All Categories: April 2011

Wyoming Democrats move 2012 county conventions to April 14

News from Bill Luckett, executive director of the Wyoming Democratic Party:

The Wyoming Democratic Party State Central Committee convened today Casper College in the Sharon Nichols Auditorium, to elect state officers finalize the delegate selection plan for 2012 state and national conventions.

Central Committee members elected, by acclamation, the following leadership for a two-year term and to lead the party through the 2012 election cycle:
        Chuck Herz of Moose as State Chair
        Jodi Guerin of Laramie as Vice Chair
        Sherry Shelley of Riverton as Secretary
        Leslie Petersen of Wilson as Treasurer

The Central Committee amended the 2012 Delegate Selection Plan to hold County Conventions on April 14, 2012, in every county seat across the state. The selection of this specific date will make Wyoming eligible to earn two bonuses in the size of its delegation: one by virtue of waiting until April to hold its “first-step” events in the presidential selection process, and the other for holding its events on the same date as neighboring states. The Nebraska Democratic Party is currently planning to hold its event on April 14, and the Democratic parties of Kansas and Idaho are also considering whether to schedule their events on the same date, pending votes by their respective state committees.

After approving the amendments, the Wyoming Democratic State Central Committee today voted to formally adopt and submit the plan to the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee for approval. Under the plan Wyoming will elect 19 delegates and 2 alternates to the 2012 Democratic National Convention. In addition, the state should be eligible for four bonus delegates, pending the formal approval of the plan by the DNC.

The Wyoming Democratic Party Central Committee is composed of the Chairs, Vice Chairs, State Committeemen, and Committeewomen from each county, State Chair and Vice Chair, State Secretary and Treasurer, National Committeeman and Committeewoman, Legislative Representatives selected by the House Caucus and Senate Caucus, and the Young Democrats Chair, Vice Chair, State Committeeman, and State Committeewoman.

Support your local libraries -- and read "Catch-22"

"Saturday Night Live" head writer and actor Seth Myers wants you to read. "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller is one of my favorite novels. A great satire on the organizational mind, specifically the military, and the U.S.A. Falling-down funny in parts and full of horror in others. The book opened up new worlds for me. Isn't that what reading is supposed to do?

"Mission Accomplished" -- eight years later

I wish I could say that I look on this photo with nostalgia. But it's more like horror.

kerispatih - Demi Cinta

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Love them budget cuts -- except when it affects "our park"

Put this under the heading of "we don't need that darn federal gubment."

All of us in the West love the national parks and national forests. Some on the Right believe that parks such as Yellowstone -- a national treasure and international heritage site -- takes care of itself, that you just push the self-clean button when all the tourists go home in September and it takes care of itself.

Yellowstone visitation is up over the past two summers. Here are some 2010 numbers from the NPS:

It has been a record-breaking summer for Yellowstone National Park. Visitation figures for June, July, and now August, have all shattered previous records. Yellowstone hosted 854,837 visitors in August. It is the first time August visitation has passed the 800,000 mark, and is up more than 81,000 from the previous August record of 773,307 visitors set back in 1995. Visitation for the 3 summer months topped 2.5 million. Visitation for the first 8 months of the year was almost 2.87 million.

With gas prices climbing above $4 per gallon, this summer looks to be another blockbuster for national parks in the West, including my favorites -- Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Rocky Mountain. Meanwhile, Republicans in the House want to cut budgets on all domestic spending.

There's an irony here. Energy exploration is the number one industry in Wyoming followed closely by tourism with agriculture a distant third. Our U.S. Congressional delegation want to cut domestic spending but seem to be O.K. with us spending freely in Iraq and Afghanistan. And $4 billion in tax breaks for oil companies? That's fine with them too. But what about keeping the toilets clean and the roads repaired in Yellowstone? Forget it!

So the National Park Foundation is raising money to make up the shortfall:

Dear Friend, Imagine for just one moment a world without our national parks…no Yellowstone, no Grand Canyon, no Yosemite. No opportunity to share these great treasures with your children, to build memories together that would last a lifetime. We need your help! Our parks are constantly facing the threat of budget cuts and shortfalls. This year alone our parks faced a final budget cut of more than $132 million. This has had a dramatic impact on the nearly 400 national parks spanning 84 million acres of stunning scenery and historical shrines. We can’t sit idly by while America’s national parks are being compromised. Help us to ensure that our national parks continue to receive the resources they need to protect fragile ecosystems and wildlife habitats, restore and maintain hundreds of miles of trails, fund educational programs that introduce children to our parks, and support thousands of volunteers that assist our park rangers and the millions of visitors the parks see each year. Now is the best time to show your support for our national parks. Thanks to the generosity of National Park Foundation Board member Jay Kislak, if you donate now, your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000! America’s national parks belong to you. Please make a generous donation today to NPF. Only you can guarantee the future of our national parks.

On the day after Easter, Laramie County Dems go to a revival meeting

It was standing room only at the Plains Hotel's Little Cottonwood Room as Democrats gathered the day after Easter to listen to a local preacher.

Not a revival – but it did have some of the trappings. The crowd (me included) seemed in desperate need of reviving. We had been wandering in Wyoming’s Red-State Desert for so long. Verily, we had been lifted up by HOPE in the 2008 elections but dashed against the rocks by the 2010 debacle. And then came the descent into Dante’s Inferno – the 2011 Wyoming Legislature, wherein there was much wailing and lamentation and gusts of hate from the Republican majority.

Meanwhile, the Tower of Babel, in the form of the 24-hour news cycle, continues to babble on, scrambling our brains, making it almost impossible to concentrate on the problems at hand, which are legion.

The preacher, Rev. Rodger McDaniel of Cheyenne, offered us little succor.

Instead, he urged us to work harder for our beliefs and to care more about our neighbors.

“It’s not about the Party,” he said, “it’s about the people.”

Preachers say stuff like that all the time. Love thy neighbor. Give alms to the poor. Practice what you preach. Etc

Most of these exhortations go out the window when our spiritual leaders step down from the pulpit. Witness the many Fundamentalist Christian leaders who preach the Gospel on Sunday and, on Monday, lobby their senators to kill Medicare for poor people, or cheer on the invasion of a foreign country, or engage in an illicit love tryst.

Said Rev. McDaniel: “Buddhas teach by example, not by quoting scripture.”

That’s a quote from a book by Lander native Matteo Pistono, author of “In the Shadow of the Buddha.” He will be speaking at Rodger’s church, Highlands Presbyterian, in May and will also be a featured speaker at the Cheyenne International Film Festival.

Rev. McDaniel sees no division between the spiritual and the political. He says that our involvement in politics should grow naturally out of our spirituality as we ponder “something bigger than what we are.”

His spiritual and political involvement didn’t begin yesterday. His father left mining and became a union Teamster and both of his parents were diehard Democrats.

“Conversations in our home were about Franklin D. Roosevelt,” he said. “My parents thought that FDR cared how they lived, that Democrats cared about the little guy – a term my father liked to use."

“To my friends today, that’s not so clear.”

Growing up, he admired the Kennedys. As a seventh-grader in Cheyenne, he surreptitiously nailed JFK posters to walls and telephone poles. He admired Bobby Kennedy and said that “when he died, a lot of hope died.”

McDaniel’s first political job was as chair of the Wyoming Young Democrats in 1969-1970, calling for the impeachment of Richard Nixon over the Cambodian invasion and the Kent State shootings. He served in the Wyoming State Legislature and chaired several Wyoming campaigns for Democratic presidential nominees. He left his law practice to move to Nicaragua for a year where he directed Habitat for Humanity operations. He served in state government and retired in November as head of the Mental Health Division of the Wyoming Department of Health.

“Now I’m free to be a good ol’ Lefty,” he quipped.

He’s bemused by his Republican friends and colleagues who seem to be shocked by his Liberal views. "Some of my conservative friends think it is so great to have the Religious Right involved in politics,” he said. "They’re not so happy to have the Christian Left involved.”

He’s disturbed why so many good people in Wyoming seem to act and vote against their own best interests.

“Why do middle-class Americans side with the Republicans on killing Medicare?”

This is especially sad when you consider that Wyoming’s lone representative, Cynthia Lummis, is a fervent backer of the Republican’s radical budget that passed the House.

“Two-thirds of the U.S. House members are millionaires, and Cynthia Lummis is the seventh-wealthiest member of Congress,” he said. “”I don’t criticize success, but the Bible says that “to whom much is given, much is expected.”

Her net worth should skyrocket under the so-called “Ryan Budget” that includes further tax cuts for the richest Americans.

The Good Reverend quoted Reagan’s economic adviser, David Frum, on the four things that the House budget would do:

1. Large cuts immediately in Medicare for the poor

2. Elimination of Medicaid

3. Large cuts in domestic spending

4. More tax cuts for the wealthy

So, by cutting services to the least of us, the most among us stand to get more and more and more and more…

“It’s a great time to be rich,” announced Rev. McDaniel.

What was that parable about a camel and the eye of a needle?

Republicans are easy targets these days. But Democrats share the blame.

“It’s been two weeks since the House budget vote, and I’ve yet to hear the state Democratic Party say anything about it,” noted McDaniel.

He believes that the message should be loud and clear: “Lummis’s vote was wrong” and “if Enzi and Barrasso vote the same way in the Senate, they will pay a price.”

He also stressed that it is important to stand up and be counted. He gave the example of the late Democratic Sen. Tino Roncalio from Rock Springs. In 1958, Tino became the Democratic State Chairman and he traveled all over hammering the Republicans.

“Sen. Al Simpson says that Tino was never happier than when he was taking a hatchet to my dad’s head,” said McDaniel. Al Simpson’s dad was Governor Milward Simpson.

We need that hatchet now. We should be taking it (metaphorically) to the head of every Republican legislator in the state.

“Who can be surprised by those votes in the Legislature,” asked the Rev. McDaniel. Those votes were against gays, immigrants and the Affordable Care Act. One thing they didn’t vote on is accepting millions in federal aid for the long-term unemployed.

The 14 Democrats in the Legislature did what they could against the Know Nothing tide. And there were some on the Republican side with moderate views. But overall, it was one of the worst sessions in memory.

But many of those legislators ran unopposed or faced weak, underfunded candidates. There were no Democrats running in two of the five state elected offices. Democrats failed to show up at the polls.

“If the Party is dead, it wasn’t a homicide but a suicide,” said McDaniel.

But there is hope – maybe even “Hope.”

“I believe in the power to raise life from the grave,” he said. “We celebrated that yesterday."

Get out those spring hats for May 14 gathering of Grassroots Dems

But what if I don’t have a spring hat? Will a beat-up summer ballcap do?

The Third Annual Spring Hat Tea is hosted by the Laramie County Democrats Grassroots Coalition. Please brush off your hats and join us.

Date: May 14, 2011

Time: 2-4 p.m.

Location: The Historic Plains Hotel, 1600 Central Avenue, Cheyenne

Featured Speaker: Lynn Simons, Cheyenne Resident and Democratic leader. Ms. Simons is listed on the Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership as having served as the Superintendent of Public Instruction in Wyoming from 1979-1991. Get more info on her at http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/usa_local_elective.htm

Fee: $15 per person

Please RSVP to 307-635-1592 by May 11.

Dems gather in scary Casper to plan future

The population of Democrats in Natrona County will increase dramatically this weekend as the Central Committee of the Wyoming Democratic Party gathers April 29-30 in Casper. We hope that this influx of Progressives can influence the bad juju inflicted on the State Legislature this past year by Regressive Know Nothings from Natrona County. You know who I mean -- Gerald Gay, Kit Jennings, Bob Brechtel, etc. Get to know them now as they will return to Cheyenne in 2012 to promote their anti-gay, anti-worker, anti-Obama agendas. So, if you feel like attending, here's the info from Bill Luckett, executive director of the Wyoming Democratic Party:

The Central Committee of the Wyoming Democratic Party meets in Casper on Saturday, April 30, at Casper College, in the Sharon Nichols Auditorium in the McMurry Career Studies Building.

Members of the Central Committee include county chairs, vice chairs, state committeemen and state committeewomen. But note that this meeting, like all of our meetings, is open to the public, AND we are going to focus heavily on training for county party leaders, so you may want to encourage others from your county who are not technically members of the Central Committee to attend. They’ll be most welcome. We also especially hope any members of the Legislature who are not technically members of the Central Committee will attend.

In addition to the training, the major orders of business will be to elect state party officers for the next two years and to approve our state party’s Delegate Selection Plan for the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

The Leadership Group of the Wyoming Democratic Party will meet in Casper on the previous day, Friday, April 29, for a session on party strategy, as previously announced. That meeting is planned for 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday the 29th in the downstairs conference room of the Stratton Real Estate/Blue Cross Blue Shield building at 231 E. Midwest Ave., which is between Wolcott and Durbin streets just a half block south of 2nd Street. The Leadership Group and others who’ve indicated interest in attending will get further information on this session early next week.

E-mail Bill at luckett@wyomingdemocrats.com

Biru Langit - Maaf ku Tak Bisa

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Pinkan Mambo - Cintaku Dimutilasi

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Kerispatih - Tak Lekang Oleh Waktu

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Krisdayanti - Derita Tiada Akhir

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Ridho Rhoma - Cuma Kamu

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L'arc En Ciel - Ready Steady Go

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Jikustik - Untuk Cinta

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ST 12 - Saat Terakhir

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Dadali - Disaat Aku Mencintaimu

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Sheila On 7 - Pasti Ku Bisa

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Naff - Dosa Apa

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Last Child - Diary Depresiku

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kashva - oh bintangku

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Leonidas - Playboy Gila

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Carta del Jefe Indio Seattle

El siguiente documento es uno de los más preciados por los ecologistas, se trata de la carta que envió en 1855 el jefe indio Seattle de la tribu Suwamish al presidente de los Estados Unidos Franklin Pierce en respuesta a la oferta de compra de las tierras de los Suwamish en el noroeste de los Estados Unidos, lo que ahora es el Estado de Washington. Los indios americanos estaban muy unidos a su tierra no conociendo la propiedad, es más consideraban la tierra dueña de los hombres. En numerosos ámbitos ecologistas se le considera como "la declaración más hermosa y profunda que jamás se haya hecho sobre el medio ambiente".

Carta del Jefe Indio Seattle

El Gran Jefe de Washington manda decir que desea comprar nuestras tierras. El Gran Jefe también nos envía palabras de amistad y buena voluntad. Apreciamos esta gentileza porque sabemos que poca falta le hace, en cambio, nuestra amistad. Vamos a considerar su oferta, pues sabemos que, de no hacerlo, el hombre blanco podrá venir con sus armas de fuego y tomarse nuestras tierras. El Gran Jefe de Washington podrá confiar en lo que dice el Jefe Seattle con la misma certeza con que nuestros hermanos blancos podrán confiar en la vuelta de las estaciones. Mis palabras son inmutables como las estrellas.

¿Cómo podéis comprar o vender el cielo, el calor de la tierra? Esta idea nos parece extraña. No somos dueños de la frescura del aire ni del centelleo del agua. ¿Cómo podríais comprarlos a nosotros? Lo decimos oportunamente. Habeis de saber que cada partícula de esta tierra es sagrada para mi pueblo. Cada hoja resplandeciente, cada playa arenosa, cada neblina en el oscuro bosque, cada claro y cada insecto con su zumbido son sagrados en la memoria y la experiencia de mi pueblo. La savia que circula en los árboles porta las memorias del hombre de piel roja.

Los muertos del hombre blanco se olvidan de su tierra natal cuando se van a caminar por entre las estrellas. Nuestros muertos jamás olvidan esta hermosa tierra porque ella es la madre del hombre de piel roja. Somos parte de la tierra y ella es parte de nosotros. Las fragantes flores son nuestras hermanas; el venado, el caballo, el águila majestuosa son nuestros hermanos. Las praderas, el calor corporal del potrillo y el hombre, todos pertenecen a la misma familia. "Por eso, cuando el Gran Jefe de Washington manda decir que desea comprar nuestras tierras, es mucho lo que pide. El Gran Jefe manda decir que nos reservará un lugar para que podamos vivir cómodamente entre nosotros. El será nuestro padre y nosotros seremos sus hijos. Por eso consideraremos su oferta de comprar nuestras tierras. Mas, ello no será fácil porque estas tierras son sagradas para nosotros. El agua centelleante que corre por los ríos y esteros no es meramente agua sino la sangre de nuestros antepasados. Si os vendemos estas tierras, tendréis que recordar que ellas son sagradas y deberéis enseñar a vuestros hijos que lo son y que cada reflejo fantasmal en las aguas claras de los lagos habla de acontecimientos y recuerdos de la vida de mi pueblo. El murmullo del agua es la voz del padre de mi padre.

Los ríos son nuestros hermanos, ellos calman nuestra sed. Los ríos llevan nuestras canoas y alimentan a nuestros hijos. Si os vendemos nuestras tierras, deberéis recordar y enseñar a vuestros hijos que los ríos son nuestros hermanos y hermanos de vosotros; deberéis en adelante dar a los ríos el trato bondadoso que daréis a cualquier hermano.

Sabemos que el hombre blanco no comprende nuestra manera de ser. Le da lo mismo un pedazo de tierra que el otro porque él es un extraño que llega en la noche a sacar de la tierra lo que necesita. La tierra no es su hermano sino su enemigo. Cuando la ha conquistado la abandona y sigue su camino. Deja detrás de él las sepulturas de sus padres sin que le importe. Despoja de la tierra a sus hijos sin que le importe. Olvida la sepultura de su padre y los derechos de sus hijos. Trata a su madre, la tierra, y a su hermano el cielo, como si fuesen cosas que se pueden comprar, saquear y vender, como si fuesen corderos y cuentas de vidrio. Su insaciable apetito devorará la tierra y dejará tras sí sólo un desierto.

Jefe Indio Seattle

No lo comprendo. Nuestra manera de ser es diferente a la vuestra. La vista de vuestras ciudades hace doler los ojos al hombre de piel roja. Pero quizá sea así porque el hombre de piel roja es un salvaje y no comprende las cosas. No hay ningún lugar tranquilo en las ciudades del hombre blanco, ningún lugar donde pueda escucharse el desplegarse de las hojas en primavera o el orzar de las alas de un insecto. Pero quizá sea así porque soy un salvaje y no puedo comprender las cosas. El ruido de la ciudad parece insultar los oídos. ¿Y qué clase de vida es cuando el hombre no es capaz de escuchar el solitario grito de la garza o la discusión nocturna de las ranas alrededor de la laguna? Soy un hombre de piel roja y no lo comprendo. Los indios preferimos el suave sonido del viento que acaricia la cala del lago y el olor del mismo viento purificado por la lluvia del mediodía o perfumado por la fragancia de los pinos.

El aire es algo precioso para el hombre de piel roja porque todas las cosas comparten el mismo aliento: el animal, el árbol y el hombre. El hombre blanco parece no sentir el aire que respira. Al igual que un hombre muchos días agonizante, se ha vuelto insensible al hedor. Mas, si os vendemos nuestras tierras, debéis recordar que el aire es precioso para nosotros, que el aire comparte su espíritu con toda la vida que sustenta. Y, si os vendemos nuestras tierras, debéis dejarlas aparte y mantenerlas sagradas como un lugar al cual podrá llegar incluso el hombre blanco a saborear el viento dulcificado por las flores de la pradera.

Consideraremos vuestra oferta de comprar nuestras tierras. Si decidimos aceptarla, pondré una condición: que el hombre blanco deberá tratar a los animales de estas tierras como hermanos. Soy un salvaje y no comprendo otro modo de conducta. He visto miles de búfalos pudriéndose sobre las praderas, abandonados allí por el hombre blanco que les disparó desde un tren en marcha. Soy un salvaje y no comprendo como el humeante caballo de vapor puede ser más importante que el búfalo al que sólo matamos para poder vivir. ¿Qué es el hombre sin los animales? Si todos los animales hubiesen desaparecido, el hombre moriría de una gran soledad de espíritu. Porque todo lo que ocurre a los animales pronto habrá de ocurrir también al hombre. Todas las cosas están relacionadas ente sí.

Vosotros debéis enseñar a vuestros hijos que el suelo bajo sus pies es la ceniza de sus abuelos. Para que respeten la tierra, debéis decir a vuestros hijos que la tierra está plena de vida de nuestros antepasados. Debéis enseñar a vuestros hijos lo que nosotros hemos enseñados a los nuestros: que la tierra es nuestra madre. Todo lo que afecta a la tierra afecta a los hijos de la tierra. Cuando los hombres escupen el suelo se escupen a sí mismos.

Esto lo sabemos: la tierra no pertenece al hombre, sino que el hombre pertenece a la tierra. El hombre no ha tejido la red de la vida: es sólo una hebra de ella. Todo lo que haga a la red se lo hará a sí mismo. Lo que ocurre a la tierra ocurrirá a los hijos de la tierra. Lo sabemos. Todas las cosas están relacionadas como la sangre que une a una familia.

Aún el hombre blanco, cuyo Dios se pasea con él y conversa con el -de amigo a amigo no puede estar exento del destino común-. Quizá seamos hermanos, después de todo. Lo veremos. Sabemos algo que el hombre blanco descubrirá algún día: que nuestro Dios es su mismo Dios. Ahora pensáis quizá que sois dueño de nuestras tierras; pero no podéis serlo. El es el Dios de la humanidad y Su compasión es igual para el hombre blanco. Esta tierra es preciosa para El y el causarle daño significa mostrar desprecio hacia su Creador. Los hombres blancos también pasarán, tal vez antes que las demás tribus. Si contamináis vuestra cama, moriréis alguna noche sofocados por vuestros propios desperdicios. Pero aún en vuestra hora final os sentiréis iluminados por la idea de que Dios os trajo a estas tierras y os dio el dominio sobre ellas y sobre el hombre de piel roja con algún propósito especial. Tal destino es un misterio para nosotros porque no comprendemos lo que será cuando los búfalos hayan sido exterminados, cuando los caballos salvajes hayan sido domados, cuando los recónditos rincones de los bosques exhalen el olor a muchos hombres y cuando la vista hacia las verdes colinas esté cerrada por un enjambre de alambres parlantes. ¿Dónde está el espeso bosque? Desapareció. ¿Dónde está el águila? Desapareció. Así termina la vida y comienza la supervivencia...

Fuente: Colectivo Ecologista Guelaya de Melilla

Sen. Al knows his chickens and his grit

Our future, according to Big Al: Baby Boomers pick grit with the chickens.

I'm accustomed to seeing Big Al all over the state.

He was at the grand reopening of the BBHC in Cody. He was featured in a juvenile justice documentary speaking about his own run-in with the law as a teen. He attended the 2010 Governor's Arts Awards in Cheyenne to support fellow arts patron Naoma Tate.

He's been very involved in the refurbishing of the Heart Mountain Internment Center near Cody. During World War II, a young Al Simpson and his Boy Scout troop joined forces with the Scout troop at Heart Mountain on some community projects. That's how he and former internee Norman Mineta, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, became lifelong friends. They were both at the rededication of the historic monuments at Heart Mountain in several years ago. I anticipate that both will be attending the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center's grand opening Aug. 19-21.

Sen. Alan "Big Al" Simpson,a Republican from Cody, is one of the most visible politicians in the country. During the current Congressional fight over the budget, he may end up being one of the most recognizable moderates in the news. Seems funny when you consider that Sen. Al retired from elected office way back in the last century.

But he keeps popping up. He co-chaired with Erskine Bowles the president's deficit commission, nicknamed the "cat food commission" after a quip by the senator. The senator has a million of them and many are funny or, at least, catchy.

Sen. Al had a front row seat two weeks ago for Pres. Obama's budget speech. Talking to reporters after the speech, he uttered another quotable quote. Here's part of the story from The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire:

“Pray for the Gang of Six,” Mr. Simpson told two reporters after the speech, referring to a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Senate who are working on a deficit-reduction plan. “They are six guys, three Republicans, three Democrats, that are committed to doing something.

The “Gang of Six,” are Democratic Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, and Richard Durbin of Illinois and Republican Sens. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, and Mike Crapo of Idaho.

“Just pray for the Gang of Six,” he said. “You guys your age, keep praying.”

What happens if the Gang of Six fails? Mr. Simpson was asked.

“Guys like you will be picking grit with the chickens when you are 65,” he replied. End of interview.

That's the fear of millions of Americans, that we will spend our retirement picking grit with the chickens. That's even worse than eating catfood. Nutritional value of grit=0. Nutritional value of catfood (especially the gourmet kind)=much more than zero (look on your catfood label).

This "Gang of Six" is not the answer to the budget battle. As far as I know, none of them has brought up raising revenue along with budget cuts.

The House version of the budget-cutting bill will go nowhere in the Senate. Those already on Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security will be rattled and may vote for more Democrats in 2012. Those about to retire are nervous due to the fact that I have no chickens and I don't like grit. If the Repubs get their way, I will have to follow in the footsteps of my locavore brethren and sistren and get a coop filled with Rhode Island Reds.

Wyoming, of course, has plenty of grit to pick. I'm staking out my claim now.

Tea Party Slim & Sovereign Jake vs. Liberal Mike

I ran into Tea Party Slim at the downtown Starbucks. “Hey Slim,” I said. “Enjoying that Fair Trade Coffee?”

He peered at his grande coffee cup. "Slim” was printed on its side.

"It's just coffee,” said Slim.

I grabbed a colorful bag of beans from the rack. I read: “By working together and paying the prices that premium coffee deserves, we’re helping improve the lives of those farmers and their communities. Find out about additional ways we are working with farmers to ethnically source our coffee at starbucks.com/sharedplanet.”

Slim frowned. “I may have to go back to the doughnut shop. They have regular American coffee there -- and it doesn't preach at you.”

“Even Dave’s Doughnuts serves coffee made somewhere else," I said. "It’s sold by corporations like Folger’s or Nestle. The corporation gets more of the profit and small growers less.”

“Who’s the know-it-all?” Slim’s friend spoke for the first time. He looked a bit younger than Slim, maybe in his fifties. His hair was streaked with gray as was his bushy beard. He wore a striped western shirt, brown vest, jeans and Sunday-go-to-meeting cowboy boots.

“Meet Liberal Mike,” said Slim, “one of the few registered Democrats in Laramie County.”

“I’m Jake,” said the man. “Freeman."

We shook hands. His grip was firm; his eyes held mine.

"Jake Freeman," I said.

"No, my last name is, well, it's not important," he said. "I meant that I am a Free Man -- sovereign."

I'd heard the terms before and wanted to know more. “Let me get some shade-tree-grown Nicaraguan coffee and a whole wheat organic scone and I’ll join you gents.”

I did just that. I grabbed one of the easy chairs across from Jake. He and Slim stared at me. “Do I have a booger hanging out of my nose?” I swiped my hand across my face.

Slim laughed. “Jake doesn’t know any Liberals.” He turned to Jake. “It’s like going to the zoo, eh Jake? Looking at the strange creatures.”

“I have lots of company,” I said. "In 2008, 3,800 new Democrats registered in Laramie County. Many of them voted. That's how Obama won the majority of votes in this county."

"That was then," said Slim. "Where were they last November?"

"I don't vote," said Jake.

This time, Slim and I stared at Jake.

"Don't vote?"

"Don't need to," he said. "Why should I have to register to vote for a government I don't believe in?"

Jake erupted in a diatribe about what it means to be a sovereign. The united states of America (lower care u and s) is a republic based on the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. The Magna Carta, too. And the Bible. The United States of America (capitalized) was corrupted following the Civil War. It became a centralized, profit-seeking corporation, its many laws and regulations just ways to keep the people in their place. States, on the other hand, are individual republics and make the only laws worth following.

Our coffee cups were bone-dry by the time Jake fell silent.

"I guess you don't pay taxes," I said, recalling the big check I just wrote to the IRS.

He chuckled. "I'm not a slave to the IRS. I believe in free enterprise. Me and my fellow sovereigns barter our goods and services."

"What's your skill?"

"Paperwork," he said with a grin. "In my previous life, I was a Certified Public Accountant with the State of Wyoming. I know all the tricks. I pay my filing fee and present reams of paperwork that some clerk has to input into the system. Clogs up the bureaucracy. Drives them crazy."

"Guerrilla tactics," said Slim the veteran.

"Same kind of tactics that anti-war activists used during Vietnam -- and right now," I said. "Don't pay taxes for the war machine. Or pay in bags of pennies that you haul down to the IRS office. File loads of paperwork to clog the system."

Jake stared at me. "You Liberals have your own causes," he said. "Mostly you believe in big government. An illegitimate government." He paused. "Our president doesn't even have a birth certificate."

"Now you're talkin'" said Slim.

I replied: "I thought you didn't believe in government. That's who handles birth certificates. Do you want government more involved in tracking our personal lives?"

Jake waved away my criticism. "State and local governments have some legitimacy. For instance, I register my vehicles and pay the fees. My truck needs a license plate."

"So some government is O.K.?"

"State and local. The county sheriff is the law of the land."

"If you're so sovereign, why would you take orders from any law officer."

He nodded. "Slim, your boy here is sharper than he looks."

"He has his moments," said Slim.

"There is one thing that we won't register, right Slim?" He padded his vest, lifting it up so I could see the Glock snug in its holster. Slim, in turn, lifted his jacket and revealed the SIG Sauer pistol he had showed off to me several times.

"No gun registration for these bad boys," said Jake. "It's just a way for the One World Government to track us down, take away our guns and lock us away in re-education camps."

The coffee was long gone, and the conversation had taken a bad turn.

"This government will fall, by peace or by force," said Jake.

I stood. "If you gentlemen will excuse me, I'm off to buy a gun."

"I thought you didn't believe in guns," said Slim.

"Hush, Slim," said Jake. "I think we talked him into joining us."

"No," I answered. "When the time comes, I may need it to protect myself and my family from the likes of you."

NOTE: Much of the information on the sovereign movement was taken from an excellent three-part series by Tom Morton in the Casper Star-Tribune. Joe O'Sullivan also covered some similar issues regarding city zoning laws. For some additional stories, read Tom Morton's blog at http://trib.com/news/opinion/blogs/morton/

Women Progressives in Wyoming show their steel

Many Progressive leaders in Wyoming are women. And that's the way it should be in The Equality State. Liz Byrd, Kathy Sessions, Kathy Karpan, Nellie Tayloe Ross, Leslie Petersen, Lori Millin, Cathy Connolly, Mary Throne, Wendy Soto -- the list is a long one. Send me more names via comments to add to the list! Meanwhile, here's another great poster from politicalloudmouth.com

Ayuni - Cintamu Untuk Siapa

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D'Chic - Cemburui

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D'Alfa - Pergi

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Kerispatih - Tetap Mengerti

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Briptu Norman Kamaro feat JK - Cinta Rakyat

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Pink - Most Girl

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Anggun C Sasmi - Tua Tua Keladi

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Justin Timberlake feat Timbaland - Carry Out

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Kotak - Selalu Cinta

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Armada - Mau Dibawa Kemana

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The Changcuters - Parampampam

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Sheila On 7 - Shepia

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Daily Kos: Letter to Wyoming's Sen. Enzi on Social Security Comments

Republican Sen. Mike Enzi of Gillette has been making some strange and inaccurate comments about the Social Security program that millions of Americans depend on for at least some of their retirement. One of my fellow kossacks at Daily Kos, ceprDC, attempts to set him straight. Go to Letter to Sen. Enzi on Social Security Comments

Rev. Rodger McDaniel guest speaker for Laramie County Democrats meeting April 25

Please join us for the monthly meeting of the Laramie County Democrats on Monday, April 25, 7 p.m.

There’s a change in location for this meeting. Instead of the IBEW Union Hall, we’ll be at the Historic Plains Hotel, 1600 Central Avenue

Guest Speaker will be the Rev. Rodger McDaniel, progressive blogger, minister and Rockies’ fan. He’ll be talking about ways to “push back” against the right-wing tide.

For info and agenda, go to www.laramiecountydemocrats.org

This progressive blogger is off to the Netroots Nation 2011 Conference in June

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve received a scholarship to the Netroots Nation 2011 Conference in Minneapolis. Thanks to all my friends and acquaintances who voted for me. And thanks to Democracy for America. I’ll be hauling myself, my blog and my laptop off to one of the twin cities June 16-19.

I am told that the Minneapolis summer is warmer than Wyoming’s and a bit more humid. I am also told that it doesn’t snow there in June. In Wyoming, you can’t promise that.

As Minnesota Sen. Al Franken said at Netroots National 2010 in Las Vegas: "It's a little bit less glitzy and glamorous than Las Vegas, but it's also a little bit less hot. It's a place with great fishing, beautiful scenery and tons of energetic progressives ready to show Netroots Nation a good time."

"Lots of progressives." Wow. We have a small but mighty contingent of progressives in this state. And we are formulating big plans to push back against the Wyoming red tide. Now -- and in 2012.

As a Red State blogger, I often feel isolated. The conference is an opportunity to trade tips and organizing strategies with other prog-bloggers. I’ve been paying particular attention to Wisconsin bloggers the past few months. Those are some grassroots community organizers who know how to fight a Tea Party governor and his minions who are trying to dismantle 100 years of progress.

On Wisconsin! And, in June, on to Minnesota!

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