Free Republic

Remember when Liz Cheney was going to have a "megaphone" after losing her primary in Wyoming? The idea was that her 40-point defeat would only elevate her, positioning her to speak loudly and forcefully against the supposed excesses of her own party. Cheney was going to protect "democracy" and be well-positioned for a 2024 presidential run. Well, as usual, those bleating the loudest in the mainstream press were wrong because none of that happened. Instead, she has been heavily marginalized, likely because she's no longer useful to the Democratic Party. I regret to inform you that Cheney is back, at...

A transit system run by the town of Jackson and Teton County set out to replace its diesel buses with electric, but none of the eight electric buses in its fleet are running, and the company that made them went bankrupt. Teton County and the town of Jackson had set its sights on a low-emission transit system for the county. The Southern Teton Area Rapid Transit (START) system, a joint operation between Jackson and Teton County, bought eight electric buses to complement its fleet of 31.

A Democratic enclave in Wyoming purchased electric buses to reduce emissions, but the buses are indefinitely inoperable after their manufacturer went bankrupt earlier this summer, the Cowboy State Daily reported. Jackson, Wyoming, and Teton County formed the Southern Teton Area Rapid Transit (START) system, which bought eight electric buses from Proterra to add to its fleet of 31 diesel buses, the Cowboy State Daily reported. Proterra, which itself was at the center of a conflict of interest controversy including Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, went bankrupt in August, and START’s eight e-buses are now out of commission given that the manufacturer...

It's make or break time, America. President Donald Trump leads Governor Ron DeSantis, his closest competitor, by up to 50 percentage points. Let's be clear about what DeSantis is up against. He's splitting the 'anyone but Trump vote' with seven other GOP candidates. But there is a way through – just listen to New Hampshire's Republican Governor Chris Sununu. 'If seven of those candidates have the discipline to get out, Trump loses,' Sununu said in a new interview this week. 'Make it a one-on-one race, Trump loses. There's no question about it.' So here we go: a plea to the...

Republicans against Trump @RpsAgainstTrump “In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump." -Former VP Dick Cheney

A city in Wyoming has been overrun with an unprecedented homeless population that’s destroyed a vacant motel and has left hundreds of pounds of feces across the area, according to its mayor. Mayor Bruce Knell detailed the destructive behavior of roughly 200 homeless people in Casper, WY who have been creating a “mess” throughout the streets and parks, as well as a closed motel where squatters left millions in property damage. “They destroyed everything,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s horrible.” Homeless people who squatted at the Econo Lodge motel caused more damage than the flooding that initially closed the...

Unlike some of my peers on the right-wing internet, I never got emotional about Liz Cheney. However, now that I've seen Rep. Harriet Hageman in action, I would like to say THANK YOU to the great people of Wyoming. I've been wanting to hear someone make this point for a while, and the congresswoman succeeded in making an anti-parental rights witness squirm. It was a subcommittee Hearing on “Free Speech: The Biden Administration’s Chilling of Parental Rights.” Nadine Farid Johnson, the managing director at something called PEN America, spoke out against parental rights. Rep. Hageman had a simple question, really....

Squatters have taken over a Wyoming city after some left millions of dollars worth of damage to a motel and others left 500lbs of feces in the downtown area. Casper, the second-largest city in the state, is home to 60,000 residents but now also has about 200 homeless people. Some have seized various properties that are empty or abandoned, including an abandoned Econo Lodge motel that hasn't operated since November. Casper Mayor Bruce Knell described the extent of destruction as akin to 'third-world-country stuff'. 'It's like nothing I've ever seen. It's third-world-country stuff happening in Casper, Wyoming,' he told Cowboy...

A University of Wyoming sorority has hit back at members who complained about a trans woman being accepted into their local chapter — insisting the term “woman” is “unquestionably open to many interpretations.” Seven sorority sisters from the Kappa Kappa Gamma sued the sorority in March, saying that the chapter violated its own rules by admitting Artemis Langford last year. Six of the women then refiled the lawsuit in May after a judge twice barred them from suing anonymously. The lawsuit claimed Langford’s presence in the Kappa Kappa Gamma house made some sorority members uncomfortable. It alleged that the trans...

Discovered in 1969, the Vore Buffalo Jump in northeast Wyoming contains the bones of more than 20,000 bison that were herded into and slaughtered there by Plains Indians. The site also has tools used to butcher the bison, arrowheads and even toys. Anyone who’s driven Interstate 90 in northeast Wyoming to visit Devils Tower or the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally couldn’t miss the signs for the Vore Buffalo Jump. Most drive past, but likely not without thinking, “What the heck is a buffalo jump?” Put simply, it’s a big hole American Indians would herd buffalo into, then kill them in...

LOS ANGELES — Emily Drabinski took over as president of the American Library Association in July with plans to tackle the pressing issues facing her profession, such as shoring up funding and fighting a record number of book ban attempts nationwide. She said she wants to make sure that the LBGTQ community and Black people see themselves reflected in the books on their library shelves. And she’s planning to prepare libraries for the consequences of climate change, pointing to the severe flooding this summer. But some Republicans have focused on a single tweet Drabinski sent over a year ago to...

The Bureau of Land Management announced new rules that will greatly increase the cost of oil and gas development on public lands. Critics say if the rules become final, it will likely make oil and gas production in Wyoming uneconomical. The Bureau of Land Management has announced new rules that, if finalized, will increase bonding requirements, royalty rates and minimum bids for oil and gas drilling on public lands. Statements by the bureau on the proposed rules say they will lead to more responsible leasing and development processes. Critics say it’s just a step toward the elimination of oil and...

An Arizona woman was rushed to the hospital on Monday after she was gored by a bison at Yellowstone National Park. The incident occurred in the morning near the Lake Lodge Cabins on the north shore of Yellowstone Lake, according to a release by the park. "The female was walking with another individual in a field in front of the Lake Lodge when they saw two bison. Upon seeing them, the visitors turned to walk away from the bison. One of the bison charged and gored the woman," the release read. She suffered "significant injuries to her chest and abdomen...

A national mass surveillance system boosted by artificial intelligence (AI) took root in another state. The town council of Jackson, Wyoming, agreed in a close vote last month to install the 30 solar-powered license plate recognition (LPR) cameras along their streets and traffic lights, which feeds into a centralized surveillance system managed by the private company Flock Safety. The town is the first in the state of Wyoming to install the cameras. Council members who agreed to the measure expressed reluctance with their decision. Councilman Jonathan Schechter indicated his belief that the cameras marked a negative trend down an undesirable...

A Wyoming school district is being sued by the parents of a teenage girl after they allegedly allowed her to self-identify as a boy without their knowledge. Sean and Ashley Willey, of Rock Springs, are the parents of a teenage daughter who identified as a boy during her freshman year of high school. The Willey's lawsuit, filed in April, alleges how school district staff used a male name and pronouns for their child without informing them for a period of six months during 2021 and 2022. The Willeys, who are both teachers, only discovered the school district's actions when Mrs...

A University of Wyoming sorority has hit back at members who complained about a trans woman being accepted into their local chapter — insisting the term “woman” is “unquestionably open to many interpretations.” Seven sorority sisters from the Kappa Kappa Gamma sued the sorority in March, saying that the chapter violated its own rules by admitting Artemis Langford last year. Six of the women then refiled the lawsuit in May after a judge twice barred them from suing anonymously. The lawsuit claimed Langford’s presence in the Kappa Kappa Gamma house made some sorority members uncomfortable. It alleged that the trans...

Campbell and Converse counties in northeast Wyoming scrambled Friday in response to a tornado that tore through the North Antelope Rochelle coal mine, reportedly tossing vehicles, flipping trains and destroying a building. The tornado injured eight people after it touched down south of Wright, Wyoming about 6 p.m., Leslie Perkins, Campbell County public information officer, said in a press release four hours after the event. Six of the injured people were transported to Campbell County Health; one was taken to a hospital in Douglas, Wyoming. The remaining person refused services, the statement says, adding that personnel did not classify the...

A Laramie church elder who lost presentation privileges at the University of Wyoming in December now is suing the university’s president and dean of student affairs, alleging they violated his free-speech, equal protection and due process rights. Todd Schmidt, an elder at Laramie Faith Community Church, set up a table at the UW Union breezeway on Dec. 2 displaying a sign that read, “God created male and female and Artemis Langford is a male.” Langford is the first transgender inductee into the Wyoming chapter of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Ryan O’Neil, University of Wyoming dean of students, reportedly asked...

Casper’s Banner Health has revoked at least one parent’s access to her child’s medical records online now that the child is 12 years old, according to a tip sent this week to Cowboy State Daily. “Access to your child’s account has been revoked,” reads a screen shot of Banner Health’s message to the parent. “The reason for this is because the child is now between the ages of 12 and 17. Based on state law, a minor child may consent to certain treatments without parental consent.” Records of those treatments are protected, Banner Health’s note continues, “and may not be...

MIAMI - Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) asserted on Thursday that a report by the chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq (news - web sites), who found no evidence that Iraq produced weapons of mass destruction after 1991, justifies rather than undermines President Bush (news - web sites)'s decision to go to war. The report shows that "delay, defer, wasn't an option," Cheney told a town-hall style meeting. While Democrats seized on the new report by Charles Duelfer to bolster their case that invading Iraq was a mistake, Cheney focused on portions of the report that were...