Traffic Jam

Here's a quick snapshot of the heavy traffic that I got stuck for a few minutes outside of Recluse on my way out to the reservoir on which I'm doing testing:


I love this state,
Regis

Hump Day Happy Hour - Los Straitjackets

Sorry this is later than usual, I had to make an emergency run down to Casper.

So Halloween is just around the corner, and this week I've got a trick and a treat for you. Few things scare me more than Celine Dion, and few things rock more than the luchador mask-wearing surf instrumental group Los Straitjackets. Here's a live clip of their version of "My Heart Will Go On" - truly the way the song meant to be played.



That is how I know you go on,
Regis

Mailbag Day!

So I checked the ol' mailbox when I got home after work today and to my surprise it contained a letter from the Cynthia Lummis for Congress campaign.

It was a pretty standard "I'm asking for your vote" affair, but a couple of things jumped out at me:

Apparently the "Wyoming Way" is to fix a problem when we see it. I can only assume that, being the proud Republican she is, Ms. Lummis voted repeatedly for such other notable Republicans as George W. Bush and Barbara Cubin, in apparent contradiction to her claimed valuing of reducing government spending and showing up to work every day. How is voting to continue the problem solving the problem?

There's also a pledge to uphold the values (not rights, but values) in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which is kind of redundant what with the Bill of Rights being a part of the Constitution and all. (And hey, why doesn't she care about Amendments 11 and up? I guess women's suffrage isn't that important of a value?) Since we're talking values, what about cruel and unusual punishment, speedy trials, and habeus corpus in the face of the looming specter of terror? Or do those values only apply to people that don't read the Koran?

But the most striking element of the letter was this paragraph:

For the record (because I still haven't had this clarified), just what are these "Wyoming values" you keep talking about? Are they so unique that they are instilled only in those born within the borders of this great state? That must be the case, since you've claimed again and again that your opponent Gary Trauner - who may not have been born in Wyoming, but chose to make his home here - can't possibly share them. 

The message here is clear: I'm just like you, and my opponent is an outsider that can't possibly understand you. If this sounds familiar, there's a reason. It's just that this is Lummis being "more mindful" of it.

So in answer to your request for my vote, Ms. Lummis, I'm sorry but you aren't getting it. It is my judgement that your Democratic opponent shares my values more than you do.

Lying through my teeth is not one of my Wyoming values,

Regis

Haven't We Been Here Before?

I heard a radio ad this weekend from the NRCC, blasting Gary Trauner as a "typical liberal Democrat" that wants to give amnesty and benefits like social security to illegal immigrants and other such distortions. Ignoring the logical gap there (if illegal immigrants get amnesty, won't they pay taxes like the rest of us and thus contribute to social security?), I occurred to me that this is just business as usual.

Remember the House race in 2006? We had a rubber stamp Republican that couldn't campaign on her own merits, so she started slinging mud. When that wasn't enough and she was dead even in the polls with Trauner, the NRCC came in and slung some more mud for her. It must have been enough, as she won by a razor-thin margin.

We're facing the same damn thing here in 2008, except it's a bleach-blond rubber stamp Republican instead of a brunette rubber stamp Republican. Dammit, we're smarter than this, Wyoming. And we deserve better than Cynthia Lummis.

Those who ignore history get the exciting opportunity to repeat it,
Regis

Hump Day Happy Hour - Billy Joel

I know, I know, you're all thinking that Billy Joel is about as commercial as you can get and that I can't stick to the original Hump Day Happy Hour plan, but I don't care. This is "All For Leyna," off probably my favorite Billy Joel album, Glass Houses. It's possible that, with less than two weeks until Election Day, "Pressure" would have been a more germane selection, but whatever.



How can a man take any more?
Regis

Seek Versus Expect

The Casper Star-Tribune had this piece up today, and it's worth a read. It's mainly about Nick Carter's campaign for the Senate seat currently held by John Barasso. But I read something more than just some anecdotes about former prom dates and putting up yard signs - it's about a fundamental difference between the candidates running to represent our state in Washington for the next two, four, or six years.

It's the difference between seeking and expecting votes.

Which candidates are going door to door across the state? Which candidates are showing up at forums in our towns (and then sticking around for a bit to talk face to face with those in attendance)?

Those would be the same candidates that actually have to work for votes: Gary Trauner, Nick Carter, and Chris Rothfuss, all of whom face an automatic uphill battle because they don't have an "R" after their names. After last week's candidate forum at Sheridan College, I overheard a woman I know to be a staunch Republican tell Rothfuss that he had some good ideas, but it was too bad he was "in the wrong party."

This blind allegiance to party (which I've heard each of the three address in some fashion at least once, if not at some length, as a problem that stretches back to the founding of this nation) is an issue, especially when coupled with the staggering advantage that our Republican senatorial incumbents have in fundraising (both Enzi and Barrasso have over 100 times as much cash on hand as their opponents). Limited funds make it harder for these challengers to get their names and messages out - in recent polling, 37% of Wyoming voters said they didn't recognize Carter's name and 55% Rothfuss'. Which is nothing short of a big damn shame.

Should that really be such an issue? Despite the fact that Wyoming has twice as many registered Republicans as Democrats, we've had a Democratic governor for 24 of the last 32 years; current governor Dave Freudenthal won reelection in 2006 with 70% of the vote. Trauner lost to Barbara Cubin by a fraction of a percent in 2006 and is currently polling dead even with Cynthia Lummis.

Clearly this isn't a permanent situation, nor is it utterly hopeless. But if our incumbents don't have to do much of anything to win, why should they do more? Why should they have to reach out to their constituents when it makes no change in the outcome? Why should they seek when they can expect they'll get the votes? They're going to win, right?

It just the people that lose.

-Regis

Brace For Impact

Just a reminder: National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner. If you're even remotely interested in writing, I highly encourage you to check it out and give it a shot. Yeah, 50,000 words in thirty days is a lot, but it can be a lot of fun. And if I can do it, with my amazing dearth of insight and lack of originality, then you probably can too. Oh, and if you join and want a writing buddy, hit me up.

I still have no idea what I'm writing about this year, but that's okay - I was in the same boat last time.

Catch the excitement,
Regis