Fear mongering health care- Don't Buy In!

“They won’t pay for my surgery, but we’re forced to pay for abortions.”
“New rules could hike your health insurance premiums 95 percent.”
“Washington wants to bring Canadian-style health care to the U.S.”
"Reform will promote euthanasia."

These are just a few of the scare tactic comments that are being thrown around by Conservatives and right wing special interest groups. Can we PLEASE stop with the fictitious quotes and lies already? President Obama has continually reiterated the same proposal that he campaigned with. Coverage for everyone. Keep your plan if you like it. He restates his stand on the issue again in yesterday's radio address. Please read the text or watch the video. If this bill comes out of the Senate any other way, the blame should be upon folks like Mike Enzi, who wants to clip and cut this bill until it is no longer recognizable.

I'm hearing the rants around the water cooler at work. "Obama wants to kill off my Grandma!!" Give me a break. And let's not pretend that Fox news' coverage on this issue is "Fair and balanced." It's brainwashing, and I hope you are not gullible enough to fall for it. Want to sort the fact from fiction? See the latest posts on the FactCheck.org website.

We have people come to our county hospital every week that are without insurance. These are not "lazy" people who need to "get a job". These are hardworking people who are just trying to stay ahead. For some, their employers don't offer a health care plan. Others have been laid off and can't find work in Platte County. Like our President said, people shouldn't have to claim bankruptcy because they became sick. Our current system just doesn't work. New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Paul Krugman does a wonderful job of describing what is wrong with it.

Now is the time to use our big American brains and really think this through. Let's get it right, and get it done.

Cynthia Lummis is coming to town

Forwarded from our Chairperson's e-mail:

Hello Fellow Democrats,

The 14th of August Cynthia Lummis will be conducting a town hall meeting from 5-6PM at the (Platte County) library. I encourage everyone to attend and show support for our President, especially concerning health care. I will make a best effort to attend, but have some medical issues Im dealing with. This is a chance for your voice to be heard. Lets show Lummis that the Democrats of Platte County are involved to progress our country forward.

~ Charles McDonald

Sage Grouse holding back the wind farms

As you read this article, take note that our Governor believes there are very good areas on the East side of the state for wind farms to be developed. Now let me break out my state map. Let's see, Platte County is situated on the...hey...the East side! We don't have much in the way of coal, oil or natural gas, but we have wind! Shouldn't we be taking advantage of our resources?

http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2009/08/07/wind-power-industry-retreating-from-wyoming-citing-sage-grouse-concerns/

A Discussion Saloon

Platte County Democrats,

I want to start a discussion saloon here in Wheatland. Sponsored and moderated by the democratic party here it would be a sorta of weekly open forum. There is much to be discussed and the weekly forum seems like a good idea. Not formal meetings, those would be separate but a more informal discussion on topics and issues. Health care for instance, or current legislative bills, or some need in one of our towns or farm or ranch. It would be moderated to keep it ordered and work in the time alloted. Creating open dialog is important and keeps our democracy going. This web site helps to do that, and indeed I would hope to see follow ups on the discussion on this site.

What I need is input. A sorta of show of hands ( or comments in this case) on this idea. Help me to shape this forum and where we could hold it, what time is best. I will send this out via the e-mail list as well as on the web site. Lets start an understanding of the issues and topics that will shape Wyoming's elections in 2010.

~ Charles McDonald, Platte County Democrats Chairperson

News round up for the week ending 5-23-09

Here is a round up of this weeks news. Tacked on to a credit card bill, we can now enjoy concealed weapons in our national parks. Enzi, Barrasso and Lummis sound off on cap and trade. Chrysler is closing down five franchises in Wyoming. Dick Cheney can't stay out of the news, headlining the list of 13 people who made torture possible. We are so proud of him. Enzi is in disagreement with panel members on how to deter youth from smoking. Gov. Dave took some heat for nominating his wife Nancy to serve as a U.S. District Court judge in Wyoming.

Of special note, Sen. Barrasso made a special Memorial Day weekend address promoting coal and gas jobs in Wyoming. In his remarks, he states "and solar only account for about 1 percent of U.S. electricity, far below what is needed to meet the nation's energy needs." He goes on to say "There's enough oil shale in the Rocky Mountain West alone to power America for the next hundred years".

This is a complete lack of forward thinking. O.K., we can power America for the next 100 years. Then what?! Guess how long the wind is going to blow in Wyoming? Forever. Guess how long the sun is going to shine down on our state? Another billion years. Of course wind only counts for 1% of U.S. electricity...it's just starting to be used! Wyoming can and should be a vital player in alternative energy production. The change is in the wind...literally. Just ask EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, who toured coal production and wind farms with Gov. Dave this week.

Gov. Dave in 2010... are ya in or out?

Here is another article, this time from CQpolitics.com, speculating on what may come in the gubernatorial race in 2010. Some interesting points are made, including the idea that if Freudenthal doesn't intend to run, perhaps he should say so now so that another Democratic Party candidate can start getting a game plan together. It also name drops a couple of possible Republican contenders.

Letter to Editor in the Star re: Barrasso supporting torture

This was a well written letter sent to the editor of the Casper Star Tribune. I thought it was worth repeating here:

Editor:

A familiar pit formed in my stomach on Friday morning as our family caught the morning news. I listened as Sen. John Barrasso described his support for "appropriate interrogation techniques" -- torture. I was filled with a mixture of disgust, frustration, anger, and despair. My representative to the Senate, a trained physician, was describing an evidence-free argument supporting the torture of mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters.

Barrasso's position was fundamentally disturbing on several levels. Growing up in a family with a long history of medical service, I witnessed the compassion and
understanding of pain felt by most caregivers. As a trained physician, Barrasso
understands the psychological and physical consequences of pain, and the
longterm results of the fear associated with longterm, predictable pain.
Fifty-nine years ago this understanding motivated the Geneva Conventions, the
codified global disgust for such actions.

As a Christian, I seek to live by the principle that respect for human dignity must trump my personal desires. Fear of the unknown or a desire for absolute security must not lead to behavior that sacrifices the clear message taught by Christ on Good Friday -- all humans have dignity and that dignity must be honored by the way I treat their body and their spirit.

Lastly, it disturbs me to the core that Barrasso is willing to dishonor our brave service persons and strip them of the moral high ground that is so important in a time of war. If captured and subjected to torture, I want my son to benefit from the energy and moral strength that comes from the certain knowledge that his country, his fellow warriors, his government, would never behave this way to a prisoner. He will need that strength to withstand the terrible experience. During his education at West Point, my son Philip's training will include strong ethics education completely antithetical to the position being promoted by his own senator. Is Barrasso telling me that he prefers to continue eroding the high moral ground that Philip, the young
soldiers he will lead, and all American service people need as a foundation as they enter into the horrific, challenging theater of war?

GREG HAYWARD,
Laramie

Well said, Mr. Hayward. The fact that Bush and his entourage were willing to stoop to these levels leaves me feeling quite disgusted as well.

Introductions: Charles McDonald, Platte County Democratic Party Chairperson

Welcome to the great debate. Here is practiced the democratic principle that moves our country. Dialog about the issues of our lives, creating a consensus for how politics and policies can aid us where we need them. Part soapbox, part reporting, part editorial, here is where you can come to see the Democratic Party movement in Platte County and the state of Wyoming. Here we can cast the stones that will ripple out and affect our lives.

As the new chairperson for the Democratic party of Platte County allow me to introduce myself. My history with the party is inherited ( as I believe most of us do ) from my parent. A single mom during the late sixties and into the seventies, she instilled in me a liberal view of the world. My formative years are marked by the Civil Rights movement, Feminism, retaining the rights of individual liberty and our responsibility to community. I am a liberal and an activist. I work at the Safeway in Wheatland and am the chief steward of the Union here. The steward position brings with it the skills of leadership I will use as chairperson.

In the coming weeks and months I and others will open up debate and dialog here. Michael is our monitor and administrator for the site and I thank him for all of his efforts and work. He is our Technology/Communications officer. This site gives us voice to the Platte county community and the who, what, when and where of our political party here. Politics is said to be an art, so consider this to be our public gallery as the art of politics is practiced. I am excited and proud to be a part of this community and wish to serve it well.

Factcheck.org covers "Conservatives for Patients' Rights" Ad

There's a million dollar ad campaign from a group called Conservatives for Patients' Rights trying to play to people's fears that the government is going to take over health care. Good 'ol factcheck.org scrutinizes these spots to separate the fact from fiction. The ad is below, followed by the link for factcheck.org's rebuttal.



Oooh, scary huh? Now please take the time to read the factcheck.org review of the piece. I think you will find that the ad is filled with holes and misleading information. Don't let yourselves get swiftboated on this one folks.

Gov. Dave proclaims today Equal Pay Day

From the office of the Governor:

EQUAL PAY DAY
WHEREAS, forty-five years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, women continue to suffer the consequences of inequitable pay differentials; and

WHEREAS, according to statistics released in 2008 by the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2006 year-round, full-time working women in our nation earned only 78% of the earnings of year-round, full-time working men, indicating little change or progress in pay equity; and

WHEREAS, year-round, full-time working women in Wyoming in 2007 earned only 63% of the earnings of year-round, full-time working men; and

WHEREAS, women earn less than men in every occupation for which enough data is available, including occupations dominated by women (e.g., cashiers, retail sales, registered nurses and teachers); and

WHEREAS, educational attainment is not free from wage discrimination with women holding a graduate or professional degree earning 66% of the earnings of their male counterparts; and

WHEREAS, over a working lifetime, this wage disparity costs the average American woman and her family $700,000 to $2 million in lost wages, impacting Social Security benefits and pensions; and

WHEREAS, fair pay strengthens the security of families today and eases future retirement costs, while enhancing the American economy; and

WHEREAS, Tuesday, April 28 symbolizes the time in the new year in which the wages paid to American women catch up to the wages paid to men from the previous year,

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DAVE FREUDENTHAL, Governor of Wyoming do hereby proclaim Tuesday, April 28, 2009 to be

EQUAL PAY DAY

in Wyoming and urge the citizens to recognize the full value of women's skills and significant contributions to the labor force, and further encourages businesses to conduct an internal pay evaluation to ensure women are being paid fairly.

Hey, we're the EQUALITY STATE, aren't we? Paying less money to women is B.S. I don't quite understand a business owners motivation for doing this. Can it be that employers don't even realize this is happening? If it is being done on purpose, all I can say is "Knock it off!"

Source: http://governor.wy.gov/proclamations/equal-pay-day.html

Swing State Project making some 2010 predictions

It's rarely ever too early to start looking at the next election cycle. The folks at swingstateproject.com have already opened the conversation of which gubernatorial races will be worth watching. Wyoming receives this mention:

Wyoming - Dave Freudenthal (OPEN) (D): Likely R
A very odd duck indeed. Freudenthal is, as the law stands now, term-limited. However, a very similar statute which applied to state legislators was overturned a while back for failing to comply with the state constitution. Most legal observers seem to believe that the gubernatorial term limits would also crumble before a challenge. If Freudenthal successfully fights the law and runs again, this seat is probably Safe D. If not, then it's Likely R, if not Safe R - a crazy seesaw indeed. (D)

And how could Gov. Dave challenge the law? SSP explains:

After Democratic Gov. Ed Herschler served three consecutive terms into the mid-1980s, the state legislature passed a bill limiting Wyoming's chief executives to two terms. Then, in 1992, voters passed a ballot initiative that brought term limits to the state legislature in the finest "If it's good for the goose, it's good for the gander" tradition.

Fast-forward 12 years to a lawsuit brought by two term-limited legislators -- a Democrat and a Republican -- challenging the constitutionality of such limits. The state Supreme Court unanimously agreed that the term limits could not be imposed by ballot initiative, ruling that an amendment to the state constitution would be required.

While that decision did not apply to Wyoming's five statewide offices -- including governor -- there is a strong sense that if Freudenthal challenged the constitutionality of his own term limits, it would be a slam-dunk victory for the incumbent.

It will be very interesting to watch how this will play out. I'd certainly like to see Governor Freudenthal stay and continue to bring his thoughtful leadership to our state.

Source: swingstateproject.com

Democratic spring cleaning...think fresh!

I'm probably like many people in that my interest in politics is sometimes cyclical, following the ebb and flow of the elections. I'm quite obsessive in the preceding months up to election day, and then feel the need to focus on other interests. This would explain the lack of posts on this site since November. I've spent some time recently updating the sidebars, adding in contact information for our new Platte County Democratic Party officers, as well as our elected officials information.

As I come back to posting here, I find proof that I am not alone in the lack-of-updating department. I've browsed around on the sidebar links and see that many of our Democrat related sites could sorely use some fresh information. Our state party website is a good example. I don't know at this time how big of a team Bill Luckett has to help run the site, and I see that his blog info is new, which is great. But searching around the site I find "The Statesmen" link brings me to a 2007 .pdf file, the calendar page is empty, and I grimaced at the link titled "Wyoming for Kerry".

Now how about those "Young Democrats of Wyoming"? Surely if anyone would be hands on regarding the web it would be the tech savvy under thirty-five crowd, correct? Surprisingly, I had trouble finding them on the web. A google search leads me to the DNC webpage, which links to a "Party Builder" page, which was a dead end. How about the social sites? YDWY has a group on Facebook. The last "recent news" comes from last springs state convention, and the most recent wall post is dated September 5th, 2008. With 87 members (at the time of this post) I would expect at least one mention of the Obama win, or disappointment expressed over our state Democrat losses, yet there is not.

I look at how this would be perceived by a person looking to be involved with the Democratic party. How does this look to someone seeking to stay informed and perhaps converse with other fellow Democrats in the state? My fear is that the outdated info leaves doubt that the party is engaged. When we are trying to encourage people to join and participate, I think it is in our best interest to keep these sites fresh. It is not my intent to criticize, I know it is not easy to find the time to do this. But I do think it is important. We have some great new leadership in the party, and I am hopeful that the lines of communication will be open and utilized.

Cynthia Lummis VS Stephen Colbert

I missed this last month! Stephen Colbert sits down with Cynthia Lummis in his "Better Know A District" segment. I give credit to Cynthia for holding her own, even if she wasn't familiar with the meaning of "cougar" that Colbert meant. Here's the link.

Democrats elect new state officers and Young Democrats leadership

Democrats elect new state officers and Young Democrats leadership
New Chair Leslie Petersen: Party must maintain its momentum of past four years

CASPER - The new state chair of the Wyoming Democratic Party said she is excited to be working with such a strong team of leaders that will guide the party over the next two years.

"I’m excited about this opportunity to help elect progressive leaders at all levels of government throughout Wyoming," said State Chair Leslie Petersen of Wilson. "I'm pleased to have such a great Executive Committee to work with and thrilled with the newly elected Young Democrats who are full of energy, enthusiasm and technological expertise."

The Wyoming Democratic State Central Committee elected new officers in Casper on Saturday, April 18, and the Young Democrats of Wyoming also met to elect representatives on the state party governing board.

State party officers elected Saturday include State Chair Leslie Petersen of Teton County, Vice Chair Mike Bell of Laramie County, Secretary Linda Barton of Fremont County, and Treasurer Chuck Herz of Teton County.

In addition, the Young Democrats of Wyoming elected the following officers for the next two years: Dana Walton, chair; Rey Fuentes, vice chair; Sean Williams, state committeeman; and Ellie Bolender, state committeewoman.

Chairman Petersen said two of her highest priorities for the coming election cycle will be spreading the Democratic Party's message and finding quality community leaders to run for elected office.

"We need to let the people of Wyoming know the many ways in which Democrats are working for the best interests of working families," she said. "Getting our message out is a critical component of the work we need to do over the next two years."

She said Democrats need to maintain their momentum from the past two elections, in which Democrats have gained a total of five state House seats. At the same time, the party needs to improve its performance statewide in county-level elections.

"There are a lot of good leaders in this state who are Democrats and who would make good elected officials," Petersen said. "Our mission will be to find those people and get them elected to office."

About Leslie
Petersen has previously served as a Teton County commissioner and has been involved with various conservation, political and natural resource boards. She has been a Teton County Democratic Party activist for years, is a former Teton County party chair, and served as the county's state committeewoman for the previous election cycle. She also worked as legislative liaison for former Wyoming Gov. Ed Herschler, and she was the Democratic Party's nominee for secretary of state in 1982 and for a state House seat in 1990. Petersen has helped organize fundraising events for presidential candidates Sens. John Kerry and Barack Obama that she said each raised more than $450,000. She is a retired realtor and is married to Hank Phibbs, chairman of the Teton County Commission.

About the Young Democrats of Wyoming
The four officers of the Young Democrats are all involved with the Rocky Mountain Democrats chapter at the University of Wyoming. Walton and Fuentes worked for the state party for several months during the 2008 election cycle.

Walton said the group plans to focus on identifying and recruiting volunteers and candidates for office. Added Fuentes, "We want to bring more young people into the Democratic fold."