Dear Dirty America

At first it was about preserving a bunch of waddling desert tortoises that had the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) trying to kick the Bundy Ranch Family off the public grazing lands since 1993. It seemed unlike the federal government to lose sleep over which animal — the desert tortoise or the beef cattle — should enjoy tens of thousands of acres of grazing land.

Either way, this would be a lousy excuse to prematurely ejaculate the second American Civil War, unless you take into account a new document that has been reported on that may show the tortoise was only carrying the brunt of a much larger plan — the son of Nevada’s sprightly senator, Harry Reid, wants to set up solar panel power stations on the land with his Chinese energy firm. Rory Reid had been planning to build a $5 billion solar power plant on those public acres. So maybe it’s crunch time for the federal government to induce a Waco-style assault on the Bundy family and clear them out.

Physical escalation is what the Feds seem to want after they let loose their trained dogs on the ranch’s family members, and set up a Free Speech area to cordon off the boisterous protesters who have come to support the beleaguered Bundy family. The government agents have also been rounding up hundreds of head of cattle and whisking them away, and possibly letting the calves starve.

The BLM has also called in armed rangers from around the nation and surrounded the Bundy ranch. They used a Taser gun on the son, and then ripped it out of him, drawing blood. Yet, the ranchers and their supporters are not swayed. The local militias are also moving in, and they claim they aren’t scared to shoot. There are a few hardened cowboys out there who aren’t afraid to die for this.

I might be called a hillbilly on this matter, since the mainstream media have simply reported that the Bundy family was trespassing, and now a few rednecks are riled up. That’s how they want the public to view it. And if you support a wily redneck family….

But it’s deeper than that. The state should be handling the situation, first of all. Not a bumbling, ham-fisted federal agency. I will support a hard-working family against the thug group of swine that the BLM has sent to deal with the Bundys. Individual rights should come far before federal land grabs and pet projects of senators and their sons.

There is still some grit left in the American frontier, and it’s encouraging. I would take a drive over to Nevada from Los Angeles to protest any number of things the BLM has done,  however, they probably don’t want a long-haired hippie hanging around taking notes and needing a break for a green power smoothie. I’m not of the proper rank and file for this fight.

Regardless of who you are, or your political leanings, Americans everywhere should be blasting the government over this stupid idea of setting up a First Amendment zone. In America, there should be no designated area for Free Speech determined by the federal government. These people have guns and tanks and armored vehicles. They’ve rounded up and stolen the family’s cattle, and they may well get away with it, but anybody who cares about the rights of America going forward should be heartily against that type of autocratic illegitimate authority.

Also, if the BLM moves forward unchallenged in this standoff in Nevada, they will have the power to snatch up any wild lands or public grazing grounds on the basis that some animal, pick any animal, needs protection. Then the transnational corporations and the local politicians can bring to fruition their plans, whatever they are, unfettered.

It’s robbing the local citizens under the auspices of doing the environment a kindness, and then handing over the land to the privileged elite to harvest the natural resources or build what they want.

[Nevada ranch land photo by Famartin]