Laramie County Democrats host legislative reception March 2

Pilot your aircraft carrier down to the Laramie County Democrats' legislative reception on Friday, March 2, 6:30-8 p.m.

Drop anchor at 514 W. 24th St., Cheyenne.

If you bring a dish to share, be there by 6 p.m.

Meet your Dem legislators from around the state who'll be staying in town for the Nellie Tayloe Ross Banquet Saturday night.

Suggested donation $10, with proceeds going toward helping the Laramie County Dems and the Grassroots Coalition during the 2012 election.

P.S.: Aircraft carriers are optional, now that the Repubs' goofy Doomsday bill has been sent down to Davy Jones' locker.

Forget "the dirty dozen” – Wyoming Congressional delegation "the dirty trio”

This comes from Kate Wright, executive director of Wyoming Conservation Voters

Today [Feb. 7, 2012], Wyoming Conservation Voters joined the national League of Conservation Voters in releasing the 2011 National Environmental Scorecard, revealing scores for the Wyoming delegation in the first session of the 112^th Congress. 

The 2011 Scorecard reflects the most anti-environmental session of the U.S. House of Representatives in history, featuring unparalleled assaults on our nation’s bedrock environmental and public health safeguards.

The good news is that while the House voted against the environment a shocking number of times, both the U.S. Senate and the Obama administration stood fast against the vast majority of these attacks.  Indeed, not only did our cornerstone environmental protections emerge from 2011 largely unscathed, the Obama administration also made major progress through administrative actions to protect our air and water. 

 “We are disappointed in those members of the Wyoming delegation who supported the attacks on public health and environmental protections in 2011,” said Kate Wright, Executive Director of the Wyoming Conservation Voters. “It is deeply upsetting that the entirety of the Wyoming delegation, Rep. Lummis and Sens. Enzi and Barrasso, chose to put corporate polluters and other special interests ahead of the health and well-being of Wyoming families.” 

The 2011 Scorecard includes 11 Senate and a record 35 House votes on issues ranging from public health protections to clean energy to land and wildlife conservation. The House votes included in the 2011 Scorecard are simply many of the most significant votes taken in a year that saw the House voting more than 200 times on the environment and public health.

“In 2011, the House Republican leadership unleashed a truly breathtaking and unprecedented assault on the environment and public health, the breadth and depth of which have made the current U.S. House of Representatives the most anti-environmental in our nation’s history,” said LCV President Gene Karpinski. “LCV is grateful to the Obama administration for helping to ensure that the House Republican leadership did not succeed in gutting our nation’s cornerstone environmental and public health protections in 2011.”

Senator John Barrasso, 9%
Senator Mike Enzi, 9%
Representative Cynthia Lummis, 11%

For over 40 years, the National Environmental Scorecard issued by LCV has been the nationally accepted yardstick used to rate members of Congress on environmental, public health and energy issues.

The full 2011 National Environmental Scorecard can be found at www.lcv.org/scorecard 

Local music, local art and local fun at Fridays in the Hynds during March

Some young creatives are trying to bring some life to downtown Cheyenne during March:

Fridays in the Hynds is a new concert series in Cheyenne, Wyoming. This public event features local/regional musicians performing in an open house setting with a social atmosphere. The initial series will run for five consecutive Fridays in March 2012, 5:30-8:30 p.m. 

LightsOn occupies the historic Hynds Building. Among the many cultural projects happening with LightsOn!, we’re starting a concert series, “Fridays in the Hynds.” Inspired by the community spirit of downtown summer events, we want to offer a new experience to Cheyenne to continue that spirit in the winter months. 

This concert series exemplifies the mission of LightsOn! LightsOn! is a Wyoming Non-Profit Corporation affiliated with the Wyoming Community Foundation as a special initiative. The mission of LightsOn! is to create a new economic anchor in downtown Cheyenne founded in education and built on the strength of the arts. 

Concert schedule: March 2, Moe Diggin; March 9, Sh'Bang; March 16, Beat Grass; March 23, The Todd Dereemer Band; March 30, Greyweather.

Wyoming Sen. Al Simpson calls fellow Republican Rick Santorum "rigid and homophobic"

From Face the Nation on CBS:

Former Senator Alan Simpson had some choice words for his one-time colleague, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. 

"I know Santorum, I served with him," he said. "He is rigid and a homophobic. He believes that gays and lesbians, he mentioned in an interview in 2003, about bestiality, and gays and lesbians. I think that's disgusting," said Simpson. 

The former three-term Republican senator from Wyoming, who has always been known for both his candor and his ability to work across party lines, said Republicans are hurting themselves by focusing on social issues. 

"Here's a party that believes in government out of your life, the precious right of privacy and the right to be left alone. How then can they be the hypocrisy of fiddling around in these social issues? We won't have a prayer," he told Bob Schieffer in an interview for CBS News' Face to Face, a weekly web interview from the staff of Face the Nation. 

Those social issues are a defining part of Santorum's candidacy and his newfound support as a the leading conservative candidate. "And they asked him, well he said I want a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and they said well what about the people who are already married? And he said well they would be nullified. I mean what is, what's human, what's kind about that? We're all human beings, we all know or love somebody who's gay or lesbian so what the hell is that about? To me it's startling and borders on disgust," said Simpson, who would be considered a centrist Republican by today's standards and served at a time when the two parties in Congress were not as far apart on the ideological spectrum as they are today.

Read a transcript of the full interview with Simpson.

Republican-dominated Wyoming House passes the "punish the poor" bill

Wyoming House passes the punish the poor bill:

The Wyoming House of Representatives approved a bill that would require some state welfare recipients to undergo drug testing. 

By a vote of 37-23 on Monday, the House gave its final approval to the bill. It now goes to the Senate. 

Similar drug-testing bills are pending in Colorado, Utah and other states. Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have endorsed the idea.

Read more here.

The votes:

Ayes (Punish the Poor!):  Representative(s): Berger, Blikre, Bonner, Brechtel, Buchanan, Campbell, Cannady, Childers, Davison, Edmonds, Eklund, Gay, Greear, Greene, Harvey, Hunt, Illoway, Jaggi, Kasperik, Kroeker, Krone, Lockhart, Loucks, Lubnau, Madden, McKim, McOmie, Miller, Peasley, Pederson, Petersen, Quarberg, Reeder, Semlek, Stubson, Teeters, Wallis 
 
Nays (Dems and Repubs with empathy):  Representative(s): Barbuto, Blake, Botten, Brown, Burkhart, Byrd, Connolly, Craft, Esquibel, K., Freeman, Gingery, Goggles, Harshman, Moniz, Nicholas B, Patton, Petroff, Roscoe, Steward, Throne, Vranish, Zwonitzer, Dn., Zwonitzer, Dv. 

Aircraft carrier amendment gone -- but Wyoming Republicans still preparing for Doomsday

Drat! And it was such a juicy blogging topic:

The Wyoming House of Representatives on Monday advanced legislation to launch a study into what Wyoming should do in the event of a complete economic or political collapse in the United States.

Before passing House Bill 85 by a voice vote on second reading, lawmakers struck out language directing the task force to study Wyoming instituting its own military draft, raising a standing army, and acquiring strike aircraft and an aircraft carrier. 

Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/doomsday-bill-moves-forward-minus-the-aircraft-carrier/article_00916968-6171-11e1-a45b-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1ncCasls1

Cheyenne native Daniel Junge wins Oscar for documentary "Saving Face"

"Saving Face" filmmakers Daniel Junge, left, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy of Pakistan accept their Oscar for best documentary short at the 84th Annual Academy Awards tonight in L.A. Junge grew up in Cheyenne and now lives in Denver.

First Coloradans steal Buffalo Bill's body. Now they turn him into a superhero!

From Denver's Westword: On Sunday, February 26, the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave will open a new special exhibit titled Buffalo Bill Superhero. The character of Buffalo Bill (born William F. Cody) was on the cover of almost 2,000 dime novels, making him America's first comic book hero and paving the way for Batman and Superman. Covers provided by Steve Friesen.  

Volunteers put the "community" in Cheyenne's community theatre

This afternoon's matinee is the last performance of "Bad Seed" by the Cheyenne Little Theatre Players.

Too bad, really, as it's a fine show that addresses some up-and-coming issues of the 1950s, when the play first hit Broadway. During that time, there was a great debate over the nature-nurture thesis. Some experts thought that the nurturing of a good family could overcome any bad natural tendencies, such as murdering your classmates. Others thought there could be a "bad seed," that some children are just inherently bad.

In the play, eight-year-old Rhoda is a cute-as-a-button killer. A classmate drowns during a school picnic and Rhoda was the last one to be seen with him. Did she or didn't she? -- that's the plays big question. You can get a full description of the plot here.

In the CLTP program's "Director's Notes," Toni Tomei notes that the play may display its "threads of age" but its subject is still debated and "has been played out in countless books, films and television shows since." Not to mention the nightly news. How many murders have we seen committed by "that nice boy next door?" You know, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Dylan Klebold.

But the best part of the play is in the doing of it. My wife and I are just two of the many volunteers who showed up during the course of the play. The cast and crew has been at the Mary Godfrey Theatre every day since the beginning of the year. Auditions were held, followed by six week of rehearsals. A set was built. Tickets were sold and press releases sent out. It takes a village to put on a play.

Saddle Ridge Elementary School student Lexie Woolridge (the creepy Rhoda) was recently seen as Baby Kangaroo in "Seussical, Jr." Assistant Director Wes Peterson is a recent graduate of Montana State University, a high school teacher and last year played Finch in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." Sharry Arneson (Miss Kent) works at the Barnes & Noble Starbuck's and both of her twenty-something children are actors. David James (Leroy) studied acting at NYU and enjoys painting. Fifteen people designed and built the set, including Eddie Heying (foreman), actor/singer and CLTP Office Manager Dana Heying and their two talented daughters.

Both of our kids have been involved with our community theatre. During his high school years, Kevin acted in several plays and also was a summer melodrama volunteer. He spent his community college years in Tucson as the student theatre's light-and-sound guy. Our daughter has volunteered as an usher and popcorn maker. Last night, I was house manager and my wife ran the box office. In the audience last night was a local physician, several fellow state employees, at least one preacher, a young married couple who met on the set, an artist, teachers, railroaders, retirees, etc. They were at the Mary Godfrey Theatre despite stiff competition from a Cheyenne Symphony performance and the second night of "Oklahoma" next door at East High School. Not to mention the competition presented by the wind and the cold.

If you get a chance at 2 p.m. today, go see "Bad Seed." Or get your tickets now for "The 39 Steps" March 23-April 1 at the Historic Atlas Theatre. The CLTP will also hold its 2012-2013 season debut session April 5 at the Atlas. You can also support the CLTP Mardi Gras Bash fund-raiser March 3 (next Saturday) at the Atlas.

Support your local theatre! FMI: http://www.cheyennelittle theatre.org

My new favorite pre-post-Apocalypse web site: Under the Mountain Bunker

My new favorite Armageddon-savvy, pre-post-Apocalypse, end-times-ready web site is Under the Mountain Bunker with the motto "Come for the Apocalypse, stay for the coffee!" This blogger mom in Colorado was born and raised in Wyoming so knows something about her subjects. She has some nifty commentary on the Wyoming Legislature's proposed new Doomsday bill. And she offers this neat graphic. Thanks, UTMB!

Wyoming Legislature stocks up for Doomsday. First purchase: aircraft carrier

Wyoming can't afford to fully fund its Health Department or rebuild its roads.

But House Republicans want to spend thousands of dollars to study the purchase of an army, strike aircraft and an aircraft carrier in case of "a complete economic and political collapse."

Here's the strange news in this Casper Star-Tribune article by Jeremy Pelzer (and thanks to Meg at Cognitive Dissonance for alerting me to this pressing issue):

State representatives on Friday advanced legislation to launch a study into what Wyoming should do in the event of a complete economic or political collapse in the United States. 

House Bill 85 passed on first reading by a voice vote. It would create a state-run government continuity task force, which would study and prepare Wyoming for potential catastrophes, from disruptions in food and energy supplies to a complete meltdown of the federal government. The task force would look at the feasibility of Wyoming issuing its own alternative currency, if needed. 

And House members approved an amendment Friday by state Rep. Kermit Brown, R-Laramie, to have the task force also examine conditions under which Wyoming would need to implement its own military draft, raise a standing army, and acquire strike aircraft and an aircraft carrier. 

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. David Miller, R-Riverton, has said he doesn’t anticipate any major crises hitting America anytime soon. But with the national debt exceeding $15 trillion and protest movements growing around the country, Miller said Wyoming — which has a comparatively good economy and sound state finances — needs to make sure it’s protected should any unexpected emergency hit the U.S. 

Several House members spoke in favor of the legislation, saying there was no harm in preparing for the worst. 

“I don’t think there’s anyone in this room today what would come up here and say that this country is in good shape, that the world is stable and in good shape — because that is clearly not the case,” state Rep. Lorraine Quarberg, R-Thermopolis, said. “To put your head in the sand and think that nothing bad’s going to happen, and that we have no obligation to the citizens of the state of Wyoming to at least have the discussion, is not healthy.” 

--clip-- 

The bill must pass two more House votes before it would head to the Senate for consideration. The original bill appropriated $32,000 for the task force, though the Joint Appropriations Committee slashed that number in half earlier this week.

I'm all in favor of being prepared. I'd even be in favor of purchasing an aircraft carrier for emergencies if we had adequate port facilities in this landlocked state. But we don't. And won't, unless global warming due to excess burning of Wyoming coal accelerates and the Left Coast encroaches on Star Valley.

Wyoming Republicans seem to excel at crackpot bills. But this one is a doozy.

"Punish the poor" bill endorsed by Republican-controlled Wyoming House

From the Billings Gazette:

A bill to require drug testing for some state welfare recipients has received preliminary approval in the Wyoming House of Representatives. The House endorsed a bill sponsored by Rep. David Miller, a Riverton Republican, by a voice vote on Thursday. It would require drug tests for people who receive welfare payments through a program administered by the Wyoming Department of Family Services.

Miller and other supporters noted it's common for private-sector employers to require drug testing. They said the tests could help people get drug treatment if necessary. 

The House defeated a proposal from Democratic Rep. James Byrd of Cheyenne, who proposed expanding the drug-testing requirement to include legislators. 

Opponents of the bill said the testing would violate the U.S. Constitution's ban on the government performing searches without probable cause.

Thanks to Rep. Jim Byrd, a Democrat, for adding some levity to the proceedings.

Wyoming Sen. Al Simpson talks about new biography and his longtime support of LGBT rights at "Out West at the Autry" in L.A.

Wyoming U.S. Sen. Al Simpson of Cody will be featured at "Out West at the Autry" Feb. 27 at the Autry in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Some of you may not know this, but Sen. Al is a longtime proponent of LGBT rights. While Wyoming Republican politicians traditional defend individual rights, they don't always declare their support of everyone's rights. But Big Al does this on a regular basis and talks about it in the new authorized biography by Donald Hardy, "Shooting from the Lip: The Life of Senator Al Simpson." In a Feb. 7 post on the Autry blog, writer Gregory Hinton, who grew up in Cody and just finished a research fellowship at the BBHC, muses on how he found common ground with Sen. Al on the issue of being gay in Wyoming. Read the Autry blog post here. Biographer Hardy also appears at the event. Hinton will act as host for Sen. Al's Feb. 27 presentation. 

Action alert: Ask Wyoming Senators to restore crucial HIV/AIDS funding

Wyoming Equality's Joe Corrigan wrote a letter to concerned citizens today about a legislative cut in funding for much-needed HIV/AIDS meds.

Dear Friends,  

Yesterday we learned of a mistake in the Wyoming Health Department Budget regarding funding for HIV/AIDS Treatment.  The error cuts treatment funds by $400,000. If not corrected, it could cost the state matching funds from the Ryan White Care Act Part B.  I am asking you to please take the time today to email your Senator and Representative and ask them to restore these funds. Please prepare your own original email.  You can send your email to as many Senators and Representatives as you like. Please be as polite as possible.   Your letter may make all the difference in the world for the 135 currently people being helped by this program as well as future recipients.  Talking points are listed below.  Shorter letters are appreciated by our elected officials.

Read the rest at http://outinwy.blogspot.com

Find your Representative here, and find your Senator here. For a complete list of all Senators and Representatives visit the LSO Website.

Should Zombie Apocalypse arrive, Wyoming will be ready

Rep. David Miller (R-Riverton) has proposed a "Doomsday bill" to allow Wyoming to prepare for the coming Zombie Apocalypse.

He actually doesn't mention zombies in his bill. He does mention the U.S. debt which could somehow spiral out of control and all heck would break loose. Not to mention the Mayan Calendar predictions and the coming end-of-days scenario foretold by both certain versions of the Bible and many TV preachers.

The bill does not mention the worse case scenario of Rick Santorum being elected president.

That's when I head for the hills.

Read about Miller's bill here.

Wyoming legislators with ties to ALEC

This list goes a long way toward explaining some of the more extreme laws proposed in this session of the Wyoming Legislature (last year's session, too). This is an updated list to the one we ran in August 2011. Thanks to Larry Kurtz at Interested Party for the update:

ALEC is not a lobby; it is not a front group. It is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, behind closed doors, corporations hand state legislators the changes to the law they desire that directly benefit their bottom line. Along with legislators, corporations have membership in ALEC. Corporations sit on all nine ALEC task forces and vote with legislators to approve “model” bills. They have their own corporate governing board which meets jointly with the legislative board. (ALEC says that corporations do not vote on the board.) They fund almost all of ALEC's operations.  

Participating legislators, overwhelmingly conservative Republicans, then bring those proposals home and introduce them in statehouses across the land as their own brilliant ideas and important public policy innovations—without disclosing that corporations crafted and voted on the bills. ALEC boasts that it has over 1,000 of these bills introduced by legislative members every year, with one in every five of them enacted into law. ALEC describes itself as a “unique,” “unparalleled” and “unmatched” organization. It might be right. It is as if a state legislature had been reconstituted, yet corporations had pushed the people out the door. Learn more at ALECexposed.org.

Wyoming Legislators with ALEC Ties

House of Representatives 

§  Rep. Peter Illoway (R-42), State Chairman
§  Rep. Allen Jaggi (R-18)
§  Rep. Lorraine Quarberg (R-28)
§  Rep. Richard L. Cannady (R-06), ALEC Civil Justice Task Force Member
§  Rep. Lisa A. Shepperson (R-58), ALEC Civil Justice Task Force Member
§  Rep. Carl R. Loucks (R-59), ALEC Civil Justice Task Force Member
§  Rep. Dan Zwonitzer (R-43), ALEC Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force Member
§  Rep. Rosie M. Berger (R-51), ALEC Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force Member
§  Rep. Charles P. Childers (R-50), ALEC Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force Member
§  Rep. Bryan K. Pedersen (R-07), ALEC Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force Member
§  Rep. Tim Stubson (R-56), ALEC Public Safety and Elections Task Force Member
§  Rep. Lorraine K. Quarberg (R-28), ALEC Public Safety and Elections Task Force Member
§  Rep. Thomas E. Lubnau, II (R-31), ALEC International Relations Task Force Member
§  Rep. Kathy Davison (R-20), ALEC Health and Human Services Task Force Member
§  Rep. Thomas Lockhart (R-57), ALEC Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force Member
§  Rep. Matt Teeters (R-05), ALEC Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force Alternate and Education Task Force Member
§  Rep. John Eklund, Jr. (R-10), ALEC Education Task Force Member
§  Rep. Allen M. Jaggi (R-18), ALEC Education Task Force Member
§  Rep. Pete S. Illoway (R-42), ALEC Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force Member
§  Rep. Jon A. Botten (R-30), ALEC Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force Member
§  Rep. Clarence J. Vranish (R-49), ALEC Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force Member
§  Rep. Sue Wallis (R-52), ALEC Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force Alternate
§  Rep. Amy L. Edmonds (R-12)^[16], ALEC Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force Alternate
§  Rep. Pat Childers (R-50), ALEC Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force Alternate  

Senate 

§  Sen. Grant Larson (R-17), ALEC Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force Member

§  Sen. Bruce Burns (R-21), ALEC Civil Justice Task Force Member

§  Sen. Stan Cooper (R-14), ALEC Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force Member
§  Sen. Curt E. Meier (R-03), ALEC Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force Member
§  Sen. John M. Hastert (D-13), ALEC Public Safety and Elections Task Force Member
§  Sen. Eli D. Bebout (R-26), ALEC Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force and International Relations Task Force Member
§  Sen. Leslie Nutting (R-07), ALEC Health and Human Services Task Force Member
§  Sen. Dan Dockstader (R-16), ALEC Health and Human Services Task Force Member
§  Sen. James Anderson (R-02), ALEC Education Task Force Member
§  Sen. Cale Case (R-25), ALEC Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force Alternate and International Relations Task Force Member
§  Sen. Henry H. Coe (R-18), ALEC Education Task Force Alternate

How about drug and alcohol tests for Republican legislators?

Here's a copy of the letter to the editor Cheyenne’s Ken McCauley submitted to the WTE yesterday. It concerns the mandatory drug-testing (aka “punish the poor”) bill making its way through the Wyoming House: 

Last week several legislators introduced a bill to require drug testing of needy families participating in the (Power Program). The bill was introduced by the sponsor as a state budget concern. 

Of the 47 legislators who voted to introduce this bill, 14 voted against mandatory testing of DUI suspects last year. They are willing to force those with extreme financial need to undergo drug testing, but oppose testing drivers who exhibit behavior extreme enough to qualify as probable cause to a trained law enforcement officer. 

Rep. Frank Peasley, of Douglas, speaking against the DUI bill last year, called it “a pretty intrusive concept … something right out of a good 'ol vampire movie.” Rep. Bunky Loucks, of Casper, told a reporter, “What are you going to do? Are you going to strap people down [to test them]? To me that’s a scary visual.” 

But apparently, mandating testing for the poor doesn’t bother these representatives a bit. 

The program targeted by the bill is the Personal Opportunities with Employment Opportunities (POWER) program. The POWER program is a “work program” -- not a handout. Recipients are assigned jobs within their community in order to learn job skills that will make them self-sufficient. Many suffer from social disabilities or lack basic work skills. Most are assigned a job for a full 40-hour week, but in return for their work they receive a maximum benefit of just $577 per month (for a family of three). 

Let's put that in perspective. A Wyoming legislator receives $150 per day in salary from the state. Most receive an additional $109 per day for expenses. That means they receive more in just 4 days than a struggling family of 3 will receive in an entire month with this subsidy. 

Rep. Miller says the bill is necessary to control state costs – but the program does not receive any funding from state revenue. Unlike the legislature budget, the POWER program is funded 100% by a federal block grant and does not impact the state budget at all. The drug testing, however, would be paid for by the state when the recipient passes the test. 

If the legislature is seriously concerned about paying state resources to someone who might be under the influence, I'd suggest morning and afternoon alcohol testing of the members of the legislature. This bill and the supporting votes clearly shows we have members who are impaired. 

Thanks to Ken for doing the research on this bill -- and digging up the legislative quotes. Find out more about the "punish the poor" bill at http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2012/Introduced/HB0082.pdf

Drinking Liberally at Uncle Charlie's Feb. 23

Drinking Liberally convenes in Cheyenne on Thursday, Feb. 23, 6 p.m.-to-whenever, upstairs at Uncle Charlie's Tavern on Yellowstone Blvd. Drink Liberally. Speak Liberally about the strangeness (thus far) in the Legislative session. Talk to Dem issue lobbyists. Have fun. Open to all.

Wyoming ACLU: Keep track of anti-choice HJ7 in Wyoming Legislature

Wyoming ACLU tracking anti-choice bill in Wyoming House. The right-wing whackadoodles are at it again. Read more at http://acluwyomingchapter.blogspot.com/2012/02/action-needed-to-stop-resolution-hj7.html

Obama for America/WY holds online training session Feb. 26 in Cheyenne

From Robert Vernon-Kubichek, Obama for America/Wyoming:

We are going to be holding our first volunteer leader training online Sunday, February 26, at 3pm. Essentially this will be an opportunity for those of you who are interested in taking a leadership role in your communities to hop on and learn about setting goals in Dashboard, running your own team meetings, events, and phone banks. This will be the first of our regularly scheduled online training sessions in the state, and I would love to see all of you there. We are starting to see lots of support for the work the campaign is doing across the state. But the objective is to give YOU the leadership role in running your own teams, and meeting your own objectives. My role is to facilitate this work, not to micromanage it. So if you are interested in taking a Core Team Member or Neighborhood Team Leader role, join us for the training and learn how to take charge. The link to the training event is http://obama.adobeconnect.com/wyoming/