By DR. LARRY MOSES
No one asked me but…… The excitement over the treatment of Cliven Bundy has apparently clouded over a bigger issue. By the decree of a single federal bureaucrat, Gayle-Marrs Smith, BLM Field Manager, the city of Mesquite, the townships of Bunkerville, Logandale, and Overton were isolated from the rest of the United States.
Those wishing to leave Overton or Logandale could legally do so only on State Highway 169. All other roads were posted as being closed and those who traveled on them were subject to citation and arrest by the federal government.
The only way out of Mesquite without being subject to citation or arrest was Interstate 15. The Bunkerville people could not leave their township without permission from the Bureau of Land Management as State Highway 170 was closely patrolled by federal agents with guns, Tasers, and dogs.
Again, all this was done by the dictate of a BLM official, not a court order. This bureaucrat abused her power by setting down regulations that violated the people’s right of free speech, freedom of the press, and the freedom to peaceably assemble.
No one asked me but… As the Bundy situation continues, I seem to be the only one concerned with the Taylor Grazing Act. This makes me begin to wonder where I have gone wrong. However, let me once again turn to the Taylor Grazing Act.
To understand the Taylor Grazing Act one must go back to the implementation of the law in 1934. It is a federal law where each state affected was allowed to develop provisions unique to that state. This is similar to the Affordable Health Care Act that allows the States to develop their own health care laws within the bounds of the AHCA.
The Taylor Grazing Act is a federal law written to “stop injury to the public grazing lands (excluding Alaska) by preventing overgrazing and soil deterioration; to provide for their orderly use, improvement and development; (and) to stabilize the livestock industry dependent on the public range”.
NRS 568 defines what it means in the State of Nevada. These grazing laws pertain to areas where federal grazing allotments exist.
In 1994, the federal government discontinued the area where Bundy’s cattle are grazing as a grazing allotment area. Therefore, it is logical that Mr. Bundy could not be charged grazing fees where no grazing is allowed. If his cattle are grazing on lands outside a grazing area, the best the government could do is charge the cattle with trespass. This indeed is what they have done as they declared the area a “Cattle Trespass Area”.
Let me turn again to logic. If this is a Cattle Trespass Area, one must look at the Federal Taylor Grazing Act as it applies to the State Nevada to defined cattle trespass. NRS 569.450 states, “No person is entitled to collect damages, and no court in this state may award damages, for any trespass of livestock on cultivated land in this state if the land, at the time of the trespass was not enclosed by a legal fence. NRS 569.431 defines a legal fence The law continues on the subject of cattle trespass in NRS 569.440 (b) If any owner or occupier of any grounds or crops trespassed upon by livestock …whether enclosed by a legal fence or not, kills, maims or materially injures the livestock so trespassing, the owner or occupier of the grounds or crops is liable to the owner of the livestock for all damages…”
Mr. Bundy is now assessing those losses and by law has a right to claim damages from the federal government. It will be interesting to see if Mr. Bundy gets any support from Senator Reid in collecting these lawful damages. After all, Senator Reid has been very vocal about the need to obey the law.
If the BLM built a legal fence around the 160 acres Mr. Bundy owns, they could then round up the cattle on the land they claim belongs to the BLM and force them to Bundy’s ranch and close the legal fence. From that time on, they could sue for damages of trespass cattle. Senator Reid could then praise the BLM for abiding by federal law instead of operating under royal decree.
No one asked me but... Anyone who believes this battle is over needs to think again. The government has never been defeated in any confrontation with the people. They killed Randy Weaver’s wife and son at Ruby Ridge. They either directly or indirectly burned women and children in Waco. The government won the shoot out at Pine Ridge, South Dakota. The government kidnapped 401 children at the YFZ Ranch in Texas.
In these cases, those infringed upon were viewed as strange radicals. No one was willing to come to the defense of their rights. The government has unsuccessfully tried to paint the Bundys as members of a lunatic fringe. This campaign failed, as many people understood this is an attack on a small rancher who has the nerve to stand against an oppressive government.
Do not believe for a moment the government has given up, though. Graig Leff, a spokesperson for the BLM has stated, “We’ll figure out how to go forward on this.”
He added that the BLM did not participate in the negotiations that de-escalated the tension.
“The BLM and National Park Service did not cut any deal or negotiate anything,” he said.
Our very own Senator Harry Reid has stated the federal government cannot let citizens disobey the law and not pay for it. This is the most hypocritical statement he has made in the multitude of ridiculous statements that mark his career. This is the same Harry Reid who supported the federal government in its suit against the State of Arizona forcing them to violate federal immigration laws. He supported the State of Colorado and Washington as they passed laws that violate federal drug laws. He supports the efforts of Attorney General Holder and President Obama as they pick and choose which laws to enforce and which to ignore. However, Harry sees the menace of anarchy in a small rancher’s refusal to pay one year of grazing fees.
I predict The BLM will wait for a year or so and one day will arrest various Bundys. There will be a move to confiscate his property. It will then be a question of whether or not citizens will rally again. The government is willing to bet they will not.
Thought of the week…The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
4 thoughts on “No One Asked Me But… (April 23, 2014)”
The federal land belongs to the people of the United States. Not everyone can afford 600 acres of land like Clive Bundy and Mitt Romney. When Mitt proposed selling off our public parks to fracking corporations, it showed his fundamental ignorance of the fact that most people are not millionaires and need our public parks for recreation, relaxation, and pursuit of happiness and enjoyment. My guess is that both the federal and state governments have designs on the land to sell off to corporations. Harry Reid is not the only politician in Nevada. Take a look at the future Republican governor who railroaded one of Clive’s wives in an interview about state’s rights. Also, both the state and federal government hire from the same pool of privatized police who work for corporations. Look at how the Occupy protesters were treated, and their protest was peaceful without threat of violence.
The federal land belongs to the people of the United States. Not everyone can afford 600 acres of land like Clive Bundy and Mitt Romney. When Mitt proposed selling off our public parks to fracking corporations, it showed his fundamental ignorance of the fact that most people are not millionaires and need our public parks for recreation, relaxation, and pursuit of happiness and enjoyment. My guess is that both the federal and state governments have designs on the land to sell off to corporations. Harry Reid is not the only politician in Nevada. Take a look at the future Republican governor who railroaded one of Clive’s wives in an interview about state’s rights. Also, both the state and federal government hire from the same pool of privatized police who work for corporations. Look at how the Occupy protesters were treated, and their protest was peaceful without threat of violence.
The Federal Government did issue permits to private people to use public land, prior to now. Such was mining, cattle ranching, logging etc. Those people do have rights to it. The ranchers are providing food for the people to eat, and maintained the land at no cost to the government vs all the paid public employees now. While you may not like that, you can’t back date and change laws on people who have lived by them for generations. Never should we legalize extortion and then come with armed guards to enforce it.
The Federal Government did issue permits to private people to use public land, prior to now. Such was mining, cattle ranching, logging etc. Those people do have rights to it. The ranchers are providing food for the people to eat, and maintained the land at no cost to the government vs all the paid public employees now. While you may not like that, you can’t back date and change laws on people who have lived by them for generations. Never should we legalize extortion and then come with armed guards to enforce it.