Bartiromo managed to go from being a credible mainstream reporter to a Trump talking head after leaving going to Fox in 2014. Her departure would indicate that we've entered the "Hunt for the Golden Pheasants" stage of the Trump regime in which there's localized uprising. The recent resignation of the Secretary of the Army fits into that as well.
I seriously thought that by this point the 25th Amendment would have been invoked and we'd have a President J. D. Vance trying to cut his own path. People like Hegseth would be gone. There'd be no Iran war and the tariff experiment would be over. What didn't count on wa the administration being made up of radical right wing Confederates and Seven Mountain adherents, as well as members of the Waffen Grenadier Brigade of the SS Charlemagne that have no place to go. So it appears my prediction was incorrect, although there's still hope. Having said that, those who plan on surviving the regime are beginning to make their exit, or are being tossed overboard.
Well, Bye Felicia.
Trying to sell.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced that the Trump Admin will begin a further vandalization project this upcoming week and very clearly he knows nobody wants it, and therefore is trying really, really, hard to sell it. He took to Twitter trying to show that Presidents have so dearly wanted an arch Witness:
Secretary Doug Burgum@SecretaryBurgum
We are pleased to announce that after a very long wait (over 125 years!), we are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck, at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. This will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful Capital in the World.
For over 125 years, Congress and various congressionally chartered commissions decreed that a monumental work should adorn Columbia Island. In 1902, the U.S. Senate’s “McMillan Commission” called for “a concourse suited to memorial treatment be established” on the westerly terminus of the Memorial Bridge.
In 1924, the congressional chartered Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission stated, “[Columbia Island] was always considered as a suitable site for formal park treatment, a fitting end for the Memorial Bridge, as well as an important feature in itself.” Specifically, the Commission called for “a plaza with fitting architectural adornment in a measure supplemental to the Lincoln Memorial across the river.”
Despite Congress’s intent, the site became and remains today a barren traffic circle lacking any monumental treatment and significant historic value. In fact, the passage extending from Arlington Memorial Bridge to Arlington National Cemetery was meant to serve as an Avenue of Heroes.
In the years after World War II, Ulysses S. Grant III— who was the grandson of the former president and Union general Ulysses S. Grant, executive officer of the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission, and member of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission—decried the state of Columbia Island as a “temporary road with an informal circle.” He lamented that “the central plaza on Columbia Island had never been undertaken and seems to be absolutely essential to link together the two parts of the project, namely the main bridge itself and the entrance to Arlington Cemetery.”
Over 70 major cities/capitals around the world, from London, Paris and Rome to Madrid, Athens and New Delhi, all showcase beautiful arches. Interestingly, Washington, DC, is the only major Western capital without an arch. Now after 125 years of waiting, the most powerful capital in the world will be home of the most spectacular and beautiful arch of them all!
M'eh.
Nobody wants it except for King Donny. The irony of building a triumphal arch while losing a war is really rich for one thing, and this is a huge monstrosity.
Maybe if they were going to put something there, they could put up a small monument (not gilded) to Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. He could serve as an example to these guys.
Anything one government builds, another can rip down.
The U.S. Army blows the Swastika off of the Nuremberg parade grounds.
Anyhow, at last there's a really growing movement to rip this crap, including the ballroom, down as soon as Trump is out of office.
This from Senator Ted Lieu:
Here is my prediction: the Democratic presidential candidate who promises to restore the White House to what it looked like pre-trump will win the primary and the Presidency.
I"m seeing a lot of that now.
Just ripping it down might be illegal. But then the Supreme Court has already established that you can get away with building this crap even if it is illegal, and ripping stuff down takes a lot less time than putting it up.
On the White House, by the way, the wings were added in 1902. With one already gone, they ought to take the other out in my opinion and just restore the building to its original architectural integrity. The wings don't look great to start with and the ballroom looks absurd.
A trip down Trump's memory lane.
An Albert Dornei illustration of how bowling was once imagined in the urban world of the 1950s. Posted via fair use exception.
The Trump administration has announced its renovating the bowling alley in the White House as well.
The bowling alley story really brings into focus the way that the Trump administration, captured by the decaying mind of Donald Trump, is sort of a monument to an imaginary 1950s where everyone was urban, white, middle class, or maybe upper middle class.
I realize that people still bowl, but bowling reached the apex of its popularity in the 50s and 60s when automatic pin setters came in. Golfing peaked later, in the 90s and 2000s, but the mental image of golfing in a lot of ways, in terms of its popular image, is from an earlier era. Ballroom dancing was biggest in the mid 20th Century, basically from when the American population started to rapidly become urban and music, first jazz, and then later big band, dominated.
7up ad featuring bowling, 1963.
A popular study of the decline of American culture in some ways is titled "Bowling Alone". A person can look at this in a lot of ways, but the cultural evolution of the country, which has been negative in many, maybe most, ways has hit all of this stuff. One big factor, and yes here we go again, is that the demographic rabbit in the snake of the Baby Boomers changed all of this. Bowling, as noted, is still sort of a big deal, and its charmingly portrayed in The Big Lebowski, but even when I was young most young people didn't bowl, and regarded it as, well, square. Big halls where you had to rent shoes and dispirited older blue collar workers hung out, drank Budweiser, and smoked cigarettes lacked appeal. If you talked to our parents generation, however, you'd see that isn't how they viewed bowling when they were young at all.
Golf had a real reputation as an upper middle class sport when I was young. The sort of sport that lawyers and doctors engaged in and talked shop. I still sort of regard it that way, although that time has passed too, and now I think of it as a sport that is played by old lawyers and doctors. I know that's not really fair, but there's an element of truth to it.
Ballroom dancing is something that was dead as a doornail by the time I was old enough to hit any kind of a dancefloor, by which I mean a high school gym. The 60s had killed it. Indeed, this was illustrated recently by a video going viral of elderly people dancing to AC/DC at a nursing home. I've wondered if that would occur. For years, if you went to a nursing home at certain times of the day, you'd hear The Lawrence Welk Show blaring.
I'll be that's not the case anymore.
Well, for somebody like Trump, who is old, wealthy and likes to golf, and is old, and has big structures, and is old, all this probably seems a lot like taking a trip back to the past, like watching American Graffiti. One thing about the really wealthy is that they hang on to certain social aspects of the past more than other classes, so a wealthy hotelier like Trump probably did grow up thinking ballrooms were cool, and probably still does.
Going back to the past is a pretty strong desire for the old, and particularly strong for the demented old. I'm told that my dying grandmother on my mother's side, as her dying words, noted that my grandfather "sure can play tennis" no doubt recalling what he'd been like when they were young. Trump's now fixated on his reputation and on building. He's building like crazy, and building his way back to the past.
Of course, most old people can't command the entire resources of the nation to attempt to reconstruct an imaginary past.
Sic transit gloria mundi
Trump's monuments in stone will only last as long as Americans tolerate their presence. They shouldn't tolerate them for more than one second after he's gone. The next administration should tear them all down on the very first day of the next adminsitration.
Coin with the image of Emperor Romulus Augustulus.
11 year old Romulus Augustulus, the last Emperor or the Western Roman Empire and a mere figurehead, was forced to advocate by Flavius Odoacer, a German commander of the Roman Guard who declared himself King of Italy and a vassal of the Eastern Roman Emperor.
Coin with the image of Flavius Odoacer.
The event is marked as the end of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Early Middle Ages.
Romulus went on to live in exile with a pension and seems to have lived to at least 60 years of age. He was a Catholic (orthodox) Christian and may have founded a monastery while in exile.*
Odoacer, while regarding himself as a vassal of Constantinople, had a falling out with with the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno who in turn sent Theodoric the Great to depose him, resulting in a war which cost Odoacer his life in 493. Theodoric did not stop there, but killed many of Odoacer's followers, including his wife Sunigilda, who was stoned to death, and his brother Onoulphus. In spite of his short reign and violent death, he's regarded as an important post Empire figure. Odoacer was an Arian Chrisitan.
Theodoric coin.
Theodoric, an Ostrogoth, who became king, was a hugely significant figure, expanding his reign over a fair amount of what had been the Western Roman Empire. He was an Arian Christian whose rule mimicked forms adopted from Constantinople. He was King of Italy, the Ostrogoths, and the Visigoths.
Theodoric was a patron of the orthodox Catholic philosopher Boethius for quite some time, but as his rule progressed, Theodoric began to turn from neutral in the dispute between orthodoxy and Arianism and he had Boethius arrested and ultimately executed in 524.
Boethius' magnum opus, De consolatione philosophiae, was written while imprisoned and awaiting execution. He is regarded as a martyr in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
Footnotes:
*This era was marked by a major conflict between orthodox Christianity and Arianism. To clarify things here, the schism between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church was very much in the future so the use of orthodoxy here does not mean to imply the Eastern Orthodox Church.
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom
Matthew, Chapter 24.
Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice.
The U.S. Senate advanced Russian energy sanctions legislation Tuesday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the Capitol. The vote was seen as a tribute to the bill’s author, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, on the day of his funeral, which was widely attended by politicos.
Trump fell asleep during it as J. D. Vance seemed oblivious to the dozing octogenarian and Bessent looked nervous about it, but then he always looks nervous.
July 31, 2026
Israeli Hamas War
The Bored of Peas has supposedly worked out a peace plan in Gaza. Sober analysts a 4th Grade level have severe doubts about it.
August 1, 2026
Russo Ukrainian War
Now Trump is backtracking and saying the US won't license Patriot missile production to Ukraine.
August 2, 2026
Russo Ukrainian War
Ukraine has run out of ballistic missile interceptors. This comes at the same time that the US supply is seriously depleted due to Donald Trump's illegal moronic war against Iran.
King Donny should free up what remains of the US supply and give them to Ukraine, and start emergency production for the US. As for Iran, we can solve that problem simply by pulling out. Better yet, pulling out, putting every senior commander who agreed to fight in a clearly illegal war on trial, and impeaching Donald Trump.
Crisis in Ceuta
Not a war but requiring Spanish military deployment, a mass flood of immigrants crashed into the Spanish North African city of Ceuta.
About 50,000 North African immigrants stormed the city, leading to dramatic news footage and MAGA "see, it could happen here" claims. Missed in the story is that 48,000 of them returned to Morocco within 48 hours.
A bigger question may be why Spain retains a city that you would figure should be part of Morocco, but it does.
Italy defensively suspended the EU's border-free Schengen arrangements with Spain.
August 10, 2026
Israel v. Hamas.
Israel had rejected the "Board of Peace" peace plan, refusing to enter into a peace deal with Hamas until it is definitely disarmed.
Another blow to King Donny.
August 17, 2026
Russo Ukrainian War
Both sides exchanged heavy missile and drone attacks yesterday. A NATO jet on patrol shot down a drone that had strayed into Romania.
August 18, 2026
Russo Ukrainian War
Robert Shaheiev, 49, formerly of the Ukrainian Navy who defected to Russia early in the war died in an explosion in Sevastopol.
Whether he was targeted or not, Ukrainian operatives have proven effective at hunting down figures in the Russian military that they find particularly responsible for various matters. Shaheiev defected with a submarine.
Korean War
Donald Trump has signaled that the US is going to scale back it's participation in joint exercises with the South Korean Army.
What's going on here is terribly unclear. The US has maintained troops in the ROK since the 1945 and the threat of North Korean invasion is very real.
I should note that this isn't entirely unprecedented. Jimmy Carter actually campaigned on the idea in 1976 and tried to implement a phased withdrawal, which was abandoned over conservative and military objections. Since the 1980s, military support of South Korea has been very strong.
Trumps move comes at a time when the US is losing an illegal war with Iran and is having to pull naval assets out of the Pacific. It also comes at a point at which the longtime Red Chinese goal of forcibly reunited Taiwan with the mainland is at its highest point. Combined with that, Trump's administration is packed with National Conservatives who have a sort of Neo Nineteenth Century view of where the U.S.'s foreign policy should be focused.
Given that, Trump's decision could be the result of his listening to National Conservatives, or it could be because or logistical situation is much worse than admitted.
It could also be because South Korea refused to participate in the illegal war, like every other nation on earth did. Trump has not taken that well. Nobody seems to be pointing out that South Korea did participate in the Vietnam War, which Trump did not. Trump himself, at any rate, referenced South Korea's lack of willingness to get into the losing war with Iran.
We've noted it elsewhere, but we've been worried about a Chinese strike on Taiwan in the near future. The combination of the failed Iran War and Trump's other actions make that inevitable . The question is whether that will come this Fall, or next Spring.
September 4, 2026
Russo Ukrainian War
In an attack Ukraine is an intentional Russian signal to the United States, Russia hit a Coca Cola plant in a drone strike.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has killed a House vote on Lindsey Graham’s Russia sanctions bill which passed the Senate in July, stating “We have to build consensus around that final product".
Oh, um, . . . not hat doesn't look a little weird. . . . and doesn't raise any questions, um, like Дональд Трамп — агент России?
What is it with this administration and Russia? Why is Дональд Трамп a Russian asset? Just stupidity and a like for flashy gold things?
By Self-created photograph by Jonathunder - Own work, GFDL, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64543672
If this is a match of intellects, and it likely is, Canada has already won the trade war.
Carney is undoubtedly a genius and the only international leader currently in office, maybe ever in office, to have run the economies of two different countries. Trump is increasingly obvious of rather low intellect and a real estate developer with a very narrow understanding of the economy, who is in turn heavily influenced by Peter Navarro, a 77 year old economic theorist who uniquely champions tariffs. To make matters worse, Trump is suffering a rapid dementia related mental decline.
The US right now is destroying its own economy.
August 26, 2026
Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel, aluminum, furniture and clothing (50%), cheese, appliances and some seafood, (25%) and on electronics and tools (15%), effective September 8.
It also pledged aid to Canadian workers.
It was a dollar per dollar match on US tariffs, which it basically offsets.
As a side effect of this, the price of household paper products, toilet paper and paper towels, is climbing.
Thanks Don.
On the contest of intellects, the petulant baby in the Oval Office threatened to rename Lake Ontario the Lake of America or something. Trump actually thinks he renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, even though it remains the Gulf of Mexico in reality. The Lake Ontario thing is incredibly stupid. Nobody reacted positively to it, although I'm sure that administration flunkies will pretend it's a great idea. Curtis Hertel Jr., chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, stated:
Donald Trump has been America first in name only his entire presidency. He promised lower prices, higher wages, and no foreign wars … all of that is bull shit. Renaming th fourth best Great Lake isn’t going to change that.
Americans aren't impressed with the latest Trump stupidity.
On Trump dumping American cattlemen, John Barrasso, Senator from Trump, oh, um, Senator allegedly from Wyoming, posted this on Twitter:
Americans want US beef on the table – not foreign imports. Wyoming ranchers produce the highest quality beef in the world. Our ranchers don't ask for special treatment. They simply want a fair marketplace. It needs to be easier – not harder – for Wyoming ranchers to feed America. I will continue to fight for policies that strengthen Wyoming beef producers and invest in the American cattle herd.
Barrasso is a Trump suck up and hasn't really done much for Wyoming in years. During election cycles he's for whatever he thinks Wyomingites are for and is otherwise a rank cowards pretending he thinks Trump is brilliant when he knows that he's not. Last time he ran he became worried about gadfly candidate Reid Rasner and accordingly pulled to the hard right.
Barrasso must regard the Wyoming livestock industry as sufficiently powerful enough to actually hurt the GOP, or this an issue near enough to the hearts of Wyomingites, that he needs to speak up. He didn't do that when public lands were on the table. It's interesting in part because the Wyoming range cattle industry in particular, and agriculture in general, have been so pro Trump and pro GOP that it's quite literally actually stupid. We posted on this the other day.
Hageman, of course, has incentive not to. She's a Trump endorsee and is now running against James Byrd tof Lummis' seat. This makes her exposed on this issue. If she speaks up, and she's going to have to, it puts her between somebody that supports here that she probably thinks is a heaping bowl of stupid in reality, but then exposing her to voters who she probably figures are more heaping bowls of stupid. Byrd is perfectly suited to exploit this as Hageman comes from a farm/ranch and can't stay silent before she looks like a traitor.
Lummis, of course, comes from a ranch too, but as she's nto running, she doesn't have to say anything. She seems to be bucking for a Trump cabinet post, anticipating that people will jump the Trump ship post election.
On other economic fronts, the US came out with its "Economic D-Day" against Iran, which are really sanctions against Iranian trading partners, but not really. It delayed the imposition of them to January 1, 2027, which means they won't happen at all.
Mexico normally imports 1,000,000 head of cattle into the US every year.
This is actually the resumption of importation that had been occurring until the screwworm outbreak. The Trump administration blamed that on the Biden administration, like it does everything else.
Closer to home, yet another Casper restaurant is biting the dust.
There's been a real rash of these recently. Something is going on. An article in Oil City notes that the list includes Little Shop of Burgers, Benny Montanaro’s Pizza (which I'd never even heard of), and Outback Steakhouse.
GiGi’s consignment store in Casper is also closing.
Next to House of Sushi it appears an entity called Jae's Place is opening in the old Wonder Bar space.
I don't really understand Jae's Place, but apparently its a wester wear store that supports a charitable mental health foundation. That's admirable but frankly opening in that location is desecrating a Casper landmark. The space had been the Wonder Bar more or less continually since 1937, having originally been located in another space. It became a steakhouse under the name C85 a decade or more ago that sold out to Wyoming Rib and Chop which became, you guessed it, another Casper restaurant that closed.
I understand that Jae's Place is a charity so I should not have a non charitable attitude about it, but there's a really old Western Wear store just a block away that I hope is not hurt by this multi state entity and for a long time Casperite seeing this converted into retail is disappointing. Workmen have been busy for weeks molesting the interior so the damage will likely be permanent.
This is the sort of thing that happens when a place has no sense of itself.
These photographs are of the "World Famous" Wonder Bar. The Wonder Bar has operated on Center Street for decades, although it has had short periods of time in recent years in which it operated under a different name (Tommy Knockers, Dillingers, and very briefly, "Sludge and Eddies"). Still, the bar has been around so long that even efforts to operate it under a different name do not deter the locals from continuing to refer to it as the Wonder Bar.
Downtown Casper once had a vast number of bars. This are of downtown had multiple bars on a single block. Only the Wonder Bar survives as a bar.
At some point in time, decades ago, Lee Riders paid to paint an advertisement on the side of the bar. The sign is still there, although an effort to paint over it was made at some point. This reflects the stockman heritage of central Wyoming, and indeed at one time quite a few cowboys and sheepherders spent time in the Wonder Bar.
As an aside, it's hard to see how a town that has a microbrewery every other door can't keep a legendary bar open.
September 2, 2026
The House passed another stopgap budget bill to keep the government running.
Frankly, I"m not a big fan, meaning not a fan at all, of the big expansion of data centers and I'm absolutely opposed to them being constructed on vacant agricultural land.
This was a hearing in front of the County Commissioners. It looked like each of the current sitting commissioners made some sort of comment at the end, as the Oil City News reports:
Of the five sitting commissioners, only Laird is on the ballot this election. Laird is correct on Donald Trump's position. Trump basically called communities that don't want data centers stupid as life is all about money and he loves money and you should love money because Trump loves money and you should love Trump, and money, but Trump most of all.
This must be a nightmare of Chuck Gray, who has been trying to hate things Wyomingite's claim to hate, and they seem to hate data farms, but Trump, who Gray loves, loves them.
On something Trump and Gray presently hate, wind farms:
And so we're off and running for the General Election, which in Wyoming's case means the election is pretty much over for the statewide races. Sure, the contest officially carries on, but chances are that the Republican nominees will take everything.
Still, this year, there's a chance, here and there. . .
So, our early predictions.*
Governor:
Republican. Eric Barlow
Barlow is a rancher, veterinarian, and long time legislature.
He's won this race and the General Election in this case is a mere formality.
Democrat. Kenneth Casner
75 year old making his third pointless bid for the Governor's office. He won't win, everyone knows he won't win, and he shouldn't be running.
Casner's appearance says something, however, about the state of the Democratic Party in Wyoming, and it's the opposite of what's happening in much of the rest of the country. In much of the country Democratic voters are rising up and tossing out geezer candidates, but in Wyoming the Democratic ranks are so depleted the Democrats are falling back on them, which is not a good sign.
Casner would have done his party a favor if he hadn't run.
Constitution Party: Rebecca Bextel.
The Constitution Party is a gadfly far right political party which was once the home of people who now populate the Wyoming Freedom Caucus. Indeed, it's their proper home, which shows in the one candidate of theirs which we know to exist, Rebecca Bextel.
The central figure in CheckGate, Bextel is flat out delusional and is running as she feared that Brent Bien would lose and there would not be any candidates running for the true interpretation of the Double Secret Constitution known only to the Wyoming Freedom Caucus. Bextel appears to seriously believe that Barlow could only win if vast hoards of Democrats, which don't exist in Wyoming crossed over to vote for Barlow and that in the general election the great mass of MAGA/WFC true believers will carry the day.
With the WFC having received a titanic dope slap in the primary, a rational person in her position would drop out. But then, running as a Constitution Party candidate shows demonstrated irrationality.
Endorsement: Barlow by far.
Secretary of State
Republican: Robert Short.
Short is an excellent choice and will take the office.
Democrat: Bryan McCarthy.
McCarty actually has an impressive business background and has worked as an auditor. He should be given credit for running, although he probably should have run for State Auditor.
He's going to lose and it's not even going to be close.
Endorsement: Robert Short.
State Auditor
Republican Kristi Racines won an uncontested Republican primary race and no Democrats ran.
State Treasurer
Curt Meier won his bid to run again in the primary for the Republicans and no Democrats ran.
Senator
Republican: Harriet Hageman.
63 (soon to be 64) year old incumbent Congressman with a terrible record on public lands who came up due to the "hate Cheney" wave two years ago. If she wins, she'll be 70 at the end of her first term.
Democrat: James Byrd.
72 year old former legislator, geophysicist, and businessman. Really impressive overall, but he is in his 70s.
This race features two candidates who are pushing what we regard age limits. Hageman is a nightmare of a candidate however.
Byrd actually stands a chance in this race, but it's a real uphill battle.
Endorsement: We won't vote for Hageman, which leaves Byrd the only realistic choice, and by and large he's a good one, but we aren't doing an endorsement yet.
House of Representatives
Republican: Chuck Gray
Gray is a carpetbagger about whom Wyomingites know utterly nothing, other than he's an adoring sycophant of Donald Trump, he sent Wyoming's voter rolls to the Federal Government illegally, he has a nasty public personality, and he's a Californian who went to Wharton. About him personally, we know utterly nothing.
Having received only 25% of the primary vote, his election to the House can't be assured.
Democrat: Lisa Kinney
About the worst candidate the Democrats could have chosen for this position, 75 year old Kinney can't win the office and is a remnant of an earlier era in more ways than one. Her being the nominee is a sign of the absolutely pathetic state of the Wyoming Democratic Party.
Libertarian: Shaun Johnson
Like the Constitution Party, the Libertarian Party has become so obscure their state's organization doesn't even list their candidates. This is the only one we know to exist.
Johnson is a lawyer presently in Thermopolis. I don't think he stands a chance, but I'll note that former Wyoming legislator Tim Stubson, who once ran for Congress, has endorsed him, which shows the depth to which a lot of Republicans despise Chuck Gray.
Write In: Kevin Christensen?
A building movement to mount a write in campaign for Christensen, who ran in the GOP primary, exists. He came up late in the primary election and got 21,632 to Chuck's 31,222. While that's about 9,000 more votes, both Balow and Gilat, both seen as early possibilities for defeating Chuck, received over 10,000 votes. Even gadfly Reid Rasner received a little over 10,000 votes.
If we had Alaska's system, Christensen, along with Friess and Balow, would be on the election in the Fall. If we had the system in which the top two vote getters were on the ballot, Gray and Friess would be. Given all of this, there's a really strong indicator that many of those who voted for a candidate other than Gray would vote for Christensen.
Overall, therefore, this race remains in a state of flux while its seen if enough momentum can build up to create a write in campaign for Christensen against a well funded Chuck.
Endorsement: Kevin Christensen. I'm early in doing this, and I note that some disaffected Republicans are saying they'll vote for Kinney. But Kinney is at best a lesser of two evils.
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Republican: Steve Harshman
Harsham is a long time Wyoming educator from Natrona County who was in the legislature for many years. He's an excellent choice for this office.and he will win it.
Democrat: Ana Cordova.
Cordova won the contested Democratic primary. She's a Wyoming native and extremely well educated. She only returned to the state recently, however, and really has no chance in this race.
Endorsement: Harshman.
Other races:
We'll no doubt comment on some as time goes by, but will hold off for the most part right now.
Well, as of this morning, I've seen the first disaffected far right local candidate express support for a Bien write in campaign, based on the delusion that there's a lot of Bien support out there (there isn't, he came in third).
The same person, I note, tried to run for County Commissioner and fell far short of the necessary numbers to get on the ballot, so I doubt that they have much influence.
Anyhow, what's surprising is that this person expressed disdain for Bextel and even more disdain for Harriet Hageman, stating that Hageman is just a reliable flunky for Trump. The outrage seems to be inspired by Hageman supporting Degenfelder as Trump did. The Wyoming GOP in fact endorsed Bien, Gray and Hageman, with Hageman showing independence from Trump late in the race, but endorsing Degenfelder.
It's hard for these people to accept that people just don't want to elect far right person like Bien. They don't. But imaging that they do is some sort of salve.
Having said all of that, there's definitely a movement amongst the ignorant far right to write Bien in. They're infighting right now with the Bextel supporters. Both groups are throwing around Wyoming's "sore loser" law as if they know what it means, but they don't .There's nothing whatsoever that keeps a voter from writing in any name. What the law prohibits is a candidate who has already lost a primary to then run as the nominee of another party.
Anyhow, it's interesting in that far right fanatics are already indicating that they're supporting a defeated Bien, and not Bextel, in the Governor's race, with some screaming for Bextel support. Neither of those candidates is going to win that race, but we are seeing the casting about for alternatives going on.
All that serves as a reminder that the Common Sense Republicans still have a lot of work to do, as they need to take back the party organization. The Sturmabteilung is still in control of the party and is reeling. It needs to be tossed out.
August 25, 2026
The WFC radicals just can't get it through their skulls that people don't like them.
Bien, at least, is more realistic about what a write in campaign against Barlow would mean, which would just be an embarrassment to him.
This entire story is a fart in a windstorm. No serious number of people are going to write Bien in, or vote for Bextel. This race is over. It is interesting, however.
The state GOP is controlled by WFC members and endorsed Bien, Hageman, and Gray. Trump endorsed Gray, Hageman and Degenfelder. Ultimately, Hageman followed Trump, thumbed her nose at the state GOP, and also endorsed Degenfelder. For that reason, the WFC, including its members on committees, revolted against Hageman, but to no effect. Now they're miffed at Trump as well, seemingly not realizing that without their dear leader, they are nothing whatsoever but a bunch of extreme right wing nuts.
A more interesting event would be a Christensen write in campaign against Gray, which would have a real chance of success.
Drake is correct. The Bien endorsement was not very smart. The ongoing pouting by the far right, which still controls most of the county and state GOP organization, is also not very smart. Voters need to take that on next.
On other matters, Byrd and Kinney made a second appearance together, emphasising dinner table topics.
The topics probably aren't bad, but Byrd needs to decouple himself from Kinney. Kinney has no chance of winning whatsoever and just isn't a good look for Byrd, who could easily pass for a traditional Wyoming Republican. Kinney can't. Linking his campaign to her's isn't going to help her, and it will hurt him.
While Romtvedt was panned on Facebook for this article, he's not the only one thinking in this fashion by any means. To my surprise a hardcore right wing Republican announced he's voting for the Democratic candidate for Wyoming's House District 58 rather than vote for Bill Allemand. While that brought shock from some of the people who know him, and it was pointed out that the Democrat supports abortion, which the Dems would be very well advised to abandon as a position in Wyoming, he also drew praise as Allemand is such a bad candidate. I doubt the Democrat will win, but I bet he does far better than would otherwise be the case.
Frankly, at this point, with Trump now going so far as to attempt to rename Lake Ontario, a lot of Republicans, including myself, are at the point where they're questioning for any Republicans. We have a unqualified octogenarian child in the White House and Hageman, Lummis and Barrasso are sitting around with their thumbs up their asses doing nothing.
August 30, 2026
And today, Rep. Hageman sent out her list of "accomplishments"
This year has been one for the history books as America’s 250th anniversary inspired celebrations from coast to coast. In the final newsletter of August, I want to reflect on all accomplished thus far in 2026:
Constituents First
One of the duties my office performs on your behalf is working as a liaison between individual Wyomingites and federal agencies. An example is helping people who have yet to receive their tax return from the IRS or their benefits from the VA. I am proud to report that my office has resolved nearly 1,200 cases this year, returning roughly $2.5 million to constituents from various federal agencies.
If you are facing issues with a federal agency, whether it is the VA, Social Security, the IRS, or another department, my office may be able to help. We can assist with paperwork, follow up on stalled cases, and make sure your concerns are heard and resolved as quickly as possible. Visit my website to submit your request here.
Investing in Wyoming's Infrastructure
Each year, community project funding gives me the opportunity to request federal dollars for specific infrastructure projects that directly benefit Wyoming communities. For fiscal year 2027, I am proud to report that appropriators included over $11 million of my community project funding requests across various fiscal year 2027 appropriations bills. This adds to the $40 million I have already secured throughout my time in Congress, and I am hopeful to get this year’s funding across the finish line.
A list and explanation of each project is on my website here.
14 Bills introduced
One of my core roles as your lawmaker is introducing legislation that benefits Wyoming. I arrived on Capitol Hill after more than 30 years in courtrooms, often litigating federal statutes. Understanding the fine details of the legislative process, how agencies design rules, and most importantly, what Wyoming needs from the federal government has driven me to introduce a wide range of legislation during my time in Congress. Below are the 14 bills and resolutions I sponsored this year, which brings me to a total of 56 pieces of legislation introduced to date in the 119th Congress.
H.R. 7286 – Revokes the tax-exempt status of organizations performing or funding abortions. (NOTE, THIS ONE I ACTUALLY AGREE IS A GOOD BILL)
Domestic ORE Act – Cuts red tape for mineral exploration on public lands by raising the acreage companies can explore under a simple notice from 5 to 25 acres. A BAD BILL.
SAFE Act – Enhances detection capabilities to combat chameleon carriers. A HORRIFICALLY BAD BILL.
H.R. 7695 – Nullifies the 2001 Clinton Roadless Rule and restores active, responsible forest management on National Forest System Lands. ANOTHER HORRIFICALLY BAD BILL.
H.R. 7872 – Reforms bonus bids for coal producers on federal leases designed to cut upfront costs in half. A BAD BILL.
Research and Oversight of AI in Courts Act of 2026 – establishes a task force of judicial experts to examine the integration of AI speech-to-text and automatic speech recognition (ASR) technologies in American courts.
Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026 – Prohibits retroactive climate liability lawsuits and other proceedings to implement or enforce an energy penalty law. A MORONIC CLIMATE CHANGE DENYING BILL.
H.R. 9277 – Prohibits courts from considering agency evidence that isn't based on reliable scientific principles and methods, cracking down on regulations built on flawed or cherry-picked data. A HORSESHIT ANTI SCIENCE BILL.
H.R. 9278 – Requires courts to conduct an independent, de novo review of the facts whenever a federal agency imposes a sanction, rather than deferring to the agency's own fact-finding.
Preventing AI Censorship Act – Gives American citizens the right to sue federal employees who violate their First Amendment rights through the use of Artificial Intelligence.
H. Res. 1374 – Calls on the Federal Communications Commission to modernize America's television content ratings system, so parents have the information they need to make informed viewing decisions for their children.
H.J. Res. 202 – Nullifies the EPA’s California waiver to enforce strict greenhouse gas standards on cars. A BAD BILL.
H.R. 10090 – Implements a new excise tax on private colleges and universities that allow males to compete in women’s sports.
Strengthening Transportation Oversight and Preventing (STOP) Improper Licensing Act – Requires federal safety regulators to audit states issuing non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses to illegal aliens and unqualified drivers. EH?
Hageman needs to go.
Wyoming is investigating the Attorney General's Office for election interference, based on the presence of aggressive Federal AG's at the polls.
What sort of person served in the Department of Justice anymore?
September 1, 2026
The Tribune ran an article on the Libertarian Party's candidates and the Constitution Party's today.
The article highlighted Shaun Johnson, Libertarian, who imagines himself to have a chance against Chuck Gray.
Somebody would have a chance against the much disliked Gray, but I doubt it's Johnson. Kevin Christiansen has rejected supporting a write in campaign against him, unfortunately.
Christensen appears to be positioning himself to run against Gray in two years, figuring the disliked Californian is likely to be even more disliked by then, a pretty good bet.
Perhaps standing a bitter chance, the article revealed that a Libertarian, Joe Porambo, is running against WFC member Bill Allemand and Democrat Keenan Morgan in House District 58. Morgan and Porambo will draw more votes that might be expected, and in the conservative district, Porambo might actually have a chance.
Somebody who doesn't is Rebecca Bextel of the delusional Constitution Party. She's also written up in the article. The far right wing party that backs a double secret constitution that nobody has ever read is also running Tamara Trujillo for Secretary of State. She will lose.
Rod Miller is featured in a hilarious campaign ad for Democrat Karlee Provenza.
And for September 2, 2026, a reminder that all politics is local:
September 2, 2026
The House passed another stopgap budget bill to keep the government running.
Frankly, I"m not a big fan, meaning not a fan at all, of the big expansion of data centers and I'm absolutely opposed to them being constructed on vacant agricultural land.
This was a hearing in front of the County Commissioners. It looked like each of the current sitting commissioners made some sort of comment at the end, as the Oil City News reports:
Of the five sitting commissioners, only Laird is on the ballot this election. Laird is correct on Donald Trump's position. Trump basically called communities that don't want data centers stupid as life is all about money and he loves money and you should love money because Trump loves money and you should love Trump, and money, but Trump most of all.
This must be a nightmare of Chuck Gray, who has been trying to hate things Wyomingite's claim to hate, and they seem to hate data farms, but Trump, who Gray loves, loves them.
On something Trump and Gray presently hate, wind farms:
Driskill is in the legislature and has been consistently clear thinking.
We have to note that the data center story must be a living nightmare for Chuck Gray. Gray was for windfarms and gravel pits until it gave him a way to try to make himself to be a champion of the common people. Then he switched and made it a plat form for his fairly unsuccessful campaign. Yes, he won, but only 25% of the vote. There's a lot of chatter right now, and it's probably just chatter, but Lisa Kinney and maybe even Shaun Johnson have a chance of derailing him. For that matter, with three of them in the race, and disdain of Gray high, we may very well be getting a minority vote Congressman in the state for the first time ever. I.e, whoever wins may have less than 50% of the vote.
Now comes the data center story.
Gray campaigned on loving Trump more than Trump loves Trump. And he figures you love Trump almost as much as he does. But now it's clear that average Wyomingites hate data centers. Windmills were an easy target as Trump think windmiss are bad and evil and that whales don't like them, but Trump loves data centers and feels that people who do not are stupid.
Oh oh.
It also seems that in the backrooms of the Pentagon the Chiefs may have had enough of Trump's conspiratorial plotting.
Here we have a letter from Gen. Caine:
There's a lot of reading between the lines on this, but it basically says:
1. The military doesn't do politics.
2. The military won't do anything illegal.
3. Any element of the military deploying to the polls, including the National Guard, is illegal.
It seems like Caine got out in front of the Administration on this, perhaps removing one of the legs on an attempt to mount a coup.
September 4, 2026
The Missouri Supreme Court tossed out the bogus Missouri gerrymandering redistricting.
The administration appealed a block of an injunction on the USPS messing with mail in balloting to the Supreme Court.
Footnotes
*We steadfastly refuse to adopt the moronic "red=Republican" standard used only in the U.S. Red=Political Left, Blue=Political Right.
