Oil City News publishes letters, cartoons and opinions as a public service. The content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Oil City News or its employees. Letters to the editor can be submitted by following the link at our opinion section.

Wyoming Supreme Court judge process better than federal’s

Dear Casper,

This letter is in response to Mr. Ross Schriftman’s letter to the editor from April 11. His opinion appears to be that the Wyoming process of selecting Wyoming Supreme Court justices is somehow flawed. Justices are selected through a merit-based assisted appointment process. When a vacancy occurs, a seven-member Judicial Nominating Commission recommends three candidates to the governor, who appoints one.

Appointed justices serve at least one year before standing in a nonpartisan retention election for an eight-year term.

The commission consists of the chief justice as chair/tie-breaker, three attorneys selected by the Wyoming State Bar and three non-attorneys appointed by the governor. The governor must select one of the three nominees provided by the commission to fill the vacancy.

After serving at least one year, justices stand for retention in the next general election. Voters cast a “yes” or “no” vote. If retained, the justice serves an eight-year term.

Candidates must be U.S. citizens, Wyoming residents for at least three years, licensed to practice law, and have at least nine years of legal experience. Justices must retire at age 70.

U.S. Supreme Court are appointed for life!

I would offer that the Wyoming process is superior to that of the U.S. Constitution. Voters are involved the process, which we are not at the federal level.

Wyoming justices can be impeached and removed from office by the state House of Representatives and Senate.

Michael Bond
Casper

Wyoming delegation must answer for President Trump’s Iran policy

Dear Casper,

Sent this to each of our Wyoming congressional delegates. I lived in Montana for years. These are the questions the Daily Montanan asked of their elected congressional representatives.

I ask the same questions of our Wyoming delegation. Montana got no answers. I doubt that we will either.

1. President Donald Trump has continued to threaten to hit targets that would affect or kill civilians in Iran. Do you support his stated objectives and deadlines?
2. Are you concerned that some of these targets could be construed as attacking civilians and therefore become war crimes?
3. Do you have any concerns about wiping out an entire civilization, as Trump has threatened?
4. If these are only rhetorical threats, what does that do to our stature in the world when we make threats, but don’t follow through with them?
5. Polls have continued to show more than a majority of Americans do not support the efforts against Iran. Why do you support the effort?
6. If you do not support the effort in Iran, at what point would you support Congressional intervention or oversight on the issue?
7. Have you been briefed and do you believe that there are clear objectives in this war with Iran, and how can you communicate those with your constituents?
8. The U.S. has repeatedly criticized Vladimir Putin and Russia for its invasion and treatment of the Ukrainian people and it sovereignty. How does that differ from America’s “excursion” into Iran?
9. What is your message for Montanans who are seeing gas prices and the cost of living generally increase?
10. Last week, President Trump said that America doesn’t have enough money for healthcare and childcare; further, those things must be left to the individual states in order to fund the military? Do you agree?
11. President Trump continues to boost military budgets and request additional funding for the war in Iran. Do you support these?

Tami Munari
Laramie

Pregnancy is personal, not political

Dear Casper,

The recent Wyoming Supreme Court ruling, which affirmed abortion is health care, has caused some who disagree with the ruling to attack Wyoming’s judicial system.

In an opinion letter, candidate Ross Schriftman facetiously writes, “…our God-given First Amendment right of free speech does not apply when criticizing our fellow citizen judges.”

This is the first flaw in his logic because the Constitution was not written by God, therefore the right of freedom of speech was thought up and written by men. God is not the author nor guarantor of personal freedoms — our Constitution and judicial system are.

The second flaw in his argument references a letter signed by 111 professionally-trained, experienced, and well-respected Wyoming judges and attorneys explaining how the courts arrive at their rulings. It is illogical to claim we are all “citizen judges” because even though citizens have a constitutionally-guaranteed right to an opinion, it does not make every citizen a legal expert. The judges’ and attorneys’ excellent letter speaks for itself.

Mr. Schriftman claims the Supreme Court, “… create(d) an absurd definition of health care to include the intentional murder of pre-born human persons; something they did to justify overriding the equal protection clause… .” This logic is flawed because it is based on a conflation of an obsession with “pre-born human persons” and equal protection under the law.

There is significant disagreement on the issue of fetal personhood and who gets to determine it: the doctors? the lawyers? the pregnant woman? the anti-choice crowd?

Many understand and appreciate it has taken women almost 200 years to gain and keep Equal Protection Under the Law, and the disagreement over who is legally, materially, and morally responsible for a fertilized human egg has always been part this historical struggle. But it was the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that finally established a constitutional right, for women and men, to private health care decisions and, since pregnancy is a health condition, that included abortion.

Even though it wasn’t explicit, Roe also effectively affirmed that bestowing of “personhood” is a private determination to be made by the pregnant woman and her God. But, sadly, here we are again, dealing with folks who mistakenly believe they have a right to interfere in someone else’s pregnancy.

The Rev. L Kee
Casper

Why does the U.S. keep troops in oil producing countries?

Dear Casper,

There are two facts that don’t ever seem to be considered by our government that cost us dearly.

Osama Bin Laden said the stationing of U.S. troops in the Middle East was the reason Al Qaeda attacked us on 9/11. Does the U.S. believe that the oil producing countries in the Middle East will only sell us oil if we force them to by stationing troops there? I’m not aware of any other countries that believe that.

The other fact is, the U.S. is the only country to ever use a nuclear weapon offensively. There are several countries that have nuclear weapons, including North Korea. The reason countries have been reluctant to use nuclear weapons is MAD, mutually assured destruction. Consequently, is it reasonable to expect Iran, should they develop a nuclear weapon, to attack the U.S., knowing that our superiority in nuclear capability would assure the complete destruction of their country? It clearly would be suicidal for them to do so.

But, just to be cautious, rather than destroying the entire country to deter Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, wouldn’t it make more sense to destroy their nuclear infrastructure?

Bill Douglass
Casper

Related

Before they ever left Earth, all of NASA’s Artemis II astronauts trained with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) — and for some, that preparation included long days navigating Wyoming’s backcountry.

That NOLS training was singled out by Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman Thursday during the crew’s first group interview from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, after returning to Earth on April 10 from it’s 10-day mission to the moon and back.

He reflected on decision-making under pressure and how lessons learned through NOLS resurfaced during moments of stress and distraction.

“There’s a saying that we learned from one of our National Outdoor Leadership School instructors: integrity is not a one or a zero,” Wiseman said. “You can be in integrity, and you can be out of integrity — and I’ll be the first to admit that there were moments when I was out of integrity because sometimes the view or the human experience would just pull me away from the work.”

The partnership reflects a longstanding relationship between NOLS and NASA, the United States’ civilian space agency, and the Lander-based outdoor education organization.

Since 1999, NASA has worked with a variety of organizations and contracted NOLS for more than 45 wilderness expeditions designed to help astronauts prepare for the realities of long-duration spaceflight.

Those expeditions place crews in remote, resource-limited environments where communication, leadership and teamwork become essential for safety — conditions that mirror life inside a spacecraft.

In 2023, Cowboy State Daily chronicled the Artemis II astronauts training in the Cowboy State. At the time, the connection between Wyoming’s wind-carved wilderness and the engineered isolation of deep space felt philosophical.

Now, after completing their mission, the astronauts say the lessons they learned in Wyoming followed them all the way to lunar orbit.

From Wyoming Backcountry To The Moon

For NOLS instructors, the connection between wilderness leadership and spaceflight comes down to a single idea, what the school calls “expedition behavior.”

Rick Rochelle, senior faculty and leadership coach at NOLS, told Cowboy State Daily on Friday that the concept explains why NASA continues to partner with the organization decades after the relationship began.

“There’s a phrase that NOLS calls ‘expedition behavior,’ and that is clearly the most important part of why NASA works with us and how it translates,” Rochelle said.

The term was coined by NOLS founder Paul Petzoldt, a mountaineer who set an altitude record on K2 in 1938, served in the 10th Mountain Division during World War II and later built the school around the idea that leadership is defined by responsibility to others.

“He said it’s an awareness of others’ needs and the character to make those needs as important as your own,” Rochelle said. “It’s really about how to be a great team member.”

Lynn Petzold, also senior faculty at NOLS, said astronauts who train with the school are placed in situations where leadership theory becomes practical experience — where decisions must be made under stress, and reflection becomes part of daily operations.

“NOLS provides experience for astronauts to go through leadership theory, work under stress, and reflect and debrief — extracting the learnings from the day and implementing them moving forward,” Petzold said. “That’s how you continue to grow and become a better team.”

The wilderness setting itself plays a critical role.

Long stretches in remote terrain force participants to manage fatigue, communicate clearly and make decisions without outside support. These are conditions that closely resemble life inside a spacecraft.

“This ties to the previous question, which is being in an austere environment for long periods away from distractions,” Rochelle said.

Why Wyoming Keeps Showing Up In Spaceflight

The connection between Wyoming and human spaceflight has grown steadily over the past quarter century, turning Lander into an unlikely but consistent training ground for astronauts preparing to leave Earth.

In the Wyoming backcountry, that might mean navigating a sudden weather shift or managing exhaustion miles from the nearest road.

In space, the same principles scale to orbital mechanics, life-support systems, and the psychological weight of isolation.

For instructors who have watched astronauts move through Wyoming’s mountains and deserts, the pride in the Artemis II mission is personal, Rochelle said.

“These are amazing human beings,” he said. “They love each other. They’re mission-focused, and they clearly want to have a positive impact on all of humanity.”

Petzold agreed.

“These are awesome human beings who were excited to be part of this mission,” she said. “They had a lot to contribute as individuals, and as a group they really brought it together. 

“NOLS is just really excited and proud to work with NASA and this crew to pave a new path forward as we return to the moon. We’re proud to have been a small part of it.”

The same training that teaches students to read about weather, manage fatigue and support teammates in the Wind River backcountry is now helping shape how astronauts operate in deep space.

Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.