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The contents of this article do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Pine Bluffs Post. LIBERTY Plank 9 “Liberty is indivisible from economic freedom. The free market economy is the economic system most compatible with the requirements of personal freedom and constitutional government. Government’s undue interference in the market, as well as the fiscal irresponsibility of government, results in economic inequity. There exists no fundamental right to the fruits of another person’s labor.” Liberty is one of the three unalien...
I have to admit that I’m sorely disappointed with our legislature this year. In the November elections the voters removed several legislators that had shown themselves to be more liberal than Wyoming and replaced them with people who were supposed to be conservative. This legislature has shown itself to be just as liberal, if not more, than previous legislatures. Even some whom I know personally, and who have always been very conservative, have turned to the “dark side”. I don’t understand it. A couple have made the comment that they conside...
Few vegetables are tastier than fresh picked peas. Maybe corn but you usually have to cook it rather than snack. I've picked peas right off the vine for a snack while I'm working in the garden. Delicious. This year I tried growing peas hydroponically and learned one major point about peas. Don't try to grow them right in front of an industrial gas furnace. They can't take the 100 plus degree heat that comes out of it. They grew but only produced enough peas for a few snacks. That's okay. It was...
Pumpkins are the face of Halloween. Uh Hum. Pardon the pun. That may be what they are best known for but they are so much more. The first thing that we need to understand in order to understand pumpkin is that it is a winter squash, a member of the Cucurbitaceae family. This is important information when it comes time to plan your garden for the next year. You don’t want to grow other curcubits where pumpkins have grown (or any other curcubit) for at least four years. That’s good crop rotation practice. The reason I bring pumpkins up now ins...
The contents of this article do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Pine Bluffs Post. This article starts the analysis of the Wyoming Republican Party platform. For total disclosure and transparency, I want to let you know that I was a member of the committee that drafted the Republican Party platform that was subsequently passed by representatives of the Republicans in Wyoming. Republicans have a long process to get to a finalized platform. Each county has a central committee that is made up of Republicans elected by their...
With downcast eyes and a cowed demeanor, I have to admit that I never liked tomatoes. Everybody around me would put raw, sliced tomatoes on their sandwiches or even just eat the fruit by itself. But me, no, I just couldn't stand them. UNTIL! Yes, until I tried a tomato right off the vine. Suddenly I fell in love with this terrific, tasty fruit. I don't quite understand this phenomena because I've always loved ketchup, pizza, marinara sauce, spaghetti sauce and such. All are made with tomatoes....
The first Farm and Ranch Show at the Archer Event Center was held last weekend and was a very pleasant surprise for me. I fully expected that everything would be applicable only for commercial farm and ranch operations but that just wasn't so. There was something for everyone that has anything to do with animals or growing plants in general. There was even a special section just for kids with projects, hands-on displays and petting animals. Most of the displays and booths were directed at...
I don't know about you but I'm getting the itch to get outside and play in the dirt. I have a lot of projects planned for this year and some of them require an irrigation system to be installed. We've had plenty of rose bushes, honeysuckle, trees and other plants that have spent their entire life fending for themselves. My New Year's resolution is to be more involved in the yard and taking care of the plants that I've ignored for so many years. My first major project was actually started last...
Sometimes I think Wyoming is either feast or famine. This winter has actually been pretty good as far as the temperatures go. At least we haven't had a long stretch of sub-zero temperatures. Nor has it been in the 60s or 70s for long. Today, as I write this, the outside temperature is 60 degrees and the greenhouse temperature is 85 degrees. It's a beautiful day but I'm having trouble keeping the greenhouse cool. Overall, though, the weather hasn't been bad. Thank you, National Weather Service fo...
Believe it or not, spring is rapidly approaching. Yeah. Once again the weather has been up and down, cold and warm, windy and calm, snowy (well, kind of) and dry. It's almost like it can't make up it's mind. The last few years have been a bit unusual as far as the temperature goes. I remember the first year I planted lavender my thermometer read 125 degrees on May 25th. I also remember having snow in June just a few years before. Regardless of the weather the calendar is telling me that spring...
Plank 8: IMMIGRATION: The Immigration plank in the Democrat Platform is very short and starts off with a profound, but meaningless, statement, “Our country was built on immigration”. Sounds good and I think we can all agree that it’s true. It’s really what they don’t say that creates the issues. They actually ignore our history and current events. This plank couldn’t have come up at a more opportune time, though, when the events happening right now on our southern border are viewed in conjunction with Biden’s inauguration. There is a new cara...
Hail is Public Enemy #1 in southeastern Wyoming. The entire state has hail, but did you know the worst hail zone in the country is right here in Laramie County? Yep. The oval from Burns to Carpenter has more major hail events each year than any other place in the world. When you add that to the fact that we're on the extreme western edge of "tornado alley" it equals the potential for a whole lot of bad weather. We have high wind, extreme cold, blizzards, extreme heat, drought, torrential...
(**The contents of this article does not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of the Pine Bluffs Post**) Plank 7 PUBLIC LANDS, CONSERVATION, AND THE ENVIRONMENT: Public lands and the environment have been at the forefront of public discourse for several decades, going back as far as the environmental movements of the 60’s and perhaps earlier. In far too many cases, the issue had become violent and destructive on the part of the environmentalists. From spiking trees in the Pacific Northwest that killed several loggers to the hazardous w...
The national news media continues to rant about the increasing “spike” in the number of COVID cases. Being the media they really don’t say how cases are being counted though. Wyoming is no different. The reporting is confusing and doesn’t state the facts so they can be understood by most people. Our cumulative numbers are continuing to rise but the rate of positive results based on the number of tests performed has only increased by 0.038%. That’s not a great change since we have increased the number of tests performed by 20.75%. As of Januar...
In 2020 nurseries ran out of seeds, shrubs, trees and nearly everything else we need to plant our gardens in the spring. Even more surprising, they ran out early in the season. It wasn't even only the local nurseries either. Everyone, nationwide, ran out. Even the big national suppliers. Some stocks weren't replenished until December 2020. I suspect it was due to COVID and more people were staying home, looking for something to do. I'm very happy that an unusually large number of people turned...
Plank 6 ECONOMY, EMPLOYMENT, AND TAXES: This plank is a real doozy. It is a clear representation of the Democrats’ desire to turn us into a Socialist country where the government would control everything about our lives. Turning our country Socialist would “fundamentally change the United States” (Barack Obama’s first campaign), effectively destroying our country as we know it. We know that Democrats support unions. I do believe that at one point in our history the unions were necessary and the only way to obtain the changes that needed to occu...
You are losing your freedom! I am losing my freedom! Our children are on the verge of not even knowing what freedom is! Look around at what’s happening in our country. We’ve watched the Democrats and liberal Republicans exert an enormous amount of energy trying to eliminate our rights as protected by the U.S. Constitution. Conservatives have, for the most part, stood back and watched others fight the fight. Sometimes we’ve sent money and sometimes we’ve just shrugged our shoulders and turned away to other interests. We can’t afford to turn a...
It does seem like an odd time to talk about fertilizers. There’s still snow on the ground, the wind is howling, Christmas is only five days away as I write this, and you’re probably like me, not at all interested in garden or lawn care right now. On the other hand, it’s never too early to learn the basics of fertilizers so that you get the right ones for the coming season. Did you catch the word “ones”? That’s right. You’ll be using multiple fertilizers. Lawns, flowers, vegetables all have different needs. In fact, vegetables have a wide variet...
Plank 5 EDUCATION: The Democrat’s view of education has not changed much over the years. The plank itself is very wordy and obfuscates the five major points they actually make. Although I’ll discuss the points separately, they must be considered together in order to gain a clear picture of the overall Democrat goals. First, they want education to be considered a “right” all the way through college. This is in-line with their view that the government grants rights, nit that the government’s purpose is to protect rights that are ours naturally...
This year has already been pretty strange as far as the weather goes. It's January and nearly tee shirt weather. One day it seems like we're really going to have a good winter, snow and all, then the next several days are beautiful. It's hard to believe it actually is winter. Seems more like spring to me. And that turns my mind to starting plants. I just hope we don't get the fluctuating temperatures like we did last spring. It's not quite time yet, but it is time to start getting the supplies...
Last week’s article was probably an eye opener for many people. Those who don’t follow politics regularly most likely wouldn’t know much, if anything about the Democrat platform. But just going through the first three planks brings their agenda clearly to the forefront. Democrats seek to destroy the United State as we know it. Looking back, we all have to blame ourselves for where we are today. Barak Hussein Obama made it “perfectly clear” during his campaign that he wanted to fundamentally change America. Too many people heard his words but...
As I was contemplating the topic for this week it occurred to me that I've never written an article on houseplants. That seems odd. At least until you consider that I don't grow houseplants. Linda does, but I've always focused on what can be grown outside. I do enjoy houseplants and I admire anyone who keeps plants inside their home. Plants in the house create a calm, relaxing environment. The more plants, the more relaxing they are. There are times that I go out to the hydroponic room where I...
AMEN, Warren Wittstruck! Your letter to the editor on December 24th was right on and illuminates the low level of integrity of the Democrat Party. More people need to start speaking up like you did. It is also a perfect Segway into this week’s article. So I thank you. Although Mr. Wittstruck’s letter was on the voter fraud that occurred in the elections of 2020, he demonstrates the polar differences between the Democrat and Republican Parties. The Republican Party has it’s own issues, but blatant fraud and disregard for our Constitution isn’t...
When I was in Saudi Arabia and other countries on the Arabian Peninsula I saw a lot of sand. Everywhere I looked was sand. Well...sand or concrete. Very little concrete. It was the most desolate region I've ever seen. I couldn't believe anything could grow there. Yet there were plants growing. In fact the Saudis had an ingenious cooling system for the walkways. Vining plants were growing directly in the sand with a slow drip system at each plant. The vines covered a trellis system, hanging down...
I want to thank Jennifer Burns for all the hard work she put into copying the platforms of the two major political parties and the two wannabes so we could read them all together. However, all she really succeeded in doing was to show herself for what she really is. To begin with, she has given herself the title of “Candidate for Wyoming House District 10”. She is not a candidate for anything now. She is a defeated candidate for House District 10 and she cannot become a candidate again until the filing period opens in May of 2022. She is jus...