You know what is "nutters", that the people tolerate government harassment.
Waco, Ruby Ridge, IRS, domestic spying,,,, people are sick and tired of it. The problem is, most people will not do anything about it.
When a group of people take action, they are labeled domestic terrorist.
What should we do to protect people who stand up to the government, nullify the jury and find them not guilty.
That's a little like a politician who said "Hang him! And give 'im a fair trial!"
You can spin Waco and Ruby Ridge all you want, but the Bundy folk and supporters are living in la-la land with their delusions.
Most of the western states were federal territories before they were granted statehood. Point number 1.
Point number 2: Contrary to the contrary anti-logicians of the Right, we live in a "mixed economy." People want "Private goods" which they buy from businesses or other individuals, and they want "Public goods" which simply cannot be provided in any kind of "private" free market.
The distinction is blurred mostly by transfer payments, such as federally subsidized welfare programs. But all these "goods" are traded or provided in a marketplace. The currency for "public goods" is votes -- in addition to the corruption introduced by lobbyists who pay for influence. There is a "market" for public employees, a "market" for public parks and highways.
200 years ago, they say the fish were so thick in the Rappahanock River that you could simply walk from one side to the other on the backs of spawning fish. Lewis and Clark came back from their epic journey with a perspective that the Louisiana Purchase was "infinite."
But it wasn't "infinite" as population grew. The air and water isn't some sewer for BP or western mining interests to foul as they please. Those things are "collective goods." They are in limited supply, like national park lands.
Upset about an entrance fee to the national parks? It's part of a market mechanism -- a user charge, to fund the administration of the parks. This is no different than federal BLM lands in Nevada.
Bundy's family didn't even purchase his family property until 1947. But the issue is a matter of paying user charges to graze cattle on federal land. The land is a collective good -- owned by the public. It is not some infinite resource, free for the taking anymore.
Bundy owes the government millions, for failing to act like a responsible citizen. Meanwhile, the character of the "militias" defending his property has been revealed: Two of them walked into a restaurant and brutally shot two policemen having pizza for lunch.
You can whine all you want with your delusional drivel and self-serving narcissist belief that the world that has emerged since 1776 isn't to your liking.
By the way, Hiker. Your state has produced political careers for three Presidents who gave us four wars. What do you think that's about?
Probably the same thing as the TV commercial that says "BP puts America first," or the cornpone congressman in BP's hip pocket who accused the President of "shaking down" a corporation -- which had turned the fisheries of the Gulf into a toxic sewer.