Oregon Militia & Other Western Militias

[EspressoBuzz]

’I’m not independently wealthy’: Bundy lawyer wanted Koch brothers to pay defense fees

The defense attorney for Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy tried to get in touch the billionaire Koch brothers to help them fund his client’s defense, according to an email obtained through a public records request.

Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) obtained an email that shows Joel Hansen, the defense lawyer for Cliven Bundy, contacting Utah state Representative Ken Ivory, hoping that the legislator could help him get in touch with the billionaire Koch brothers, who are known for donating to conservative causes.

https://www.rt.com/usa/344143-bundy-koch-lawyer-fees/

[EspressoBuzz]

These Americans Are Preparing For War With Their Own Government

 

 

 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-05-22/these-americans-are-preparing-war-their-own-government

 

Tell me Papist do you feel they have good cause to go to war with the Gov't?

 

Is there any other group in America you would feel has good cause to go to war with the Gov't?

 

Have they exhausted peaceful protest?

 

I am curious what in your mind justifies going to war with the Gov't?

[EspressoBuzz]

Silence Eh Papist? Afraid to voice your convictions?

[DirtTime]

Any one really willing to go to war with our Gov't or start a revolution isn't going to advertise. They keep the head down and the mouth shut, and aren't "spreading the word" on social media. They aren't looking to become a 'martyr', just do what's right by the USA.

I really don't understand why so many people don't get this. You have watched both versions of "Red Dawn" to many times. It will not be that easy to be a 'hero' of the world.

Your family will be at risk, you won't have any money because you will not be able to go to work, or buy food as you will be on a list of traitors. Most likely shot on sight.

 

I have no issue with standing up for your rights, but if you are doing it just for your 5 minutes of fame you are a ******* ***-****! All you proves was you got killed ( and maybe got many other people killed, including kids ) or you landed in jail.

 

 

I really wish people would think things through and not just act on irrational actions.

 

[EspressoBuzz]

Right-wing Utah sheriff threatens to arrest federal agents over bizarre conspiracy theories

 

<Despite sharing an interpretation of the Constitution and a mistrust of federal authorities, Perkins declined invitations — and, in some cases, resisted pressure — to join the Bundys and their militia supporters.

“I said it at the time, and I’ll stand by it, that is nothing but domestic terrorism,” Perkins said. “Yes, there’s been a story, a lot of these guys have been bullied around by the BLM, but you don’t handle it that way.”>

https://www.rawstory.com/2016/05/right-wing-utah-sheriffs-threaten-to-arrest-federal-agents-over-bizarre-conspiracy-theories/

[EspressoBuzz]

Attacks against Federal Range and Forest Workers on Rise

 

http://yubanet.com/usa/Attacks-against-Federal-Range-and-Forest-Workers-on-Rise.php#.V03z6PkrKM8

 

Washington, DC May 31, 2016 - Assaults against national forest and rangeland employees and facilities rose sharply last year, according to figures released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Reported incidents nearly doubled (87% increase) on rangelands overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and increased by more than half (60%) on national forests.

 

So i ask you was the FBI right to say these guys are a bigger threat than anyone imagined?

[philoshop]

Your attachment and devotion to the establishment of the nanny state is duly noted, Buzz.

I will soon revel in your irrelevance as American citizens take the reins once again.

[ELMER J. FUDD]

http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060038093

Interesting.

PUBLIC LANDS:

Former BLM chief pushed deal favoring his future firm -- IG

Phil Taylor, E&E reporter

Greenwire: Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Former Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey was "personally and substantially" involved in the sale of federal lands in Nevada that would have earned his future consulting firm $528,000, in violation of an ethics pledge he signed, the Interior Department Office of Inspector General said in a report released today.

The report also concluded that Mike Ford, a consultant and former BLM employee who was Abbey's business partner before and after Abbey's tenure as BLM director, leveraged his connections to agency leadership to gain insider knowledge of the land sale and expedite its approval.

Bob Abbey

Former Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey. Photo courtesy of BLM.

The joint investigation by the IG and FBI was requested by former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Interior's solicitor and former House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.).

It sought to determine Abbey's level of influence in the 2012 sale of 480 acres of federal lands in Henderson, Nev., to Christopher Milam, a developer who had signed a deal with the city to build a stadium on the land for professional basketball, soccer and hockey teams.

Ford's firm Robcyn LLC had signed agreements with Henderson and Milam to provide consulting services to help them navigate the BLM land sale process, the IG said. If the land sale was successful, Ford's firm -- which Abbey planned to rejoin -- was to receive $528,000. The sale eventually fell apart after Milam reneged on his promise to build a stadium.

Abbey was Ford's business partner from 2005 to 2009, when the firm was called Abbey, Stubbs & Ford LLC. When he took the BLM director job in 2009, Abbey signed a recusal memo stating that he planned to rejoin the firm after his government service ended but would "not participate personally and substantially in any particular matter that had a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of the firm."

But the IG report found Abbey personally involved himself in the land sale by urging Interior attorneys to sign off on the proposal and by urging that it be swiftly published in the Federal Register.

Abbey retired from BLM on May 31, 2012, and today still works for Abbey, Stubbs & Ford. The sale of BLM land to Milam took place on June 4, 2012.

"Abbey was personally and substantially involved in the presale process for the land," the report found. "Abbey stood to benefit personally from the sale because he and Mike Ford, a former BLM employee and Abbey's onetime business partner, had arranged for Abbey to resume his role as a partner in their private consulting firm after he left BLM."

The IG forwarded its report to the Justice Department, but it declined the matter for prosecution.

Abbey and Ford both denied any wrongdoing in the land sale. Abbey acknowledged he played a small role in the land sale but said his involvement was greatly exaggerated by the IG report, which he criticized as "terribly flawed."

He said he had no involvement with the BLM employees in Nevada who reviewed the proposed sale parcel or with the BLM authorizing officials who approved it. He said he also had no involvement with the Interior appraisers who determined the parcel's value or with the BLM employees who wrote the sale notice for the Federal Register.

"To say that I was shocked when reading the investigative report would be an understatement," Abbey told Greenwire in an email. "After 3 ½ years of investigating me, reviewing my personal and government emails, examining my bank accounts, and interviewing numerous individuals, the investigator could find nothing more than the fact I had made an inquiry regarding the status of a public notice relating to this proposed sale and that I encouraged staff to move forward with their review so this notice could be published and the public could then weigh in with their comments or objections to this proposed action."

Ford, who served BLM for 25 years and has spent the past 17 years as a land and energy consultant in Nevada, said he was careful not to exploit his personal friendship or business ties with Abbey.

"Certainly people are free to say anything they want about me and my style, and plenty has been said, but I would never knowingly or willingly do anything to compromise my reputation or to engage in any activity that was illegal, unethical or otherwise subject to extraordinary challenge," Ford said in an email. "During the time Bob served as BLM director, I exercised an inordinate amount of additional caution and I never called upon Bob to do anything on my behalf, or on behalf of Robcyn."

The IG found that Ford had "an unusually high level of access to BLM personnel and processes before and during the Henderson land sale."

A realty specialist in the BLM Nevada state office said she moved Ford's applications to the "top of her stack" for review because Ford had helped her earlier in her career. She also shared draft documents with Ford while the Henderson land sale was being prepared, which "appeared" to violate federal regulations barring preferential treatment and the improper use of nonpublic information, the IG found.

Ford also had an "undue influence" in the appraisal process by having his firm select and pay for the appraiser, the IG said. Yet the fair market value of the land that the appraiser established -- $10.5 million -- appeared "reasonably accurate," the IG found.

Abbey, who was BLM's Nevada state director from 1997 to 2005 before joining Ford in consulting, involved himself in the land sale "early in the process," the IG said. "He conversed or met with Ford on several occasions before and during the initial land sale efforts," it found.

Once the land's value was determined, BLM had to post a notice of the sale in the Federal Register.

Ford wrote part of that notice and contacted BLM employees from the field office level up to Abbey to ensure it received expedited approval, the IG found.

One BLM field office employee in Nevada told the IG that Ford had talked about his plans to visit Abbey in Washington, D.C., to discuss issues he had with the land sale. The field manager "said that it made him and other BLM employees uncomfortable that Abbey did not recuse himself from Nevada land deals due to his past private employment in Nevada and his close relationship with Ford and others in the Nevada land development industry," the IG concluded.

On Feb. 3, 2012, the realty specialist in BLM Nevada's state office contacted an Interior solicitor to ask him to swiftly review the draft sale notice for the Federal Register.

A month later, the special assistant to BLM's chief of staff emailed Abbey to let him know the notice had arrived in D.C. Abbey responded: "Thanks. This land sale is important in bringing jobs to an area of high unemployment. Sooner the better," the IG report said.

Weeks later, the solicitor's office found flaws in the draft sale notice because of known minerals underlying the lands. A lower-level staffer declined to sign off on the proposal. When the matter was elevated to a higher review at the solicitor's office, Abbey personally intervened, the IG found.

The acting branch chief at the solicitor's office told the IG that Abbey came to his office on March 23, 2012, to ask why the notice was being delayed.

"Abbey told the branch chief that the matter was important to him, but he never indicated that he had a personal interest or stake in it," the IG report said. The branch chief "told us that he did not find it unusual for Abbey to visit him, but he found it strange that Abbey came to his office to discuss a [sale notice], as he had never before asked about one."

Federal law bars government employees from participating "personally and substantially in any particular matter that would directly affect his own financial interest or the financial interests of, among others, an organization with which he had an arrangement for future employment," the IG said.

Abbey told the IG he was simply trying to learn the status of the notice and did not believe his involvement was "substantial."

"My request for the status of specific public notices was not out of the ordinary, as I routinely requested information regarding the status of Federal Register notices as it takes the BLM and the Department of Interior an inordinate amount of time to review such public notices," Abbey told Greenwire.

"I have no clue how any qualified investigator could have reached the conclusion that I was substantially involved in this proposed transaction or that I was to financially benefit from this sale," he added. "The Department of Justice must have agreed with my assessment since they declined to pursue prosecution."

Ford said Abbey did not benefit "personally or professionally" from any of the firm's activities during Abbey's tenure.

"For the OIG, or anyone else, to suggest otherwise at this time is to engage in revisionist history," he said. "If you can find anyone that seriously questions Bob Abbey's honesty and integrity, I urge them to come forward."

The land sale never actually took place.

In January 2013, the city sued Milam for backing out of his commitment to build a stadium on the lands. In May of that year, Interior terminated the sale and directed BLM to return Milam's $2.1 million purchase deposit and bidder's fee.

Interior said it quashed the sale based on "serious questions" about Milam's agreement with the city, which was the basis for BLM's decision to give him preferential status in the sale rather than sell the land in a normal bidding process.

[EspressoBuzz]

Poll shows Nevadans favor balanced approach to public lands issues

CARSON CITY — Nevadans love their open space and public lands, favor renewable energy and are less likely to vote for a candidate who supported Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy in his 2014 standoff with federal authorities.

Those were the findings of a poll released Wednesday by the Center for Western Priorities, a nonpartisan conservation and advocacy group. The survey found Nevadans overwhelmingly agree public land issues use should be prioritized collaboratively rather than through conflict with the federal government.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/politics/elections/poll-shows-nevadans-favor-balanced-approach-public-lands-issues

You know a few on this site have come out and called the Occupy Wall Street protesters bums, fools, mis-guided idiots and worse, but they organized and held protests for what they believed and in a non violent manner. It seems to me the people in Nevada prefer their land issues be solved the same way. AND yet there are still some who will not condemn the violence and feel it is fully justified.

[EspressoBuzz]

In America, domestic extremists are a bigger risk than foreign terrorism

 

By David Alpher 

George Mason University

 

http://rockrivertimes.com/2016/06/01/in-america-domestic-extremists-are-a-bigger-risk-than-foreign-terrorism/

 

I have spent nearly 15 years studying how the risk of violence grows within societies around the world, and running programs designed to stem the tide. I have seen rhetoric like this used to mobilize violence in countries like Iraq and Kenya.

This same dynamic, I argue, is taking shape within American society now. If it continues, it represents a greater threat than anything we face from terrorist groups outside our own borders.

I know many won't read past the first line because it's been written by a college professor but don't say you haven't been warned

[philoshop]

In America, domestic extremists are a bigger risk than foreign terrorism

 

By David Alpher 

George Mason University

 

http://rockrivertimes.com/2016/06/01/in-america-domestic-extremists-are-a-bigger-risk-than-foreign-terrorism/

 

I have spent nearly 15 years studying how the risk of violence grows within societies around the world, and running programs designed to stem the tide. I have seen rhetoric like this used to mobilize violence in countries like Iraq and Kenya.

This same dynamic, I argue, is taking shape within American society now. If it continues, it represents a greater threat than anything we face from terrorist groups outside our own borders.

I know many won't read past the first line because it's been written by a college professor but don't say you haven't been warned

 

 

But it's not a problem when the 'domestic extremists' are produced by divisive Leftist rhetoric?

The only threat this professor is concerned with is that the establishment of a global New World Order now has a vocal opponent expressing the concerns of a sizable portion of the US population. This entire article is a fine example of precisely what the author is railing against, but it's deemed acceptable because it fits the Leftist narrative.

 

I personally can't think of anything more "extreme" than an agenda promoting the dissolution of US sovereignty.

[The_Field_Ager]

 

 

I personally can't think of anything more "extreme" than an agenda promoting the dissolution of US sovereignty.

 

 

More pearls of insanity from the left. Crazy stuff

[pt0217]

There are two kinds of Americans. Those that are patriotic and those on the left.

[diplomat019]

There are two kinds of Americans. Those that are patriotic and those on the left.

False statement. Here is a short wiki search if Jim Webb. He was a democratic nominee.

After graduating from the Naval Academy, Webb was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. Attending the Marine Corps Officer Basic School shortly after leaving Annapolis, he graduated first in his class. He was promoted to first lieutenant in the second half of his tour in Vietnam. He served as a platoon commander with Delta Company, 1st Battalion 5th Marines. He was awarded the Navy Cross for heroism in Vietnam, the second highest decoration in the Navy and Marine Corps. Webb also was awarded the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts.[16] After returning from Vietnam, he was assigned to Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, as an instructor for Officer Candidates School (OCS). Deep selected for Captain, he was then assigned to the Secretary of the Navy's office for the remainder of his active duty. His war wounds left him with shrapnel in his knee, kidney, and head. The injury to his knee led to a medical board that decided on medical retirement.

This man isnt a patriot because of his political affiliation?

[pt0217]

I was being somewhat facetious. But bad example. Jim Webb is not on the left. He is a patriot and democrat. But not a lefty.

[diplomat019]

I was being somewhat facetious. But bad example. Jim Webb is not on the left. He is a patriot and democrat. But not a lefty.

. Fair enough. I take the term "left" as a democrat. I thought thats what you were alluding to. Maybe I misunderstand your interpretation of the left.

[EspressoBuzz]

Judge dismisses one of the gun charges against Ammon Bundy, 7 co-defendants

 

A federal judge has dismissed the charge of using and carrying firearms in the course of a crime of violence against Ammon Bundy and seven co-defendants, finding the underlying conspiracy charge doesn't meet the legal definition of a "crime of violence.''

 

more: http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/06/judge_dismisses_one_of_the_gun.html

[EspressoBuzz]

Oh no! Our horrible gov't is prosecuting or is it persecuting a poor old man for polluting but that's OK with the western militias.

 

This Pond in Montana Could Be the Site of the Next Major Militia Showdown with the Federal Govt

 

Joseph David Robertson, a 77-year-old retired construction company owner who has battled the federal government for more than a decade, was convicted in April on two counts of unauthorized discharge of pollutants into U.S. waters and a third count of injury or depredation of federal property.

 

More: http://www.alternet.org/activism/anti-governent-groups-show-interest-montana-pond-building-case

Edited June 13, 2016 by EspressoBuzz

[EspressoBuzz]

Rule of law?

 

A radical and growing organization of ‘constitutional sheriffs’ is promoting defiance of federal laws it doesn’t like.

In the minutes before he was killed as he apparently tried to draw a 9mm pistol on law enforcement officials attempting to arrest him at an Oregon roadblock early this year, antigovernment militant Robert “LaVoy” Finicum repeatedly shouted out to officers that he was on his way to meet with “the sheriff.”

More: https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2016/line-sand

 

[DirtTime]

I formed a militia of two yesterday. The g/f and myself. We have taken up water balloons in defense of the cost of buying a home. It's on leased land and will proudly throw water balloons and anyone who comes on our lot without permission! We don't own the land, but our home is on it! So we are making a stand! 

LMAO!

 

 

[EspressoBuzz]

Anti-government sheriff in Oregon approved arrest of innocent man, cover-up of deputy’s family crimes

A self-dubbed “constitutional sheriff” in Oregon helped a deputy cover up crimes committed by his relatives — and instead approved the arrest of the man who reported them, officials said.

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/oregon-sheriff-approved-cover-up-false-arrest-innocent-man-article-1.2673699

[EspressoBuzz]

Oregon standoff: Case of possible misconduct by FBI in LaVoy Finicum shooting now before grand jury

 

The federal investigation into an FBI agent's apparent firing of gunshots at Robert "LaVoy" Finicum and the alleged FBI tampering with evidence at the scene has gone to a grand jury.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Gorder Jr.revealed the grand jury hearing in court papers Thursday explaining the government's desire to keep its memorandum about the inspector general's investigation into the FBI's handling of the Jan. 26 shooting out of the hands of defense lawyers.

More:http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/06/investigation_into_possible_mi.html

[EspressoBuzz]

Finicum Knew Man Accused In Failed Arizona Bombing

A Utah man was charged this week for plotting to bomb a Bureau of Land Management building in Arizona. The failed attack was orchestrated by William Keebler, who knew LaVoy Finicum, spokesman for the occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

 

http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/lavoy-finicum-failed-arizona-bombing/

Edited June 25, 2016 by EspressoBuzz

[EspressoBuzz]

Honestly you can't make this up!

Malheur Defendants Want Facebook Evidence Thrown Out Of Court

Ammon Bundy and his followers made regular updates to their social media accounts during the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon.

And law enforcement was closely monitoring those accounts that documented their activities.

 

http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/malheur-defendants-facebook-evidence-thrown-out/

 

Oregon Militant Leaders Unhappy With Jail Rules, Want Facebook

 

“If they are going to detain us as innocent men, then they are obligated to afford us the rights to defend ourselves and emotionally connect to our families.”

WASHINGTON — Ammon and Ryan Bundy, leaders of an armed occupation in Oregon earlier this year, are unhappy with the rules in their jail.

The brothers have been in custody since their arrest in January. But at Multnomah County Detention Center, they’ve got demands: Ryan Bundy wants to see his brother. He feels his Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms has been violated. He doesn’t want people rifling through his stuff. Both have said they want access to the internet, including Facebook and email, in order to prepare their defense. They want chairs in their cells so they don’t have to kneel to write, a better computer, a cordless printer, a scanner, external hard drives and Microsoft Movie Editor. They also want to strategize with the other occupiers involved in the armed takeover of a federal wildlife refuge near Burns, Oregon, for which they face federal conspiracy and other charges.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ammon-ryan-bundy-jail-facebook-internet_us_5751a153e4b0eb20fa0dab02

Edited July 1, 2016 by EspressoBuzz

[EspressoBuzz]

Courtroom Cleared After Bundy Riles Gallery

 

 PORTLAND, Ore. (CN) — In an outburst that cleared the courtroom, jailed militiaman Ammon Bundy yelled to supporters that the federal judge in charge of his case wouldn't let him speak, moments after she denied his request to delay the start of his trial.

     Bundy, looking pale and thin after five months in jail and lacking the quiet vigor he exuded during the 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon, has so far never spoken out of turn during proceedings leading to his Sept. 7 trial.

 

http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/07/06/courtroom-cleared-after-bundy-riles-gallery.htm