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BLM blinks in their range war
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nw30



Joined: 21 Dec 2008
Posts: 6485
Location: The eye of the universe, Cen. Cal. coast

PostPosted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 1:21 pm    Post subject: BLM blinks in their range war Reply with quote

And it's a good thing, the feds don't need another Ruby Ridge or Waco, Tx. debacle on their hands.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nevada Cattle Rancher Wins 'Range War' With Feds
April 12, 2014

By LIZ FIELDS
Reporter via Good Morning America

A Nevada cattle rancher appears to have won his week-long battle with the federal government over a controversial cattle roundup that had led to the arrest of several protesters.

Cliven Bundy went head to head with the Bureau of Land Management over the removal of hundreds of his cattle from federal land, where the government said they were grazing illegally.

Bundy claims his herd of roughly 900 cattle have grazed on the land along the riverbed near Bunkerville, 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, since 1870 and threatened a "range war" against the BLM on the Bundy Ranch website after one of his sons was arrested while protesting the removal of the cattle.

"I have no contract with the United States government," Bundy said. "I was paying grazing fees for management and that's what BLM was supposed to be, land managers and they were managing my ranch out of business, so I refused to pay."

The federal government had countered that Bundy "owes the American people in excess of $1 million " in unpaid grazing fees and "refuses to abide by the law of land, despite many opportunities over the last 20 years to do so."

However, today the BLM said it would not enforce a court order to remove the cattle and was pulling out of the area.

"Based on information about conditions on the ground, and in consultation with law enforcement, we have made a decision to conclude the cattle gather because of our serious concern about the safety of employees and members of the public," BLM Director Neil Kornze said.

"We ask that all parties in the area remain peaceful and law-abiding as the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service work to end the operation in an orderly manner," he said.

The roundup began April 5, following lengthy court proceedings dating back to 1993, federal officials said. Federal officers began impounding the first lot of cows last weekend, and Bundy responded by inviting supporters onto his land to protest the action.

"It's not about cows, it's about freedom," Utah resident Yonna Winget told ABC News affiliate KTNV in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"People are getting tired of the federal government having unlimited power," Bundy's wife, Carol Bundy told ABC News.

By Sunday, April 6, one of Bundy's sons, Dave Bundy, was taken into custody for refusing to disperse and resisting arrest, while hundreds of other protesters, some venturing from interstate, gathered along the road few miles from Bundy's property in solidarity. Dave Bundy was later released.

A spokesman for the Bundy encampment told ABC News roughly 300 protesters had assembled for the protest, while a BLM representative estimated there were around 100 people.

"We want a peaceful protest, but we also want our voices heard," said Cliven Bundy's sister, Chrisie Marshall Bundy.

But clashes between demonstrators and authorities took a violent turn on Wednesday, with cell phone video showing some being tasered at the site, including Bundy's son, Ammon Bundy. Two other protesters were detained, cited and later released on Thursday, according to the BLM.

As the movement grew by the day, and demonstrators rallied together, bonding by campfires at night, local protest leaders warned people not to wear camouflage and keep their weapons inside their vehicles.

Both sides said the issue is one of fairness, with the federal government maintaining that thousands of other cattle ranchers are abiding by the law by paying their annual grazing fees, while Bundy's family and supporters say the government's actions are threatening ranchers' freedoms.

"It's about the freedom of America," said another of Bundy's sisters, Margaret Houston. "We have to stand up and fight."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/nevada-cattle-rancher-wins-range-war-federal-government/story?id=23302610
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uwindsurf



Joined: 18 Aug 2012
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 1:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In the addled brains of some, violating the law equates to freedom.
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keycocker



Joined: 10 Jul 2005
Posts: 3598

PostPosted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 1:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Freedom to not pay the grazing fees my family has paid for generations.
Those fees are a huge benefit to us because renting land is very expensive if you want to expand beyond your own farm.
The only affordable way is to graze on BLM lands.. It is even cheaper if you rip off the public by refusing to pay the very low fee.
And bring all your armed friends. They want to rip off the public trust too.
Tell them to leave their guns in the truck, but you know many of them won't.

Fighting for the right to make yourself rich ripping off the public trust is a very heroic thing to do, like saving children from drowning, or helping an old lady cross the street.
It is all about freedom, not money.
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 1:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seems to me that Bundy wants the freedom to use federal land for free. Does that seem right to you?
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MalibuGuru



Joined: 11 Nov 1993
Posts: 9293

PostPosted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 2:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not true, Bundy offered to pay the money but the feds refused. Harry Reid wanted to use this land for a solar farm for his donors and cronies. they used the excuse of desert tortoises so they could take the land. However in the meantime they were running tanks quads horses and 4x4's over the land to Rustle another man's property. Bundy's family owned the property since the 1880s
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 2:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bard, and you got your information from where? Also, I don't think we're talking about Bundy's own private land. What's at issue here is grazing rights on federal land.
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windoggi



Joined: 22 Feb 2002
Posts: 2743

PostPosted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 3:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I looked up the Reid issue and the only thing I could find was on Glenn Beck, Alex Jones and Sean Hannity's sites. He's a dead beat who doesn't want to pay taxes or his rent. Add to the mix a rash of wanna be militia poseurs. What a great cause for the right to take up!
_________________
/w\
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keycocker



Joined: 10 Jul 2005
Posts: 3598

PostPosted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The militia groups are saying they will come in and defend this guys right to rip off the public trust.
Real heros, heavily armed.
The guys wife says the gov came with too much armed support. She is very angry that the BLM has too many cops to defend them so she says they have no choice but to invite the militia.... heroes.... to have an armed standoff.
Paying your bills is not an option when you love money, I mean freedom, so much.
The BLM let this go through court for twenty years to avoid this.
The guy lost every case. The courts don't recognize your right to make money off the public, and land you have been using without permission does not belong to you.
If they win I want a million acre section of land to use for free also.
I can get rich off it too, as long as I don't pay for it.

Clearly Obamas fault.
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nw30



Joined: 21 Dec 2008
Posts: 6485
Location: The eye of the universe, Cen. Cal. coast

PostPosted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 3:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are many other ways that this could have been handled as opposed to the strong arm quazi-military tactic of the BLM, and the timing was very suspicious.
It's funny how the animal rights peeps are quiet on this one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLM Won’t Say if They’ve Euthanized Cows in Ranch Standoff

‘We do have a protocol in terms of when we would euthanize animals’
April 11, 2014 4:00 pm

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will not say if they have euthanized any cows in the roundup of Cliven Bundy’s cattle on public land in Nevada.

Amy Lueders, the Nevada state director for the BLM, said in a conference call Thursday evening that the agency does have a “protocol,” but would not release any numbers for animals they have found dead or that they have euthanized.

A reporter asked about heavy construction equipment that was seen coming in and out of the blockade, and whether cattle have been found dead, injured, or euthanized during the operation.

“In terms of the number that we’ve found, animals who are, I think, deceased on the range, or if we’ve had to euthanize an animal, we don’t have an answer to that question at this time,” Lueders said. “We will euthanize an animal during the impoundment if they exhibit dangerous characteristics, threaten the health and safety of the employees, display a hopeless prognosis for life.”

“So, we do have a protocol in terms of when we would euthanize animals,” she said. “But we don’t have any answers at this time in terms of the numbers.”

Lueders said she understood that the heavy equipment was being used to “restore land that has been affected by the trespass cattle.”

The Bundy family has expressed concerns that the cattle are being mistreated. Stetsy Bundy Cox, Cliven Bundy’s daughter, told the Washington Free Beacon that she believes calves are being left behind.

“I watched them gather a herd off the river with helicopters, and they had rounded them for miles and by the time I saw them they were pushing them up the wash,” she said. “Most of them were mamas with babies because it’s calving season, and they’re just little. And I watched the calves, they couldn’t keep up very good and they kept slowing down and the helicopter would swoop down and you could hear them honking at them. And he kept swooping down and honking at them.”

Cox said that calves will hide under brush, and it is likely that employees removing the cattle would not see them.

“I also know my dad’s cows, because a few of those cows out there are my own personal cows,” she said. “When you push them too hard, or if you rope them they sulk. They’re kind of stubborn. And if they don’t want to go they’ll sulk. And if they get down and sulk they’ll sulk so long they won’t even get up, they’ll just die. So if you stress those cows out too much, they’ll do that.”

“Do I think they are leaving baby calves out there? I do,” Cox said. “Do I think that cows are dying? I do.”

The BLM refused to estimate how much it is costing to remove the cattle, though some estimates have risen to $3 million.

“Mr. Bundy currently owes the taxpayers over $1 million and if Mr. Bundy had chosen to comply with the law, and chosen to comply with two court orders, we would not be undertaking this operation,” Lueders said. “The cost will be a matter of public record once the operation concludes, we are not providing estimates at this time, because there are certainly a number of factors, including the duration that will determine the ultimate cost.”

As of Wednesday, 352 cattle have been removed from the public land ranched by the Bundy family for more than a century. An estimated 200 armed officials have surrounded the ranch, the culmination of a dispute dating back 20 years over “grazing fees” and the protection of the “desert tortoise.”

The majority of public land in Clark County, Nev. was set aside for the tortoise in 1998. Only three grazing permits are currently held on public land in Southern Nevada, the BLM said on Thursday.

Gov. Brian Sandoval (R.) had expressed concern over the tactics used by the BLM, including the use of so-called “First Amendment Areas,” designated locations set up by the BLM where citizens can protest the removal.

The BLM said on Thursday they are now “allowing the public to congregate on public lands,” but safety remains their number one priority.

“We certainly have heard the Governor’s concerns, and we welcome his input,” Lueders said. “Hearing his concerns, we have made some adjustments, and we are allowing [the] public to congregate on public lands, as long as they do not impede the operation.”

Sandoval urged everyone to act with restraint in a statement Friday, following a heated confrontation between protesters and BLM rangers, in which one of the Bundy sons was tasered.

“Earlier this week, I advised the BLM not to limit or hinder the constitutional rights of Nevadans and be mindful of its conduct,” Sandoval said. “The ability to speak out against government actions is one of the freedoms we all cherish as Americans.”

“Today I am asking all individuals who are near the situation to act with restraint. Although tensions remain high, escalation of current events could have negative, long lasting consequences that can be avoided,” he said.

Reps. Matt Salmon (R., Ariz.) and Steve Pearce (R., N.M.) sent a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Friday expressing their concern about the “escalation of force” used by the federal government.

“This escalation of force reportedly includes the deployment of roughly two hundred heavily armed personnel, including snipers, along with the deployment of Tasers, the use of K-9 units, and brutal physical force against members of the Bundy family and their neighbors who had come to support them,” Salmon and Pearce wrote.

“One of the victims of this aggression is reported to have included Margaret Houston, a 57-year-old mother of eleven children and a recovering cancer victim.”

“Unfortunately, we know all too well that in situations like these, if tensions continue to escalate the consequences can be devastating,” the lawmakers said. “We ask that the BLM allow ‘cooler heads to prevail’ and to pursue a non-violent resolution to this disagreement.”

http://freebeacon.com/issues/blm-wont-say-if-theyve-euthanized-cows-in-ranch-standoff/
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mac



Joined: 07 Mar 1999
Posts: 17744
Location: Berkeley, California

PostPosted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 3:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Never one to find a credible source:

Quote:
The Washington Free Beacon. The Washington Free Beacon is an American web site that publishes news and associated content from a U.S. conservative perspective.


I thought the Bard's of the world were worried about the oligarchs. Only on the left I guess. Here from the Nation is the unsavory aspects about the rag:

Quote:
The Washington Free Beacon, a new website on the right, has a particular fascination with promoting weapon sales to Taiwan. In addition to daily hits on the Obama administration and Democrats, the Free Beacon has multiple posts calling for more F-16 fighter jet sales to the island nation, and has branded skeptics of militarization as “pro-China” activists.

The site, however, fails to disclose the fact that its sponsor is a lobbyist for a firm dedicated to helping Taiwan advance its policy agenda.

Michael Goldfarb, a former Republican staffer and writer, founded the Free Beacon with “several million dollars” in January of this year. Listed as the chairman of the 501(c) group that sponsors the Free Beacon website, Goldfarb is also a partner at the lobbying and public relations firm Orion Strategies, LLC.

The contract between the Taiwanese ambassador and Goldfarb’s firm, renewed last year for a period that ends on September 30, 2012, stipulates that Orion will be paid $180,000 a year to “provide advice and consulting services concerning Taiwan’s strategic goals.”

Orion’s advocacy, according to disclosures filed with the Justice Department, has centered on promoting US authorization to sell Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan. Mike Mitchell, Goldfarb’s partner at Orion, makes weekly calls to Congress to press lawmakers and their staff on the issue, from arranging Congressional visits to Taiwan to prepping for Senate hearings.

As Goldfarb’s firm quietly peddles influence for Taiwan’s arms agenda in Congress, his site provides a megaphone. A Free Beacon article from earlier this year quotes an anonymous “industry representative” to demand that the Obama Administration “release the 66 new Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 52+ fighter aircraft that Taiwan [has] requested to purchase.” Another Free Beacon piece promoting increased arms sales calls National Security Council member Evan Medeiros, a policy expert the Free Beacon claims played a “key figure in killing the planned sale of new F-16 jets to Taiwan,” a “key pro-China activist.”

There is no disclosure on the Free Beacon website that its chairman is paid to lobby for Taiwan and other interest groups.

Senator John Cornyn’s (R-TX) efforts on behalf of Taiwan have been guided, and publicized, by Goldfarb-related organizations. Orion has met with Cornyn or his staff more than fifty times in the last year on Taiwan-related issues, including “congressional strategy to promote F-16 sale[s] to Taiwan,” legislation to force new F-16 sales, and travel to the country.

The effort has paid off. On November 18, 2011, Cornyn placed a hold—a privilege given to Senators to unilaterally block almost any presidential appointee—against Mark Lippert to become an assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs. Cornyn said he would block the nomination until the administration reconsidered the sale of 66 new F-16 jets to Taiwan. A week prior to the hold, Orion discussed Lippert-related strategy with Cornyn’s office, according to disclosures.

The hold, of course, was celebrated by the Free Beacon, which posted a digitized copy of Cornyn’s letter. Cornyn lifted his hold in April, after the White House pledged to give serious consideration to his Taiwan-related demands.

The extent to which Orion uses the Free Beacon as a front for its clients is unclear. A mandatory disclosure form for its foreign lobbying that was due in May of this year has still not been filed. A representative from the Justice Department confirmed to The Nation that Goldfarb’s firm has failed to file its 2012 Supplemental Statement.


Stealing from the public is ok if it is done by a right winger appears to be the Nit Wit's take home message.

Gotta love the humor. Throw a few more rocks in the Pacific, and measure the sea level rise.
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