Free Republic

More than two dozen states have joined the Texas lawsuit opposing President Obama’s executive amnesty for millions of illegal aliens, but more eye-opening is the list of Republican governors whose names still do not appear on the suit. The seven Republicans who have thus far elected not to join the suit aimed at reining in Obama are Chris Christie of New Jersey, Terry Branstad of Iowa, Larry Hogan of Maryland, Susana Martinez of New Mexico, Matthew Mead of Wyoming, Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and Bruce Rauner of Illinois. Five of those seven states – Maryland, Iowa, New Mexico, Massachusetts and...

CHEYENNE - State lawmakers voted Friday to advance a bill that would prevent employers and others from discriminating against someone based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee voted 6-2 to advance Senate File 115 and send the proposal to the House floor for more debate. The committee's decision came after a two-hour hearing that saw emotional testimony on both sides of the issue and one local legislator ejected for a lack of "civility." Rep. Harlan Edmonds, R-Cheyenne, who opposes of the bill, proposed an amendment near the end of the meeting...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A Wyoming legislative committee on Tuesday rejected a bill that would have required doctors to advise women seeking abortions at least 24 hours before the procedure that they could see an ultrasound image of the fetus and listen to its heartbeat. The House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee voted 6-3 against the bill sponsored by Rep. Tom Reeder, R-Casper. Reeder told the committee the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that requiring doctors to give such advice 24 hours before a scheduled abortion procedure doesn't violate women's right to abortion. Reeder said his bill would help...

Grizzly bears were the leading category among the 385 total conflicts between humans and large carnivores in Wyoming last year. Black bears were second with 134 conflicts, followed by wolves (64) and mountain lions (23). ... grizzly bears continue to expand their range. "They've far exceeded the expected geographic recovery distribution ... The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to decide this year whether it will lift protections for some 1,000 grizzlies that scientists say live in the Yellowstone region of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Removal of the protections would transfer jurisdiction over grizzlies to states

Explanation: Heading north, Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) is putting on its best show for comet watchers now, with moonlight absent from mid-January's early evening skies. An easy binocular target and just visible to the unaided eye from dark sites, the comet sweeps across the constellation Taurus the Bull in this deep night skyscape. The starry scene was captured just two days ago on January 12, from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, planet Earth. In fact, the head of Taurus formed by the V-shaped Hyades star cluster points toward Lovejoy at the right. The comet's greenish coma and tail streaming in the anti-sunward...

The repeal of ObamaCare is the priority of the Republican party, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said on Sunday. “There will be a vote on repeal. The president, in the White House, will veto that,” he said of the symbolic gesture offered by GOP lawmakers still unsatisfied with the healthcare legislation. However, Barrasso told NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press” that there would also be other bills that strike at other parts of the Affordable Care Act – some of which have gained bipartisan support – including a repeal of the medical device tax and the employer mandate. There is...

Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions is out as chair of the Senate Budget Committee. **"Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is giving up his bid to become the next Budget Committee chairman — deferring to Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and eliminating the only competitive chairmanship battle in the incoming GOP Senate majority. "Sessions has been the panel’s top Republican for the past four years but Enzi technically retains seniority over the Alabaman on the committee and said several weeks ago that he would challenge Sessions for the chairmanship."** This is going to portrayed as a simple matter of seniority. It isn’t. That story...

Wyoming could help finance the construction of a coal export dock in the Pacific Northwest, according to the executive director of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority. Loyd Drain said he had a "serious" conversation with an unidentified party in the past six months about the possibility of financing a coal port. His comments come as state lawmakers ready a bill that would boost the WIA's borrowing authority to $3 billion and allow the agency to work on projects outside Wyoming. "If our ability to provide the financing for a facility is the catalyst to get the dang thing built, then we’ll...

Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber claimed on Capitol Hill this week that he did not write whole parts of Obamacare. Nonsense. Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis grilled Gruber at Tuesday’s House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. Lummis brought up past statements Gruber made identifying himself as a co-writer of Obamacare and saying that he wrote entire sections of it. Gruber denied his prime writing role and stonewalled on key questions about his participation in designing the law. (RELATED: Gruber Lawyers Up) The Jonathan Gruber of the Oversight hearing was contrite, bumbling, and glibly apologetic — just a doddering little academic that...

They are going there to get subsidized Section 8 housing vouchers to take to another state. Refugee resettlement is a euphemism for importing whole Muslim communities, importing jihad. I have long documented the targeting of gateway cities (smaller cities) overwhelmed with Muslim refugee immigration from countries like Somalia — cities like Emporia, Kansas, Nashville, Greeley and Fort Morgan, Colorado, Lewiston, Maine et al. The over-saturation and drain on city resources has driven these immigrants northward to settle in Wyoming, according to these reports. Organizations like Lutheran Family Services profit enormously from the Federal government handling these refugees. The sharia compliant...

Explanation: A mysterious formation known as Devils Tower rises into the dark above northeastern Wyoming's prairie landscape in this 16 frame panoramic view. Seen against the night sky's thin, pale clouds and eerie green airglow, star clusters and nebulae of the Milky Way arc toward the galaxy's central realm at right. Of course the scene contains the Milky Way's own haunting and grisly visages of halloween, including ghosts, a flaming skull, a glowing eye and a witch's broom. To find them, slide your cursor over the picture or just follow this link, if you dare. And have a safe and...

Gay couples in Wyoming will soon be allowed to marry after a federal judge on Friday struck down a state ban on same-sex nuptials and defendants in the case, including Gov. Matt Mead, announced they will not appeal. "I’ve never been prouder to be a Wyomingite," said Jeran Artery, who led the fight to legalize gay marriage through his work with Wyoming Unites for Marriage and Wyoming Equality. Gay couples are expected to start marrying in the next week. Some visited county clerk's offices Friday to begin the paperwork for marriage licenses. Other couples are relishing the thought that their...

A Supreme Court order legalizing same-sex marriage in five states reverberated further on Thursday, with the attorney general of West Virginia conceding that its ban on same-sex marriage was no longer defensible but South Carolina officials vowing to keep fighting to restrict marriage to a man and a woman. Since the Supreme Court decision on Monday and a ruling from a federal circuit court on Tuesday, new developments have appeared almost hourly as gay-rights advocates press for action in nine other states: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Three recent cases of bear attack in Wyoming illustrate the flaws in studies purporting to show that bear spray is superior to firearms as a defense against bears.    On September 20th, 2014 the following incident occurred.  From county10.com: (Dubois, Wyo.) – The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service both confirmed today that a third bear incident occurred this past weekend, on Saturday in northwestern Fremont County. In this incident, Lander Large Carnivore Specialist Brian DeBolt said a Grizzly bear was shot and killed “in an act of self defense” in the East...

Casper, WY - Young children in Wyoming are not allowed to speak their first language of English in the classroom. Officials said it's part of a new program designed to help them speak Spanish. It's the first program of its kind in Wyoming's history. The students, whom are ages 5 and 6, speak English for half the day, then switch for the other half.

A teenage girl in Wyoming learned a harsh lesson on why you shouldn't play hooky. Jeannie Crutchfield did the unthinkable when she got word of her daughter ditching class: She followed her through her school with a camera in hand, recording her every move to make sure she attended class - and then posted the video to Facebook. "It was kind of just spur of moment. It was yeah know. I debated whether I was going to do it or not and I was like I'm just going to do it," Crutchfield told ABC affiliate KTWO. Crutchfield says she wanted to...

The U.S. Senate Energy Committee advanced a bill on Wednesday that would force congressional approval of TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline project, but the measure seems unlikely to be taken up by the full Senate. The bill, the latest effort by lawmakers to breathe life into the long-delayed pipeline from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast, will languish without a commitment from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring it to a vote. The measure, from Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Republican Senators John Hoeven of North Dakota and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, would take a decision...

The Senate approved a continuing resolution for the budget which included a provision authorizing President Obama to arm and train Syrian rebels for the purpose of combating Islamic State terrorists. The legislation passed 78-22. Of the 22 Senators that voted no, here are the 12 Republicans that voted against the provision: John Barrasso (WY) Tom Coburn (OK) Michael Crapo (ID) Ted Cruz (TX) Mike Enzi (WY) Dean Heller (NV) Mike Lee (UT) Jim Moran (KS) Rand Paul (KY) James Risch (ID) Pat Roberts (KS) Jeff Sessions (AL)

The debate over Germany’s insistence on eurozone austerity has flared anew as an ailing France continues to demand economic stimulus. The European Central Bank may now be siding with Paris, leaving Merkel looking increasingly alone. […] Berlin is particularly alarmed by the stance taken by ECB head Mario Draghi. At the annual conference of top central bankers from around the world at Jackson Hole, Wyoming in August, Draghi surprised those present by saying “there is leeway to achieve a more growth-friendly composition of fiscal policies.” It was a comment that came close to the kind of debt-fueled growth stimulus measures...

MILLS, Wyo. A Wyoming police officer has pleaded not guilty to an animal-cruelty charge that alleges a police dog died after he left it in a hot patrol car for several hours. According to an investigator's statement filed in Natrona County Circuit Court, Mills police officer Zachary Miller left the dog, a 10-year-old female black lab named Nyx, in his patrol car for over six hours July 9. "It's a tragedy," Mills Mayor Marrolyce Wilson said. The car was running, but the air conditioning was off and outside temperatures reached 86 degrees, KCWY News 13 reported (http://bit.ly/1tAzzhs). Miller, a four-year...