"Undead Lovers," post-apocalyptic film set in Wyoming, screens Aug. 27 in Laramie

K. Harrison Sweeney grew up in Worland and graduated from the University of Wyoming Theatre and Dance program in 2001. He now lives in southern California making movies. He sends word that he and his cohorts are holding a free screening of his short film "Undead Lovers" (using Jalan Crossland's honky tonk song of the same name) around the state. The first screening is 2 p.m. this Saturday, August 27, at the UW Fine Arts Main Stage in Laramie. Live music and hors d'oeuvres will be available at the reception.

Albany County Dems do a training Saturday -- and you're invited

This comes from the Albany County Democratic Party via its Facebook page: "Got activists? Yes we do, Albany County! Come join the Precinct Leader Training tomorrow Saturday, Aug. 27) on the University of Wyoming campus in the Rendezvous Room in Washakie Hall in Laramie. We'll get started at 10 a.m., break for lunch and reconvene at 1 p.m., so please feel free to stop in, share some knowledge, and lead Wyoming into the wild blue yonder!"

Once upon a time in the West, a WY Republican senator proposed a monorail for Yellowstone NP

Sao Paolo, Brazil, monorail -- this could have served
the Jackson to Old Faithful Inn route, if Sen
Malcolm Wallop had had his way.

Last week, I posted about the traffic congestion at I-25 and College Drive in Cheyenne. I suggested that there may be a solution in sight, as U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that Cheyenne will receive a $400,000 grant to “reduce crashes” at the interchange.

In that post, I kidded around about monorails. I couldn’t resist. Fans of “The Simpsons” know the monorail song from the fifth series episode in which a Harold Hill-style huckster talks the gullible citizens of Springfield into an ill-fated monorail project.

They’re a joke. Except in Mumbai and Tokyo and Las Vegas and Moscow and Dusseldorf and Singapore where monorails move hundreds of thousands of people a day – and hardly any of the passengers break out in the monorail song. I’ve ridden the tourist monorails in Orlando and Seattle, and people-mover versions at DFW Airport and downtown Detroit.

I was shocked to discover that a Republican U.S. Senator once proposed a monorail for Yellowstone National Park. It was 1991 and people were in an uproar over traffic congestion and pollution at our major parks. Sen. Malcolm Wallop of Sheridan was no environmentalist. But he did think the National Park Service should investigate a YNP Monorail.

I find lots of archival references to Wallop’s proposal. WY PBS did a Main Street Wyoming interview with Wallop on the subject. The Monorail Society’s newsletter lists and summer 1991 story about Wallop’s proposal. But I didn’t have the time or research skills to ferret out the details.

I did find a June 2, 1991, article in the Baltimore Sun by Associate Editor Ernest B. Furgurson. He announced that he was about to set out on an exploration of the West’s national parks:

During the next few weeks, I plan to set foot on some of the most valuable land in America. It is valuable because it is undeveloped, and if there is a heaven it will stay that way. 

--snip-- 

Environmentalists are not the only park lovers who see traffic as probably the most serious single problem. Sen. Malcolm Wallop of Wyoming, with whom they are often at odds, suggested this week that the National Park Service consider "futuristic" mass transport, such as monorails, to ease road crowding. 

His idea was immediately derided as a way to convert national parks into theme parks like Disneyland. But if even Mr. Wallop is willing to impose a slight inconvenience on the all-American motorist who wants to drive every foot of the way, there may be hope for change. 

Building monorail systems in Yellowstone, Yosemite and Denali (Mt. McKinley) parks seems at first glance too much of a project, sure to destroy terrain and mar views. But shuttle buses already are required at Denali, and available at other parks such as Yellowstone. At Yosemite, the park service is limiting the number of cars in the valley to 5,000 at a time.

This seems so long ago and far away. If a 2011 Republican senator proposed a monorail or light rail line to anywhere, he or she would be targeted by Luddite Tea Party conspiracy types who see all mass transportation as an international plot against suburban sprawl. These people have already made a stir in Casper where a few loud yet ill-informed citizens saw a zoning change as part of the nefarious UN Agenda 21 plot. Florida recently turned down millions for a high-speed rail line on its west coast. The Feds took the money and sent it to other rail projects in the northeast and California. In ten years, those blue state voters will be zipping along to the polls while commuters in Tampa and Orlando will spend election day in gridlocked traffic. They won’t be singing the monorail song. They will be singing the blues.

There’s no real reason for a Yellowstone monorail. It would be terribly expensive. Those big concrete tracks and stanchions would be a blight on the landscape. Yellowstone really only has horrible traffic two months of the year -- July and August. Many summer tourists are accommodated by shuttle and tour buses. Modern autos spew much less pollution. Besides, there’s just no way around the fact that we westerners love our cars. I do.

You never know, though. WY Sen. John Barrasso just might surprise everyone by suggesting national park monorails or light rail systems or even blimps. He’ll do anything to get an interview on Fox News.

Holy Double Cheeseburger! "Bibles and Burgers" begins Sept. 19 in Cheyenne

Invitation (via Facebook) from Rev. Rodger McDaniel:

BIBLES AND BURGERS

In addition to “Bibles and Beer” happy hour at Uncle Charlie's (in Cheyenne), we will start a lunch time Bible Study on Monday, September 19, at 2 Doors Down downtown. To get ahead of their crowd, we will start at 11:30 a.m. Put it on your calendar. Bring friends!

Read the Rev. McD's blog at http://blowinginthewyomingwind.blogspot.com

"Just the Facts Please" -- Casper forum will analyze Affordable Care Act

This cartoon is a few years old, but the corporate influence in U.S. health care is still the main problem.

"Just the Facts Please." Great title for a health care forum.

Ever since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, there has been precious little in the way of fact-based discussions on health care issues.

Raucous yet clueless Tea Party Republicans, propped up by lots of money from insurance conglomerates and right-wing think tanks, have hammered away at what they snidely call "Obamacare." A slew of conservative states, Wyoming included, have joined in a lawsuit to block implementation of the ACA. Our Congressional delegation has used the issue to scare constituents and to push their own ultra-conservative agendas. One of them, Sen. Barrasso, is one of only two physicians in the U.S. Senate. Instead of trying to find ways to insure thousands of uninsured Wyomingites, he uses it as a political football and a surefire way to get on Fox talk shows.

So, it is in this poisoned atnmospehere that One Health Voice, a group of Wyoming agencies and organizations "working together to improve access to healthcare in Wyoming," is hosting the 2011 Wyoming Health Care Symposium on Tuesday September 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Ramada Plaza Riverside in Casper. The symposium, “Just the Facts Please,” will be the first in a series of informational programs about the Affordable Care Act. Policy experts will be on hand to speak on the issue and take questions.

Keynote speaker will be T.R. Reid. He is the bestselling author of “The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper and Fairer Healthcare,” 

Here's what Publishers Weekly had to say about the book when it came out in August 2009:

Washington Post correspondent Reid (The United States of Europe) explores health-care systems around the world in an effort to understand why the U.S. remains the only first world nation to refuse its citizens universal health care. Neither financial prudence nor concern for the commonweal explains the American position, according to Reid, whose findings divulge that the U.S. not only spends more money on health care than any other nation but also leaves 45 million residents uninsured, allowing about 22,000 to die from easily treatable diseases. Seeking treatment for the flareup of an old shoulder injury, he visits doctors in the U.S., France, Germany, Japan and England—with a stint in an Ayurvedic clinic in India—in a quest for treatment that dovetails with his search for a cure for America's health-care crisis, a narrative device that sometimes feels contrived, but allows him valuable firsthand experience. For all the scope of his research and his ability to mint neat rebuttals to the common American misconception that universal health care is socialized medicine, Reid neglects to address the elephant in the room: just how are we to sell these changes to the mighty providers and insurers?   

Great question, PW, especially when so many opportunists are clouding the waters.

I hope that the forum helps get us down the path to adopting and understanding the ACA, which still only puts a few steps along the road to real universal health care.

Key presenters, aside from Mr. Reid, are:

·        Lynn Quincy, Consumers Union (Non-profit Publisher of Consumer Reports);

·        Nona Bear,  healthcare consultant and former president of the Council for Affordable Health Insurance;

·        Elizabeth Arenales, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative

·        Doyle Forrestal, outreach specialist for Regional Director or U.S. Health and Human Services

·        Marguerite Salazar, Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service; and

·        Elizabeth Hoy, health policy advisor to Wyoming Governor Matt Mead

Organizations involved with One Health Voice include AARP, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Children’s Action Alliance, Consumer Advocates: Project Healthcare, Equality State Policy Center, National Multiple Sclerosis Society CO-WY Chapter, Wyoming Center for Nursing and Health Care Partnerships, Wyoming Epilepsy Association, Wyoming Health Care Access Network/PhRMA, Wyoming Hospital Association, and the Wyoming Primary Care Association.

To register and see the full schedule of events, please visit www.OneHealthVoice.com or email LRosedahl@pubaffairsco.com.

Dems & Dawgs Aug. 25 in Jackson

Live music too. Time: 5-8 p.m.

Rehberg and Tester and Baucus and Lummis and Enzi and Barrasso all have a "veteran problem"

My fellow Rocky Mountain prog-blogger Rob Kailey writes about Rep. Dennis Rehberg's "veteran problem" in an Aug. 20 post on "Left in the West."

Interesting to note that out of six U.S. reps and senators from Montana and Wyoming, only one -- WY Sen. Mike Enzi of Gillette -- claims military service. He has six years in the WY Air National Guard. This is military service but not overseas service, as you will note with the two Vietnam vets and their op-ed in The Missoulian::

For all the partisan talk in Washington, D.C., about standing your ground, Congressman Denny Rehberg is standing on shaky ground when it comes to honoring veterans' service. Rehberg might think he took a principled stand on the budget, but he's got the wrong principles.

Rehberg and some of the most radical members of Congress have taken a hardline approach to fixing our debt challenges. Here's the problem: They've drawn a line at protecting Montanans who fought for their country overseas.

Important lifelines like the Veterans Administration could have been gutted by as much as 25 percent in one of the plans Rehberg recently voted for. Veterans have already paid for access to the VA by serving our country in foreign wars, so it's completely reckless for Rehberg to put our benefits at risk because he won't get rid of tax loopholes for his millionaire friends.

Rehberg's disregard for the impacts of his decisions doesn't just affect veterans -- it affects Montanans who count on Medicare and Social Security, too.

Medicare and Social Security are also important guarantees that Montanans have already paid for by working and paying taxes our entire lives. And just as Rehberg can provide no guarantee that his plans protect veterans' benefits, he can't guarantee protections for Medicare and Social Security either.

The irony is Rehberg - along with many of his colleagues who stood in the way of a bipartisan debt solution - will drape themselves with the flag whenever a TV camera is around.

The tragedy is they haven't backed up their patriotism with action.

Our country is about commitment and responsibility. Not just to those of us who have risked the ultimate sacrifice for our country, but for every American.

To live up to his responsibility to veterans and all Montanans, Rehberg will need to work together to find real solutions to our debt challenges.

When we served our country we worked together with Americans from across the country of all stripes to get things done on the battlefield. We expect Rehberg to do the same in Washington, D.C.

Alex Taft is a retired transportation professional and candidate for Missoula City Council, Ward 3. Montana Sen. Cliff Larsen is a rancher and recently retired businessman and represents District 50 in Missoula County. They are both Vietnam veterans.

This seems really odd, but this peacenik Leftie in Cheyenne has more military experience than five out of six of the Congressional reps and senators that represent more than 245,000 square miles of American real estate (and thousands of veterans). And that experience amounts to 18 months as a U.S. Navy ROTC midshipman whose only active duty involved eight weeks on an aircraft carrier tracking Cuban and Soviet vessels around Cuba. And I also got to party hearty at Gitmo. Weird, eh?

And these people will be curtailing benefits for all those who did serve?

This isn't only a veterans' issue. Mr. Taft and Mr. Larsen make this point over and over again. It affects all of us.

Young state legislator speaks about "A New Generation to Govern"

I have posted numerous times about the transgressions of the "You Darn Kids Get Off My Lawn" generation. You know, my g-g-g-g-g-g-generation. Won't get fooled again!

I was born in 1950. I have been fooled again over and over again.

However, the old folks now running Congress and most state legislators think all of us are fools. They really have a low regard for their children and grandchildren.

According to the Congressional Research Service (2/24/11), the Average age of U.S. House members is 56.7 years and, for Senators, 62.2 years.

So, at 60, I'd be among my generational cohorts if I dropped out of the sky into the Congressional chambers. There are several World War II vets in Congress -- thank you, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI). Aaron Schock (R-IL) is the youngest House member at 29 and Mike Lee (R-UT) is the youngest Senator at 39. The Repubs that came into Congress on the Tea Party wave tend to be younger than average. Their politics, however, belongs to the Stone Age. Scratch that. Their loyalties belong to the corporate interests that brung 'em to the dance. So their interests are aligned with those veteran Republicans that they joined in the House and Senate.

They are the ones that forced the recent Debt Ceiling Battle. Their actions show that they are no more interested in the future than John McCain or Mitch McConnell. They dwell in an imagined past in order to reap riches in the very real present. Shame on all of them.

How did our politics get as calcified as those in Libya and Syria? It's not just age.

C. Cryn Johannsen at All Education Matters is one of those young people making a difference. She's challenging status quo in this country's student loan edifice. She's in D.C, right now meeting with like-minded folks, including Rep. Hensen Clarke, Dem of Michigan. On her blog, I found out about SparkAction and a very fine column by Rep. Diane Russell of Maine. She's a young person. She's pissed off and writes well about it.

Quotes from Rep. Diane Russell:

Currently, there are only 9 members of the U.S. House of Representatives age 35 or under. In the Senate, there are two people age 40; no one younger. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, only 3.8 percent of state legislators are between the ages of 20 to 34. This leaves a lot of room to build a strong base of Progressive leaders in the House and Senate.

We have “thrown the bums out” in three separate election cycles and still things continue to get worse for the middle class, and particularly young people. The economic crisis has turned into long-term unemployment. Student debt is crashing down on a generation of college graduates who worked hard and held up their end of the bargain only to discover the promise of good jobs was a pipe dream they can’t even afford to smoke. Corporations rake in record quarters while rewarding the hardworking people who earned those profits with pink slips.

Young people have a unique opportunity right now to challenge the status quo and break up this generation of elected officials who can’t seem to see past their next fundraiser.

If young people in other countries can topple tyrannical governments, certainly Gen-Ys and Millennials can take back our democracy from the corporations who have bought shares in it at our expense.

Currently, there are only 9 members of the U.S. House of Representatives age 35 or under. In the Senate, there are two people age 40; no one younger. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, only 3.8 percent of state legislators are between the ages of 20 to 34. This leaves a lot of room to build a strong base of Progressive leaders at the state and national level.

Sometimes, there are major changes needed in the body politic. This is one of those times.

Read A New Generation to Govern from SparkAction

And damn you kids, get off my cloud!

WY Outdoor Council: House Reps Attempting to Dismantle the EPA

From the Wyoming Outdoor Council:

House Reps Attempting to Dismantle the EPA

And Rep. Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming's lone U.S. House member, is leading the charge to dismantle environmental regs that keep our water safe to drink and our air safe to breathe.

Powder River Basin Resource Council holds "Harvest Celebration" fund-raiser Aug. 27 in Sheridan

Good food & good music for a great cause. FMI: www.powderriverbasin.org

"Tierra y Libertad" mural going up in downtown Laramie

Artist’s rendering of a beautiful mural in Laramie that links the food we eat with the people who harvest the food that we eat. Way to go, Laramie. Artist Talal Cockar's "Tierra y Libertad" is the first in a series of murals in downtown Laramie sponsored by the University of Wyoming Art Museum and the Laramie Main Street Alliance.

Arts entrepreneurial idea from our neighbor to the South

Cool idea. No surprise that Colorado's Governor was an entrepreneur before a politico

2011 SI Snowsport Entrepreneur Award

Future leaders wanted. Apply here today.

The dynamics of business are changing. Something Independent is looking to hear from future leaders who are creating this change by embracing the core tenets of entrepreneurism – innovation, creativity, purpose and perseverance – in pursuit of their ideas and passions. In the creation of this first-time award, we look to the Colorado snowsport community, all that it represents and all that it inspires, to help us feature the ideas and companies that are poised to become leaders in Colorado’s new entrepreneurial economy. Is that you? Apply today.

Tell us your story by submitting a 60-90 second video demonstrating you’re idea, product or service, why you’re passionate about bringing it to life, how Colorado has inspired your idea and how the industry and culture of snowsports influences your business. All entries must be uploaded to http://tinyurl.com/somethingindependent by Friday, September 9, 2011.

This winning entrant will receive a cash award of $1,500. These funds will be unrestricted and may be used at the discretion of the award winner. Other benefits include a marketing & communications package from Sprocket Communications and media recognition from ColoradoBiz Magazine, media sponsor of the 2011 SI Snowsport Entrepreneur Award.

Requirements

·       Video entry required – 90 seconds or less. Tell us your story. Get creative. Inspire us.

        o      Video entry requirements

                §       Explains and/or demonstrations of idea, product, service;

                §       Why you are passionate about bringing it to life;

                §       How has Colorado influenced and/or inspired your idea, product, service;

                §       How has the industry and culture of snowsports influenced and/or inspired you

·       Idea originator must live in Colorado

·       Idea must be original to the person or business

·       Applicant agrees that SI has right to use their video footage for promotional purposes

·       Applicant agrees by virtue of submitting video application that Something Independent has the right to use all content, in any manner, all or any portion thereof or in connection with the Award

        Program or otherwise

·       Winning idea agrees to show how award has furthered growth

·       Deadline: Submissions must be received by 5 p.m., Friday, September 9, 2011

No monorail for Cheyenne, but plenty of travel thrills and chills at I-25 & College Drive interchange

The Feds are sending $6 million in grants to Wyoming for some much-needed transportation projects.

Unfortunately, my pitch for a Cheyenne monorail went down in flames. Probably a good thing considering Springfield's terrible experience with monorailism.

But Cheyenne did get some much-needed transportation help with a $400,000 grant to address the mess that is the I-25 & College Drive interchange. It's not a big stretch to imagine that Homer Simpson designed this interchange. It features three big truck stops, the Southeast Wyoming Welcome Center and a plethora of fast-food joints. More stuff is being built as part of the new business park. Down College Drive to the east are two of Cheyenne's four high schools (South and Triumph), several new housing developments, as well as the county's community college. To the west, a new road has been built to funnel construction traffic to the business park. 

To be fair, most of the businesses sprang up after the interchange was built. Now it's time to play catch-up. 

To get to almost anywhere from the I-25 on-ramps, you have to turn left without the benefit of traffic lights or even roundabouts. When you come up the ramp from I-25 South and want to turn left to Love's, you have to watch out for traffic turning left on to the interstate access ramp in front of you, AND for traffic exiting McDonald's or the rest area or the travel plaza headed across the viaduct to I-25 North. This wouldn't be too terrible if most of the traffic wasn't made up huge semis bearing windmill blades, oil field machinery and monorail parts for the recently announced Wheatland-to-Glendo Transportation Corridor (get more info from the good folks at Wheaterville -- tell them I sent you).  

Add to the motorized confusion a recent influx of hobos. Not sure where they're coming from, but there is a new generation of hitchhikers and bindlestiffs. It's summer, and everyone is traveling. A lot of them seem to be running out of gas at the interchange. "Need gas money to get me and pregnant wife to Denver. God bless." I give money when I have it. Usually I am stopped behind 12 semis so have plenty of time to look under the seats for spare change. Another sign held by a guy in a nice suit: "Ran out of gas on way to job interview with Standard & Poors. Will accept major credit cards." I might have imagined that one. But not this one. The other day I saw a guy on the I-25 North on-ramp with this sign: "I-80 and Hawaii." He did look a bit like an aging surfer. I gave him creds for creativity. And creativity helps when you're trying to catch a ride. I still remember the hitchhiker I met in California in 1972. He carried a five-gallon gas tank which contained all of his worldly goods. "People more likely to stop if they think you've run out of gas," he said. He did admit that some motorists were not pleased at being duped but most went ahead and gave him a ride anyway. I have a soft spot for hitchhikers. I have a soft spot for anyone trying to get from one place to another without a vehicle.

But they are in the minority at Cheyenne's wacky interchange.

This week's announcement from U.S. Secretary of Transportation carried this wording about the Laramie County grant:

$400,000: Laramie County -- Improve traffic operations at Interstate 25/College Drive interchange in Cheyenne to reduce crashes. 

This is always a worthy goal. I drive this interchange almost every day delivering my daughter to work at the Cheyenne Animal Shelter. It's convenient for me to travel I-25 from the north side of town. Convenient until I get to the College Drive interchange. I sometimes travel through downtown to Lincolnway and then over the railroad tracks to Southwest Drive and the Shelter. But most times the crossing is blocked by a half-dozen trains. I didn't realize there were than many tracks through Cheyenne. But apparently there are. 

Cheyenne is a transportation hub. And we better start acting like it. Problem is, traffic in all forms is increasing. The Tea Party hates gubment and gubment takes care of the roads. Tea Partiers not only want no tax increases -- they want to cut taxes and strangle (or drown) gubment. It's possible they all flit around in autogyros. But even then, airports are crowded and we have a tiny, crowded, gubment-subsidized one in Cheyenne. Where will they park those autogyros?

One more thing. About half of the $6 million coming to WY in these recent grants go to non-motorized transportation projects in Teton, Sublette and Fremont counties. I've been a motorist for 44 years but a bicyclist longer than that. Now a lapsed cyclist (bad knees, lazy bones, etc.), I don't begrudge funding to bike paths and recreation trails. The one in Teton County is especially expensive but will bear much fruit, green-wise, as it will be used by millions of residents and tourists over the years. Yes, Teton County is disliked by many Wyomingites. But it is a huge economic driver and a benefit to the entire state. Three million tourists a year come annually to the national parks and many are taxed as they spend money in Jackson and Wilson and Teton Village. The airport is the best in the state and the roads are (mostly) in great shape. The road over Togwotee Pass to The Hole is being rebuilt this summer. Be prepared for delays! 

You can read about these new grants at the Casper Star-Tribune

Democratic Party head Bill Luckett leaving Wyoming

Bill Luckett worked his ass off the Democrats in Wyoming. We'll miss him. He's going to Oregon where his wife recently got a job. I don't know much about Oregon. The blue staters in the West (Portland, Eugene, Bend, Corvallis, etc.) outnumber the red-staters in the rural eastern part of the state. This may be a treat for Bill after being hammered for three years by Wyoming Repubs.

Portland also has one of the best bookstores in creation in Powell's City of Books. Deschutes Brewery's Black Butte Porter may be the best porter in creation, even though "Portlandia" pokes fun at it. And Ken Kesey was from Oregon. Never Give A Inch, Ken!

Good luck, Bill.

A few parting quotes (from WY Public Radio)

"Working for the Democratic Party working in one of the most heavily Republican states in the country, you're an underdog," he said. "But at the same time, there are reasonable people everywhere you look. And if everybody comes into this with the spirit of working together, you can get things done. You can get progressive things accomplished in this state. You've just got to be optimistic."

Luckett says one of the perks of his job is a guaranteed ticket to the Democratic National Convention, which is "pretty hard to come by." But, he adds, "Everything else is pretty hard work."

Go with God, Bill. But not with Gop.

And have a Black Butte pint on me, Bud.

WY Democrats take aim at GOP Presidential candidates

And it's such a big, juicy target.

Chairman of the Wyoming Democratic Party Chuck Herz takes advantage of Mitt Romney's visit to The Equality State to handicap the Republican presidential hopefuls. Here’s a great quote about the difference between social justice Democrats and the ignorant Know Nothings who make up the bulk of the Repub field:

"Whether we are going to have an extreme approach that considers government almost always the enemy, thus doing away with way with many, many protections that we have, not only Social Security, Medicare, but regulations that protect us and protect the natural world that we like to hunt and recreate in here in Wyoming."

 WPR: Wyoming Democrats take aim at GOP Presidential candidates (2011-08-18)

Mitt Romney, slipping in the GOP polls, visits Wyoming

From Jeremy Pelzer's story in the Casper Star-Tribune:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will hold a pair of fundraisers and make his first public Wyoming campaign stop of the 2012 election season Thursday in western Wyoming.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts who easily won the 2008 Wyoming Republican presidential caucuses, will hold a meet and greet at the Afton Civic Center starting at 1:15 p.m., according to campaign spokesman Ryan Williams.

Earlier that morning, Romney will attend a private $2,500-per-head fundraiser at the Star Valley Trout Ranch near Afton, according to Afton Civic Center events coordinator Justin Visser.

On Thursday evening, Romney will attend a fundraiser in Wilson, Williams said. Williams declined to provide details about that fundraiser.

Despite his strong showing in the 2008 Wyoming presidential caucuses, Romney ultimately lost the Republican nomination that year to U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. In the general election, McCain won Wyoming by 32 percentage points - his best showing of any state - but lost to then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill.

Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_21ff55ee-c91c-11e0-987a-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1VMFPuN27

Many ALEC funders do business in Wyoming

The list of ALEC funders include names of corporations that do business in Wyoming. One of them, BP, brags that Wyoming is the site of its largest onshore oil and gas holdings (Sweetwater and Carbon counties). Not sure why Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF) needs to fund an organization that is vehemently anti-union. Perhaps the company's CEOs resent the salaries paid to those who keep the company running. Peabody digs tons of coal from the Powder River Basin and loves the cozy relationship it has with our Republican legislators. Some of the richest members of the Walton Family Foundation live in Wyoming. Union Pacific Railroad -- shame on you. No more black-and-white 1950s TV shows named after you! Encana has huge energy extraction holdings in the state.

That's just the beginning.  

Thanks to Infinity at Daily Kos for providing the names of ALEC funders. More info at http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/18/1008120/-ALEC-Boycott!


PRESIDENTIAL LEVEL

BP
Reynolds American
Takeda Pharmaceutical

CHAIRMAN LEVEL

Allergan
Altria
American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity
American Electric Power
AT&T
Bayer
Chevron
ExxonMobil
EZCorp
Lumina Foundation
Peabody
PhRMA
Shell
State Farm
State Policy Network
UnitedHealthcare
Visa
Walmart
Walton Family Foundation

VICE-CHAIRMAN LEVEL

CashAmerica
Entergy
FedEx
Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity
Freepont-McMoran Copper & Gold
Intuit
Johnson & Johnson
Koch Industries
LouisDreyfus Commodities
Louisiana Seafood
McMoran Exploration
National Rifle Association
Pfizer
Sanofi
TogetherRX Access
UPS

DIRECTOR LEVEL

Amazon.com
Atmos Energy
BlueCross BlueShield Association
CenturyLink
Chesapeake Energy
ConocoPhillips
Dow
Encana
Energy Transfer
Gulf States Toyota
International Paper
Jacobs Entertainment
LouisianaTravel.com
NetChoice
QEP Resources
StateNet
TimeWarner
WellPoint

TRUSTEE LEVEL

American Federation for Children
BlueCross Blue Shield of Lousiana
BNSF
Cleco
CN
Cox
CSX
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
Harris Deville & Associates
HP
Kansas City Southern
Kraft Foods
Lilly
Louisiana Chemical Association
Louisiana Railroads Association
Louisiana Realtors
Merck
Norfolk Southern
RestoringFreedom.org
Society of Louisiana CPAs
Southern Strategy Group
Spectra Energy
The Capitol Group
Union Pacific
USAA
Walgreens


For all the latest info on how ALEC brings right-wing muscle to bear on your state legislature, go to http://www.alecexposed.com

Shape-shifting in the arts world and in Yellowstone

The world of arts funding is changing dramatically. The federal-state-local government infrastructure that began with the establishment in 1965 of the National Endowment for the Arts is morphing into something new and different. And this may be a good thing.

I work in that infrastructure, in both the state and federal level, for 20 years. I am 60. My brain and my aesthetics should be as calcified as my knees. But as is the case with many of my colleagues in arts administration, I am being challenged to look at the arts with new eyes.

I mentioned “colleagues.” I have fewer of those these days as state arts agencies are killed off by Tea Party-inspired governors and state legislatures. The Kansas Arts Commission got the ax this year. South Dakota almost disappeared. Nevada and Arizona were cut to the bone.

This budget cutting frenzy is inspired by deficits and political ideology. Wyoming has a budget surplus but our arts agency has been told to cut spending – or else. Wyoming is as red as red can be. We’re selling the crap out of coal and shale oil and natural gas (some of which is actually ancient crap) and trona and wind -- and the gubment is raking in the dough through excise taxes. One can only assume that politics trumps reality.

One could get all bent out of shape about this state of affairs. [Pause for blood-curdling scream]  Or, maybe, I can put my energy into alternatives. Change is good, right? Didn’t a presidential candidate say that long time ago in a galaxy far far away?

I will spend time on these pages exploring arts organizations and funders and artists and writers who are looking at this world in new ways.

I came across a great one today. United States Artists has been around for several years. The help artists, writers and performers raise project funding online.

The artists first must pass muster as a recipient of an award from one of USA’s partnering organizations, such as Wyoming Arts Council, Idaho Arts Commission, Lannan Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, etc.

Artist Pearl C. Hsiung, L.A. needed to raise $5,200 for her multimedia project, “Yellow Stoner: Shape-shifting in Yellowstone National Park.” Under “perks,” Hsiung promised $50 donors that she would send e-mail updates of the project. For a $100 donations, you get e-mail updates and an actual postcard sent from YNP. Donors of $250 (limited to 20) receive e-mail updates, a postcard from YNP and a limited edition, signed and numbered, hand-pulled 9x12-inch “Yellow Stoner” screen print created for this fund-raiser. Those who donate $500 (limited to 10) get all of the above, thank you credits, and a signed DVD copy of the finished video piece. The high rollers -- $1,000 donors – get all of the above plus a party.

Hsiung ended up raising 107 percent of her goal. The money pays for travel costs and renting a camera. She plans to be in Yellowstone in late August. The light will be good and many of the tourists (but not all) will be gone.

I write at length about this project for several reasons: 1. It’s innovative and interesting; 2. It’s happening in Wyoming; 3. Hsiung had to earn her artist creds though a public or private arts org to qualify for USA Projects; 4. A number of micro-lending individuals thought enough of the project to fund it.

This latter point is important. True, a kitschy postcard sent from the Old Faithful Inn is a keepsake. But the philanthropists in the $250-and-up categories get something concrete for their money. Call it an investment. That poster or video may be worth something some day. Even the thank you creds on the DVD might lead to other projects and investments in the arts world. At least you get bragging rights when Pearl shows her video and you’re listed as a free-spending arts patron.

Diego: “Thanks for the commission, Mr. Rockefeller.”

Nelson: “You’re welcome. Now tear down that commie mural.”

You may be venturing into unknown country with arts patronage.

I digress. No matter what the future holds, Hsiung wins. Her project gets funding. More people know about her and her work (including this arts administrator in Cheyenne, WY). She’s learned some valuable marketing skills.

Go check out her project at http://www.unitedstatesartists.org/project/yellow_stoner_shape_shifting_in_yellowstone_national_park

And if you’re wandering around Yellowstone the next couple weeks and see a young artist and cameraperson surrounded by shape shifters, you’ll know who it is. Say hi. 

Keith Olbermann first confirmed speaker at NN12

Netroots Nation has announced that Keith Olbermann is its first confirmed speaker for the 2012 conference June 7-10 in Providence, R.I.

Great news. I plan on being there. Hope I have an opportunity to discuss James Thurber with Mr. Olbermann. Thurber was a favorite of his late father's and Keith read excerpts to close out each Friday's show on MSNBC. That was before he was cancelled by corporate giant NBC. I also am a big fan of the man's righteous anger, which I miss these days. I'll have to check and see if Optimum (formerly Bresnan) carries Keith's network.

More on NN12 at http://www.netrootsnation.org

River City's got trouble with a capital "T" and that stands for Tea Party

A billboard ordered and paid for by the North Iowa Tea Party shows President Obama, Adolf Hitler, left, and Vladimir Lenin, on South Federal Avenue in Mason City, Iowa. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/07/13/iowa-tea-party-billboard-compares-obama-hitler/#ixzz1VFmr5OK0 (even Fox thinks this is a bit much). Meredith "The Music Man" Wilson would be proud of his hometown of "River City." We got trouble, right here in River City, trouble with a capital "T" and that rhymes with "P" and that stands for "Tea Party." (The billboard was removed a month ago -- I was a bit late on this one but it deserves long life on the interwebs.)