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Except as I showed above quite a bit of land in the west is currently OWNED or CONTROLLED by the government.
Kind of hard to buy something that they're not making any more of now isn't it?
Whoopty-doo. Lots of land in the rest of the country is owned by private owners who don't want to sell, too. So? Westerners are special somehow?
It may not be unconstitutional, but it is certainly illegal. The Malheur Refuge was stolen from the Paiute tribe. It is their reservation land by treaty.
It's not the Paiutes or their representatives who are staging this "take over", though, and the militia nutcases aren't there to help the Paiutes. In fact, the Paiutes have a better chance of getting their land back from the Feds than they would ever have from these "militia" nutcases or the state of Oregon.
There is no good reason why the federal government should own 80% of the land in Nevada and more than 50% in other western states.
Yes there is. Nobody wanted this land when it was available for sale because they could use it for free. They only started complaining when the government started charging them for the use of land the feds owned.
My favorite part is at the end when Ritzheimer almost tearfully deplores how he cannot imagine how people would expend so much effort and money on "hate" (as compared to their altogether responsible civic mindedness).
Here is Rolling Stone's biodata on Ritzheimer:
Jon Ritzheimer
Age: 32
Who: Anti-Muslim militant.
Where he's from: Ritzheimer is an Iraq War vet who makes his home near Phoenix.
Backstory: Ritzheimer gained national attention as the leader of the armed protest of the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix last May; he wore a T-Shirt reading "F*** Islam" — sold by an apparel line called Rogue Infidel, which Ritzheimer lists as his workplace on Facebook.
A. Were the union dudes armed?
B. Did the union dudes destroy state property?
C. Did the union dudes steal government vehicles and equipment?
D. Did the union dudes illegally access state documents?
E. Did the union dudes follow state employees home and sit outside their houses?
A- Some brought ammunition, so I presume that some were also armed
B- They caused $270,000 in damage to the State House
C- Union dudes "borrowed" school buses to transport their butt hurt members and fans to the protests
D- I dont know.
E- Yes, and the Union dudes or fans also sent elected officials and their families a variety of death threats.
To paraphrase another member: "Who is doing the occupying and why makes a big difference"
Though I think the government does need to end the protests at the nature center ASAP, and think Bundy sr. and Bundy jr. need to be in prison, I have to admit that I have more sympathy for the ranchers as a group than their union equivelants as a group.
Now that I think about it though, the union guys and the ranchers have alot in common:
- Both have a strong vested interest in the "traditional way"
- Both groups have exerted alot of influence to ensure that the "traditional way" benefits them
- Both groups get extremely irate over any changes to the "traditional way"
You know what? We're in an era where protesters have it easier than ever. We have a system where you can have the President make a statement about something by just getting 100,000 signatures on a petition. You can publicize your cause easily enough through any social media channel you please. You can bring lawsuits. You can publicly protest through peaceful means.
There's no need for armed seizures of government land and then squalling like a little b***h about how you're not gonna go to jail. Some revolutionaries
And finally, if the land did go up for sale, do you really think the ranchers would get any of it, especially the smaller ones? Large business interests will snap it up in a heartbeat. Meanwhile, the American people will have lost out on lands that could have been used for recreational use by millions and some of its greatest natural spaces.
Not to mention if private citizens or companies purchased the property, the towns would lose out on tourist money from people who come to use the land. Hunters, birdwatchers, hikers, campers, all need shops, restaurants, hotels, etc.
Could you imagine the grand canyon with hotels and resorts lining the edge?
There are many small towns that survive only because of the tourists that the wildlife refuges, national parks, etc bring in.
One of the greatest things about this country is the preserved lands that are not in the hands of private owners. What do you think would happen if Welfare-farmer-Joe got to buy that land dirt cheap? He'd fence it off and shoot anyone who walked on it.
When they say "The Government" they are talking about a department, paid for by our taxes, that is entrusted to preserve that land. That land is in trust for ALL Americans, not just a few far right fanatics.
If they had their way, Yellowstone would be condos and a golf course. I have Zero, Zip, Nada sympathy for them, they are just more leeches on the system looking for handouts.
Last edited by StuartGotts; 01-13-2016 at 09:20 AM..
Planning for a cross-country march to “restore America” — which is related to the Oregon nature preserve standoff — appears to have hit a snag when one of its organizers shot the other co-founder Monday afternoon during a drunken argument over a gun.
Sounds like good material for a far right version of the "Jerry Springer Show".
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