In 1993 a Nevada cattle rancher named Cliven Bundy decided he he wasn't going to pay the price that cattle ranchers are required to cough up for the privilege of deriving personal profit from the exploitation of publicly owned land. He apparently didn't like some new restrictions that his landlord placed on his use of public land, so he decided he wasn't going to pay. His theory seems to be that he is entitled to use public land to provide feed for his cattle for a large part of the year at a cost of nothing if he disagrees with any of the terms of the lease. In the time since, the government has repeatedly warned him that this wasn't going to work, and the courts have consistently supported the government's position. After years of freebie grazing his lease was cancelled and he's been informed that he owes about a million dollars in back payments. Since no payment has been forthcoming, the government started attaching his assets, which in this case were cows. And now a huge collection of armed Rightwing militia members, outraged fellow ranchers, and small government fanatics, have rushed to his support. These are people who on other days scream about welfare queens, deadbeats, and people ripping off the government to benefit their own bank accounts. But when they find a welfare queen of their own in their midst the rush to defend him. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/12/us-usa-ranchers-nevada-idUSBREA3B03Q20140412
I saw this story on the news. And of course these Right-wingers made no bones about the fact that they have guns. They feel that if they decide that they are right and the government is wrong, then their good old Second Amendment solution will take care of the problem for them. Why do they think that guns make them right and the government wrong? If you've lost in court over and over again, how does the fact that you have guns make you suddenly right? This is the Right-winger mentality on display. The fact that this is public land isn't in dispute. The fact that lots of people pay to lease public land isn't unusual. The fact that this family is ripping US, you and I off, is probable and his gun makes him right in his opinion. Typical.
Maybe we should just give all people on welfare guns and let them fend for themselves? It would make the gun lobby/NRA happy, keep these people fed and all we have to worry about is all the consequences. That's a win-win-dead situation if I ever heard one.
I stand in awe. That is probably the most brilliant solution to the welfare "problem" I've ever heard. Seriously. Instead of trying to help the poor, the unemployed, and the exploited you simply give them guns and tell them they're on their own. Now there's a Second Amendment Remedy for you. Indeed. What Rightwinger could find fault with that?
Right-winger: But,but, but... What if they is "blick"? How much can a street gun cost anyway? Far less than welfare I'm sure. And afterall, isn't this really about money?
And then the gun freaks crawl out from under their rocks... View attachment 2457 Protester Eric Parker from central Idaho aims his weapon from a bridge next to the Bureau of Land Management’s base camp where seized cattle, that belonged… Photo by JIM URQUHART/Reuters
Sean Hannity is in lock step with this injustice. I wonder if he'll be on he "front lines" with the unarmed women? Probably not. That would require real balls or something to that effect.
Doesn't it seem a little crazy that BO would call out the military over a dispute about grass? What does the admin say this Bundy guy owes? A million bucks? What's the tab up to now for the action BO has taken? Has it been worth it? Here's an idea... Al Sharpton owes over a million dollars in delinquent taxes, why doesn't BO collect that from him at their next joint appearance?
What military were "called out"? Is this another of those horrible government actions that the lame street media has been hiding from the public?
Tim Geithner owed back taxes, too and look what happened to him. If Geithner is any indication, the next Republican president will appoint Cliven Bundy as the Secretary of the Treasury... and I don't want to hear one damned word about it from the Democrats.
Taxes? I thought that this was about choosing not to make lease payments to your landlord and instead insisting that you are entitled to use the land in question for free and pocket any profits you derive therefrom. Are you saying this jerk is a tax cheat as well? I'm not at all surprised.
Not at all. It all comes down to owing money to the government, doesn't it? Regardless of the form that money takes, it's still the same principle, right? Whether he owes it in the form of land use or in the form of back taxes, I don't believe the government really cares as long as its paid. Now, once Bundy pays his debt (assuming he's in the wrong, of course) then he'll be eligible to become Secretary of the Treasury. Who would think that a guy who didn't pay his debt to the government could become Secretary of the Treasury? Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction. Won't it be ironic if we start seeing Bundy's signature on our FRNs in a few years?
There seems to be a serious ball shortage among the freedom fighters. Came across this yesterday. Is this what you are referring to when you mention unarmed women? A former Arizona sheriff and current Tea Party activist and speaker named Richard Mack figured that if push came to shove with the Feds the thing to do would be to place women in the front lines of the Ranchers' Liberation Army so that they would be, "televised all across the world getting shot by those rogue federal officers." And he helpfully volunteered his own wife and daughter to be among the first so slaughtered. Not to worry though. He assures us he'd be right behind them. How far behind he hasn't said. I don't know how the women in question feel about the prospect of their menfolk using them as human shields and potential martyrs to the cause. It probably hasn't occurred to Mack and the boys to ask them. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/...rd-Mack-Planned-To-Use-Woman-as-Human-Shields http://www.theblaze.com/stories/201...-up-at-the-front-during-bundy-ranch-standoff/
So far our friends on the Right have asserted that Obama called out the military. He hasn't. They have called it an issue of non-payment of taxes. It's not. And they have implied that Bundy hasn't yet had his day in court. He has. More than once. And he's lost every time. There are people on the Right who are not a complete waste of space. I know a few. We could use them here.
The last time I heard of women being used as human shields was in Iraq. The American Taliban take the values from Middle East terrorists. Who could have seen that coming?
Cool story, bro. It's only sensible to wear the proper gear when facing off with a pack of heavily armed loudmouths who're pointing weapons at you. That doesn't mean that you're "paramilitary," let alone military. Anyway, I'm not sure about the first photo, but the second is a stock photo of Blackwater operatives in Iraq. No worries, though. Such things happen when one mindlessly rebleats wingnut propaganda. Also, as far as I know Obama had nothing to do with this situation. But like I said, cool story, bro.
