Monday Reads: I can’t even …

Well, it’s the first Monday of the New Year and I’m already wishing I could stay under the covers.  Yes, it’s cold and yes, the to do list is full of things I simply don’t want to do.

While I had a nice quiet weekend, the usual angry white male militia suspects were inciting violent over throw of the US Government.  Yes. It’s Christian Patriot Defense League time again.  The Posse Commitatus crew just never sleeps but dreams those great dreams of federal government conspiracies met by their armed insurrection. You know there’s only a little time left to thwart the nation’s first black president before they have to thwart the nation’s first woman president. They have a bunch of trinkets, signs, and slogans to use before they become outdated.

So, over the weekend Clive Bundy’s spawn decided to join a protest in Oregon on the sentencing of two poachers who basically set fire to federal land to cover up their crimes.  The pair received a light sentence from the original judgement so the pair were taken back to court by the federal government.  Public protests over the judicial process and the criminal system have been a frequent event recently and are protected by the Constitution unless things get out of hand.  So, we’re talking about a group of gun-toting militia types here so a simple protest never suffices.

The ranchers, Dwight Hammond, Jr., 73, and his son Steve, 43, were convicted of federal arson charges, stemming from a pair or fires on federal land near their ranch. The first was reportedly set in 2001 to cover up their illegal poaching of a deer on government property. It burned 139 acres. The second was reportedly set in 2006 as a defensive measure, to protect the ranch from an approaching lightning-sparked wildfire. That arson reportedly endangered volunteer firefighters camped nearby. The government would seek $1 million in damages. (For a deep dive of the backstory read this piece in The Oregonian.)

I’m quoting from a Rolling Stone article that gives a high level outline on the background of what has now become an armed occupation of “the Malheur Wildlife Refuge — a remote, marshy oasis in Oregon’s high
desert famed for its spectacular migratory birds” to quote author Tim Dickinson. The basic reason for the protest and supposedly the armed takeover and occupation is a Clinton Era law used to extend the sentence of the poacher/arsonists.

The ranchers’ case became a cause celebre in the patriot/militia movement because the pair were sentenced for their arson crimes under a provision of a law called the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. And they were oddly sentenced twice.

The federal law in question doesn’t just deal with terrorism. It created a five-year mandatory-minimum sentence for arson on federal land: “Whoever maliciously damages or destroys… by means of fire…any…real property…owned or possessed by…the United States…shall be imprisoned for not less than 5 years…” 

The first federal judge to handle the case concluded that the mandatory sentence was too stiff and gave the pair far lighter sentences, which they served. But the U.S. attorney in the case called foul; the federal government took the rare step of appealing the sentence. In October 2015, the Ninth Circuit imposed the mandatory minimum, ruling that: “given the seriousness of arson, a five-year sentence is not grossly disproportionate to the offense.” The ranchers are due back in federal prison Monday to serve out their five years each.

But this odd re-sentencing, under a statute that makes it sound like the cattlemen were being prosecuted for terrorism, inflamed the paranoid passions of the anti-government patriot and militia movements, and brought the militants to Burns for a rally on Saturday.

So, protesting is never enough for this bunch of gun-toting, cowboying, gubmint-hating, law breaking white men. The nice people of Burns and the communities surrounding the Wildlife Refuge are quite unhappy being the center of an armed insurrection.  You can find two locals that are covering the siege on twitter. One is Michael Oman-Reagan, an anthropologist.  (The protest sign pictures are from his feed,) The other is Amanda Peacher who is a central Oregon reporter for OPBS.  (h/t to my friend Elaine Leyda for the names.) The national news was a little slow getting there and never know the area.  Peacher’s been busy since the take over.

Ammon Bundy emerged from a small brick building at the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday.

He wouldn’t say how many protesters were present at the site of the occupied federal complex, but fewer than 20 people were visible Sunday afternoon.

The leader of the occupation spoke in cool, calm tones as he explained why he and other self-described militiamen broke into and took over the complex Saturday.

“This refuge, from its very inception has been a tool of tyranny,” said Bundy. He believes the federal government overstepped its constitutional bounds in its original purchase of the land back in 1908.

The occupiers said their mission is to put the federal lands under local control, although it’s unclear by what means. Bundy said the protesters have a plan that will take “several months at the shortest to accomplish.”

The refuge is a popular destination for spring birdwatchers, and the headquarters include a visitor’s center, museum and housing.

Yes folks, a Wildlife Refuge is a “tool of tyranny”.  That’s why we now have children as human shields there.  Oh, and that’s why they want to overthrow the Federal Government.  Remember, these are the dudes whose father has been using Federal land to feed his cattle for years and years and years.   Now. mind you, all of this was basically Indian lands when the Bundys got there. But, you know, it’s theirs and they want it back because “LIBerty”.

Despite claims by Cliven Bundy that there are 150 armed militiamen now occupying a federal building in Oregon, his son Ammon Bundy has only about 20 people. Three of Cliven Bundy’s sons reportedly broke into and took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters on Saturday. The men reportedly are heavily armed, have taken children into the occupied area, and have terrorized locals, forcing schools to be closed all this week and other nearby federal buildings to shut down out of safety concerns.

Militia movements are not new to this country.  Far-right political movements usually have some aspect of gun-toting, gubmint-hating, cowboying, angry white men and have had so for years.   We’ve also had run-ins with them from time to time.  You may remember the entire Ruby Ridge thing. Oregon has a history with them.

Despite the talk about supporting the Hammond family in Burns, Oregon, the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters is actually part of a long-standing campaign by radical right-wingers to dismantle federal land ownership in the West. Some elected officials are working through mainstream channels to get lands transferred to state or county governments, or to allow them equal say over their use. But the Malheur takeover seems to be an attempt to spread a tactic of armed federal land takeovers. These armed groups are part of the “Patriot movement”—the successor to the 1990s militia movement—which has seen a rebirth since the election of Barack Obama in 2008.

Like most right wingers, these dudes love them some conspiracy theories and hate them some President Obama but they’ve been like that for some time.  If you’re old like me, you’ll remember Possee Comitatus. Most of them are white supremacists so hating on a black president is just a natural by product.

Many of the tactics and talking points being used were popularized in the 1970s by the white supremacist group Posse Comitatus. This group promoted the “Christian Patriot” movement, advocated the formation of “Citizens Militias,” helped forge an idiosyncratic reading of the Constitution, said the county sheriff was the highest elected official that should be obeyed, and opposed federal environmental restrictions.

Many of these gun-toting, gubmint-hating, cowboying angry white men are now Republicans.  Hence, we see a posse of very quite Republican Candidates for President with the exception of Marco Rubio.

Members of the media tour the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon January 3, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

Republican presidential candidates are staying mum as an armed group has taken over part of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon — even those who supported the father of at least one of the group’s leaders, who had his own standoff with the government in 2014, and have called for limits on federal control over Western land.

Some of the issues involved in the standoff — constitutional rights, allegations of federal government overreach and individual liberties — have come to the fore in the GOP primary race. And as Western states are poised to play a larger role in the contest, so has the issue of property rights in a region where the federal government controls about half of the land.

But few candidates seemed willing to wade into any of these issues Sunday as the leaders of the group said they are standing up against government overreach and are prepared to remain there for “as long as it takes.” The group said it is protesting the case of two Oregon ranchers who were convicted of arson in 2012 and are scheduled to report to federal prison Monday. The ranchers were convicted on a broad terrorism charge. Many ranchers and land users in the West lease public land.

Rubio just denounced “lawlessness” this morning but with a militia ass-kissing addendum.

Marco Rubio on Monday addressed the armed standoff at a federal building in Oregon, saying the occupiers “can’t be lawless” and should instead pursue lawful channels to change policy.

A small militia is occupying the headquarters building at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in rural Oregon as part of a protest against the federal government and the impending imprisonment of two Oregon ranchers.

“Let me just say, first of all, you’ve got to follow the law,” the Florida senator and Republican presidential candidate said on Iowa radio station KBUR Monday morning. “You can’t be lawless. We live in a republic. There are ways to change the laws of this country and the policies. If we get frustrated with it, that’s why we have elections. That’s why we have people we can hold accountable.”

Rubio said that he did agree, however, that the federal government did control too much land in western states.

“And I agree that there is too much federal control over land especially out in the western part of the United States,” he continued. “There are states for example like Nevada that are dominated by the federal government in terms of land holding and we should fix it, but no one should be doing it in a way that’s outside the law. We are a nation laws, we should follow those laws and they should be respected.”

I guess he doesn’t get that folks that want armed insurrections of the government basically aren’t going to “pursue lawful channels to change policy”.  But, as we’ve mentioned before here, Rubio isn’t exactly a Rhodes Scholar. 

It also doesn’t take a Rhodes Scholar to notice that none of the protesters or the occupiers have been harmed in any way.

As an armed militia took over federal buildings and property in Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and declared their willingness to “kill or be killed” on Saturday, one of the group’s best defenses has received little media coverage — their whiteness.

Indeed, the white skin of the armed men and women who’ve taken over the federal property serves as a powerful force field protecting them from the shoot-first, ask-questions-later style of law enforcement that permeates communities of color every day.

There must be no Rhodes Scholars in the majority of news outlets these days.  However, New York Daily News does have the highly observant Shaun King.

You know and I know that if a group of heavily armed Muslim Americans took over a federal building, proclaimed they were ready to kill or be killed, and made a public announcement for other armed Muslims from around the country to join them, the National Guard, State Police and FBI would’ve already shut the whole thing down with violent force. I’d be surprised if one person survived.

So, where are the FBI?

The FBI has taken charge of law enforcement efforts to bring a peaceful end to the armed takeover of a national wildlife refuge in rural eastern Oregon.

The agency issued a statement late Sunday saying it is “working with the Harney County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police and other local and state law enforcement agencies.”

This is an extremely isolated and rural part of Oregon. So, we have the kind of Sheriff in charge that you usually see in modern Westerns.  He’s a pretty shrewd cookie.

The Oregon sheriff whose county is at the heart of an anti-government call-to-arms said Sunday the group occupying a national wildlife refuge came to town under false pretenses.

Sheriff David Ward said protesters came to Harney County, in southeastern Oregon, “claiming to be part of militia groups supporting local ranchers.” In reality, he said, “these men had alternative motives to attempt to overthrow the county and federal government in hopes to spark a movement across the United States.”

In a statement issued Sunday afternoon, Ward said he was working with local and federal authorities to resolve the situation as quickly and peacefully as possible.

So, this is–as they say–a developing story.  I say we just put a fence around them, a group of Marines, call it a FEMA camp and treat them like the prisoners at Guantanamo who are also enemy combatants.  But, hey, that’s just me.

What’s on your reading and blogging list today? 

Oh!  A little blog business!  The small bill of keeping up the TypeKit font for this site is due on the 9th!  I could  use a few donations.  You don’t have to worry about a huge amount since it’s smaller than the October bill for the site itself but any bit helps.   It helps us maintain our banner.