Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve probably heard about Cliven Bundy, the rancher from Nevada who refuses to pay grazing fees because he doesn’t believe the US government exists. Some people (like Fox News’ Sean Hannity) think Bundy is a hero. Jon Stewart trivially destroys that idea and shows the hypocrisy of Hannity:
UPDATE: Sean Hannity responds on Fox News in the only way he knows how — using cheap character assassination and other ad hominem arguments.
9 Comments
IK – On your comment “because he doesn’t believe the US government exists” I don’t think that is accurate. What Bundy does dispute is the Gov’t claim via the BLM to the area (Gold Butte) in question. Bundy has said the prior to Nevada gaining statehood the federal gov’t oversaw the land as a territory. But when Nevada gained statehood the lands reverted to Nevada and his family had been using those lands as grazing areas since then. From what I do understand, he said he stopped paying the grazing fee’s in 93 and would only pay them to Nevada whom he believes owns the land.
All that being said I have 2 thoughts on this matter. 1 million dollars over 20 years amounts to $50,000 per year to feed 900 head of cattle. And I don’t know that his cattle feed exclusively in the Gold Butte area, but $50k a year seems a tad on the high side. If it’s a fair price, others may know that, then he should pay the fee.
However, the BLMs response to bring 200 guns to collect a debt seems way over the top. How much money in overtime and travel money did they spend to attempt to collect that debt?
Suppose, to loosely equate, during the Occupy Wall Street protests a Red state had called in Police from surrounding states with heavy weapons to evict protesters from a park because they didn’t pay a fee. I’m sure supporters of those protesters would have screamed government abuse.
Did you watch the first video? Bundy says “I don’t recognize the United States Government as even existing”.
I couldn’t open it up on the computer I’m using, i will later today. I do agree the longer he talks the worse his argument seems to get and makes him seem more like a typical yahoo right wing nut job.
If you can’t watch the video, the same quote is in this interesting article about what happened — http://www.newsweek.com/2014/05/02/militiamen-fight-over-cliven-bundys-ranch-far-over-248354.html
And the million dollars is mostly fines, not grazing fees. If you think this is excessive, just try not paying your credit card bill for 20 years (while continuing to run it up each month) and see how much you owe.
Furthermore, I can’t believe you are using the Occupy movement as a counter example. Thousands of police in full riot gear were used to forcibly evict occupy protestors all over the world. See http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/11/occupy-wall-street-faces-evictions/100189/
I heard someone say that to graze on private land is $22, state land $8 and federal land $1.25 so he would be getting a good deal. I haven’t validated those numbers so consider them rumor.
Regarding the excessive response by the BLM to about a thousand armed militia, I can only compare it to events seen on tv news every night where dozens of local police confront a single possible shooter. When you scale that response up to the size of the Bundy circus, the BLM response was probably pretty small.
As for the grazing fees, BLM charges $1.35 per animal per month. For 900 cattle, that is $1,215 per month. Over the course of 20 years, that’s $291,600 (which is $14,580 per year, not $50,000). But that’s just the basic fees. Typically, if you are delinquent in paying fees, the service provider (the U.S. government in this case) charges you a late fee, which ends up compounding. Let’s say that the late fee is 10%, compounded monthly. That brings the total up to $922,640, which is approximately the million owed. Thus, the vast majority of Bundy’s fees (about 3/4 of the million) are in late fees, not grazing fees.
Also, let’s not lose track of one thing here: Bundy was using public land to feed his private livestock. That’d be kind of like me turning the local school playground into a farm where I grew free food for my family and my family alone. I should never expect to be allowed to do that, certainly not for 20 years. Bundy is a thief, plain and simple.
Also, it appears that Bundy’s claim of “ancestral rights” is BS. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/cliven-bundy-ancestral-rights
I always want to ask these people (Bundy and the white supremacists)what Native American tribe do they descend from when they are talking “Ancestral rights”
America: Where “land of my ancestors” means “land that my father bought after it was stolen from its original inhabitants.”