Several posts in quick succession -- looking forward to them. I'm curious, are you planning to weigh in on Francis Fukuyama's piece in last Sunday's NYT Magazine at some point?

And since it's an 'open thread', I guess it wouldn't be too off-topic to mention that James Webb, who is challenging George Allen for his Senate seat this year, today put to rest one of the key concerns some Democrats had about him as a former Republican.

Antelope!

Wow... good thing you left your shotgun and bird dog at home.

Here's hoping you brought your elephant gun instead.

On the brighter side...

In regards to this: are you planning to weigh in on Francis Fukuyama's piece in last Sunday's NYT Magazine at some point?

Let's cut to the quick:

Learned hyperbole.
Polysyllabic pontification.
Academic gobbledegook.

Yes Virginia... if you drop bombs on people you turn them into terrorists.

What a revelation.

For that you need a PhD and convoluted prose?

Oh but I forgot... Funky Francis is a wingnut who actually adjusted his wingnuttery to fit the pie-in-the-face IED facts.

Forgive me for not wanting to jump up and down and salute him for his intellectual honesty.

See Frasca's simulation.

He is three years too late.
In other words:
It's all academic now.

Steve, I spent most of my first 18 years of life in Wyoming, "the Equality state." It is one of those sort of purple places that likes to have the Governor and the legislature under different party control. Cheney lives in Jackson now, but is from Casper. My brother who lives in Casper, has described how the Secret Service SWEEPS IN when the Veep comes to town. I guess they can be assured of having good security equipment due to the over-abundance granted to Wyoming. My native state is always the one cited when a news story discusses "security needs vs. by population" criteria for getting a Homelanc Security grant. Hope my folks greet you warmly and I know they will enjoy your speech. P.S. Did you pack snowshoes?

None of my business, but how did Casper Wyoming come to invite you and how did you come to choose to go?

Casper, in the middle of very conservative Wyoming, has an openly gay 28 year-old mayor. In almost every way I find Casper to be quite depressing--sort of run down, wind-stripped, cold, and remote. But the fact that the town has embraced a gay mayor, and the fact that Brokeback Mountain played to sold-out crowds at the Rialto theater downtown, makes me love the people of Casper.

Now if they'd just transplant it to warmer climes and fix it up a little, I'd visit more often!

Thanks for the notes above. I had intended to have several posts up last night -- but the server at the hotel went down and that proved to be a hurdle that couldn't be surmounted.

I was invited to Casper by the Casper Committee on Foreign Relations -- and I went because I like going around the country and having conversations with people about my and their views about the country's direction in foreign policy.

I found Casper to be a terrific place, a lot of character -- and a diverse and thoughtful group of people who care about these issues.

I met one person who was one of VP Cheney's mentors -- and found that we agreed on quite a bit. But the students from Casper College -- and a group of folks that spanned young to seasoned asked serious questions that were well informed and about the best I've seen in community discussions.

More DC people need to get to places like Casper and get into conversations like the one I was privileged to have last night.

More soon,

Steve Clemons

Casper College has a great bunch of folks. It has gone from being a community college and trade school to being an extension of the University of Wyoming in Laramie, so people can now get a 4-year degree there. They particularly focus on churning out new and eager young teachers, because the state has a terrible impending shortage (as in many areas of the country--particularly rural areas).

So I'm thrilled that you made the visit. As VP Cheney has proven, movers and shakers do come out of the boondocks as well as the more populated areas. And the folks in the boondocks deserve to have as much exposure to national and international issues as the rest of the country.

Welcome to the West. Its a great place. I moved from the midwest and I don't want to leave. Sorry I can't come up to hear you, but I enjoy reading your comments from Fort Collins, CO. There are plenty of sharp and involved people out here, but as with the idiots, we are more sparsely distributed.

Speaking on behalf of the group of people that Steve talked to in Casper, we are grateful when people as informed and articulate as him are willing to take the time to come out to places like Casper. We had a great discussion.

Casper is windy and brown during the winter, but economically is having a boom. Also, Guy Padgett just stepped down as our mayor (it is a one year rotating post amongst the city council members), but he'll continue on the council and as a community leader.

kind of wierd - brown snowless plain at the end of february in wyoming. i think the washington note could do a better job at talking about global warming and global natural support systems degredation ... lets face it: republicans/terrorists/etc. are an infintesmal threat to our way of life compared to the man induced ecological disasters coming our way.