I just walked past the TVs in the office and the chryon on CNN was something to the effect of “Rubio Super PAC prepares big attack on Chris Christie.” I’m not sure any handful of words better captures how badly this primary cycle is going for the GOP.
Oregon militia chief asks why his crew of criminals face a “backlash” and Black Lives Matter doesn’t.
If, like me, you’ve been curious why the Bundy gang bothered to pick a remote wildlife refuge visitors center to stage their drama, Lauren Fox has some interesting backstory on that question. The jailed ranchers who inspired militia types to flock to Oregon in the first place have a long history of confrontations with the refuge, which is adjacent to their ranch. And when I say confrontations … Dwight Hammond, Jr., the ranching family patriarch (pictured), reportedly made death threats against the refuge’s managers on multiple occasions: 1986, 1988, 1991 and 1994. You might call that a pattern. More here.
I wanted to flag your attention to this article in Vox explaining just why it is that federal authorities do and are taking such a kid gloves approach to the on-going antics of the Bundy clan and associates at that wildlife refuge in Oregon. First, it’s a very detailed interesting read. Second, if you’re over 35, it will remind you that you’re getting old. The piece is clearly written for people for whom Ruby Ridge, Waco, the Oklahoma City bombing and the “militia” heyday of the ’90s is something you learn from history books rather than something you remember watching on CNN.
As the other patriot and militia groups who were initially critical of the Oregon refuge takeover start to come around and see it as a good thing, you can’t help but think that part of their original disgruntlement was not being in on the action in the first place.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, when we look at the ridiculously inconsistent way law enforcement handles white right-wing freaks as opposed to other people who break the law or threaten violence or whatever, the import should not be that federal law enforcement should just rush in and kill everyone. Using force should be a last resort. And, within reason, if you can just wait people out and then charge them with whatever crimes they committed, great. As we say in the main policing debate, killing people really needs to be the last resort. But we just confirmed from Oregon State police the Ammon Bundy and his crew, who appear to be running low on supplies (Fritos, beef jerky, pizza, etc.) are actually free to come and go as they please. So if they need more food they can just leave the stand off, drive off to the nearest grocery store on a food run and come back and keep up the historic seige.
The Bundys are Patriots, anti-federal government revolutionaries and also decent sized federal campaign donors.
LaVoy Finicum appears to be getting bored. He’s one of the guys who’s hold up in that Wildlife Refuge visitor center, except when he runs down to the mini mart to get a sandwich. LaVoy says he needs to get back to his ranch. “I got cows that are scattered and lost.”
So far so good.
As we go through the Bundy white privilege performance art drama, in my own mind I keep coming back to the importance of understanding why exactly the federal government owns this land in the first place.
Gov. Paul LePage (R) will no longer stand for the scourge of (black/brown?) drug dealers from New York impregnating young white girls in Maine. Watch.