JH Underground – news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Maybe it’s the water in Cheyenne, or a surge of Republican testosterone.

But there’s something about the Wyoming legislative session that turns otherwise rational, reasonable men into a pack of chest-bumping bro’s trying to out-redneck each other.

This year the aggressive posturing has reached a near-absurd low. First, the governor moved to effectively squash wind power in Wyoming.

Then came a slew of bills railing against the federal government, stopping just short of secession. Five bills challenging federal authority have passed the House, including one that would further sanctify the Cowboy State’s central obsession: guns.

Rep. Keith Gingery, R-Jackson, talks of a “palpable anger” toward the federal government from Wyoming residents.

What are they so angry about?

Oh, yeah: We elected a black Democrat president.

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Posted under Humor, Politics, Republican Party, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: gov dave, keith gingery, Media, rednecks

At Summit on the Snake last week, Steve Cain, chief biologist for Grand Teton National Park, alluded to recent research showing that restoration of wolves has had ancillary benefits for the Jackson Hole ecosystem, including increased numbers of pronghorn, small mammals and raptors.

The predators have reduced coyote populations, for example, which prey on varmints, which are now more numerous and so provide more food for eagles, hawks and other birds of prey. Similar studies have found a correlation between a reduction in elk populations and increased riparian habitat.

Tonight the Western Wolf Coalition presents a film about this balance wolves and cougars bring to the environment, “Lords of Nature: Life in a Land of Great Predators.” Showtime is 7 p.m. at Center for the Arts, and admission is free. Click here to watch a trailer.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Mike Jimenez, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; Dubois rancher Jon Robinett; Phil Cameron, outreach director for Western Wolf Coalition; and state Rep. Keith Gingery, R-Jackson, who has tried to broker a legislative solution to Wyoming’s wolf management issues.

Posted under Environment, Politics, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: center for the arts, keith gingery, mountain lions, wolves

“There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.”
— Dick Cheney, Aug. 26, 2002

Someone finally has done the math.

A nonpartisan research group has documented 935 false statements made by the Bush-Cheney administration in the run-up to the Iraq War.

Dick Cheney told only 48 of those lies, compared to 260 by President Bush, 244 by Colin Powell and 109 by Donald Rumsfeld.

The report was compiled by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit organization of independent investigative journalists dedicated to ethics in government.

Most importantly, the study found that Bush and seven of his top officials “waged a carefully orchestrated campaign of misinformation” about the threat posed by Iraq.

Join U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) in calling for impeachment hearings.

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Posted under Politics, Republican Party, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: dick cheney, Iraq war, keith gingery, phonies