Progblog-o-rama set for Denver convention

The Democratic National Convention Committee announced this yesterday:

In 2004, the DNCC credentialed about 30 blogs to cover the Convention in Boston - the first Convention to credential bloggers. Recently, the DNCC announced that 55 blogs focused on state and local politics were selected to be members of the DemConvention State Blogger Corps. Altogether, the DNCC will credential more than 120 blogs for the Convention and many more individuals will blog the Convention via credentials issued through the U.S. Congressional Press Galleries.The complete list of blogs credentialed to date can be found at www.DemConvention.com/credentialed-blogs.

More Wyoming super-delegates for Obama

The Casper Star-Tribune and the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle both carried stories today that Sen. Barack Obama had picked up his fifth super-delegate from the state. Nancy Drummond, vice chair of the state party, announced Tuesday that she'll throw her support behind Obama.


On Monday, I posted news that three super-delegates had announced publicly their support for Obama. I'm not sure whom I missed. It's either Rep. Patrick Goggles or State Committeewoman Cynthia Nunley. I'll check this out and get back to you tomorrow with all the names. If it is five supers that have declared for Obama, that gives him a 12-5 delegate advantage over Sen. Hillary Clinton.


What will the last three state contests bring? More Obama delegates. Will Florida and Michigan get half-votes for their delegates, as rumored by the media today?

Every delegate counts....

What is your favorite Sen. Enzi moment?

Last night, the Laramie County Democrats grilled U.S. Senate candidate Chris Rothfuss about energy, health care, and his strategy for defeating Republican incumbent Mike Enzi.

Rothfuss said that Enzi had spent his time in the Senate "just saying yes to George Bush" and the asked: "What is your favorite Sen. Enzi moment? I can't think of any."

Well, some of us Dems do have some favorable Sen. Enzi moments. That's the problem. He's a smart, likable guy with a responsive D.C. staff who shows up at events, everything from the state fair to book festivals. He buys and reads books!

But he's one of them. He votes with the Bushies almost 100 percent of the time. He supports the Iraq War, refuses to support Sen. Webb's "21st Century G.I. Bill," says that Social Security is "an entitlement program," and says that our broken health care system can be solved with free-market solutions.

"He works hard but not effectively," said Rothfuss. He emphasizes that this is "a winnable election for the Democrats." His specialty as a chemical engineer is energy, which is a big plus in the era of $4-per-gallon gas, alternative fuels, and a raging debate over coal gasification. "I've had hands-on experience with the types of energy development Wyoming will be involved in."

Wyoming is the leading exporter of energy to the rest of the U.S., he said, "but when we're in D.C., we sit back and let California and Texas tell us what to do. Wyoming needs a strong voice on energy. This is how I see the delineation between me and Sen. Enzi."

More about Rothfuss vs. Enzi in future posts.

Trying to make sense of delegate count

While I was in Jackson over the weekend, I was diligent in tracking the votes for delegates to the national convention. I documented the results in a May 24 on-site post.

Along the way, there was some confusion as to who -- and what -- we were voting for.

Convention chair Debbie Hammonds led us through two sets of delegate votes. The first was fairly clear-cut, as we elected the district and at-large delegates. Those who wanted to run for a spot to Denver had to register in advance. Many lobbied delegates in creative ways. Sara Burlingame from Cheyenne made large campaign buttons featuring her and her very cute (and very bald) baby boy. At her behest, and because she's a fine poet and bread maker, I wore one of those buttons throughout the proceedings.

Other district candidates distributed pens (Willie Neal of Teton County), candy (again, Willie Neal), postcards (Marcia Kunstel, Teton County), pseudo-prescription forms (Jason Bloomberg, M.D., Laramie County), and color flyers on the flip side of Obama placards (Rev. Rodney McDowell, Laramie County).

The most effective pitch came from four Obama supporters from Albany County. Lorraine Saulino-Klein, Rey Fuentes, Jacquelyn Bridgeman, and Mike Massie pooled resources and bought an ad featuring all of their smiling faces in the convention program. They also worked the crowds at the Friday reception and during the convention. Fuentes and Saulino-Klein mailed letters to each delegate several weeks before the convention.

All four earned slots to DenDemCon08. Pretty good marketing, I'd say. It helps that Massie is a well-known and respected senator from the county. And their slate represented a real ethnic and experiential cross-section of Democrats in the county.

But Massie almost didn't make the cut. There was some confusion after lunch as we voted for the rest of the delegates. We Obama supporters had a large slate of at-large candidates to pick two delegates and one alternate. Clinton supporters had a pretty large field to choose their one delegate in this category. Then came the much smaller slates for Party Leader Elected Officials (PLEO). Sen. Mike Massie's name wasn't on the list, which startled the Albany County delegation. The very tall senator went to the podium for an appeal. The Obama slate was quickly amended and Massie was chosen as the PLEO.

The confusion came with the Unpledged Add-On candidate. Only one name was projected on the screen: Rep. Patrick Goggles. Some of the Clinton delegates wondered aloud how Goggles could be a candidate when his name wasn't on the Fremont County delegate list. They were more concerned that Goggles wasn't "uncommitted" but, in reality, a stealth Obama delegate. Some of them brought their concerns to the convention chair and to John Millin, who nominated Goggles. Not sure what transpired, as I was trying to decide among the gazillion names on the Obama at-large list.

Goggles won, making him the sixth super-delegate in the Wyoming delegation to Denver.

My count now shows Obama with 7 delegates and Clinton with 5. So far, three super-delegates have pledged for Obama: John Millin, state central committee chair; Pete Jorgensen, national committeeman; and Gov. Dave Freudenthal. That makes it 10-5, Obama. You can add a "strong maybe" to the list for Patrick Goggles. Cynthia Nunley, the state's national committeewoman, is uncommitted, as is Nancy Drummond, the vice chair for the state central committee. If they all come over to Obama, that will make it it 13-5. Good numbers.

Thanks for your patience with this political arcana. Seems as if politics is made up of such stuff. Stepping-stones to more exciting times, such as the future moment when Sen. Obama accepts the Democratic Party nomination in Denver.

To view some convention photos, go to my web site and click on WyoDemCon08 under "Slideshows" on sidebar.

Happy Memorial Day, Mr. President

While Pres. Bush is mouthing platitudes at Arlington National Cemetery, and receiving leather jackets from misguided bikers, the New York Times is telling it like it is:

President Bush opposes a new G.I. Bill of Rights. He worries that if the traditional path to college for service members since World War II is improved and expanded for the post-9/11 generation, too many people will take it.

He is wrong, but at least he is consistent. Having saddled the military with a botched, unwinnable war, having squandered soldiers’ lives and failed them in so many ways, the commander in chief now resists giving the troops a chance at better futures out of uniform. He does this on the ground that the bill is too generous and may discourage re-enlistment, further weakening the military he has done so much to break.

So lavish with other people’s sacrifices, so reckless in pouring the national treasure into the sandy pit of Iraq, Mr. Bush remains as cheap as ever when it comes to helping people at home.

Broyles: "America, we have a problem"

As a writer, screenwriter (Apollo 13) and editor for almost 40 years, William Broyles, Jr., knows a good metaphor when he sees one.

During a speech May 24 at the Democratic State Convention in Jackson, Broyles (shown above at podium) talked about shovels and war. When he had finished his year in Vietnam and was "ready to get on that freedom bird and go home," his Marine Corps sergeant intervened. Lt. Broyles had checked out a shovel and hadn’t returned it. He didn’t have one, but the sergeant insisted: no shovel, no freedom bird. So Broyles bought a shovel on the black market and turned it in. He flew home, carrying with him a lesson in accountability.

"That’s the kind of attitude we used to have," he said. These days, during the Bush Administration’s endless war in Iraq, "we shovel all of our money to a few large corporations" which are also pals of Bush and Cheney. "We worked hard for that money. I take it personally."

Broyles, an Obama delegate to the convention from Teton County, moved the luncheon crowd with the story of his son, David. He moved himself, too, stopping several times as he choked back tears. David graduated from the University of Texas "and enlisted with a great deal of idealism," serving as a pararescue jumper with the U.S. Air Force. He’s the fourth generation of Broyles’ men to serve in combat.

"With each tour in Iraq, he grew to hate the war – for the men in his unit and all the others," he said.

At home, Broyles couldn’t answer the phone when it rang. When he heard about another batch of young Americans blown up by a roadside bomb, he thought of his son.

"There better be a good reason when you go to war," said Broyles. "If you abuse their trust, you create a hole in their soul and the soul of America."

American military men and women are returning home in droves with amputated limbs and traumatic brain injury and mental health problems. Broyles said that a thousand attempt suicide each month.

David’s new mission is to help wounded veterans. He swam the Strait of Gibraltar in 2006 with Army officer Rush Vann, a feat documented in the new film, "Swim," which will be screened this summer at the Jackson Hole Film Festival. Their goal was to raise money and awareness for disabled veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the JHFF web site, they were only "the 16th and 17th Americans to record a successful crossing. Fewer Americans have accomplished their challenge than have climbed Mount Everest." [See a clip of "Swim" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTABAKB6i38]

So, while some families sacrifice much during wartime, others don’t.

"I take it personally when I see George Bush, who dodged Vietnam, and Dick Cheney, who dodged the draft, talk about sacrifice," Broyles said. He reeled off a list of Republican "warriors" who never served in the military (Rush Limbaugh) to those who have military-age sons with better things to do (Mitt Romney and his five sons). He takes it personally when Bush and John McCain think that sacrifice is giving tax cuts to the rich, many of whom are making a bundle as war profiteers. He takes it personally when he hears about military coffins coming back from the war, some ending up cremated at pet cemeteries. He takes it personally when he sees George Bush "giving up golf to support the troops." [Note to readers: Dubya has ended his golf hiatus, causing many of us to wonder if the war is over and "mission accomplished."]

Broyles wants the U.S. to withdraw now from Iraq. "We can’t solve this – the Iraqis have to solve it," he said. "We withdraw now or five years from now – we’ll have the same result."

He injected some history from the Vietnam War. Richard Nixon campaigned in 1968 with a plan to end the Vietnam War. Once elected, he changed his mind. "25,000 to 30,000 names on The Wall were written by Richard Nixon," Broyles said, adding that another million or so Vietnamese also died. The main reason give by U.S. strategists for the war was to stop the takeover of Southeast Asia by communists – China and the U.S.S.R. Four years after the end of the war in April 1975, a united communist Vietnam went to war with communist neighbor China. Less than 15 years after the end of the Vietnam War, the Soviet Union collapsed. "Vietnam is now one of the strongest countries in Asia," Broyles noted. It didn’t happen overnight, but both the U.S. and Vietnam were stronger when the war ended.

"The longest love affair of my life is with the U.S. Marine Corps," said Broyles, a lifelong Democrat. "One thing I learned in Vietnam – never ever leave anyone behind. It’s a Marine Corps value. It’s an American value."

The goal for the Democrats in the 2008 election, he said, is to "leave nobody behind," no matter their race or gender or economic circumstances. "We’re going to take everyone with us – and a lot of Republicans, too."

Broyles bio:

Bill Broyles grew up in Baytown, Texas, where he worked in the oil fields to pay his way through Rice University. He was a Marshall Scholar at Oxford University, worked in the civil rights movement, and then served in Vietnam as a Marine Corps infantry lieutenant.

As a journalist, he was founding editor of the very lively Texas Monthly and, from 1982-84, was editor-in-chief of Newsweek.

He has published his work in The New York Times, Atlantic, Esquire, and The Economist, among many others. He wrote the book Brothers in Arms about his Vietnam experience, and was the co-creator of the Emmy Award-winning TV series China Beach. He wrote the original screenplay for the movie Cast Away and the screenplay for Jarhead. He has co-authored six other screenplays, including Apollo 13, Unfaithful, The Polar Express and Flags of Our Fathers. He was nominated for an Academy Award for the screenplay for Apollo 13. He is married to Andrea, a well-known artist. They live in Wilson, Wyoming, and they have five children: David, Susannah, Katie, James and Bettina.

Friday at the Democratic State Convention

I'm going to have to sharpen my live-blogging skills before the Democratic National Convention in Denver. I prefer to keep track of events the old-fashioned way -- by writing in my journal. And then I transfer those notes to MS Word or the blog. There's something about taking notes that activates some part of my brain and helps with creativity. Live-blogging takes an incredible amount of attention because you have to compose at the same time. I used to be pretty good at that when I was a newspaper reporter, but when I moved to fiction writing, my process changed. I've also added a few decades, which figures into the equation somehow.

So I've been taking notes and making observations during the past two days at the Democratic State Convention here in Jackson. I have some entries in my journal to share and there will be more over the next few days, especially when I get back to Cheyenne and download my photos. I have a great post planned for Memorial Day. Jackson's Bill Broyles delivered the luncheon speech yesterday during the convention. He's a Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam, a lifelong Democrat, and a writer of books and screenplays. His speech was a knockout and, on a Memorial Day during wartime, I'll do my best to deliver it via blog.

Meanwhile, here's a journal entry I put together Friday night....

Dems will meet in Jackson if the Good Lord is willin' and the creeks don't rise.

Don't know about the will of the Lord -- I'll leave that to the Rapture Right. But the creeks did rise, tornadoes spun from black skies, blizzards obscured I-80, and -- according to some unnamed sources -- frogs fell from the heavens.

Still, we all managed to gather across the (Snake) River in Jackson for the Wyoming Democratic Convention.

I don't have a head count, but to judge by the hordes crowding the buffet tables Feriday evening, I'd say that most of the delgates and alternates arrived safely. Some even brought their little kids and babies (family values!). Sara Burlingame from Laramie County brought five-month-old Atticus. The mother-son duop were featured on a campaign button seeking votes as an Obama delegate to the August national convention (she was voted in -- see previous post).

The Dems were in a jolly mood -- and not just from the mass quantities of Snake River Lager. This is a big year for Democrats. We have two great candidates running for president. We have become mightily pissed off during the past eight years of Bush and part-time Jackson resident Dick Cheney. We’ve been working hard for a Dem victory in 2008 and a return to sanity. We also have great candidates running for the U.S. House and Senate, and for the State Legislature.

A truly great time to be a Democrat in Wyoming. This phrase was uttered innumerable times during the course of the convention.

And then there was the free food and beer.

Gary Trauner was at the reception, swarmed by delegates and alternates from Crook County in the northeast corner to Uinta County in the southwest – and everyone in between. In 2006, Gary did well in my corner of the state (southeast) and his corner, the northwest, land of the Tetons and Jackson Hole. He captured the cities but fell short in rural counties, and plans a more concentrated effort this time. So, when I saw him talking to the Big Horn County delegates from Lovell and Manderson, I grew hopeful. You can do it!

Other candidates at the reception included Nick Carter and Keith Goodenough, candidates for U.S. Senate. A number of current, former, and future state legislators were on hand.

Governor Dave Freudenthal and First Lady Nancy were some of the last Dems at the reception. Even after the food ran out, they still were encircled. Gov Dave is a Bill Clinton-style pol (although an Obama supporter) with the ability to stay at any political event until the last hand is shook and the last person is schmoozed (can that be a verb?).

After the reception, and down on the pool deck, Wyoming for Obama Director Chris Farrell briefed us on Saturday’s proceedings. We were charged to be at the Ice Arena/Conference Center early to hang signs and get primed for the day. As Chris briefed, rain sluiced off the Snow King roof onto our fatigued heads. Even this baptism by Teton County rain couldn’t ease my tired bones. So, my wife Chris and I were early to bed Friday night.

Next post: Saturday at the convention

WyoDems select national delegates

First, the news....

Here are the names of the Wyoming Democrats elected to go to the national convention in Denver Aug. 25-28:

Obama district-level delegates are Sara Burlingame, Laramie County; Jacquelyn Bridgeman, Albany County; Rey Fuentes, Albany County; and Willie Neal, Teton County. Obama alternates are Mike Bell, Laramie County; Jean Jorgensen, Teton County; and Michelle Sullivan, Sheridan County.

Clinton district-level delegates are Jason Bloomberg, Laramie County; Kathy Karpan, Laramie County; and Ann Robinson, Natrona County. Alternate is Dave Lerner, Laramie County.

Obama at-large delegates are Lorraine Saulino-Klein, Albany County; and Layha Spoonhunter, Fremont County. Alternate is Marcia Kunstel, Teton County.

Clinton at-large delegate is Shirley Davis, Natrona County.

Obama Party Leader Elected Officials (PLEO) delegate is Mike Massie, Albany County.

Clinton PLEO is Mary Hales, Natrona County.

The gavel rang down on the convention at 5:45 p.m. at the Ice Arena. In a hurry to move on to the evening's events. More WyoDemCon08 blogging during the next two days....

Great idea: debates in all 23 Wyo. counties

Cynthia Lummis, a Republican U.S. House candidate from Laramie County, wants to debate her Repub opponents in all 23 Wyoming counties before the Aug. 19 primary election. This comes from a story in today’s Casper Star-Tribune.

She would go toe-to-toe against the other three announced candidates: Mark Gordon, a Sheridan County rancher; Bill Winney of Bondurant; and Dr. Michael Holland of Green River.

Said Lummis:

"We want to heighten awareness of Republican issues and Republican races... All the attention lately has been on the Democratic presidential race, and we want to shift the emphasis, at least here in Wyoming, to another very competitive race, which is the Republican U.S. House race."

Very funny. "Heighten awareness of Republican issues" in a state where Repub voters outnumber Dems two-to-one and control the State Legislature and four of five elected offices.

If she clinches the primary, I hope that Ms. Lummis will also agree to debate Gary Trauner, the probable Democratic Party candidate for Barbara Cubin’s old U.S. House seat. Maybe those debates could raise issues that are important to ALL Wyomingites.

Political mail rolling in

The political mail is elbowing the bills out of my mailbox. That's fine by me. Today I received campaign letters from The Committee to Elect Nick Carter for U.S. Senate. Carter is running against Dr. John Barrasso and I plan on voting for the Gillette Democrat.

But Keith Goodenough of Casper also wants the Barrasso seat. He calls himself a "Democratic party-builder since 1984, the first year I placed my name on the ballot as a Wyoming Democrat." Back in those dark days, they'd run you out of town if they knew your Liberal leanings. These days, it's a little bit safer in Cheyenne and maybe even in Casper, although Goodenough notes that "Natrona County is not a hotbed of liberalism." And it's the place where Dick Cheney grew up and went to high school. Goodenough writes an e-mail newsletter that it informative and quirky, not necessarily in that order.

Carter and Goodenough and some others will face off in the August primary.

Tim Kingston sent a letter asking for my support as an Obama delegate to the national convention. He's past-chairman of the Laramie County Democrats and has been the state platform chair for the past twelve years. I admire anyone who takes on the platform chores.

Other Obama delegates seeking my support for the big bash in Denver include my state representative, Lori Millin, and current county chairman Mike Bell. Cynthia Nunley asked for my vote in her re-election at national committeewoman for Wyoming. Laramie's Chris Rothfuss, who's running against our other Republican U.S. Senator, Mike Enzi, sent me an e-mail seeking support and a contribution. And Tony Reyes wants my support in his run for House District No. 9, although I'm in a different district. Maybe I'll have to move before August.

In the West, crowds gather for Obama

Everyone in Wyoming turned out to see Sen. Barack Obama today...

Just kidding. This photo shows the crowd along the banks of the Willamette River in Portland, Ore., on Sunday. Somewhere between 75,000 and 80,000 people turned out for the rally in advance of the May 20 primary. Sen. Obama was in Montana today, campaigning for the state's June 3 primary. He also was adopted into the Crow Nation.

County Dems set May 30 press conference

The Laramie County Democrats will host a press conference for county Democrats who have declared they will seek public office. The event will take place at 117 W. 17th St. in Cheyenne on Friday, May 30, beginning at 11:30 a.m.

May 30 comes at the tail end of the registration period. Here's some info from the Wyoming Democratic Party web site:

Candidates for for any county, state or federal office must file between May 18, 2006 and June 2, 2006. Candidates for county offices file their statement of candidacy at the local county clerk's office. Candidates for
state legislature, statewide office, and federal office must file during this period with the Secretary of State. To comply with federal law, candidates for federal office may also need to file statements of candidacy and campaign finance reports with the Federal Election Commission and the Secretary of the Senate. For help with the filing process, please contact the state party office at 800-729-3367.

LarCoDems Chairman Mike Bell stated that, "This is a great year for Democrats to seek public office. We hope to give candidates an opportunity to meet with the media and the public to kick off their campaigns with enthusiasm.”

The Laramie County Democratic Party office at 117 W. 17th St. also serves as the Cheyenne branch of the Wyoming Democratic Party headquarters.

FMI: Nicole Novotny, LarCoDems secretary, 307-514-4685.

Obama delegates get campaign briefing

This evening, Chris Farrell dropped into a local gathering of Obama delegates and briefed us on our role in the upcoming Wyoming Democrats state convention. To sum up: attend the convention and cast your vote for Sen. Barack Obama.

The tally of confirmed delegates, thus far, is 189 for Obama and 121 for Clinton. In Laramie County, we are sending 34 for Obama and 21 for Clinton. We have the largest slate of delegates in Wyoming. The second largest is Natrona County with 42 total delegates, split evenly between the two remaining candidates.

At the meeting, Farrell handed out call sheets of Obama delegates, and we volunteered to make calls to encourage their attendance in Jackson. I volunteered to make calls to Torrington, Sundance, Hulett, Riverton, Arapahoe, Glenrock, Douglas, Saratoga and Rawlins. These will be friendly voices at the other end, unlike some of the curt and sometimes hostile voices we encountered when making calls leading up the March 8 Wyoming primary and the recent primary in Pennsylvania (still calls to make in Montana). All of us are hoping that a late-spring blizzard does not disrupt the delegate flow to Teton County.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the action gets underway Friday at 6 p.m. with a reception. This will be followed by an 8 p.m. reception in Rafferty's Bar at Snow King to boost the campaign of Kathryn Sessions for national committeewoman. The business of the convention gets going at 8 a.m. on Saturday.

Before arriving in Wyoming, Farrell was the regional director for the Obama campaign in northeastern Indiana. He'll be in the state through the convention and then it's off to somewhere else.

If you need info about "Wyoming for Obama," call Farrell at 319-371-8180. Or go to the web site at my.barackobama.com/page/content/wyhome

Why Obama is our guy in the West

Great article by Matthew Frank posted May 15 in the newly redesigned New West: "Why Obama is Winning the West: Western Democratic leaders give glimpses into why they -- and people in Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming -- have chosen Obama as their guy." Don't forget to linger over the many comments (pro, con and puzzling) at the end. Go to http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/why_has_obama_won_over_westerners/C37/L37/#comments

WyoDemCon08 opens May 23 in Jackson

The countdown begins for the Wyoming Democrats' state convention in Jackson May 23-24.

Actually, the countdown began March 8 at all 23 county caucuses when delegates were chosen. Laramie County has 55 delegates, split among Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton. The presidential preference vote determined the split. On March 8, 941 votes were cast for Obama, 588 for Clinton. I'm an Obama delegate. There's a batch of alternates for each candidate, although I'm not sure how many. My wife Chris is a Clinton alternate.

Activities in Jackson will begin Friday at 9 a.m. with candidate training. Because it's 430 miles from Cheyenne to Jackson, anyone involved in these meetings will have to depart on Thursday. Unless they have their own corporate jet -- we'll leave that to the Republicans. Most of us won't be able to take off until Thursday after work or Friday morning. The opening reception is at 6 p.m. Friday. The fun really begins on Saturday morning, with registration starting at 8 a.m. and the proceedings at 9 a.m.

There's a lot riding on this gathering of Democrats in the nation's least populous state. We will choose 18 delegates and four alternates to the national convention. Some of those spots are already spoken for. The WyoDems use a "two-tiered delegate selection process." You can read the details at http://www.wyomingdemocrats.com/ht/d/sp/i/1015876/pid/1015876. I'm not in the running for a spot because I'm going to DenDemCon08 as a blogger and maker of ridiculous abbreviations.

This afternoon, Chris Farrell of the Obama campaign is going to brief us on our roles at the state gathering. Sen. Obama's organizers have been very active in the state all year. Gov. Dave Freudenthat cited those skills as one of the main reasons he became an Obama supporter. I've seen the names of those organizers who staffed "Wyoming for Obama" involved in the campaigns in Montana, Colorado and other Western states.

See you in Jackson. And then on to Denver.

Writing workshop with an antiwar slant

Here’s yet another summer writing workshop, this one with an antiwar slant. This invitation comes from Kevin Bowen, director of the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences, for its 21st annual summer writing workshop June 16-26. Excerpted from the Poets Against War web site:

As we face current world conflicts -- and our own personal writing journeys -- we have a powerful tradition to build on. Our workshop faculty have produced some of the most significant literature to emerge from the Vietnam experience as well as other areas afflicted by war. These
include poets/veterans Bruce Weigl and novelist Larry Heinemann; non-fiction writer Lady Borton (who has lived for 35 years in Vietnam); poet Fred Marchant was discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps as an conscientious objector;
poet/translator Martha Collins, who has been teaching a translation class, which has focused on works in Vietnamese. Novelist Demetria Martinez once faced a potential 25 years in prison for writing about Americans aiding Central American refugees. Poet MacDara Woods brings a perspective to teaching shaped by his experiences of living through "the troubles" in Ireland. One of the high points of the writing workshop is always a visit by Vietnamese writers -- their participation in Martha's class, and in panels. Bruce Weigl, Lady Borton and myself also work on translations as part of the Center's commitment to build bridges with our former "enemies." Last year we had a first-ever panel of veterans of the Gulf War and the Iraq War, moderated by Vietnam veteran Larry Heinemann. As for the 2008 workshop, we very much anticipate participation by poet Afaa Michael Weaver.

The William Joiner Center and our annual workshop are both a hub and a sanctuary for writers coming from all over the
world: people who have fought in wars, protested wars; and all who have survived to bear witness. This letter is an invitation for you to consider being part of the workshop community in 2008. First let me stress that students write about a variety of topics. We do not in any way wish to limit what anyone writes: We are open to the surprises that writing produces, and how that helps us to grow as individuals who, as the late Grace Paley always said, can be "useful" in a troubled world.

To apply, send a letter of interest (the sooner the better) with a writing sample. Include an indication of what genre you wish to work in. Address applications and inquiries about the workshop to T. Michael Sullivan, William Joiner Center, University of Massachusetts. Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd. Boston, MA 02125-3393. You can contact him at Michael.Sullivan@umb.edu or at 617-287-5850. Last summer we managed, as always, to keep costs relatively low: $400 for two weeks, $220 for one week.

Mentoring the next generation of veteran-writers

On a flight to Washington, D.C., a few weeks ago, my seatmate was a woman who works for the U.S. Army’s Wounded Warrior program. She found out that I was a writer, and asked if I knew writers in Denver or Colorado Springs who might want to serve as mentors to returning vets. She had one soldier, in particular, who’d been diagnosed with Severe Brain Injury (SBI) had written a book. He wanted help editing it and maybe trying to get it published. I thought of the vets I knew in Colorado, mostly from the Vietnam War era. I offered to look them up and see if they were interested. I also offered my humble services in Wyoming as a non-veteran fiction writer who also works with poets and writers and artists as part of my job.

Since that day, I’ve been e-mailing my Wounded Warrior contact with news about various writers and writing programs that might be helpful for her soldiers. There’s the NEA’s Operation Homecoming which just announced a new round of writing workshops around the country. Here’s an excerpt from a May 8 NEA press release:

The new phase of Operation Homecoming is the first instance in which the NEA will hold writing workshops at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers, military hospitals, and affiliated centers in communities around the country. St. Louis VA Medical Center in Missouri and Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, served as pilot sites for the new phase of the program, and both facilities will host workshops this summer.

The first batch of Operation Homecoming workshops were directed by such fine writers as Tobias Wolff, Jeff Shaara, Marilyn Nelson, Richard Bausch, Bobbie Ann Mason, Ethelbert Miller, Joe Haldeman, and Mark Bowden. Not all veterans, but writers skilled in helping writers of all kinds find their voices. Some of them, such as Barry Hannah, was never in the military but clearly imagined warfare in Airships. Kentucky’s Bobbie Ann Mason, for instance, wrote In Country, which explores the plight of returning Vietnam vets through the eyes of a young girl whose father was killed in the war. Maybe you saw the film starring Bruce Willis. Mark Bowden’s a reporter and Marilyn Nelson serves as the poet laureate of Connecticut. Tobias Wolff wrote some hair-raising stories of his Vietnam experience in his collections. Thing is, they don’t come close to the memoir of his bizarre childhood, A Boy’s Life. These workshops birthed the anthology Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families (Random House, 2006). Some new writers have joined the program:

The Arts Endowment has added three new faculty members who served in the conflicts: playwright Ryan Kelly, poet Brian Turner, and journalist Nathaniel Fick. Matthew Eck, author of the novel The Farther Shore and an Army veteran who served in Somalia and Bosnia; Vietnam War veteran Robert Timberg, editor of the U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings magazine and author of The Nightingale’s Song; and Kristin Henderson, a military spouse and author of While They’re at War, are other new faculty members.

If you haven’t yet read Brian Turner’s award-winning poetry collection, Here, Bullet, you must. He was already a knowledgeable writer and graduate of an M.F.A. program before he joined the Army and served in Bosnia and Iraq. In the midst of warfare, he found his voice, writing most of the Here, Bullet poems while in Iraq.

Vets can find other programs to nurture their writing. Prowling the web recently, I came across one in Vermont in which vets make their own paper and then build books featuring their writing about the war(s). I can’t find the link now, but I believe it was in Burlington. I’ll keep looking...

During my college marathon (1969-1976), first as a Navy ROTC midshipman and then as a civilian with a low draft number, I met a lot of Vietnam vets. They weren’t always anxious to share their stories in creative writing classes. The temper of the times weren’t exactly conducive to it. But some found on-campus mentors. At University of Florida, ex-Marine Harry Crews nurtured and kicked the asses of scores of writers, some of them veterans. Larry Heinemann (Paco’s Story) found his voice when he went to college in Chicago on his G.I. benefits. John Clark Pratt, an Air Force pilot in Vietnam, taught lots of zoomies at the AFA in Colorado Springs and later, at Colorado State University, whipped M.F.A. writers (such as myself) into shape. He also helped establish the CSU Library's excellent special collection on the Vietnam War. It contains first drafts of books by well-known writers, but also unpublished memoirs and other books by veterans.

Yusef Komunyakaa from very-rural Louisiana went to CSU after Vietnam and received some poetry mentoring from former football player and campus radical Bill Tremblay. Yusef went on to win an NEA fellowship and teach at Princeton and NYU. I guess you just never know where that help may come from. I’ve read a lot of Yusef Komunyakaa’s poems. They’re powerful and beautiful, whether based on his experiences in Vietnam, Louisiana or Colorado. His view in "Facing It" (Dien Cai Dau, Wesleyan University Press, 1988) of "The Wall" in D.C. is very personal:

I'm inside/the Vietnam Veterans Memorial/again, depending on the light/to make a difference./I go down the 58,022 names,/half-expecting to find/my own in letters like smoke.

To read the entire poem (and others), go to http://www.poets.org/

There are other poets and writers who will be speaking to us like this about Iraq and Afghanistan (Iran?) 10 or 20 years from now. Some do it now on blogs or through hip-hop or via video. Others will seek out the permanence of the written page. Let’s help them find it. Forget the politics, for a few minutes anyway. This is all about humaneness.

Freudenthal supports "Post 9-11 G.I. Bill"

It's great to see that Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal is one of the 23 governors signing a May 15 letter to the U.S. Senate urging the passage of the "Post-9/11 G.I. Bill." Today, the House of Represenatives passed the bill 256-166, with Wyoming's lone rep, Barbara Cubin, voting against it. The bill now goes on to the Senate, where it appears that Wyoming's Mike Enzi and John Barrasso will join their Republicans colleagues and vote against it. C'mon, guys. Do you have more loyalty to your party bosses than you do to the troops? We'll keep track of the votes and report them here.

Vietnam veteran and author Sen. James Webb of Virginia is the impetus for this legislation. He gathered a lot of supporters along the way, but he's the one who got the ball rolling.

For more info, go to the site of Irag and Afghanistan Veterans of America at http://www.iava.org/ or the G.I. Bill site at http://www.gibill2008.org/.

DemConvention State Bloggers: The List

Below is the full list of the DemConvention State Blogger Corps as announced on video yesterday by Howard Dean. Some of these I read regularly, others I've heard of but have never been to, not even to lurk. Many are new to me, but I intend to remedy that over the next few months.

ALASKA - Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis - http://divasblueoasis.blogspot.com/
ALABAMA- Doc's Political Parlor - http://www.politicalparlor.net/
ARKANSAS- Under The Dome.com - http://www.underthedome.com/
ARIZONA - Ted Prezelski - Rum, Romanism and Rebellion - http://www.rumromanismrebellion.net/
CALIFORNIA - Calitics- http://calitics.com/
COLORADO -SquareState.net - http://squarestate.net/
CONNECTICUT -My Left Nutmeg - http://myleftnutmeg.com/
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA- DCist.com - http://dcist.com/
DELAWARE - TommyWonk - http://tommywonk.blogspot.com/
DEMOCRATS ABROAD - Democrats Abroad Argentina - http://www.yanquimike.com.ar/
FLORIDA - Florida Progressive Coalition - http://flaprogressives.org/
GEORGIA- Tondee's Tavern - http://www.tondeestavern.com/
GUAM - No Rest for the Awake - Minagahet Chamorro - http://minagahet.blogspot.com/
HAWAII - iLind.net: Ian Lind Online - http://www.ilind.net/
IOWA - The Iowa Independent - http://iowaindependent.com/
IDAHO - 43rdStateBlues.com - http://www.43rdstateblues.com/
ILLINOIS- Prairie State Blue - http://www.prairiestateblue.com/
INDIANA- Blue Indiana - http://www.blueindiana.net/
KANSAS - EverydayCitizen.com - http://everydaycitizen.com/
KENTUCKY - BlueGrassRoots - http://www.bluegrassroots.org/
LOUISIANA - Daily Kingfish - http://www.dailykingfish.com/
MASSACHUSETTS - Blue Mass. Group - http://www.bluemassgroup.com/
MARYLAND - The Center for Emerging Media - http://www.centerforemergingmedia.com/
MAINE - Turn Maine Blue - http://www.turnmaineblue.com/
MICHIGAN - Blogging For Michigan - http://bloggingformichigan.com/
MINNESOTA - Minnesota Monitor - http://minnesotamonitor.com/
MISSISSIPPI - The Natchez Blog - http://natchezms.blogspot.com/
MISSOURI - Fired Up! LLC - http://www.firedupmissouri.com/
MONTANA - Left in the West - http://www.leftinthewest.com/
NORTH CAROLINA - BlueNC.com - http://bluenc.com/
NORTH DAKOTA - NorthDecoder.com - http://www.northdecoder.com/
NEBRASKA - New Nebraska Network - http://www.newnebraska.net/
NEW HAMPSHIRE - Blue Hampshire - http://www.bluehampshire.com/
NEW JERSEY - PolitickerNJ.com - http://www.politickernj.com/
NEW MEXICO - Democracy for New Mexico - http://www.democracyfornewmexico.com/
NEVADA - Las Vegas Gleaner - http://www.lasvegasgleaner.com/
NEW YORK - Room 8 - http://www.r8ny.com/
OHIO - Ohio Daily Blog - http://www.ohiodailyblog.com/
OKLAHOMA - DemoOkie - http://www.demookie.com/
OREGON - BlueOregon (blog) - http://www.blueoregon.com/
PENNSYLVANIA - Keystone Politics - http://www.keystonepolitics.com/
PUERTO RICO - Jusiper - http://jusiper.blogspot.com/
RHODE ISLAND - Rhode Island's Future - http://www.rifuture.org/
SOUTH CAROLINA - CracktheBell.com - http://www.crackthebell.com/
SOUTH DAKOTA - Badlands Blue - http://www.badlandsblue.com/
TENNESSEE - KnoxViews/TennViews - http://www.knoxviews.com/
TEXAS - Burnt Orange Report - http://www.burntorangereport.com/
UTAH - The Utah Amicus - http://utahamicus.com/
VIRGINIA - Raising Kaine - http://www.raisingkaine.com/
VIRGIN ISLANDS - Democratic Party of the US Virgin Islands - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/democratvi
VERMONT - Green Mountain Daily - http://greenmountaindaily.com/
WASHINGTON - HorsesAss.org - http://www.horsesass.org/
WISCONSIN - Uppity Wisconsin - http://www.uppitywis.org/
WEST VIRGINIA - West Virginia Blue - http://www.wvablue.com/
WYOMING - Hummingbirdminds blog - http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/

Writer and two Western Govs will address Wyo. Democratic convention

The Wyoming Democratic Party is making it awfully difficult not to spend money at the state convention.

First, they recruited Wilson-based author and screenwriter Bill Broyles as the luncheon speaker. Broyles has written extensively for Esquire, The Atlantic and New York Times. He was the founding editor of the feisty and entertaining Texas Monthly magazine. His book "Brothers in Arms" is a fine account of his experiences as a Marine infantry lieutenant in Vietnam. He was the co-creator of the TV series, "China Beach," and wrote screenplays for "Apollo 13," "Cast Away," "Jarhead," and "Flags of Our Fathers." A great batch of screen credits – I’ve seen all of these films and liked them. Broyles won an Oscar for "Apollo 13."

He seems to be able to sneak social commentary into all his work. One of the cool things about "Cast Away" was how useless Tom Hanks (the castaway) found all of the junk he was marooned with on the desert island. He’d spent his entire career working for a company (FedEx) that transported beach balls and paperwork across the oceans. He almost died doing it – his fellow crew members did. Bill’s wife Andrea is an artist. One of her monoprints, which is described on her web site as "an abstracted set of wings," was the image on the FedEx box in "Cast Away." Variations of the wings were made into sculptures which represented the work of an artist character in the film.

Bill Broyles will speak at the convention luncheon on Saturday, May 24. I may have to pop for the $50 ticket and one for my wife so I can hear him speak about his work. It's all for a good cause -- defeat of Republicans in local, state, and national elections.

At that night’s banquet, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal are the featured speakers. Banquet tickets are $100 apiece, a little rich for my blood. As much as I’d like to hear Gov Bri and Gov Dave, I may have to give the budget a rest that night and head to the taco shop downtown. The two Govs represent a line of Democrats that tracks along the spine of the Rockies from Canada to Mexico: Mont., Wyo., Colo. (Ritter) and New Mexico (Richardson). And more to come. Schweitzer is the guy to talk to about coal gasification and clean-coal technology. He also knows his beeves, as he was raised on a cattle farm near Havre and got his undergrad aggie creds at CSU in Fort Collins before heading back to Montana.

Said WyoDem Chairman John Millin:

"We are fortunate to have such magnificent speakers for one of the most exciting conventions in our state's history. This has been an incredible year with the visits by the two major candidates on the eve of our county caucuses and the record voter turnout at the caucuses. We are thrilled to have an award-winning author and two Western Democratic governors on hand to address the delegates."

People can purchase tickets for either event by contacting the Wyoming Democratic Party at (800) 729-3367 by May 19.