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-Land of the Free
US senator joins critics of federal cattle roundup
2014-04-11
[SACBEE] A Republican U.S. senator added his voice Wednesday to critics of a federal cattle roundup fought by a Nevada rancher who claims longstanding grazing rights on remote public rangeland about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas

Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada said he told new U.S. Bureau of Land Management chief Neil Kornze in Washington, D.C., that law-abiding Nevadans shouldn't be penalized by an "overreaching" agency.

Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval pointed earlier to what he called "an atmosphere of intimidation," resulting from the roundup and said he believed constitutional rights were being trampled.

Heller said he heard from local officials, residents and the Nevada Cattlemen's Association and remained "extremely concerned about the size of this closure and disruptions with access to roads, water and electrical infrastructure."

The federal government has shut down a scenic but windswept area about half the size of the state of Delaware to round up about 900 cattle it says are trespassing.

BLM and National Park Service officials didn't immediately respond Wednesday to criticisms of the roundup that started Saturday and prompted the closure of the 1,200-square-mile area through May 12.

It's seen by some as the latest battle over state and federal land rights in a state with deep roots in those disputes, including the Sagebrush Rebellion of the 1970s and '80s. Nevada, where various federal agencies manage or control more than 80 percent of the land, is among several Western states where ranchers have challenged federal land ownership.

The current showdown pits rancher Cliven Bundy's claims of ancestral rights to graze his cows on open range against federal claims that the cattle are trespassing on arid and fragile habitat of the endangered desert tortoise. Bundy has said he owns about 500 branded cattle on the range and claims the other 400 targeted for roundup are his, too.

BLM and Park Service officials see threats in Bundy's promise to "do whatever it takes" to protect his property and in his characterization that the dispute constitutes a "range war."

U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, noted that BLM officials were enforcing federal court orders that Bundy remove his animals. The legal battle has been waged for decades.
Posted by:Fred

#28  

Out of state groups begin arriving to support Rancher.
Posted by: Wholuck Panda7955   2014-04-11 23:39  

#27  #25 They're all post turtles.
Posted by: Glenmore 2014-04-11 20:02


Good one!
Posted by: Uncle Phester   2014-04-11 20:40  

#26  They just shut down the cel towers to cut comms. I was rather neutral on this. Now I'm not so sure. This will go down like Waco and Ruby Ridge. The feds will use force, the ranchers will fight back. A delegation of leaders from Arizona is heading that way to try and diffuse this. I doubt they will do any good. I get the same feeling as when you walk to a fight, its gonna happen, good or bad.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2014-04-11 20:19  

#25  They're all post turtles.
Posted by: Glenmore   2014-04-11 20:02  

#24  Turtles? According to the BLM logic, its government turtles all the way down.
Posted by: OldSpook   2014-04-11 18:01  

#23  (Yeah, I know, the first person to reference the Original Nazi's (TM) looses.).

That only counts when it comes to name-calling and straw man arguments. Referencing actual historical events gets you a pass.
Posted by: SteveS   2014-04-11 17:47  

#22  A stubborn cowboy just took down the most powerful elected official in the Senate.
Posted by: Bubba Graiting8281   2014-04-11 16:51  

#21  The head of the Federal BLM was a senior advisor to Reid. There must be a lot of money in there somewhere for Reid and Co. from the Chinese Government.
Posted by: Bubba Graiting8281   2014-04-11 16:25  

#20  Others are reporting Reid is involved, with his son, in a solar energy project slated for that land as well...
Posted by: 49 Pan   2014-04-11 16:23  

#19  DrudgeReport.com: Senator Reid and the Chinese Government want to take over the Bundy Ranch build a solar farm.
Posted by: Bubba Graiting8281   2014-04-11 16:22  

#18  I read an article today that indicates the State and Fed are in negotiations to drill on this land as well. I do believe there's a lot more to this than cows and turtles...
Posted by: 49 Pan   2014-04-11 16:20  

#17  The flyover Western dominion,
Bewildering to the Presidium,
Again sees Leviathan
Send forth Goliath and
Pound David into oblivion.

Meh. Phoning it in today. Reality impinges.
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220   2014-04-11 16:01  

#16  "We're just tryin' to herd us some sheep,"
Whined the Boss to his scattergun Veep.
From their hustler's roost,
Humble sheepmen vamoosed
While the ranchers were still fast asleep.
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220   2014-04-11 15:57  

#15  Conversation with an out of state ranger: 'Well, well,' and he goes, �'I don't even want to be here. Do you think my grandfather's proud of me? You think I like this? You think this is fun for me?'"
Posted by Bubba Graiting8281


Sorry GI, same rantings could be heard from any upscale whore house in Uijeongbu. You want sympathy? You'll find it somewhere between shi* and syphilis in Webster's. Have a super day.
Posted by: Besoeker   2014-04-11 14:11  

#14  That's where you, as a sworn soldier or agent, have to stand up and deliberately refuse to obey what you believe is a wrong and illegal (Unconstitutional) order. Oaths should mean something. Enough do that and the tinpot dictators lose their power nonviolently. Otherwise it will come down to blood- ours first and theirs later as they swing from a noose.
Posted by: OldSpook   2014-04-11 13:36  

#13  @ Bubba Graiting8281 - Sounds like a Nuremburg-type defense to me. (Yeah, I know, the first person to reference the Original Nazi's (TM) looses.).
Posted by: Uncle Phester   2014-04-11 12:50  

#12  The regime brings in hired guns, which did not work out yesterday for the BLM.

Conversation with an out of state ranger: “‘Well, well,’ and he goes, ‘I don’t even want to be here. Do you think my grandfather’s proud of me? You think I like this? You think this is fun for me?’”
Posted by: Bubba Graiting8281   2014-04-11 12:44  

#11  OldSpook is on to the larger issue: Federal ownership of land in the West is much higher (for various historical reasons) than east of the Mississippi.

There would be a number of benefits from a planned careful sell-off of these Federal lands. Keep Yosemite and Yellowstone, but a fair bit of the land is just that -- land. Sell it to the ranchers, farmers, timber industry etc., and let them make it productive (and tax accordingly). Long term it would be a win-win for the country.
Posted by: Steve White   2014-04-11 11:47  

#10  Where does Harry Reid stand on this situation ?

Well he is a big supporter of cowboy poetry.

Look, cows are either calving or have some young ones. Not done right, the calves will die. If those federali have those cows bunched up with no shade or breeze or water then they die to. It is my default that the people in charge of seizing the cattle are only used to stepping in their own bullshit.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2014-04-11 11:37  

#9  Supposedly Bundy actually owns some land that some connected people (Reid?) want and he wasn't selling, so they needed to make him more willing, make him an offer he couldn't refuse (insert dead horse head in bed photo here.)
Posted by: Glenmore   2014-04-11 11:27  

#8  I agree OS. A Benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is long over due. I doubt it will happen however. Think of the evil, carbon fracking and dirty domestic oil production that could potentially ensue. Quick thinking men in Washington will save us from this nightmare.
Posted by: Besoeker   2014-04-11 10:58  

#7  There should be a way to force the BLM to divest its ownership of these large swaths of territory in the west.
Posted by: OldSpook   2014-04-11 10:50  

#6  ...that is why the cowboys broke through the federal blockade later in the day yesterday. To start trying to save the cattle.
Posted by: Bubba Graiting8281   2014-04-11 10:07  

#5  Reid commented two days ago he is in favor of the BLM.

The people stopped a convoy of feds coming off range because there was a dump truck and a back hoe coming off the range. That meant they were killing and burying the cattle.
Posted by: Bubba Graiting8281   2014-04-11 09:32  

#4  What does the farmer need? Obvious: "He needs a punch in the jaw if he believes that either of the parties cares a damn about him after the election"
~ Will Rogers


Posted by: Besoeker   2014-04-11 09:05  

#3  Where does Harry Reid stand on this situation ?

How did someone in public service all his life become a millionaire? Go check on the water rights of the area. Someone is going to tap them as soon as the 'prior use' of the land is terminated making it accessible for others.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2014-04-11 08:27  

#2  Saw an interesting photo article yesterday where the Bureau of Land Managment was routed by the public, despite guns drawn and violent harassment
(By the cops) the people were loud and right, with the cops leaving (en mass, 8-10 cars) when they couldn't cow the gathered people and make them leave despite the LAW having sevral Police Dogs (On leashes), Police ORDERED the PEOPLE to leave and several people told the Police NO, and accused the cops of harrasssment.

The cops were clearly out of line here, watch for the whole thing to be quietly suppressed.

Peoople will NOT stand for this.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2014-04-11 08:05  

#1  Where does Harry Reid stand on this situation ? Isn't he from out there? It is obvious that the US govt. WILL if they think they can. Let's shoot our own people over some cows. Let's kill some voters because we can.

What is your citizenship worth in the land of the Free? The tyrants are always there...the only thing that stops them is fear of the citizenry. Rebellion is a right like so many others. You only are free if you are willing to fight.

Harry Reid is a beltway insider. he is not your friend.
Posted by: Big Thromoth3646   2014-04-11 06:37  

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