Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Salt Lake Tribune Editorial: Bundy is a Lawbreaker, Not a Hero - Updated

Swagger and bombast shouldn't become the American way.

By: Ray

Been doing a slow burn over Bundy and his band off scofflaws and domestic terrorists. I think the Salt Lake Tribune nailed it this morning.
Click to Enlarge Image
Cliven Bundy and his ragtag band of armed support­ers forced the federal government to back down as the roundup of Bundy cattle was called off and the bovines returned to the Nevada rancher.
Some declared victory and hailed the outcome a clear blow against tyranny and a win for freedom.
Hardly. The only winner in this was a scofflaw who has twice lost in the courts for running cattle where they don't belong and skipping out on grazingfees. Some 20,000 ranchers in Western states abide by BLMregulations, so what makes Bundy special?
What makes Bundy special is the army of self-styled pa­triots who rallied to his ranch with their guns and grudges. If the government hadn't acted to defuse the situation by back­ing off and letting Bundy have his win, we might have wit­nessed Americans shooting Americans over a few cows and a specious interpretation of the Second Amendment and pri­vate property rights.
Here's the full editorial:
"The victory on Bundy's ranch, backed as it was by the threat of violence, is a danger to the peaceful functioning of a civil society. Swagger and bombast shouldn't become the American way. The government was right to back down to avoid possible bloodshed, but it should employ other means to see that Bundy doesn't profit from his lawlessness," the Tribune editorial board quite rightly intones.

Update 4/16/14 9:00 a.m.:  As an added bonus, Standard-Examiner blogger Catherine Burt is blogging on this topic too:
Don't let the cat get your tongues... O Gentle Ones.


Update 4/16/14 6:00 p.m.:  The Standard-Examiner is all over this situation too, with a parallel editorial of its own:

12 comments:

RMH said...

When my friends protested the Vietnam War buy refusing to pay the military part of their taxes, they just found all their bank accounts frozen by the government. That would seem a useful ploy here.

Aaron J. said...

What's the surreal connection here and why did it spill into Utah? Oh that's right, the Bundys and the Reids are LDS. Maybe it should be called Mormon Mayhem and Corruption in the Desert?

Aaron J. said...

There's a lot of spoiled meat in this story, imcluding how Senator Reids umqualified staffer was appointed to the BLM and..., Rudi, the whole aspect of land sales by the Clark County Commission. Yes, Bundy hadn't paid some range fees on this conspicuously deseetic barren fallow land. Even Bundy must submit to Caeser the things of Caeser. EOT

Tim V. said...

Why would anyone think to call it that, Aaron? Seems a stupid name for something not at all driven by Mormons. "Mayhem" I'll damned sure give you.

Aaron J. said...

Timmy, unwind your umbilical panty knot and embrace the dark side of momo mayhem spun out of control.

John B. said...

I wonder if our state senator was down there with his elephant gun?

Catherine McLaughlin Burt said...

Thanks Rudi Aaron, yes, there are bigger agendas at work. The ranchers are furthering those agendas nicely... It's going to take a national effort to save our rangelands from what's coming. Chinese mining operations and more... if they think there is a drought now, wait until what little water there is, is full of tailings and chemicals.

Angela said...

The so called militia are nothing but traitors. They interfered with a court order and threatened to overthrow the government. They should be arrested, tried , and when found guilty, expelled from the USA. One of the things that amazes me is the fact that these militia folk apparently have no jobs or must be self employed in order to show up from put of state on such short notice. Also, as a former Army officer, their open show of weapons, laying in the open on a road and lack of coordination would have made it easy for a trained military unit to take them "out". Amateurs.

Catherine Burt said...

I am the real Catherine McLaughlin Burt and I did not write this. Please remove it. And whoever you are, try using your own name, not mine.

Virginia said...

aaron, as a land owner in Malibu CA, i invite u to our next city council meeting

Ray said...

Angela: It's all about wannabes, intimidation, and folks looking for the black helicopters. Same type runs around JC Penny's with an AR15 strapped to their back. Look at me, fear me, my guns bigger than yours. Take back America for the real Americans. Native Americans may have an issue with that. Sorry that dog don't hunt...

blackrulon said...

This is off subject but the Standard-Examiner has just published an editioral opinion on the Weber County Republican convention outcome. It will be interesting to see if Mr. Bell or Mr. Gibson continue to pick a fight with the local newspaper.

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