WELCOME

You are reading the thoughts of one who has kept them mostly out of the public venue. By virtue of the concept, blogs seem narcissistic so you can expect a lot of personal pronouns to show up.

I don't like being pigeonholed, though many have called me a conservative. I agree with much of what is often considered conservative views, but I do tend to occasionally differ on this view point. I have also been termed opinionated. Well, please remember this is my view, and I consider my view valid until convinced otherwise. That doesn't necessarily make it right; it simply makes it my view.

Please feel free to leave a comment.

NOTE: The posts in this blog are duplicates of the column I write for the Perris City News and Sentinel Weekly.

All right, let's get started. You are about to read neither the rantings of a madman nor the reflections of a genius. Perhaps somewhere in between:

April 24, 2014

Government Sponsored Terrorism

Cliven Bundy ain’t moving his cattle from the reported 600,000 acres of Nevada range they have grazed on for years. He also refuses to pay the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) the fees they charge for allowing the cattle to graze. He has also attracted volunteers some armed, to help protect his ranch from being terrorized by the BLM. Nevada Senator Harry Reid calls them “domestic terrorists.”

The government claims Bundy owes $1 million in grazing fees. Bundy says he isn’t going to pay. He has claimed, “My family has preemptive, adjudicated livestock water rights filed with the state of Nevada. They were established in 1877 when the first pioneers entered the valley. Among those first pioneers were my grandparents from my mother’s side. My father either bought or inherited his Nevada state livestock water rights and I, in turn, have done the same.”

The BLM had had enough and decided to take Bundy’s cattle that roamed the government’s range. Reports vary, but anywhere from 900 to 1000 head were gathered by the BLM and driven to pens for eventual disposal. In the process, six head reportedly died or were killed. The BLM admits to six dead cattle. Four had been “euthanized”, including one bull deemed too dangerous to handle. The remaining two unbranded dead cattle, a bull, and cow are said to have simply died during the roundup. They were all found buried in a mass grave. Bundy claims they were driven to death running from BLM helicopters.

Bundy’s claim to ancestral grazing rights under state authority seems to stand on shaky ground. A deed filed in Clark County, Nevada, on January 5, 1948 lists Raoul and Ruth Leavitt as owners of the property where the Bundy ranch now stands. Cliven Bundy claims to have inherited the grazing and water rights from grandmother, Ruth Leavitt.

The Bureau of Land Management was created in 1946 – the same year Clive Bundy was born. Although I have not been able to ascertain exactly when the land now claimed by Bundy for grazing was sold to the BLM, it stands to reason that rights derived earlier than 1948 would be hard or impossible to establish. Bundy claims the ranch has been in his family since 1870 and has been grazing family cattle with permission of the State of Nevada.

Suffice to say that Bundy’s ancestral claim is a bit more than murky. In any event, at some point, the land was sold to the government .Whether taken by eminent domain or actually sold for profit, the land Bundy’s cattle are now grazing on belongs to the US government. Bundy can only show private ownership for the immediate160 acres where his ranch stands.

I come from a ranching family. My relatives own one of the largest ranches in Arizona, and yes, the cattle graze on some BLM property, for which they pay grazing fees. I find it hard to sympathize with some who grazes his herd on government land without paying, as other ranchers are required. Still, I have several problems with the government in this case.

Yes, the government has been patient with Mr. Bundy. This dispute has been reportedly going on since 1994. The heavy-handed action taken by the government at this time is totally unwarranted. Confiscation of Mr. Bundy’s livestock without compensation is a blatant violation of his rights guaranteed by the 4th amendment to the US Constitution. The subsequent killing of at least six cattle without compensation is nothing short of theft and terrorist tactics on the part of the BLM.

But the problems go even deeper. I have witnessed the heavy-handed tactics used by our government in the process of “acquiring” private property for government use (or non-use). The threat to use eminent domain proceedings is always intimidating for most property owners, especially when the property they have improved and paid taxes on for years is destined to be part of a National Park, Wilderness, Federal Reserve, or BLM acquisition.

Of course, the government is required to pay the least amount possible for property. This often results in a scheme called “checker boarding.” In order to pick up a property at a bargain basement price agents will pay fair prices for surrounding properties, thereby land-locking one property that they can claim is now worthless and pick it up for next-to-nothing. It may sound absurd, but I have seen it happen.

The final issue I have is the amount of land being taken every year by the government and placed out of bounds for the citizens who now own it and paid for it. Parks should be places where people can go for recreation. If the government takes the land, it should be for the benefit of the people, not placed off-limits to all uses. I have little problem with charging reasonable use fees, but the land should be used or left in the hands of the private owners.

In the West, private landowners are under attack by continual massive land grabs for expansion of National Parks, National Monuments, and National Wilderness areas. Much of this action could be attributed to the United Nations policy of relocating people from urban areas into jammed cities. The infamous UN agenda 21—now accepted policy – calls this “sustainable development.”

It now appears the government may have backed off their planned confiscation of Bundy’s cattle, despite Nevada Senator, Harry Reid’s diatribe and liable against those assisting Bundy. What is clear is that the terrorists here are actually our own government.


April 20, 2014

Down in the Dirt

 Warning: I am about to talk dirty! If you are offended by language that includes words like politics and government, then read no further. After all, who could deny that a process where the candidate that slings the most mud gets elected is dirty? Ergo, I am going to talk dirty.

Fact: government in this country – Federal, state, and local – is big and getting bigger all the time. It is the nature of the beast that legislators must create laws. It is what we elect them to do. Each law enacted comes with a price tag that we the people are forced to pay.

So, who are these monkeys on our backs with their sweaty little hands in our pockets? This is the “land of the free”; we have choices! Right, we can choose who we like to control our lives and take our money. That is how our democracy works.

But do we really have a choice? We vote and our vote is counted. But how do we decide whom to vote for and who chooses the field of candidates? If you think anyone can run for office, you are dead wrong. Just ask Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan or any of the other candidates not sanctioned and financed by a major political party. And what are the qualifications for candidates? Well, not much. Usually one must have a pulse, but there may be exceptions. There are age and residency requirements for some offices, and for the highest office in the land, one must be a native born citizen – although it looks like there might be a precedent against even that in the offing.

There are no firm requirements for religion, education, health, sanity, ethics, honesty, or morality. If you can hoodwink enough people to vote for you, you are in, and you can stay in as long as you don’t commit a serious crime. Even then, your party may be able to finagle a way to keep you in and voting for their programs.

Just how does one go about getting elected? Well, if you are running for a partisan office, you usually need to “pay your dues” by working for the party. This could take anything from actively campaigning for their candidates to raising campaign funds, with greater weight given to the latter.  Of course, kissing babies helps, but kissing the rings of party Titians helps far more.

Let’s say you actually have a message to get out, one that will distinguish you from the normal drivel offered up during campaigns. Now, if you have kissed enough rings of party bosses, you might be allowed to run with the message. To get it out to the public, though, requires money – lots of money. You will need every medium available in order to reach enough voters to get elected, and media isn’t cheap.

In the 2012 presidential election nearly two billion dollars was spent by both candidates.  Considering that there were some 273.5 million people 18 years or over in the US at that time, that amounts to $7.31 per person for the message. Cheap? It isn’t so cheap when you consider that they could have sent a one-ounce letter with a position statement and full resume to every citizen for 45 cents apiece.

But wait a minute; you probably did get a slick cardboard flyer with the candidate’s information. Now, be honest, just how informative was that political ad. Did it spell out the candidate’s qualifications, inform you of important issues facing the country, or even say what the candidate will do about them? Not likely. Most of the flyers you received – yes, there are always more than one – probably just told you what a disaster it would be to vote for the other guy.

To state the obvious, there needs to be election reform if we are ever to have a fair and honest government. Unfortunately, there have probably been more words wasted on this subject over the years than any other. With each attempt at reform, we get worse government and dirtier elections.

Here’s an idea. First, outlaw political parties. Next, allow only one, postage-free, letter sent to every citizen by US mail, which only includes a candidate’s resume, qualifications, and statement of important issues with the candidate’s solution to them. Finally – and this is most important – ensure that only qualified live, citizens vote.

Too simple? Yeah, probably. But it would be a start on the road to cleaner government. Then we would only have to listen to dirty talk in the movies.