September Colorado floods spawn toxic sludge

Wyoming writer Laura Pritchett surveyed the Colorado floods as a passenger in a small plane. Her article appeared today on OnEarth. Also on board the plane was a camera crew from CNN. The big story is one that's been almost ignored by the media -- how the flooding affected fracking wells in Weld County, the sprawling swatch of land just to the south of Laramie County in southeast Wyoming (my home). Great article, and scary for all of us on the High Plains. Read it at http://www.onearth.org/articles/2013/09/a-view-from-above-shows-how-the-colorado-superstorm-damaged-fracking-facilities

It's not good fences that make good neighbors

Neighbors.

Our tomcat Teddy chases my neighbor M's cat and, in return, M's tomcat sneaks in our pet door in the dead of night to eat Teddy's food.

We hear our neighbors' dogs barking but (we are thankful) not in the wee hours. The barking reminds me of our dog Coco, whom we had to put to sleep during the summer. Kind of a neighborly thing, really, dogs asking: "Why isn't Coco barking back as she used to do?" If it wasn't for our cat, the squirrels would be inundating our backyard. Coco's daily exercise was chasing the neighborhood's legion of squirrels.

Beyond the back fence are our neighbors from India. They've been in the U.S. for awhile -- their children speak as Americans while their parents have that Brit-inspired lilt of Indian speech. The wife occasionally holds garage sales with members of her church. I always drop by the purchase small items: a 1980s Denver Broncos' glass from Burger King; cartoonish alligator slippers that I wear during Florida Gators football games; some old plates emblazoned with a lightning bolt "S" as in "Shay." The husband works at our hospital. I was surprised when he was the one who conducted the most recent ultrasound of my heart. The family has put up a "Dead End" sign informing motorists that their odd little street that seems like an alley does not go through.

To the south, our born-again neighbor who's a teacher holds a Wednesday prayer rally. Cars line both sides of the street and I wonder how all of those people fit into that tiny house. Yet another miracle, I suppose.

To the north live my Mormon neighbors. The Mister is also a colonel out at Warren AFB. My wife and I were once quizzed about him by government agents doing background checks for a security clearance. We both gave him high marks for being a good neighbor. He must be a church elder too because he leads the Mormon handcart brigade down Capitol Ave. during the summer's Frontier Days parade. The Misses walks with him. They both dress in old-timey Mormon clothes. She is a terrific cook who bakes us Christmas goodies every year and who made me lentil soup after my heart attack.

Our neighborhood's only other known Democrat is T, M's wife. She's lugging around an oxygen tank these days. T knit us an afghan one Christmas. We rarely talk about politics.

Our tomcats carry on their little game. When shopping last night, I bought an extra bag of cat food. Teddy loves to chase M's cat when they are both outside. But when he comes to our house to dine, Teddy just sits and watches. Just his way of being neighborly.

Comic book writers are writers by any other name

I spent last weekend hobnobbing with writers and poets and editors.

One of the most intriguing ones was Kelly Sue DeConnick. She writes for Marvel Comics. Once upon a time I would have said that wasn't real writing. Comic books? Nah!

I've changed my mind. Not because I've read a bunch of recently-published comic books. I will, I swear, just as soon as I get over to the local comic book store. But it was DeConnick's talk at the Casper College Literary Conference that got me thinking about the comics and the literary world.

The literary world is M.F.A./fiction workshops/writers' retreats/coffee house poetry readings/small presses/chapbooks/NEA/grants/fellowships. Maybe some graphic novels based on cool books or short stories. But not comic books. 

The non-literary world is blockbuster best-sellers/romance/hobby writers/agents/New York Times Book Review/hard-boiled mysteries/big publishers/Barnes & Noble/advertising/marketing/film rights. And comic books.

We turn comic book superheroes into special effects-laden films. Batman/Superman/Spiderman/Avengers/The Incredible Hulk. And so on.

Kelly Sue DeConnick told a literary conference audience on Friday that she got her first jobs in comic books "by being a loudmouth on social media."

DeConnick is not only is on Facebook and Twitter (with 20,000 followers). She has a cool Tumblr site at kellysue.tumblr.com and her stand-alone western, "Pretty Deadly," which is set for an Oct. 23 release, is at pretty-deadly.com.

DeConnick, 43, grew up on military bases. "Very much a part of military culture to have comic books," she said. "It makes sense that people who sign up to give their lives for their country might see themselves in the heroic themes of comic books."

She loved "Wonder Woman" comics, although she noted that "Wonder Woman spent a lot of time in chains in the '70s."

Which brings us to the gender issue. Male writers and illustrators might feel compelled to portray a female superhero in bondage. DeConnick, now a member of the Comic Book Boys Club, has no such inclinations.

She writes Captain Marvel and Avengers Assemble for Marvel Comics. The Captain is now a woman, Carol Danvers. DeConnick wanted Danvers to be a real woman, one with flaws and good female friends, one who could also set right the universe when necessary.

This Captain Marvel in a long line of Captain Marvels began to gain a following. A group of fans called the "Carol Corps" grew with each issue. They submitted fan art based on the character, and they began to send Carol Danvers stories to DeConnick.

Then came the merch, such a Carol hoodies and dogtags.

"I got a letter from a civil rights attorney who wears Captain Marvel dogtags under her clothes every time she goes to court," DeConnick said. "I've heard from a doctor who wears dogtags when she goes into surgery."

The Carol Corps raised $2,000 online for the Red Cross after Hurricane Sandy. And it appears that a CarolCon-style ComicCon is in the works.

Issue No. 15 is out and DeConnick is working on the next installments. "The Internet doesn't know this, but she [Carol Danvers] gets her first kiss in issue 17."

DeConnick said that she works hard to present real women in her comics. She tries to avoid the Smurfette Principle -- the lone female character must represent all female traits. To avoid stereotyping, she applies the Sexy Lamp Test to her stories: "If I can replace one of my female characters with a sexy lamp and the plot still functions, I might need another draft."

DeConnick seems to enjoy her role as one of the few female comic book writers. Of the top 300 books produced in June, 6 percent were produced by women. Some of them were written by the same women, so DeConnick estimates that women might make up 2 percent of her industry.

However, when Marvel Comics asked her in 2009 to write the next saga of Norman Osborn, a.k.a. the Green Goblin, she was "proud to have been asked to pitch on a boy book." The result was "Osborn: Evil Incarcerated."

Still, it gets a bit old always being asked the same question: "What does it feel like to be a woman writing in a man's field?"

"I used to joke -- 'I write through my vagina'."

She's married to another comic book writer, Matt Fraction. who's never asked similar questions.

"I don't want to be He-Hulk," she said, "I want to be She-Hulk."

As is the case with most writers, DeConnick wrote a lot before getting published. She said that she may leave the comic book world behind some day in favor of novel-writing.

She often gets letters from young writers who ask how to get started in the biz."I ask them what they're written and they'll say 'nothing.' Nobody is going to ask you to fix a sink if you've only washed your hands."

What's up with those Dems?

Upcoming events on the local Democratic Party calendar:

Next meeting of the Laramie County Democrats Grassroots Coalition is Sept. 26, 6:30 p.m., in the Sunflower Room of the Laramie County Public Library. Guest speaker is Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen.

Next meeting of the Laramie County Democrats is Monday, Oct. 21, at the IBEW Union Hall, Cheyenne. Go right now and "like" the Laramie County Dems Facebook page. 

Oct. 24: LCDGC sponsors a chili dinner fundraiser on Oct. 24 in the Old Community House in Lions Park in Cheyenne. Chili, hot dogs and fruit pies on the menu. Come by, eat and donate to the cause.

This isn't local, unless you're in Sublette County, but the Wyoming Democratic Party's annual Roosevelt/Kennedy Dinner will be held at the library in Pinedale on Oct. 26. Guest speaker is outspoken progressive Wyoming blogger Rev. Rodger McDaniel, author of “Dying for Joe McCarthy’s Sins -- The Suicide of Wyoming Senator Lester Hunt.”

Nov. 16: Casino Night in the Casablanca Room at The Suite Bistro in downtown Cheyenne. A fund-raiser, of course, but fun for all. More details forthcoming....

In late October or early November, a local planning committee of Dems will sponsor an Affordable Care Act Town Hall at the Laramie County Library. Lori Brand is organizing this and is looking for volunteers. Leave a comment if you're interested.

Wyoming Democratic Party looking for interns

College students can get four credit hours and a semester's worth of learning progressive politics from the inside by applying to be an intern with the Wyoming Democratic Party. The Dems are looking for people interested in the following areas: research, communications, new/digital media, voter contact, constituency outreach, resource development, polling, campaign management. More fun that taking another dry political science course. You also will meet battle-hardened veterans of the Wyoming political wars. We promise not to bore you with stories of how we did it back in ought-eight. Go to http://www.wyodems.org/internship

Isn't The Equality State the proper place for civil rights activists and racists to meet?

The weekend's summit meeting in Casper between the NAACP and the KKK is kicking up a fuss.

The Independent in the UK gave it big play as did a slew of my fellow bloggers (go here and here).

Adding to the drama is the fact that NAACP higher-ups apparently did not approve of the meeting, which seems silly to me. My colleagues at the NAACP Casper branch came off looking cordial and knowledgeable in Jeremy Fugleberg's excellent Casper Star-Tribune article. KKK Kleagle John Abarr seemed a bit cluelesss, but redeemed himself by joining the NAACP and even kicking in an additional $20 donation. This is a good thing for an organization that has a tough time recruiting members and raising funds in a place that's subtitled "The Equality State" and often falls short of living up to that vaunted title.

The CST's Fugleberg is following the continuing drama on Twitter. You can too.

Lest you think that the KKK is the quaint little Christian social organization portrayed by Abarr, read deeper into the many media articles.

Not quite sure about the KKK's history in Wyoming (little help here, Phil Roberts!). But I do know a bit about the Klan in Colorado. It was a powerful organization in Denver during the 1920s. Unable to find enough blacks to torment, the KKK picked on Irish and Italians and Chicanos -- all Catholics targeted by the Nativist "100% American" elements in the KKK. Hooded Klansmen burned crosses in my Irish grandfather's South Denver neighborhood, in Italian Pueblo and throughout the state. Hipsters in Denver's pricey Wash Park may not know this, but people who once occupied their renovated houses used to avoid walking around their own neighborhood. My mom and her brother and sister were chased home from their Catholic school by protestant kids from South High. They threw rocks at them and called them "rednecks" because the Irish tended to have sunburned necks from working out in the sun all day. They labored on the railroad and on construction projects and on farms east of town.

The Klan elected a Governor and had the Denver mayor and a passel of Republican legislators in their pocket. But their power waned as people grew tired of their hateful, regressive agenda.

Hard to imagine solidly Democratic Denver as a Klan bastion. It's hard to believe that the Klan still exists in 2013. Let's hope the dialogue that started in Casper continues.

Hope.

350Cheyenne screens award-winning "Chasing Ice" Sept. 12

This announcement comes from writer and Wyoming Tribune-Eagle columnist Edith Cook:

We are showing the film Chasing Ice at the Laramie County Library in Cheyenne on Thursday, September 12, 2013, at 6:30 PM.

The event is free of charge, sponsored by 350Cheyenne. 

This film of electrifying beauty documents the quest of one man (National Geographic photographer James Bolag) to explore glaciers and ice-sheets worldwide; he wished to determine how and why they melt. 

Winner of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Roger Ebert labeled the film “heart-stopping.” The New York Times made it its Critic’s Pick and the NY Daily News gave it a five-star rating.  Please attend if you can do so.

NAACP and KKK reps meet in Casper

As a human, a writer and a card-carrying member of the NAACP, I find this story fascinating: John Abarr of the Ku Klux Klan (Klans of America) and Jimmy Simmons of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People meet in Casper. Result: Simmons schools Abarr on the history of the KKK, and Abarr joins the NAACP. Casper Star-Tribune reporter Jeremy Fugleberg has an eye for detail and an ear for dialogue which makes this piece rise above the usual daily newspaper fare. I read the version reprinted in the Billings Gazette. Go here.

One fascinating fact: Did you know that the Klan wants the northwest states of Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon to secede from the union? The states are predominately white so the Klan apparently figures that WyWaMtIdOr will make an ideal Caucasian country. Abarr says that African-Americans and other people of color will be allowed to stay but others will not be admitted. How would that work, exactly? No non-white inventors, artists, CEOs, pilots, poets, soldiers, athletes, legislators, moms, dads or kids allowed in Whitelandia? What a bland place this would be.

Front Rangers combine the love of art and sports

As we say farewell to August and say hey to September, my thoughts turn to fall. And that's not just because my wife Chris and I watched our first college football game last night, Clemson vs. Georgia. And how about those Pokes? It is one of the reasons, though. The Denver Broncos open their regular season Thursday night. They play the Baltimore Ravens, the team that eked out a win over the Broncos last year to go to the Super Bowl and beat San Francisco. The Broncos are spoiling for a fight. Maybe they'll settle for a win to launch the season which may include a trip to the Super Bowl in New Jersey.

New Jersey?

Denver Post sports columnist Vic Lombardi has been painting porn mustaches on posters of Ravens' quarterback Joe Flacco that the NFL plastered all over Denver in advance of Thursday's opener. There's nothing that says "Die, you gravy-sucking pigs" like a porn mustache. Still, it's nice to see street art combined with a love for the game. Two of Denver's major industries are arts and sports. In that order. Opera fans are less likely to wear hundreds of dollars of merch, yell wildly and puke on your shoulder during Sunday performances, even if it's Wagner's entire Ring Cycle. But opera and emo rock and theatre and book sales and art museum visits all contribute as much to the metro area's GNP as Broncos and Rockies and Avalanche and Nuggets. You could look it up.

So what's happening in September other than football?

Cheech Marin of Cheech and Chong fame comes to Laramie this week to open an exhibition at the UW Art Museum. Marin is one of the world's foremost collectors of Chicano art. He also will be on hand for a tour of the exhibit and a public lecture.

Marin will speak about art at 4 p.m., Friday, Sept. 6, in the Wyoming Union Ballroom, followed by a book signing. The title of his talk is “Chicano Art: Cultivating the Chicano Future”. On Saturday, Sept. 7, at 10:30 a.m. he will give an informal gallery walk-through at the UW Art Museum. Both programs are free and open to the public.

Another multicultural event, with a twist, will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 3. As it says on its Facebook page, the PhinDeli Coffee Shop will open at the old mini-mart and gas station at Buford along I-80.

Buford PhinDeli Coffee Shop will serve Free Super Clean Filter Coffee of Vietnam to everyone who visit from Sept. 3rd, 2013.

Will this first Vietnamese coffee shop in the U.S. create a tidal wave of interest or will it just be a flash in the pan? I plan on stopping by to get some Free Super Clean Filter Coffee. 

Speaking of coffee.... At the Cheyenne Farmers' Market on Saturday, I discovered that Cheyenne now has its own coffee roaster. Higher Grounds Cafe & Roastery is located at 15th St. and Thomes Ave. downtown. It's open from 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. weekdays. I plan on going by to check out some of its Ethiopean varieties -- and smell the coffee roasting. 

I wrote the other day about the Casper College Literary Conference Sept. 13-14 and its fine offerings. I won't repeat myself. Check it out here.

The same weekend, writer Sherwin Bitsui, who grew up on the Navajo Reservation and now lives in Tucson, will stage a public reading of his work at UW. It will be in the Wyoming Union Senate Chambers at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13. 

BeatGrass helps kick off the Freedom's Edge Brewing Company's Forever West Fest Friday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m., in Cheyenne. Drink locally made craft beers and enjoy locally made bluegrass. 

The band Gooding is very proud of its Wichita, Kan., roots. They should be. I spent some of my formative years in Wichita and look how I turned out. Gooding will be in Cheyenne Sept. 3 for a financial literacy presentation for students at Central H.S. The band will play Sept. 7 at Midtown Tavern. You can catch their funky homemade video here. I like the fact that the band brags about using a real woman and actress from Wichita in the video instead of an anorectic model from who-knows-where. Very real. Very cool.

Finally, the Pokes return to Laramie Saturday to play Idaho. Let's see how they fare playing a non-ranked opponent on their home field.

"Writing Away the Stigma" with true stories

Pittsburgh's Lee Gutkind is a fine writer. He specializes in health topics and is the author of Stuck in Time: The Tragedy of Childhood Mental Illness and Many Sleepless Nights. 

Lee is the fine editor of Creative Nonfiction magazine and numerous anthologies.

Lee also is an accomplished leader of writing workshops. He's conducted quite a few of them in Wyoming, a state he first explored by motorcycle when researching his first book, Bike Fever. I've attended workshops by Lee at the Casper College Literary Conference, at the Big Red Barn at the Ucross Foundation, and at the Writers' Summit that used to be held at the old church retreat complex on Harriman Road between Cheyenne and Laramie. This guy can inspire you to new heights in your writing.

His latest project is an intriguing one: "Writing Away the Sigma: With True Stories Well Told." Here's the plan:

Each year, 1 in 4 American adults will endure the trials of a mental health condition. But while many Americans have experienced a mental illness--either firsthand or through a family member or friend--the stigma of mental illness remains. In an effort to help correct this situation, the Creative Nonfiction and Staunton Farm Foundations have partnered to offer residents of Southwestern Pennsylvania a unique opportunity to tell their stories.

Writing Away the Stigma: With True Stories Well Told will provide support for 12 individuals to study, free of charge, with the founder and editor of Creative Nonfiction magazine, Lee Gutkind, recognized by Vanity Fair as "the Godfather behind creative nonfiction." Selected writing fellows will attend five weekly workshops led by Lee, which will cover the entire writing process from idea to final product.

All 12 participants will conceive their stories, learn the creative nonfiction craft, and write first and follow-up drafts. The final session will focus on how to get published.

The catch is that you have to be a resident of one of 10 southwestern Pennsylvania counties. That's not to say we can't one day lure Lee West to lead a similar workshop.

As is the case with thousands of my fellow Wyomingites, I'm a consumer of mental health services. I also have plenty of company when it comes to dealing with mental health issues faced by family members. Due to our status as a rural state, it's tough to find help. When you do find it, it's a long way away. Some of that is being addressed by electronics. My Cheyenne psychiatrist has a gigantic view screen in his office that connects him via a Skype-like system with patients in Lusk and Big Piney and other far-flung locales. It's almost as good as being there. Almost. 

The stigma wanes but never disappears.

Find out more about "Writing Away the Stigma" at https://www.creativenonfiction.org/study-lee-gutkind

Spider-Man's nemesis, steampunk fiction, edgy poetry and hair-raising memoirs all part of Casper literary conference

For a sparsely populated state, we have an amazing amount of arts events. Casper College and ARTCORE have been putting on their fine literary conference for 27 years. This time out, organizers have seized on the college's 2013 theme of "Powerful Women!" and have planned presenters that embody that theme in some interesting ways. Kelly Sue DeConnick, for instance is the top woman writer at Marvel Comics. She is thriving in this male-dominated world with “Osborn: Evil Incarcerated,” featuring Spider Man’s arch-enemy, and a series of Japanese manga adapted into English. Tiffany Trent is best known for her steampunk novel, “The Unnaturalists.” that gives new meaning to "alternative energy." Connie May Fowler writes fantastic novels but will talk at the conference about memoir writing. She’s brought her own experience with an abusive relationship into a powerful memoir and support for orgs that support abused women. Annette Chaudet runs her own successful small press out of small-town Wyoming and Layli Long Soldier transforms her experience on a South Dakota Reservation into edgy poetry.

Quite a line-up.

The 2013 Casper College/ARTCORE Literary Conference will be held Sept. 13-14 in Casper. The events are free and open to the public.

Here's the schedule:

Friday, September 13

Craft Talks:  Second floor, Gateway Building

9–10  AM: Annette Chaudet  Session

10–11 AM: Kelly Sue DeConnick  Session

11–12  AM: Tiffany Trent Session

11-12 AM: Layli Long Soldier Session

Lunch on your own

2–4 PM: WAC creative writing fellowship winners Mary Beth Baptiste, Chad Hanson and Heather Jensen join fellowship judge Connie May Fowler for a reading, Second floor, Gateway Building. FMI: Michael Shay at 307-777-5234 or mike.shay@wyo.gov

7 PM: Tiffany Trent event at the Natrona County Public Library

8 PM: Poetry Slam MC’d by George Vlastos at Metro Coffee downtown

Saturday, September 14

Workshops:  10 AM to Noon, Second Floor, Gateway building. Workshops are free, but space is limited. Please contact jcampbell@caspercollege.edu to sign up for workshop in poetry (Layli Long Soldier) or fiction (Tiffany Trent or Kelly Sue DeConnick).

Participants can sign up to take a workshop with one of the following authors:

Tiffany Trent  (fiction):  Author of YA novel, The Unnaturalists, from Simon & Schuster

Kelly Sue DeConnick (fiction/scripting):  Writer of Marvel Comics’ “Captain Marvel,” “Avengers Assemble” and creator-owned comic, “Pretty Deadly.”

Layli Long Soldier (poetry):  Postmodern Poet, author of the chapbook Chromosomory (Q Ave Press, 2010)

Noon-2 PM:  Artist Talk by Jeanne Stern, “Book Art,”  with reception-style lunch in the Goodstein Gallery

2–3:30 PM: Young Authors award ceremony and reading w/George Vlastos at the Star Lane Center

4-5 PM: Connie May Fowler Master class, “Lifewriting,” Second Floor, Gateway Building

A family story: Strange turn of events at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

My sister Mary went to M.D, Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to save our brother's life by donating stem cells for his bone marrow transplant.

But in the end, he saved her life.

How? Read the story here.

Nicely written, Mary. From the heart!

Tell the EPA that you want clean Wyoming air

Cheyenne writer Edith Cook writes thoughtful op-ed pieces for our local paper, the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. Her favorite subject is the environment, mostly how Wyoming stacks up against the rest of the world when it comes to environmental protections, renewable energy, recycling, etc.

In Friday's WTE, she issued a call for the implementation of new Environmental Protection Agency clean air standards for outdated Wyoming power plants. These standards are opposed by our Governor and legislature and our entire Congressional delegation.

One of the themes running through Edith's piece is the traditional tug-of-war between the state's two major industries: Energy extraction and tourism. Tourists prefer pretty landscapes and clean air. Energy companies tend to dig up landscapes and pollute the air. When writers or musicians or artists bring up these uncomfortable facts, all heck breaks loose. 

But the EPA wants to hear from Wyomingites on these new clean air standards. You can bypass the middleman and write an e-mail or a letter to the following (thanks to Edith for this info). Be sure to comment by tomorrow (Aug. 26) and reference Docket ID No. EPA–R08–OAR–2012–0026:

visit http://www.regulations.gov and follow the simple instructions for submitting comments;

email comments to: r8airrulemakings@epa.gov;

fax comments to: (303) 312–6064;

snail-mail comments to: Carl Daly, Director, Air Program, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, Mailcode 8P– AR, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colorado 80202–1129.

Colorado county considers attaching itself to Wyoming

The Craig (Colo.) Daily Press reports that 

Moffat County could be moving toward secession from Colorado under the 51st State Initiative.

Moffat County Commissioner John Kinkaid announced his intention Tuesday to write the ballot language that would ask local voters whether they want to join the secession movement.

“It’s up to people like us to make a statement that we’re not happy, and we want to go in a different direction,” Kinkaid said during Tuesday’s commission meeting.

--clip--

The 51st State Initiative made headlines when five counties in eastern Colorado approved putting the question of secession to voters.

“The goal is to form a 51st state,” said Jeffrey Hare, executive director of the 51st State Initiative.

 “The net result would be a state that better reflects the values of those outside the Denver/Boulder corridor.”

And here's the fun part:

Kinkaid said Moffat County, under the referendum, would either join up with the 51st state or maybe become part of Wyoming.

Wyo. Gov. Matt Mead is having none of this, according to an AP story in the Billings Gazette:

Officials in Wyoming were not amused.

"The country and our state face many significant challenges at this time. This discussion does not move us forward," said Renny MacKay, spokesman for Gov. Matt Mead.

Wyoming might come out ahead on the deal. We'd gain a big chunk of real estate (4,751 square miles) without adding a lot of people (13,795). Sure, most are Republicans but that won't matter much in this Republican-dominated state. We would inherit the lion's share of Dinosaur National Monument. It would make a nice bookend to our other national monument -- Devils Tower -- in the northwest corner of the state. We'd get a nice new batch of oil and gas leases (and accompanying mineral royalties). Our borders would creep closer to all that great skiing at Steamboat, the closest major ski area to all of us in Wyoming's southern tier.

If those addled, secession-minded Moffat Countians come knocking, Gov. Mead, I think you should answer. Let's hear what they have to say.

ISLE Journal issues a "call to writers" on behalf of climate change

Saw this call for entries on the Facebook page of author and environmental activist Terry Tempest Williams. Terry divides her time among Utah, Wyoming and assorted worldwide destinations. She will be the closing keynote speaker at the Wyoming Arts Conference in Jackson Oct. 12-14. I'm really looking forward to her talk, as are many others. Register for the conference here. 

This "Call to Writers" on behalf of climate change by Kathleen Moore and Scott Slovic for the ISLE (Interdisciplinary Studies of Literature and the Environment) Journal.

A Call to Writers

As the true fury of global warming begins to kick in — forests flash to ashes, storms tear away coastal villages, cities swelter in record-breaking heat, drought singes the Southwest, the Arctic melts — we come face to face with the full meaning of the environmental emergency: If climate change continues unchecked, scientists tell us, the world’s life-support systems will be irretrievably damaged by the time our children reach middle-age. The need for action is urgent and unprecedented.

We here issue a call to writers, who have been given the gift of powerful voices that can change the world. For the sake of all the plants and animals on the planet, for the sake of intergenerational justice, for the sake of the children, we call on writers to set aside their ordinary work and step up to do the work of the moment, which is to stop the reckless and profligate fossil fuel economy that is causing climate chaos.

That work may be outside the academy, in the streets, in the halls of politics and power, in the new street theaters of creative disruption, all aimed at stopping industry from continuing to make huge profits by bringing down the systems that sustain life on Earth. These activist efforts need the voices of writers, the genius of thought-leaders, the energy of words.

But there is essential work to be done also in our roles as academics and writers, empowered by creative imagination, moral clarity, and the strength of true witness. Write as if your reader were dying, Annie Dillard advised. “What would you say to a dying person that would not enrage by its triviality?” Now we must write as if the planet were dying. What would you say to a planet in a spasm of extinction?[2] What would you say to those who are paying the costs of climate change in the currency of death? Surely in a world dangerously slipping away, we need courageously and honestly to ask again the questions every author asks, Who is my audience—now, today, in this world? What is my purpose? 

Some kinds of writing are morally impossible in a state of emergency: Anything written solely for tenure. Anything written solely for promotion. Any shamelessly solipsistic project. Anything, in short, that isn’t the most significant use of a writer’s life and talents. Otherwise, how could it ever be forgiven by the ones who follow us, who will expect us finally to have escaped the narrow self-interest of our economy and our age?

Some kinds of writing will be essential. We here invite creative thought about new or renewed forms our writing can take. Perhaps some of these:

The drum-head pamphlet. Like Thomas Paine, writing on the head of a Revolutionary War drum, lay it out. Lay out the reasons why extractive cultures must change their ways. Lay out the reasons that inspire the activists. Lay out the reasons that shame the politicians. Lay out the reasons that are a template for decision-makers.

The “broken-hearted hallelujah.” Like Leonard Cohen, singing of loss and love, make clear the beauty of what we stand to lose or what we have already destroyed. Celebrate the microscopic sea-angels. Celebrate the children who live in the cold doorways and shanty camps. Celebrate the swamp at the end of the road. Leave no doubt of the magnitude of their value and the enormity of the crime, to let them pass away unnoticed. These are elegies, these are praise songs, these are love stories.

The witness. Like Cassandra howling at the gates of Troy, bear witness to what you know to be true. Tell the truths that have been bent by skilled advertising. Tell the truths that have been concealed by adroit regulations. Tell the truths that have been denied by fear or complacency. Go to the tarfields, go to the broken pipelines. Tell that story. Be the noisy gong and clanging cymbals, and be the love.

The narrative of the moral imagination. With stories and novels and poems, take the reader inside the minds and hearts of those who live the consequences of global warming. Who are they? How do they live? What consoles them? Powerful stories teach empathy, build the power to imagine oneself into another’s place, to feel others’ sorrow, and so take readers outside the self-absorption that allows the destruction to continue.

The radical imaginary. Re-imagine the world. Push out the boundaries of the human imagination, too long hog-tied by mass media, to create the open space where new ideas can flourish. Maybe it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism or fossil fuels or terminal selfishness. But this is the work that calls us—to imagine new life-ways into existence. Writers may not be able to save the old world, but they can help create the new one.

The indictment. Like Jefferson listing the repeated injuries and usurpations, let facts be submitted to a candid world. This is the literature of outrage. How did we come to embrace an economic system that would wreck the world? What iniquity allows it to continue?

The apologia. Finally this: Write to the future. Try to explain how we could allow the devastation of the world, how we could leave those who follow us only an impoverished, stripped, and dangerously unstable time. Ask their forgiveness. This is the literature of prayer. Is it possible to write on your knees, weeping?

And a Specific Invitation

In the case of global climate change—or, to put it directly, global warming—the importance of this call to the world’s most eloquent voices and most powerful imaginations cannot be overstated. The virtue of applying literary—and more broadly humanistic—voices to this issue is, in part, the fundamental pluralism of such voices. Our goal is not to ask for a single, unified perspective, but to draw forth a chorus of diverse responses to global warming. At this time, we urge our colleagues to apply their talents and their wisdom to the phenomenon that is altering the inhabitability of this planet more profoundly than any other anthropogenic impact. What do you have to say on the subject of global warming? How might your poetic, narrative, philosophical, teacherly, or scholarly voice make a difference?

Are you a poet or a storyteller? A philosopher or an ecocritic? A journalist or a script writer for film? Perhaps a literary essayist who weaves together many different modes of expression? Or is your medium the letter to the editor or the course syllabus? Recognizing the diverse forms of writing employed by writers throughout the world—and perhaps the need to invent or reinvent forms of writing equal to the emergency of global warming—we call upon you not only to feel the heat we all feel in this warming world, but to think about the heat and to find find le mot juste to match this unparalleled environmental and social challenge.

We have previously published climate-related articles and literary work in the pages of ISLE, but there has never been a focused cluster devoted to this essential topic. Now, with a short turn-round time that reflects the unprecedented urgency of this challenge, we invite readers of ISLE to send us scholarly and creative work for a global-warming cluster that will appear in the Winter 2014 issue of the journal. We can consider work received by September 30. Please contact us if you have any questions (kmoore@oregonstate.edu and slovic@uidaho.edu).

We also wish to encourage our students and colleagues throughout the world to devote their efforts to this pressing issue with an eye toward publishing in future issues of ISLE; in other scholarly, creative, or popular forums; and through untraditional and even non-public media, such as behind-the-scenes letters to elected officials or corporate leaders.

Your voice is needed. We call upon you to put your mind to the meaning of climate change. Do you have something better to do?

Kathleen Dean Moore and Scott Slovic

Tim Kaine in Jackson: "Come engage in a real dialogue with a member of the U.S. Senate"

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia may be running for president in 2016 -- but who isn't? Hanging out with a Virginia Democrat will be a darn sight more illuminating that going to Glenrock to hear our own Sen. Enzi, who wants to shut down the gubment due to the fact that America picked Obamacare over Enzicare. One reason for Kaine's trip is to meet some Liberal high-rollers spending the last weeks of summer at their mountainside vacation homes. But one must go where the dough is. And who knows -- maybe newbie Jackson resident Liz Cheney will stop by for some campaigning tips.

Brando: Very few people care enough to be a witness to life

From Artists Supporting the Arts in Public Schools on Facebook:

Acting -- all of the arts -- is about observation. As Tennessee [Williams] said, it is about being a witness. Very few people can do this. Very few people care enough to do this. The actor, the writer, the artist, the musician witnesses the world and its people -- and then he tells the stories he has remembered, overheard, surmised. Always attempt to be a witness. Remember those you've loved; those who moved you. In almost every performance I've ever given -- and of which I've been somewhat proud -- I've had a piece of my mother, overwhelmed by life, consumed by sadness, poisoned by alcohol, but still reaching out to me and rubbing my forehead until I fell asleep. I take that memory and I implant it in every character I play. I honor her efforts through gangsters and emperors and brutes and saints. The loving hand on the forehead, when the fist of life is bashing her own head. --Marlon Brando/Interview with James Grissom/1990

Democrat-o-thon in Cheyenne on Aug. 18 w/update

Kathleen Petersen, secretary of the Laramie County Democrats Grassroots Coalition, sends this:

The Laramie County Democrats Grassroots Coalition is hosting a Garden Party and Concert at Joe Corrigan's house, 3626 Dover Street in Cheyenne, on Sunday, August 18, with music presented by Dave Shaul and Friends. The festivity begins at 6 p.m. and goes until 9 p.m. There will be finger food and silent auction items and music. Please bring a lawn chair so you can sit and enjoy the music, bring a beverage of your choice and bring a friend too! For more information call Kathleen at 307-421-4496.

Earlier in the day, the Laramie County Democrats are holding a bowl-a-thon at Two Bar Bowl in Cheyenne. More details later...

More details later... The bowl-a-thon has been postponed for a later date. See you at the garden party!

Meet a Democratic U.S. Senator when Jon Tester comes to Wyoming Aug. 27

Spend an evening with farmer, former school teacher and Montana U.S. Senator Jon Tester when the Wyoming Democrats bring him to Sheridan on Aug. 27. The reception and fund-raiser will be held at Black Tooth Brewery, one of the state's best brewpubs in one of Wyoming's liveliest downtowns. Dems are all about brewpubs and the arts and fellow Dems and thriving communities and creative placemaking and shopping locally and supporting our local progressives. Tix are $75. FMI: http://www.wyodems.org/event/evening-senator-jon-tester

Sen. Enzi seeks out liberal bastions in Wyoming during August listening tour

Nancy S at Veterans for Peace Wyoming Chapter 65 has been paying attention to Sen. Enzi's listening tour schedule during the Congressional recess. Note that Sen. Enzi will be listening at all of these liberal bastions in WYO:

Wednesday August 14th, Glenrock: Senator Enzi will be in town for an hour, tell him what for.  2:30 PM, Senior Center, 615 W. Deer St.   Info:  www.enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2013/8/enzi-announces-august-listening-sessions.  Free. 
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Friday August 16th, Buffalo: Senator Enzi will be in town for an hour, tell him what for.  10 AM, Public Library, 171 N. Adams Ave.  Info:  www.enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2013/8/enzi-announces-august-listening-sessions.  Free. 
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Thursday August 22nd, Worland: Senator Enzi will be in town for an hour, tell him what for.  1:30 PM, Museum & Cultural Center, 2200 Big Horn Ave.  Info:  www.enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2013/8/enzi-announces-august-listening-sessions.  Free. 
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Thursday August 22nd, Greybull: Senator Enzi will be in town for an hour, tell him what for.  4 PM, Community Hall, 527 1st Ave. South.  Info:  www.enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2013/8/enzi-announces-august-listening-sessions.  Free.

P.S.: The counties -- Big Horn, Converse, Johnson and Washakie -- that house the above-mentioned towns cast an average 80% of their votes for Mitt Romney (remember him?) in the 2012 presidential elections. Some guy named Obama got most of the remainder. Wonder what happened to him....