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...

Solar should be competing for sales in the marketplace, not for subsidies in Washington,' ... The Biden administration quietly issued a 59-page report outlining the current scope of federal energy-related subsidies revealed that the renewable energy sector enjoys significantly larger taxpayer backing than the fossil fuel industry. The report — authored by the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) and published in August — represents the first of its kind since 2018. The EIA analyzed data from 2016 through 2022, and determined that, during that time period, the federal government doled out $183.3 billion in direct and mainly indirect...

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...

The Park County Republican Party has removed more than 20 precinct committeemen and women from their elected positions, saying they failed to attend enough party meetings. However, there’s some question as to whether the party’s action is legal. The Park County GOP amended its bylaws last year to say that members are deemed to have vacated their seats if they miss three straight meetings without giving notice to the party’s chairman or secretary or sending another Republican in their place. At its Aug. 3 meeting, the party passed a motion to remove those who had violated the policy; a total...

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...

A transgender sorority member accused of acting inappropriately towards other female members recently scored a legal victory. On Friday, a federal judge in Wyoming dismissed a lawsuit that was brought by members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority at the University of Wyoming attempting to have a transgender woman removed from the Greek life organization. The dismissal by the judge comes shortly after members of the sorority the lawsuit against the the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority and the transgender member, identified as Artemis Langford, saying that her membership should be voided over her gender. In March, members of the Kappa...

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 National Park Service (NPS) is advising visitors to proceed with extra caution as two people were recently injured after interactions with wild bison at both Yellowstone National Park, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park. On Monday, a woman from Arizona was charged and gored by a bison at Yellowstone National Park. “The female was walking with another individual in a field in front of the Lake Lodge when they saw two bison," the NPS explained of the incident in a release the NPS shared. "Upon seeing them, the visitors turned to walk away from the bison. One of the bison...

Although it's reported the world is going through a transition away from fossil fuels to so-called 'green energy,' the data doesn’t support it. The use of coal in China has exploded thereby making overall coal consumption increase. As much as it’s reported that the world is going through a transition away from fossil fuels to wind and solar energy, the data doesn’t support it. The International Energy Agency released its 2023 Coal Market Update on Thursday, which shows that global coal consumption in 2022 rose by 3.3% to a record 8.3 billion tons. While the use of coal in European...

Nearly every lease and permit issued in Wyoming since 2021 has faced litigation from various anti-fossil fuel groups. As a result, 2 million acres are languishing in a holding pattern awaiting court decisions that will take years. ... The Bureau of Land Management is withholding oil and gas drilling permits on leased acres on public land, if the leased acres are in litigation. Pete Obermueller, president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, said the agency is doing this by its own choice. Nearly every lease and permit issued in Wyoming since 2021 has faced litigation from various anti-fossil fuel groups,...

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...

There likely isn’t a large enough billboard on the planet to list all the problems Cheyenne resident Jeanette Kahler has with the American government and President Joe Biden. “I need a much bigger sign,” she said. “A skyscraper might potentially get some of the points in.” Kahler and her husband Andrew have a large sign posted on their property, just off the south side of Interstate 80 facing the eastbound lanes about 15 miles west of Cheyenne that reads, “We The People Are Pissed.” There are two American flags fixed atop the sign and exactly 50 planted along the fence...

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...

Tuesday “CNN This Morning” played a video of former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) saying the United States is “electing idiots” while speaking Monday night at an event in New York City’s Center for Culture and Arts. Co-host Phil Mattingly said, “Liz Cheney spoke last night. She is always so subtle. I want you to take a listen to something she said.”

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A national sorority has defended allowing a transgender woman into its University of Wyoming chapter, saying in a new court motion that the chapter followed sorority rules despite a lawsuit from seven women in the organization who argued the opposite. The Kappa Kappa Gamma motion to dismiss, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne, is the sorority’s first substantive response to the lawsuit, other than a March statement by its executive director, Kari Kittrell Poole, that the complaint contains “numerous false allegations.” “The central issue in this case is simple: do the plaintiffs have a...

While the bureau put more days on the public comment calendar, the administration still has announced no plans to hold additional meetings. After outcry from Western constituencies and their representatives in Congress, the Bureau of Land Management has extended the public comment period on its proposed public lands rule that threatens to upend those Americans’ way of life. The new rule proposed in March establishes a framework for “conservation leases” elevated over other uses such as mining, grazing, and gas development. The agency guidelines, which were created without a congressional vote, would implement a radical departure from the “multiple use...

The House Committee on Natural Resources held a legislative hearing on June 15 on HR 3397, sponsored by Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, to require the director of the Bureau of Land Management to withdraw the proposed conservation rule. In her prepared testimony, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem told the committee that nearly 98% of BLM surface lands in South Dakota are grazed by permittees; her state hosts 76 actively producing oil and gas leases that cover 36,762 acres; and the acres managed by the BLM provide recreation opportunities. Noem said the proposed rule overemphasizes conservation rather than the economic needs...

The blight on the landscape of abandoned and decommissioned wind turbines stimulated Colorado's U.S. Reps. Ken Buck, Doug Lamborn and Harriet Hageman, Wyoming, to introduce the Production Tax Credit Reform Act. According to a press release, the bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require energy companies remove decommissioned wind turbines from leased land as a condition of receiving federal tax credits. Currently energy companies are not obligated to remove wind turbines from leased land once they are decommissioned, putting the onus on landowners — typically farmers and ranchers — to remove the turbines. According to the United States Geological...

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...