The double-room class space, no.123 maybe, in Milam Hall was full at 3pm,
probably 100 people. A show of hands indicated 85-90% of people present had
visited Malheur NWR. The audience was very broad in age from undergraduates to
senior citizens. As has been mentioned earlier in this forum, the first speaker
quoted a figure of $15million spent by birders annually in Harney County.
Worldwide, the USFWS refuge system is unique. The BLM is the biggest federal
landlord by acreage, controlling 40% of all federal lands and 11% of the area
of the US of American. All western states have major portions of their area
under federal administration. Nevada is 85% federal.
When US territories became states they formally gave up all claims on
federal lands inside their boundaries--in PERPETUITY. This is part of the
constitution. The BLM administers 21,000 grazing allotments utilized by 18,000
permit holders. Each permit is valid for 10 years, and typically renewed. The
perception of conflict is to no small extent out-dated. The media loves to
cover conflict, not the "collaborative conservation" that has grown over the
past twenty years leading to a robust "radical center". This was to no small
extent facilitated by the Quivira Coalition. A good example is "The High Desert
Partnership" in Harney County. Local opposition to the occupation has been
under-reported in the media.
One NW based militia group canceled plans to go to Burns when they became
aware that they weren't invited. Those that did go went at the behest of a
Cinncinnatti based talk show host, not anyone directly involved on either side
here in Oregon. One federal government agency estimates the existence of 200
"militias" nationwide. This is an eight-fold increase over 10 years ago. The
"Idaho Threepercenters" count about 2000 members and are affiliated with the
Pacific Patriot Network, a nebulous organization at best. The High Desert
Partnership is a formal entity with legal standing. Militias have recruited
heavily among recent veterans. An inordinate portion of the US Army's
volunteers come from the West.
These people have been so flagrantly at odds with reality in every sphere
that it should come as no surprise that their scripture is also at variance
with practically every LDS member alive. The LDS church holds the US
Constitution to be divinely inspired. Ammon and the gang want to shake it up
with everyone I guess. I don't know just what his parents were thinking when
they named him but he is certainly proud of the name, which looms large in The
Book of Mormon. The character in scripture led a group that came to be known as
the Ammonites, and they exit the narrative as a Pacifist colony. A spokesman of
the group tries to get everyone to call him "Captain Moroni" an even more
important figure in The Book of Mormon than Ammon. The scriptural figure
appealed to the government for help--he wanted more, not less, government.
The above is a digest without much of my opinion injected. I am not LDS
but I cringe every time I hear the word "Mormon" used in connection with the
Malheur occupiers. They in no way resemble the many LDS I grew up with in
Corvallis and even more my children grew up with in Banks. I believe the
average US citizen has yet to meet a living breathing LDS. They are a mythic
being and the ongoing media perversion can't help but aggravate negative myths.
In the question and comment session one undergraduate raised in Burns
spoke up. She was home for Christmas, thus present when it all began. She
herself did not feel scared at any time. Children were delighted to miss a week
of school. A woman her father knows at work had left town out of personal
fear. When this student returned for the weekend just passed, the police
presence in the streets surpassed the number of civilians. A large basketball
game was held Saturday and the stands were packed. The police were there, but
only outside the building. This lifetime resident of Burns emphasized the
media's undercoverage of local opposition to the occupation. LarsPOST: Send
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