Tinfoil Hats Required: How Conspiracy Theories Are Shaping Texas Legislation

Inside the fringe agendas of the 89th Texas Legislature.

Y’all, I nearly spit out my sweet tea when I came across Wesley Virdell’s HB1382. At first glance, I thought it might be a joke. But no, this is real: a bill to ban “weather modification and control” because Texans need protection from chemtrails and shadowy Democrat weather machines.

If you missed the onslaught of Republican conspiracies in October in the wake of Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene, they convinced one another that Democrats were controlling the weather via weather machines and intentionally sending hurricanes to red states before the election.

Where did these conspiracies begin? Where else.

Of course, these conspiracies were absurd, and that week, multiple climate scientists put out statements explaining that the climate crisis caused extreme weather events and Democrats controlled no weather machines.

Further reading:

• Fortune: Scientists confront conspiracy theorists, say it’s impossible to control hurricanes

• CBSNews: No, the government is not controlling the weather. “It’s so stupid, it’s got to stop,” Biden says

• PBS: Disinformation and conspiracy theories cloud Helene recovery efforts in hard-hit areas

And in the leftist corners of Reddit and Twitter, the Democrats all had some good laughs over the idea that Republicans believe we secretly all have weather-controlling machines. Some even jokingly share photos of their own “weather-controlling devices.”

While this mass onslaught of misinformation was occurring, the conspiracy theorists eventually turned their focus to FEMA, which was bombarded with so many threats that it prevented them from timely recovery efforts in the hardest-hit areas. President Biden had to make a national address regarding the level of misinformation surrounding the hurricanes and their recovery efforts.

And the world moved on. Or at least those of us living in reality moved on.

However, we should all know from experience over the last decade that once a conspiracy theorist believes in a conspiracy, no rationale or debunking can reach that person. That’s where newly-elected Texas House Representative Wesley Virdell (R-HD53) comes into the mix.

Of course, in Texas, we should know that when a candidate or politician has this⬇️ as his profile picture on Facebook, we can expect them to be heavily focused on culture war issues.

Wesley Virdell is showing off his Alpha Male skills by posing for a Facebook picture with a big pew-pew in his hand and a little pew-pew below his shirt.

But we don’t often expect them to be entirely out of their fucking mind.

For decades, fringe conspiracy theories have surrounded the concept of weather modification. These theories often claim that governments or secret organizations manipulate the weather using chemicals, substances, or devices (e.g., “chemtrails”) to control populations, harm the environment, or create natural disasters. However, these ideas lack scientific evidence and have been repeatedly debunked by experts.

We truly live in the age of disinformation, where people who have no basis in reality have been elected to the upper echelons of our government.

Welcome to the 89th Texas Legislative Session, where the tinfoil hat brigade is hard at work turning baseless internet conspiracies into actual law.

It’s not just weather modification on the docket, either. From bills targeting the United Nations to requiring consumer labels about non-existent fetal tissue, it seems like the QAnon caucus has overrun the Capitol. And let me tell you, the common sense forecast isn’t good.

The other day, we discussed how Mike Olcott (R-HD60) filed HB1281, a broad declaration rejecting the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations (UN), and the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the state of Texas.

But a whole bunch of Republicans filed similar bills:

• HB1377 by Wesley Virdell (R-HD53)

• HB706 by Terri Leo-Wilson (R-HD23)

• SB129 by Bob Hall (R-SD02)

• SB387 by Charles Schwartner (R-SD05)

Some of you may remember back in 2022 when I made an alt-TikTok account and purposefully used the algorithm to take me to that app’s deepest, darkest corners. What I found was thousands of Republicans spreading conspiracy theories about the World Health Organization, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Klaus Schwab, and the World Economic Forum.

These conspiracies included the UN establishing a totalitarian world government, aiming to abolish private property and individual freedoms, and the “Great Reset” initiative, a plan to dismantle capitalism and impose a new world order. Conspiracy theorists also claimed that the WHO was part of a global plot to control populations through health directives and pandemic responses.

These conspiracies drove Republican’s fear of vaccines, meat alternatives, renewable energy, and even public education, turning everyday issues into battlegrounds for imagined threats.

These fears don’t stem from data or evidence; they’re the product of a deeply entrenched disinformation ecosystem that has found its way into the halls of government. It’s no longer about governance or problem-solving—it’s about enshrining paranoia into law.

Besides being a few fries short of a Happy Meal, newly-elected Wesley Virdell appears to be a pro-crime legislator.

If you can tell a lot about a lawmaker based on the bills they file, then Virdell’s bills tell us that he hasn’t been living in reality for a long time. For example, look at HB1379, a bill that effectively ties the hands of game wardens, making it nearly impossible for them to enforce wildlife laws on private property. The bill would prohibit game wardens from entering private land unless they meet strict criteria, such as having the property owner’s permission, probable cause of a crime, a warrant, or an emergency. This might sound reasonable, but in practice, it creates a massive loophole for poachers.

Poaching often happens on private property, far from public view, where individuals illegally hunt endangered species, exceed bag limits, or set inhumane traps. Under current law, game wardens can enter private property to investigate these activities and protect Texas’s wildlife. But Virdell’s bill would allow poachers to operate freely, knowing game wardens would need clear evidence of a crime before even setting foot on the land.

Here are some endangered species in Texas at risk of being poached under Virdell’s bill:

• Ocelots

• Black-footed ferrets

• Whooping cranes

• Attwater’s prairie chickens

• Texas horned lizards

• Dunes sagebrush lizard

Many of these species play crucial roles in Texas ecosystems, from controlling pest populations to maintaining healthy habitats. Poaching could drive fragile populations to extinction, disrupting ecosystems and erasing these natural treasures forever.

Joe Biden placed the Attwater’s prairie chicken and Dunes sagebrush lizard under the Endangered Species Act, which Texas Republicans fought against. I wrote about both:

• Prairie Chicken: GOP To Kill Off Endangered Species For Fossil Fuels...Which Kills Humans

• Sagebrush Lizard: Project 2025 In Texas: How Ken Paxton Is Implementing Trump’s Agenda

It’s only slightly ironic that the GOP wants to kill off certain endangered species in Texas to allow the expansion of drilling for fossil fuels, and a GOP House member writes a bill to make poaching endangered species a lot easier.

Yet another dangerous bill from Wesley Virdell that puts all Texans at risk, this time by endangering every driver on the road.

HB1376 eliminates the requirement for intrastate commercial motor vehicles to use electronic logging devices (ELDs), which are essential tools for monitoring drivers’ hours and preventing fatigue-related accidents.

Without ELDs, there is no practical way to ensure truck drivers follow mandated rest periods, leaving room for falsified paper logs and overworked, exhausted drivers. Fatigued driving is a leading cause of deadly crashes, and the removal of ELD requirements enables companies to push drivers to their limits, prioritizing profits over safety.

The consequences are catastrophic. Without these safeguards, Texas highways become even more dangerous, as tired drivers—who react as poorly as intoxicated drivers—pose a significant threat to everyone on the road. Moreover, eliminating ELDs doesn’t just risk lives; it enables crime. Paper logs are easily falsified, and without the tamper-proof records provided by ELDs, law enforcement is left with incomplete or manipulated data, making it harder to hold bad actors accountable.

Texas already leads the nation in fatal truck crashes, and this bill will only worsen that grim statistic.

Wesley Virdell isn’t just a conspiracy theorist and a pro-crime legislator; he’s the poster child for everything wrong with today’s Republican Party.

But here’s the kicker—he’s far from alone. Republicans like Virdell aren’t anomalies; they’re products of a broken system fueled by low-information voters and extreme racial gerrymandering.

Gerrymandering allows Republicans to carve out safe districts, ensuring that voters never hold them accountable for the issues that matter most to Texans: fixing the grid, funding public education, expanding access to healthcare, and addressing the growing climate crisis. Instead, they focus on pandering to the far-right fringe, crafting laws based on internet conspiracies and imaginary threats rather than real-world problems.

Virdell is undoubtedly one to watch during the 89th Legislature, but he’s just the tip of the iceberg. As long as the system enables lawmakers like him to thrive, Texans can expect more bills that are disconnected from reality and dangerous for our state. It’s time for Texans to demand better—from their leaders, their legislation, and the future of this state. Otherwise, we’ll all be left cleaning up the mess of their tinfoil-hat politics.

• December 9: House Administration Committee meets to debate rules.

• January 14: The 89th Legislative Session begins.

• March 14: The last day Legislators can file bills.

• June 2: The 89th Legislative Session ends.

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