Mary,
I have written twice to Congressman Walden. To date, no response. I did express
my profound disappointment over his handling of this occupation. He spent most
of his now famous 30-minute rant on the House floor attempting to explain away
the crimes of the Hammonds and offering rather flimsy justifications for the
"frustrations" that are driving the Bundy "protests." He meekly said that he
did not condone their actions, but he quickly moved on to other talking points
without ever really saying that he condemned them or that their occupation was
unacceptable. By the time he made this speech most news outlets were widely
reporting that federal employers were moving their families out of Burns/Hines
and they themselves were at least temporarily getting out as well. It was also
well known that militia members were in town making threats, intimidating local
residents and making townfolk fearful of being out and about in their hometown.
Not once did Walden address these realities or express sincere and heartfelt
concern for the plight of the people of his district. Instead, he rambled on
about the BLM, wildfires and knocking the scabs off old wounds from issues he
had with BLM and refuge management policies. It was pathetic to watch and
highly suggestive that the master he serves is not the electorate of his
district or in particular the people of Burns and Hines, who certainly have
voted heavily in his favor, as this part of Oregon is staunchly Republican at
the polls.
Dave Irons
Portland, OR
From: springazure1@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: [boo] Re: At last....
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2016 22:52:17 -0800
To: boo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
It occurs to me to write to Rep Walden as well, even though I’m not a voting
constituent. I/we am/are very much constituents of the heart, and it might be
useful for him to hear from us as ones who deeply care about the people in his
district. Not to mention that birders and scientists and Road Scholars spend
lots of our money in Harney County…...
If I may, I myself like having a separate forum for discussing current events
and I respect the moderators for insisting on it. I like seeing the regular
posts on OBOL, reminding me that what’s going on in Harney County (spell-check
keeps wanting to change Harney to Barney!) is not the only debacle in the world
(Flint water, anyone?), and is hopeful for me that we will have our beloved
Malheur back in time for spring migration. Not to diminish in any way what’s
happening, and the larger picture that is being so clearly revealed in the
actions of the militants.
Best,
Mary
On Jan 24, 2016, at 10:18 PM, David Irons <llsdirons@xxxxxxx> wrote:Well Mary,
OBOL beat you to it. As you may have seen, I posted a heartfelt account of what
Malheur has meant to me and my family as a means of my own catharsis and as a
way of letting the 1000+ subscribers at least for a moment be given reason to
think about the occupation in very human terms that might remind them of why
the place is so special to them. To be frank, part of my intent was to
determine just exactly where the boundaries of the "No Malheur Discussion"
edict fell. Apparently, I strayed outside of them and in noting that the
moderators had unilaterally closed the door on any mention of the occupation,
irritated one the moderators to the point that he choice to resign as
moderator.
Part of what has attracted me to OBOL over the last 18 years has been the
unique and readily accessible community of mostly like-minded folks that the
forum provided. That said, I like to think that members of communities ought to
be able talk to one another openly about any issue where there is a shared
concern, even if those discussions lead to occasional heated disagreement. I
know that at times these disagreements can get off the rails a bit and I have
been a party to a couple of those in my days on OBOL. I've yet to lose a friend
or a relationship over it and when I cross paths out in the field with those
whom I've sparred with all is forgotten and we return to those things that hold
us together.
Like many others, I have switched over to this forum in order to re-find the
type of community that OBOL once provided. I hope to share my thoughts and
concerns about the Malheur occupation and come to appreciate how the rest of
you are feeling about this takeover and what you might be doing to channel your
anger and frustration into positive action. I've yet to see any post or
disagreement here that would have been unsuitable for the main OBOL forum, or
came close to reaching the level of tension that past disagreements have
generated on OBOL. Conflict avoidance is not some sort of super glue that holds
a community together. For a community to grow and evolve there has to be room
for such disagreements and the messiness that accompanies them.
Moving forward, I hope to drive discussion here towards actions that I continue
to believe are very important. First, I would hope that all of us are writing
letters to our elected officials in Washington D.C. and letting them know where
we stand and what we expect to see in terms of a response to the Bundy
occupation. I can't tell you what to tell your representatives, as my hoped-for
response might be very different from yours. Mine tends to change from day to
day anyhow, varying from vaporize them all one day to let's engage in
meaningful negotiations that allow this thing to be resolved without making
Malheur HQ a battlefield.
Secondly, I want to move this discussion away from the debate over cattle
ranching and grazing rights. I don't believe for a moment that end game for
this occupation is to merely open or hand over federal lands (at least in the
arid West) for the purpose of raising a few more cattle. As Lars has quite
accurately explained, that doesn't move the needle for the beef industry and
there isn't a whole lot more money to made raising cattle in this part of the
world. In my opinion, the real end game is access to mineral, gas and oil
rights on these lands. The government isn't about to sell those off to the
highest bidder. The Bundys or those who are using the Bundys to their own end,
want to see these lands back in the hands of individual private owners, who if
they are struggling financially (not hard to do as a rancher in SE Oregon)
become easy prey for the "landmen" who come bearing a quick money solution that
involves leasing or selling of mineral, gas and oil drilling rights.
What often happens, and we've witnessed this in areas enjoying the current
fracking boom, is this. Small scale ranchers and farmers often own lands on top
of rich reserves of precious minerals, natural gas, and oil reserves. They have
neither the expertise nor the capital needed to go into the extraction business
themselves, but they still want a piece of the action. Big mining, gas
exploration, and oil companies come along and offer them a piece of the pie by
either leasing or buying outright these rights from small-scale farmers and
ranchers, who are typically easy targets because they are already struggling to
eke out a living. They typically get a one-time windfall payment from those who
buy or lease the rights and then have to sit back and watch the real money get
made and their property laid to waste by all the extraction activities. The
payments for these rights are rarely enough to retire on. For many of these
small timers the buyout is like a winning lottery ticket. A couple new rigs, a
nice vacation and a crop failure or two and the money is gone. Further, your
property is now devalued and/or compromised in terms of your ability to make a
living off of it.
Remarkably, there are times when I genuinely feel sorry for the Bundys and
their cohorts. Cliven Bundy has clearly poisoned the well with his children and
there may well be an element of "seeking dad's approval and validation" here.
When you are one of 14 siblings, there will be favorites and others who get
treated like bastard stepchildren. Perhaps none of them ever received a proper
amount of love from dad because he was too busy battling the demons of his own
upbringing. I've not yet seen a photo of Cliven Bundy with a smile on his face,
so I can only assume he is not a happy man. His life choices would seem to
belie that truth.
On a positive note, tonight I learned that my daughter's memorial bench remains
in the spot where we placed it last September and it is in "pristine"
condition, according to Shawneen's niece who is a videographer for KOIN in
Portland. She has been on assignment in Harney County a couple times now.
If anyone in this forum is unsure about how to email their elected officials or
what you might say if you do. I will be happy to help. If you do a Google
search of an elected or public official (i.e. Senator Ron Wyden), you will
typically find that the first hit is to their official homepage, which normally
has a one-click link to a template for your email. You will be required to
provide your name, address, phone number and email address to reach out in this
fashion. Clearly, being respectful of the position of the official you are
contacting is paramount. Avoid inflammatory or overly harsh statements about
the occupiers or those that criticize their involvement or handling of this
crisis too harshly. It is okay to say, "I'm disappointed by the lack of a more
urgent response to this crisis." Avoid saying something like, "What the hell
are you waiting for, these guys should dead and buried by now." State clearly
how this occupation makes you feel, why you are concerned, and what action you
hope to see the government take in response to this occupation. It is important
to remember, serving a constituency may not always be the first concern for
these folks (although we would like it to be).
The real power and influence in Congress comes through longevity in office.
Getting re-elected every two or six years is job one for these folks. Before
doing anything, a politician is prone to sticking a finger in the air to guage
which way public opinion is running. These folks don't have much stomach for
taking actions that will be perceived as unpopular or imprudent. Our job is to
let them now through the volume of our feedback that the tide of public opinion
is heavily in their favor. No politician is going to recommend or endorse a
forceful end to this occupation until he/she knows that the electorate will
respond favorably to the end result, regardless of the means. If you have
supported the person you are contacting with past votes for them, make mention
of that. If you are on the fence in your support for them, make sure to note
that this issue is critically important to you and that their handling of this
crisis is likely to influence how your future votes are cast. Thank them for
taking the time to consider your concerns and click on "response requested" if
you hope to hear back from them.
Something else to consider is sending thank you emails to those officials who
have already come out in strong opposition to this takeover. So far, I've sent
such notes to Harney County Judge Steve Grasty, Oregon Governor Kate Brown and
Martin Heinrich, a U.S. Senator from New Mexico. I have included thank you
language in my emails to Ron Wyden, Jeff Merkley, Earl Blumenaur and Suzanne
Bonamici, as all of them have denounced this occupation.
Don't hesitate to send these officials multiple emails, if for no other reason
than to let them know that your level of concern has not waned and that you
will be paying close attention to this crisis and their actions until it is
resolved.
Dave Irons
Portland, OR
