Offensive place names in Wyoming renamed.

The following Wyoming place names were renamed by the Federal Government in Wyoming, after the old place names were found to be offensive.  This was part of a nationwide effort by the Federal Government.

1594741	South Sage Creek	South Squaw Creek	Stream	Campbell County	Wyoming	44.7135941	-105.6455617
1594941	Duck Butte	Squaw Butte	Summit	Campbell County	Wyoming	44.7843412499999	-105.246964199999
1594940	Muskrat Butte	Squaw Butte	Summit	Fremont County	Wyoming	43.0591256	-107.828970499999
1580849	Mawikwe Creek	Squaw Creek	Stream	Bayfield County	Wisconsin	46.8785428999999	-91.0646315
1581733	Apple Lake	Squaw Lake	Lake	St. Croix County	Wisconsin	45.1808294599999	-92.6154217899999
1594943	Bear Buttes	Squaw Buttes	Summit	Crook County	Wyoming	44.8072068999999	-104.544957999999
1594942	L Quarter Circle Butte	Squaw Butte	Summit	Sheridan County	Wyoming	44.8899868	-106.2253094
1594946	Sage Creek	Squaw Creek	Stream	Campbell County	Wyoming	44.6833159999999	-105.579448099999
1594947	L Quarter Circle Creek	Squaw Creek	Stream	Sheridan County	Wyoming	44.8447074999999	-106.1139148
1594945	Platte Creek	Squaw Creek	Stream	Natrona County	Wyoming	42.8096869	-106.3794728
1594944	Pannaite Naokwaide	Squaw Creek	Stream	Teton County	Wyoming	43.3818731	-110.7404796
1594950	Marys Lake	Squaw Lake	Lake	Fremont County	Wyoming	42.8832915099999	-109.1216754
1594949	Maxwell Hill	Squaw Hill	Summit	Platte County	Wyoming	41.8016389	-105.029973699999
1594951	Slate Mountain	Squaw Mountain	Summit	Platte County	Wyoming	41.9249713	-105.230535799999
1594955	Sugar Butte	Squaw Teat Butte	Summit	Hot Springs County	Wyoming	43.7798565	-108.989108
1594952	Kuchunteka’a Toyavi	Squaw Peak	Summit	Park County	Wyoming	44.90176377	-109.796724299999
1594953	Slate Rock	Squaw Rock	Summit	Platte County	Wyoming	41.9249713	-105.230535799999
1594954	Little Sandy Peak	Squaw Teat	Summit	Sublette County	Wyoming	42.3605086999999	-109.245402499999
1601412	Middle Fork Sagebrush Creek	Middle Fork Squaw Creek	Stream	Sublette County	Wyoming	42.6002289999999	-109.224849199999
1594956	Crow Woman Buttes	Squaw Teats	Summit	Park County	Wyoming	44.10947	-108.57647
1603298	Two Ocean Basin	Squaw Basin	Basin	Teton County	Wyoming	43.7427263	-110.1146291
1603299	Tuka Naa’iya Po’I Hunu’u	Squaw Canyon	Valley	Teton County	Wyoming	43.51795469	-111.0020607
1603300	Lake Mountain Creek	Squaw Creek	Stream	Albany County	Wyoming	41.1263633	-106.065287999999
1603301	Dugway Creek	Squaw Creek	Stream	Carbon County, Natrona County	Wyoming	42.3613538999999	-106.1383502
1603303	Popo Agie Creek	Squaw Creek	Stream	Fremont County	Wyoming	42.8480139999999	-108.734284
1599499	East Fork Sagebrush Creek	East Fork Squaw Creek	Stream	Sublette County	Wyoming	42.5974512	-109.224849199999
1603302	Sagebrush Creek	Squaw Creek	Stream	Sublette County	Wyoming	42.5721727999999	-109.2806836
1603304	Paamus Naokwaide	Squaw Creek	Stream	Lincoln County	Wyoming	43.1424232999999	-110.933262499999
1603307	High Park Creek	Squaw Creek	Stream	Washakie County	Wyoming	44.1160726	-107.2595127
1603309	Kuchunteka’a Naokwaide	Squaw Creek	Stream	Park County	Wyoming	44.8813338	-109.655171999999
1603308	North Fork Hoodoo Creek	Squaw Creek	Stream	Park County	Wyoming	44.3463423	-109.098476099999
1603305	Paateheya’ateka’a Naokwaide	Squaw Creek	Stream	Teton County	Wyoming	43.3927052	-110.806593899999
1603306	Fireweed Creek	Squaw Creek	Stream	Fremont County, Teton County	Wyoming	43.6405022	-110.136571799999
1603310	Paantsugu Seepaithe	Squaw Flat	Flat	Lincoln County	Wyoming	43.1415901	-110.9324292
1603313	Roaring Mountain	Squaw Mountain	Summit	Converse County	Wyoming	42.49338771	-105.8442236
1603315	Horseshoe Peaks	Squaw Peaks	Summit	Converse County	Wyoming	42.3423887599999	-105.417778799999
1604476	South Fork Popo Agie Creek	South Fork Squaw Creek	Stream	Fremont County	Wyoming	42.7810685	-108.854009899999
1604491	Nahguch Hollow	Squaw Hollow	Valley	Sweetwater County	Wyoming	41.1751025299999	-109.5734302
1603311	Huu’na Waippe Naokwaide	Squaw Fork Canyon	Valley	Lincoln County	Wyoming	43.1428982099999	-110.938116899999
1604531	West Fork Sagebrush Creek	West Fork Squaw Creek	Stream	Sublette County	Wyoming	42.5974512	-109.224849199999
1605139	Bear Rock	Squaw Rock	Summit	Goshen County	Wyoming	41.6716400999999	-104.263846
1603317	Deer Spring	Squaw Spring	Spring	Natrona County	Wyoming	42.46253987	-106.081307499999

God Save the Queen

President Biden Orders Flags Be Flown at Half-Staff in Memory of Queen Elizabeth II

 

President Biden Orders Flags Be Flown at Half-Staff in Memory of Queen Elizabeth II

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - At the direction of the President of the United States, Governor Mark Gordon has ordered both the United States and Wyoming flags to be flown at half-staff  in honor and remembrance of Queen Elizabeth II, whose death at  the age of 96 was announced by Buckingham Palace today. Flags will remain at half staff until the day of interment. A follow-up notification will be made when that date is announced. A presidential proclamation follows. 

A Proclamation on the Death of Queen Elizabeth II
SEPT08, 2022

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was more than a monarch.  She defined an era.

    In a world of constant change, she was a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons, including many who have never known their country without her.  Queen Elizabeth II led always with grace, an unwavering commitment to duty, and the incomparable power of her example.  She was a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock Alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States.  She helped make our relationship special.  The seven decades of her history-making reign bore witness to an age of unprecedented human advancement and the forward march of human dignity.  Her legacy will loom large in the pages of British history, and in the story of our world. 

   As a mark of respect for the memory of Queen Elizabeth II, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, on the day of interment.  I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-seventh.

                            

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

--END--

Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and Other Commonwealth Realms, April 21, 1926 to September 8, 2022.

 

From our post Queen Elizabeth in Canada.

My mother was born a mere five days later.

Queen Elizabeth II is the longest serving monarch in British history.  She grew up in a United Kingdom that was one of the most powerful nations in Europe and she came of age young, as many English did, due to the Second World War in which she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Services.  At the time of her birth to her parents, George and Elizabeth, the chances of her becoming monarch were remote.  The King at the time was King Edward VIII, who remained so until 1936 at which time he abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson.  Therefore, for the first ten years of her life, "Princess Lilybet" was on a different path in life.  Her name, therefore, was not intended to bring about a second Queen Elizabeth, recalling the controversial final Tudor monarch.

Princess Elizabeth in 1933.

She became Queen in 1952, following the death of her father, and remained Queen for seventy year, serving in that role with dignity, if occasionally with criticism, as the United Kingdom ceased to be an Empire and became a junior partner of the United States, then a member of the European Community and then Union, and then a country free of it.  She also went from being a young princess whose parents basically saved the monarchy, to seeing it threatened again as the media came to focus increasingly on their private lives, exposing conduct, which she did not participate in, which royals often had, but which had remained hidden from public eye.  In her final years, she delivered a speech regarding COVID 19 which many Americans lamented that their own leaders could not, making her appear to be so much more dignified than our own, that an American public that always somewhat regarded the British throne as their own, sort of, did more so.

God save the Queen.

Friday, September 8, 1972. Israel begins to strike back.

On this day in 1972 the Israeli air force bombed ten PLO bases in Syria and Lebanon in retaliation for the Munich Massacre.  An attempted interception by the Syrian air force resulted in three Syrian aircraft being shot down.

Crest of the Israeli air force.

The British sitcom Are You Being Served? premiered.

Tuesday, September 8, 1942. Marine Raiders at Taivu.

World War Two shoulder insignia of the Marine Raiders.

The Marine Corps 1st Raider Battalion landed at Taivu, behind Japanese lines, on Guadalcanal and destroyed the Japanese base camp that was being used to prepare for a large-scale offensive.  The Marines were aware of the Japanese landings at that point. The raid disrupted the Japanese effort and revealed intelligence on the size of the Japanese forces, some 5,200 troops, committed to Taivu Point.

At Efogi, Papua, Japanese efforts prevent Australian counterattacks and result in a nighttime Australian withdrawal from their positions.

Today in World War II History—September 8, 1942: Joint British-American directive is issued consigning night bombing of Nazi-occupied Europe to the RAF and daylight bombing to the US Eighth Air Force.

From Sarah Sundin's blog.

I wasn't aware that this was part of a directive, but had thought it simply reflected the tactical thought of the two different air forces.  At any rate, it did so reflect them.

The RAF, based on its early experiences in the war, simply felt that daytime raids were too costly, and frankly from their prospective they definitely were.  Their turning to the night, however, meant that they sacrificed accuracy for safety.  The U.S. Army, in contrast, was extremely confident in the precision of its bombing and hoped for accuracy, thereby making it willing to take large losses.  In contrast, however, it could afford them, and it somewhat compensated for the risk to its crews by limiting the number of missions they would fly until they were rotated home.  Nonetheless, early on, few crews made it to that number.

The result was that Germany was bombed night and day, although not very accurately by either air force.

Perhaps ironically, also on this day, a nighttime RAF raid on Frankfurt dropped most of its bombs in the countryside outside the city, and as far away as Russelsheim some fifteen miles distant.

Friday, September 8, 1922. The evacuation of Smyrna.

Greek forces began to withdraw from Smyrna and, at the same time, asked the Greeks asked Turkey for a ceasefire.

Mary Katherine Campbell was crowned the second Miss America.

She'd win it again in 1923, making her the only woman to win the title twice.

She did not parlay the award into a career of any type, despite offers, due to the objections of her mother.  Campbell, from Ohio, married a DuPont executive and lived to age 84, dying in 1990.

Mid Week At Work. The Wyoming Secretary of State

Ed Buchanan, Wyoming Secretary of State, from the Wyoming Secretary of State's website.

What the heck does the Secretary of State in Wyoming do anyhow?

The entire Buchanan/Nethercott/Gray saga certainly has put it in focus.

Karen Wheeler, center, Deputy Secretary of State who served as Acting Secretary of State briefly upon the resignation of Ed Murray.  Maybe she provides us with the solution to the current problem?

For those lucky sheepherders just dropping down into the Virginian for an Ortega Burger after months out on the range, we'll give a recap.

Ed Buchanan, who first made his appearance in the statewide news as a former Air Force officer, now lawyer, living in Torrington, in a run for Governor that went nowhere, later ran for Secretary of State, and won it.

He's been a good one.

But apparently he wanted to be a judge.  I don't blame him. That was a career aspiration of mine at one time, too.   While Secretary of State, he started putting in for judgeships, and put in for at least one prior to the one he got.  He failed to get appointed on at least one occasion, but made the three finalists.

Not getting the position, he announced he was running for Secretary of State for a second term. Then the position in Torrington/Lusk/Wheatland came up.  This time he dropped out of the race and announced publicly that he was tossing his hat in the ring for that judgship, in his hometown.  As soon as he did that, a two Wyoming Senators announced they were running for the position, as did Wyoming House member and election denier Chuck Gray.

That put, quite frankly, the Governor in a bad spot in regard to Buchanan.  Passing on him again would be problematic.

Anyhow, Buchanan's public announcement of putting in and dropping out of the race was masterful, if problematic.

And on a personal level, maybe it was really admirable.  I'm told that Buchanan is from a long time farm family in that region and basically wanted to go home. The job that he really wanted, in his hometown, opened up.  Maybe he had to go for it.  And certainly, if he had to go for it, he had to declare that he was dropping out of the race.

Or maybe not.

He was elected to that office by the voters of the state, and he had announced his candidacy for retention.  Nobody was taking him on, which means that nobody else who may have been qualified, but unknown, had a chance to develop a campaign. And in a year when people like Chuck Gray have run around telling lies about the election, he was a voice of assurance that the state's elections had gone well and were going well.  By dropping out on the eve of the election, it means that a temp has to be found to fill in, and election deniers like Gray will undoubtedly have a voice if they don't like the election.

Indeed, because he dropped out, the only candidates who could mount a campaign were two who were already known. Nethercott was a good candidate, and was already known because she'd been slandered as a c*** by a county party member somewhere.  Right wing Republicans didn't like her. Gray was known as he's made a general spectacle of himself as a right wing gadfly for several years, and he'd flamed out in a family funded run for Congress which went nowhere.

He's also, frankly, has his eyes on higher office.  Buchanan's withdrawal from the race, and the abandonment of his duties, was a gift to Gray.  Having said that, he obviously has a lot of followers, and he's politically savvy.  If it was revealed tomorrow that Donald Trump was Vlad Putin's spy who had sold the country down the river so many times even Frank Eathorne had to admit it, all while in the hands of the mafia, and a member of the Illuminati, or whatever else you can think of, it wouldn't surprise me to find that within a week Gray had credibly passed himself off as somebody who never liked him, and that he was a Biden supporter all along.

In this context, it's not too surprising that the State's GOP asked Buchanan to stay on.  In spite of adopting the Big Lie, there's probably a fair number of committee people who don't believe it and see Buchanan's resignation much like passengers in a plane see the pilot when he's exiting the cabin wearing a parachute.  Moreover, even if they do believe it, they're heading into an election, in spite of the way it may seem, in which a fair number of old GOP reliables no longer are. In other words, this election is set up to be questioned.

Oh oh.

Buchanan says not to worry, as his staff is so competent.  And it probably really is. The staff likely does all the heavy lifting of the office, but there are rumors that the office is looking at widespread resignations, and one senior figure has already beat Buchanan out of the fuselage.  Having said that, these kinds of rumors are really common for hotly contested elections and rarely do they actually pan out.

So, with all of that, Wyomingites are now very aware that the Secretary of State's office certifies elections. 

What else does he do?

Well, basically the same thing County Clerks do, but at a higher level.

The Secretary of State's office summarizes it in this way:

The Wyoming Secretary of State is elected to a four-year term and oversees the administration of numerous matters including the following: the registration of business entities; statewide elections; lobbyist registrations and filings; ethics filings; campaign finance; securities; notaries public; registered agents; trade names; trademarks; document authentication; and agricultural liens, among others. 

More specifically:

Constitutional Duties

The Wyoming Secretary of State is a Wyoming constitutional elected official holding office for a term of four years as per Article 4, Section 11 of the Wyoming Constitution.

The Secretary of State serves on the State Board of Land Commissioners, the State Building Commission, the State Loan and Investment Board, and also serves as the chair of the State Canvassing Board.

The Secretary of State is the custodian of the "Great Seal of the State of Wyoming."

Statutory Responsibilities

The Secretary of State and his staff are charged with many statutory responsibilities some of which include the following:

• Registering all statutorily authorized business entities including profit and nonprofit corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, registered limited liability partnerships and statutory trusts;
• Registering trade names, trademarks, and reserved names;
• Recording Uniform Commercial Code and Effective Financing statements and documents;
• Overseeing all statewide elections, as well as bond, municipal, and special elections;
• Certifying all statewide candidates and ballot questions, and reports and certifies primary and general election results;
• Commissioning of Wyoming's Notaries Public;
• Certifying and authenticating documents for use overseas;
• Recording state agencies' rules;
• Regulating the state's securities industry and enforcing securities law;
• Maintaining the records and proceedings of Wyoming's legislature;
• Attesting to various official acts and proceedings of the Governor; and
• Affixing the Great Seal of the State of Wyoming as delineated by law.

Office Structure

The Secretary of State's Office is organized into five divisions: Administration Division, Business Division, Compliance Division, Election Division, and the Executive Offices.

Administration Division

The Administration Division provides information technology resources and support to the Office as well manages the fiscal and personnel responsibilities of the Office. The Division files Administrative Rules for state agencies and, in cooperation with the University of Wyoming Trademark Licensing Office, administers the use and protection of Wyoming's iconic Bucking Horse and Rider trademark. In addition to these functions, the Division provides project management and oversight services for the building, updating, and maintaining of the Office's many software applications including business registration and reporting, UCC/EFS lien filing, securities, elections, statewide voter registration, campaign finance, notaries public, state rules program, Office websites, receipting, and lobbyists.

Business Division

The Business Division administers Wyoming Statutes pertaining to the registration of corporations and 12 other business entities, trademarks, trade names, Uniform Commercial Code liens and searching, and Effective Financing Statement filings and searches.

Compliance Division

The Compliance Division oversees Wyoming's securities industry as well as the activities of Commercial Registered Agents. This Division is responsible for registering securities (investments) offered or sold in Wyoming along with registering and overseeing the firms and individuals working for those firms that sell securities. In addition to its regulatory function, the Division has authority to investigate violations of the Securities Act and the Registered Agent Act. To further protect Wyomingites, this Division has enforcement authority to file administrative actions and to refer criminal matters to local, state or federal authorities for violations of securities laws. The Division is also responsible for providing investor protection education to the public, commissioning notaries public, and issuing apostilles and certification documents which authenticate signatures of state officials.

Election Division

The Election Division ensures uniformity in the application and operations of Wyoming's elections. The Division assists with general, primary, bond, municipal and special district elections; files campaign finance disclosure reports; verifies petitions for independent candidates, initiatives, referendums and new political parties; answers questions pertaining to elections; generates voter registration lists; processes candidate applications; produces elections publications; and registers lobbyists and retains lobbyist disclosure reports.

Executive Offices

The Executive Offices Division provides the leadership and direction to the Office as a whole. The Division includes the Secretary of State, Deputy Secretary of State, the Public Information and Communications Officer as well as the Executive Assistants to the Secretary and Deputy.

Wow, what a whopping fun job, eh?

Not so much, really.  

Indeed, after reading what it does, it's hard not to see why Buchanan, who at one time had Gubernatorial aspirations, decided to move on to something else.

So why would anyone want the job?

Here's one reason:

What are the succession laws and processes in other states?

Forty-five states have an official office of lieutenant governor. Some states have a lieutenant governor who runs on a joint ticket with party gubernatorial candidates, while other states elect the lieutenant governor independently. In Tennessee and West Virginia, the senate president (elected by the chamber’s membership) holds the dual title of lieutenant governor.

In North Carolina, for example, according to general statute 147.11.1, “The Lieutenant Governor-elect shall become Governor upon the failure of the Governor-elect to qualify. The Lieutenant Governor shall become Governor upon the death, resignation, or removal from office of the Governor. The further order of succession to the office of Governor shall be prescribed by law. A successor shall serve for the remainder of the term of the Governor whom he succeeds and until a new Governor is elected and qualified. (2) During the absence of the Governor from the State, or during the physical or mental incapacity of the Governor to perform the duties of his office, the Lieutenant Governor shall be Acting Governor. The further order of succession as Acting Governor shall be prescribed by law.”

From there, the president of the senate is charged with the duties of governor, followed by the state speaker of the house. This is generally the same process for the 44 other states with lieutenant governors, who must be able to fill in should the governor resign, be removed from office or pass away.

In Arizona, Oregon and Wyoming, the secretary of state is next in line to the governorship. In Maine and New Hampshire, the president of the senate is next in line for the governorship.

Yikes, that's right.

Today, should Governor Gordon decide he's had enough, and he heads back to the ranch, he leaves the keys to the Governor's office in Ed Buchanan's desk drawer.

After September 15, but before the inauguration. . . well, we don't know.

The GOP now has to pick three names and give them to the Governor.  Whoever is picked becomes the Secretary of State for the remainder of Buchanan's term.  They're obviously having a hard time with this problem right now.

Karen Wheeler again, anyone?  I hope so.

After the inauguration, it's Chuck Gray.

That's right, Chuck Gray will be one heart beat away from being Governor.

Finally, the office is sometimes thought of as a springboard to higher office. But is it?  Here's the list of every Secretary of State since statehood:

1 Amos W. Barber. 1890–1895 Republican

2 Charles W. Burdick. 1895–1899 Republican

3 Fenimore Chatterton. 1899–1907 Republican

4 William Schnitger. 1907–1911 Republican

5 Frank L. Houx. 1911–1919 Democrat

6 William E. Chaplin. 1919–1923 Republican

7 Frank Lucas. 1923–1927 Republican

8 Alonzo M. Clark. 1927–1935 Republican

9 Lester C. Hunt. 1935–1943 Democrat

10 Mart T. Christensen. 1943–1944 Republican

11 William M. Jack. 1944–1947 Democrat

12 Arthur G. Crane. 1947–1951 Republican

13 C.J. "Doc" Rogers. 1951–1955 Republican

14 Everett T. Copenhaver. 1955–1959 Republican

15 Jack R. Gage. 1959–1963 Democrat

16 Thyra Thomson. 1963–1987 Republican

17 Kathy Karpan. 1987–1995 Democrat

18 Diana J. Ohman. 1995–1999 Republican

19 Joseph Meyer. 1999–2007 Republican

20 Max Maxfield. 2007–2015 Republican

21 Ed Murray. 2015–2018 Republican

22.Karen Wheeler. 2018 Republican

23 Edward Buchanan Republican

I see the names of a few Governors in there, but the last Secretary of State to become Governor was Jack Gage, and he left that office in 1963.  His successor, Thyra Thomson was often mentioned as a potential candidate, but never ran. She held the office, however, for over twenty years.  Every Secretary of State since Gage has been referenced as a potential Governor, but Gage is the last one to actually make that move.  Kathy Karpan was very seriously referenced in this potential role, but never ran.