Wyoming
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12:05 p.m.
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A healthy harvest of intriguing recent articles about Wyoming: KL Energy Corp. has a plant in Upton, Wyo., that makes cellulosic ethanol fuel from wood scrap from Black Hills forests. Go to http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/07/04/ap6618033.html Fourth of July Cowboy Tea Party attendees gather in Cheyenne to steep their teabags of outrage in the brine of wingnuttery. Go to http://www.wyoming...
hummingbirdminds - Sun 9:43 a.m. - 5 clicks 
This photo by John Scalzi is great in so many ways. It's from Kentucky's Creation Museum, and shows a boy riding a statue of a baby Triceratops, which is Wyoming's official state dinosaur. The kid is having fun, and probably doesn't care a wit that Triceratops were never used as rodeo stock. Since it's rodeo season in the West, you can ask just about any cowboy -- horses and bulls are prefera...
hummingbirdminds - Sat 10:43 a.m. - 10 clicks
Greetings from Cheyenne, the semi-arid capital of semi-arid Wyoming, which has more water than it knows what to do with. Just kidding. We never have quite enough. In dry years, we're parched. In wet years, we're refreshing the landscape parched during dry years. But this year, we get rain every day. Yesterday brought a gully-washer with raindrops big as eyeballs. I heard the rain pounding the...
hummingbirdminds - Sat 9:07 a.m. - 7 clicks
You can find some strange truths in bumper stickers. I saw one the other day in Cheyenne. It was on a pick-up. It read: "WYOMING: It's not for everybody." At first, I thought it was another in a series of "Unique Wyoming" bumper stickers: "Wyoming is what America was." "Wyoming: Like No Place on Earth." The theme that unites them all could be summed up into the fact that Wyomingites like the s...
hummingbirdminds - Fri 2:24 p.m. - 7 clicks
On Tuesday July 7, Steve Earle will be hosted by David Dye on National Public Radio’s World Café. Wyoming Public Radio features the World Cafe at odd times. Go here to find the schedule. Visit NPR’s World Cafe for more info. Go to Steve's web site to listen to a "Pancho and Lefty" excerpt from his newest CD, "Townes." ...
hummingbirdminds - Tue 10:02 p.m. - 2 clicks
Republicans in the West (including Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso ) continue to play "That Darn Gubment" game. This comes from a 6/26/09 story by Courtney Lowery in New West : Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch says he, his fellow Senator Bob Bennett, Idaho’s Jim Risch and Wyoming’s John Barrasso have created the Western Senate Caucus because: “We have to fight very, very hard to make sure that the West is be...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 29 - 5 clicks
Always in search of references to Wyoming, wherever they may arise. But I missed this on Jon Stewart. Jon played a clip of Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) putting down the DMV and post office and other governmental (and quasi-governmental) entities. Here's the segment: John Boehner (film clip): If you like going to the DMV and think they do a great job or you like going to the post office and think i...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 29 - 2 clicks
Those four extra inches of rain have helped. "Extra" rain. That's a strange term. The high prairie uses all the rain it can get. If it comes too fast, dry creek bottoms swell with flash floods and ponds rise at Cheyenne street intersections. But, in semi-arid Wyoming, gardeners like me welcome the rain. When my daughter Annie and I ducked into Wal-Mart to pick up a few things, a bank o...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 29
Donna from Cheyenne says this on the Health Care Stories for American web site: I work for the Wyoming Primary Care Association where we represent 18% of the state who do not have any form of insurance. It should be noted that does not include the Native Americans or Homeless persons as they don't have phones they answer in their home to answer the survey of whether they have access to care. So...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 26 - 2 clicks
The blogosphere and twitternet are abuzz with news about Dick Cheney's book deal. In Wyoming, any news about the Cheneys is buzzworthy , due to the fact that Dick developed his creepy underhanded political strategies here in Wyoming before sharing them with the rest of the world. Here are the sordid details from CNN Online: Cheney has struck a deal with publishing house Simon & Sch...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 24 - 2 clicks
William "Willie" Neal was the youngest of 18 Wyoming delegates to last summer's Democratic National Convention in Denver. A skier and biathlete, he was an enthusiastic participant in both the state convention in Jackson in May 2008 and at the big show in Denver. But this sad news came over the wires yesterday: FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine -- Police are investigating an accident that killed a Wyoming b...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 23 - 3 clicks
Revolution rages in Tehran and the world is transfixed by millions of Iranians demanding free speech. Laramie, Wyoming is light years away from the Islamic world, but amid charges of repression of free speech and totalitarian decisions, a revolt is gaining momentum against the University of Wyoming (UW) trustees -- and its emblematic martyr is Big Al, the Allosaurus. Facing an $18.3 million budge...
New West Jackson Hole - Jun 23 - 2 clicks
The building that housed the Heart Mountain Relocation Center boiler plant and laundry stands almost alone on the prairie near Cody, Wyoming. In the foreground lies a concrete slab for a long-gone wing of the camp hospital, that was staffed by both Anglo and Nisei doctors and nurses. Two dilapidated buildings of the camp hospital (one is pictured below) still stand, windows boarded and warnin...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 23 - 4 clicks
A professor from a coal state's only four-year university has conducted a study funded by the state mining association on the economics of coal mining in the part of the state that depends the most on coal revenue. Guess what the prof discovered? Coal mining is good. According to an AP story: Wyoming's Powder River Basin coal will be an essential part of the nation's energy future even as the ...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 22
Wyoming Democratic Party Executive Director Bill Luckett sends this help wanted announcement: The Wyoming Democratic Party is looking to hire a communications director. A job description is attached to this e-mail, and it is also available on our Web site at www.wyomingdemocrats.com . The position will pay in the neighborhood of $38,000 to $40,000, depending on skills and experience, and the po...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 22
A grim future is predicted for the 25,000-acre National Elk Refuge in Wyoming unless the sprawling home to elk and bison gets an infusion of new policies and resources, according to a new report from the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The group ranks the wildlife sanctuary -- which has one of the largest concentrations of elk in the world -- as one of America's Ten Most ...
New West Jackson Hole - Jun 22 - 2 clicks
Dancers at the Plains Indian Pow Wow June 20 in Cody at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. The afternoon rounds went off without a hitch but the evening dances were postponed due to a gully-washer of a storm. ...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 22 - 4 clicks
One of the Republican zombies in this film is Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, a physician who should know better. Thanks to Skippy the Bush Kangaroo for the vid. ...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 22 - 3 clicks
What is Greg Noll's van doing in Cody? Mr. Noll catching the nightly rodeo? Mr. Noll riding the bucking horses in the nightly rodeo? Ride 'em, Greg. My third surfboard was a Greg Noll Bug. Short, but not too short. Probably better suited to SoCal surf than the mushy Daytona waves of mid-summer. ...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 19 - 4 clicks
In keeping with the theme of the previous post, here's contact information on Wyoming's cycling & pedestrian program: Web: http://www.dot.state.wy.us Talbot J. Hauffe, MPA Bicycle & Pedestrian Coordinator 5300 Bishop Boulevard Cheyenne, WY 82001 307-777-4862; Fax 307-777-4759 E-mail: Talbot.hauffe@dot.state.wy.us ...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 16 - 2 clicks
Sometimes I just have to gasp in disbelief (GASP!) when I see some of the odd things Republicans say. It's one thing when nutcases Michelle Bachmann or Mitch McConnell speak weirdness, it's another when it comes from a common-sense Repub senator such as one of mine, Mike Enzi of Gillette, Wyo. Sen. Enzi mostly voted with the Bushies the past eight years. But he has crossed the aisle to do some ho...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 16 - 3 clicks
Denver Post reporter Mark Jaffe has been hanging out at the Western Governors' Association annual meeting in Park City, Utah. Yesterday he and the govs heard Republican pollster Frank Luntz talk about word choice. I'm not sure why Wyoming's Dave Freudenthal and Montana's Brian Schweitzer and Colorado's Bill Ritter had to listen to advice from the likes of Luntz. I guess someone had to be guest...
hummingbirdminds - Jun 15 - 2 clicks
Broken: A Love Story by Lisa Jones Scribner, 275 pages, $25 Colorado writer Lisa Jones was a freelance journalist on assignment for Smithsonian magazine when she first met Stanford Addison, a charismatic horse trainer on the Wind River Arapaho reservation near Lander, Wyoming. Addison doesn't match the typical image of a horse trainer: he is a quadriplegic who has been confined to a wheelchair ...
New West Jackson Hole - Jun 8 - 3 clicks
The Signal By Ron Carlson Viking, 184 pages, $25.95 Ron Carlson's new The Signal is a taut and suspenseful novel written with beauty and precision, centered around a camping trip in Wyoming's Wind River Range. For ten years, Mack and his wife Vonnie have gone hiking in that area every September, but this year is starkly different. Since the last trip, Mack has been "running in low-rent behavio...
New West Jackson Hole - May 25 - 2 clicks
Tipped off by the Wyoming Arts Blog about Wyoming novelist Craig Johnson's imminent book tour in France, I decided to investigate his Gallic appeal. On his blog for Penguin, Johnson reports that the French edition of The Cold Dish will be published by Éditions Gallmeister this month (he also recounts "one of the most embarrassing moments [his] life," when a beautiful French woman caught him looki...
New West Jackson Hole - May 20 - 3 clicks
As a follow-up to the previous post, here are a couple media reports on new Wyoming Democratic Party Chair Leslie Petersen and our other officers: Wilson resident to head Democratsnbsp;(Jackson Hole News amp; Guide) Democrats elect new state leaders (Casper Star-Tribune) Please let me know if you run across any more, and I'll add them to the list! nbsp;...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Apr 21 - 2 clicks
Greetings from party central! The big news is that Leslie Petersen of Wilson was elected as the new state chair of the Wyoming Democratic Party during ournbsp;State Central Committee meeting in Casper on April 18th. Other officers elected were new Vice Chair Mike Bell of Cheyenne, new Secretary Linda Barton of Lander, and re-elected Treasurer Chuck Herz of Moose (electednbsp;for anbsp;second term)...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Apr 21 - 3 clicks
Just a quick note to let you know that Democrats all across the state will be holding county meetings throughout the month of March to elect their local leaders for the 2009-10 election cycle. Then, on April 18, those county leaders will meet in Casper to hold state party officer elections for the positions of chair, vice chair, secretary and treasurer. So tune in on April 18 to find out who will ...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Feb 15 - 2 clicks
Vice President Dick Cheney will be doing more than hunting and fishing when he moves back to Wyoming from Washington--he recently told Sean Hannity that he is considering writing a book about his time in office. Cheney said, "My family has been bugging me about [writing a book]. I've got 40 years since I came to town to stay 12 months. I've got a lot of stories to tell. And a few scores to settle...
New West Jackson Hole - Jan 21 - 3 clicks
And we're off! The 58th Legislature's 2006 budget session kicked off at 10 a.m. yesterday, highlighted by Gov. Freudenthal's State of the State address. Speeches by the governor and legislative leaders were the main events of the day, sprinkled with some choral entertainment. By the day's end, legislators had begun thenbsp;laborious process of bill introduction, a topic that deserves its own parag...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
The first year of our field program targets seven counties.nbsp; Those include Teton, Natrona, Albany, Laramie, Sheridan, Fremont, and Sweetwater. As of this week, I will have visited all of them for the introductory and initiatory phase I.nbsp; This month, I look forward to revisiting each county for phase II, including an issue-by-issue discussion of the upcoming legislative session, and a mini-...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Just a quick note on Wednesday's State of the State address: Republican legislative leaders conspicuously did NOT hold a "Republican response" press conference after Gov. Freudenthal's speech. That was a fairly visible example of events that are contributing to a general feeling of bipartisanship in Cheyenne as the 59th Wyoming Legislature goes to work. Several reporters noted that this is the fir...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
I don't know all the details of what is going on behind the scenes here, but I bet 99 percent of the public is glad to see that Wyoming 8th District Judge Keith Kautz restored public access to Hawk Springs Reservoir in south Goshen County. This isn't exactly an election story, but it's a prettynbsp;interestingnbsp;political one. As Gov. Freudenthal points out, "Hunters, anglers and everyone who en...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
President Bush's budget would severely and negatively impact the quality of life of rural Wyoming residents, according to a new report issued by the Democratic Policy Committee. Since 2001, the committee has issued reports on the failure of the president's policy to address the issues important to rural Americans. The report confirms that the president's cuts in funding for law enforcement, health...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Wyoming's U.S. House race is trending toward a Gary Trauner victory on Nov. 7, according to national experts. Two of the country's foremost political prognosticators have changed their official ratings of the race to reflect the increasing likelihood that Gary Trauner will take Wyoming's only House seat fromnbsp;Barbara Cubin. It's encouraging to see that the national experts are finally catching ...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
It looks like the state House is going to take on the food sales tax exemption this week. House Speaker Roy Cohee, R-Casper, said he expects House Bill 93 to come up on the House floor either today or Tuesday. That bill is sponsored by Rep. Rodney "Pete" Anderson, R-Pine Bluffs, who last year was one of the staunchest opponents of exempting food from the sales tax. Anderson's bill would make the f...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Earlier this week, Bill Luckett (our communication's director), Kaydee Dahlin (our field director), and I got together to talk about where the state party is headed and what projects are on the radar for the start of the next year. One thing that the three of us agreed on was the need to let people know what is happening at the state party. To that end, we are starting this blog for the Wyo...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
The federal government, in its infinite wisdom, has concluded that wolf populations are rebounding successfully enough that the feds announced they would remove wolves from the endangered species list in the Great Lakes region (Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin) in about a month and possibly take the same action for the wolves in the Rocky Mountain region (Wyoming, Montana and Idaho) in about a ye...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
The Rocky Mountain Democrats at the University of Wyoming have been actively engaging the campus community and building an energetic organization. Earlier this month, three members of the group were in Washington, DC for the College Democrats/Young Democrats Leadership Summit. While they were there, incoming UW College Dems President Samy Tolsted and Vice President Martha Tate went to a ral...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16
For the first time since probably the 1970s, the race for Wyoming's only U.S. House seat is now officially considered a toss-up by one of the nation's foremost political analysts. Many experts have changed their rating of the race to indicate that it's close, in the wake of Gary Trauner's fine debate performances, Cubin's recent bizarre behavior, and Gov. Freudenthal's endorsement of Trauner. But ...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 3 clicks
First things first: the compromise version of the budget bill easily passed both chambers of the Legislature today and has headed to Gov. Freudenthal's desk. My understanding is that he has told lawmakers he will try to take action on the bill by Friday, so the Legislature doesn't have to remain in session on Saturday to find out whether the governor vetoes any part of the budget. I haven't receiv...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16
Casper-area lawmakers sound off on the possibility of a statewide smoking ban: nbsp; Split opinion on statewide move nbsp; As the Casper Star-Tribune points out, if state spending has increased too sharply for some people's tastes, they have only the Republican Party - which has controlled the Legislature for decades - to thank: nbsp; Hey big spenders, stay away from Legislature nbsp; Wyoming Pub...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
The meeting with longtime party activists in Jackson was inspiring and positive.nbsp; Convened in front of a fire atnbsp;Leslie and Hank'snbsp;beautiful home, formernbsp;social workers, foreign correspondants, environmental justice and conservation lawyers and scientists, substance abuse cases caseworkers and founders of equality-inspired NGOs, all discussed what's at stake for Wyoming and the nat...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Here are the first extended public comments from Gary Trauner and Barbara Cubin on the Foley scandal and the House Republican leadership's handling of it. Trauner is right: this situation needs to be investigated, and anyone who knew what was going on and failed to fix the problem needs to be held accountable. This is a serious issue that should not be politicized, yet some are trying to do just t...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Grassroots Field Organization, Democratic Party: Phase IIDate: Monday January 23rdTime: 6:30 - 8 p.m.Where: Inner Circle in the Fulmer Public Librarynbsp; 1.. "What's at Stake" in the upcoming legislative session: analysis byState Executive Director Kyle DeBeernbsp; 2.. Mini-workshop on writing effective letters-to-the-editornbsp; 3.nbsp; Identify leadership for Sheridan county Young dems chaptern...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
You've got to give Rep. Ann Robinson credit for trying. Thursday, the Casper Democrat resorted to a rarely-if-ever used procedural maneuver to revive House Bill 117, the "heat and eat" bill that would remove the sales tax from groceries and home utility bills. After the House Revenue Committee voted 5-4 against sending the bill forward to the full House, Rep. Robinson asked the full House to trump...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
What an exciting weekend full of Wyoming political news! We've got debates, we've got polls, we've got endorsements. First off, we had the debates in Casper yesterday among the candidates for governor, U.S. House, and U.S. Senate. Here are the links to the news articles that the Casper Star-Tribune published about the debates: - Governor debate: Gov. Dave Freudenthal talks about hisnbsp;impressive...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
The Legislature has returned after a three-day President's Day weekend for the final two weeks of the 2007 general session. Among the hot topics this week will be wolves and same-sex marriages, according to this Casper Star-Tribune story. For more on the wolf issue, click here. Also this week, the House speaker and Senate president will each appoint five members of the joint conference committee o...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
I've managed to gather some of the details of the major debates taking place this campaign season. There seem to be two big ones. The first will be held Sunday, Oct. 15, in Casper, sponsored by the Casper Star-Tribune and KCWY-TV, Casper's Channel 13. In addition, Wyoming Public Television is sponsoring a series of debates Sunday, Oct. 22, through Tuesday, Oct. 24. More details: The Star-Tribune/K...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Since the Bush Administration took office, Wyoming's working families are worse off. Here a few of the ways in which the failed policies of George W. Bush and Barbara Cubin have hurt Wyoming's working families: 1,300 of Wyoming's workers have lost their unemployment benefits since January 2004. 42 percent of Wyoming taxpayers will receive less than $100 from the latest Bush tax cut in 2004. ...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16
They did it! Both the House and Senate adopted budget amendments today to remove the sales tax on groceries for two years. These votes took place near the end of the longest day yet of the 2006 budget session. The House voted first, after about 20 minutes of debate. Rep. Ann Robinson, D-Casper, the primary sponsor of the amendment to remove the tax on groceries, told her colleagues that the amendm...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Senate hopeful Dale Groutage held a press conference yesterday in Cheyenne and got a couple of good pieces of news coverage out of it. Although Dale's press conference was intended primarily to shed light on the fact that Craig Thomas is trying to avoid debating him, the Associated Press seems to have been in a wolfish state of mind, so they ran this story, spreading Dale's message on Endangered S...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 4 clicks
There have been a couple news items relating to the governor's race in the past few days, so I thought I'd mention them here. The newest one comes from yesterday regarding the candidates' positions on abortion. The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle published this story, which is about the same as the AP's story here (from the Casper Star-Tribune).nbsp;Ray Hunkins, understandably overcome with emotion at the b...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 3 clicks
You may have noticed that the Casper Star-Tribune is publishing the results this week of major polling the paper conducted recently, and there is plenty of good news in there for Democrats to celebrate. First, Gov. Dave Freudenthal's job performance was rated as good or excellent by 81 percent of the people surveyed. This is in line with the tracking poll of SurveyUSA.com, which shows the governor...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
By all accounts, this was a good election for Democrats. Our party has taken control of both houses of Congress; Gov Dave Freudenthal won re-election by one of the largest margins in the nation; and we won a net total of three seats in the Wyoming House of Representatives. It remains to be seen what will happen with the U.S. House race in Wyoming. But we have cause for celebration, and we must kee...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16
January 23 meeting in Sheridan: Participantsnbsp;in the grassroots meetings more than doubled since the first meeting.nbsp;nbsp; High school and young professionals began trickling into the field meetings.nbsp; Participants openly discussed their points of view innbsp;realmsnbsp;of local, state and and national concern.nbsp; Throughout the course of the meeting,nbsp;participants proposed to hold a...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 3 clicks
We want to hear what ticks you off. And we want to know how you would fix it. As a community, what can we do to make Wyoming a better place? Jennie Blackton will be in Southern Wyoming during the first week of May to lead workshops for Democratic grassroots activists. Jennie is a nationally recognized trainer, who coaches political candidates in public speaking. She'll help us organize to ...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16
I think the big news today was the debate between the executive branch and legislative branch over tax cuts. In case you haven't heard, our state government is dealing with a massive budget surplus, enough to fund government at its current levels and still have enough left over to pay for the state General Fund share of state government for another two years. Of course, Gov. Freudenthal's budget r...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
On Thursday October 12, thenbsp;Fremont County Democratic Party is hostingnbsp;a volunteer rally at the Lander Arts Center on Main avenue.nbsp;nbsp; Live music, catered food, and speeches from Gary Trauner for US Congress and Dale Groutage for US Senate. The Fremont County Democratic and Republican party have set a new precedent of bi-partisan cooperation by co-hosting a forum with county commiss...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
This week, USA Today published this story about the gains Democrats have been making in the West over the past few years. It notes Gov. Freudenthal's win in 2002 and Gary Trauner's strong U.S. House run this year. It also lists a few other races this year in which Democrats are looking good in the Rocky Mountain region. In semi-related news, the popular blog Daily Kos has entries on Wyoming's Hous...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
I didn't notice a lot of politics news skimming through the papers today, so I'll link to the Associated Press story on Wyoming's new lawsuit over wolf management. It sounds like the state may yet one day get its day in court over whether the feds had the right to reject our wolf management plan. My concerns about the success of the wolf reintroduction program were put to rest one night a few year...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 3 clicks
Listen to the press conference: Gov Dave backs Gary Trauner Gov. Dave Freudenthal explained why he is supporting Gary Trauner for Congress this year during a press conference Wednesday, Oct. 25, in the State Capitol Building rotunda. "It is time for a change, and the change did not occur in the Republican primary," Freudenthal said. "Gary Trauner is passionate about serving Wyoming and our citizen...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Sorry for this oh-so-brief and oh-so-late blog post, but somehow my life is getting busier as the budget session is starting to wind down. Among the biggest news of the day was that Gov. Freudenthal issued his first veto of the session Thursday. He vetoed Senate File 5, which would specify that legislators' communications with their staff, constituents and consultants don't have to be disclosed. I...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 3 clicks
This is just part of the "fun." Sen. Kathryn Sessions, D-Cheyenne, specifically invited me to the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting this afternoon to see how the panel handled her bill on registration of sex offenders. Obviously, she was excited about her bill, which she and Attorney General Pat Crank said also had the support of the governor. Have you ever been to a legislative committee meeting...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16
Vote today! Bring three people with you. Then call everyone you know and make sure they have voted. Keep alert for anything fishy at the polls or on your phone - and let us know if something seems amiss (800-SAY-DEMS). Today is the day when we can take control of our future and enact the kinds of changes we need in Wyoming (in the case of our congressional representation) or keep our state on the ...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16
The Casper Star-Tribune has a nice story today on Dale Groutage's campaign, in which a reporter followed him around while he campaigned in Cheyenne recently. Dale raises several issues people need to keep in mind this campaign season: - Our country is off-course. - Our government is dysfunctional. - A culture of corruption controls Congress. - The federal government represents special interests, n...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
The state's largest paper has endorsed both Gov. Dave Freudenthal AND future U.S. Congressman Gary Trauner on its editorial page today. If you recall, the Casper Star-Tribune inexplicably endorsed Cubin in 2004, so their endorsement of Trauner is especially good news. Troubling note: I'm in Wamsutter today, and one of the convenience stores reported that they didn't get their Casper Star-Tribune d...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 3 clicks
The grassroots meetings of January 23- 31 in Sheridan, Casper,nbsp; and Cheyenne saw the participation numbers more than double since the first meeting in late 2005.nbsp; Old party activists, new residents, young people; including high school, college age, and young professionals.nbsp; Even registered Republicans turned out to listen to the Wyoming Democrats new grassroots strategy.nbsp; Represen...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
If you've met Nancy Drummond, it won't come as a surprise that she was named the 2005 Volunteer of the Year by the Sheridan Chamber of Commerce. (You can find her bio here.) Nancy gives an incredible amount of time and energy in community service. At the moment, she is a member of her local school board. She delivers hot meals to senior four days a week for meals on wheels. She has been a...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Gary Trauner announced that he will let Wyoming's election certification process run its course before he concedes the election or claims victory. Gary said provisional ballots are still being counted in some counties, though he's not sure exactly which ones. As of Wednesday, Gary trailed Barbara Cubin by 970 votes out of more than 190,000 cast statewide i...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Two good pieces of news reported in the Casper Star-Tribune (via the AP), the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, and various newspapers, radio stations and TV stations across the state. First of all, Barbara Cubin is running scared in the U.S. House race. She admitted in a letter to Republicans that she's nervous. As such, she has decided tonbsp;start spreading falsehoods aboutnbsp;Gary Trauner's positions, b...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
After Sunday night's debate among Democrat Gray Trauner, Repubican Barbara Cubin and Libertarian Thomas Rankin, Cubin reportedly told Rankin, a wheelchair-bound multiple sclerosis patient, that she would slap him if he weren't "sitting in that chair." This story was first published on the Casper Star-Tribune's Website, but it quickly made waves across the state and country. In the Jackson newspape...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 4 clicks
Our state's current U.S. senators and representative earned a notorious distinction this week by being ranked the worst congressional delegation in the United States when it comes to protecting our environment. Despite the fact that pretty much everyone who lives here says Wyoming's uniquely beautiful environment is one of the main reasons why they like living here, Barbara Cubin, Craig Thomas and...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
In his State of the State address today, Gov. Freudenthal urged legislators to invest in Wyoming's future as they pore over the dozens and dozens of issues they will face over the next eight weeks. Among the several initiatives the governor specifically identified, he asked lawmakers to make the food sales tax exemption permanent, to make sure "fair market value" is a key component of any eminent ...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
We are innbsp;the middle of the second round of debates among candidates for statewide office. Sundaynbsp;afternoon, Dale Groutage and Craig Thomas squared off in the U.S. Senate race, and then last night, Gary Trauner, Barbara Cubin and Tom Rankin participated in the U.S. House debate. Monday night,nbsp;Gov. Dave Freudenthal and challenger Ray Hunkinsnbsp;debated the issues in their race, followe...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
The state GOP's presidential caucuses took place on Saturday, and the main issue seems to be whether the Republicans' controversial decision to break their own national party's rules and sacrifice half their delegates to their national convention was worth it. By and large, most media outlets answered that question with a resounding "no." The Casper Star-Tribune notes that our state got virtually ...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 3 clicks
Over the past week I attended the Sheridan and Fremont county conventions, both well-attended by active and concerned local citizens.nbsp; The platforms of the county parties were thoughtfully deliberated, as people sought to definenbsp;and refine government procedure, articulate their values, and outline their vision. nbsp; I am currently working on the field strategy by inputting all grassroots ...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 4 clicks
Just as he did four years ago, Gov. Dave Freudenthal held press conferences Monday in his hometown of Thermopolis, Casper and Cheyenne to formally announce his intention to seek another four years in office. I attended the Casper announcement at the Parkway Plaza Hotel, and there were more than 100 people there to show their support for "four more years," as some of them periodically chanted. The ...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Several pieces of legislation were the focus of much of the discussion during the House Democrats' caucus today. Naturally, this being a budget session, part of the talk focused on the budget. Specifically, the number of new government positions in the budget, which is about 780. Chris Boswell, a former House Democrat himself and now Gov. Freudenthal's chief of staff, explained how the vast bulk o...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
In my elation that the legislative session has ended and the post-session work that ensued and the Wyoming Cowboys' Mountain West Conference tournament championship basketball game Saturday night (what a heart-breaking loss!), I somehow forgot to post a blog entry on Saturday's activities. So I'll update you now. I began the morning at the Laramie County Democratic Party Convention at the Hitching...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16
The quality child care legislation, House Bills 95 and 96, are heading to Gov. Freudenthal's desk after the House on Tuesday concurred with Senate amendments to the legislation. The bills cleared third reading in the Senate on Monday. This story describes some of the details of the legislation. The main thing is that our state government is finally going to take some concrete steps to address one ...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Legislators began their budget work today, but it wasn't as exciting as it's going to get. I focused on the Senate, where they had all of four amendments on their first reading of the budget, and they were all "technical amendments," according to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman John Hines, R-Gillette, who sponsored all four amendments. That means the amendments weren't very interesting as...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 3 clicks
Wyoming Public Radio will broadcast a debate tonight at 7 p.m. between Gov. Freudenthal and challenger Ray Hunkins. The debate took place in real time Monday night at a convention of Wyoming'snbsp;travel, hospitality, merchants and liquor dealers' associations in Cody. Public Radio's Renny MacKay is the moderator.nbsp;This Casper Star-Tribune article lists the frequencies for Wyoming Public Radio ...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 3 clicks
As we head into the last weekend before Election Day, national politicalnbsp;observers keep finding good news for Gary Trauner. First, the nation's premier politics Website, DailyKos, reports that Gary was greeted enthusiastically in Cheyenne while going door-to-door this week. The article includesnbsp;a tellingnbsp;look at both of the personalities in the U.S. House race. Check it out. Meanwhile,...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Barbara Cubin and a fellow congressional Republican visited F.E. Warren Air Force Base to campaign for Cubin yesterday, presumably at taxpayer expense, during something billed as "an official congressional delegation visit," according to this story in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. The story points out that Cubin's traveling partner, Rep. Terry Everett of Alabama, took a Nancy Pelosi quote out of cont...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Casper Star-Tribune editor Clark Walworth recently offered this explanation for how Gary Trauner said something in July, the newspaper printed itsnbsp;version of his comments, and the Cubin campaign has misconstrued them (I found this online here but not in the actual pages of the paper): A July story in the Star-Tribune regrettably has lent confusion rather than clarity to the U.S. House race. T...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16
The recent negative ad from Barbara Cubin's campaign doesn't square with reality, according to this report from Cheyenne's NewsChannel 5. The TV station did some quality research last week and concluded that the negative Cubinnbsp;ad "doesn't check out." Her ad draws from a Casper Star-Tribune article that mischaracterizes Gary Trauner's position on the Bush tax cuts and military spending. This is...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Last year, Rep. Barbara Cubin supported changes to the 1872 Mining Law, which would have opened thousands of acres of public land to potential private development. The proposed changes were roundly condemned by Western politicians, including Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas, also a Republican. Now Congress is considering another scheme that would force the sale of millions of acres of the public...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Craig Thomas gave the Casper Star-Tribune this insight into the kind of litmus test he thinks we need to govern our country by vowing to use his power to assure that no Democrat will be appointed to the seat on the U.S. District Court bench being vacated by Judge Clarence Brimmer. By contrast,nbsp;remembernbsp;Gov. Dave Freudenthal's thoughts on similar matters,nbsp;which he shared with the audien...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 3 clicks
On Wednesday, February 1st, in Laramie WY on the UW campus, Deanna Frey of the Wyoming Children's Action Alliance came to speak at the Grassroots meeting on behalf of House Bill 92, "Quality Childcare." The Federal Reserve Bank conducted a multi-year research on economic stimuli that are most effective in spurring and sustaining a vibrant economy.nbsp; Art Rolnick concludes that investment in ear...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 4 clicks
Eliminating the state sales tax on groceries is emerging as perhaps the biggest issue of the Legislature's 2006 budget session, and tomorrow (Thursday) will be a pivotal day for the idea. Casper Democrat Ann Robinson in the House and Casper Republican John Barrasso in the Senate are planning to introduce budget amendments tomorrow to lift the tax off food. If the amendment succeeds in both the Hou...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
This week's big news is the Casper Star-Tribune poll on the Trauner-Cubin race. It shows that Cubin is leading 44-37 percent, with 15 percent still undecided and the other 4 percent planning to vote for the Libertarian candidate. So the score here in the fourth quarter is that we're down by one touchdown with just enough time to catch up and win. It's going to take a lot of work, but we can do it,...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16
Wyoming Republican Party leadership provided further evidence Monday that it is totally bereft of useful ideas by issuing a press release stating that Gov. Freudenthal is a Democrat. This is so inane on so many levels it's hard to know where to start. Apparently, the Wyoming GOP leadership's approach is to insult the intelligence of Wyoming's voters by assuming that they will blindly vote for ever...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Gary Trauner is statistically tied with Barbara Cubin in a new independent poll. The survey conducted by the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle shows Trauner at 40.4 percent, Cubin at 44 percent, Libertarian Thomas Rankin at 5 percent, and 8 percent of the voters undecided. The 3.6-point difference between Trauner and Cubin is within the poll's 4.2-percent margin of error, which means the race is considered a ...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
That's the question that the Casper Star-Tribune recently posed to their readers and 56 state leaders. Some of us at the state party also wrote into the paper to offer our thoughts on what Wyoming needs in the year ahead. Mike Gierau (our chairman) wrote about small business promotion. Nancy Drummond (our vice chairman) focused on equality in pay. And I commented on the need to help y...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 2 clicks
Slithering their way through the legislative process this week are two bills we can all do without. House Bill 144, misleadingly labeled "women's right to know," would require Wyoming doctors who perform abortions to tell their patients about alternatives and inform them of potential risks and side effects before performing the procedure. I don't know very many people who think politicians should ...
Wyoming Democratic Party - Jan 16 - 3 clicks
