Among those things they'd need: sanity.
Did you even read the project they outlined? Let me tell you, sanity will not help make any progress with that. If anything, sane statements like, "But Wyoming is completely landlocked!" or "Who, exactly, are we going to be launching aircraft at from Yellowstone Lake?" are a hindrance to the whole scheme. A scheme, might I add, that will inevitably result in the best possible place to build a chief of state's residence: the beached ruins of an aircraft carrier in a dried-up lakebed. Just think of the aesthetics.
The legal research behind Wyoming buying an aircraft carrier...?Alright, seriously though, I just had to look further into this thing and thankfully it appears Wyoming will not be buying an aircraft carrier or looking into other defense plans for now
by a margin of just 3 votes....2/28/2012 H Failed 3rd Reading
ROLL CALL
Ayes: Representative(s) Berger, Brechtel, Burkhart, Campbell, Cannady, Childers, Edmonds, Eklund, Gay, Harvey, Hunt, Illoway, Jaggi, Kroeker, Loucks, Lubnau, McKim, McOmie, Miller, Peasley, Petersen, Petroff, Quarberg, Stubson, Teeters, Wallis and Zwonitzer, Dn..
Nays: Representative(s) Barbuto, Blake, Blikre, Bonner, Botten, Brown, Buchanan, Byrd, Connolly, Craft, Esquibel, K., Freeman, Gingery, Greear, Greene, Harshman, Kasperik, Krone, Lockhart, Madden, Moniz, Nicholas B, Patton, Pedersen, Roscoe, Semlek, Steward, Throne, Vranish and Zwonitzer, Dv..
Excused: Representative(s) Davison, Goggles and Reeder.
Ayes 27 Nays 30 Excused 3 Absent 0 Conflicts 0
It appears that, on reflection, the Wyoming House of Representatives has decided the risk of invasion by its neighbors is remote enough that it can do without its own armed forces for now, and in particular does not need to consider whether an aircraft carrier might come in handy.
http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2012/Digest/HB0085.htmEspecially relevant is this part which deletes the part about the aircraft carrier. The thing that passed is the motion to delete the whole amendment about the aircraft carrier....
Delete the Brown Committee of the Whole Amendment (HB0085HW001/A) entirely. KROEKER
2/27/2012 H Passed 2nd Reading
2/28/2012 Amendment Adopted
Sadly, that is indeed the case. Turns out this bill had a very short lifespan, having been introduced just a couple of weeks ago. It did pass an initial vote (43-17), although that may be pretty common. But trouble appeared on the 24th, when the amount appropriated was cut in half. The armed-forces amendment was adopted Feb. 27th, but appears to have been deleted by a later amendment, either later in the day or the 28th.... Even without the aircraft-carrier language, though,
the bill itself failed on the 28th on the third reading, though only by three votes (27-30), with three abstaining (or "excused") from the vote.
Rep. Brown was not a sponsor of the bill, although he does seem to have voted for it on the first reading; he later offered the aircraft-carrier amendment, and then voted against the whole thing on the 28th in the third reading (final). So, although he hasn't confirmed it yet, it does look like he may be one of those relatively rare legislators with both a sense of humor and the will to express it in a piece of legislation (which he knew would be deleted). It's nice to be able to get humor out of a legislature this way for once.
Though I'm eternally jaded and skeptical, I'll give Rep. Brown the benefit of the doubt this time.