Christmas really was unseasonably warm--62 at Cowboy State Politics Headquarters. The Cow Pie reports that the Santa Day temperatures broke records across the state. But really, there have been other end of year heat waves. Some of them date back to over 70 years.

A piece in the Pravda on the Platte questions whether it is moral or not to arrest and deport illegal aliens; because, you know, they're just trying to make a better life here.

Merry Christmas! Christine joins me to tell you a simple and reverent story about one simple man on Christmas Even.

We hope that you and your family have an amazing Christmas!

Rep Harriet Hageman has announced that she is running for the United States Senate. Many in Wyoming were waiting on her decision before committing to their own races.

Rebecca Bextel joins the program to talk about Harriet's run and all of the politics surrounding it.

Plus, some obligatory Christmas stories!!

All types of government like to play Santa with your tax dollars. Politicians give your money to organizations that you didn't vote for and no one asked if you wanted to. You might call it the Santa Scheme. They try to skirt the Wyoming Constitutional provision prohibiting hand outs through what they call, "Service Contracts." But it's always for some allegedly benevolent purpose. If it's such a great cause, why don't elected officials write the check themselves?

Another way they pull this gag is they say, "We found some money in our budget." As if any of them really don't know what's in there in the first place. Here's how it works, at budget time, they tell you they have to have your cash. Then, they don't spend it as intended only later to claim that it was "found."

But if they don't spend it for what they told you, do they really need it in the first place? Nope!

Senator Cynthia Lummis has announced she isn't going to seek re-election. That opens up a lot more possibilities for the 2026 election. With another congressional seat potentially up for grabs, Harriet, Gray, Degenfelder, Biteman, Gordon and others have some decisions to make.

One of the things we haven't really talked about is what the 2026 ballot might look like. Most of it hinges on what Rep Hageman decides to do. Secretary Gray and others have said they won't run for the same seat as our Representative. But that's only one seat--there's plenty more to run for.

Sheridan County Commissioner used public money to lobby for higher taxes. After being called on it--in the nicest way possible--he ran to the media and attacked his constituent. He accused him of VILIFYING AND ATTACKING him. Unless you're trying to get voted out of office, that's no way to treat someone who pays your salary. But it's the typical elitism we see from many elected officials.

In this episode, I put all of the audio together that clearly shows what happened and what Nick Siddle claims to have happened. The two are very different.

Everyone is using the word, affordability--even people on Fox News. Yet, no one explains or defines what it actually means. What does it mean for something to be affordable? Is anything affordable? The answer to those questions is no.

It's another Democrat ploy, just like "climate change." Affordability can be made to mean anything. Really though it's just an attempt to convince you to agree with them. They say stuff like, 'your checkbook doesn't lie,' and other tropes. The truth is though that prices are down on a lot of the things we buy all the time.

Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem called, "The Gods of the Copybook Headings." It's all about propaganda. Most of what we hear about our so-called education system is exactly that. We are all told that we have to continue to pay high property taxes to pay for "our high quality education system." That's what Grady Hutcherson from the WEA called it. But is it really? Do our test scores really justify the hundreds of millions that we throw at Wyoming education?

The short answer is not even close. But you don't understand the reality of it until you look at the national NAEP scores as Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder told the Appropriations Committee to do.

If we aren't paying to educate our students, what are we paying for exactly? I reality of where we are at will shock you.