation 2011: Waiting for Russ

Wisconsin's Russ Feingold

As we waited for Howard Dean and Russ Feingold, Pamela and I talked about Catholicism.

She grew up Catholic in Pittsburgh. She now lives and works in Arlington, Va.

I grew up Catholic in suburban Denver and rural Washington state and Wichita, Kan., and Daytona Beach, Fla. I now live and work in Cheyenne, Wyo.

Different backgrounds. Same era. And we share a common dilemma about Catholicism: do we stay or do we go?

She stayed. I went -- sort of. I called myself a Cultural Catholic, a term I've heard bandied about lately. She refers to herself as an Aesthetic and Cultural Catholic. She likes the ritual and tempo of the mass, the youthful memories of her incense-filled churches in the Irish and Slovak neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. She also stays actively Catholic because, when she travels, she can feel at home in churches around the globe.

All great reasons. I said that I don't go to any of the three Catholic churches in Cheyenne because they are too conservative. I grew tired of haranguing from the pulpit about abortion and Liberals, both equally evil in the eyes of narrow-minded 21st-century priests and deacons.

Pamela avoids going to mass in Arlington's Catholic churches for the same reason. She likes the D.C. churches, only a Metro ride away. I miss that about D.C.

She and I both wondered what happened to Democratic parishes and priests. She grew up surrounded by working people who were Democrats. The priests all seemed to be Democrats and only the bishops were mildly Republican so as to curry favor with politicians (churches pay no taxes and like it that way) and the well-to-do Catholic businessmen who might be Repubs.

I never knew whether my priests and fellow parishioners were D or R. And I liked it that way.

Another great thing about growing up Irish Catholic -- lively conversations with people who have red hair and Irish last names.

Pamela isn't a blogger. She volunteers and contributes to campaigns and causes. She heard about the conference and thought it sounded interesting. But she works for the government and doesn't think it's prudent to blast her opinions into the blogosphere. I've heard others say the same thing. Perfectly understandable, especially in this crazy era.

The lights went up on stage. Howard and Russ were on their way.

Netroots Nation 2011: Day Two

Started the day with the "Big Steaming News Dump" with Lizz Winstead and friends. The Netroots Nation alternative to “Morning Joe” on MSNBC.

Panelists were pundit and author of the John McCain biography Cliff Schecter, lesbian blogger Pam Spaulding, Leftie media maven Shannyn Moore from Alaska, pundit Sam Seder and Jon Sinton, a co-founder of the late Air America.

Many snarky comments about the news that Pakistan had arrested five men who allegedly helped the CIA spy on Osama bin-Laden's million-dollar hideaway. Conclusion: This was a Casablanca-like "round up the usual suspects" moment.

Next topic: Tea Party-sponsored summer camp for kids in Tampa, Fla. Also known as (unofficially the Ayn Rand Camp for Kids. Motto: "Tea Party Camp -- when you're too f-ing crazy for Jesus Camp." Lizz proposed this course for the little Tea Partiers: "Timothy McVeigh's Gentle Side." And so on.

Sam Seder talked about the Politico story that Right Wing slush funds from Americans for Prosperity et.al.  finance Right Wing talk radio. Progressive bloggers have known (or at least suspected this) for years. This news also brings into question the old marketplace theory of radio talk. Left Wing talk can't survive in the marketplace so it must be no good. Well, Wingnut Radio couldn't compete in the marketplace if it wasn't for these slush funds.

"Right Wing Radio has been subsidized from Day One," said Seder. "Those reporters dump stories and the subsidies roll in."

Very difficult for indie bloggers to compete in this cash-rich environment. Right Wing Radio has all of the beachfront property and not nearly enough Leftie Richie Rich's (Lizz's term)  to keep them afloat. Cable TV is too expensive. However, there are some smartphone and tablet apps coming along that will help to even the media playing field. One is the Progressive Voices app that, according to Jon Sinton, will serve as a "one-stop-shop for everything progressive in audio, print and video." Maybe you'll even see hummingbirdminds on there some day.

"There are over 100 million users of smartphones and tablets," said John. "In 2013, it will be a billion."

That's reaching out directly to a lot of people.

He envisions the smartphone becoming as ubiquitous as the transistor radios of the 1950s and 1960s. I remember those -- every kid had one at his/her ear or next to the pillow at night. My transistor radio brought me pop and early rock from exotic locales such as Chicago.

"This app can help cut the strings to mainstream media," John said.

Pam Spaulding of pamshouseblend talked about the emergence of "fake lesbians" in the blogosphere. Two were recently unmasked -- one in Syria and one in the U.S. Several panelists agreed that this was a strange and alarming trend.

The next item to be discussed was the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska, Shannyn Moore said that the mine will have a tailings' pond 20 miles long and will be perched at the headwaters of Bristol Bay, the continent's largest salmon fishery. It's located -- as is most of Alaska -- along the Ring of Fire volcanic and earthquake zone. She noted that the state's biggest quake in recent history (1964) liquefied the soil -- and the shit will hit the fan when the earthen dam that holds back the waters of the tailings' pond turns to ooze. She brought lots of "No Pebble Mine" stickers to the conference. She also had a bunch of wild salmon shipped in for a party and fund-raiser tonight that I'm too tired to attend.

Lizz rounded up her show with a short interview of the mayor (the guy's everywhere, and he's not running for anything). He wanted us to know about the severe tornado that hit the city's most vulnerable neighborhoods on the side side of town. It didn't get much attention because it happened on the same day as the Joplin, Mo. twister. He said that 5,000 homes were affected. Most housed renters with no insurance and many of the homeowners lacked enough insurance coverage. He urged us to come out Saturday for a big repair and building effort hosted by Habitat for Humanity and Urban Homeworks. Hizzoner told us to go to his Twitter page at rtrybak to get more info. He does his own social media posting. "I don't think that any politician should have someone else doing his Twitter and Facebook.

NOTE: I was at this all day today. Many sessions, many notes. Not a fan of live-blogging because I miss too much. More posting tomorrow....

Netroots Nation 11: Day One

Mayor R.T. Rybak

R.T. Rybak, the mayor of Minneapolis, spoke to us tonight last night at a reception hosted by Democratic GAIN. (I meant to post this last night but couldn't get my my wireless to engage. So Austin, the IT guy from Democracy for America, tapped a few keys on my laptop this morning and engaged the wireless. If this clueless blogger can't find help at a "Netroots" conference, where can he find it?) 

Mayor Rybak is a Democrat speaking to a roomful of Democrats at Solera, a four-story tapas place along restaurant row. Maybe 100 or so, some drawn by the free beer and others drawn for the opportunity to be in a roomful of progressives.

I was a little of both. Hey, who can turn down free beer?

The mayor pointed out the facts that Minneapolis was a bike-friendly city, a green city, the best volunteer city in America, a gay-friendly city, a sleep-friendly city. I didn’t quite get that last part. I assume that Minneapolisians (Minneapolitans?) enjoy a good night’s sleep because they live in a diverse and forward-thinking city.

Meanwhile, over at the convention center, the American Association of Sleep Societies is staging its annual gathering. Coincidence?

We Liberals are losing sleep over the state of the nation. That’s just one of the reasons that we are gathering along one side of the Twin Cities. We are bloggers of the progressive stripe and, by gum, we are ticked off about it and need to find ways out of this mess.

And Minnesota is no progressive Garden of Eden. Michelle Bachmann reigns in the north country. A “real hockey mom,” said one Minneapolis elected official who shall remain nameless. “She knows how to cross check.”

This was an obvious dig at Sarah Palin, who’s a fake hockey mom and could only tough out two years of a four-year governor’s term in Alaska. She's a weiner (lower-case) when stacked up against Bachmann.

 

I’ve been here only seven hours. But already I’ve meet a number of bloggers from all over. I shared a bus seat with Whitney from Boise. There was Kevin from Eugene, Oregon, and Mike from Alaska. Before this is over, I expect to exchanging liberal chatter with bloggers from all 50 states.

One more thing about the mayor: he gave us restaurant recommendations. I look forward at eating at the place that Mary Tyler Moore would have taken Lou Grant for a steak.

Some dirty deeds going on at the Depot this summer in Cheyenne

This summer’s melodrama is Dirty Deeds at the Depot
Directed by Barb Jalonen
At the Historic Atlas Theatre in downtown Cheyenne
July 14-17, 2011 @ 7:00pm
(Frontier Days) July 21-23, 25-30 2011 @ 7:00pm & 9:00pm, July 24 & 31, 2011 @ 7:00pm
August 4-7, 2011 @ 7:00pm

(NOTE: CLTP is not having matinee performances of the Old Fashioned Melodrama this season.)

Cheyenne Little Theatre presents the 55th Annual Old-Fashioned Melodrama with Dirty Deeds at the Depot. Return to the glory days of the Depot with our heroine, Lacie Camisole, the dastardly Professor Thaddeus Mack and the kind station master, Justin Tyme.

Volunteers needed. Sign up at http://www.cheyennelittletheatre.org/volunteer_form.aspx. It's fun! Take it from me and my wife -- we've spent many cool nights at the Atlas making popcorn and slinging beers. Our kids too  (not the beer part).

Produced in cooperation with www.heroandvillian.com

On the road to Netroots Nation 2011

Leaving tomorrow for Netroots Nation 2011 in Minneapolis. I've been blogging seriously (and not so seriously) from Cheyenne since 2006. But I'm just beginning to understand the power of blogs and social media. I also understand that I need to engage in more outreach. This is tough for a writer turned blogger. We fiction writers sometimes feel as if we exist in a vacuum. Combine that with the fact that I live in Wyoming where we all sometimes feel isolated -- that's a double whammy. Connecting across the blogosphere can be easy -- you just have to know who to connect with -- and why -- and how.

I learned from the big prog-bloggers at Daily Kos (posting as Cheyenne Mike) and Crooks & Liars. In the Rocky Mountain region, I studied the bloggers in Montana at 4&20 blackbirds and Left in the West. The sites have multiple authors and get plenty of comments from fellow travelers and their opponents on the Right. I've featured guest bloggers but never felt comfortable relinquishing control. There are some good progressive writers in Wyoming, but I haven't yet made the recruiting effort.

A few months ago I launched a blogroll of some of my fellow progressives, individuals and organizations. That's kept me up to date and helped form a community. In Cheyenne, there's Out in Wyoming by Jeran Artery and Blowing in the Wyoming Wind by Rodger McDaniel. Check out these active blogs. The Equality State Watch at the Equality State Policy Center site tracks the shenanigans of the energy industry and our Republican-dominated Legislature. This is especially helpful in our one-party state. Republicans feel as if they are entitled to their policies but everyone else can go to hell. Witness the latest legislative health care hearings tracked by me, the Equality State Police Center and Rodger McDaniel. Wyoming also has a loosey-goosey open meetings law that allows these sessions to go unattended and unnoticed. There are few newspapers and radio/TV outlets with the reporters to cover hearings. That's where prog-bloggers come in.

Check out the blogs on the sidebar. Comment freely. Start your own blog.

Browsing the Netroots Nation schedule, I realize that I need to be in two or three places at once. Here's a list of sessions that look intriguing:

Where Crazy Comes From: Reckless Republicans in State Legislatures
Getting Ready Now: How Progressives are Mobilizing Early to Support Bold Candidates in 2012
Managing a State Community Blog
Beyond Environmental Justice: Making Conservation Inclusive and Representative
Narrating the Nation: Creating Political Strategies and Poetic Stories for Powerful Effect
Bloggers Unite! How the Netroots Rallied in Wisconsin
Do It Again: Getting 2008 First-time Voters Out in 2012
Current Trends in Website Mistakes

Dozens more. Also a few social gatherings on the agenda. This NN11 scholarship attendee will see how he fares with violating physics to be five places at one. Stay tuned to this blog for on-site revelations and confusions from Minneapolis.