Showing posts with label 2026. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2026. Show all posts

Friday, February 20, 2026

Subsidiarity Economics 2026. The Times more or less locally, Part 1. The reap what you sow edition.

January 1, 2026.

China is imposing a 55% tariff on some (it appears quite a bit of) beef from Brazil, Australia and  the United States.

In Casper, Vintage Wine and Spirits and Wyoming Rib and Chop are closed as of this morning.

Donald Trump vetoed a water project in Colorado which was passed unanimously by Congress, and which is in a district that is represented by MAGA Lauren Boebert and which voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump mostly, it appears, as an act of revenge on Colorado.

The costs of at least 350 drugs in the U.S. are expected to rise in 2026.

Also, according to Trump Golf Tracker, Donald Trump has golfed 79 days out of 347 days since returning to office (22.8% of the presidency), at a taxpayer cost of  $110,600,000.

The price of oil today is generally $57.41/bbl, below US profitability.  Wyoming oil is generally at $57.84/bbl.

Coal rose to $107.50 /T on December 31, 2025, up 0.80% from the previous day. Over the past month, coal has fallen 0.78%, and is down 13.72% compared to the same time last year.

January 6, 2026

Venezuela takeover has Wyoming oil industry bracing for market changes: Though Wyoming politicos regard Trump's actions as necessary, oil executives do not anticipate immediate windfall.

There's no part of this that will be a positive for the U.S. economy, or Wyoming's.  There's been too much oil on the market now for years, which has made Wyoming's petroleum economy unstable.  More oil will simply make it worse, much worse.   Sinking a bunch of infrastructure into a foreign country will make it worse.

This will be an economic problem, if not a disaster.

And here's another GOP bit of great economic news:

Wyoming spent $2.4M on hunger relief during shutdown emergency: Food insecurity is soaring in the state due to inflation and other factors, food relief experts say.

January 6, 2026

Venezuela and Greenland.

There's a lot of weird war related news circulating today.

Trump claims that the government of Venezuela is going to, well, here:

The U.S. doesn't need millions of gallons of oil to be sold to the US, and further the means by which Trump claims this will happen, he'll control the sales, is legally dubious.

Frankly, I don't believe that this will occur.  Much of what Trump has been saying about Venezuela is a lie and I suspect this is too.

If it isn't a lie, Wyomingites are going to get another dope slap from the demented fool they voted for.  It'll take the price of oil in the state for years.  It's at $46.37, below profitability, right now.

Of course, the goal would be to depress the price of oil, which consumers in most locations want depressed, even though we ought to be weaning ourselves off of oil.  But closer to home, this is another example of why Wyomingites are absolute idiots to vote for the GOP.

The Nobel Peace Prize winning Venezuelan woman who probably ought to be running the country is headed home.  Hopefully she takes over the government, although there's every sign that the Venezuelan socialist party will continue to do so and not much will really change.

Trump, who is demented, is now threatening Greenland.

If we lived in a sane time they'd be taking him out of the Oval Office in a straight jacket, but the Republican Party is now largely bat shit crazy so there's a real chance we'll do this, even while, for the first time, some Republican leaders are dismissing it.

Trump needs to be removed via the 25th Amendment, and like yesterday.

January 8, 2026


Oh we clearly need to add Venezuelan oil to this scenario.

January 9, 2026

Allowing power usage on this scale is simply insane.

January 10, 2026

$350 Million Transmission Project Links Wyoming, South Dakota Power Grids

Broncos Playoff Mania Drives Tickets To More Than $17,000

January 13, 2026

One year in, Trump's economy is a mess

He may have won on a promise to fix everything, but he's only made it worse.

January 19, 2026

Дональд Трамп — агент России, will be imposing tariffs on NATO members over his avarice for Greenland.

Дональд Трамп — агент России.

January 20, 2026

The stock market is collapsing and Treasury bonds are being sold off by the Danish retirement system due to the instability of the American budget.

If this becomes a general trend over the next thirty days the U.S. will go into a recession and the Dollar will cease to be the global reserve currency. 

All this sparked by the demented avarice of the dimwit in the Oval Office.

January 21, 2026

Trump added $2.25 trillion to the national debt in his first year back in (illegitimate) charge.

Laramie County approves construction of what could become the largest data center in US - WyoFile: Project Jade could eventually use the same amount of electricity as produced by 10 nuclear power plants.

January 26, 2026

Natrona County gas prices soar as Iran tensions, sanctions rock oil markets

January 27, 2026

Posted under fair use exception, there's no other good way to illustrate the dollar tanking like this.

Yeah, Trump sure is making us great again.

February 7, 2026

Trump screws American agriculture:
By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

1.  Cattle ranchers have played an integral role in United States history, helping to forge an American identity and an American diet with beef as a key staple food.  Today, beef remains vital in the American diet, evidenced by the fact that the United States is the largest consumer of beef by volume, followed closely by China and Brazil.  And the United States ranks second in per capita beef consumption globally.

2.  But in 2022, the United States faced a widespread and severe drought, affecting beef-producing States, such as Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Kansas.  Texas and Kansas, for example, continue to face persistent drought conditions.  The effects of drought are particularly pronounced for livestock producers as many of their operations rely on precipitation to grow forage crops to feed their herds. 

3.  In addition to droughts, wildfires have affected the grasslands of the western United States, including America’s cattle-producing States.  Apart from the direct threat of burns and burn-associated deaths to cattle, cattle ranchers have had to adapt to indirect effects of wildfires, including changes in grazing patterns, loss of feed supplies, and suboptimal animal health for those cattle surviving the wildfires.

4.  Given the demand for beef, certain United States cattle farmers and ranchers supplement their herds, specifically their feedlot stocks, with cattle (calves) imported from Mexican ranchers.  But following new detections of the New World screwworm in Mexico in May 2025, the Department of Agriculture Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service, in conjunction with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), restricted the importation of live animal commodities from or transiting through Mexico, further limiting domestic feedlot stock supplies.

5.  These factors have combined to result in the United States cattle herd contracting to record lows.  As of July 2025, the United States cattle inventory totaled 94.2 million head, including 28.7 million beef cows.  This is one percent lower than the United States cattle inventory surveyed in July 2023, continuing the downward trend of cattle inventory in the United States.

6.  The abovementioned factors have also cumulatively resulted in higher beef prices for United States consumers, including for ground beef.  Since January 2021, ground beef prices have continued to rise, reaching an average of $6.69 per pound in December 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — the highest since the Department of Labor started tracking beef prices in the 1980s.

7.  Despite the increased prices and the availability of more affordable protein alternatives, United States consumers’ demand for beef remains strong.  The United States imported a record high amount of beef in 2024, reaching 4.64 billion pounds, a more than 24 percent increase in beef imports since 2023.  Among the beef products the United States imports are lean trimmings, which are blended with fattier domestic trimmings to produce ground beef products, such as hamburgers.

8.  The Secretary of Agriculture has monitored the domestic supply of beef products subject to a tariff-rate quota (TRQ), including lean beef trimmings falling under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) statistical reporting numbers 0201.30.5085 and 0202.30.5085, and noted the domestic supply of such products and substitutable products combined with the estimated imports of such products under the United States beef import TRQ.  The Secretary of Agriculture also advised on related domestic demand and pricing.

9.  As President of the United States, I have a responsibility to ensure that hard-working Americans can afford to feed themselves and their families.  After considering the information provided to me by the Secretary of Agriculture, among other relevant information, I am taking action to temporarily increase the quantity of in-quota imports of lean beef trimmings under the United States beef TRQ to increase the supply of ground beef for United States consumers.

10.  Section 404 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) (Public Law 103-465, 108 Stat. 4809, 4959-61 (19 U.S.C. 3601)) authorizes the President, in certain circumstances, to modify TRQs on certain agricultural products.  In particular, section 404(b) of the URAA (19 U.S.C. 3601(b)) provides that where imports of an agricultural product are subject to a TRQ, and where the President determines and proclaims that the supply of the same or directly competitive or substitutable agricultural product will be inadequate, because of a natural disaster, disease, or major national market disruption, to meet domestic demand at reasonable prices, the President may temporarily increase the quantity of imports of the agricultural product that is subject to the in-quota rate of duty established under the TRQ.  And section 404(d)(3) of the URAA (19 U.S.C. 3601(d)(3)) provides that the President may allocate the in-quota quantity of a TRQ for any agricultural product among supplying countries or customs areas and may modify any allocation as determined appropriate by the President.

11.  After considering the information provided to me by the Secretary of Agriculture, among other relevant information, I find that imports of lean beef trimmings into the United States are currently subject to the United States TRQ for beef and determine that the supply of lean beef trimmings or directly competitive or substitutable agricultural products will be inadequate to meet domestic demand at reasonable prices because of a natural disaster and major national market disruption.  Accordingly, I determine that it is necessary and appropriate to temporarily increase the quantity of imports of lean beef trimmings subject to the in-quota rate of duty established under the beef TRQ.  In addition, I determine that it is appropriate to allocate all of the increased in-quota quantity of beef, as established by this proclamation, to Argentina.

12.  Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2483), authorizes the President to embody in the HTSUS the substance of statutes affecting import treatment, and actions thereunder, including the removal, modification, continuance, or imposition of any rate of duty or other import restriction.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 404 of the URAA, section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, do hereby proclaim as follows:

(1)  For calendar year 2026, the aggregate in-quota quantity for certain products described in Additional U.S. Note 3 of Chapter 2 of the HTSUS will be increased by 80,000 metric tons (mt).  

(2)  The additional 80,000 mt described in clause (1) of this proclamation will apply only to lean beef trimmings classifiable under HTSUS statistical reporting numbers 0201.30.5085 and 0202.30.5085. 

(3)  The additional 80,000 mt described in clauses (1) and (2) of this proclamation will be administered on a first-come, first-served basis in four quarterly tranches.  The first tranche of 20,000 mt will open on February 13, 2026, and close on March 31, 2026.  The second tranche of 20,000 mt will open on April 1, 2026, and close on June 30, 2026.  The third tranche of 20,000 mt will open on July 1, 2026, and close on September 30, 2026.  The fourth tranche of 20,000 mt will open on October 1, 2026, and close on December 31, 2026.

(4)  The additional 80,000 mt described in clauses (1) and (2) of this proclamation is allocated in its entirety to Argentina.

(5)(a)  To establish the TRQ amendments described in this proclamation, the HTSUS is modified as set forth in the Annex to this proclamation.

(b)  The United States Trade Representative (Trade Representative), in consultation with CBP, shall determine whether any additional modifications to the HTSUS are necessary to effectuate this proclamation and shall make such modifications to the HTSUS through notice in the Federal Register, including any technical correction to the Annex to this proclamation.

(6)  The Secretary of Agriculture shall continue to monitor the domestic supply of lean beef trimmings, as the Secretary considers appropriate, and shall advise me on the domestic supply of lean beef trimmings or directly competitive or substitutable products, combined with the estimated imports of such products under the TRQ as adjusted by this proclamation, and how such availability relates to domestic demand at reasonable prices.  The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Trade Representative, shall inform me of any circumstances that, in the Secretary’s opinion, might indicate the need for further action and shall recommend to me any additional action I should take, if necessary.

(7)  Each executive department and agency (agency) is authorized to and shall take all appropriate measures within its authority to implement this proclamation.  The head of each agency may, consistent with applicable law, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, redelegate any of these functions within their respective agency.

(8)  Any provision of previous proclamations and Executive Orders that is inconsistent with the actions taken in this proclamation is superseded to the extent of such inconsistency.  If any provision of this proclamation or the application of any provision to any individual or circumstance is held to be invalid, the remainder of this proclamation and the application of its provisions to any other individuals or circumstances shall not be affected.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this

sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fiftieth.

                               DONALD J. TRUMP

Well that not only hurts Wyoming, it directly hurts me.

Well this will be fun at the next gathering "are you surprised that Trump. . . "

And something to remember:

Tom Lubnau: This Session, A Failed Budget Shuts Wyoming Down

February 8, 2026

U.S. Cattle Population At 75-Year Low Creates Demand, Profit For Wyoming Ranchers

And here's a delightful one:

The Rural Blog: Agriculture leaders warn of possible 'widespread c...: Nearly half of all U.S. farms are not profitable. (Photo by Matthew Putney, DTN) A bipar...

February 12, 2026

The ongoing effort to beat the dead horse of coal back into life, which won't work but which does ignore a developing climate crisis, continues.

STRENGTHENING UNITED STATES NATIONAL DEFENSE WITH AMERICA’S BEAUTIFUL CLEAN COAL POWER GENERATION FLEET

Executive Orders

February 11, 2026

Parent

Current

Section 1.  Purpose.  The United States must ensure that our electric grid –- upon which military installations, operations, and defense-industrial production depend — remains resilient and reliable, and not reliant on intermittent energy sources.  The grid is the foundation of our national defense as well as our economic stability.  Any prolonged disruption caused by energy shortages, foreign supply dependencies, or intermittent generation threatens the operational readiness of our Armed Forces and the safety of the American people.

Given our Nation’s vast coal resources and the proven reliability of our coal-fired generation fleet in providing continuous, on-demand baseload power, it is imperative that the Department of War (DOW) prioritize the preservation and strategic utilization of coal-based energy assets.  Coal generation ensures that military installations, command centers, and defense-industrial bases remain fully powered under all conditions — including natural disasters, or wartime contingencies.  Maintaining this capability is a matter of national security, strategic deterrence, and American energy dominance. 

Sec. 2.  Policy.  Pursuant to Executive Order 14261 of April 8, 2025 (Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry and Amending Executive Order 14241), and Executive Order 14262 of April 8, 2025 (Strengthening the Reliability and Security of the United States Electric Grid), it is the policy of the United States that coal is essential to our national and economic security, and that our electric grid must use power generation resources that have abundant fuel supplies capable of extended operations to address the national emergency declared pursuant to Executive Order 14156 of January 20, 2025 (Declaring a National Energy Emergency).

Sec. 3.  Power Purchase Agreements with Federal Installations.  The Secretary of War, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, shall seek to procure power from the United States coal generation fleet by approving long-term Power Purchase Agreements, or entering into any similar contractual agreements, with coal-fired energy production facilities to serve DOW installations or other mission-critical facilities, with priority given to projects that enhance:

(a)  grid reliability and blackout prevention;

(b)  on-site fuel security; and

(c)  mission assurance for defense and intelligence capabilities.

Sec. 4.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(d)  The costs for publication of this order shall be borne by the DOW.

                             DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,

February 11, 2026.

There's no such thing as "clean" coal, and these things always look like they're captioned by a toddler.  

It's notable that those backing this rank stupidity will be long dead before the problems that it adds to will impact everyone living.  

This won't breath life back into coal's dead corpse.  It probably won't even do anything other than waste money, as by the time it would be implemented, the Republican Party in general and Donald Trump in particular will be out of office. The DoD probably just slow rolls stupidity like this.

Wyomingites will celebrate this.  Next year it'll be found that coal production has declined again.

Meanwhile, domestic oil production is tanking.


February 17, 2026.

From the CST:


Of course he does.  He's not interested in the peasantry, or even know they exist.

As Pam Bondi stated, more or less, what's a little rape, or even a lot, if the NASDAQ is up?

February 20, 2026

7 key things to know about Trump's tariffs after the Supreme Court decision

Last edition:

Subsidiarity Economics 2025. The Times more or less locally, Part 13. Disassociation.


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Lex Anteinternet: Supreme Court strikes down tariffs

Lex Anteinternet: Supreme Court strikes down tariffs:   Supreme Court strikes down tariffs It's patently obvious that the tariffs in question were illegal.  What wasn't obvious is that t...

So, a few things.

The Supreme Court ruling eliminates the 10% baseline tariff, the drug trafficking tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, and the 145% effective rate on most Chinese goods.

Pretty predictable.

Trump of course is having a petty fit, running around calling people names, and the like.

Truth be known, while this is the right decision, and it is a blow to Trump, it probably saves him from being blamed for a tariff caused disaster.

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The 2026 Wyoming Legislature, Part 4. The Held Up Edition

 February 16, 2026

TA Ranch.

The invaders arrived and confident of the success of their mission, as well as the mission itself, detrained and headed out, certain of victory.

And then the unexpected intervened. They didn't know the climate of where they were, and ran into delay.  And soon they ran into diversion as well, thinking that with limited time they could still stop to act on detours.

The locals rallied, held them up, and started gunning them down.

Week two of the 2026 legislature commences, the carpetbaggers held up and besieged, as has happened before.

February 17, 2024

A warning about the stupidity of gutting the state's tax system:


Not that most of the Freedom Caucus, which has a "get off my lawn" type of attitude, and which lives in a Southern fantasyland, seems to really care, or so it seems.  I guess we'll see.

I will note, however, that fire board lives out in the county and was put in place by rural voters who voted for Trump, and I'll bet most of them did as well.  The Freedom Caucus is the same Dixiecrat type of voter that voted in the Freedom Caucus.  So, they're getting just what they voted for.

And the scandal grows:


Years ago a very senior member of the legislature told me that the far right was now buying the legislature.  What Bextel did was monumentally stupid, she has to be the most tone-deaf person in the state, but it likely was not illegal. The implications are serious, however.  The "Wyoming" Freedom Caucus is heavy funded by out of state money or, in this case Carpetbagger Cash.

The item here, broken by the Jackson Hole News &  Guide:
CHEYENNE—The Jackson man who wrote the campaign donation checks at the center of a growing controversy in the Wyoming Capitol says two were intended for the Speaker of the House and the former head of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.

Whether or not Speaker Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, or Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, received or accepted the checks could not be determined by press time. Neither lawmaker responded to requests for comment before publication.

 And:

Freedom Caucus lawmaker Bear accepted controversial campaign check from activist; other legislators remain mum: Gillette Republican Rep. John Bear said he accepted a check from Bextel, but not on the House floor.
The truth of the matter is that when this sort of political thought came into the state, it came in from the outside and was backed by outside people.  Some of the early proponents of the Freedom Caucus nonsense, like Secretary of State Chuck Gray, and Bear, are outsiders.

Bextel, originally from Arkansas (of course) has done the state a big favor by exposing this sort of behavior.

Former legislators reactions:
This adds a serious new wrinkle to the story:
Bextel has said publicly that she was distributing lawful campaign checks on behalf of a Teton County donor, and that she did so in person because she knew she’d be in Cheyenne.

It also happened two days before the reported recipients on the House side, among others, voted in favor of introducing a bill Bextel has championed.

I still very much doubt that this meets the criteria necessary to be considered bribery, but there is a bit of smoke there.  Added to that, some of the cash recipients are not campaigning this year. 

So what was that bill that the cash donor had an interest in?  That's discussed here:

Wyoming’s ‘Checkgate’ is all about the Freedom Caucus’ political games - WyoFile: GOP activist who handed out money to lawmakers on House floor claims she’s leveling the playing field for conservatives, writes columnist Kerry Drake.

As stated in the article:

The incident became a news story on Wednesday during debate on an anti-affordable housing bill that Bextel was lobbying lawmakers to support. Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, questioned voting on House Bill 141, “Fifth Amendment Defense Act,” when one of its prime supporters was seen distributing checks to lawmakers on the floor two days earlier. But he did not name Bextel or any legislators who received checks.

While I've abstained from posing the text of bills on these threads this year, this one deserves a look:

Fifth Amendment Protection Act.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Bear, Haroldson, Heiner, Knapp, Locke and Neiman and Senator(s) Hicks, Hutchings, Ide, Kolb, McKeown, Pearson, Salazar and Steinmetz

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to cities, towns and counties; prohibiting cities, towns and counties from imposing fees or conditions related to housing on residential or commercial development as specified; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.  W.S. 15‑1‑612 and 18‑5‑209 are created to read: 

15‑1‑612.  Prohibitions on fees and conditions related to housing on residential or commercial development.

No governing body of a city or town shall impose a monetary fee, nonmonetary condition or other concession related to the provision of workforce housing, unmet housing needs or affordable housing on residential or commercial development within the jurisdiction of the governing body.

18‑5‑209.  Prohibitions on fees and conditions related to housing on residential or commercial development.

No board of county commissioners shall impose a monetary fee, nonmonetary condition or other concession related to the provision of workforce housing, unmet housing needs or affordable housing on residential or commercial development within the jurisdiction of the county.

Section 2.

(a)  This act shall apply to all applications for permits submitted for residential or commercial development on or after July 1, 2026.

(b)  Nothing in this act shall be construed to modify or impair existing contracts or obligations regarding residential or commercial development and the imposition of monetary fees, nonmonetary conditions or other concessions executed before July 1, 2026.

Section 3.  This act is effective July 1, 2026.

So the money came from Teton County big bucks, which to at least some extent, must now want the servant class living in Teton County.  Let them commute from Driggs, apparently.

Can't have that riff raff living in Jackson, now can we? 

Every recipient of the cash donation should resign. . . but none of them will.  The Legislature, for that matter, out to censure them by sidelining them for the remainder of the session. I.e., as they have to right to refuse to seat, they ought to send them to the benches and let them cool their jets at home this session.

And this does stink.  A wealthy carpetbagger from Teton County gives checks to a carpetbagger from Teton County to pass out to certain favorites as a housing bill principally impacting Teton County (but also Natrona County) is debated.

I doubt the District Attorney from the 1st Judicial District will do anything with that.  I don't think I would, but it looks pretty weird.

Speaking of Gray:
Senate panel advances bill to increase accountability for commercial registered agents: More than 830,000 LLC filings generated almost $60M for Wyoming last year, but secrecy raises concern about fraud, scams

That must keep his stamping fingers busy like crazy. 

Speaking of buying votes, Lummis spoke at the legislature and spoke on Trumpbucks.

Lummis Announces Kraken Will Fund Trump Accounts For Every Wyoming Newborn In 2026

That's not buying votes, but Kraken is trying to buy good will.

Part of the problem is that data centers are driving up electrical demand like crazy.  A sane country, that was doing this, would be building nuclear plants like crazy, but we're not sane right now.  Instead, Trump is backing Dying Dirty Coal.

February 18, 2026

This is probably the first time that Carpetbagging Chuck has been silent on anything since he he showed up in Casper with luggage.  Usually he'd be out blaming the left wing radicals he claims are lurking around every single corner in the state conspiring against decency, apple pie, and poor old Donny Trump.

Here he's shut his trap.

Hmmm. . . . 

Well after all of his blathering if he doesn't condemn what happened, he's a hypocrite.

But then Bextel hosted a fundraiser for her fellow carpetbagger back in January.  It was closed to the press. . . 

February 20, 2026

Wyoming House Rejects Adding Extraterrestrials, Animals, To Sex Books Ban

"Check Gate" has really busted wide open, putting the WFC on the spot after they condemned accusations that proved to be true.  Carbon County's GOP has called for the resignation of some members of their own party.  Frankly Bear and Niemann, who haven't been asked to resign yet, should resign or be removed by the legislature.  

Chuck Gray remains silent for the first time that he carried his carpetbag across the state line.

Last edition:

The 2026 Wyoming Legislature, Part 3. The Confederate Legislature Edition.

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Sunday, February 15, 2026

The 2026 Wyoming Legislature, Part 3. The Confederate Legislature Edition.

 



February 9, 2026.

The 2026 Wyoming legislature commences today. 

It'll be the first one controlled by the Confederate Carpetbagger Caucus and therefore the first Wyoming legislature ever that doesn't have a strong element of moderation built into it.  The carpetbaggers of the WFC captured it, backed in no small part by riding the Trump wave, the collapse of the stability of the oil and gas industry (which was never all that stable) and oddly enough a series of warm winters that would have sent a lot of these people back to where they were from.  Instead, they stayed and brought their Dixiecrat disgruntlement into the state.

It seems that people are actually starting to wake up to them in numbers for the first time. They're gutting UW, education, and local governments, as people living in 1930s Alabama don't need none o' that stuff.  They've brought in with them a certain American sort of far right Evangelical view as well, something extremely foreign to the state.  And they're backed by money from out of state, one of which sends around Instagram messages as "Honor Wyoming" but which does anything but.  

Wyomingites who thought the WFC were just conservative have been shocked to find that ain't so.

The thing is, it might be too late.  Or it might not be.  They have the numbers not to do a lot of things, but they don't have the numbers to override vetoes.

This is a budget session, so it should only have 20 working days.  That hasn't stopped legislators from trying to introduce all sorts of things in the past, and it won't this year.  Here' are the prefiled bills:

2026 Wyoming Legislation.*

There are a lot of weird laws in this pack, but I'm just going to start off with this WFC one.  HB 01119 would ban the use of "foreign law" in Wyoming, and under its own terms, accidentally wipe out the complete body of civil law in the state, which specifically was adopted as being English Common Law.

This is an example of the sort of ignorant paranoia on the far right that preserved abortion in Wyoming.

Cont:  

The Governor and Chief Justice spoke.


Senate File 51, allowing for transferable landowner tags, a terrible wildlife privatization concept, died on introduction.

The Confederate Caucus revealed its agenda.

Wyoming Freedom Caucus Unveils 2026 Agenda Outside Wyoming Capitol

Prohibiting infanticide, I'd note, is something I agree with, but it's the far right's fault that it was preserved in Wyoming, which they need to wake up to.

Footnotes:

*In past years I ran the table of bills and much of the text of various bills on the trailing thread for that  year's legislature.  It made for lots of threads that grew really long.

That's hard to slog through, so this year I'm trying something different and putting that stuff on a seperate page.  It's up as a link now, but it'll likely go down as a link, although still be possible to bring up from the threads, when the 2026 Legislature is thankfully over.

February 10, 2025

The Confederate Caucus isn't starting off with much success. Wyoming voters apparently have awakened about them and their representation is taking note.

School funding bill dies in Wyoming House: The Legislature is constitutionally required to undergo so-called ‘recalibration.’ The bill, drafted in the legislative off season, was unpopular among educators.

Wyoming House Kills Bill To Change How Schools Get Money, Senate Could Save It

The Confederates went to their playbook and blamed "liberal Republicans", which really don't exist in Wyoming's legislature.

Some other stupid bills died as well, including the paranoid geoengineering bill and a constitutional amendment on property tax valuation.

The Business Council seems to have survived.

It's a budget session, we need to keep in mind, so 2/3s of a body is needed to introduce a bill. 

Lawmakers kill dozens of bills on budget session’s first day

More data here:

2026 Wyoming Legislation.*

February 11, 2026

Gordon: It's Refreshing To See So Many Bills Die Because It's A Budget Session, After All


It is, although it does point out the need to end the WFC's chapter in Wyoming politics, as next year may well be different.

Wyoming Freedom Caucus calls foul on committee bill decimation: In a blow to the Republican group’s majority bloc, 21 committee bills failed introduction on Monday in the House— more than twice the number the caucus killed in the last budget session, when it was in the minority.

Funny, the Confederate Caucus was just beginning to make a stumbling effort to counter the growing "you're batshit crazy" movement countering them with "it's democracy", dragging out Cassie Cravens to with some potted meat, when now they're crying foul about how democracy works. 

Amongst the WFC's members, a fellow in the news a lot recently had a bad result.

Allemand-sponsored nuclear waste bill fails Wyoming House introduction

And this:

Wyoming House Kills Bill To Make Counties Pay Costs For Self-Defense Acquittals

And this is interesting:

Guest Column: The Hidden Price of Tax Relief — What Every Wyoming Citizen Should Know

It's interesting in part as Steinmetz, the author, is an "ally" of the WFC, and she's breaking ranks.

I will say the "hidden" aspect of this is complete crap.  Anyone who paid attention, including anyone in the WFC who was following, knew that this would gut local entities like a fish. For the most part, they simply didn't care.

Indeed, the carpetbagger element of this is really strong here.  WFC supporters include a fair amount of carpetbaggers who moved in here from other state, bought property at inflated values, and don't want to be taxed. They really don't care if towns and cities don't have services or if kids aren't educated. They raised their kids elsewhere and, American style, abandoned them somewhere else.  They're happy to sit i in their McMansions in a town with no local services as they're old and they aren't going to use them.

But now legislators are hearing from people who are from here, and who want a police department, a fire department, decent towns, and to educate their kids.  

February 13, 2026

Wyoming lawmakers will investigate checks activist gave to legislators on House floor: The incident in question occurred Monday night when Rebecca Bextel of Jackson handed out campaign donation checks. The House voted unanimously in support of the investigation.

 Change to Wyoming law to recognize legality of corner crossing clears early hurdles: Although it’s been smooth sailing so far, the measure still has “98 yards to go” in the legislative process and faces opposition from influential parties.

 Bill to put abortion-related question to voters fails Senate introduction: The measure would have asked voters to amend the Wyoming Constitution so the Legislature can define health care. It comes on the heels of a Wyoming Supreme Court decision striking down state abortion bans.

On the last item, the ghost of the constitutional amendment regarding "health care" now appears in the legislature, which provided the reason that some Republicans voted against the bill. 

February 14, 2026, Valentine's Day.

Wyoming Freedom Caucus in Cheyenne.

Well, the first week of the legislature is over and it proved to be an interesting, and surprising, one.

The Confederate Carpetbagger Caucus went into the session with its orders from out of state interests and extreme right wing agenda and ran right into, well, Wyomingites.

It also ran into its own ignorance.

Full of piss and vinegar, the collection of carpetbaggers and carpetbagger drones simply figured it had the numbers and it was going to return the state to November 11, 1620.  It forgot, apparently, that in a budget session it needs a supermajority to introduce legislation, and while it may have the majority, it doesn't have that.

It was also taken off guard by a sudden rise in attention to it by regular people from the state, which now that they are more informed, are starting to organize against it.  They haven't been able to get back on their feet from that, with perhaps the most pathetic response being Cassie Craven's "but don't you still love us?".

We never did.

All this is bad news for the WFC as it may have shot its bolt.  Candidates are starting to come out to take them on, as evidenced by the Mayor of Bar Nunn coming out against Freedom Caucuser Bill Allemand.

And the exposing of their money supply hasn't been a good thing for any of them, even though those who were watching them carefully knew about it all along.  Likewise, that they were fed canned legislation was well known, but it was not known that they were basically fed instructions on what to do.

Amongst those whom its not good news for is Chuck Gray, who turned the state's voters roles over to his beloved, Donald Trump, because Donny asked for them.  Gray adores Trump like a teenage bride adores her husband and is making that the gist of his campaign, Trump Love, but he's responsible for a bunch of WFC voting bills that went down in flames.  He's running for the House against Jillian Balow, Reid Ransner and David Giralt.  I suspect that this sort of thing really starts to boost Balow.  Gray is really detested by a lot of people to start with, and Giralt to unknown.  Rasner is a gadfly.  Gray's term as Secretary of State end in January, 2027 and if he doesn't secure the House his political career in the state is at an end.

Amongst the bill casualties so far has been the bill on abortion.  This also signifies, fwie, a return of Wyoming politics to the middle.  I'm opposed to abortion so I would like to have seen that bill advance, but it's the case that for eons Wyoming Republicans opposed abortion more or less, but wouldn't act to make it illegal. The first time that the legislature ever passed anything doing that was right after Dodds, and that's the statute, or statutes, that died in court.  It was killed there by an amendment to the constitution that was designed to protect individual health care decisions from the fantasy of AHCA death panes, and it became a death panel itself.  So effectively the state returns to the status quo ante on abortion, thanks to the GOP in the first place.

So we'll see what next week brings.

February 15, 2026

And, finishing up this past week:

Laramie County sheriff launches criminal investigation into Wyoming Legislature check controversy: The inquiry will examine whether campaign donation checks distributed to lawmakers amount to bribery.

Sheriff Investigating Check Passing Scandal In Wyoming Legislature

I suppose it shouldn't surprise anyone too much to learn that Bextel, the check giver, is from Alabama, although she lived in Guatemala as a Protestant missionary, that part of the world having Protestant missions that seek to convert people who are already Christians.  She's been in Wyoming about twenty years.

It'll probably turn out not to be criminal, but the act of giving out checks on the floor was monumentally dumb, as was the act of receiving them that way.

Cheyenne Roundup 2026: Episode 2 | Checkgate, dead bills and the start of the session: Bills are flying and dying in the Wyoming Legislature’s budget session. And lawmakers haven’t even touched the budget itself yet.

Related threads:

In Full Debate On University of Wyoming Budget Cuts, Lawmakers Ask If It's Retaliation The Wyoming House and Senate debated a $40 million cut to the University of Wyoming on Thursday, with the budget committee co-chair John Bear confirming the number was meant to "get their attention." He said legislative directives on DEI were ignored.




Last edition:

The 2026 Wyoming Legislature, Part 2. Pre Legislative Committee Edition.

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