(Sorry about this, guys — I had this cued up to publish shortly after midnight, or so I thought. So here ya go. Just imagine it’s 6 a.m., or whenever you usually read it.)
I’m about Flinted out at the moment, so let’s talk about another ongoing fiasco, eh? Let’s talk Bundyville.
I’ve been following it at something of a remove, via the social-media feeds of a friend who works at Oregon Public Broadcasting (but isn’t covering the standoff at the Malheur wildlife refuge). And I must admit, I’m …puzzled.
Let me say right up front I’m not one of those who consider this crowd of freedom lovers terrorists. I don’t want to go all Waco on they asses. Rather, I think the best strategy to handling this situation is to wait them out but in the meantime, not make it too easy for them. The feds could cut the power, but I’d rather they not. Just let them run out of food, starve them of attention strategically, and let nature take its course. But that’s not what appears to be happening.
They’re letting the mail through, for one, and even though this has led to amusing scenes like the boxes o’ dildos video, it’s also keeping them stocked with white cheddar goldfish crackers. They’re letting reporters in (of course I approve) and apparently young children, too (of course I disapprove). And they’re allowing them to fire up the bulldozer on site and cut new roads (and I totally disapprove of that one).
It’s hard to know what the strategy is for ending this thing. Apparently the FBI is giving no briefings whatsoever. It’s all a matter for conjecture:
As the Bundys will seemingly speak with anyone who will listen, law enforcement spokespeople won’t talk about the investigation. Requests for detailed comment on the situation are routinely denied.
However, federal sources familiar with the occupation, investigation and legal case did speak to OPB on the condition of anonymity.
Those sources tell OPB there is still hope among law enforcement leadership the occupation will end without violence. That’s why law enforcement doesn’t patrol the area, block travel to the refuge or take other actions that could lead to a confrontation.
There’s also a legal concern that a shootout, or raid, could make it harder to get jury convictions and prosecute material supporters.
For now, it seems as though the FBI is taking a chance: If the militants can’t get the standoff they want, they’ll get sick of standing around.
Part of me sees a plan in all this; see paragraph three. These guys are self-deluding little drama queens, and the best strategy with a drama queen is to deny them drama. On the other hand, this Missoula Independent piece on Ryan Payne, the occupiers’ security chief (if indeed they truck with titles, and I bet they do) suggests that if the drama won’t come to them, well then they’ll bring it themselves:
Payne came to believe …that the government uses regulations to deliberately undermine the average American, “that they are purposely destroying industry, they are purposely taking this land from people.” The more he looked, the more he saw a deliberate and nefarious plan being orchestrated by a small number of people wielding enormous power. He saw a pervasive conspiracy to control all aspects of the media, the financial system, the entertainment industry, the military and the government.
More specifically, he came to believe that slavery never really existed in the United States and that African Americans in the antebellum South “didn’t view themselves as slaves.” He came to believe in “an effort by some Jews to control the world.” He came to believe the founders of the United States intended for the states to act as sovereign countries. He came to believe taxes are a form of “legal plunder.” He came to believe names are spelled in all-caps on driver’s licenses because U.S. citizens are actually “corporate entities.” He came to believe U.S. courts are actually foreign admiralty courts. He came to believe that “in most states you have the lawful authority to kill a police officer that is unlawfully trying to arrest you.” He came to believe when a newborn child’s footprint is made on a birth certificate, that child is effectively entering a life of servitude to the U.S. government, which borrows money from China based on that child’s estimated lifetime earning potential.
He came to see all aspects of government, culture and society as mechanisms of control. “And they’ve set everything up so they can maintain that control,” Payne says, “because they believe they are God.”
Every person who’s done time in a newsroom meets these people from time to time; they write insane letters to the editor (or did, before the internet, when they all traded a typewriter on a card table under a single hanging bulb for a PC on the same card table), they self-publish books that they press into your hands, they stalk columnists and editors until one finally sits down with them in a conference room with a glass door, which is checked often by worried colleagues.
And we’re letting these people accept deliveries of food and ammo. Wonderful.
The weekend passed in a blur of sobriety and efficiency. Laundry, market, dry cleaner. Watched “Straight Outta Compton,” which mainly served to remind me why I dislike biopics, and why I shouldn’t watch them if there’s any alternative to be had. I watched my feeds and enjoyed the snow news from the east coast; we enjoyed high pressure, low-but-not-too-low temperatures and a rare blue sky. No snow, little ice and a good day to take the dog for a walk on Belle Isle:
But while you’re still thinking snow, thanks to Hank you can read this lovely piece by David Von Drehle, on the peculiar peace of shoveling. I feel exactly the same way — that a well-shoveled walk or cleared driveway speaks well of the person who did the work. (You may not, I understand.)
Monday! Bring it the hell ON.
Deborah said on January 25, 2016 at 12:56 pm
Loved the snow shoveling link. There aren’t that many things in life that let you clearly see your progress and success. The driveway/parking lot of our building in Santa Fe is mostly gravel, like most of the places around us. Shoveling is impossible, the ice builds up after thaw and freeze cycles and turns into icy lumpy fuck in a few days. Walking across it to the mailbox is treacherous and the floor inside gets muddy footprints no matter how hard I try to scrape my booted feet on the mat outside the door. This is all still better than spending Jan/Feb in Chicago.
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Charlotte said on January 25, 2016 at 1:19 pm
I only shovel about half the time — there’s someone in my neighborhood with an ATV snowplow — sometimes he zips down our sidewalk, sometimes not. But when I do shovel, it’s in large part for my mail carrier, of whom I am very fond. Dan and I go way back, and share a low-key interest in social democracy and hatred for corporate bullshit. Like I said, 14 years I’ve been in this house, and I’ve probably had a short chat with Dan 4 days out of every 6 since.
The pleasure in accomplishment is also one I find in my clothesline. I am a fanatic about my clothesline …
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beb said on January 25, 2016 at 1:27 pm
I admit to the satisfaction of a job well done … or at least done but at my age my wife insists that I live to see another day, so no shoveling for me. We got a snowblower. Alas, the blower does such an efficient job that I tend to walk behind it at a fast clip that leaves me breathless by the time I put it away. Kind of a no-win situation.
As for the Bundy’s I can see why the FBI wants to avoid another Waco but letting people deliver mail and food to these people or allowing them to drive to restaurants and grocery stores is too much. I feel that if they leave the compound arrest their sorry asses.
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Julie Robinson said on January 25, 2016 at 1:42 pm
Those Bundy folks just want to be martyrs, and I appreciate that no one is helping them along. Still, I don’t see it ending well.
We’ve resisted a riding mower, but we did inherit a very small and very ancient snowblower, for which we’re grateful. We joke about landing a plane on our driveway and before we had the snowblower it took hours.
I actually took down time on the weekend and watched the national figure skating championship, every single hour they broadcast, which I think was eight. Then I guess there were some big football games on? Not important to me. Put on a spangly costume, play the music, and twirl away.
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FDChief said on January 25, 2016 at 1:44 pm
As an Oregonian the whole Malheur Moron Militia thing pisses me off to a fare-thee-well. For those interested, here are my various takes on this nonsense: http://firedirectioncenter.blogspot.com/search/label/Malheur%20morons
The bottom line is that a government that has no monopoly on force is no longer a working government but simply one of a group of competing factions. That’s why ol’ General George Washington sent the genuine militia out to western Pennsylvania to slam down the original whiskey rebels. That’s why Bill Sherman gutted Georgia. So the problem with not going all “Waco on their asses” is that by NOT doing so you effectively lose the Whisky Rebellion.
Recent emanations from this joint suggest that these whackos are going to insist on conditions no government, and especially not our government, can or could meet. So the options are narrowing.
But the bottom line has always been contained in Sherman’s wisdom:
“My aim, then, was to whip the rebels, to humble their pride, to follow them to their inmost recesses, and make them fear and dread us. Fear is the beginning of wisdom.”
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Sue said on January 25, 2016 at 1:55 pm
Nope. That’s not how you enjoy snow. THIS is how you enjoy snow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6mXZTIdwn8
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Scout said on January 25, 2016 at 2:20 pm
From the beginning I couldn’t understand why the Bundy Bozos were able to get away with what they’ve pulled. Sure, wait them out, but each time someone leaves, they should be arrested. And no, they should not be allowed to receive deliveries of any kind. Especially the evil government delivered mail. Fuck them. We are all paying to subsidize their infantile temper tantrum. If they were Mexicans or Muslims, I suspect they wouldn’t be getting the kid-glove treatment. The whole thing pisses me off mightily.
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Dexter said on January 25, 2016 at 2:33 pm
Two winters ago I was shovelling snow in my driveway, shovel in one hand, walking cane in the other, getting the job done but slowly as you may visualize. A big Ford F-350 stopped and a man came up and said, “give me that shovel”, so I did. Working madly-quickly, he had the job done in mere minutes…moments, really. He tipped his ear-flapped insulated cap and handed me the shovel, handle first. “No problem”, he said as he bolted for the Ford’s cab as I thanked him. And I thought warm memories of the elementary school reader’s character, Zeke the Handyman, who fixed things in the world of Dick and Jane. Never saw him before, never since.
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Brandon said on January 25, 2016 at 3:05 pm
Watched “Straight Outta Compton,” which mainly served to remind me why I dislike biopics, and why I shouldn’t watch them if there’s any alternative to be had.
Can you elaborate? Armond White called it the year’s most mindless movie but I doubt you’d go that far. It was a long movie but was well-paced so it never dragged. The actors who played Ice Cube (Ice Cube’s son, Oshea Jackson, Jr.) and Dr. Dre portrayed them wonderfully, and Paul Giamatti was good as Jerry Heller.
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Deborah said on January 25, 2016 at 3:11 pm
Sue, the Syrian children sledding was joyous to watch!
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Brandon said on January 25, 2016 at 3:16 pm
“[T]he peculiar peace of shoveling”: In Hawaii, people will drive up the slopes of Mauna Kea and fill their truck beds with snow for the kids to play with.
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susan said on January 25, 2016 at 3:52 pm
Dexter @8 -I recently had an opposite kind of encounter. A couple weeks ago, there were four more inches of snow covering the ground. My concern was making sure there was a clear and sanded path along the short, flat driveway to the street, so that the next morning I could get out to the handicapper ride that would take me to physical therapy. (I’m rehabbing from bi-lateral knee replacement. Yes, oww ow ow.) The previous weeks lovely friends would stop by after a snowfall and shovel out a path, and the sidewalk in front. But I just didn’t want to call anyone. Ya know, I’m getting kind of weary of doing that. Maybe I could do it myself.
So…I suited up, put on my vibram-soled felt packs, mittens, vest, and started off behind my walker (yes, it has those funny green tennis balls on the back feet), grabbed my snow shovel, and smooshed and dragged and scooped and pushed in front of me a ragged trail out to the street. Just wide enough for the walker. It really wasn’t that hard or tenuous, although it sure must have looked funny from outside of me. Until I got to the down-sloping curb cut, the gutter, and the up-slope to the street. There was frozen slush in and all around the gutter, and I started to get kind of nervous. I do not want to slip and fall down! Just then, a tall, slim fellow in his late 30s came striding down the sidewalk toward me. Hoooo, I thought, just in time! We locked eyes. He smiled broadly. And he kept on walking. I was stunned. Surely he must have noticed I was fearfully struggling around that slushy ice and slope…behind a fucking walker with green tennis balls on the back. But maybe not. Maybe he thought, how cute, old dame shoveling snow behind a walker that has those funny green tennis balls on the back feet. Maybe he has no empathetic connections. I did notice he was NOT plugged into to any devices, so that excuse did not fly. It bothered me all day and the next and the next. And, well, maybe still does bother me, obviously. I know I go out of my way to help people who clearly might need a hand. But then, I’m not a 30+ year-old studly guy who has things to do, places to go. I just did not understand that.
Last week, I awoke to another three inches of heavy wet snow, and again, I had the same concerns about a clear and safe path to the street for the morning’s pick-up to PT. Since I did OK before, I suited up and went out with my walker-snow plough. (Maybe after all of this is said and done, I will invent a walker with a snow shovel attachment with levers to push snow off to the side. Yeah! That’s the ticket to fortune!) Just as I was finishing up the scary gutter/slope interface area, a grey van stopped in the street and a young—early 20s—woman hopped out of the passenger seat and came running across and over to me. Nose studs, lip-plug, multiple earrings running up her helix. Black hair under a cap. Goth-ish attire. “I saw you having a hard time here! Can I help you? Finish this for you?” she tendered. Her eyes were warm, bright brown, friendly. Oh my! I replied that I had just finished with the shoveling, but how grateful I was for her offer, so thankful for her regard. My eyes and heart started to well up. “Are you sure? I can help you here.” Really, I said. It’s done. “But you have no idea how much I appreciate your offer to help.” She re-infused me with faith in people.
But that tall drink of shitty water still bothers me. And no, I’m not talking about Flint.
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Sherri said on January 25, 2016 at 3:59 pm
This article about what a jerk Ted Cruz is teaches me a new word: Backpfeifengesicht, which translates to “face that should be slapped.”
As a palate cleanser, watch Tian Tian enjoy the snow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viu1UgZ7gwM
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Sherri said on January 25, 2016 at 4:12 pm
Meanwhile, the Washington State Legislature has it’s own version of Ted Cruz: Pam Roach, the Republican state senator even Republicans won’t caucus with: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/sen-pam-roach-kicked-off-sex-trafficking-panel-after-insulting-victims/
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alex said on January 25, 2016 at 4:16 pm
We never even get a chance to shovel snow anymore, not that we’re complaining. We have a wonderful old retiree in our neighborhood who has all sorts of fun toys, one of which is a big tractor with a snowplow. We had dinner with him and his wife this weekend and he was feeling bummed out about there not being much snow this year.
###
I was struck by Nancy’s comment about how everyone who’s ever done time in a newsroom has had to deal with the kind of nutters that are occupying Malheur. At the News-Sentinel these days, the strategy for dealing with them seems to be remarkably similar to that of the feds at Malheur: Letting them just fucking take over.
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Jolene said on January 25, 2016 at 4:42 pm
Wow, alex, that editorial is quite a piece of work. The idea that the media has, at any time, had a death grip on Trump is preposterous. They broadcast every outrageous thing he says over and over. Just yesterday, we were privileged to learn his opinion on the highly unusual experience of staying overnight in a Holiday Inn. So fascinating.
The author also identifies Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter, and Phyllis Schlafly as three of America’s “best conservatives.” One can only wonder who are the worst.
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brian stouder said on January 25, 2016 at 4:49 pm
Alex – I’d say that guy is bat-shit crazy, but bat-shit makes rational sense (at bottom, so to speak); whereas he is genuinely non-sensical (I clicked to his webstite, and it was like Dungeons and Dragons, only more odd)
Sherri – good gosh! The Washington legislature is making our Indiana chuckleheads look positively statesmanlike and mature
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alex said on January 25, 2016 at 4:52 pm
Jolene, as I’m sure Brian can attest, that was a relatively mild one compared to some of the whacked-out shit he writes.
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Julie Robinson said on January 25, 2016 at 4:55 pm
He’s batshit, and he’s taking people’s money. He’s one of the many who fill our mailbox with offers of free meals from the area’s “finest restaurants” as long as we sit through listening to his retirement plan. We don’t fall for those, but I shudder to think how many do.
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Jolene said on January 25, 2016 at 5:02 pm
The front page of today’s WaPo evokes a feeling of virtuousness similar to that inspired by Von Drehle’s essay. Though it’s a bit hard to appreciate in this format, this photo by Michael S. Williamson captures both the satisfaction of hard work well done and a sense of neighborliness. I love it.
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ROGirl said on January 25, 2016 at 5:04 pm
When you read that editorial just substitute “Adolf Hitler” for “Donald Trump.” It makes as much sense that way and it’s much funnier.
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Jolene said on January 25, 2016 at 5:32 pm
Sherri posted the best storm video, but I also like this one. This is Hillary Clinton’s neighborhood. No word on whether the deer are Rs or Ds.
And my sister sent me this clip of snowboarders in NYC. Reckless, but exciting.
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Sherri said on January 25, 2016 at 5:34 pm
Brian, while the Washington legislature has its share of loonies, Pam Roach is not a representative sample, so to speak. Everybody hates her, except the voters in her district, apparently. She has no allies, not among Tea Partiers or any other stripe of Republicans, and the Dems can’t stand her either. I’m not sure what would happen if you put her and Ted Cruz in a room together.
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Hattie said on January 25, 2016 at 5:47 pm
Those Bundys piss me off in a major way. In my gentler moments I think the sheriff should send out a posse to round them up, tar and feather them and run them out on a rail. I’m sick of the impunity granted to men like them, who are a bunch of failures who have nothing to offer anyone and want the world to revolve around them anyway. They pine for a way of life that ceased to exist more than 100 years ago, where, basically, men like them could do whatever they wanted and everyone else had to stick it.
You don’t want to know what I think should be done to them in my ungentler moments. No mercy here.
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David C. said on January 25, 2016 at 6:30 pm
From the be careful what you wish for department.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Harris-grand-jury-indicts-pair-behind-Planned-6782865.php
A Harris County grand jury investigating allegations that a Planned Parenthood clinic in Houston illegally sold the tissue of aborted fetuses has cleared the organization of wrongdoing and instead indicted two anti-abortion activists behind the undercover videos that sparked the probe.
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Jolene said on January 25, 2016 at 6:39 pm
The Post put together a collection of time-lapse videos made during the storm. Some are quite nice. Worth a few minutes.
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Brandon said on January 25, 2016 at 7:24 pm
Melissa Click update:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/mizzou-professor-who-blocked-media-at-protest-charged-with-assault/ar-BBoGaVd?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout
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Joe K said on January 25, 2016 at 8:45 pm
After being dogless since we lost our Golden Retriever in October, today the Mrs. And I took possession of a 6yr old male Golden, about 99lbs of pure love. Amazingly he look a lot like the one we just lost, he is our first rescue and I can’t believe someone would turn him out, he was found as a stray.
The rest of his life is going to be great.
Our house feels complete again.
Pilot Joe
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Deborah said on January 25, 2016 at 8:58 pm
Good for you Joe, that’s great, what a lucky dog.
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Jolene said on January 25, 2016 at 9:17 pm
Lucky dog, indeed. Adopting a rescue was one of the best things I’ve ever done–not for him, for me.
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basset said on January 25, 2016 at 9:55 pm
way to go, Joe! great to hear that he now has a good forever home.
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Brandon said on January 25, 2016 at 10:11 pm
From Alex’s link at 15: There is no Senator “Jeffery Sessions.” Jeff is short for Jefferson, as in Jefferson Beauregard “Jeff” Sessions III.
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Jill said on January 25, 2016 at 10:16 pm
Congratulations, Joe. All my dogs have been rescues and now I’ve gotten involved with a rescue organizations. I love seeing what those dogs and people do for each other.
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Jill said on January 25, 2016 at 10:17 pm
(Just one organization, not plural.)
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alex said on January 25, 2016 at 10:23 pm
Not that an editor in that place would have caught it, Brandon. But that’s the least of what needs nitpicked in that hot steaming pile of mess.
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Scout said on January 26, 2016 at 12:09 am
So happy for your expanded family, Joe!
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Dexter said on January 26, 2016 at 2:12 am
Joe…Goldens and Blonds are wonderful dogs, but one you go Black, you’ll never go back. Pogo is our second Black Labbie, the first was my beloved P-Dogg Princess, the best dog ever, ever.
A week ago we went to Angola, Indiana and stopped at the Stroh Orchard Store so I could pick up a peck of cold-storage Jonathan apples . They have the friendliest Yellow Labbie there, greeting customers, wagging that tail, such a great dog. Also I want to report that our Jack Russell Terrier, Noelle Belle, has thrived lately after last years tumor surgery and subsequent anemia. She again is full of life at age 14. She is a handful, though…we dare not forget to strategically place newspapers and doggie pee mats around the floors on her “hot-spots” because last year she took to peeing on the goddam floor. We just do the best we can ; we have an excellent carpet scrubbing machine.
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Sherri said on January 26, 2016 at 2:47 am
The Moron Militia, as FDChief calls them, do not have views on public land use shared by most Westerners: https://www.coloradocollege.edu/dotAsset/10b5e54f-bd80-4b72-9390-cde2161bcefd.pdf
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BigHank53 said on January 26, 2016 at 8:36 am
I strongly suspect (okay, hope) that the FBI has someone undercover in the wildlife refuge. They don’t talk about it much, because the NRA and Congressional Republicans lose their shit every time it’s mentioned, but they haven’t forgotten ol’ Tim McVeigh and the cozy home he found in the militia movement. They spent six weeks waiting out the Montana Freemen. As frustrating as waiting the morons out is, it’s (1) infinitely safer than a raid, (2) lets the morons show their dumb asses to the world, and (3) lets the felonies rack up. They don’t want to charge these losers with some piddly $10,000 firearms violation. They want to be able to hold a century of prison time over them.
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brian stouder said on January 26, 2016 at 8:56 am
I think BigHank is exactly right.
During the Original Bundy Summer, ol’ Shit-for Brains Sean Hannity(et al) were overtly beating the war-drums and rah-rah-rahing the chucklehead army.
This time around, the ‘God I Love War’ crowd is more muted, and the good guys are still chillin’.
I suspect that when Obama writes his memoir, this will make for an interesting page or two
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Scout said on January 26, 2016 at 12:24 pm
BTW, FDChief’s blog is pretty awesome.
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Jill said on January 26, 2016 at 12:50 pm
Pilot Joe, do you know the pilot who slid off the runway in a Falcon at Chicago Executive (Palwaukee) this morning? It was out of Detroit. No one was injured.
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Joe K said on January 26, 2016 at 2:09 pm
Jill,
I don’t know who the pilot was, but it was a aircraft registered to Kallatta flying and was coming in to pick up a organ donation. Sounds like he slid off the end and went into the over run, may have had a reverse thruster problem or brakes, or he could have just been too fast, glad no one got hurt.
Kallatta is owned by Connie Kallatta the old drag racer who was I think married to Shirly cha cha Muldowney another drag racer.
Pilot Joe
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brian stouder said on January 26, 2016 at 4:17 pm
Abe Vigoda, RIP.
For me, one of the most jarring sequences in The Godfather was when he gets murdered.
‘Course, my frame of reference for him begins with Barney Miller, so there’s that
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MarkH said on January 26, 2016 at 4:54 pm
“Tom…can you get me off the hook…for old times’ sake.”
“Can’t do it, Sallie…”
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Suzanne said on January 26, 2016 at 5:15 pm
I didn’t see the Godfather when it came out but saw it for the first time a few years ago when we finally got cable tv. I only knew Vigoda from Barney Miller so it was rather jarring when he got “hit.” Nooooo! They killed Fish!!
RIP Abe!
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MarkH said on January 26, 2016 at 5:22 pm
The ongoing Malheur Wildlife Refuge takeover – I don’t know what the solution will be, though I have a few ideas of what should be.
That aside, there’s this unintended consequence that is totally lost on these, um, ‘patriots’, who are well aware what is about to happen. Eliminating invasive species, wherever they occur, is a tricky labor intensive long slog. One place where it has shown success, is at Malheur, where fish biologist Linda Sue Beck has led the effort to remove invasive carp, restoring native fish and fauna. A major step further was to take place in two weeks, but is in jeopardy now due to lack of access, prevented by you-know-who. The threat is the carp will be re-introduced to areas where they have been eliminated, and continue to thrive and infest where they need to be removed. A major setback.
Read the story here from High Country News, a must read source for those wanting to know conservation/political goings-on in the West. Click on the story, lower right. The photo of Ammon Bundy sitting at Beck’s desk is obscene.
http://www.hcn.org/
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Jill said on January 26, 2016 at 5:41 pm
Thanks for your response, Joe. There was a lot of black ice here this morning. I did my mincing old lady walk with the dog before dawn and was nervous the whole time. About an hour later a neighbor was carted off by ambulance after slipping. I’m glad no one was hurt on the plane.
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Deborah said on January 26, 2016 at 6:22 pm
We had snow again last night in Santa Fe. We went to Trader Joes this afternoon and some poor elderly person bit the dust in the parking lot. We had just pulled in and saw the person go ass over teakettle the cart toppled over too. Many people ran to help so we just needed to mind our own business. By the time we came out it was all cleared up. Probably a lot of that going on these days.
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Bob (not Greene) said on January 26, 2016 at 10:33 pm
Good timing on this thread, Nancy http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/two-people-have-been-shot-and-ammon-bundy-is-in-custody-report/
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alex said on January 26, 2016 at 10:34 pm
Finally. The anticlimactic Waco we’ve been so patiently waiting for.
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alex said on January 26, 2016 at 10:35 pm
Oh, fuck, I hate html.
http://katu.com/news/local/leader-of-oregon-occupation-ammon-bundy-three-others-arrested
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jcburns said on January 26, 2016 at 10:53 pm
Cliven Bundy, hearing the news:
“Isn’t this a wonderful country we live in?” Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, Ammon’s father, said sarcastically when the Los Angeles Times informed him about the arrests and the death.
“We believe that those federal people shouldn’t even be there in that state, and be in that county and have anything to do with this issue. … I have some sons and other people there trying to protect our rights and liberties and freedoms, and now we’ve got one killed, and all I can say is, he’s sacrificed for a good purpose.”
Really. He said that.
My favorite immediate snarky tweet: “Ammon Bundy will continue his occupation of federal property from federal prison.”
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Deborah said on January 26, 2016 at 11:04 pm
Well unfortunately a death occurred. That will give them martyr status. But it’s still a shame that someone died.
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FDChief said on January 26, 2016 at 11:19 pm
Thus perish all traitors: http://firedirectioncenter.blogspot.com/2016/01/18-us-code-2384-seditious-conspiracy.html
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FDChief said on January 26, 2016 at 11:25 pm
Oh, and Scout: ta. Thanks. I’m blushing…
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FDChief said on January 26, 2016 at 11:33 pm
Worth noting that the arrests came as the traitors in arms were on their way to spreading their treason into neighboring Grant County, where the sheriff there is another of their brothers-in-seditious-arms: https://www.rt.com/usa/330119-oregon-militants-feds-sheriff-endorsement/
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MichaelG said on January 27, 2016 at 12:33 am
With regard to Mr. Jones and his unfortunate accident, I wonder if there was any indication of Cheetos involvement. (Old joke)
From FDChief’s final post on the last thread, the money quote:
“Two days after the Malheur Refuge was taken over, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which monitors extremist groups in the US, said that the far-right, anti-government militia movement has been expanding. It identified 276 militia groups, up from 202 in 2014, representing a 37 percent increase.
The militia groups typically adhere to extreme anti-government doctrines and subscribe to “groundless conspiracy theories” about the federal government, said the SPLC. The Center also pointed out that no one has been held accountable for taking up arms against the federal government at Cliven Bundy’s ranch in Nevada – a fact that it claims has just emboldened extremists.
“When the federal government was stopped from enforcing the law at gunpoint, it energized the entire movement,” Heidi Beirich, director of SPLC’s Intelligence Project, said. “The fact is, Bundy is still a free man and has not paid the money he owes to the federal government – and the militiamen who aimed rifles at federal agents have gotten away with it.”
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