My apologies for my absence this past few weeks folks – not that I imagine anyone noticed. Mheh.
In short, I’m dealing with a terminally ill father – contract woes with the USG, and the never ending shit storm that seems to be part and parcel of my career, so I’ve been rather distracted and extremely busy of late. Oh Yeah….Because I’m a absolute glutton for punishment, I also kicked off another car restoration project, so I’m a busy little beaver these days…. You can read about it over on my blog, I wont clog the AIR up with my personal stuff….Anyhow enough of my whining.
Misha and the Rottie “HempRope” have pointed out the situation out there in Nevada – the Bureau of Land Management and a cattle rancher at odds – and things are getting tense. This video was recorded recently, I got it via a link on FaceCrack. It”s about 11 minutes, but take the time to watch it.
Supposedly, “Militia” groups are heading to Nevada to support the rancher. So it’s most likely now going to escalate. How far is anyone’s guess. But this could get very ugly, very fast.
How long before the Federal Government ramps up it’s own response to these so called “militias” and the FBI ATF and DHS show up in their full SWAT tactical gear with the armored vehicles to match…it’s all the range in D.C. these days, don’t ya know? Then what? Some fool pulls a trigger and this whole thing goes ‘hot’?
The video above, shows how people have already clashed with the Feds from BLM – several protestors in support of the Rancher have gotten themselves hit with tazers, one woman, she is 57 years old – was thrown to the ground – another had a K9 dog – or it’s claimed to have had – set on her, (I don’t see it in the above video) when she refused to back down from the BLM agents.
Frankly, this Nevada situation is ugly, and what makes it even more so – this isn’t “Waco”, This isn’t “Ruby Ridge”. The USG is pushing a bad case, based on a turtle and land that isn’t worth much more than to let those cows much to their hearts content no less.
Let me explain that last statement. I’ve seen a lot of comments and whatnot on this Nevada situation, and the ideas some seem to have that this is a another “Ruby Ridge” or “Waco” situation. Nothing could be further from the truth if you ask me.
The BLM folks are in a totally different situation here. That being, the USG claims in both Waco, and Ruby Ridge were that the suspects had crossed various “government mandates and laws” – in those cases – there was a “cult”, “immoral and subversive activities”, “weapons violations”, etc etc. Those are all the reasoning needed (whether we agree with said laws or not) for the Federal Government to act and bring the full weight of their Enforcement Arms against the accused.
They (The US Government) don’t have this same background to act on in this situation, this is a family of ranchers that have worked this land for decades and suddenly the USG via some mandate is telling them they can’t, or they have to pay extortionate fees to work it now – hard working otherwise “normal Americans” – this is not a “cult”, and not a so called “subversive”, and the USG looks like pretty much what they are, a bunch of bumbling idiots with nothing more than a lot of firepower at their fingertips. There’s no win here for them. None.
As I see it? The USG is going to loose that war of ideas, no matter how much the MSM tries to spin it in the government’s favor, and I don’t think the court of public opinion is going to look favorably on the USG in this case.
Let’s hope that someone in the bowels of D.C. has a bit of common sense and chooses to take a look at this in an objective manner and use some common sense here to defuse this. Because if they don’t, there’s a powder keg out there in Nevada and the fuse is getting pretty short.
Update 1 **
Below is a letter from Bundy’s daughter – I pulled this from a post on FB, so trust but verify is in effect, it is a letter that attempts to explain the families side of this situation.
“I have had people ask me to explain my dad’s stance on this BLM fight. Here it is in as simple of terms as I can explain it. There is so much to it, but here it is in a nut shell.
My great grandpa bought the rights to the Bunkerville allotment back in 1887 around there. Then he sold them to my grandpa who then turned them over to my dad in 1972. These men bought and paid for their rights to the range and also built waters, fences and roads to assure the survival of their cattle, all with their own money, not with tax dollars.
These rights to the land use is called preemptive rights. Some where down the line, to keep the cows from over grazing, came the bureau of land management. They were supposed to assist the ranchers in the management of their ranges while the ranchers paid a yearly allotment which was to be use to pay the BLM wages and to help with repairs and improvements of the ranches.
My dad did pay his grazing fees for years to the BLM until they were no longer using his fees to help him and to improve. Instead they began using these money’s against the ranchers. They bought all the rest of the ranchers in the area out with they’re own grazing fees. When they offered to buy my dad out for a penance he said no thanks and then fired them because they weren’t doing their job. He quit paying the BLM but, tried giving his grazing fees to the county, which they turned down.
So my dad just went on running his ranch and making his own improvements with his own equipment and his own money, not taxes. In essence the BLM was managing my dad out of business. Well when buying him out didn’t work, they used the endangered species card. You’ve already heard about the desert tortoise.
Well that didn’t work either, so then began the threats and the court orders, which my dad has proven to be unlawful for all these years. Now their desperate. It’s come down to buying the brand inspector off and threatening the County Sheriff. Everything their doing at this point is illegal and totally against the constitution of the United States of America.
Now you may be saying,” how sad, but what does this have to do with me?” Well, I’ll tell you. They will get rid of Cliven Bundy, the last man standing on the Bunkerville allotment and then they will close all the roads so no one can ever go on it again. Next, it’s Utah’s turn. Mark my words, Utah is next. Then there’s the issue of the cattle that are at this moment being stolen. See even if dad hasn’t paid them, those cattle do belong to him.
Regardless where they are they are my fathers property. His herd has been part of that range for over a hundred years, long before the BLM even existed. Now the Feds think they can just come in and remove them and sell them without a legal brand inspection or without my dad’s signature on it. They think they can take them over two boarders, which is illegal, ask any trucker. Then they plan to take them to the Richfeild Auction and sell them. All with our tax money. They have paid off the contract cowboys and the auction owner as well as the Nevada brand inspector with our tax dollars. See how slick they are? Well, this is it in a nut shell. Thanks”
Shiree Bundy Cox
Update 2 **
The Oath Keepers have taken up the cause for the Bundy’s and O-K members are en-route to the ranch, They are asking for donations to help with food and water at the Bundy Ranch LINK to donation
FYI – I am not a member of Oath Keepers so I am not peddling for them – although I did send out what I could to support them.
Update 3 **
Here is yet another angle on this situation and why the BLM is acting so aggressively – again, trust but verify….
“It is not about turtles it is about water. There are developers working for military contractors that want that land and water for mining weapons grade minerals for industry… they want to sell the land by the highway for real estate development because it’s close to I-15 and the Bundy’s have been refusing to sell what they actually own directly for over 20 years. Many buyers sent me out there with crazy offers for that land for many years. It is prime real estate not worthless desert. There is a natural gas pipeline going through there and lots of water under ground too. Somebody connected to a military corporation is using political power and the BLM to muscle those people out.”
Update 4 **
Nothing happens in NV without Harry Reid’s fingerprint on it – or so it seems. Reuters reported back as far as August 2012 that Reid and his oldest son Rory, a lawyer with NV’s largest law firm were trying to work a 5 billion dollar deal with the Chicoms to use the land for a solar farm and factory.