Play the rhyme game with Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee, one-time Republican presidential candidate and old-time fundie, wrote a poem about Nancy Pelosi. Huck is so proud of it he posted it on his web site.

It's not bad, as poems go. But the rhymes are a bit predictible. Some writer friends and I like to play a game where we guess the rhymes in mediocre poems. You have to select mediocre poems because they're easier to deconstruct. It's a bit like Mad Libs without the clues. I suppose this could be a drinking game too. Guess wrong and you have to take a drink. Or maybe guess right and take a drink. You decide.

So give these rhymes a try. Some are easy -- and there are a few surprises. If you conjure up some celever rhymes that transform the poem, cut and paste it and put it in the comment section below.

Here goes ---

Here's a story about a lady named Nancy
A ruthless politician, but dressed very _____
Very ambitious, she got herself elected Speaker
But as for keeping secrets, she proved quite a "_______."

She flies on government planes coast to coast
And doesn't mind that our economy is _____
She makes the Air Force squire her in their military jets
There's room for her family, her staff, and even her ____.

Until now, she annoyed us, but her gaffes were mostly funny;
Even though it was painful to watch her waste our tax ______.
But now her wacky comments are no laughing matter;
She's either unwilling to tell the truth, or she's mad as a ______!

She sat in briefings and knew about enhanced interrogation;
But claims she wasn't there, and can't give an ___________.
She disparages the CIA and says they are a bunch of liars;
Even the press aren't buying it and they're stoking their _____.

I think Speaker Pelosi has done too much speaking;
And instead of her trashing our intelligence officials, it's her nose that needs ________.

If forced to believe whether the CIA and her colleagues in Congress are lying;
Or it's Speaker Pelosi whose credibility and career is _____.
I believe in the integrity of the men and women who sacrifice to keep us safe;
Not the woman who has been caught flat-footed, lying to our ____.

I say it here and I say it rather clear--
It's time for Nancy Pelosi to resign and get out of ____.

Comment period for "The Big Straw" extended until July 27

Wyomingites are calling it "The Big Straw."

It's the water diversion project cooked up by some guy in Colorado with the last ominous name "Million," as in "I want a million gallons of your water -- for starters."

Million and his entrepreneurial pals plan to divert water from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir in southwest Wyoming to the Front Range of Colorado.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is holding scoping hearings on the project. The Corps held what the Casper Star-Tribune called a "contentious meeting" on April 14 with the townfolk of Green River. The Green runs right through the town on its way to Flaming Gorge. Green Riverites are afraid that "The Big Straw" will turn the river into a rivulet and the gorge into a puddle.

Army Corps of Engineers project manager Rena Brand said the agency has extended its deadline for accepting public comments for inclusion to July 27. The input will go into an environmental impact statement that may take up to three years to assemble.

But how can anyonwe predict how much water will be flowing out of the Wind River Mountains and into the Green River Valley in the next decade?

Bill Sniffin, a columnist from Lander who ran for governor on the Republican side in 2002, said in a syndicated column today that experts have seen increased melting of the glaciers in the mountain range. Add a drought to that, and there may not be enough water in the Green for current users once the Corps makes up its mind. It was in Bill's column where I saw "The Big Straw" reference. I also saw it recently in The Denver Post.

Global climate change is a moving target.

Meanwhile, get yourself to one of these scoping meetings and see if you can carry on Wyoming's contentious reputation when it comes to water thievery.

Sunday Web Reading Roundup -- yee-hah!

Cheyenne's Joanne Kennedy Smyth writes about mirror neurons, empathy and writers.

Maureen Dowd: Dick Cheney as Snidely Whiplash (via Daily Kos).

Vincent Miller provides some perspective to this weekend's anti-Obama protests at Notre Dame in the National Catholic Reporter.

Former Jacksonian jhwygirl on Montana's 4&20 blackbirds gets the brain cells percolating with a haiku slam challenge .

Memorial Day gifts for the antiwar veteran (and non-veteran) at Iraq Veterans Aginst the War.

We pray that National Day of Prayer goes away

I take the liberty to reproduce parts of a letter to the editor published in the May 14 Casper Star-Tribune:

Editor:

On Thursday, May 7, Wyoming Christians took part in the National Day of Prayer in Cheyenne. The NDP theme this year? "Prayer...America's Hope," based upon Psalm 33:22, "May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You."

The Rotunda at the Capital was filled to almost overflowing with Christians, who, at noon that day, joined millions of their fellow countrymen across the United States in prayer for our nation.

(removed several paragraphs as they irritated me)

Although prayer is one of the most enduring paths to hope and change, and our nation needs a lot of both right now, the current inhabitant of the White House did not observe NDP. Mr. Obama's Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, told his press club, "We're doing a proclamation, which I know many administrations in the past have done." But Mr. Obama did not invite any faith leaders to the White House, nor did he attend any of the events associated with NDP, as all of his predecessors for at least the past fifty years have done.

Does that tell us anything about our president?

ANTHONY J. SACCO, Pine Bluffs

Mr. Sacco, I have already written at length about the sham called National Day of Prayer. It sounds like a great thing, all of us "Christians" raising our voices in supplication to the God as conceived by Christians. However, Christians come in many shapes and sizes. I, for one, am a Christian and a Democrat and a fan of Pres. Obama. I do not chide someone for avoiding prayer, or for praying in a way different from my own method. I then would be as bad as the arrogant Pharisees that Jesus himself had so much trouble with.

When I discovered that the National Day of Prayer was just a Right-Wing Fundamentalist sham cooked up by James Dobson and his lovely wife of Focus on the Family fame, I realized what a crock this event was. You fundies have spent the past couple decades trying to remake the country in your theocratic vision. You failed miserably, and now it's time for the rational adults to take over.

I grant you, prayer is a wonderful thing. It is one path to hope and change. There are many paths to hope and change. Last fall, some of us chose to pray for strength while we knocked on doors to get people to vote for a candidate of hope and change. We got what we worked and prayed for. Not everything that Pres. Obama does is what I envisioned. But it's a start -- and much better than what you fundies had in mind.

Amen.

Dust off that spring cowboy hat for Laramie Co. Democratic Grassroots Coalition event

The Laramie County Democratic Grassroots Coalition is celebrating spring's imminent arrival with a "Spring Hat Tea" on Saturday, May 23, 1-3 p.m., at Cheyenne's Historic Plains Hotel. Tickets are $10 apiece and refreshments will be served. Attendees are invited to wear their favorite spring hat. That goes for men, too, so dust off your spring cowboy lid (or UW ballcap) and come on down.

Featured speaker will be Wyoming First Lady Nancy Freudenthal speaking about "Taking Care of the Caregiver."

Mary Lou Marcum is looking for nutritious and delicious Democratic recipes for the Coalition's cookbook. Bring them on May 23 (deadline for submissions Aug. 1). If you have questions, contact Mary Lou at 307-635-3464 or windywyo@bresnan.net.

For more info about the "Spring Hat Tea," contact Karyn Knutson, 432-9157, or Katherine Van dell, 634-8449.

Cheyenne will be home of new Coal Gasification Tech Center

The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees announced Friday that it's pursuing a site in Laramie County on which to build the proposed High Plains Gasification-Advanced Technology Center. The site is located in the Cheyenne Business Parkway, in east Cheyenne just off I-80.

The site "will be home to a small-scale gasification system that will allow researchers to develop and validate advanced coal gasification technologies for Powder River Basin and other Wyoming coals," according to a UW press release.

Estimated cost of the project is $100 million, part of it coming from GE Energy (yes, that GE).

For information on the project, visit www.uwyo.edu/ge.

The new facility may look something like one of these:

Sarah Palin: "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"

The Anchorage Daily News, charged with keeping tabs on its peripatetic governor, reports that Sarah Palin is set to sign a book deal with Rupert Murdoch's Harper Collins Publishers. The exact amount of the book deal has not been announced, but it's sure to be a whopper. Then again, Palin has some whoppers to tell.

Here's an excerpt from the News story:

News reports this winter suggested Palin was pursuing an $11 million advance. She called that figure "laughable" in January but has never provided another. Palin has said she would give a portion of any money she makes from a book to charities although she hasn't decided how much or which ones.

Palin hired Robert Barnett, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who is one of the most powerful figures in book publishing, to negotiate the deal for her memoir. His past deals reportedly include $12 million for Bill Clinton's memoir and an $8.5 million advance for Alan Greenspan.

Barnett said in an interview Tuesday that HarperCollins was "first and fervent" in pursuing the Palin book.

This is a big reason why publishers have no money to publish real writers, such as some I know in Wyoming and throughout the Rocky Mountain West.

Instead, they publish crap by high profile people, books that people never read. However, they may buy a copy to put on their coffee table. They may also buy a copy if they can get it signed in person by the "author." I once did this with one of Newt Gingrich's books. I stood in line for two hours in a Bethesda Border's store and had the most interesting conversations. Not everyone was a Republican, as Maryland is as bereft of Repubs (except in Michael Steele's burg) as Wyoming is lacking in Dems.

I was able to utter a few comments about saving the National Endowment for the Arts as Newt scribbled his name on the title page. This may have been the reason that Newt helped salvage the NEA's literary fellowships when the big "Contract with America" cuts came down in 1994. Or maybe I'm being a bit grandiose. But I did read a bit of the book before I put it in the mail to my Dad in Florida. Not bad. The guy can write. He's a big name in the "alternative futures" or "spec-fic" sci-fi category.

But Sarah Palin? Which category will her book be in? Speculative pasts? Ridiculous presents?

Some funny book titles were suggested tonight on Keith Olbermann's show. "The Audacity of Hype" is a good one. Since Palin has said she's a C.S. Lewis fan, someone suggested "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." You have to think about that one a little bit.

Hilarious: The Daily Show explores academic excellence at Sun Devil U

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
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Poetry jam comes to the White House

It is probably safe to say that Tuesday’s event may well have been the first White House poetry jam, the fast-paced presentation of spoken verse that has become popular among young people in cities across the country.

So said Rachel L. Swarns in a post on the New York Times web site.

Poetry jam in the White House? That is cool.

The event included Hawaiian poet Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio; Lin Manuel Miranda, the creator of the Tony-Award winning Broadway musical, “In the Heights;” husband-wife writers Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman; Chicago poet Maida del Valle; some guy named James Earl Jones; musician Esperanza Spaulding; Yonkers, N.Y., poet Joshua Brandon Bennett.

“We’re here to celebrate the power of words and music to help us appreciate beauty and also to understand pain,’’ Mr. Obama told the crowd.

Mrs. Obama urged her guests to “enjoy, have fun and be loose” as they absorbed performances from Hawaiian, Puerto Rican, Jewish and African American writers in an event intended to showcase the diversity of American talent.

This was just one of a series of events that the Obamas have put on at the White House to celebrate the arts.

Other events have featured bagpipers, mariachi bands, Irish fiddlers, Irish Poets (i.e. Paul Muldoon), and singers and musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, Earth Wind and Fire, Tony Bennett, and Fergie, the singer from the Black Eyed Peas.

Can't you smell that smell? It's a clunker!

One-time Denverite David von Drehle writes a funny piece in Friday's Time mag about the government's proposed "cash for clunkers" program. He considers all the angles in trading in his much-used minivan (i.e., "clunker") for cash. I won't give away the ending, but along the way, David lists some great resources for his fellow clunker owners. Read the entire article at http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1896663,00.html.

As always, I turned to the Tire Business web site for info about anything automotive (actually it was my first Google-inspired visit but I'll be back). The Tire Business article snagged the following info from government sources:

According to an Energy and Commerce fact sheet, the Cash for Clunkers program in the compromise bill would be authorized for up to one year and provide for some 1 million new car and truck purchases. Under the program, old passenger cars and light trucks must get less than 18 mpg. Motorists would be eligible for vouchers of $3,500 each if their new vehicles improve on the old vehicles’ gas mileage by at least 4 mpg (for passenger cars) or 2 mpg (for light trucks). For improvements of up to 10 mpg for cars or 5 mpg for trucks, the voucher would be $4,500.

I'm not certain if my minivan qualifies. It's a 2000 Dodge Caravan, which makes it more than eight years old. But it's a flex-fuel vehicle. It's rated for 16 mpg in the city and 23 highway for gas, for an average of 19. For E85, it's rated 12 city and 17 highway for a total of 13. If you add those together, I more than qualify. If you just consider the gasoline stats, I don't. More Googling may be in order.

If approved, I will accept a voucher for $4,500. I plan to buy an extremely fuel-efficient passenger car that's not a minivan. We don't need one anymore. Our son lives in Tucson and we don't expect him to return to Wyoming. Our daughter has plans to move in two years (after high school graduation) to attend college in a big city. My wife has her own Saturn, and refuses to ride in the minivan until I remove the "smell" from it. I don't smell the smell, but she does. She describes it as part McDonald's wrappers, part mildew, part Armor-All and part Fat Tire Amber Ale. I have to explain that last one. I do not drink and drive. However, I'm charged with recycling and sometimes have kept containers of empty beer bottles in the van for a couple weeks. During the summer, minivan parked in the hot sun, the tiny bit of beer left in the bottom of the bottles begins to re-ferment and adds a bouquet to the interior. I won't say it's an unpleasant smell, but my wife will.

For that reason alone I should get a voucher.

With the $4,500, I will attempt to buy a Chevy Malibu hybrid or possibly a Ford Fusion, both high-mileage alternatives. I'll stick to American-made cars, so that my stimulus will stimulate the correct places. I will have to say sayonara to my Canadian-made Dodge, which has served our family well on cross-country jaunts and camping trips since we bought it used in 2001.

Not yet sure how I'm going to get all those recyclables to the big blue bins at our local grocery store parking lot. I won't be able to save up two weeks worth since they all won't fit in the little trunk I'm sure to get with an efficient vehicle. I'll think of something.

"Star Trek" more than a blast from the past

Today is our 27th anniversary.

I gave my wife tickets to the new Star Trek movie. Bought one for me and daughter too. Chris is a Trekkie or, as some prefer, Trekker. She watches original Star Trek reruns every Saturday night on Fox. She also has a complete set of DVDs from the TV series -- the first one.

The movie was exciting and fun. Characters were a shade different from the originals, but that only added to the fun. Spock was a little warmer (and has a thing for Uhura) and Kirk was a bit wilder. Special effects, of course, were boffo. But how tough is it to produce boffo effects these days?

Speaking of special effects -- we saw scads of previews for summer blockbusters. Lots of stuff getting blown up in June and July.

Search called off for Wyoming poet Craig Arnold

So sad to hear the news about the suspension of the search in Japan for UW prof and globe-trotting poet Craig Arnold. His partner, Rebecca Lindenberg, relayed the sad tidings:

Our dear friends and family,

Though Craig himself has not been recovered, the amazing expert trackers of 1SRG have been able to make themselves and us certain of what has become of Craig. His trail indicates that after sustaining a leg injury, Craig fell from a very high and very dangerous cliff and there is virtually no possibility that Craig could have survived that fall. Chris will pursue what he can about getting specialists to go down into the place we know Craig is so we can bring him home, but it is very, very dangerous and we are not yet completely certain what that will require. The only relief in this news is that we do know exactly what befell Craig, and we can be fairly certain that it was very quick, and that he did not wait or wonder or suffer.

I cannot express again the profound gratitude I feel to everyone who has loved and honored Craig with their goodwill, their immense efforts and energy, and their overwhelming generosity. I believe that where he is, Craig knows.

There will be further occasion to celebrate Craig, and when I know more I will post it.For my part, I love Craig beyond the telling of it and will always love him as immeasurably, as enduringly, as steadfastly and as unconditionally as I do now and have done these past six years.

In leaving our family, Craig, in a manner absolutely characteristic of his own vast generosity and capacity to inspire, brought us all closer together than we perhaps have ever been. I feel his presence, loving and understanding and funny and deeply feeling, at all times. I hope you do, too.

With love, R.

More on National Day of Prayer

National Day of Prayer is now over on the East Coast, although we have two more hours of praying time here in the Rockies. So get those prayers in, as the Good Lord pays extra-special attention on this day.

I wrote yesterday about the links between National Day of Prayer and the Fundamentalist Right, notably Dobson's Focus on the Family down in Colorado Springs. Americans United for Separation of Church and State have a lot more on the issue at its web site. Go to http://tinyurl.com/raul9v.

Amen, ya'll.

Lummis takes obstructionist role seriously

This comes from the WyoDems:

It looks like Representative Cynthia Lummis is taking her role as a member of the ‘Party of No’ seriously.

In fact, a recent story in Casper Star-Tribune notes Lummis’ vote against “nearly every major piece” of legislation that Congress has considered so far.

Perhaps that’s because, as Lummis says, after casting a vote for House Speaker on January 6, 2009, “…little else has mattered since...” [http://www.trib.com/articles/2009/05/03/news/wyoming/a31d8bfa79d95de1872575aa00213b2c.txt]

“Little else may have mattered to Representative Lummis, but after four months in the House, Wyomingites are paying the price for Lummis’ ‘Party of No’ obstinance to legislation on job creation, health care and consumer protections,” said Wyoming Democratic Party Chair Leslie Petersen. “In fact, her constituents are quickly realizing that Cynthia Lummis doesn’t have new ideas or solutions to the challenges facing our country, communities, and families.”

In just four months in Congress, Lummis has racked up quote a record, voting
against:

• Protecting elders from abuse, neglect and exploitation [Roll Call Vote, 2/11/2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll062.xml]
• Extending health coverage to 5,700 low-income children in Wyoming [Roll Call Vote, 2/4/2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll050.xml]
• Creating or saving 8,000 Wyoming jobs [Roll Call Vote, 2/13/2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll070.xml]
• Protecting consumers from credit card companies charging excessive fees and sky-high interest rates [Roll Call Vote, 4/30/2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll228.xml]
• Efforts to ensure pay equity for women in the workplace [Roll Call Vote, 1/27/2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll037.xml]
• Safeguarding the Snake River and allowing for the maintenance and preservation of its wild and scenic character [Roll Call Vote, /25/2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll153.xml]
• Protecting sensitive portions of the Wyoming Range from future oil and gas
  drilling [Roll Call Vote, 3/25/2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll153.xml]

Progressive radio gets great ratings

This was on the Square State blog out of Denver:

The ratings are in and after just over a year of being on the air in the Denver metro area, the Mario Solis-Marich show is kicking ass and taking names. For Men 18-34, Mario's show is Numero Uno from 4-7 p.m. This includes non-political talk like The Fan. They identify younger Obama voters as part of this success.

"There is a national movement to capture the airwaves and bring them back to the America's progressive majority," said Mario Solis-Marich. "We are lucky and grateful to have this huge endorsement from the heart of the Obama Generation."

I listen to Mario's show on my way home from work in Cheyenne every day on AM 760. I love the daily litany of wingnut audio clips We get the station's signal during the day but it fades at night. I tried to get a livecast from the station's web site, but it doesn't offer one. What gives, Mario?

By the way, I'm in the Obama Generation even though I'm double the age of the target audience. Just trying to be a hep cat....

Thank God! No National Day of Prayer ceremony at the White House

For the past eight years, the National Day of Prayer has been an excuse to tout the Fundamentalist Right’s holier-than-thou attitude and its clout within the Republican Party.

This year's National Day of Prayer to Promote the Repudiated Policies of the Republican Party/Focus on the Family will be held tomorrow, May 7, at public venues all over the U.S.

Cheyenne's version is usually held in front of the State Capitol Building. It always features a military component and a fairly good crowd of Republicans and Libertarians and Millennialists. Never a Democrat to be seen, unless you count me, the inveterate rubber-necker.

The National Day of Prayer Task Force is based in Colorado Springs, hotbed of fundie ferment. Focus on the Family’s James Dobson and other people with the same last name are part of the organization.

Here what the organization says about itself on its web site:

• Mission: The National Day of Prayer Task Force's mission is to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, mobilizing the Christian community to intercede for America and its leadership in the seven centers of power: Government, Military, Media, Business, Education, Church and Family.
  
  Our Vision and Values: In accordance with Biblical truth, the National Day of Prayer Task Force seeks to:
• Foster unity within the Christian Church
• Protect America's Constitutional Freedoms to gather, worship, pray and speak freely.
• Publicize and preserve America's Christian heritage
• Encourage and emphasize prayer, regardless of current issues and positions
• Respect all people, regardless of denomination or creed
• Be wise stewards of God's resources and provision
• Glorify the Lord in word and deed
  

All us us raised within the "Christian Church" know the code words and phrases. "Biblical truth" means the literal word of the Bible as interpreted by TV preachers. The "Christian Church" means everybody but Catholics, even though Catholic Church, in the past couple decades, has made nice with the fundies. The fundies, in turn, only pretend to make nice with Papists, who will not be part of The Rapture due to the fact that they worship false idols (saints) and spend way too much time drinking beer and practicing "social justice." "Mobilizing the Christian community" means voting Republican. I could go on and on.

To Pres. Obama's credit, he won't allow this sham ceremony to take place in the White House. Bush did, and look where that got him.

Here are some excerpts of a CNN story about the subject:

For the past eight years, the White House recognized the National Day of Prayer with a service in the East Room, but this year, President Obama decided against holding a public ceremony.

"Prayer is something that the president does everyday," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday, noting that Obama will sign a proclamation to recognize the day, as many administrations in the past have done.

Asked if Obama thought his predecessor's ceremonies were politicized, Gibbs said, "No, I'm not going to get into that again.

I will answer that question. Yes, yes, yes. It was all politics. And it's about time we did without it. Dobson and his avenging angels on the Right have been pounding on Democrats and Democratic Party politics for decades. Let them have their own ceremonies with their fellow travelers in Congress.

Although there are no public events scheduled at the White House, representatives from the legislative and judicial branches are expected to attend an event the National Day of Prayer Task Force is holding on Capitol Hill.

"It would be belittling to those millions of people to reduce this day to merely one event not being held at the White House."Task Force Chairman Shirley Dobson said in a statement that she was disappointed in the "lack of participation" by the Obama administration, adding that "at this time in our country's history, we would hope our President would recognize more fully the importance of prayer."

Dobson will be a presenter at that event, along with her husband and former president of Focus on the Family James Dobson, author Beth Moore, NFL player Shaun Alexander and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Shirely Dobson and James Dobson will join wingnut Michelle Bachmann at the Capitol Hill National Day of Prayer ceremony?

Enough said.

Fund to Find Craig Arnold hires search team

In a story filed at 3:12 p.m. today, the AP's Mead Gruver writes about the 1st Special Response Group hired to find missing Laramie poet Craig Arnold in Japan.

Here are excerpts:

The searchers' strategy will be to look carefully for Arnold's trail and then pursue any signs, said David Kovar, founder of the nonprofit organization based in Mountain View, Calif.

"They are expert in following the sign of human passage through the terrain," Kovar said. "If you think about aboriginals or Native Americans who were known for following signs of people going through a landscape, this is sort of the modern version of that."

-------------

Kovar said 1st Special Response Group doesn't charge fees and only accepts payment to cover its costs. A fund set up over the weekend to cover the search costs had raised $10,000, Augusta Palmer said.

University spokeswoman Jessica Lowell said the fund was set up at UniWyo Federal Credit Union in Laramie with assistance from the University of Wyoming.

"We continue to hope for a resolution, a positive resolution," she said.

The island of Kuchinoerabu-jima is home to about 150 people and is generally a destination for fishing rather than hiking, said Yoshiyuki Kuzuhara, a local police official. He said the 1,800-foot volcanic mountain has no hiking trail, and the locals rarely go there.

Read the entire story at http://tinyurl.com/dgon7c

To contribute to the search fund, go to https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5149253

Day of Giving (Empathy) Saturday in Cheyenne

Day of Giving on Saturday, May 8, provides economically disadvantages with non-perishable food, prescription medications, personal care items, donate blood, Register as a Bone marrow and/or organ/tissue donor. Recipients include clients of Needs, Inc., Salvation Army, Comea House, Safe House Sexual Assault Services, Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless, Bethel Outreach Ministries, and Cheyenne Interfaith Hospitality Network. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Kiwanis Community House, 4603 Lions Park Dr., Cheyenne. Info: Greta, 635-3943, 421-3436, aemorrow@millect.com, Pam, 637-5193, www.cheyennenetwork.com/dayofgiving.

New documentary: No blood for water!

Give a name to the cuddly new GOP mascot

Kossack Jake McIntyre over at Daily Kos needs your help naming the cuddly new logo for the Republican Party (above). The beast is half traditional GOP elephant and half dinosaur -- and the dinosaur half seems to be winning within Republican ranks. Go to http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/4/30/726404/-Kossack-Kontest:-Name-That-Goposaur and add to the name fray.

He started things off with Grover the Goposaur, named after famous wingnut strategist Grover Norquist (with a tip of the hat to Grover on Sesame Street). Other good ones so far include these: Grumposaurus Rex, GOPosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannicalsaurus Rex, Loonasaurus, Dixiesaurus, Schizophrenodon and Megalomaniadon.

Dino design by Kossack malacandra

Casper native headed to Supreme Court?

In today's Casper Star-Tribune, Jared Miller had some news about a Casper native and University of Wyoming grad whom I'd like to see in Washington, D.C.:

M. Margaret McKeown, a justice on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was listed as a potential nominee by The Associated Press on Friday.

Born in 1951, McKeown graduated from Kelly Walsh High School in 1969 and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UW in 1972. She received a law degree from Georgetown University in 1975.

During her 34-year legal career, McKeown worked in private practice in Seattle and Washington, D.C., where she represented clients such as The Boeing Company, Nintendo of America and Citicorp.

She also served as a White House fellow and special assistant to the Secretary of the Interior.

She was nominated to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1997 by President Bill Clinton, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 1998.

In an interview with the Star-Tribune in 2006, McKeown credited a visit to the nation’s Capitol with her Casper schoolmates as the spark of her passion for government.

Read Jared Miller's blog at http://tribtown.trib.com/JaredMiller/blog

Wyoming Democrats looking for communications director

This comes from Dave Lerner, communications guy for the Laramie County Democratic Party:

The mission of the Wyoming Democratic Party is to support and elect Democratic candidates to offices from city hall to Washington, D.C.

The Communications Director contributes to this mission by working directly with the executive director to devise an overall press plan, including long-range planning and event media, speechwriting, scheduling, and advance. This person must have solid communication skills and a working knowledge of Wyoming's issues, people and political landscape. Experience desired includes at least four years in communications, marketing, journalism or a related profession. Field organizing skills, experience using databases, or other background in political work is a plus.

The duties of the Communications Director include:

• Working with the DNC on communicating national messages
• Preparing a communications-and-marketing plan
• Assisting candidates, county parties, and the state Central Committee with message development
• Responding to media inquiries
• Drafting press releases, op/eds and talking points
• Coordinating letter-writing efforts, radio talk show call-in efforts, and other surrogate message work
• Recruiting surrogates for communicating message and for attending county party events
• Planning and executing earned media events
• Assisting members of the Democratic Legislative Caucus with media and constituent outreach
• Maintaining the state party Web site
• Maintaining a clips file

This is a full-time, salaried position. Pay will be commensurate with experience and will include a benefits stipend. The Communications Director can be based in any part of Wyoming and will travel within the state fairly frequently.

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume and at least three references to luckett@wyomingdemocrats.com. The subject line should include "Communications Director Application (Your Name)." Applications may also be mailed to Bill Luckett, Wyoming Democratic Party, PO Box 1963, Casper, WY, 82602. Applications must be received by the close of business on May 18, 2009.

Guess which Wyo. Rep. voted against The Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights?

Trick question.

There's only one U.S. House member from the State of Wyoming. That's right. Cynthia Lummis, looking after the state's citizens by voting against a bill that would put the brakes on predatory practices of the credit card industry.

She was one of only 70 House naysayers, all Republicans but one. She was joined by the likes of Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), who thinks that Matthew Shepard's murder had nothing to do with him being gay. Other free-thinkers voting against this consumer-protection bill were Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.), who once called for an "anti-American" investigation into Democratic Party members of Congress, and Ted Poe (R-Texas), who believes that waterboarding prisoners is a fine idea. What great company Ms. Lummis keeps.

Here are excerpts from an AP story by Marcy Gordon about the Credit Card Holders' Bill of Rights:

Riding a crest of populist anger, the House on Thursday approved a bill to restrict credit card practices and eliminate sudden increases in interest rates and late fees that have entangled millions of consumers.

The legislation passed by a bipartisan vote of 357-70 following lobbying by President Barack Obama and members of his administration.

The measure would prohibit so-called double-cycle billing and retroactive rate hikes and would prevent companies from giving credit cards to anyone under 18.

If they become law, the new measures won't take effect for a year, except for a requirement that customers get 45 days' notice before their interest rates are increased. That would take effect in 90 days.Similar legislation is before the Senate, where its prospects appear promising.

Consumer advocates and some Democrats have unsuccessfully sought for years to
bring new rules to the industry. "A big vote in the House will create an even bigger momentum as it goes to the Senate," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters.

Before approving the bill, dubbed the Credit Card Holders' Bill of Rights, the House adopted a series of amendments -- some of which were pushed by the White House -- that amplified the restrictions on industry practices.

The House measure incorporates Federal Reserve regulations due to take effect in July 2010 but goes further by adding restrictions for credit cards for college students. Double-cycle billing eliminates the interest-free period for consumers who move from paying the full balance monthly to carrying a balance.

Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis votes against Matthew Shepard Act

Matthew Shepard, the Casper native who was murdered in 1998 in Laramie

Today, the U.S. House overwhelmingly passed the the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act.

Matthew Shepard's mother Judy Shepard, a Casper resident, responded to the decision saying, "No one should face violence simply because of who they are. This bill is a critical step to erasing the hate that has devastated far too many families."

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), vice chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus and co-sponsor of the measure, said: “Every hate crime is an attack on the liberty and equality valued by every American. This legislation will provide state and local law enforcement agencies with resources they need to investigate and prosecute hate crimes, while also protecting the exercise of free speech and religious expression provided under our Constitution.”

Matthew Shepard, oldest son of Dennis Shepard and Judy Shepard, was born in Casper on December 1, 1976. He attended Crest Hill Elementary, Dean Morgan Junior High, and the first two years of high school at Natrona Co. H.S., Dick and Lynne Cheney's alma mater. He was a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church.

On the cold night of Oct. 6, 1998, he was followed when leaving a gay bar, beaten up, tied to a fence and left for dead. The girlfriends of the two young men arrested testified that they had targeted Shepherd because he was gay.

Wyoming's lone representative in the U.S. House, Cynthia Lummis, is from Cheyenne and graduated from the University of Wyoming, the same school attended by Matthew Shepard. Today, she joined her Know-Nothing colleagues (a.k.a. Republicans) in the House and voted against the Matthew Shepard Act.

Shame on you, Cynthia Lummis. Shame.

You're no better than Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) who spoke against the House legislation by saying that the story that Matthew was murdered because he was gay is a "hoax" played on the American people. This "hoax" idea is a popular theme on wingnut blogs.

Those must be the blogs that Rep. Lummis reads.

Rain today, hurricanes tomorrow in Wyoming

Chris Boswell talk to the LarCoDems last night and depressed the heck out of us.

Maybe it was just me. Fortunately, I'm always heavily medicated, a prerequisite for Wyoming Dems.

Ten percent budget cuts for state government in FY 2010. More severe cuts later on. "It may be raining tioday, but it's really going to rain tomorrow." State collecting less money on mineral taxes. Natural gas was selling for $8 per Mcf a year ago and now it's down to $2.37 Mcf. The companies are still pumping out the gas and selling it for less, even though a dramatic oversupply is predicted for this summer. Other mineral prices are down, although Wyoming is selling its coal like there's no tomorrow.

And there may not be.

Greenhouse gases. Global warming. Alternative energy. These are not welcome terms in Wyoming. Boswell mentioned that one of three main companies digging up our low-sulphur coal is a global warming-denier -- and actively works against any new legislation on CO2 emissions.

That may have been fine in the Bush Administration, when every federal office had an open-door policy for energy companies.

But that's changed. There are some coal-producing states that have a seat at Obama's table. Illinois, for instance, the president's old stomping ground. West Virginia (Sen. Byrd!) and Kentucky, too. Dare I say Pennsylvania and its new Dem senator? Our neighbor to the north has two Democratic senators who support coal -- and a powerful and popular Governor who has all sorts of way-out plans for King Coal.

Who is representing Wyoming and its magnificent low-sulphur coal at these meetings? Sen. Enzi is busy with health care reform and, to his credit, working on it in a bipartisan manner. The almost-rookie, Sen. John Barrasso, is too busy ragging about Obama on Fixed News. Too bad, Boswell says, because "he's an intelligent man." A physician, too, and a big supporter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association who votes against stem-cell research and tows the Repub line on just about everything -- including global warming.

Rep. Lummis? She votes against anything that comes across her desk. A lost cause, just like her predecessor.

Boswell noted that it doesn't help that the "Big Three" coal conglomerates that operate in Wyoming haven't done a good job promoting their product -- and investing in clean coal technologies.

That has to change if Wyoming is going to keep selling its energy products. It's the taxes on oil and gas and coal and trona that keeps the state afloat. The impregnable Repub fortress that is our legislature won't raise taxes, not even on gasoline (one of the lowest taxes on gas in the U.S.). They won't spend any money unless there's a zillion-dollar surplus, as there has been in the past four years or so. We need to spend more on renewable energy sources and then figure out a tax structure for them.

Wyoming is on the wrong end of history, energy-wise. Otherwise, too, now that the president that I helped elect is making the decisions, backed by a huge Dem majority in Congress.

Next time: impact of the stimulus bill on Wyoming.

New Dem Chair supports Pres. Obama's higher-education plan

This is the second press release I've received from Leslie Petersen, the new chair of the Wyoming Democratic Party. Thing is, she's been in office for less than two weeks. Hope she keeps up the pace.

In this release, Leslie supports Pres. Barack Obama's higher education plan, which was presented on Friday.

Said Leslie:

“Students in Wyoming – like young people all across America – are struggling to cope with the skyrocketing cost of higher education. In recent decades tuition has grown ten times faster than a typical family’s income – putting an undue strain on families and making the cost of higher education too expensive for far too many.

“At the same time, students are competing in a global marketplace with countries like China and India, and we need to ensure that the American workforce has the tools to rise to the challenge. That’s why the President today announced a plan to make college more affordable and to continue his administration’s historic investment in America’s future.

“President Obama has already enacted legislation making the cost of college more affordable by making working families eligible for a $2,500 tax credit to help offset the cost of tuition, modernizing and expanding federal loan programs and reforming the Pell Grant program. The plan the President announced today to eliminate waste in the current loan programs and expand Pell Grants will help ensure that more students can afford college and that our system is as efficient as possible.

“As unemployment rises, a college degree is more important than ever. We must do
everything we can to make sure all eligible students can get the education they need to succeed. We are thankful that with President Obama at the helm, we are much closer to making the dream of an affordable college education a reality.”

If only our all-Repub Congressional delegation would get behind this plan. At one point, Sen. Enzi was a champion of education. But I suspect that the Know-Nothings in his party got to him.

We already know that Sen. Barrasso and Rep. Lummis are too busy sucking up to the wingnuts to be of any help on this issue.

Cheney and Yellowstone wolves prowl Wyoming

Dear Democratic Party of the USA:

I understand that you are still trying to raise $202 to send former Veep and Unrepentant Scourge of Humanity Dick Cheney back to Wyoming.

How goes the fund-raising? I'm sure that Marylanders are excited, as it will rid them of Cheney. But Donald Rumsfeld will remain. How can you get rid of one scourge but leave the other one in the neighborhood? Your strategy is flawed.

Let's leave Cheney where we can keep an eye on him. Once he gets loose in Wyoming, there's no telling where he may end up. You know the story of the wolves released into Yellowstone. The National Park Service told the wolves two things: don't wander out of the park boundaries and don't kill any cows or Republicans. Did the wolves listen? No, they have wandered far and wide. There were reports last week that the carcass of a Yellowstone wolf was found in northwestern Colorado. Panic gripped Casper last week. A wolf pack had been spotted and alarums raised throughout Natrona County. One elderly resident of Casper swears that she saw a Yellowstone wolf sipping a pina colada at a downtown bar. His hair was perfect.

On the second count, the wolves have killed a number of cows. No Republicans -- human variety -- have fallen victim to wolf predation. It is, however, a matter of time.

See how difficult it is to corral a predator once it's let loose back into the wild? It's entirely possible that the former Veep will not stay put in his mountain redoubt but will prowl the territory, looking for fresh Democratic blood. He will have many choices in Jackson. But once he wanders outside Teton County into the Repub strongholds of Sublette and Lincoln counties, he may very well end up like the wolf that starved to death in Colorado.

Please, keep Cheney where he can be tagged and observed. You owe that to the citizenry of Wyoming, especially the Dems who worked so hard to elect Barack Obama.

Sincerely,

Fairly Frightened in WYO

Young Democrats rally Tuesday at UW

Bill Luckett sends this announcement:

Democrats at the University of Wyoming plan to hold a press conference tomorrow to discuss the impact of President Obama’s investments in education on students in Wyoming.

TIME: Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 12:15 p.m.

PLACE: University of Wyoming, Simpson Plaza, in front of the Wyoming Union

CONTACT:
Dana Walton, Chair, Young Democrats of Wyoming, 307-258-1825
Rey Fuentes, Vice Chair, Young Democrats of Wyoming, 307-679-4125
Bill Luckett, Executive Director, Wyoming Democratic Party, 307-631-7638

One suggestion. Support Barack Obama's plan for student loans, which boots out the mercenary private lenders and makes more federal funds available through Pell Grants.

For more, go to http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/2009/04/pres-obama-takes-on-student-loan.html