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Revision as of 04:41, 12 February 2016 Beachblogger (Talk | contribs) federal land-return movement and Cliven Bundy ← Previous diff		Revision as of 04:45, 12 February 2016 Beachblogger (Talk | contribs) federal land-return movement and Cliven Bundy Next diff →
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	Thursday, February 11, 2016		Thursday, February 11, 2016
		+	#The right-wing Oregon occupiers have a martyr now, and that should worry everyone. The anti-government movement has a long history of attracting violent actors who are willing to kill and be killed for their cause. https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/02/10/the-right-wing-oregon-occupiers-have-a-martyr-now-and-that-should-worry-everyone/
	#Four Arrests at Oregon Refuge End 41-Day Standoff https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/02/11/four-arrests-oregon-refuge-end-41-day-standoff		#Four Arrests at Oregon Refuge End 41-Day Standoff https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/02/11/four-arrests-oregon-refuge-end-41-day-standoff
	#Federal charges filed against Cliven Bundy in Nevada standoff http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/federal-charges-filed-against-cliven-bundy-nevada-standoff		#Federal charges filed against Cliven Bundy in Nevada standoff http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/federal-charges-filed-against-cliven-bundy-nevada-standoff

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Revision as of 04:45, 12 February 2016

Contents 1 Environment 1.1 Fracking 1.2 Climate Change 1.3 California’s Drought 1.4 Pollution 1.5 Recycling 2 Economy 2.1 Infrastructure 2.2 Homeless 3 Behavior 3.1 Protest 3.2 Healthcare 3.3 Abortion 3.4 Propaganda 3.5 Open Carry 3.6 Religion 3.7 Racism 3.8 Ted Rall LAPD LAT 3.9 Police State 3.10 Bullying and Sexism 3.11 War 4 Crime 4.1 Gun Violence and Shootings 4.2 federal land-return movement and Cliven Bundy 4.3 federal land-return movement and Cliven Bundy, older 4.4 federal land-return movement and Cliven Bundy older 4.5 federal land-return movement and Cliven Bundy, older 4.6 Bundy Militia 4.7 POLICE VIOLENCE 4.8 Cop Crime and Harassment 4.9 California 4.10 San Diego 4.11 Violent Online Threats 4.12 Sex Crimes 5 War 5.1 Cyber War 5.2 Cold War 5.3 Police War 5.4 Terror 5.5 Perpetual War 5.6 Syria 5.7 IS Daesh 5.8 Iraq Bush War 5.9 Obama Drone Wars 5.10 Afghanistan Obama War 5.11 Afghanistan Bush War 5.12 Ukraine 5.13 Troops and Veterans 5.14 Christian War 5.15 Crime and Corruption 5.16 Weapons, Ships and Equipment 6 Torture 7 Spying and Surveillance 8 Border 8.1 Immigration 8.2 Smuggling 8.3 Checkpoints 9 ref

Environment

Fracking

With a bevy of fellow senators and natural gas industry experts angling to jack up profits by boosting gas exports, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) had a reminder for them in a Senate hearing Thursday: You didn't build that gas boom -- taxpayers did. Natural gas prices have plummeted since 2005, as firms across the nation have aggressively deployed hydraulic fracturing technologies to extract gas from shale formations deep underground. That boom started with the work of George Mitchell's Mitchell Energy and Development Corp., which proved in Texas in the 1990s that fracking could work. But Franken wanted his colleagues to at least reflect on what it would mean for the people who made it all possible -- the taxpayers. "I want everyone here to understand who developed that technology, and who's responsible for that, and it's the taxpayers of the United States," Franken said in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. "We're hearing senators talk about discoveries of reserves of natural gas in their states as if this is just a discovery that happened out of nowhere," Franken said. "This is because of the taxpayers doing investments in research into three-dimensional microseismic imaging, done in Sandia National Labs." Indeed, while Mitchell is widely credited with sparking the natural gas resurgence, a number of researchers have pointed out that his efforts were made possible by decades of research that cost billions of dollars and were led by the federal government. "This whole renaissance in natural gas is due to research done by the Department of Energy paid for by the United States taxpayers," Franken said. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/29/al-franken-natural-gas_n_6573154.html

On Left Right and Center http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/shows/left-right-center/2014-the-year-that-was Rich Lowry started off with the most consequential story of the year the drop in oil prices which he credits to fracking. Rich Lowry (1:51): I think the most consequential story of the year is the continued fracking revolution. That is utterly transforming the global oil market that is collapsing the price of gas and what will be an enormous benefit to American consumers and making the lives very uncomfortable for nasty little dictatorships around the world Venezuela and especial Vladimir Putin’s Russia which is in a free-fall and couldn't happen to a nicer person. Matt Miller: And now it seems before I get Bob into this also it does seem Rich this is one of those things that kind of came out of even though people knew about the US everywhere seems to have caught everybody who is smart by surprise Rich Lowry: Absolutely and this is just a phenomenon that just goes to the continued and this is very encouraging vitality and dynamism of the American economy. We owe this basically to very shrewd and ambitious people who pioneer these new methods of getting energy out of the ground and ten years ago no one would have predicted or very few people would have predicted it and it's utterly transformed the landscape.

Climate Change

Top scientists accuse House panel of harassing climate researchers http://gu.com/p/4eh52/stw

What’s Really Warming the World? Climate deniers blame natural factors; NASA data proves otherwise. http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-whats-warming-the-world/

Go and Pollute No More. How the pope’s climate-change message is playing in pews. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/06/how_priests_are_responding_to_the_pope_s_climate_change_encyclical.html

Wisconsin Agency Bans Activism on Climate. A small Wisconsin agency that manages thousands of acres of state land has banned its 10 employees from working on climate change issues while on the job. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/10/us/wisconsin-agency-bans-activism-on-climate.html

A Shameful Climate Witch Hunt. By RICH LOWRY http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/opinion-rich-lowry-climate-change-115518.html

California’s Drought

Watch California Transform Through Time With This Incredible Satellite Dataset http://gizmodo.com/watch-california-transform-through-time-with-this-incre-1748764475

New plan to save the dying Salton Sea - CBS News 8 - San Diego, CA News Station - KFMB Channel 8 http://www.cbs8.com/story/30503679/new-plan-to-save-the-dying-salton-sea#.Vkdm6QfWGkQ.twitter

Drought blamers: California conspiracists see government's hand in arid climate. A lack of rain is way too simple an explanation for these conspiracy theorists – it’s why it hasn’t rained much in four years that matters: the US government is geoengineering the California climate. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/26/california-drought-conspiracy-theories-geoengineering-climate

Eyes Look To Carlsbad's Desalination Plant https://youtu.be/0SiTgpHV7J8

Santa Barbara City Council members on Tuesday unanimously approved spending $55 million to reactivate a mothballed desalination plant that could provide the city with nearly a third of its drinking water. The Charles E. Meyer Desa0lination Facility was built during a drought in the 1990s but closed in 1992 when desperation for water subsided. The plant was never utilized beyond a testing period, but the city maintained it in the event that a severe water shortage might once again threaten the city. “Desalination has been a last resort,” Mayor Helene Schneider told The Times Tuesday night after the vote. “The way the drought has continued these last four years, we are really getting at that last resort.” http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-barbara-reactivating-desalination-plant-20150721-story.html

Huge lack of Water in California means Big Business for Desalination industry and their Lobbyist. - See more at: http://www.dcbureau.org/20110308780/natural-resources-news-service/huge-lack-of-water-in-california-means-big-business-for-desalination-industry-and-their-lobbyist.html

Desalination plants aren't a good solution for California drought. The San Diego County Water Authority has committed to purchasing the plant's entire output for 30 years — a deal that was crucial for Poseidon's financing — for about $2,100 to $2,300 per acre-foot, plus inflation. An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, or about a year's usage for one or two five-member families. The county agency, therefore, will be paying at least $110 million a year, whether it needs the plant's water or not. San Diego water bills are projected to rise by an average of $5 to $7 a month to cover the cost. The county judged that it might pay about that much in the future for other imported water, which makes the commitment look like a long-term hedge against a continuing water crisis. But desalinated water is far more expensive than other existing sources. San Diego currently pays $923 per acre-foot for treated water from the Metropolitan Water District. The Pacific Institute reported in 2012 that San Diego could obtain recycled water for as little as $1,200 per acre-foot, and that the marginal cost of water obtained through conservation and efficiency measures was as little as $150. San Diego is making a risky bet that may be ill-advised in a crisis. "Investing in desalination is not a good way to address a drought," says Henry J. Vaux Jr., an emeritus water economist at UC Berkeley, "because by the time you finish it the drought is over." That's what happened to Santa Barbara, which began building a $34-million desalination plant during the drought-stricken 1980s. By the time it was completed in 1992, the rains had returned; the facility went through a few weeks of pilot testing, then was mothballed and partially dismantled. The city is now contemplating restarting it at a cost of $40 million, plus $5 million a year in operating costs. That would place the cost of desalinated water at about $3,000 an acre-foot and drive up average monthly household water bills to $108 from $78 today. Santa Barbara's experience has been replicated on a much larger scale by Australia, which after 2006 invested more than $12 billion in six desalination plants — the largest of them twice the capacity of Carlsbad's — only to mothball four in 2012, after returning rains overfilled the country's reservoirs. http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-20150426-column.html

Aided by the Sea, Israel Overcomes an Old Foe: Drought. As California and other western areas of the United States grapple with an extreme drought, a revolution has taken place here. A major national effort to desalinate Mediterranean seawater and to recycle wastewater has provided the country with enough water for all its needs, even during severe droughts. More than 50 percent of the water for Israeli households, agriculture and industry is now artificially produced. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/world/middleeast/water-revolution-in-israel-overcomes-any-threat-of-drought.html

Water From The Sea: The Risks And Rewards Of Israel's Huge Bet On Desalination, By Meredith Mandell on July 14 2012 http://www.ibtimes.com/water-sea-risks-and-rewards-israels-huge-bet-desalination-723429

Republicans Are Saying Environmentalists Caused California’s Drought. Here’s Why They’re Wrong http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/04/09/3643879/the-backwards-way-of-approaching-californias-drought/

Pollution

People living near 60 Freeway in Ontario breathe the worst air in the Southland http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-freeway-soot-20150909-story.html

Recycling

American recycling is stalling, and the big blue bin is one reason why. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/american-recycling-is-stalling-and-the-big-blue-bin-is-one-reason-why/2015/06/20/914735e4-1610-11e5-9ddc-e3353542100c_story.html

Economy

Infrastructure

Don’t Railroad Amtrak. Americans love trains. So should conservatives. http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/dont-railroad-amtrak/

America's transport infrastructure. Life in the slow lane. Americans are gloomy about their economy’s ability to produce. Are they right to be? We look at two areas of concern, transport infrastructure and innovation. http://www.economist.com/node/18620944

Homeless

Where are the county's homeless people? Highest concentrations found downtown San Diego near Petco Park and Midway District http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/aug/26/homeless-downtown-sports-arena/

Behavior

Protest

Pussy Riot for President? Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been jailed, whipped, beaten, gassed, and serially arrested. But she’s only getting started. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/17/pussy-riot-for-president.html

Pussy Riot releases new video in support of Moscow protest. http://www.avclub.com/article/pussy-riot-releases-new-video-support-moscow-prote-213372

San Diego City Council Staffer Suspended Without Pay After Shooting Comment. A staffer for Councilwoman Lorie Zapf referred to police brutality protesters as “fucking idiots” and said “I wanted to shoot them” http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/dec/12/city-council-staffer-calls-inauguration-protesters/

Healthcare

Here's another case of a Catholic hospital interfering with patient care http://fw.to/633sCLh

Abortion

Texas abortion providers launch campaign to keep clinics open http://reut.rs/1TQWSDf via @Reuters

Indicted antiabortion activist turns herself in to Texas authorities https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/02/03/indicted-antiabortion-activist-to-turn-herself-in-to-texas-authorities/

​Judge: No evidence of crimes in Planned Parenthood videos http://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-no-evidence-of-crimes-in-planned-parenthood-videos via @cbsnews

The judge spoke to Dear and advised him of his right to a preliminary hearing within 35 days. Dear told the the judge, "Planned Parenthood and my lawyer are in cahoots because they don't want the truth out." King told the judge he wasn't confident that his client was competent to make a choice about his legal rights. Dear interrupted, saying, "I'm competent." He went on, "I'm not going to agree to mental health evaluations so they can't put me on psychotropic drugs so I can't talk like the Batman guy." http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_29223430/da-file-formal-charges-against-accused-planned-parenthood

Over the last year I’ve spent months researching and writing about women’s reproductive rights, contemplating the burden and responsibility of motherhood, the relationship between our bodies, our religion, and our government. Now, I’ve unexpectedly become the theoretical woman I’ve thought so much about.Pregnant, unprepared and uninsured. I am a version of myself I’ve never met.Lucky to have a choice? Fortunate? Relieved? Abortion. That ugly word that hisses like poison from the gums of the righteous. A practice employed for thousands of years yet still bears the yoke of shame. Abortion. A word still so stigmatized, it’s only whispered in public.Abortion.This is my experience. I have roughly a week to tell it. Right now it’s real. Things are happening. I’m going to talk about them. For myself, for other’s on the frontier of unmotherhood, to fill a gaping silence surrounding the experience of a woman pre-termination.Updates daily. Comments permitted. Let it out. http://crisispregnancymichigan.com

Pro-Life Attorney: ‘We Need a Nuremberg for Abortion Doctors’ In a video shot by convicted terrorist Michael Bray, a pro-life attorney says abortion providers should ‘hang by their necks.’ “We need to have an American version of the Nuremberg trials for crimes against humanity,” prominent pro-life attorney Thomas W. Condit can be heard saying in a YouTube video of a July rally held outside of a Cincinnati Planned Parenthood center, shortly after the release of the first Center for Medical Progress (CMP) video. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/04/pro-life-attorney-we-need-a-nuremberg-for-abortion-doctors.html

Anti-Abortion Violence Is Abhorrent — And, Thankfully, Rare http://natl.re/KxWZf8 via @NRO

Planned Parenthood Smear Videos Caused 9 Times More Threats http://thebea.st/1XxFkQ

For Robert Dear, Religion and Rage Before Planned Parenthood Attack http://nyti.ms/1lt7OZZ

Planned Parenthood Shooter 'Obsessed With the World Coming To an End' Was Once Charged With Rape http://gawker.com/planned-parenthood-shooter-obsessed-with-the-world-comi-1745374517

Even before shooting, Colorado abortion clinics a battleground http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/even-shooting-colorado-abortion-clinics-battleground

I am Jex Blackmore, a Satanic activist and organizer, a performer, and a writer. I am also currently pregnant. http://crisispregnancymichigan.com/2015/11/67/

Washington State's Largest Newspaper Hasn't Covered Attorney General Report Exonerating Planned Parenthood http://mm4a.org/1QQVrTN

GROUP ATTACKING PLANNED PARENTHOOD LINKED TO RADICALS https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2015/group-attacking-planned-parenthood-linked-radicals

Meet the millennial who infiltrated the guarded world of abortion providers. At 15, he said, he Googled images of aborted fetuses — an exploration that cemented his antiabortion views. While studying at Claremont McKenna College, he began fixating on Planned Parenthood. He got a job with Live Action, an antiabortion nonprofit group led by a fellow millennial that made its name by mounting undercover “stings” against Planned Parenthood. In 2009, Daleiden was kicked off the neighboring Pomona College campus after aggressively questioning a Planned Parenthood official who had been invited to speak. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/meet-the-millennial-who-infiltrated-the-guarded-world-of-abortion-providers/2015/10/14/25aaf862-678b-11e5-9223-70cb36460919_story.html

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/10/state-just-became-first-crack-down-deceptive-anti-abortion-pregnancy-centers

GOP’s case against Planned Parenthood collapses: Jason Chaffetz admits he uncovered no wrongdoing. "Was there any wrongdoing? I didn't find any," the would-be House Speaker admitted. http://www.salon.com/2015/10/09/gops_case_against_planned_parenthood_collapses_jason_chaffetz_admits_he_uncovered_no_wrongdoing/

In other words, both Daleiden and Fiorina are still shamelessly lying, with lots of help from the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform and anti-abortion news outlets. And now, for good measure, they’ve thrown in footage of some poor woman’s medical procedure, a woman totally dehumanized for the sake of scoring a cheap political point. Ironic, ain’t it. http://theslot.jezebel.com/anti-abortion-groups-exploit-video-of-probable-miscarri-1733984831

Carly Fiorina's use of anti-abortion video is 'totally irresponsible', experts say. Fundraising video from GOP presidential candidate’s uses images and videos spliced from unrelated events, one of which depicts a miscarriage not an abortion. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/30/carly-fiorina-anti-abortion-video-fundraising-irresponsible-medical-experts

Planned Parenthood chief goes head-to-head with GOP in emotional hearing. http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-planned-parenthood-hearing-20150929-story.html

Cunningham founded the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform with the aim of spreading images of abortions and fetal remains, in an effort to shift the national debate. He said he worked as an intelligence officer at the Pentagon, where he learned the importance of using graphic images in wartime propaganda to establish popular sympathy for victims and anger at enemies. http://time.com/4053578/abortion-carly-fiorina-planned-parenthood/

The Center for Medical Progress David Daleiden David Robert Daleiden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Center_for_Medical_Progress

Carly Fiorina Schools Planned Parenthood Activist Defending Sales of Aborted Babies. http://bit.ly/1QJ6GLt

Planned Parenthood denies charges "This fraudulent video is beneath a serious candidate for the presidency, and you should take it down immediately." http://goo.gl/XfDXeo

Inside The Religious Right's Battle To Bring Down Planned Parenthood. http://theslot.jezebel.com/inside-the-religious-rights-battle-to-bring-down-planne-1733187397

Induced Abortion in the United States http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html

WHAT AMERICANS THINK OF ABORTION IT'S NOT SO BLACK AND WHITE http://www.vox.com/a/abortion-decision-statistics-opinions

Bill Nye Debunks Anti-Abortion Logic With Science http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bill-nye-made-a-video-about-abortion_5603fe67e4b0fde8b0d165a8

Fiorina Campaign Makes Its Own Abortion Video http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/09/carly-fiorinas-campaign-made-its-own-abortion-video

Two courts have ruled in as many days that anti-abortion activist David Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress must turn over private documents and submit to questions about how they orchestrated their video sting of Planned Parenthood. The rulings could require Daleiden to turn over paperwork and details of his operation, such as how he got into National Abortion Federation conferences. They also say he must provide the full, raw footage he collected of some of his meetings while posing as an executive of a fictitious tissue procurement firm. Opponents hope that those could show that he violated laws to obtain footage. Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/david-daleiden-center-for-medical-progress-planned-parenthood-video-213992#ixzz3mc30Hov5

Propaganda

How Fox News Made My Dad Crazy. A new film produced by Golden Globe-winning actor Matthew Modine fires shots at Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and the right-wing media machine. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/31/how-fox-news-made-my-dad-crazy.html

Open Carry

open carry walk Royal Oak/Madison Heights short version. https://youtu.be/ZaXQbcACnbU?t=5m25s

Religion

When It Comes to The Satanic Temple, Christians Seem to Love Bearing False Witness. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/01/13/when-it-comes-to-the-satanic-temple-christians-seem-to-love-bearing-false-witness/

The secular movement is an eclectic one. The people who operate as secular activists are as varied as any group of people; no single group or person has a monopoly on the general direction of the movement as a whole. This great diversity of people means that there is a great diversity in opinion as to what are proper goals and proper tactics for obtaining those goals. When one group or person actually succeeds in obtaining real-world results through their activism, it becomes necessary to examine those results, the tactics that led to them, and the motivations of the activist themselves. With nobody at the helm, it is this general critique that serves to steer the secular movement. One such activist who is starting to make a name for himself, and achieving real-world results, is Chaz Stevens. I’ll not mince words here and get straight to the point I wish to make, which is that Chaz Stevens is the absolute worst kind of secular activist and it is high-time someone publicly called him out on his bullshit. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/danthropology/2016/01/the-saga-of-chaz-stevens-or-how-not-to-be-an-activist/

Religion and The Satanic Temple https://prideofdawn.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/religion-and-the-satanic-temple/

No Time for Immigrants to Pray at Work in the Country of Freedom http://sputniknews.com/us/20160103/1032619333/muslim-workers-pray-ban-dismiss-colorado-somalia.html via @SputnikInt

Scalia dismisses religious neutrality: ‘nothing wrong’ with state invoking God http://gu.com/p/4ff89/stw

Via @NPR: Do Christians And Muslims Worship The Same God? http://n.pr/1melx7h

Pope Francis will make Mother Teresa—a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud—a saint. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2003/10/mommie_dearest.html?wpsrc=sh_all_dt_tw_top via @slate

Woman attacks praying Muslims in California park https://shar.es/1Gmbtb via @sharethis

Icelanders flocking to the Zuist religion - Iceland Monitor: http://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/politics_and_society/2015/12/01/icelanders_flocking_to_the_zuist_religion/ via @IcelandMonitor

A majority of Americans oppose “religious freedom” exemptions for government officials who wish to discriminate against same-sex couples while on the job, a new Associated Press-Gfk poll shows. According to the poll’s results, 56 percent of Americans think government officials who oppose same-sex marriage should be required to issue them in accordance with the law, compared to 41 percent who believe there should be “religious exemptions” for people of faith in such situations. http://www.newnownext.com/thanks-to-kim-davis-a-majority-of-americans-now-oppopse-religious-freedom-loopholes/11/2015/

“The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word” and

“Prisons are built with stones of Law, Brothels with bricks of Religion.”

All hail the Satanic Temple: Up close with the brilliant “Satanists” who drive the faith-deranged nuts http://www.salon.com/2015/11/01/all_hail_the_satanic_temple_up_close_with_the_brilliant_satanists_who_drive_the_faith_deranged_nuts/

Protest and prayer fill air outside Greater Church of Lucifer http://abc13.com/1060363/

‘Jesus’ chants greet Satanists at Bremerton football game. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/jesus-chants-jeers-greet-satanists-during-bremerton-football-game/

A new PPP survey reveals that Republicans are afflicted most, with 44 percent now favoring installing Christianity as the United States’ official religion. (Lest we forget, the GOP’s roster of potential 2016 candidates is stocked with rabid believers, and even faith-faker Donald Trump is courting evangelicals.) A shocking 28 percent of Democrats are also theocratically inclined. Only 53 percent of Republican and Democratic voters combined oppose declaring Jesus jabberwocky our national faith. http://www.salon.com/2015/10/25/they_really_want_a_theocracy_the_gop_candidates_who_want_to_make_you_bow_to_their_lord/

The Psalms 109 A Cry for Vengeance To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. http://www.bartleby.com/108/19/109.html

Lawbreaker Kim Davis and the lawless Ted Cruz. Davis got support for her law-breaking from Matt Bevin, the Republican candidate for governor of Kentucky, and from her husband, Joe, one of three men to whom she has been married. Ominously, he said he’s not afraid of harassment by gay-marriage supporters, and he invoked his gun-toting rights under the Second Amendment. “I’m an old redneck hillbilly, that’s all I’ve got to say,” he said. “Don’t come knocking on my door.” It’s fitting that, as Kim Davis undermines the rule of law, Joe Davis threatens violence. When you lose the former, all you are left with is the latter. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lawbreaker-kim-davis-and-the-lawless-ted-cruz/2015/09/04/fd63c660-5333-11e5-9812-92d5948a40f8_story.html

Texas officers pledge 'In God We Trust' but car decals draw ire from watchdog. Critics cry illegal government endorsement of religion, but law enforcement agencies say they are pushing back after recent deaths of officers nationwide. Charles Haynes, vice president of the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute in Washington, D.C., explained “In God We Trust” began appearing on federal coins in the Civil War era, and Congress in 1956 approved it as the national motto. The foundation notes in its letter to Nichols that the history of the motto has “no secular purpose,” explaining that it was adopted during the Cold War as a reaction to the “godliness” of communism. It says the country’s original motto, E Pluribus Unum, was purely secular. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/06/texas-police-car-decals-in-god-we-trust

There is only one time when it is essential to awaken. That time is now.

The idea behind this sort of Moral Majority-era politics was clear, Moore writes in his new book, Onward. “Most Americans agreed on certain traditional values: monogamous marriage, the nuclear family, the right to life, the good of prayer and church attendance, free enterprise, a strong military, and the basic goodness of the American way of life. The argument was that this consensus represented the real America.” Presumably, everyone else—gays, divorcees, pacifists, socialists—lived outside the “real America.” http://news.yahoo.com/freakishness-christianity-100700294.html

"Every golden Buddha in your city is a statue to Satan, as well as every Hindu idol," Barber, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Farmersville, Texas, wrote. "So, the fact that this statue is dedicated to Satan adds nothing new and only serves to make what God has seen all along obvious to everyone. There are satanic idols all around us." http://www.bpnews.net/45237/satanist-statue-prompts-michigan-bapt-response

“Don’t Make Me Go Back, Mommy” : A Creepy Children’s Book About Satanic Ritual Abuse. http://vigilantcitizen.com/latestnews/dont-make-go-back-mommy-creepy-childrens-book-satanic-ritual-abuse/

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/07/26/to-weed-out-protesters-at-last-nights-event-the-satanic-temple-had-attendees-transfer-their-souls-to-satan/

Feds urge local faith leaders to beef up security. In the wake of a horrific shooting that killed nine black parishioners at a South Carolina church last month, federal and local authorities urged metro Detroit faith leaders at a summit Monday to become more vigilant and improve security at their houses of worship. "It's a sad reality that we have to do it but when people are prepared, they are more successful in the outcome," said U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade. "Here in metro Detroit, we want to do everything we can to prevent an attack like that and share information on anything that might pose a threat." McQuade's office, in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security, Detroit Police Department, Dearborn Police Department and other law enforcement leaders, held a security summit at the Wayne State University Law School. McQuade said the summit was a result of a conversation with the Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony of Fellowship Chapel, who was concerned about safety at metro Detroit churches in light of the fatal attack in Charleston, S.C. http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/07/27/feds-security-summit-churches/30738395/

Inside the Satanic Temple's Secret Baphomet Monument Unveiling. http://www.vice.com/read/inside-the-satanic-temples-secret-baphomet-monument-unveiling-666

Satanic monument in Detroit unveiled: Is it disrespectful? (+video) The Satanic Temple of Detroit unveiled an enormous bronze Baphomet statue Saturday night despite protests from the local community. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0726/Satanic-monument-in-Detroit-unveiled-Is-it-disrespectful-video

The Satanists and a push for true religious freedom. http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/columnists/nancy-kaffer/2015/07/24/satanic-temple-detroit/30621161/ Protesters: Don't turn Detroit over to Satanists http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015/07/25/baphomet-satanic-temple-detroit-preachers-prayers/30682409/

That's Baphomet? Masons. Chick Tracts http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1074/1074_01.asp

“What this is really about is bigotry”: Atheist guest shreds Fox News panel’s “religious freedom” argument. "There's nobody out there trying to get Christian preachers to marry people against their will" he said. “If a priest does not want to marry a gay or lesbian couple because they’re following their religious belief, is Senator Rubio right?” he asked. “Are we at the water’s edge?” Not surprisingly, Pastor Jeffress said Rubio “is absolutely correct,” and proceeded to rattle off what he called a “fact” — an interaction at last month’s Supreme Court hearing about same-sex marriage. Jeffress claimed that U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr.’s answer to Justice Samuel Alito’s question about the legal difficulties that states with same-sex marriage bans might face if the Court deems such bans unconstitutional proves that “the Obama administration is sending us a signal that they are going to come after those who believe in traditional marriage.” http://www.salon.com/2015/05/28/“what_this_is_really_about_is_bigotry_atheist_guest_shreds_fox_news_panels_religious_freedom_argument/

All Charges Dropped Against Woman Who Vandalized Satanic Display in Florida Capitol. Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/03/22/all-charges-dropped-against-woman-who-vandalized-satanic-display-in-florida-capitol/

Herbert and Catherine Schaible are members of the First-Century Gospel Church, a faith healing group in northeast Philadelphia that relies on the advice given in James 5:14–15: Is anyone among you sick? Let him call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. After Kent died, Herbert said, “We tried to fight the Devil, but the Devil won.” http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/16/faith-based-medicine-is-snake-oil.html

Arkansas Legislator Justin Harris Performed Exorcisms On Adopted Daughters Before Giving Them Away: Report. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/13/justin-harris-exorcisms-arkansas_n_6861114.html

The Satanic Temple launches petition for 'discrimination transparency'. http://www.metrotimes.com/Blogs/archives/2015/03/12/the-satanic-temple-launches-petition-for-discrimination-transparency

The idea that “In God We Trust” isn’t meant to convey an exclusive religious message is insulting to the intellect. Surely, Mielke and the crusading IGWT zealots wouldn’t be eager to display in “In Allah We Trust,” though they might disingenuously argue that Allah is but another name for the same heavenly tyrant. Also, it shows an incomprehensible amount of ignorance to completely disregard the presence of non-believers, polytheists, and others who can’t possibly imagine the IGWT plaque to represent their religious opinions in any way. Fortunately, the Seattle chapter of The Satanic Temple, headed by one Lilith Starr, took note of the general discontent Mielke’s disgraceful idiocy has engendered, and is offering an alternative, or complementary, plaque that better reflects our American secular constitutional values of plurality and legal equality. The proposed plaque displays a border of symbols representing a diversity of religious views, centered with the phrase “E Pluribus Unum,” followed by its translation, “from the many, one”. If the IGWT plaque is truly believed, by those who endorse it, to reflect a broad range of religious opinions, surely nobody will object to more appropriate display of inclusion.

7 Satanic Strategies to Distract From Christianity. http://www.christianpost.com/news/7-satanic-strategies-to-distract-from-christianity-135044/

“HAIL SATAN! Let us stand now, unbowed and unfettered by arcane doctrines born of fearful minds in darkened times. Let us embrace the Luciferian impulse to eat of the Tree of Knowledge and dissipate our blissful and comforting delusions of old. Let us demand that individuals be judged for their concrete actions, not their fealty to arbitrary social norms and illusory categorizations. Let us reason our solutions with agnosticism in all things, holding fast only to that which is demonstrably true. Let us stand firm against any and all arbitrary authority that threatens the personal sovereignty of One or All. That which will not bend must break, and that which can be destroyed by truth should never be spared its demise. It is Done. Hail Satan.” http://youtu.be/bfNcpInSthk

The theft of a Celtic sea god sculpture from a mountainside in Northern Ireland must be labeled as a religious hate crime, a local pagan priest believes. The statue, made by a ‘Game of Thrones’ set creator, prompted a media stir after it was vandalized. The six-foot statue of Manannán Mac Lir, a sea deity in Irish mythology, was stolen from Binevenagh Mountain near Limavady in County Derry in January and replaced with a crucifix bearing the words “you shall have no other gods before me.” http://rt.com/news/228771-pagan-statue-theft-religion-crime/

Iceland to build first temple to Norse gods since Viking age. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/02/iceland-temple-norse-gods-1000-years

Glenn Beck Praises Woman Who Tore Down Satanist Display: 'I'm Glad At Least Somebody Is Standing Up' - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/glenn-beck-praises-woman-who-tore-down-satanist-display-im-glad-least-somebody-standing

It occurs to me that my history of taking on religion might led to my murder. Oh, well. It’s worth it. http://rall.com/2015/01/14/will-i-be-killed-by-religious-fanatics

January 16 http://religiousfreedomday.com

After Paris shooting, Irish say it’s time to finally ditch their blasphemy law. In 2009, a new defamation law was adopted that included a definition of blasphemy and said it could be punished with a fine of up to 25,000 euros (almost $30,000). Blasphemy was hence defined as “publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion, with some defenses permitted." The new law and definition had been criticized by atheists and free speech advocates before they even went into force. Shortly before it passed, Michael Nugent, chairman of Atheist Ireland, argued that it "incentivizes outrage," while Eoin O'Dell, a senior lecturer in law at Trinity College Dublin, later told The Post that it was "literally medieval." "Under this proposed law," Nugent wrote in 2009, "if a person expresses one belief about gods, and other people think that this insults a different belief about gods, then these people can become outraged, and this outrage can make it illegal for the first person to express his or her beliefs." http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/01/13/after-paris-shooting-irish-say-its-time-to-finally-ditch-their-blasphemy-law/

Watchdog: Do tax breaks for churches favor believers over nonbelievers? Religious organizations in America are largely exempt from income, sales, property and other taxes – perks worth at least $71 billion a year in the U.S., according to a recent study that was quite conservative in its methodology. That translates into a break of some $7 billion a year for religious institutions in California, and some $700 million a year for those in Orange County. The totals are likely higher, as real estate (and nearly everything else) in California is more expensive than almost anywhere in the nation. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tax-647039-churches-church.html

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A woman wearing a "Catholic Warrior" T-shirt was arrested on accusations of damaging the Satanic Temple's holiday display in the Florida Capitol, police said. Authorities said Susan Hemeryck, 54, a Tea Party activist, told a pair of Florida Department of Law Enforcement Capitol Police officers she was "sorry and had to take down the Satanic display" about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday because it was "not right." Police said the officers told Hemeryck not to remove the Satanic Temple's "Happy Holidays" display, and she responded by saying she "could not take it anymore" and started ripping the display apart. Read more: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2014/12/24/Police-Catholic-Warrior-damaged-satanic-display/2601419432415/#ixzz3ONienoMq

Photos: Township orders zombie Nativity scene removed. http://www.wlwt.com/news/30369258

Racism

U.S. Justice Dept. Investigates Irving PD for Clock Teen Arrest | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Feds-Investigate-Irving-PD-for-Clock-Teen-Arrest-360552991.html via @nbcdfw

WATCH: Alabama KKK member tells horrified British reporter Auschwitz was ‘summer camp’ for Jews. http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/watch-alabama-kkk-member-tells-horrified-british-reporter-auschwitz-was-summer-camp-for-jews/

Hubbard told The Times: “Goddammit. I don’t hate niggers. Christ, I don’t even dislike them. But if whites don’t want to live with niggers, they sure as hell don’t have to. Dammit, this is a free country. This is America.” http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/news/id_11124/Dearborn-removes-Hubbards-statue-from-former-city-hall.html

The South Seemed Pretty Sure It Was Fighting for Slavery. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-womack/south-civil-war-slavery_b_7946604.html

“Heritage of Hate” http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/05/heritage-not-hate-sorry-white-south-they-go-together.html

Rolling rally held in Lapeer area to show support for Confederate flag. LaFrance argued the symbol was used "as a battle flag fighting for states' rights. That's it." She decided to take part in the rally after spotting a Facebook post. Police in Lapeer came to the event in the parking lot outside the Walmart store on West Genesee Street. But 26-year-old resident Jay Casas called the gathering "a peaceful event" and "we had no intentions to disrespect anyone at all." Lapeer police did not immediately respond to a call for comment. "Some people did not like it and told the manager at (Walmart)," he said. "She came out and talked with us and she let us know she contacted the police. When the police got there, everyone left. We didn't burn anything or destroy anything. We met peaceful, as it is our right to do, so that's all it really was." Rather than being divided by the subject of the flag and race, Casas said people need to come together. "I say that we the people of the United States need to unite and understand that," he said. "I believe our government is trying to start a race battle. No one cared about the Confederate flag until the shooting in Charleston." He added with the flag now being taken out of stores due to some people finding offensive, "In that case, do you think in time the red and blue bandanas will stop being sold in stores because it represents gang violence? The flag to me is a part of our history. A lot of people died for the battle flag." Casas, who offered his condolences to the shooting victims in Chattanooga, Tenn., said, "I would like them to know that the American flag was used more by the KKK rather than the Confederate battle flag." http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/07/rolling_rally_held_in_lapeer-a.html

Here’s why America’s national parks are so white. Many prospective visitors worry about park employees’ disparate treatment and implicit racial bias. As part of our event, eight female academics — four of them white or Hispanic and four African-American — drove into the park. The organizers told participants not to pay the entrance fee and to inform gate agents that their fees were waived because they were visiting the research station. The white and Hispanic drivers gave the agents the information as directed and were welcomed and waved through. The four African-American scholars entered the park at different times and entrances and gave the same information. In all four cases, the African-American professors were extensively questioned, made to fill out a superfluous form, which required extra and unnecessary effort and a check-in with the research center staff, and reluctantly let into the park. One of the black professors was questioned about her college degrees, the title of her research project and her university affiliation and was asked to provide a faculty ID. The agents appeared incapable of imagining that a black woman could hold a Ph.D. and visit a research station for a scholarly event. (The Yosemite National Park Service has since opened an investigation into the incidents.) This is heartbreaking, not least because Buffalo Soldiers, members of all-African-American regiments of the U.S. Army, were among the nation’s first park rangers and built the first marked trail at Yosemite. Today only 1 percent of the park’s visitors are black. http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/7/heres-why-americas-national-parks-are-so-white.html

'Still a racist nation': American bigotry on full display at KKK rally in South Carolina. More than 50 protesters brandished Confederate flags and yelled racial epithets in rally that overlapped with black activists’ protest on the statehouse steps. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/19/kkk-clashes-south-carolina-racism

Confederate Madness Then and Now. A British consul witnessed the cynical process that plunged the United States into civil war in the 1860s. His observations can teach us a lot today. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/14/confederate-madness-then-and-now.html

Why do people believe myths about the Confederacy? Because our textbooks and monuments are wrong. False history marginalizes African Americans and makes us all dumber. http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/07/01/why-do-people-believe-myths-about-the-confederacy-because-our-textbooks-and-monuments-are-wrong/

The Confederate Flag Was Always Racist. Modern-day racists who brandish Confederate symbols are not distorting their meaning. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/06/confederate-flag-always-racist-119481.html#ixzz3eNg8fJSb

Ted Rall LAPD LAT

L.A. Confidential: How The LAPD Conspired To Get Me Fired From The Los Angeles Times — And How I Proved They Lied http://bit.ly/1VsPiBs

Ted Rall vs the Los Angeles Times BY R.C. HARVEY SEP 30, 2015 http://www.tcj.com/ted-rall-vs-the-los-angeles-times/

In Brief: Ted Rall vs. the LA Times/LAPD August 21, 2015 I’ve been asked to lay out the chronological narrative of what happened between me and the LA Times/LAPD. Please excuse my use of the third person; I think it’s easier to follow. http://rall.com/2015/08/21/in-brief-ted-rall-vs-the-la-timeslapd

http://www.psiopradio.com/2015/09/psiop-radio-179-with-guest-ted-rall/

U-T’s Democratic publisher Beutner ousted. Attempted Union-Tribune takeover by L.A. billionaire figures in Clinton political intrigue. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2015/sep/08/ticker-u-ts-democratic-publisher-beutner-ousted/

Beutner's email access blocked, so he exits on Facebook http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2015/09/beutners_email_access_blo.php

Tribune Publishing will announce Tuesday the termination of highly regarded L.A. Times publisher Austin Beutner, I’ve learned. Beutner’s leave-taking may be announced as a resignation. The firing is an unexpected one, though one built on long-brewing differences between Beutner and his boss Tribune Publishing CEO Jack Griffin. It also follows quickly on Tribune Publishing’s rejection of overtures from a would-be buyer for the Times, an acquisition that would have taken the Times private. The firing and sales overture rejection are not unrelated. Tribune Publishing told me it wouldn’t publicly comment on the unfolding events, nor would others involved. Beutner’s quick departure — just one year after Griffin appointed him to the job, and just four months after Tribune’s acquisition of the San Diego Union-Tribune and the subsequent creation of the “California News Group” — should send shockwaves through the news publishing world. The board, told of Beutner’s lack of team playing and “empire-building,” backed Griffin’s decision last week. In fact, Beutner’s detractors whispered that the empire Beutner sought to build might have extended to the political realm, believing that Beutner’s high public profile might lead him to the 2018 California governor’s race. http://linkis.com/capitalnewyork.com/sk0oK

Austin Beutner out as LA Times publisher in Chicago power play. http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2015/09/austin_beutner_out_as_la.php

WEB EXCLUSIVE: @LeeCamp talks to political cartoonist @TedRall @RedactedTonight http://youtu.be/aokMFGLZVSo

Ted Rall: To My Former Colleagues at The Los Angeles Times http://anewdomain.net/2015/09/05/ted-rall-to-former-los-angeles-times-colleagues-heres-what-you-can-do-commentary/ ow.ly/33IPnC

I have sent the following demand for a retraction to The Los Angeles Times. It follows legal requirements for such demands under California law. http://rall.com/2015/09/04/dear-la-times

Dear LA Times http://goo.gl/fb/PtY4S9

Fired Los Angeles Times cartoonist hits back at newspaper for siding with LAPD Department used inaudible recording against award-winning journalist Ted Rall after he drew cartoon alleging police misconduct in 2001 jaywalking incident http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/15/ted-rall-los-angeles-times-lapd-police-cartoon

Cartoonist fired by LA Times after LAPD arrest says evidence 'spliced and edited' As Ted Rall’s book on Edward Snowden hits shelves this week, parallels are visible between his own story – involving a police encounter over jaywalking – and that of his subject, the NSA whistleblower http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/aug/24/los-angeles-times-cartoonist-ted-rall-fired-edward-snowden-book

Danny Hellman https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/15244381 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Hellman#Ted_Rall_lawsuit

Controversial author Ted Rally debuts his book Snowden this week, and its unveiling could not come at a stranger time. In Snowden, Rall discusses the rise of Edward Snowden as he begins to realize the huge state tapping into our private lives at the exact same moment when the secret state surveillance on Rall’s past life would bring a forceful stop to his work at the LA Times. If you missed Bill's interview with Ted, you can hear it here: Read more: http://www.kfiam640.com/onair/bill-carroll-37820/cartoonist-fired-by-la-times-cries-13891621/#ixzz3jyXKqoQI

For downtown L.A.'s pedestrians, citations send a 'don't walk' signal http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-walkability-downtown-20150412-story.html

Readers outraged by L.A.'s pedestrian ticket 'muggings' Steve Lopez an April 24 story by Times reporter Catherine Saillant, who saw Eduardo and seven others get ticketed by an LAPD motorcycle officer near the 7th Street Metro station over a two-hour period. Councilman Mike Bonin. Councilman Jose Huizar State Sen. Bob Hertzberg of Van Nuys http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0503-lopez-ticket-20150506-column.html

Controversial cartoonist Ted Rall fights for his professional life after being fired by the LA Times By Kevin Uhrich 08/20/2015 http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/rall_s_deal/14860/

Ted Rall: The LAPD Told The LA Times To Fire Me [Cartoon Exclusive] http://anewdomain.net/2015/08/11/ted-rall-cartoon-so-the-lapd-told-the-la-times-to-fire-me/ http://anewdomain.net/2015/08/02/ted-rall-lapd-la-times-scandal-timeline/

This week, CounterPunch Radio host Eric Draitser welcomes two more outstanding guests to the program. In the first half of the episode, Eric chats with award winning syndicated political cartoonist and author Ted Rall about the controversy surrounding his recent firing by the LA Times on bogus charges made by the LAPD. Eric and Ted discuss the circumstances of his firing, the LAPD's lies, and the stupidity and arrogance of LA Times management in siding with the cops. Eric and Ted examine the larger context of this story, including how it is an indictment of the corporate media which, once again, reveals itself as a servant of power. Ted also talks about his brand new book about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, scheduled for release in a few days. http://store.counterpunch.org/rall-hunziker-episode-15/

Washington Post reporter charged with trespassing, interfering with a police officer. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/08/10/washington-post-reporter-charged-with-trespassing-interfering-with-a-police-officer/

AAEC Calls for Independent Investigation of LAPD's Rall Tape http://news.editorialcartoonists.com/aaec/2015/08/aaec-calls-for-independent-investigation-of-lapds-rall-tape.html

And here's the topper, one that pushes this from a sorry case of a gullible editor into a full-blown conspiracy. The publisher of the LA Times, Austin Beutner, ran for mayor in 2012 and is rumored to be making another attempt in 2016. That's right. The paper that is all about "integrity" is run by a guy who wants to be mayor! This is a HUGE ethical violation in the newspaper world, especially since the guy was publisher, then mayoral candidate, then publisher AGAIN. Maybe that's ok at shithole infotainment media like FoxNews, but at a major newspaper? I'm not aware of any other case like this. How's that going to work, exactly? How'd you like to be a reporter covering your boss' campaign? What happens if he wins the job? Will he step down, or order the paper to print glowing editorials and columns about what a great job the new mayor is doing? It is completely plausible that Ted was given the boot on orders from Beutner, who wants to smooth things over with the LAPD to enhance his political ambitions. Here's another tidbit. A large chunk of the LA Times now belongs to a large investment firm which is tied to the LA police union pension fund. So ownership and the guy running the paper have clear motives for muzzling Rall. This stinks in SO many ways. I call bullshit. http://derfcity.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-la-times-tries-to-destroy-ted-rall.html

Los Angeles Fire & Police commits $110 million to 8 funds http://www.pionline.com/article/20120823/ONLINE/120829933/los-angeles-fire-amp-police-commits-110-million-to-8-funds

http://cartoonistsrights.org/did-l-a-police-break-the-law-to-get-ted-rall-fired/

Radio interviews with Ted Rall talking about getting a “burn notice” from the L.A. Times: http://bradblog.com/audio/bradcast_bradfriedman_tedrall_drtucker_080415.mp3 http://archives.kpfa.org/data/20150805-Wed1700.mp3

A woman walking down the street in West Hollywood saw a police officer roughing up and handcuffing a man, whom he accused of jaywalking. Appalled, she challenged the officer. “Take off his handcuffs!” she demanded. Noticing the commotion, more passersby approached. Soon a small crowd of people had gathered around. Some people shouted at the officer to stop. Others mocked his aggressiveness, sarcastically suggesting that his unfulfilled sexual desires explained his behavior. Surrounded by pissed-off citizens, the cop replied with a smirk: “I’m SO scared.” Others stood and watched, witnessing. This happened 14 years ago. The man was me. None of us knew that the cop, Officer Will Durr, was secretly capturing the audio of my arrest on a tape recorder — some of it, anyway. http://rall.com/2015/08/05/woman-shout-cop

The sporty little car with the red paint and racing stickers was caught. Parked beside a Granada Hills road and its handcuffed driver, the Toyota Supra sat with its big modified exhaust hanging just above the ground, like a dog with its tail between its legs. “Remember me?” Officer Will Durr said to the driver — an embarrassed college student he’d pulled over days before in the same illegally modified car. Durr grinned as he stood beneath the car’s popped hood, ogling the turbo-charged engine, shining his flashlight over the modified air intake that allowed the vehicle to breathe in more power-giving air. Parked beside a Granada Hills road and its handcuffed driver... “Remember me?” Officer Will Durr said to the driver... Durr grinned ... http://ktla.com/2015/05/10/lapds-aggressive-driving-detail-trying-to-put-the-brakes-on-illegal-street-racing/ http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-racing-20150511-story.html http://tinyurl.com/pocbwru

http://rightwingnews.com/john-hawkins/was-the-la-times-right-to-fire-ted-rall-for-supposedly-lying-about-a-2001-encounter-with-the-police/

http://observer.com/2015/08/former-la-times-cartoonist-mulls-lawsuit/

http://rall.com/2015/08/03/my-letter-to-la-times-editorial-page-editor-nick-goldberg

http://lapd.com/blog/lappl_applauds_la_times_firing_of_cartoonist_ted_rall/

Ted Rall-LAPD Scandal: Rall Vindicated; LAPD, LA Times Under Fire. http://anewdomain.net/2015/08/01/ted-rall-lapd-la-firing-scandal-rall-vindicated-lapd-under-fire-exclusive/ http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-rall-lapd-crosswalk-tickets-20150511-story.html

Police State

Alpine Residents Petition County to Stop So-Called Commercial Gun Range for Police, Military Training | NBC 7 San Diego http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Alpine-Residents-Petition-County-to-Stop-So-Called-Commercial-Gun-Range-for-Police-Military-Training-361693391.html via @nbcsandiego

Obama commends Tarrant officer's act of kindness as good police work. http://www.wbrc.com/story/30394222/obama-commends-tarrant-officers-act-of-kindness-as-good-police-work

California measures target racial profiling and excessive force by police. http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-gov-brown-acts-to-reduce-racial-profiling-excessive-force-by-the-police-20151001-story.html

Gov. Jerry Brown vetoes crime bills with strong message about criminal justice system. http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-me-pc-gov-brown-vetoes-bills-restricting-hobbyist-drones-at-fires-schools-prisons-20151003-story.html

TX lawmakers support Childress Police Chief who told Freedom From Religion Foundation to 'go fly a kite' http://www.wfsb.com/story/30136244/childress-police-chief-tells-freedom-from-religion-foundation-to-go-fly-a-kite#ixzz3nAfMSHu4

“There’s far too much negative junk directed at officers who keep us safe from anarchy,” said Strongwolf http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-police-community-rally-hollywood-20150926-story.html

Sheriffs Want Popular Police-Tracking App Disabled. "I do not think it is legitimate to ask a person-to-person communication to cease simply because it reports on publicly visible law enforcement, she said. She said a bigger concern among privacy advocates is how much information about customers Waze shares with law enforcement, since the service necessarily monitors their location continually as long as it's turned on. Brown and Kopelev raised concerns during the meeting of the National Sheriffs Association winter conference in Washington. They pointed to the Instagram account of the man accused of shooting two NYPD officers last month. Ismaaiyl Brinsley posted a screenshot from Waze on his Instagram account along with messages threatening police. Investigators do not believe he used Waze to ambush the officers, in part because police say Brinsley tossed his cellphone more than two miles from where he shot the officers. Kopelev said he hadn't heard about the Waze app until mid-December when he saw his wife using it. Afterward, Kopelev said he couldn't stop thinking about the app and was motivated to act by the NYPD shooting. While attending the funeral of one of the officers in New York, he spoke with Brown, his former boss. Brown asked Kopelev to discuss Waze at the upcoming sheriffs' association conference. Kopelev refers to his efforts as his "personal jihad. http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Sheriffs-Want-Popular-Police-Tracking-App-Disabled-289755401.html

Bullying and Sexism

Racketeering suit is filed against anti-abortion group that released undercover videos. http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/racketeering_suit_is_filed_against_anti_abortion_group_that_released_underc

Exposed: The Faces and Fake Names of the People Behind Planned Parenthood Attack Videos. http://m.democracynow.org/stories/15400

What the push to defund Planned Parenthood is really about. Its 2011 fact sheet says it performed 332,278 abortion procedures in 2009. http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/07/30/planned-parenthood-abortion/30906967/ http://www.factcheck.org/2011/04/planned-parenthood/

Dude Catcalls Women During Anti-Catcalling Report. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/20/dude-catcalls-women-during-anti-catcalling-report-buzz60_n_7099966.html

Holy. Crap. A week in the tweet reply feed of @femfreq. Holy. Crap. http://t.co/KlouggcNYV https://t.co/eufMOpsHJn

In hindsight, Bill Cosby’s old books on love, sex and family are incredibly creepy. As a boy, Cosby liked to hurt little girls, because they deserved it. “If a girl wandered on to a football field where I was playing,” he writes of his sports-obsessed childhood, “I might make knocking her down part of my fly pattern, for a girl was only an honorary human being; and if my roller skating assumed a certain grand sweep, a girl or two might hit the cement, not an unfitting position for such a lesser part of humanity.” Cosby makes no apology for this violence. Girls were a “kind of dopey enemy,” he explains, and boys like him simply “practiced the violence that was so essential to their becoming men.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/book-party/wp/2015/01/27/in-hindsight-bill-cosbys-old-books-on-love-sex-and-family-are-incredibly-creepy/

War

My Daddy/brother/grandfather/buddy died fighting for this flag and I will too.

Crime

Gun Violence and Shootings

As promised, environmental attorney Marco Gonzalez has filed a lawsuit against the County of San Diego for granting a permit to a 160-acre firearms training facility called Covert Canyon tucked away in the mountains of Alpine. Gonzalez and his Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation, in conjunction with the Cleveland National Forest Foundation, filed the writ of mandate on January 8. The groups are requesting that a judge order a cease fire on the property due to what they claim is an illegal permit granted to Covert Canyon owner Mark Halcon without conducting any environmental review, as required by state law. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2016/jan/13/ticker-lawsuit-paramilitary-training-alpine/

Why has the AK-47 become the jihadi terrorist weapon of choice? http://gu.com/p/4emxt/stw

Shooting at Rialto Cafe, 22740 Woodward Ave just south of Nine Mile. Tuesday July 3, 1984 Gunman Alvin Freeman was shoot and killed when police stormed the restaurant https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1988&dat=19840705&id=em8iAAAAIBAJ&sjid=J60FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1338,228416&hl=en https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1345&dat=19840704&id=bfwuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hfkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5635,518644&hl=en

Active-shooter training for office workers used to be about hiding. Not anymore. http://wpo.st/Ee_y0

How to Tell a Mass Shooting from Gang Gunfire: Lessons from the Streets of San Bernardino http://www.vice.com/read/how-to-tell-a-mass-shooting-from-gang-gunfire-lessons-from-the-streets-of-san-bernardino via @vice

The media and gun control advocates need to stop inflating the number of mass shootings http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/12/no-there-were-not-355-mass-shootings-this-year via @MotherJones

Inside the race to stop the next mass shooter http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/09/mass-shootings-threat-assessment-shooter-fbi-columbine via @MotherJones

What Enrique Marquez told 911 when he realized one of the San Bernardino shooters used his gun http://wpo.st/aN4y0

Enrique Marquez: Why is the FBI questioning a friend of the San Bernardino shooter? http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-enrique-marquez-san-bernardino-shooters-friend-20151209-story.html

Robert L. Dear Jr. was charged with 179 counts on Wednesday, including first-degree murder, in connection with the deadly shooting rampage last month at a Planned Parenthood clinic. Bearded, unkempt and cuffed at the legs and arms, Mr. Dear frequently disrupted the proceedings in state court here, shouting out declarations of anger and defiance. “I’m guilty. There’s no trial. I’m a warrior for the babies,” he yelled at one point. “Let it all come out. The truth!” he yelled at another. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/10/us/colorado-planned-parenthood-shooting.html http://www.coloradoindependent.com/156590/accused-planned-parenthood-shooter-blurts-out-in-court-hearing-im-guilty-a-warrior-for-the-babies

Gun deaths have plummeted in the US — but that doesn’t mean there's less gun violence: https://news.vice.com/article/gun-deaths-have-plummeted-in-the-us-but-that-doesnt-mean-theres-less-gun-violence via @vicenews

Gun Sellers Have High Hopes For High School Shooting Leagues http://www.buzzfeed.com/sapna/why-gun-sellers-want-shooting-to-be-more-fun?utm_term=.pc6dkAYdE via @sapna @buzzfeednews

'Terrorist' killers had illegally modified their rifles, officials say http://dailym.ai/1TIPIie via @MailOnline

OPINION: Paul Ryan blames mass shootings on mental health laws http://alj.am/r8ly

1 dead, did not drop gun shot by police, officer injured in Neenah standoff at Eagle Nation Cycles http://post.cr/1QmzHyw via @postcrescent

Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak http://pewrsr.ch/15A2Gtw

Gun industry executives say mass shootings are good for business http://interc.pt/1TmXRbt by @lhfang

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/03/us/how-mass-shooters-got-their-guns.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

7-year-old girl has died after Taylor Sportsplex shooting https://shar.es/1cUePP via @wxyzdetroit

The Myth of the Good Guy With the Gun http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/oregon-shooting-gun-laws-213222

Mankato officer led Mpls. police to protest shooting suspect A Mankato police officer said he got a phone call about 1 a.m. Tuesday from an old high school friend. The man on the other end of the line was Allen Lawrence “Lance” Scarsella III, who confessed that just two hours before he had shot five people at a protest outside the Minneapolis Police Department’s Fourth Precinct station, according to court documents. Hours later, authorities raided Scarsella’s Bloomington home, seizing a dozen weapons and making the first of five arrests in connection with the shooting, which heightened racial tensions in the aftermath of 24-year-old Jamar Clark’s fatal shooting during a struggle with police. New details of the hours following the shooting of Black Lives Matter protesters were revealed in an application for a search warrant filed Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court. Prosecutors said Wednesday afternoon that they will need more time to decide if charges will be filed against the four men still being held in connection with the shooting. In the warrant, Scarsella, who is white, tells the officer, identified only as “Levin,” that he and some friends had gone to the Black Lives Matter protest to live-stream it and that they had an altercation with protesters, leading to the shooting. The Mankato officer told Minneapolis police that Scarsella owns a .45-caliber weapon, matching the size of the eight shells found at the shooting scene. http://strib.mn/1Tfqlo2

How Gun Traffickers Get Around State Gun Laws http://nyti.ms/1Y8O8J9

A 46-year-old Clarkston woman accused of firing gunshots at two men who were driving away from a Home Depot after stealing merchandise has been charged with a misdemeanor. Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez is accused of firing the shots Oct. 6 at Home Depot, 4150 Joslyn Road in Auburn Hills. Duva-Rodriguez was arraigned in the early afternoon in Rochester Hills on the single charge of reckless use, handling or discharge of a firearm, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or a fine. “If this is proven, I find it very disturbing that someone would take out their gun in a busy parking lot and shoot at the tires of a passing car,” Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper said. http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20151013/charges-filed-against-woman-who-shot-at-fleeing-shoplifters-in-home-depot-parking-lot

Where do Americans die by gunfire? (interactive) http://www.oregonlive.com/data/2015/10/where_do_americans_die_by_gunf.html

Were Christians Targeted in Oregon Shooting? http://news.discovery.com/history/us-history/were-christians-targeted-in-oregon-shooting-151006.htm

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/09/mass-shootings-threat-assessment-fbi-columbine

First, we need to comprehend the scale of the problem: It’s not just occasional mass shootings like the one at an Oregon college on Thursday, but a continuous deluge of gun deaths, an average of 92 every day in America. Since 1970, more Americans have died from guns than died in all U.S. wars going back to the American Revolution. When I reported a similar figure in the past, gun lobbyists insisted that it couldn’t possibly be true. But the numbers are unarguable: fewer than 1.4 million war deaths since 1775, more than half in the Civil War, versus about 1.45 million gun deaths since 1970 (including suicides, murders and accidents). If that doesn’t make you flinch, consider this: In America, more preschoolers are shot dead each year (82 in 2013) than police officers are in the line of duty (27 in 2013), according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FBI. http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/opinion/sunday/nicholas-kristof-a-new-way-to-tackle-gun-deaths.html

How They Got Their Guns. By LARRY BUCHANAN, JOSH KELLER, RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and DANIEL VICTOR OCT. 3, 2015 Criminal histories and documented mental health problems did not prevent at least eight of the gunmen in 14 recent mass shootings from obtaining their weapons, after federal background checks led to approval of the purchases of the guns used. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/03/us/how-mass-shooters-got-their-guns.html

Rand McGowan stayed still amid the gunfire. The 18-year-old was in the writing class where a killer opened fire Thursday, killing nine at Umpqua Community College in Oregon's deadliest mass shooting. McGowan told family members that the gunman didn't specifically target Christians but asked them about faith. The shooter, apparently planning to die during the massacre, told students: "I'll see you soon" or "I'll meet you soon." http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2015/10/gunman_in_oregon_college_shoot.html

The Myth Behind Defensive Gun Ownership. Guns are more likely to do harm than good. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/defensive-gun-ownership-myth-114262

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms when serving in the Militia shall not be infringed.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-five-extra-words-that-can-fix-the-second-amendment/2014/04/11/f8a19578-b8fa-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_story.html

How the NRA Rewrote the Second Amendment. The Founders never intended to create an unregulated individual right to a gun. Today, millions believe they did. Here’s how it happened. Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/nra-guns-second-amendment-106856

Oregon Sheriff Handling Massacre Fought the White House on Gun Control After Newtown. http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/10/oregon-sheriff-umpqua-massacre-white-house-gun-control-newtown

In 2012, there were 8,855 criminal gun homicides in the FBI's homicide database, but only 258 gun killings by private citizens that were deemed justifiable, which the FBI defines as "the killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen." That works out to one justifiable gun death for every 34 unjustifiable gun deaths. Or, look at it this way. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that in 2012 there were 20,666 suicides by gun. That works out to one self-defense killing for every 78 gun suicides. CDC data show that there were more than twice as many accidental gun fatalities as as justifiable killings. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/06/19/guns-in-america-for-every-criminal-killed-in-self-defense-34-innocent-people-die/

51 officers killed in the line of duty last year, nearly double 2013’s historic low: FBI. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/51-officers-killed-line-duty-year-fbi-article-1.2217901

Killed by Police, which documents the names, age, gender, and race of people killed by police every day, as well as the circumstances leading up to officers’ use of lethal force, recorded more than 90 people who died at the hands of officers in April. Indeed, Freddie Gray’s death was one of many egregious use of force cases in April. Here’s a recap of some of the police encounters that gained national attention. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/05/01/3652999/police-killed-90-people-april/

Gun Threats and Self-Defense Gun Use. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/firearms-research/gun-threats-and-self-defense-gun-use-2/

The Myth Behind Defensive Gun Ownership. Guns are more likely to do harm than good. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/defensive-gun-ownership-myth-114262.html

ARLINGTON A woman accused of shooting her husband and his adult daughter called a friend Wednesday and told him she did it, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained Thursday by the Star-Telegram. Veronica Dunnachie, 35, was arrested Wednesday in the deaths of Russ Dunnachie, 50, and Kimberly Dunnachie, 20. They were found in Russ Dunnachie’s home in the 2500 block of Edinburgh Street in Arlington by patrol officers who were making a welfare check, according to the affidavit. The suspect has been involved in area open-carry activities and has this quotation on her Facebook page: “Sometimes removing some people out of your life makes room for better people.” Her profile photo shows her aiming a gun. Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article4428614.html#storylink=cpy

Rethinking Gun Control. Surprising findings from a comprehensive report on gun violence. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2013/06/handguns_suicides_mass_shootings_deaths_and_self_defense_findings_from_a.html

federal land-return movement and Cliven Bundy

Thursday, February 11, 2016

1. The right-wing Oregon occupiers have a martyr now, and that should worry everyone. The anti-government movement has a long history of attracting violent actors who are willing to kill and be killed for their cause. https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/02/10/the-right-wing-oregon-occupiers-have-a-martyr-now-and-that-should-worry-everyone/
2. Four Arrests at Oregon Refuge End 41-Day Standoff https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/02/11/four-arrests-oregon-refuge-end-41-day-standoff
3. Federal charges filed against Cliven Bundy in Nevada standoff http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/federal-charges-filed-against-cliven-bundy-nevada-standoff
4. Oregon standoff ends with a cookie and a smoke http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nation-and-world/oregon-standoff-ends-cookie-and-smoke
5. Oregon Occupiers Warn Authorities of Booby Traps at Refuge Breaking News at Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/oregon-refuge-occupiers-booby-trap/2016/02/11/id/713967/
6. 4 Occupation Leaders Could Also Face Charges in Nevada http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/oregon-refuge-occupation-ammon-ryan-cliven-bundy-nevada-charges/
7. Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Occupation Ends http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/malheur-occupation-ends/
8. Oregon Congressman: Malheur Could Have Been Prevented With Earlier Bundy Arrest http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/oregon-democratic-congressman-vigorously-prosecute-cliven-bundy-malheur-occupiers/
9. Birders rejoice as Oregon standoff comes to close http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2016/02/birders_rejoice_as_oregon_stan.html
10. ‘Sovereign citizen contacts’ with law enforcement on rise, sheriff says http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/feb/10/sovereign-citizen-contacts-with-law-enforcement-on/
11. Watch: Portland comedians sing Oregon standoff ballad http://www.oregonlive.com/geek/2016/02/oregon_standoff_ballad_portlan.html
12. Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy seeks court-appointed lawyer http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/cliven_bundy_seeks_court-appoi.html
13. Malheur refuge now faces sweep for explosives, evidence http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/now_comes_damage_assessment_fo.html
14. 5 More Militants Charged In Connection With Masher Occupation Melissa Cooper told OPB her husband was arrested in front of their two girls. “It was traumatic for them,” Cooper said. “Then the FBI agents…these guys from Arizona, they let the air out of my tires so I was stuck. I don’t have money for new tires, and I’m trying to get them fixed right now.” http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/5-more-militants-charged-in-connection-with-malheur-occupation/
15. Reactions To The End Of The 41-Day Refuge Occupation http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/community-reactions-malheur-refuge-occupation-end/
16. Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Occupation Ends Fiore gave this advice to militant Sandy Anderson about writing her story: “Be detailed Sandy, be very, very detailed,” Fiore said. “Like that author did in Fifty Shades of Grey.” http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/malheur-occupation-ends/
17. 7 more named in new indictment linked to Oregon refuge occupation http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/5_more_indicted_in_oregon_refu.html
18. Oregon standoff: America's first social media occupation got surreal http://www.oregonlive.com/geek/2016/02/oregon_standoff_americas_first.html
19. FBI statements on end of Oregon standoff http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/fbi_statement_on_end_of_oregon.html
20. FBI Arrests All Remaining Occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge https://www.fbi.gov/portland/press-releases/2016/fbi-arrests-all-remaining-occupiers-at-the-malheur-national-wildlife-refuge
21. Oregon stand-off: Occupiers 'ready to surrender' http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35547168
22. Multnomah County releases Cliven Bundy's jail mug shot
23. Oregon State Sheriff’s Association Sides with Feds against American Citizens in Oregon Over Unconstitutional Land Grab Read more at http://freedomoutpost.com/2016/02/oregon-state-sheriffs-association-sides-with-feds-against-american-citizens-in-oregon-over-unconstitutional-land-grab/
24. Thousands listened to the surreal Oregon standoff live stream. Here’s what it sounded like. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/02/11/thousands-listened-to-the-surreal-oregon-standoff-livestream-heres-what-it-sounded-like/
25. http://interactive.kgw.com/mobile/breaking-video-2.html
26. Occupiers Say They Will Surrender To FBI Thursday http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/malheur-oregon-occupation-surrender-fbi-thursday/
27. FBI Arrests Cliven Bundy As Pressure Mounts On 4 Remaining Wildlife Refuge Occupiers http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/npr-fbi-arrests-cliven-bundy-as-pressure-mounts-on-4-remaining-wildlife-refuge-occupiers/
28. Oregon Standoff: 3 Things To Know As Possible End In Sight http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/cliven-bundy-arrested-malheur-surrender-end-occupation/
29. Oregon standoff: Who are remaining occupiers Sean Anderson, Sandy Anderson, David Fry and Jeff Banta? http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/who_are_remaining_occupiers_se.html
30. Oregon standoff: Nevada lawmaker Michele Fiore heads to Burns to negotiate http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/oregon_standoff_nevada_lawmake.html
31. Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy arrested by FBI in Portland http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/nevada_rancher_cliven_bundy_de.html

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

1. The FBI Has Raided the Malheur Refuge http://www.wweek.com/2016/02/10/the-fbi-has-raided-the-malheur-refuge/
2. Malheur refuge occupation sparks fears of incursion in neighboring county http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/malheur_refuge_occupation_spar.html
3. Oregon standoff: FBI moves in on last refuge occupiers http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/oregon_standoff_fbi_moves_in_o.html
4. 5:53pm David: "You guys killed LaVoy. You let Hillary continue to run for President. You let terrorists into our country." https://twitter.com/jjmacnab/status/697599402332913664
5. Grant County Residents Speak Out Against Refuge Occupation http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/grant-county-residents-speak-out-against-refuge-occupation/
6. Les Zaitz ‏@LesZaitz Instead of respond to reporter's questions, Grant County sheriff approaches DA to ask if "legal action" can be taken for contacts. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10205620317015789&id=1489513857
7. Oregon Takeover Update: The Plot Thickens http://www.triplepundit.com/2016/02/oregon-takeover-update-plot-thickens/
8. Rolly: Ammon Bundy’s handiwork behind anti-BLM fire video http://www.sltrib.com/home/3504080-155/rolly-ammon-bundys-handiwork-behind-anti-blm
9. Here is what polygamous sect member Ross LeBaron Jr. wrote in support of the Bundy family http://www.sltrib.com/blogs/polygamy/3518130-155/here-is-what-polygamous-sect-member
10. Grant County Leaders Could Condemn Refuge Occupiers Wednesday http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/grant-county-resolution-condemning-malheur-refuge-occupation/
11. Former refuge occupier hopes to help FBI negotiate with holdouts, has little luck http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/former_refuge_occupier_hopes_t.html

Tuesday, February 09, 2016

1. ACLU Defends 1st Amendment Rights Of Refuge Occupier Pete Santilli http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/aclu-oregon-pete-santilli-malheur-refuge-occupier-defense/
2. Two days after Finicum funeral, hotel maid finds gunshot damage in room http://www.sltrib.com/news/3517910-155/two-days-after-finicum-funeral-attracts
3. Oregon standoff: Sheriff's stance in LaVoy Finicum shooting draws outrage Finicum was shot and killed by state troopers after the FBI said he ignored demands to surrender, tried to elude pursuing officers and crashed into a snowbank after swerving to miss a police roadblock. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/oregon_standoff_sheriffs_stanc.html
4. Sheriffs’ association asked to investigate Palmer’s conduct http://www.bluemountaineagle.com/Local_News/20160208/sheriffs-association-asked-to-investigate-palmers-conduct
5. Former Malheur refuge occupier arrested on Kansas warrant http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/former_malheur_refuge_occupier.html
6. Remaining occupiers in Oregon reduced to stunts, taunting FBI by driving federal vehicle https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/02/09/remaing-oregon-occupiers-reduced-to-pranky-stunts-taunting-fbi-by-doing-donuts-in-federal-vehicle/
7. Nevada Dingbat Michele Fiore Taking Cliven Bundy To Oregon Between Her Giant Boobs http://wonkette.com/598615/nevada-dingbat-michele-fiore-taking-cliven-bundy-to-oregon-between-her-giant-boobs
8. With Bar Complaints Filed, Lawyers Explain Bundy Approach http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/with-bar-complaints-filed-lawyers-explain-bundy-approach/ http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/ammon_bundys_lawyers_deny_brea.html
9. Why some far-right extremists think red ink can force the government to give them millions http://www.vox.com/2016/2/9/10942860/sovereign-citizens-movement
   

Monday, February 08, 2016

1. Op-Ed What did LaVoy Finicum die for? http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-bady-malheur-ideology-20160207-story.html
2. Ammon Bundy issues new statement from jail: Urges elected officials to support their imprisoned constituents http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/ammon_bundy_issues_new_stateme.html
3. Cliven Bundy Is Coming To Burns, Portland http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/cliven-bundy-is-coming-to-burns-portland/
4. What Is the Link Between the Oregon 'Militiamen' and Mormonism? LaVoy Finicum’s ultraconservative Mormon beliefs help explain his radical actions. http://www.alternet.org/belief/what-link-between-oregon-militiamen-and-mormonism
5. The BLM's arms race on the range. The agency has armed up since 1978, but it's still outgunned without local backup. http://www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/the-blms-arms-race-on-the-range
6. Sovereign Citizens Getting Owned Compilation @jjmacnab pretty sure you're already aware of this link... but if you care to share... https://youtu.be/QCozh_vbYdM
7. Refuge occupier calls for feds to leave Oregon in latest release of videos http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/refuge_occupier_calls_for_feds.html
8. Oregon Refuge Occupation Enters Day 38: 6 Things To Know http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/harney-county-news-to-know-david-fry-lavoy-finicum/

Sunday, February 07, 2016

1. Alleged bomb builder shakes up Kern County desert community http://lsh.re/XW51 via @bakersfieldcali
2. After Finicum funeral, Cliven Bundy encourages more Utah ranchers to tear up grazing permits http://www.sltrib.com/news/3507655-155/after-finicum-funeral-cliven-bundy-encourages
3. John Sepulvado ‏@JohnLGC another video https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=acyMQPZR86Q … https://twitter.com/JohnLGC/status/696483412526235649
4. John Sepulvado ‏@JohnLGC clearly the FBI strategy is working https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SKTP1krsNIc … https://twitter.com/JohnLGC/status/696476450040389632
5. JJ MacNab ‏@jjmacnab David Fry is still uploading videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNIG7gJdTPY … https://twitter.com/jjmacnab/status/696451544506433537
6. Burns Paiutes to Ammon Bundy: You're not the victim http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/burns_paiutes_to_ammon_bundy_y.html
7. 
8. Progressives Must Not Dismiss the Oregon Militia Standoff as Irrelevant http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2016/01/29/progressives-must-dismiss-oregon-militia-standoff-irrelevant/
9. 7 kinds of government subsidies those angry ranchers get that you don’t http://grist.org/article/7-kinds-of-government-subsidies-those-angry-ranchers-get-that-you-dont/
10. GUEST POST: Death Of A Would-Be Tyrant http://mtcowgirl.com/2016/01/30/guest-post-death-of-a-would-be-tyrant/
11. Supporters Memorialize LaVoy Finicum, Seek Unifying Message http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/lavoy-finicum-roadside-memorial-pacific-patriots-network/
12. Police Add Warning To Refuge Roadblock http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/oregon-state-police-malheur-refuge-arrest-warning/

Saturday, February 06, 2016

1. Family of man killed in Oregon standoff pleads for independent probe http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nation-and-world/family-man-killed-oregon-standoff-pleads-independent-probe
2. Oregon standoff: LaVoy Finicum memorial torn down, reward offered for answers http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/oregon_standoff_lavoy_finicum.html
3. Remarks by SAC Greg Bretzing at a Press Conference to Address the Ongoing Situation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge https://www.fbi.gov/portland/press-releases/2016/remarks-by-sac-greg-bretzing-at-a-press-conference-to-address-the-ongoing-situation-at-the-malheur-national-wildlife-refuge
4. LaVoy Finicum shooting: What happened when http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/post_6.html
5. Some unindicted refuge occupiers attend memorial for LaVoy Finicum http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/some_unindicted_refuge_occupie.html
6. Judge orders refuge occupier Brian Cavalier detained, his lawyer plans to appeal http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/02/federal_magistrate_judge_order.html
7. Militia group backs down, billboards go up in support of law enforcement as fifth week of Oregon standoff comes to an end http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/militia_group_backs_down_billb.html
8. 30 minutes of chaos: Witness details events of Finicum shooting http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/30_minutes_of_chaos_witness_de.html
9. LaVoy Finicum's Family Remembers Him As A Man Driven By Family And Faith http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/lavoy-finicums-family-remembers-him-as-a-man-driven-by-family-and-faith/
10. Ethical Questions Surround Ammon Bundy’s Legal Team, Strategy http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/legal-ethics-ammon-bundy-lawyer-oregon-refuge-occupation/

Friday, February 05, 2016

1. The BLM's arms race on the range. The agency has armed up since 1978, but it's still outgunned without local backup. http://www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/the-blms-arms-race-on-the-range
2. LaVoy Finicum hailed as 'one of the biggest patriots' before funeral. The man who acted as militia spokesman at the Oregon standoff was shot dead by police last month – ‘He died for what he believed in’ according to friends http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/05/lavoy-finicum-hailed-as-one-of-the-biggest-patriots-before-funeral
3. The rise of the Sagebrush Sheriffs. How rural ‘constitutional’ peace officers are joining the war against the feds. http://www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/the-rise-of-the-sagebrush-sheriffs
4. Hundreds gather at funeral for man killed in Oregon standoff http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nation-and-world/hundreds-gather-funeral-man-killed-oregon-standoff
5. LAVOY FINNICUM WAS SHOT 9 TIMES BY THE FBI!! There will be no open casket because they shot him in the face. http://www.infowars.com/lavoy-finnicum-was-shot-9-times-by-the-fbi/
6. Lawyer for Oregon standoff 'shock jock' cites Trump's inflammatory speech in defense of his client http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/2/5/1480479/-Lawyer-for-Oregon-standoff-shock-jock-cites-Trump-s-inflammatory-speech-in-defense-of-his-client
7. Federal judge affirms decision to keep Pete Santilli behind bars in conspiracy case. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/federal_judge_affirms_decision.html
8. State Sheriff's Association: No support for illegal actions, threats of violence http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/sheriffs_association_no_suppor.html
9. A son of Bunkerville cattle rancher Cliven Bundy was sent to prison Wednesday, less than two weeks after being dropped from a specialty court program. Cliven Lance Bundy, 35, was ordered to serve between two and eight years in prison on felony burglary and firearms charges, which he pleaded guilty to in February 2013. For about two years, Bundy participated in the drug court program, under house arrest and receiving treatment in an inpatient facility and a sober living house, according to Clark County court records. He was in the third stage of the program and nearing graduation when he missed multiple court appearances. Last month, federal agents arrested Bundy in the Jean Dry Lake bed after spotting a group of all-terrain vehicles riding outside their permitted area on public lands, according to the Bureau of Land Management. Agents stopped the vehicles, and Bundy was driving one for a tour group. http://m.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/cliven-bundy-s-son-sent-prison-burglary-gun-charges
10. Northwest Volunteers Want To Help Restore Malheur Refuge http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/northwest-volunteers-restore-malheur-refuge-occupation-oregon/
11. LaVoy Finicum's death in Oregon occupation prompts memorials across country http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/lavoy_finicums_death_in_oregon.html

Thursday, February 04, 2016

1. LaVoy Finicum, rancher killed in Oregon occupation, spent time as Portland apartment manager. http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/02/lavoy_finicum_rancher_killed_i.html
2. Accused Oregon refuge occupier begs to attend LaVoy Finicum funeral http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/accused_oregon_standoff_conspi.html
3. Occupiers Not Listed In Indictment Could Face Charges http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/occupiers-not-in-listed-indictment-could-face-charges-/
4. Oregon Militia Standoff Spotlights Federal-Tribal Quandary over Artifacts http://prospect.org/article/oregon-militia-standoff-spotlights-federal-tribal-quandary-over-artifacts
5. Grand jury indicts 16 in Oregon standoff, including Bundy brothers, four holdouts. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/feb/4/grand-jury-indicts-16-oregon-standoff-including-bu/
6. The Evolution of the Patriot https://youtu.be/cvZ_L9JsUsw via @YouTube
7. A Divided Burns Looks Toward Healing http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/divided-burns-looks-toward-healing/

Wednesday, February 03. 2016

1. Prosecutors Bring Sealed Indictment In Bundy Case http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/prosecutors-bring-sealed-indictment-in-bundy-case/
2. Last Line Of Communication With Militants Cut http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/communication-militants-cut-malheur-refuge-oregon-occupation/
3. Court documents filed stemming from Oregon refuge occupation http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/court_documents_filed_stemming.html
4. Federal judge affirms release of Joseph O'Shaughnessy; delays decision on Pete Santilli http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/02/federal_judge_affirms_release.html
5. Billy Graham's son speaks to Oregon standoff holdouts http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/oregon_standoff_evangelist_fra.html

Tuesday, February 02, 2016

1. Via @NPR: To Protesters Flocking To Oregon Town, Locals Say 'Go Home' http://n.pr/20EgqMI
2. CNN does skillful interview with Victoria Sharp, 18-year-old shooting witness: http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/02/us/
3. Ammon Bundy Is Crowdsourcing Bail Money. Ammon Bundy’s attorneys hope to raise $100,000 in one month. http://www.wweek.com/2016/01/29/ammon-bundy-is-crowdsourcing-bail-money/
4. Oregon standoff: Opposing demonstrations divide Harney County locals http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/oregon_standoff_opposing_demonstrations_divide_harney_county_locals.html
5. Emotional Protesters Face Off In Burns. “I just think it’s a tragedy what happened to LaVoy Finicum,” said Monte Siegner, a rancher from Riverside, Oregon, about 60 miles from Burns. “We need something other than the people who did the dirty deed to investigate themselves.” But many other local residents expressed that Finicum’s shooting death by police was justified. “LaVoy got shot because he was reaching for a weapon,” said Victoria Dalziel, a Burns resident. “That was justifiable cause. That’s what the police were trained for.” http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/emotions-boil-over-on-both-sides-in-burns-protests/
6. Cliven Bundy Calls For Refuge Occupation To Continue. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/cliven-bundy-calls-for-refuge-occupation-to-continue/
7. 

Monday, February 01, 2016

1. Shawna Cox: Insider helped police arrest Bundy group. http://www.kgw.com/news/witness-insider-helped-police-arrest-bundy-group/28542430
2. Shawna Cox's release conditions filed in federal court in Portland http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/shawna_coxs_release_conditions.html
3. Pete Santilli, ordered held, will challenge ruling before another judge Tuesday http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/pete_santilli_ordered_held_wil.html
4. 'Don't Tread On Me' Flag Appears On BLM Building Near Burns. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/dont-tread-on-me-flag-blm-building/
5. FBI Blocking Most Lines Of Communication, Militants Say. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/fbi-blocking-lines-of-communication-militants-say/
6. The Federal Response To Oregon Occupation May Have Roots In Ruby Ridge. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/npr-the-federal-response-to-oregon-occupation-may-have-roots-in-ruby-ridge/
7. Freed Oregon occupier Shawna Cox heading home soon, husband says. Cox's husband said the family planned to hire "a big expensive legal team" to fight the charges against her. Don Cox also said his wife isn't a terrorist or anti-government. "But there's some things in the government that are not right," he said. "This has always been about putting God back in American and back in our schools." He said police kept his wife's wedding ring, cell phone, wallet and the clothes she was wearing when she was arrested before releasing her around 11 p.m. She can't get on a plane home because police kept her identification. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/arrested_oregon_occupier_freed.html
8. 
   Oregon standoff: Jon Ritzheimer 'likely' to be extradited to Oregon http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_jon_ritzheimer.html

Sunday, January 31, 2016

1. Robert 'LaVoy' Finicum yelled at police, 'Just shoot me,' witness says http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/shawna_cox_refuge_occupier_des.html
2. Ryan Bundy's wife questions law enforcement actions in shooting. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/ryan_bundys_wife_questions_law.html http://www.kivitv.com/news/angela-bundy-speaks-out-following-death-of-finicum

Saturday, January 30, 2016

1. Landowners Inside FBI Perimeter: 'We’re Psychologically Exhausted' http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/landowners-inside-fbi-perimeter-were-psychologically-exhausted/
2. How A Digital Friendship Created An Unlikely Holdout http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/david-fry-lavoy-finicum-malheur-refuge-occupatin-oregon/
3. Sheriff Dave Ward, the true patriot in Harney County's spectacle: Editorial http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/01/sheriff_dave_ward_the_true_pat.html
4. Oregon standoff: Last of the occupiers 'hoping for a miracle'. Buddy Militia trashed refuge buildings. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_last_of_the_oc.html
5. Oregon standoff: LaVoy Finicum's family disputes police version of confrontation. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_lavoy_finicums.html
6. Oregon standoff: Bundy occupation leaves scars behind http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_bundy_occupati.html

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

1. FBI tells Oregon refuge occupiers to leave as authorities set up roadblocks http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/fbi_tells_oregon_refuge_occupi.html

Sunday, January 24, 2016

1. Oregon standoff: Grant County sheriff urges release of Hammonds http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/post_2.html
2. Malheur SITREP: 2200L 23 JAN 2016 https://www.oathkeepers.org/malheur-sitrep-2200l-23-jan-2016/
3. Mrs. Hammond Writes “The Oregonian” About U.S. Superior Court Judge Who Arrived To Restore Constitutional Order (VIDEOS) http://www.thesleuthjournal.com/mrs-hammond-writes-the-oregonian-about-u-s-superior-court-judge-who-arrived-to-restore-constitutional-order/
4. Steve Duin: Free to wreak havoc in Harney County http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf/2016/01/steve_duin_free_to_wreak_havoc.html
5. Demands by Oregon standoff leaders defy logic and law, authorities say. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/demands_by_oregon_refuge_occup.html
6. Malheur Occupation: A Reference Guide http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/oregon-malheur-occupation-militia-bundy-ammon-ryan/
7. Armed Occupiers Convene Common Law Grand Jury Against Local Officials http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/oregon-occupiers-common-law-grand-jury/
8. 1 Rancher Says He'll Ignore His Grazing Contract http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/one-rancher-says-hell-ignore-his-grazing-contract/

Friday, January 22, 2016

1. Burns' Monday community mtg on the #OregonStandoff will be hosted by my pals at @OPBTOL. Very cool. https://twitter.com/amandapeacher/status/690755538334842881
2. FBI Defends 'Measured' Response to Occupation of Oregon Wildlife Refuge. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/01/22/after-three-weeks-fbi-promises-‘deliberate-and-measured’-response-oregon-standoff http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-defends-measured-response-occupation-oregon-wildlife-refuge-n501611
3. Faces of the Malheur occupation: Meet the militants and their visitors. http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/01/oregon_militant_profiles_list.html
4. Malheur Field Station director left after learning: 'You have an armed militia down the road' wo cars traveling along desolate Sod House Lane slowed as they neared Duncan Evered, busy packing a rucksack with mail he emptied from the roadside box. Evered was alone out on the desert Jan. 2. He was the last employee left at the Malheur Field Station, a separate nonprofit island within the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. He had no idea his neighbors at refuge headquarters four miles away had left days earlier, warned of potential trouble. "I got this slightly spooky feeling," said Evered, co-director of the field station. "These people just looked at me." http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/malheur_field_station_manager.html
5. Malheur Refuge Resident calls out Bundys Duncan Evered is the only person authorized to live on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge now under siege by armed occupants, sons of controversial Nevada rancher, Cliven Bundy. This is the first time he came forth with his thoughts on the illegal occupation of these public lands by a group wanting to seize federal public lands for thieir own use. https://youtu.be/vb-nxVkxXFM
6. Burns Paiute Tribe Sounds Off About Oregon Standoff At Malheur Wildlife Center http://www.inquisitr.com/2718940/burns-paiute-tribe-sounds-off-about-oregon-standoff-at-malheur-wildlife-center/
7. Militants Bring Young Children To Live At Occupied Refuge. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/children-present-at-occupied-refuge-with-militants-/
8. How Militants May "Indict" Non-Believers. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/oregon-burns-bundy-militia-grand-jury-occupation/
9. Too Many Captains Could Undermine Armed Occupation. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/npr-too-many-captains-could-undermine-armed-occupation/
10. The leader of militants at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge gave two demands to FBI officials Friday for negotiations toward a resolution to continue. The exchange happened outside an FBI staging area near Burns, Oregon. In a brief meeting with FBI officials, Ammon Bundy made it clear he will not talk about or negotiate a resolution to the three-week occupation of the refuge until his demands are met. First, he required someone from the FBI meet him face-to-face for the discussions. A brief negotiation took place over the phone Thursday between Bundy and an FBI negotiator. Second, Bundy wanted to know if Harney County Sheriff David Ward gave authorization for the FBI to operate in the county. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/bundy-demands-fbi-negotiations/
11. Statement by Harney County Judge Steve Grassy. http://bit.ly/1K1OJJD
12. Refuge occupation's co-leader disillusioned by Iraq finds purpose in Bundys' cause. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_occupation_leader_ryan.html
13. Oregon standoff negotiations stumble as occupation leader questions FBI authority. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_negotiations_s.html
14. as this continues, my sense is what happens in burns is gonna shape the future of the american west. http://www.americanlandscouncil.org/why_the_oregon_uprising

federal land-return movement and Cliven Bundy, older

Thursday, January 21, 2016

1. Bundy went to the FBI compound for a 30-minute chat today, then took the crew into town for lunch. http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/1/21/1473051/-Bundy-went-to-the-FBI-compound-for-a-30-minute-chat-today-then-took-the-crew-into-town-for-lunch
2. Enough! (Letters to the Editor) http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/01/malheur_occupation_enough_lett.html
3. Gov. Brown: Burns Is Being Ripped Apart. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/kate-brown-oregon-burns-occupation/
4. Negotiations Begin With Bundy And FBI. Ammon Bundy, the leader of a group of armed occupants at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, showed up unexpectedly at the airport in Burns Thursday to talk with a negotiator from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The negotiator wasn’t on site, and Bundy spoke with him by phone, standing outside the concrete barriers at the base. “The only ones that are going to make this a non-peaceful event will be you guys — the FBI or other law enforcement,” Bundy told the negotiator by phone. “I want to keep the dialogue going. We want to work together with you,” the negotiator said to Bundy. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/negotiations-begin-bundy-fbi/ http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/fbi_and_oregon_standoff_leader.html
5. Bundy: Occupiers aren’t the ones breaking the law. Occupation leader says there’s no reason for arrest. Ammon Bundy said he and others involved in the occupation, including his brother, Ryan, attended the Tuesday meeting at Burns High School so people could see they have no reason to be afraid. And he wanted to hear what people in Harney County had to say. “I confirmed what I thought,” Bundy said, “that most of the people are in support of us.” “We came here to work,” he said. http://www.bendbulletin.com/exports/newsletters/main/3926930-151/bundy-occupiers-arent-the-ones-breaking-the-law
6. It's time for Obama to make Bear Ears in Utah a national monument. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0121-babbitt-bears-ears-national-monument-20160120-story.html
7. VIDEO of Bundy thugs rooting through Paiute Artifacts https://twitter.com/coop3030/status/689981160416526336
8. I think the leaders of the #bundymilitia think very differently then most people, and see this as a divine cause. https://twitter.com/JohnLGC/status/690069800807178240
9. they broke in to the room with the keys. I saw the door handle. https://twitter.com/JohnLGC/status/690176466189885442
10. One of protesters has murder conviction. Neil Sigurd Wampler drove to Oregon from his home on the California coast earlier this month to join those protesting the arson convictions of father and son ranchers outside Burns. In August 1977, Wampler, who was 29, was convicted of second-degree murder in the killing of his father, Forey Edward Wampler, in Lake County, California, according to the district attorney's office there and police reports. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_among_the_prot.html
11. Governor Amplifies Criticism Of FBI’s ‘Passive Approach’ To Militants. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/governor-amplifies-criticism-of-fbis-passive-approach-to-militants/
12. Refuge Employees Break Silence On Armed Occupation http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/refuge-employees-break-their-silence-on-armed-occupation/

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

1. Takeover Day 19: Governor angry over feds' refuge response. Says state will bill feds for costs; nearly $500,000 so far http://www.ktvz.com/news/takeover-day-17-militia-asks-ranchers-to-stop-paying-fees/37501000
2. HereForHarney An open letter from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge staff, who live and work in #HarneyCounty : https://www.facebook.com/malheurrefuge/posts/1698675557015817 https://twitter.com/HarneyCoSheriff/status/689893252808347650
3. No refuge news conference - only sound was chirping of birds and roar of "borrowed" ATVs. https://twitter.com/LesZaitz/status/689925235441725440
4. Finicum: Militants Have No Plans To Leave Refuge. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/finicum-no-plans-to-leave-to-refuge/
5. FBI failure forces job on Gov. Brown to evict and arrest Ammon Bundy and his gang http://blog.oregonlive.com/myoregon/2016/01/fbi_failure_forces_job_on_gove.html http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/oregon-kate-brown-burns-spectacle-must-end/
6. Kate Brown criticizes federal response to 'unlawful occupation,' wants funding to help pay costs. http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/01/kate_brown_oregon_should_help.html
7. Fundraiser in protest of Oregon refuge occupation collects $50,000 in 3 days. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/fundraiser_in_protest_of_orego.html
8. Oregon standoff: Anger, frustration boil over at community meeting. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_anger_frustrat.html
9. Susan Hammond and Hammond Family Friend Chris Wilson on the arrest of Dwight and Steven Hammond. https://youtu.be/nwHxUvMbIIw

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

1. Oregon standoff leader warns feds: Back off. Bundy also made clear his group, which calls itself Citizens For Constitutional Freedom, isn't leaving anytime soon. Since the occupation started Jan. 2, the protesters have provided shifting accounts of what they want and when they would leave. Two weeks ago, some said the group would leave if Harney County residents said they should. Two widely attended community meetings gave them their answer: Go. The militants packed not a single bag. Last week, the group's leaders indicated that they would divulge their "exit" plan at their own community meeting in Burns. That got delayed when county officials refused to let them use any public buildings, forcing the detour to Crane on Monday that drew a crowd of about 30. By contrast, meetings in Burns have drawn up to 400. Yet in Crane, Bundy and other leaders of the occupation never spoke of plans to leave the refuge. Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity, assembled a half-dozen protesters overnight as a counterweight to the attention Bundy and his group gets with its daily news conferences. "The Malheur does not belong to the Bundys," he said. Bundy's followers make up the "radical spearhead" of a political movement backed by powerful corporate interests trying to access public lands, he said. Congressional legislation toward that end "is the biggest threat here," he said. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/post.html#incart_river_home
2. From Oregon to Australia: the unifying force of far-right resentment. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/19/from-oregon-to-australia-the-unifying-force-of-far-right-resentment
3. Oregon Militia Nuts Hold Paiute History, Artifacts Hostage. “Some of the members of the community were open to them,” Roderique says, “when they first came but now the county chained and locked everything up and said no you can’t have your meeting in town.” Harney County officials have stated they will not allow the militants to use any county-owned building for fear of more takeovers of public property. “They tried to ask us for our gathering center and our facility was booked up. We just kind of laughed and said they want to use our 'savage' facilities?” Roderique was referencing a “Harney County Committee of Safety” website made by supporters of the takeover who profess to exist “to secure the property and lives of the association members from threats from the savages.” http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/01/19/oregon-militia-nuts-hold-paiute-history-artifacts-hostage-163116
4. Oregon militia recruiting ranchers to stop paying government grazing fees. Ammon Bundy and key standoff leaders left the Malheur national wildlife refuge to persuade ranchers to violate their US Bureau of Land Management contracts. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/19/oregon-milita-standoff-malheur-national-wildlife-refuge-cattle-ranchers
5. Oregon standoff leaders urge local ranchers to defy feds on grazing fees. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_leaders_urge_l.html
6. Hundreds gather in Portland to protest Malheur occupation, support public lands. http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/01/hundreds_gather_to_protest_mal.html
7. Meet the Ragtag Coalition of Birders and Grannies Taking on Ammon Bundy. First it was the liberals and the talk show hosts, with their "yallqueda" jokes and USPS packages stuffed with dildos. Then the birders made their threats. Now, the grannies are here to tell the Bundys and their brethren to get out. http://www.outsideonline.com/2048821/malheur-birds-not-bullies
8. Bundys Urge Oregon Ranchers To Tear Up Grazing Contracts. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/ammon-bundy-oregon-grazing-blm-finicum-crane/
9. "You know how many endangered species we're dealing with on our ranch right now? Zero, because it doesn't matter any more."Ryan Bundy.
10. Oregonstandoff todays presser: "We are not here to negotiate" "We came here to go to work." 1/19/2016 http://fb.me/4dIB4D7aH
11. The Oregon Militia Is Turning Out To Be Its Very Own Worst Enemy. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/bundy-standoff-enters-third-week-of-ridiculousness

Monday, January 18, 2016

1. Ryan Bundy closes meeting with a prayer. https://twitter.com/conradjwilson/status/689310282347188224
2. Oregon standoff as seen by Bundy militia, local authorities, and tribal head (EXCLUSIVE) militia leader Ammon Bundy argues he and the other men are fighting for the people’s well-being and constitutional rights. “We came down here to take a county and give it back to its constitutional premise, to work with the people so that they can begin to claim their rights themselves and so that they can begin to use them,” Bundy told RT’s Simone Del Rosario. “We wouldn’t sacrifice our lives, we wouldn’t sacrifice being away from our children and families, being away from our businesses, if we did not feel that we are going to make a difference here. We needed a place to do it,” Bundy said. The militia and their supporters “are highly organized,” he stressed, saying that they have teams working with communities, special committees, operations in security, “vast” communication resources, as well as “some deep pockets that are willing to help fund.” https://www.rt.com/usa/329261-oregon-standoff-exclusive-interviews/
3. Occupied Oregon wildlife refuge known for listening to ranchers. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/occupied-oregon-wildlife-refuge-known-for-listening-to-ranchers/
4. POSSIBLE FEDERAL CRIMES NUMEROUS AT OREGON REFUGE TAKE-OVER https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/01/15/possible-federal-crimes-numerous-oregon-refuge-take-over
5. Oregonstandoff folks will meet w/ community tonight @ private Crystal Crane Hot Springs after county denied access to public facilities. https://twitter.com/Kelly_M_House/status/689241787311890432
6. Economic downturns fuel Sagebrush Rebellion events. Natural resource-dependent rural economies help explain why disputes happen where they do. http://www.hcn.org/articles/economic-downturns-fuel-sagebrush-rebellion-flare-ups
7. Rural Oregon’s Lost Prosperity Gives Standoff a Distressed Backdrop Areas that were once economically important languish as jobs are clustered in urban centers, creating a feeling of powerlessness as their populations grow older, poorer and less educated. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/19/us/rural-oregons-lost-prosperity-gives-standoff-a-distressed-backdrop.html
8. Occupiers recruit ranchers to stop paying grazing fees. Leaders of the occupation, now in its 17th day, plan a public meeting Monday night in the small Harney County community of Crane to offer details about their plans. Finicum said it's one of several meetings expected in the coming days as the occupiers take their message outside of Harney County and even outside of Oregon. Finicum visited Utah last week to drum up support for the occupiers' cause. The gathering is scheduled for 6 p.m., but a location has yet to be determined. For the third straight day, environmental activists joined in the occupiers' daily news briefing, carrying signs, speaking in favor of federal land management and arguing with Bundy supporters over who knows more about the Constitution. The group also is planning a protest Tuesday on the refuge, with supporters traveling from Bend and Eugene to join the handful of environmentalists who have already arrived in Harney County. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_occupiers_recr.html
9. IF you're a nut. Cams in plain view on 30' poles used for monitoring transformers https://twitter.com/Downriver5/status/689091819993436163

Sunday, January 17, 2016

1. Harney County group felt betrayed by occupation, but working to take up cause. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_harney_county_2.html http://www.hccommitteeofsafety.org/committee-of-safety---members.html
2. Idaho lawmakers speak out on their visit to standoff in Burns. When they went to the refuge themselves, Dixon said, they found a “vastly different” situation than they said the officials described, though he declined to elaborate, referring back to the written statement, which didn’t elaborate on that point. http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/jan/12/idaho-lawmakers-speak-out-on-their-visit-to-stando/ http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2016/jan/15/jeers-scott-dixon-shea/
3. Critics of Ammon Bundy and his followers occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge have launched a protest designed to line the pocketbooks of Bundy's opponents. The campaign, founded by a pair of brothers from Oregon, is known as G.O.H.O.M.E, an acronym that stands for Getting the Occupiers of Historic Oregon Malheur Evicted. Brothers Zach and Jake Klonoski launched the fundraiser Sunday. They hope to convince Bundy and crew to leave by collecting money for groups whose mission is antithetical to the occupiers' beliefs. Recipients of the donations include a gun control campaign, a group that supports the wildlife refuge the occupiers want to privatize, an organization that has labeled Bundy and company as extremists, and the Native American tribe whose members claim the refuge as their ancestral land. The fundraising campaign will continue as long as the occupation does. "The more pledges we get, the more pressure there is for them to leave," said Zach Klonoski, a Portlander who works for Mayor Charlie Hales. "Otherwise we're going to continue funding groups that they despise." http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_brothers_launch_anti-bu.html
4. I have a lot in common with the Bundys. Here's what I'd like to say to them. "Your protest is nothing more than an elaborate tantrum conducted with firearms. If you actually won claim to any public lands, I think you'd intimidate and bully others the way you and your followers did in Nevada, and the way you are doing now. Furthermore, your family owes me and 320 million of my fellow Americans more than a million dollars in back grazing fees for using public land without paying your fair share. "When I cut firewood on nearby Forest Service land, I purchase my 10-cord, personal use permit. I pay my camping fees. I buy my hunting license. I pay to park and use ramps on wild rivers where I kayak. I pay fees because they are used to improve recreation opportunities for everyone. So I want you to go home and start paying me and your fellow citizens what you owe us. That's what good citizens and neighbors do. Thanks for the conversation." http://www.hcn.org/articles/im-not-so-different-from-the-bundys-heres-what-id-like-to-say-to-them
5. Ranch Diaries: The anti-ranching, misinformed discourse around Masher. The federal grazing system doesn't support good management. A landscape management framework that assesses the components of the big picture and how they work together (which a few ranchers and federal agency personnel have been able to implement in spite of bureaucratic obstacles) promotes flexibility among grazing allotments, allowing ranchers to better accommodate seasonal changes, forage growth, and wildlife. This way, when things like wolves, wildfires, and recreational interests collide with ranching, creative solutions can be a reality, not a dream. Instead of vilifying grazing on federal lands, we should reimagine Western landscapes from a holistic viewpoint that includes insects, backpackers and buckaroos. Ranchers are required to respect federal title to the land, and if the public also recognized and respected the property rights these ranchers own, we might find ourselves at a good place to continue positive, healthy improvement on federal lands. http://www.hcn.org/articles/ranch-diaries-why-ranchers-have-a-legal-right-to-graze-on-federal-land
6. Oregon standoff: Talk show host to hold 'workshop' on constitution in Burns. KrisAnne Hall, a prominent national face of the so-called patriot movement, will visit Burns on Monday to conduct public workshops supporting the point-of-view of those occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Hall, a Florida attorney and radio talk show host, is scheduled to lecture from 5-7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at the Harney County Fairgrounds. Her assistant said she will cover two topics: sovereignty of the state and the constitutional limits of the federal government's control. Hall is an outspoken critic of the federal government who supports privatization of federal lands. In a YouTube video posted Jan. 5, she defended the tactics of Ammon Bundy and his group of armed protesters, who seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge 15 days ago and say they will not leave until the land is turned over to local landowners. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_talk_show_host.html
7. The seeds of this month's insurrection at a Harney County wildlife refuge were planted in an unusual midnight deal struck in 2012 between prosecutors and Harney County ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond. The long blood feud between the Hammonds and the government reached a surprise moment of consensus that night. After eight days of trial in a Pendleton courthouse on charges they had set illegal fires near their remote Eastern Oregon ranch, the parties agreed to abide by the jury's partial verdict. The jury informed the judge it had concluded that the Hammonds were guilty of two counts of arson. On seven other counts, the jury had voted to acquit or was deadlocked. http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/01/a_harsh_toll_how_mandatory_sen.html
8. The Oregon militia revolt recipe: timber, despair and a crippling political isolation. Even if ranchers still come into conflict with government agencies, their problems don’t explain those of Harney County – there’s still plenty of ranchable land, and the costs of grazing on public land are low. Most of the especially lucrative old-growth timber was gone before anyone thought of protecting what was left. Duh says it was “a one-time shot”. Second-growth forest was “easier to deal with with less labour”. More importantly, timber mills became “more productive” – they mechanised many of their processes, and required fewer workers. Other factors such as competition with Canadian timber played a role. Even in a best-case scenario, where timber jobs still existed, Harney’s position relative to Portland and other places in the Willamette Valley would be reduced, because the economy has changed. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/14/oregon-militia-occupation-revolt-motivation-politics-public-land-ranching-environment
9. Occupiers Shout Down Environmental Protesters At Masher Refuge http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/occupiers-shout-down-environmental-protesters-at-malheur-refuge/

Saturday, January 16, 2016

1. The Burns Paiute Tribe is seeking criminal charges against the armed occupiers of Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, accusing the men of damaging important cultural resources on the tribe’s native land. The tribe is urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect those resources, in part by prosecuting “violators of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act” on the remote bird refuge. “Armed protestors don’t belong here,” Charlotte Roderique, chair of the Burns Paiute Tribal Council, said in a statement Friday. “They continue to desecrate one of our most important sacred sites. They should be held accountable.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/01/16/who-knows-what-theyre-stomping-on/
2. Refuge Occupiers Say Arrested Group Member 'Made Dumb Choices' http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/refuge-occupiers-say-arrested-group-member-made-dumb-choices/
3. "We have some deep pockets willing to fund us." -- Ammon Bundy https://twitter.com/jjmacnab/status/688528420188372993
4. Militia removes camera http://video-embed.oregonlive.com/services/player/bcpid1949055967001?bctid=4708412458001&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAPLpuSqE~,a1DdoZJH5WQo4iWaJj1w_CktvJfhQVVG
5. Tensions mounted Saturday at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, where men involved in an armed standoff clashed with conservationists and accused government workers of harassing their families. As the standoff led by Nevada businessman Ammon Bundy entered its third week at the refuge headquarters, accusations swirled that Child Protective Services workers had begun visiting some of the occupiers' families. Meanwhile, a visit to the refuge from land conservationists devolved into a shouting match, complete with a bullhorn and name-calling, after the group tried to address news reporters. The spectacle erupted just after occupiers arrived for a morning news briefing with a wicker basket full of surveillance cameras they removed Friday from a transformer station outside Burns. LaVoy Finicum, a spokeman for the occupiers, claimed the cameras had been installed by the FBI. "This in my opinion is unreasonable search," said Finicum, referencing the Fourth Amendment as he invited the agency to "come pick them up." http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_occupiers_remo.html
6. A group of about 20 protesters demonstrated outside the FBI’s makeshift headquarters in Harney County, which is set up at the Burns Municipal Airport, on Saturday. The protest was led by Pete Santilli, host of a show on YouTube and a strong advocate for the militants occupying the refuge. Federal agents talked with Santilli and a few other protesters for more than 30 minutes outside the concrete barriers that guard the armed entrance to the makeshift FBI office. “We can resolve this and it can be resolved peacefully and we’re all Americans and the First Amendment, which you guys are exercising, freedom of speech, is a great way to resolve this, peacefully and with talk,” said Craig Overby, an FBI agent with the Salt Lake field office. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/militia-sympathizer-leads-protest-outside-fbi-headquarters-pete-santilli/
7. A militant leader on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge told OPB his involvement in the occupation has resulted in the loss of his four foster children. Robert “LaVoy” Finicum and his wife Jeanette were foster care parents for troubled boys. Finicum estimates that over the past decade, more than 50 boys came through their ranch near Chino Valley, Arizona. The boys often landed there from mental hospitals, drug rehabs and group homes for emotionally distressed youth. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/militant-says-foster-children-were-pulled-from-his-home-lavoy-finicum-burns-oregon/
8. What drove the Arizona business owner to think he could defend a family he'd never met in a small ranching community on a windswept range he'd never visited was a mixture of religion, patriotism and anti-government fervor. In videos posted on YouTube and other social-media sites this month, he would explain that he was there because American values and a Western way of life were under threat. God told him the cause was righteous, Bundy said. And militia members told him they would back him up. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2016/01/09/what-made-ammon-bundy-go-arizona-lead-oregon-standoff-federal-government/78420744/
9. Oregon militia's behavior increasingly brazen as public property destroyed. Occupiers of Malheur refuge apparently testing officials’ patience: ‘They’re really trying to get a rise out of somebody,’ says local tribal leader. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/16/oregon-militias-behavior-increasingly-brazen-as-public-property-destroyed
10. Two weeks in, the Oregon refuge standoff is stuck 'in limbo' http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-sej-oregon-standoff-20160116-story.html
11. U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich weighed in on the situation where “armed extremists” took over a federal bird sanctuary in rural Oregon earlier this month, saying that those responsible should be prosecuted. “I am concerned that the absence of federal prosecution after similar events in the past, such as the 2014 standoff near Bunkerville, Nevada, may have emboldened these individuals to seize federal property in the Malheur standoff,” Heinrich’s letter said. “There must be consequences for this sort of dangerous action. When the federal government does not fulfill its duty in prosecuting violations of the law, individuals are emboldened to further defy the law.” “My constituents serve as park rangers and wildlife biologists, volunteer in visitor centers, and routinely hunt, hike, ski, bike, and camp with their families on these public lands,” Heinrich said. “The possibility that their offices and community buildings may be overrun in an armed siege is simply unacceptable.” http://nmpoliticalreport.com/27340/heinrich-to-ag-prosecute-armed-extremists-in-oregon/
12. “So, go back 20 years to when I quit paying grazing fees to the federal government. The administrative regulatory pressure at the time was being used to run myself and my neighbors out of business. They came along with a full force and effect decision on the basis of an endangered species, and said we couldn’t graze for three to four months in the peak of the spring. That was followed by another full force and effect decision that said the land was totally closed to grazing. In that process my neighbors, 52 ranching families in Clark County and hundreds of others across the Mohave Desert to the Pacific Ocean, were run out of business. I chose to send administrative notices to the solitary offices and BLM district office in Reno, Nev., stating I was not going to allow the BLM to manage my ranch out of business, and would not pay them for their management services anymore, and I didn’t,” said Bundy. Upon his decision to stop paying a fee and sign the associated contract, Bundy cleared himself of contract of law with the federal government as stated in the Constitution, eliminating any ties between himself and that government, he says. http://www.tsln.com/news/11160796-113/blm-bundy-ammon-cattle
13. While those who have forcefully taken over the Malheur Wildlife may feel strongly about their cause, they do a disservice to the ranchers who lease and graze BLM administered lands in the West by confusing the issues and potentially furthering the misunderstanding. Maintaining grazing leases on Federal land can be both costly and time consuming when it involves doing battle in a court room with the government bureaucracy and environmentalists. But, it also requires the patience to tell the rancher’s story. Ammon Bundy is not doing a good job of that. http://www.tsln.com/news/20134432-113/the-oregon-standoff-understand-federal-land-issues

federal land-return movement and Cliven Bundy older

Friday, January 15, 2016

1. "Buffer zone" in Oregon standoff: Ex-cop Brandon Curtiss says he's a peacemaker. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/brandon_curtiss_pacific_patrio.html
2. Oregon standoff roundup: Camera removal, Burns-Paiute statement and if you hear gunshots, it's the coyote hunt http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_roundup_camera.html#incart_story_package
3. Occupiers want U.S. to surrender all federal lands. Protesters holding the bird sanctuary southeast of here want every county in the U.S. to start a process giving back federal land to the previous owners. They expect that process to start in Harney County with a citizens group processing deeds, according to Ryan Payne, a self-styled militiaman and a key leader of the refuge occupation that started two weeks ago. In an interview, Payne provided the most clear statement yet about what the occupiers want to achieve. They now call themselves Citizens for Constitutional Freedom. Besides stripping land from federal control, Ryan said the group wants ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven, released from federal prison immediately. He said the group wants to see a citizen inquest investigate the Hammonds' prosecution and report to the public on allegations of abuses by the government. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/occupiers_want_us_to_surrender.html
4. Utah lawmaker earns $135K salary for public lands push http://www.ksl.com/?sid=38147543&nid=148&fm=most_popular&s_cid=popular-9 via @KSLcom
5. Occupation Spokesperson LaVoy Finicum Travels Freely To Utah And Back http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/lavoy-finicum-occupation-leader-travels-freely-to-utah-and-back-/
6. Thousands Of Artifacts Stored At Oregon Refuge Held By Armed Militia. Bundy said people interested in archeology are welcome to explore the refuge, but that cattle ranchers and loggers should have priority when it comes to land use. "Before white man came, so to speak, there was nothing to keep cattle from tromping on those things," Bundy said. Though some countries had domesticated cattle 10,000 years ago, the animals came to the United States with European settlers. "We also recognize that the Native Americans had the claim to the land, but they lost that claim," Bundy said. "There are things to learn from cultures of the past, but the current culture is the most important." http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/oregon-militia-standoff-artifacts
7. Supplies rolling in. #Bundymilitia supply room Jan. 3 vs. Jan 14. https://twitter.com/amandapeacher/status/688175635185844224
8. Bundy observing one of the cameras his team took down. They believe the @FBI used it to spy on them https://twitter.com/WandaKTVZ/status/688133377950498817
9. Based on my eyeballs, I'm estimating about 30 militants are living on the compound at the refuge. based on what the lady catering to law enforcement says, i'm estimating 200 law enforcement are in #burns https://twitter.com/JohnLGC/status/688112655853162496
10. A man who served as a bodyguard to Ammon Bundy during the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and to Cliven Bundy during his earlier standoff with the federal government was arrested this week by police near Phoenix. Brian Cavalier, 44, who was known on the Oregon refuge as "Booda Bear," was arrested Monday by municipal police after they discovered he had an outstanding warrant, the Buckeye Police Department said. Cavalier was a passenger in a "suspicious vehicle" that police pulled over, said Sgt. Jason Weeks, a spokesman for the department. The driver of the vehicle also had a warrant and was arrested, Weeks said. His name was not disclosed. http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060030700
11. Anatomy of a Standoff. The Occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters. http://www.adl.org/combating-hate/domestic-extremism-terrorism/c/anatomy-of-a-standoff.html
12. Birders protest in Bend against refuge takeover. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/birders_protest_in_bend_agains.html
13. Oregon militia standoff: man arrested driving stolen government vehicle. Burns, Oregon, police say Kenneth Medenbach drove the vehicle to town from the Malheur national wildlife refuge, which has been occupied for two weeks. According to one local report, the two vehicles, one a pickup truck and one a passenger van, bore door signs reading “Harney County Resource Center” – the new name occupiers have given to the occupied sanctuary. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/15/oregon-militia-standoff-arrest-stolen-government-vehicle-burns-oregon-police-kenneth-medenbach http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/protester_arrested_in_burns_dr.html#comments
14. For Now, Law Enforcement And Militants Won't Cross Tracks. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/for-now-law-enforcement-and-militants-wont-cross-tracks/
15. Behind the Harney County standoff, decades of economic decline. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/behind_the_harney_county_standoff_decades_of_economic_decline.html
16. Community meeting with Ammon Bundy called off for lack of venue "Government certainly can't exclude the group simply because it disagrees with their beliefs," said Gene Policinski, chief operating officer of the Newseum Institute in Washington, D.C., and senior vice president of the First Amendment Center. "They may be permitted to exclude the group if there's a threat of imminent danger of lawlessness." The fact that Bundy and others in his group are illegally occupying federal property would likely give weight to the Harney County government's argument, he said. Meanwhile, occupiers at the refuge said they were hopeful a meeting could be arranged for Monday evening. Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, an Arizona rancher who is participating in the occupation, told reporters Friday that Bundy waspreparing a PowerPoint presentation. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/community_meeting_with_ammon_b.html http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_harney_county_1.html
17. BUSTED: Nevada Republican lied about FBI agents posing as militants at Oregon standoff. Bundy-backing former fire chief has thrown cold water on claims by a Nevada Republican who says FBI agents are posing as militiamen near an Oregon nature preserve. Chris Briels resigned this week as Harney County’s volunteer fire chief to continue serving on the extralegal Committee of Public Safety established last month by Ammon Bundy — who is leading a group of armed militants who have seized the Malheur National Wildlife Preserve. Briels figured prominently in a press release issued Wednesday by Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, but the former fire chief later said the GOP lawmaker’s claims about him were simply untrue. Fiore, in a press release issued by a right-wing group of lawmakers called the Coalition of Western States, said she spoke by phone to Briels, and she said the former fire chief told her that he spotted men posing as militia members “poking around the Armory and following townspeople.” http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/busted-nevada-republican-lied-about-fbi-agents-posing-as-militants-at-oregon-standoff/

Thursday, January 13, 2016

1. sign https://twitter.com/JohnLGC/status/687843690899845120 https://twitter.com/JohnLGC/status/687837587172540417
2. As the armed occupation of a Harney County wildlife refuge drags into its 13th day, protesters are sending mixed signals about their plans. On one hand, Ammon Bundy and his followers who have taken over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge planned to announce their exit strategy to the community Friday. But they've also contacted nearby sheriffs and other officials looking for support. They've accumulated a large stash of food and supplies after making pleas to supporters online. And at a daily press briefing Thursday, Bundy held forth on the subject of patience, saying he believed the continued presence of the occupiers was giving the county residents courage and hope. "This hope is building and it's a slow process," Bundy said. "We know it has to happen now. We know this is the place, Harney County, and that these are the people." http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/armed_occupiers_promise_plan_t.html#incart_maj-story-1
3. Birders: Why we love Malheur National Wildlife Refuge http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/why_we_love_malheur_national_w.html#incart_story_package
4. Hunters Push Back, Tear Down Militants' Sign At Masher Refuge. A group of Oregon sportsmen are attempting to drum up a formal opposition to the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon. Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, a sportsmen’s group based in Joseph, Oregon, posted a video to its Facebook page Tuesday showing a man tearing a makeshift sign used by militants to cover a refuge sign. After tearing down the sign, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Washington member Mark Heckert said he doesn’t think public access to the refuge would last under oversight by the Bundys and their supporters. “It’s a baldfaced grab at the lands that belong to the people of the United States,” Heckert said. “I can guarantee what that means is that pretty soon they’ll start saying, ‘Well, you guys can’t come out on this land because it’s ranchland.’” http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/hunters-tear-down-militants-sign-at-malheur-refuge/ http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/wildlife_enthusiasts_plan_prot.html#incart_story_package
5. Whiny Oregon militants vow to ‘arrest’ county officials who are trying to ‘shame and humiliate them’. “Ammon Bundy is not leaving until we have a lawful county government and the BLM and FBI are completely out of here,” said Bruce Doucette, who calls himself a “United States at Superior Court Judge.” Doucette said he will oversee a “grand jury” made up of 25 community members who will meet in secret, but he said the results of their extralegal proceedings will be publicly released. “Common law grand juries,” which are based on nonsensical “sovereign citizen” legal theories, typically indict public officials on only one charge: treason — for which the penalty is death. http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/whiny-oregon-militants-vow-to-arrest-county-officials-who-are-trying-to-shame-and-humiliate-them/
6. Members of the armed group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge traveled to John Day Tuesday to ask the Grant County sheriff to join their cause. He declined, but county commissioners throughout Eastern Oregon have discussed the possibility that the protest could “migrate” elsewhere in the region. Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer said three members of the militia asked him to travel to Harney County, but he refused to do so without the approval of the Harney County sheriff. Palmer would not say whether he agreed with the occupation, but described those participating as “patriots.” http://www.eastoregonian.com/eo/local-news/20160113/armed-protesters-invite-grant-county-sheriff-to-refuge
7. Tension between ranchers and federal officials is dangerously high in Nevada http://lat.ms/1P2xYQO
8. Months before Malheur occupation, another Oregon land dispute galvanized militants. The Sugar Pine Mine dispute started when two gold miners, Rick Barclay and George Backes, received a non-compliance letter from the Bureau of Land Management that disputed their mining rights. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/months_before_malheur_occupati.html
9. he standoff in Oregon is a modern Western that could end in a Greek tragedy. There are no angels in this story. There are old fools and younger hotheads, single-minded prosecutors worried that judges might get the silly notion that they have the discretion to judge, and unbending federal bureaucrats seemingly intent on teaching others a lesson. Enter a posse of self-proclaimed militiamen, fueled by antigovernment sentiment, who say they occupied a national wildlife refuge to protect persecuted ranchers. The protesters, in turn, attract those who see such drama as an opportunity to air their own grievances or advance their own agendas—it’s about government tyranny; no, it’s about gun control; no, the issue is racism. The confrontation attracts the media, and the inevitable chorus of talking heads follows, including one advising the government to call out the troops—when did we abandon law enforcement and declare martial law? http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/01/anti_terrorist_laws_should_not_have_been_applied_against_dwight_and_steven.html
10. Pete Santilli Show Update from Malheur Wildlife Refuge In Burns, Oregon - "The Lord is doing everything" https://youtu.be/lcvuidr3Jdc via @YouTube
11. Hey Oregon "Militia": Here's the History Lesson You Missed. Let's take it back to the 18th Century. their knowledge of the actual history, let alone the text, of the Constitution, appears to be, shall we say, a tad lacking. To begin with, they seem to skip over some of its words. To begin, let's look at what it means to be a "militia," as these men claim to be. Here are the powers granted to Congress, in the Constitution, as they relate to "militia: http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a41007/history-lesson-oregon-militia/
12. Fears, Frustrations Persist For Harney County's Federal Employees http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/harney-county-federal-employees/
13. FBI Agents Caught Posing As Militia Members To Harass Locals In Oregon According to a press release issued on Wednesday entitled “FBI Agents in Oregon posing as Militia,” Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore states http://www.copblock.org/151748/fbi-agents-caught-posing-as-militia-members-to-harass-locals-in-oregon/

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

1. Harney County has told an Ammon Bundy-affiliated group of locals that it can't hold a planned community meeting at the county-owned fairgrounds. The location for the meeting has become a wedge between the Harney County Committee of Safety and the county government, once loosely allied in their desire for Bundy to leave town. The self-appointed committee planned to host Bundy and Montana militia leader Ryan Payne on Friday to outline the militants' exit plan. They've said the 7 p.m. meeting will go on, with or without a meeting space furnished by the county or another community group. "We have a longstanding practice of allowing community groups to use county facilities," said Harney County commissioner Steven Grasty. "But we unfortunately now find ourselves in a place where the county must deny those facilities to any group that is supportive of, associated with, or on the behalf of the militants at the refuge." At a community meeting it hosted last week in at the county's senior center in Burns, the committee read a drafted letter to Bundy offering to take on his mission while asking him to leave the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. It's not clear if the six-member committee ever delivered that letter to Bundy. But committee member Chris Briels, a retired Burns fire chief who held a part-time position acting as the county fire marshal, said he had resigned that post over the county's refusal to host the meeting. "I will not work for government or a person that I do not believe in or have faith in," Briels said, joining the occupiers at a Wednesday news briefing at the refuge. "I will not work for somebody that I don't trust." http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_harney_county_1.html
2. Militia and antigovernment extremists illegally occupying a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon are now pledging to form a “citizen’s grand jury” to indict and bring criminal charges against public officials and judges the occupiers accuse of committing crimes and violating the Constitution. With such “indictments,” the extremists’ doctrine would justify their attempts to make arrests, get judgments or file liens against the targeted public officials. Bruce Doucette, a self-proclaimed “U.S. Superior Court judge” from Denver, arrived at the occupied Malheur Wildlife Refuge near Burns on Tuesday to “review evidence that public officials may have committed crimes,” the Oregonian reports. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/01/13/antigovernment-extremists-oregon-now-plan-their-own-justice-system
3. Another Sovereign Citizen "Judge" has been involved in the Malheur standoff since the earliest planning phases: Anna Von Reitz of Alaska. "Anna Maria Wilhelmina Hanna Sophia Riezinger-von Reitzenstein von Lettow-Verbeck, Private Attorney in Service to His Holiness Pope Francis" I know I am going to regret asking this but does she have any actual relationship to the Pope? No JJ MacNab ‏@jjmacnab
4. A self-proclaimed "U.S. Superior Court judge" who has been involved in past property rights protests in other states arrived Tuesday in Burns with plans to convene an extra-legal "citizens grand jury" that he said will review evidence that public officials may have committed crimes. Bruce Doucette, a 54-year-old owner of a computer design and repair shop in suburban Denver, told The Oregonian/OregonLive, that he made the trip at the request of Harney County residents. He said he met with the armed occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to hear their evidence, which he called "significant," that government officials have committed crimes. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_what_you_need_6.html
5. Builder of website about Malheur occupation says '#Pray4ISIS' social media posts were just rants. David Fry, a 27-year-old Ohio resident who has posted "#Pray4ISIS" to his Google+ page, is among those involved in the militant standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Burns. Fry, who has also made a website supporting the standoff, said in an interview Tuesday night that he is not a supporter of the Islamic State. He characterized his Google+ page — which also includes the hashtag "#HitlerWasRight" and phrase "obama needs to be hung after being found guilty for TREASON!!" — as him "ranting off" and being facetious and sarcastic at times. "The media is blowing this up and making me look like a bad guy, but I was just being sarcastic," he said. "I was being very offensive. That was the goal, to be very offensive." http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/david_fry_ohio_resident_who_ha.html#incart_story_package
6. Tim Puckett, the rancher whose cattle graze private rangeland adjoining the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, said he didn't give Ammon Bundy and his band of armed militants permission to enter the ranch Monday afternoon and destroy a publicly owned fence. "I am very upset," Puckett said. His ranch hands have already repaired the fence. "They're not coming onto my place no more," he said of the militants. "If they do, I'm gonna have to do something about it. I don't want them going across my ground." http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/rancher_i_didnt_know_anything.html
7. I sort of grew up (for the second time) in Harney County, thought you might be interested in my account: https://medium.com/@croft.barton/what-harney-county-and-the-malheur-occupation-mean-to-me-67c09ceaa456
8. 'Every gun in house is loaded' -- scare tactics rattle residents near Oregon occupation. More than a dozen local residents have reported to authorities that they were harassed in the weeks leading up to the occupation and in the days since. Different trucks, SUVs and other vehicles — most with out-of-state licenses — have followed the residents. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/residents_near_oregon_occupati.html
9. Bundyland - where militants fast, hair curlers are essential, and moms bring their kids to hear sermons. As the mother and kids entered the headquarters, this observer could see Bundy form a circle with five children and two adults and bow his head to pray. Snatches of conversation could be heard: Bundy explaining his political system, called the five circles of authority, which laid out the power of local and federal governments under the authority of God. On the Malheur compound last week, Ryan dressed like a sheriff from a children's book. He wore a brown vest over a blue wrangler shirt, with a Stetson hat and cowboy boots. He often hid his face with his cowboy hat. Like his brother, Ryan is a self-described devout member of the mainline Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Last week, he took part in private prayer sessions roughly every three hours—prayers led by Ammon. "We pray mainly for safety, and deliverance," Ryan said. "Ammon's well-spoken, and very, very intelligent, so the men like when he leads us in [prayer]." Parts of Bundyland cast doubt on the sincerity of the camp's religious devotion. The snow outside the Malheur headquarters building is stained brown from five days' worth of cigarette butts thrown on the ground, and most of the men carry paper cups filled with coffee—both violations of Mormon scripture. (While the Bundys are Mormons, many of their followers are not.) http://www.wweek.com/2016/01/13/bundyland/
10. Fervor in Oregon Compound and Fear Outside It http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/13/us/fervor-in-oregon-compound-and-fear-outside-it.html
11. The occupation of national wildlife area by a small, armed group upset over federal land policies stretched into its second week as the mother of the group's leader asked supporters to send supplies - everything from warm blankets to coffee creamer and even tampons. The group that seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon's high desert country on January 2 planned no media briefings. It was quiet at the entrance to the refuge Sunday. The leader of the occupation, Ammon Bundy, has repeatedly rejected calls to leave buildings at the refuge despite pleas from the county sheriff, from many local residents and from Oregon's governor, among others. He has said the group will leave when there is a plan to transfer control of federal land to locals. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3392922/Call-supplies-Oregon-standoff-enters-second-week.html

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

1. 'We may be breaking codes, but not the supreme law of the land' - Bundy (EXCLUSIVE) http://bit.ly/1ZrXOTh
2. How Refuge Occupation Could Fuel Land Privatization Movement. “There’s more than $150 trillion dollars in minerals locked up in the Western states,” Utah Republican state Rep. Ken Ivory told KNPR in Las Vegas, during the Bundy standoff. “There’s more recoverable oil than the rest of the world combined locked up in federally controlled lands … it’s the only solution to fund education, better care for the environment, and grow the economy locally and nationally.” Ivory headed the meeting of Western state lawmakers, and he’s become the political leader of the movement. Ivory is the President of the American Lands Council, an organization that advocates for the transfer of federal lands to the states. The ALC is funded through individual donations; membership dues paid by counties (and, by extension, taxpayers); and the Charles and David Koch funded advocacy group, Americans for Prosperity. The ALC is a staunch proponent of turning federal lands over to the states. The states would then have the option to lease, rent or even sell the lands to private industries. Under Ivory’s stewardship, the Utah state government made the transfer demand law. Despite passing the law, the federal government has yet to cede any land back to the Beehive State. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/how-refuge-occupation-could-fuel-land-privatization-movement/
3. Why don't feds try to oust Oregon occupiers? FBI agents have been mobilized from across the state to Harney County. They're collecting intelligence, doing surveillance, have familiarized themselves with the layout of the refuge buildings, may be intercepting calls and contacting people who may have had a falling out with the occupiers to gain more intelligence, the former agents said. They also may be recording any crimes that are occurring to prepare for future arrests. "There's no doubt in my mind that they're fully prepared to go in tactically and resolve this situation if they need to," Van Zandt said. "But the federal government has nothing to gain by taking some kind of precipitous action that would give the group more attention or reason to have an armed confrontation." Still Harney County residents and others have countered that if the occupiers are trespassing or destroying property, why don't law enforcement officers arrest them? "The answer is you can always arrest them," Van Zandt said. "Whenever they come out, if they have violated a law, you can always charge them individually at that time when they're not in a support group." http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/why_dont_feds_try_to_oust_oreg.html#incart_big-photo
4. Oregon standoff: Militants say they'll reveal exit plan Friday http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_militants_say.html#incart_big-photo
5. Residents of sparsely populated Harney County on Monday night told armed outsiders to go home as they expressed fears about personal safety. At a community meeting, they also acknowledged deep rifts within the community, brought to the surface by the standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. "I've lost friends. ... I've never seen our community so divided," said Karmen Schatz, a local Safeway employee who has lived here for 31 years, at the meeting hosted by county officials in the Burns High School gymnasium. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_harney_county.html#incart_big-photo
6. FedEx delivery was just made to one of the militants occupying the #MalheurNationalWildlifeRefuge https://twitter.com/killendave/status/687043000560570368
7. Big announcement from Malheur. "Judge" Doucette has arrived and the common law grand jury is now going to convene. This is the sovereign citizen process I wrote about a couple of days ago. The militants will now put officials like Sheriff Ward on trial for treason. His name is Bruce Doucette and holds himself out as a "United State Superior Court Judge" Doucette was appointed as a "judge" by other self-appointed "judges." None of them have any actual legal authority. The people who will be put on trial, the sheriff, the US Attorney, and a local Judge. "We have God on our side, and we're going to kick the crap out of Lucifer." -- Pete Santilli on the upcoming common law trial. I heard this off camera, "We're getting security teams as Marshals." They may try to arrest the sheriff, the AUSA, and the Judge shortly. JJ MacNab ‏@jjmacnab http://bit.ly/1ZjcUoz
8. The Malheur militants are cleaning out a large storage facility at the Refuge because they are expecting a very large delivery tonight. A lot of militants are doing heavy labor to clean equipment out, at least one of whom has claimed in the past she's disabled. Some local ranchers have been dropping off real supplies: beef, firewood, hay. Ranchers who provide supplies should lose their BLM permits. JJ MacNab ‏@jjmacnab
9. Oregon occupiers say they'll reveal departure date Friday http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/12/us/oregon-wildlife-refuge-armed-ranchers-protest/index.html
10. Bureau of Land Management was allegedly recorded doing an uncontrolled burn at nearby Prince Glenn, Oregon, burning cows alive. To make things worse, even though there was no supervision for most of the burn, the BLM threatened ranchers with arrest if they interfered or put out the fire. This gruesome reality is what the Obama administration is doing as a form of revenge, thanks to the anti-rancher sentiment in the federal government, according to a video posted to YouTube in early December by Nevada rancher Ammon Bundy. http://conservativetribune.com/obama-makes-move-oregon/
11. Oregon judge plans to bill Ammon Bundy up to $70,000 a day for security costs to county. http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/oregon-judge-plans-to-bill-ammon-bundy-up-to-70000-a-day-for-security-costs-to-county/
12. The Oregon Militia Doesn’t Seem To Enjoy The ‘Hate-Filled’ Gifts They’re Receiving. "Time to do work." http://uproxx.com/news/oregon-militia-hate-filled-gifts/
13. Poll shows majority in West opposes giving states control over federal land. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-sej-public-lands-poll-20160112-story.html

federal land-return movement and Cliven Bundy, older

Monday, January 11, 2016

1. Birdwatchers Have Their Feathers Ruffled Over Oregon Occupiers https://news.vice.com/article/birdwatchers-have-their-feathers-ruffled-over-oregon-occupiers
2. It may have looked spontaneous, but the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge a week ago was part of a plan Ammon Bundy and a trusted associate developed largely in secret over the past two months. Bundy, the son of controversial Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, and Ryan Payne, a militia leader from Montana, came to believe that an armed occupation was the only way to bring enough attention to a pair of local ranchers heading to prison and change the underlying problem: federal land ownership. Even as a wider network of anti-government groups and community members rejected taking action stronger than holding a public rally, Bundy and Payne privately strategized an occupation they felt was necessary to spread their message. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/bundy_militia_leader_plotted_o.html#incart_river_home
3. Dozens of middle schoolers milled about Hines Middle School Monday, following a long winter break unexpectedly extended by a week. Jostling together in the cold, the kids chatted as math teacher Son Burns stood to the side, waiting for the bell to signal that they can go inside. There was little indication that about 30 miles away, a group of armed militants was still ensconced in the headquarters of a federal bird sanctuary. Since Jan. 2, a group calling itself the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom has occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. They have declined Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward's request to leave peacefully without arrest by his agency. Some sense of normalcy appears to be returning to the community as the schools in Harney County School District 3 go back into session. All schools, serving 802 students, were closed last week. Schools in Harney County School District 4 – serving Crane – were in session all of last week except Monday, and are open this week. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/burns-area_schools_reopen_as_a.html
4. According to Arizona extremists Jon Ritzheimer and Blaine Cooper, who have spent the past 10 days camping out in a federal building on the refuge with Ammon Bundy to protest government overreach, their guys simply were minding their own business, patrolling the compound as usual, when a crew led by Lewis Arthur — the Tucson-based man behind Veterans on Patrol — rolled up and started trouble. http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizona-militias-continue-rivalry-after-physical-confrontation-in-oregon-7961869
5. A data breach by militia at the Malheur Wildlife National Refuge has led the US Fish and Wildlife Service to ask some of its employees to relocate from their homes until the situation is resolved, sources told KOIN 6 News. While Ammon Bundy has told reporters that his group has not accessed computer files, a reporter for OPB witnessed them doing just that. http://koin.com/2016/01/11/sources-malheur-data-breach-concerns-fish-wildlife/
6. Army, rural values help Harney County sheriff face militants. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/army_experience_rural_values_h.html
7. Commercial Livestock Production on Federal Public Lands: Environmental Destruction at Taxpayer Expense http://www.mikehudak.com/Articles/CommercialLivestock000629.html
8. Oregon standoff latest protest in long-running controversy over Western lands, Stanford experts say Stanford law professors say the armed protestors in Oregon reflect a misreading of constitutional law and the history of federal land management in the West. http://news.stanford.edu/news/2016/january/oregon-land-protest-010616.html
9. Schools Reopen In Burns, Federal Offices Remain Closed. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/schools-reopen-in-burns-federal-offices-remain-closed/
10. Militants presiding over an armed occupation of a federal bird sanctuary destroyed a portion of a fence Monday afternoon that they said was installed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – using the agency's own equipment. The stunt was perhaps the militants' boldest yet since overtaking the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge earlier this month. Arizona businessman Ammon Bundy and his band of protesters traveled about five miles south of refuge headquarters to a property where they said a local ranching family grazes cattle. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_bundy_militant.html
11. This Post-Apocalyptic Book Was Written By One Of The Oregon Militia Members http://www.buzzfeed.com/jimdalrympleii/oregon-militia-members-post-apocalyptic-book-bears-striking
12. “The Fundamentalist Religious Views That Inspired Ammon Bundy and His Militia to Occupy a Remote…” by Jon Krakauer https://medium.com/galleys/the-fundamentalist-religious-views-that-inspired-ammon-bundy-and-his-militia-to-occupy-a-remote-9f0f5d0970c5
13. The Attack on Science at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Linda Sue Beck. It is at her desk that Ammon Bundy, leader of the group of armed anti-government religious fanatics occupying Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, has set up shop. As a federal biologist, like my father was for decades, she works to steward the resources that are held in common trust for all Americans. My stomach turned as the report came through the radio today — approaching a week into the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge — and I heard the descriptions of the Bundys picking through her belongings and ridiculing her work. https://medium.com/@travislongcore/i-stand-with-linda-sue-beck-a651895b71ce
14. Behind the Scenes in Oregon, Ammon Bundy Preaches Revolution http://thebea.st/1IY0WyJ via @thedailybeast

Sunday, January 10, 2016

1. As the scene in front of the courthouse played out, another group of uninvited visitors was preparing to meet with Bundy over the objections of Grasty and state Rep. Cliff Bentz, a Republican from Ontario whose district includes Harney County. Heard and five other elected officials from Washington, Idaho and Nevada were on a "fact-finding mission," Heard said. Last year's Umpqua Community College shooting occurred in Heard's district, and Heard said he wanted to prevent a similar outbreak of violence. The out-of-state legislators were Reps. Graham Hunt and Matt Shea of Washington; Reps. Judy Boyle, Heather Scott and Sage Dixon of Idaho; and Rep. Michelle Fiore of Nevada, who joined by telephone. "He had called me and indicated he was heading that direction, and I indicated that was inappropriate," Bentz said of Heard. "I think it's fair to say I was not enthusiastic about the idea." http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/01/oregon_standoff_unsolicited_he.html
2. Nevada state Rep. Michelle Fiore, a Republican, tells OPB she called Ammon Bundy Saturday night. Fiore has long been an ally of the Bundy family. The representative sponsored land transfer legislation known as the ‘Bundy Bill’ in March last year, and directed profanity at another colleague on the floor of the Nevada legislature while defending it. “Everyone knows I’m a supporter of the Bundy family,” Fiore said. “Our relationship is pretty well documented.” What is surprising, according to Fiore, is Oregon Rep. Dallas Heard, a Roseburg Republican, met in person with the militant leaders. Fiore confirmed GOP representatives from other states also attended, but she declined to name them. http://www.opb.org/news/article/nevada-oregon-state-reps-meet-with-bundy-militia/
3. Oregon standoff: As more armed men arrive, should authorities close the road? There is evidence authorities are preparing for the possibility of a more assertive response. Men in FBI gear assembled Saturday at the Burns Municipal Airport, but declined to answer questions about their activities and denied access to a Bureau of Land Management base at the airport where they were operating. http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/01/oregon_standoff_arrival_of_mor.html#incart_story_package
4. Oregon standoff: Roseburg state legislator ignores local warnings, visits protesters. In the latest bizarre turn of events surrounding the ongoing armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge, an Oregon state legislator from outside Harney County arrived here Saturday with out-of-state elected officials in tow and met with the protesters. Oregon Rep. Cliff Bentz, a Republican from Ontario, and Harney County Judge Steven E. Grasty said that they tried to warn state Rep. Dallas Heard against traveling to Burns. But Heard, a Republican from Roseburg, arrived anyway, they said, and brought officials elected to state office in Washington, Idaho and Nevada with him. Grasty and other county officials will hold a community meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the Burns High School gymnasium. Bentz planned to attend. Bundy and his brothers Ryan and Mel were not at the refuge Sunday morning, Finicum said, adding that he thinks they went to church. http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/01/oregon_standoff_roseburg_state.html
5. Oregon standoff tension mounts as so-called '3%' groups refuse to leave. Heavily armed groups say they want to stop violence breaking out. Leader of 3% of Idaho made headlines last year for anti-Islam protests. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/10/oregon-standoff-three-percenter-groups
6. Proposal for Resolution of the Peaceful Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by Citizens for Constitutional Freedom http://bit.ly/1Ze8RK8
7. 'Local control' might not pan out so well for locals http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/01/malheur_standoff_local_control.html
8. Those Men In Oregon: Troublemakers, Terrorists Or Something Else? http://mtpr.org/post/those-men-oregon-troublemakers-terrorists-or-something-else
9. Why I Stand With the Paiute, Whose Land Is Occupied by Militiamen. If you think the Oregon standoff is a joke, you've never suffered the grief of land theft. By Jess Housty, 8 Jan 2016, TheTyee.ca http://m.thetyee.ca/Opinion/2016/01/08/Why-I-Stand-With-the-Paiute/
10. Armed supporters told to leave, Oregon refuge occupiers start negotiating with FBI -- https://www.rt.com/usa/328419-oregon-militia-refuge-fbi/
11. Is The Oregon Occupation Being Stage-Managed? - http://www.mintpressnews.com/212606-2/212606/ *blogplay.com*
12. From tampons to french vanilla creamer: Armed Oregon militants update their occupation wish list http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/from-tampons-to-french-vanilla-creamer-armed-oregon-militants-update-their-occupation-wish-list/
13. Oregon militia turns away another armed militia's help At a regular morning news conference Saturday, the group holding the wildlife refuge insisted they are here to stay. "We came here to go to work and help people, and that's what we're going to do," LaVoy Finicum said. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/oregon-armed-militia-turns-away-pacific-patriot-network-help via @cbsnews

Saturday, January 9, 2016

1. The FBI has staged at the Burns Municipal Airport, blocking entrance to a U.S. Bureau of Land Management base there used to fight fires during the summer. Men in FBI gear were posted Saturday in a sport utility vehicle along Airport Road about five miles east of the city, keeping cars and trucks from entering a BLM "SEAT Base" where another large vehicle sat equipped with FBI signage, numerous antennae, a satellite dish and other gear. The men declined to answer questions or identify themselves and asked a reporter not to enter the SEAT Base on foot. SEAT stands for "single engine air tanker," a small agricultural airplane used to drop fire retardant on wildfires. Law enforcement officials have been posted there for days. The airport was a military air base in the 1940s, Cotton said, adding that he believes the city acquired it in the 1950s. "We're a small airport," Cotton said. "The more, the merrier." Mostly everything at the airport, Cotton said, was made possible by federal grant money. http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/01/oregon_standoff_fbi_stages_at.html
2. "I was asked to do this by the Lord," said Bundy, a Mormon, as some of the militia members nodded in understanding. "I did it how he told me to do it." http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/1/9/other-militia-groups-meet-with-oregon-occupiers-of-federal-wildlife-refuge.html
3. Oregon militia stand their ground but local residents want 'these thugs' gone “We need food consumers to band with us on government overreach and extreme environmentalism,” Erin Maupin, a Harney County rancher in attendance, told the Guardian. “We see this as a platform.” http://gu.com/p/4fkez/stw
4. Heavily armed men offer 'security' for Oregon militia at wildlife refuge http://gu.com/p/4fkg8/stw
5. Not punishing the Bundys for the Nevada standoff led to the occupation in Oregon. If authorities let anti-government protesters get away with breaking the law, they'll keep doing it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/01/07/not-punishing-the-bundys-for-the-nevada-standoff-led-to-the-occupation-in-oregon/
6. I'm an Oregon rancher. Here's what you don't understand about the Bundy standoff. It is of utmost importance for us to be true conservationists if we want to continue producing the most nutritious and safest protein in the world. http://wpo.st/HDl21
7. Armed Convoy Arrives At Harney County Courthouse http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/armed-convoy-arrives-at-harney-county-courthouse/
8. Ryan Bundy: Guns Show We’re Serious http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/ryan-bundy-of-the-malheur-occupation-guns-show-were-serious/
9. Homeland Security Looked Past Antigovernment Movement, Ex-Analyst Says http://nyti.ms/1O9JVRa
10. Libertarian Fairy Tales: The Bundy Militia's Revisionist History in Oregon For centuries, the federal government has bailed out cattle ranchers in Oregon and other Western states. It requires a lot of magical thinking—and historical erasure—to see “tyranny” in Harney County. http://www.psmag.com/politics-and-law/libertarian-fairy-tales-of-the-bundy-family via @PacificStand

Friday, January 08, 2016

1. Oregon standoff: Idaho group arrives to 'secure perimeter, prevent Waco-style situation' http://s.oregonlive.com/MCQczaD
2. Oregon standoff: Harney County group asks Bundy to leave but takes on his cause http://s.oregonlive.com/AW3ENwf
3. Militants May Have Accessed Government Computers At Refuge. Inside The Occupied Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Building http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/
4. Bodyguard of militiamen Cliven and Ammon Bundy poses as U.S. Marine Brian Cavalier, 44, the personal bodyguard of Cliven and Ammon Bundy, openly boasted that he is retired Marine But US Marine Corps records prove the big-bellied braggart never served and is in fact a tattoo artist with a long rap sheet for DUI http://dailym.ai/1SAghHX via @MailOnline
5. Experts: Oregon standoff may be small, but it’s just the tip of a growing militia iceberg http://www.kansascity.com/news/government-politics/article53351000.html
6. Oregon standoff: Militants lose PR battle, experts say http://s.oregonlive.com/KlE7kbV
7. Militants in Oregon standoff persist with small donations, spaghetti dinners and financial sacrifice http://s.oregonlive.com/atUuRUd
8. Via @NPR: These Photos Inspired The Creation Of That Occupied Oregon Refuge http://n.pr/1THYZXD
9. Watch a local sheriff try to convince militia leader Ammon Bundy to end the Oregon standoff: https://news.vice.com/article/militia-leader-ammon-bundy-sheriff-meet-to-end-oregon-standoff via @vicenews
10. The government closed its offices in Oregon days before the armed takeover due to fears of violence http://wpo.st/S9M21

Thursday, January 07 2016

1. Oregon occupation leader rejects sheriff's bid to end standoff http://reut.rs/1PRumzS via @Reuters
2. Oregon sheriff has received numerous death threats since militia takeover http://gu.com/p/4ftcg/stw
3. Ryan Bundy fought with government long before Oregon standoff http://s.oregonlive.com/cQDlUNd
4. At Bundy encampment, outsider says militants 'attacked' his group "I'm about to (expletive) your day up!" Santilli yelled as he stormed away from the outsiders' tent. "You (expletive) with the wrong person, you (expletive) crackhead!" http://s.oregonlive.com/EGaRdPE
5. Sheriff, Bundy meet on neutral ground to discuss ending refuge occupation http://s.oregonlive.com/oQwyRnd
6. Harney County Sheriff: Who Wants The Bundys To Go? . News | OPB http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/harney-county-residents-speak-out-on-occupation/
7. Birders And Businesses Fret Over Oregon's Masher Refuge Controversial Federal Grazing Fees Not A Great Deal For Anyone . News | OPB http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/federal-grazing-fees/#.Vo6APZMuyew.twitter
8. Bird-Watching, Patriotism and the Oregon Standoff http://nyti.ms/1mBQBOY

Widespread misconduct toward public rangers, assaults, threats and other misconduct #OregonMilitia http://www.hcn.org/issues/46.18/defuse-the-west … @highcountrynews

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

Ruger Mini 14

1. Whose land is it, anyway? Critics, supporters of armed Oregon occupiers agree protest must end http://bit.ly/1ZayGjE
2. Rural Oregon standoff nearing an end, armed activists indicate http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/01/07/world/crime-legal-world/rural-oregon-standoff-nearing-end-armed-activists-indicate/
3. Burns Paiute Tribe: Militants need to get off 'our land' http://s.oregonlive.com/cK2rNdB
4. Meet the veterans who have joined the Oregon militiamen http://wpo.st/6Hp11
5. The 'unhinged' Oregon protester that the FBI has been tracking for months Jon Ritzheimer http://wpo.st/xEp11
6. ­In Oregon, Myth Mixes With Anger http://nyti.ms/1mBmbfT
7. Armed group in Oregon fears raid; critics decry goals http://dailym.ai/1MSbdY2 via @MailOnline
8. Armed Oregon Occupier Warns FBI He'd Take Death Over Jail http://nbcnews.to/1Rap8R0 via @nbcnews

Cliven Lance Bundy, was arrested in Las Vegas on a probation violation last August, stemming from a guilty plea he made a year prior to counts of burglary and theft of a firearm. http://www.rawstory.com/2015/01/cliven-bundys-son-arrested-following-courthouse-brawl-with-deputies/ Lance Bundy is one of eight sons and seven daughters. http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/feb/04/nevada-ranchers-son-facing-prison-violating-probat/

Harney sheriff calls community meeting on refuge takeover http://www.ktvz.com/news/refuge-occupiers-settle-in-concerns-mount-in-burns/37249044#.VowZmkNVGi4.twitter

OP-ED/@RichLowry: Oregon ‘patriots’ aim at government oppression hits the bird-lovers http://nyp.st/1OIuRqO

Self-described "patriot American" Shawna Cox the read a "redress of grievances" notice of what the protesters want http://bundyranch.blogspot.com/2015/12/notice-redress-of-grievance-action.html

Who Are Oregon’s Wildlife Sanctuary Occupiers And What Do They Want? | Wonkette http://po.st/OKMR69 via @po_st

FBI Monitoring Armed Standoff in Oregon Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Cliven Bundy, the patriarch of a large Mormon family with more than 50 grandchildren, came into the spotlight in April 2014, when the federal government started impounding his 900 head of cattle, following a 20-year battle over cattle-grazing on federal land. The government said Bundy owed $1.1 million in unpaid grazing fees and penalties for continuing to let his cattle roam free on land near Bunkerville, Nevada, 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, even after the government established the area as a protected habitat for the endangered desert tortoise in 1993 and slashed Bundy's cattle allotment. http://abcnews.go.com/US/fbi-monitoring-situation-oregon-national-wildlife-refuge/story?id=36075007

Dwight Hammond, a hot-tempered eastern Oregon cattle rancher arrested at wildlife refuge 1994 http://www.hcn.org/issues/20/582 @highcountrynews

Video Ammon Bundy 2:23 "This refuge is 187,00 acres and to make it took 100 rancher's homes and livelihoods and everything in order to make it." http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/01/03/ammon-bundy-armed-protest-oregon-interview.cnn/video/playlists/cliven-and-ammon-bundy/

These Cliven Bundy Impersonators Took Millions in Government Handouts http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a40435/ranchers-take-drought-money-deny-drought/ via @Esquire

Inspired by the actions of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his stance against federal control of public lands, a rancher on the Arizona Strip has also declared the Bureau of Land Management to be an illegitimate agency and said he will no longer comply with or recognize it. “I hereby cancel all my contracts with the BLM,” LaVoy Finicum, of Cane Beds, Arizona, wrote in a letter he sent to the U.S. Solicitor General following his decision to no longer acknowledge BLM or its policies. Thus far, he has chosen to discontinue paying grazing permit fees and to ignore when the BLM allows certain allotments – or pasture areas – to be used for grazing. https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2015/11/01/mgk-finicum-blm-dispute-bundy/

Armed with assault rifles, members of a militia group called the Oath Keepers recently descended on two different “BLMs”: last month’s Black Lives Matter protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and a mine on public lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Oregon. They also offered a “security detail” to Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk found in contempt of court for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In Ferguson, protesters said they feared the Oath Keepers, “dressed in camos, semi-automatic rifles plowing through the crowd,” while the police chief called their presence “unnecessary and inflammatory.” In Oregon, the Oath Keepers set up a roadblock at a public road, insisting they were there to “protect” a mine that they claimed was private, despite it being on public land. http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/254525-on-public-lands-congress-should-stand-with-american

Two more federal judges yesterday recused themselves from a high-profile case involving a Utah county commissioner's conviction for leading an illegal all-terrain vehicle ride through Recapture Canyon. Two other judges recused themselves Aug. 28 and last Friday. The recusals will further postpone the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah's sentencing of San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman, who was convicted May 1 by a jury for conspiracy and operating an ATV in a portion of Recapture that is closed to motorized vehicles. http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060024720

Armed Resistance A new report links Utah legislator to patriot groups http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/armed-resistance/Content?oid=2957325

Associated Press Leaves Out Racism Controversy While Reporting On Meeting Between Rand Paul And Cliven Bundy. AP Ignores That Paul Had Previously Condemned Bundy's "Offensive" Commentary. Bundy said of Paul to the AP, "In general, I think we're in tune with each other." http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/06/30/associated-press-leaves-out-racism-controversy/204217

It’s time to hold Bundy accountable for standoff. http://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/it-s-time-hold-bundy-accountable-standoff http://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/it-s-time-hold-bundy-accountable-standoff

Protesters gathered to illegally dredge for gold on Tuesday in an Idaho river where such mining is banned, in an open challenge to the U.S. government's authority to regulate public waters and lands in Western states, an organizer said. Six of nearly 60 miners at the rally were using portable pumps and hoses to collect gravel and sand from the streambed of a stretch of the federally protected Salmon River, which is closed to suction dredging and other mining by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to protect imperiled fish. "It's a matter of states' rights," Organizer John Crossman, head of the Southwest Idaho Mining Association in Boise, said in a telephone interview in which he described as overreach a recent rule by the EPA requiring permits to mine rivers in mostly Western states. "This is the United States of America, not the 'United State' of America. The feds can't come in here like storm troopers and start running our lands and rivers," he added. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/01/us-usa-mining-idaho-idUSKBN0F65KN20140701

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said Wednesday she is confident that Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy, who with armed supporters faced down federal officials over grazing cattle on public land, will be held accountable. “Cliven Bundy has had multiple court orders to remove his cattle from federal public lands and he has not paid his grazing fees and he has not abided by the law,” Jewell told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We will continue to pursue that.” http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/bundy-blm/interior-chief-bundy-will-be-held-accountable

Shots Fired Near Nevada BLM Surveyors Could Be Related to Bundy Standoff. http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2015/06/12/shots-fired-near-nevada-blm-surveyors-could-be-related-to-bundy-standoff/

“We’ve had enough of you guys telling us what to do. I’m not a violent man, but I’m getting to the point where I’ll blow up bridges, ruins, and vehicles. We’re going to start a revolution. We’re going to get back our lands. We’re going to sabotage your vehicles. You had better start going out in twos and threes because we’re going to take care of you BLMers.” — Calvin Black, then San Juan County Commissioner, to Bureau of Land Management officials in an April 12, 1979 meeting (as reported in HCN's "Reopening of the Western Frontier"). On paper, Phil Lyman, Commissioner of San Juan County, Utah, comes across a bit like a standard libertarian do-away-with-federal-land extremist. He speaks of “first principles,” praises Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher who illegally grazes his cattle on public land, and he organized a May 10 ATV ride down a trail in Recapture Canyon, which is rich with archaeological sites and closed to motorized travel, to try to assert some local say over public lands. Lyman’s plans for a protest ride were made public shortly after the fracas at Bundy's Bunkerville ranch, in which armed militia members faced down Bureau of Land Management officers trying to round up Bundy’s cows. The ride was then touted as the “next showdown” between the feds and Sagebrush Rebels, Western anti-federal activists who have been agitating over public land management issues since the 1970s. Lyman was cast as the Bundy character; ATVs would stand in for Bundy’s trespassing cattle. https://www.hcn.org/articles/is-san-juan-countys-phil-lyman-the-new-calvin-black http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/14/how-cliven-bundy-and-the-land-rights-movement-are-screwing-native-americans.html

Bundy Militia

Sunday, January 10, 2016

1. Who's who inside and on the outskirts of the Masher occupation. Here are the most vocal occupiers, along with a core group of militia members staying in Burns. http://www.hcn.org/articles/whos-who-at-the-oregon-standoff-malhuer-bundy
2. Faces of the Malheur occupation: Meet the militants and their visitors http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/01/oregon_militant_profiles_list.html
3. Meet the Militia: The Zealots, Cowboys and 'Rogue Infidels' of the Oregon Insurgency http://rol.st/1Jxlpum via @rollingstone
4. Known militants
   1. Ammon Bundy
   2. Bundy's son
   3. Ryan Bundy, 43, the eldest of the 14 children of Cliven Bundy
   4. Mel Bundy
   5. Debra Bass, 61, a Nevadan who is running the kitchen http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/13/us/fervor-in-oregon-compound-and-fear-outside-it.html
   6. Darrow Burke, 57, crashed his vehicle outside of Hines, Oregon, in an embarrassing display for the militiamen Sunday. He was cited for driving without a license.
   7. Brian “Booda” Cavalier, failed to return after a newspaper report revealed he had lied about serving in the U.S. Marines. – the personal bodyguard of controversial ranchers Cliven and Ammon Bundy
   8. Carl Brammann came from Tennesee to join the occupation. “I’m sick and tired of seeing the federal government tromp all over the Constitution like it’s nothing,” said Bramman. http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/new-militants-supplies-arrive-with-ease-at-malheur-refuge/
   9. Blaine Cooper, (original legal name Stanley Blaine Hicks) enlisted to join the Marines in what is called the “Delayed Entry Program,” or DEP, but never attended bootcamp.
   10. Melissa Cooper, 37-year-old Arizona warehouse worker one of the few female members husband Blaine 17-year-old son and two daughters, ages eight and nine. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/09/oregon-militia-wildlife-refuge-harney-county-residents-wary
   11. Shawna Cox
   12. Brandon Curtiss http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/01/burns_residents_confront_milit.html
   13. Jerry DeLemus, a former United States Marine co-chairman of Donald Trump’s New Hampshire “Veterans for Trump” group in Bunkerville was “chief of security,”
   14. Duane Ehmer Irrigon, OR and his horse "Hellboy" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-semi-exclusive-interview-with-the-militant-on-a-horse_568ed827e4b0a2b6fb6f5e2b?nunb3xr=
   15. LaVoy Finicum, 55, a rancher from Mojave County, Arizona
   16. David Fry, ISIS-sympathizing, self-proclaimed video gamer from Ohio
   17. Cai Irvin
   18. Wes Kjar, an occupier. http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/pizza-paranoia-and-psychological-warfare-a-night-inside-the-oregon-standoff/
   19. Melvin Lee, a 45-year-old protester from Tucson, Arizona, who has been a regular presence at the occupation and has recently encouraged friends to leave with him.
   20. Todd Macfarlane, who said he was acting as a liaison between the militia and the public. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/09/oregon-militia-wildlife-refuge-heavily-armed-men
   21. "Captain Moroni" at the Recapture Canyon protest, he told me his name was Dylan Anderson, of Provo, Utah, and that he had been on the front lines of the Bundy standoff, as well. http://www.hcn.org/articles/whos-who-at-the-oregon-standoff-malhuer-bundy
   22. Joe Oshaugnessy, not on site, an Arizona militiaman, has been actively seeking volunteers through social media to join the occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
   23. Jason Patrick http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/01/bundy_followers_ramp_up_rhetor.html#incart_most-commented_pacific-northwest-news_article
   24. Ryan Payne, an Army veteran from Montana recipient of the Combat Infantryman Badge.
   25. Maureen Peltier, a disabled National Guard woman who claims to be the group’s official spokeswoman.
   26. Debra Carter Pope, a 61-year-old Fallon, Nevada, resident and the militia’s main cook alongside Cooper. an air force veteran who is unarmed and has been at the occupation since it began.
   27. Jon Ritzheimer staff sergeant and former Marine reservist with two combat deployments to Iraq as a “motor vehicle operator,” never earned a combat action ribbon
   28. Michael Stettler, who lives about 100 miles away in Christmas Valley, Ore., said the occupiers are spending most of their time fielding calls from the news media and watching Fox News. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/visitors-find-more-reporters-than-occupiers-at-oregon-site/2016/01/05/f804f13c-b407-11e5-a842-0feb51d1d124_story.html
   29. Brand Thornton, a political activist from Las Vegas http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/04/the-anti-muslim-zealot-in-bundy-s-oregon-militia.html
   30. Steve Turner, 58, is from Sandy, Oregon. His Facebook page describes him as a retired electrical foreman originally from Prineville. The Washington Post quoted Turner January 5 saying, "I just hope they have some success and this ends without people getting hurt." He described his presence as a civic duty like voting and voiced surprise that more Oregonians hadn't joined in.
   31. Neil Wampler Wampler, 68, is listed in public records as a resident of Los Osos, Calif. In a YouTube video from inside the compound, he wears a State of Jefferson hat, referencing the state once proposed as a union of rural southern Oregon and northern California counties. "I am here to support my compadres in this effort against federal overreach," Wampler says on camera. He also attended the 2014 Bundy ranch standoff, where the Las Vegas Review-Journal quoted him saying, "I myself am willing to be shot and killed for constitutional rights and principles."
   32. Scotty Willingham but that he sometimes went by Scotty Wills said he had lived in Leadville, Colo., and worked as a property manager but left it all behind to join the Bundys.

POLICE VIOLENCE

In the past decade, a law enforcement official was caught in a case of sexual abuse or misconduct at least every five days. Nearly all were men. Nearly all victims were women, and a surprising number were adolescents. http://projects.buffalonews.com/abusing-the-law/index.html

GRAPHIC: Debunking The ‘War On Police’

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/09/09/3699377/war-on-cops-graphics/

Once again: police work is NOT getting more dangerous. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/10/02/once-again-police-work-is-not-getting-more-dangerous/

US police kill more than two people a day, report suggests. Data collected by the Washington Post newspaper suggests that the number of people shot by US police is twice as high as official figures claim. The paper said that during the first five months of this year, 385 people - more than two a day - were killed. The number of black people was disproportionately high among the victims, especially unarmed ones. Official statistics rely on self-reported figures from law enforcement agencies. They suggest about 400 people have been killed each year since 2008. The US has seen a number of controversial cases where unarmed black people have been killed by white police officers. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32950383

Orozco is one of 14 officers shot and killed in the line of duty by suspects since January, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a nonprofit organization that tracks all line-of-duty fatalities. While protesters have demonstrated over the past year about the use of deadly force by police, Orozco’s death highlighted the lethal threats that officers face. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/for-police-officers-fewer-deaths-but-increased-tension/2015/05/30/499da608-0650-11e5-8bda-c7b4e9a8f7ac_story.html

Fatal police shootings in 2015 approaching 400 nationwide. About half the victims were white, half minority. But the demographics shifted sharply among the unarmed victims, two-thirds of whom were black or Hispanic. Overall, blacks were killed at three times the rate of whites or other minorities when adjusting by the population of the census tracts where the shootings occurred. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/fatal-police-shootings-in-2015-approaching-400-nationwide/2015/05/30/d322256a-058e-11e5-a428-c984eb077d4e_story.html

In attempt to capture a fuller picture of police killings in the U.S., citizen and activist groups have started compiling their own statistics through crime and media reports. One of the most comprehensive projects to date is a website called Killed By Police. The site logged nearly 1,500 police-involved deaths between January 1, 2014 and April 30, 2015 and included documentation for each incident. http://www.vocativ.com/news/190536/what-16-months-of-police-killings-in-the-u-s-looks-like/ http://killedbypolice.net

That Higher Count Of Police Killings May Still Be 25 Percent Too Low http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/that-higher-count-of-police-killings-may-still-be-25-percent-too-low/

Over 100 People Were Killed by Police in March. https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform-free-speech-racial-justice/over-100-people-were-killed-police-march-have-po

Cop Crime and Harassment

Text messages paint dark portrait of Illinois officer behind mysterious suicide http://gu.com/p/4e2tx/stw

Milwaukee Cops Detain Man Fearing His Camera Could Be Gun, His Phone a Bomb Detonator. https://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/11/milwaukee-cops-detain-man-fearing-his-camera-could-be-gun-his-phone-a-bomb-detonator/

Hundreds Of Cops Kicked Off Force For Committing Sex Crimes. The number is unquestionably an undercount because it represents only those officers whose licenses to work in law enforcement were revoked, and not all states take such action. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hundreds-of-cops-kicked-off-force-for-committing-sex-crimes_5636133ae4b063179912afba

6 Takeaways From the New Tamir Rice Investigations. Almost a year after the 12-year-old boy was shot by a Cleveland police officer, key questions remain. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/10/new-tamir-rice-investigations-cleveland-police-shooting-6-takeaways%20

‘YouTube effect’ has left police officers under siege, law enforcement leaders say https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/10/08/youtube-effect-has-left-police-officers-under-siege-law-enforcement-leaders-say/

NYPD Cop Sentenced to Two Years for Role in Motorcycle Mob Attack on Driver. An NYPD cop who infiltrated Occupy Wall Street, encouraging activists to break the law, only to later be part of the motorcycle mob that chased down a family in a Range Rover, pulling the father out of the car to beat him, was sentenced today to two years in jail. Wojciech Braszczok, who shattered the SUV’s back window with his fist during the 2013 attack, said he did so because somebody from inside the car had thrown something at him, which somehow made it through the closed window, making him fear for his life. http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/08/nypd-cop-sentenced-to-two-years-for-role-in-motorcycle-mob-attack-on-driver/

http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/07/san-diego-paramedic-attacks-photojournalist-for-recording-game-of-thrones-actress-on-gurney/

How the DEA Harasses Amtrak Passengers A mathematician describes how his rights were apparently violated during a trip to Washington, D.C. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/how-the-dea-harasses-amtrak-passengers/393230/

CHP officer pleads no contest to sharing explicit photos of female arrestees, avoids jail. Disgraced former California Highway Patrol officer Sean Harrington pleaded no contest Tuesday to two felony counts of secretly copying and sharing explicit photos of female DUI suspects, but he will avoid serving any time in jail. Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Terri Mockler said she struggled with his punishment but in the end gave him a 180-day suspended jail sentence for the two felony computer theft charges. As long as he follows the terms of his probation and attends violence-prevention classes, Harrington will not spend time behind bars. However, his law enforcement career is almost certainly over. Mockler read a quote from Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the early women’s rights activist: “Women’s degradation is in man’s idea of his sexual rights. Our religion, laws, customs, are all founded on the belief that woman was made for man.” “To me, that sums up what happened here,” the judge said. http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20150127/chp-officer-pleads-no-contest-to-sharing-explicit-photos-of-female-arrestees-avoids-jail

Washington Cop Attempts to Incite Photographer by Invading Personal Space. One tactic we occasionally see is when a cop stands directly in your personal space, close enough where he can kiss you, claiming he has the right to stand where he pleases – when you know if you would do the same to him, he would fear for his life and kill you. What they’re really doing is hoping the citizen pushes the cop off or punches him in the face, which you will see is very tempting in this video where a smug Tacoma cop named Barry Paris does his best to incite photographer Scott Shimek, not only standing in his personal space, but brushing up against him for no reason. Paris is a veteran cop who shot an innocent man in 1996, resulting in a $538,000 settlement for the victim with no disciplinary action against him, so he learned early on he can get away with anything. The latest incident took place Tuesday as Shimek aka Rogue Reflections was photographing a union protest in front of a hospital. As he was photographing the protest, he noticed undercover Tacoma cops following and video recording him, so he turned his camera on them. After 45 minutes, he crossed the street and was issued a jaywalking citation, even though several cops and protesters were also crossing the street in the same area. http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2014/11/tacoma-cop-incite-photographer-barry-paris/

Cops, CIA Share a Culture of Lawlessness. From Ferguson to Staten Island to Langley, we need to get our security forces under control. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/12/cops-cia-share-a-culture-of-lawlessness.html

California

Ex-LAPD detective suspected of being Snowbird Bandit was a heavy gambler, FBI says. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-snowbird-bandit-was-heavy-gambler-20150724-story.html

Mystery of dead man and his 1,200 guns deepens. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lapd-guns-20150720-story.html

Drones, cameras seized in bizarre kidnapping tied to Harvard-educated ex-lawyer http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-kidnapping-harvard-attorney-20150714-story.html

FBI Arrests Suspect in "Gone Girl" Kidnapping Cops Thought Was a Hoax. After police in Dublin, Calif., arrested a man for a home invasion June 5, the FBI noted similarities between that crime and the alleged kidnapping of Denise Huskins. They now believe that the alleged home invader, former Marine and Harvard Law graduate Michael Muller, was behind the elaborate abduction plot. Muller then allegedly got financial account numbers from Quinn and information from the victim’s WiFi router, his laptop and other Internet accounts. Quinn was placed on the couch where he fell asleep. When he woke up his was able to free himself. He found that Huskins, his laptop and his car were missing. Huskins was located two days later. Muller was arrested in June after a botched home invasion in Dublin at the beginning of the month. He allegedly entered the home and fought with the homeowner for about four minutes and ran away. He reportedly left his cell phone at scene, which allowed detectives to track him down to South Lake Tahoe, where he was arrested. Police also found Huskins’ stolen vehicle that had evidence inside from the kidnapping and a GPS device that showed a trip to Huntington Beach. According to Huskins, other suspects were also involved in the incident. Muller, a former U.S. Marine, attended Harvard University where he also taught, according to the official affadavit. He was admitted to the California state bar in 2011, and was disbarred in 2015. http://gawker.com/fbi-arrests-suspect-in-gone-girl-kidnapping-cops-thou-1717585741 http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015/07/13/orangevale-man-accused-of-kidnapping-denise-huskins/

San Diego

Tough to be a drunk in El Cajon. Police and liquor-store owners say do-not-sell-alcohol list works. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2015/dec/11/stringers-el-cajon-do-not-sell-alcohol-list/#

EL CAJON (CNS) - Three men, one of them hospitalized, were arrested after an attempted home invasion robbery in El Cajon Monday. The break-in attempt occurred around 4:30 p.m. in the 8200 block of Limon Lane in an unincorporated area bordering El Cajon, San Diego County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Tim Chantler said. The three men had gone to the home to collect a debt from the homeowner, then forced their way into a garage and confronted the homeowner, Chantler said. The homeowner fired at least one shotgun round, striking a man in a leg, Chantler said. The wounded man was hospitalized. Two other suspects were later stopped by deputies in a vehicle, in which a small amount of methamphetamine and a clown mask were recovered, Chantler said. The two vehicle occupants and the man with the gunshot wound were arrested on suspicion of home invasion robbery, Chantler said. http://www.cbs8.com/story/29436674/three-men-arrested-one-injured-in-attempted-home-robbery-in-el-cajon

Trolley Cops Mostly Swarm These Two Areas. http://voiceofsandiego.org/2015/01/13/trolley-cops-mostly-swarm-these-two-areas/

Violent Online Threats

The Cops Don't Care About Violent Online Threats. What Do We Do Now? http://jezebel.com/the-cops-dont-care-about-violent-online-threats-what-d-1682577343/+tcberman

Sex Crimes

Conservative Scold Ken Starr Got a Billionaire Pedophile Off. Many believe Jeffrey Epstein could have been jailed for life for violating scores of underage girls, but Ken Starr and the rest of his legal team got him a deal. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/30/conservative-scold-ken-starr-got-a-billionaire-pedophile-off.html

War

Cyber War

The FBI told their story about North Korea attacking Sony. Before we retaliate, read what they didn’t tell you. http://fabiusmaximus.com/2014/12/20/rebuttal-holes-fbi-north-korea-sony-attack-74873/

Cold War

The Western propaganda machine, smoothly stamping fabricated reports about Russia's involvement in Syria, originated in the beginning of the Communist era in 1917; the Holodomor hoax of 1932-33 was invented by the West in close cooperation with Nazi Germany and pro-Nazi Ukrainian nationalists. Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151019/1028730561/holodomor-hoax-invented-hitler-west.html#ixzz3pGQu6ZXS

Police War

Here is every officer killed on duty in the US so far this year. The 19 deaths at the hands of suspects run the gamut -- veterans and rookie officers -- and span the nation -- from Georgia to California. http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nation-and-world/here-every-officer-killed-duty-the-us-so-far-year

In Iraq, I raided insurgents. In Virginia, the police raided me. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/in-iraq-i-raided-insurgents-in-virginia-the-police-raided-me/2015/07/24/2e114e54-2b02-11e5-bd33-395c05608059_story.html

Police trying to control the Ferguson protests and riots responded with an uncoordinated effort that sometimes violated free-speech rights, antagonized crowds with military-style tactics and shielded officers from accountability, the Justice Department says in a document obtained Monday by the Post-Dispatch. “Vague and arbitrary” orders to keep protesters moving “violated citizens’ right to assembly and free speech, as determined by a U.S. federal court injunction,” according to a summary of a longer report scheduled for delivery this week to police brass in Ferguson, St. Louis County, St. Louis and Missouri Highway Patrol. They already have the summary, still subject to revision, that was obtained by the newspaper. It suggests that last year’s unrest was aggravated by long-standing community animosity toward Ferguson police, and by a failure of commanders to provide more details to the public after an officer killed Michael Brown. “Had law enforcement released information on the officer-involved shooting in a timely manner and continued the information flow as it became available, community distrust and media skepticism would most likely have been lessened,” according to the document. http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/justice-department-faults-ferguson-protest-response/article_32d55f9f-0bf4-51e4-93d6-71b873cb8038.html

Just as Our Cops Are Becoming Soldiers, Our Soldiers Are Becoming Cops http://phasezero.gawker.com/just-as-our-cops-are-becoming-soldiers-our-soldiers-ar-1711724208

Terror

Syed Farook seen at Riverside gun range 2 days before San Bernardino attack http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20151207/syed-farook-seen-at-riverside-gun-range-2-days-before-san-bernardino-attack via @ladailynews

Americans more fearful of a major terror attack in the U.S., poll finds http://wpo.st/kAvu0

San Bernardino doctor was first responder | Health - KCCI Home http://www.kcci.com/health/san-bernardino-doctor-was-first-responder/36787714 via @KCCINews

Statement By Secretary Jeh C. Johnson On Steps To Further Secure The Homeland http://www.dhs.gov/news/2015/11/30/statement-secretary-jeh-c-johnson-steps-further-secure-homeland

Gunman’s Past Scoured for Clues to Siege at Planned Parenthood http://nyti.ms/1NAtn7G

Alleged Colorado gunman was adrift and alienated http://wpo.st/Q_ns0

Christianist Republicans Systematically Incited Colorado Clinic Assault. http://valerietarico.com/2015/11/28/christianist-republicans-systematically-incited-colorado-clinic-assault/

Dallas Mayor Says He’s More Fearful Of Armed White Men Than Syrian Refugees http://thkpr.gs/3725109 via @thinkprogress

Armed protesters gather outside Islamic Center of Irving To “Stop the Islamization of America” @dallasnews http://share.d-news.co/6NUMRVK

House Democrats who backed refugee bill face social media backlash http://gu.com/p/4edee/stw http://scottpeters.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-peters-calls-for-better-screening-against-terrorist-threats

Local Muslim leaders condemn attacks on Paris, Beirut http://detne.ws/1O2XLq0 via @detroitnews

Cell phone found could be break in Paris attacks investigation | San Diego 6 News, The CW (XETV) – News, Weather, Traffic, Sports | Local News http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/Paris-attacks-investigation-Latest-developments-351133451.html

We treat terrorism as more costly than it truly is http://boingboing.net/2015/11/17/we-treat-terrorism-as-more-cos.html

PETER HITCHENS: Really want to beat terror? Then calm down and THINK http://dailym.ai/1SQNr4f via @MailOnline

8 ways to defend against terror nonviolently http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/8-ways-defend-terror-nonviolently/ via @wagingnv

How the Bush administration ignored a significant warning from the CIA months before 9/11 http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/11/cia-directors-documentary-911-bush-213353

Investigators '90 percent sure' Russian jet was downed by a bomb via @AJAM http://alj.am/xmn5

THE EDUCATION OF A LONE WOLF. The available evidence of the Dylann Roof case indicates that we are witnessing a much broader trend than the metasizing cancer of organized racial hatred and intolerance: the rise of the troubled lone wolf allied to no group. Emboldened by the anonymity of the internet, this new Terrorist 2.0 is unique to the digital age. The fractured, angry young man that is the emerging portrait for the new terrorist that pulled the trigger in the June massacre is on closer analysis, far from being yet another foot soldier of extremist armies of the past. Rather he is a distinctly more Millennial phenomena where one can hop from forum to random internet forum at ease via cyberspace without attracting attention. Roof is a poster boy for many who embrace the emerging 21st century violent extremist. http://www.marxrand.com/archives/1281

A joint state and federal investigation into the activities of accused Charleston church shooter Dylann Storm Roof has widened to include other people of interest, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The expanded scope of the investigation now includes people with whom Roof associated in the weeks before the June 17 shootings of nine African-Americans at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, the sources said. Roof, 21, of Columbia, is white. Also on Friday, The New York Times, citing sources with knowledge of the investigation, said federal and state authorities have found that Roof had been in contact with white supremacists online, although it does not appear that they encouraged him to carry out the massacre. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2015/07/04/probe-of-church-shooting.html

The Rise of Violent Right-Wing Extremism, Explained. Experts say attacks like the mass shooting in Charleston have been a growing threat. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/06/right-wing-extremism-explainer-charleston-mass-shooting-terrorism

Dylann Roof’s eerie tour of American slavery at its beginning, middle and end. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/07/01/dylann-roofs-eerie-tour-of-american-slavery-at-its-beginning-middle-and-end/

It appears that the Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof may have been even more immersed in the online white supremacist movement than previously thought. In an attempt to verify the authenticity of a manifesto that was uncovered Saturday morning on “The Last Rhodesian,” a website owned by Roof, Hatewatch ran the document’s full text through Grammarly, a piece of software with plagiarism detection capabilities. Despite the fact that only 2% of the document was identified as “unoriginal” by the software, a key 18-word passage in the section labeled “Blacks” bemoaning the alleged appropriation of white culture by the rest of the world, was identified as almost identical to a comment left on an article titled “Former Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt: Sweden Belongs to the Hordes, Not the “Uninteresting” Ethnic Swedes” by the user “AryanBlood1488” at The Daily Stormer. http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2015/06/22/dylann-roof-may-have-been-a-regular-commenter-at-neo-nazi-website-the-daily-stormer/

The shooting at a black church in South Carolina is raising new concerns about domestic terrorism, a threat that some say has been given short shrift by the government. While Islamic terrorists have overshadowed anti-government militias and white supremacists since the 9/11 attacks, the groups have actually grown more active in recent years, according to experts. http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/245623-charleston-shooting-puts-focus-on-the-rising-fringe

The first time I flew after 9/11was October 31, 2001. I flew out of San Diego to Portsmouth VA. The airport was almost deserted. I was the only passenger walking through a glass hallway leading to the gates. There was a National Guardsman in the hallway with a rife, an assault type rifle. I remember thinking that the bullets would rip through me and tear up the glass walls.

CIA sometimes overlooks Islamic extremists, Vegas intelligence expert says http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/military/cia-sometimes-overlooks-islamic-extremists-vegas-intelligence-expert-says

Perpetual War

America enabled radical Islam: How the CIA, George W. Bush and many others helped create ISIS. We have tried to harness the power of radical Islam for our own interests for decades. ISIS is partially on America. http://www.salon.com/2015/10/18/america_enabled_radical_islam_how_the_cia_george_w_bush_and_many_others_helped_create_isis/

Operation Desert Storm was the beginning of perpetual war. At 6:28 p.m. EST on Jan. 16, 1991 (that’s 24 years ago tomorrow), the U.S. launched the beginning of perpetual war when it attacked military targets in Iraq — specifically around Baghdad — and Kuwait with helicopters, warplanes and Tomahawk missiles to begin Operation Desert Storm. http://personalliberty.com/operation-desert-storm-beginning-perpetual-war/

Syria

Turkish military releases recording of warning to Russian jet. Surviving crew member of downed plane is rescued in 12-hour mission and says there were no warnings. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/25/second-russian-pilot-shot-down-turkey-alive-ambassador

Russia Loses Attack Jet And Helicopter In Syria In One Day: Here's What We Know http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/russia-loses-fighter-jet-and-helicopter-in-syria-in-one-1744492917

Syrians Are Paying A High Price For Russia’s Cheap Bombs http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/syrians-are-paying-a-high-price-for-russia-s-cheap-bomb-1744082828

IS Daesh

Former Isis hostage says airstrikes on Syria are a trap http://gu.com/p/4emx4/stw

I was held hostage by daesh. They fear our unity more than our airstrikes | Nicolas Hénin http://gu.com/p/4e9ba/stw

Mohammed Emwazi, the English-speaking executioner from the gruesome videos showing the murders of U.S. hostages, may have been killed by an American drone in Syria early Friday. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/12/isis-beheader-jihadi-john-targeted-in-u-s-drone-strike.html

Islamic State's army powered by crossover of Saddam-era commanders. http://www.mlive.com/news/us-world/index.ssf/2015/08/islamic_states_army_powered_by.html

Retired Army Gen. Mike Flynn, a top intelligence official in the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, says in a forthcoming interview on Al Jazeera English that the drone war is creating more terrorists than it is killing. He also asserts that the U.S. invasion of Iraq helped create the Islamic State and that U.S. soldiers involved in torturing detainees need to be held legally accountable for their actions. Flynn, who in 2014 was forced out as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, has in recent months become an outspoken critic of the Obama administration’s Middle East strategy, calling for a more hawkish approach to the Islamic State and Iran. https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/07/16/retired-general-drones-create-terrorists-kill-iraq-war-helped-create-isis/

Islamic State militants are deploying the signature weapon of the Iraq war — the homemade, roadside bomb — in novel ways, including the use of drones to spot targets, a top Pentagon official says. The tactics used by Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria have evolved rapidly with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), Lt. Gen. John Johnson, director of the Joint IED Defeat Organization, told USA TODAY in an interview. Militants around the world continuously share best-practice tips online, Johnson said. The IEDs used by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, have been cobbled together with homemade- and military-grade explosives and munitions seized from Iraqi and Syrian security forces. "They're using everything they can get their hands on," Johnson said. ISIL also has used chlorine as a chemical weapon, he said. Meantime, ISIL fighters have been modifying their tactics to exploit holes in the defenses of friendly forces, Johnson said. Some of their adaptations, according to Johnson:

• Drones. To date, the drones have been used to direct drivers of car bombs to their targets inside Iraqi-held territory, Johnson said. He noted that the unmanned aircraft "can deliver some sort of payload," meaning the drones could be turned into a new form of IED. "That's a question," he said.
• Bigger bombs. Seized military vehicles have been jammed with explosives to produce huge explosions that can penetrate even fortified structures. ISIL's initial assault on Ramadi on May 17 included the use of 30 massive car bombs, prompting Iraqi security forces to flee despite outnumbering the militants.
• Tunnels. In Syria, ISIL fighters have been burrowing beneath their targets to avoid detection before setting off IEDs. http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/roadside-bombs-remain-insurgents-top-gun-1.357515

A secret to Islamic State's success: Shock troops who fight to the death. http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/a-secret-to-islamic-state-s-success-shock-troops-who-fight-to-the-death-1.356876

Rumsfeld admits Bush was wrong pushing democracy on Iraq. http://rt.com/usa/265630-rumsfeld-bush-wrong-iraq/

ANALYSIS: Islamic State's apparent expansion may be deceptive. By Laura King Los Angeles Times Published: April 1, 2015 http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/islamic-state-s-apparent-expansion-may-be-deceptive-1.337873

Hagel dismisses usefulness of body counts in Islamic State fight. http://www.stripes.com/hagel-dismisses-usefulness-of-body-counts-in-islamic-state-fight-1.325289

Don’t believe the U.S. military when it says it doesn’t keep body counts. http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/01/22/dont-believe-the-u-s-military-when-it-says-it-doesnt-keep-body-counts/

Secretary of State John Kerry is a distinguished diplomat with impeccable manners -- but that doesn't mean he's above lobbing a well-placed insult when it comes to enemies of the United States. Kerry made clear earlier this week that he is committed to referring to the Islamic State as "Daesh," a name that the group considers so degrading that it has threatened to kill anyone under Islamic State rule who uses it. The Islamic State's opponents in the Muslim world have already embraced the name. "Daesh" is an acronym for the Arabic phrase meaning the "Islamic State in Iraq and Syria" (though the last word can also be translated as "Damascus" or "Levant"), and it is thought to offend the extremist group because it sounds similar to an Arabic word for crushing something underfoot. Daesh in Arabic "sounds like something monstrous. ... It's a way of stigmatizing [the Islamic State], making it something ugly," Joseph Bahout, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/11/kerry-daesh-isil_n_6309664.html

Iraq Bush War

The Iraq war was ended by victory - an American victory. The elected government of Iraq is holding firm. The Iraqi military built by America is holding firm. We have an ally, instead of an enemy, in a critical location. The victory was brought about by Americans like Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, who pulled burning GIs from a Bradley Fighting Vehicle even as he himself was on fire. It was brought about by medics like Specialist J.A. Lamkin who rescued the wounded, going through machine-gun fire as if it were a light rain. It was brought about by Marines and soldiers who were every bit as heroic as those who climbed the cliffs of Normandy or assaulted over the coral ridges of the Pacific Islands. Retired Republican Rep. Duncan L. Hunter December 9, 2011 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/dec/9/us-victorious-in-iraq-despite-obama/

George W. Bush's CIA Briefer: Bush and Cheney Falsely Presented WMD Intelligence to Public. On "Hardball," Michael Morell concedes the Bush administration misled the nation into the Iraq War. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/michael-morell-bush-cheney-iraq-war

Though former governor of Florida and presidential candidate Jeb Bush was not mentioned by name, a reporter asked about a narrative Bush advanced a day earlier in public remarks: That the Obama administration, after a successful troop surge, abandoned Iraq to renewed sectarianism and the Islamic State. Asked if he agreed with the narrative, Odierno said, "I don't think it's black and white, I think it's gray. I think the military operations we conducted provided an opportunity for us to be successful. "I remind everybody that us leaving in 2011 was negotiated in 2008 by the Bush administration, and that was always the plan," Odierno said. "We said we would respect their sovereignty, and so that was always our plan." http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/leaders/2015/08/12/odierno-reviews-iraq-islamic-state-final-briefing/31554817/

Rumsfeld admits Bush was wrong pushing democracy on Iraq. http://rt.com/usa/265630-rumsfeld-bush-wrong-iraq/

“The truth is unspeakable”: A real American sniper unloads on “American Sniper” "The truth is unspeakable," says real-life American sniper who wants nothing to do with a dangerous propaganda film Take Garett’s first hit, the one he described as giving him a feeling of ecstasy. The feeling did not last long. His target was not dead. “I remember looking back and he was down in the middle of the road arching his body, spinning on his back and screaming and pulling on his stomach as if I shot him with an arrow and he was trying to pull it out. All the sense of satisfaction just washed away and this horror filled it — this sadness, anger and frustration. I was mad at him that he just didn’t die. I ended up putting another three rounds down and he finally stopped moving. That was the first time I took another life.” There is a long pause on the other end of my phone. “He looked like he could have been my father. Who knows why he was out there fighting. A lot of people were fighting us because they did not want to be occupied or because they had family members who were hurt or killed and they wanted to get some sort of vengeance. By the end of my tour, it was really hard to justify killing them. We should not have been there in the first place.” While in Iraq, Garett was told by an army chaplain that a stronger belief in God would alleviate the guilt he was feeling. God was on America’s side, and Garett was fighting for God and country. Get over it, soldier. Once home, he sought treatment for his PTSD from a Veterans Administration hospital and heard the same message delivered in a different way. “I was taken aside more than once at the VA [during group therapy] and told that the VA is not a platform to express my political views. My recovery hinged on the fact that I felt guilt and shame over committing atrocities against an occupied country. We went over there and brutalized and oppressed, and that is part of my psychological and moral injuries. If I can’t talk about it at the VA, then the VA can’t help me.” http://www.salon.com/2015/02/04/this_american_sniper_didnt_keep_track_of_his_kills_and_hates_that_i_ask_him/

CIA job interview leads to criminal investigation of Green Beret Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn was investigated by the Army Criminal Investigation Command for an undisclosed violation of the U.S. military’s rules of engagement in 2010 that resulted in the death of a known enemy fighter and bombmaker in Helmand province, Afghanistan, according to the officials. The Army closed a lengthy investigation last summer without charging Golsteyn with any crime, but Army Secretary John McHugh revoked a Silver Star that Golsteyn had been awarded for heroism on Feb. 20, 2010, during the iconic Battle of Marja. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/02/06/cia-job-interview-led-to-criminal-investigation-of-green-beret/

Average Soldiers Don’t Trust Their Generals and They Have a Point. A survey last year showed only 27% of the military felt senior leaders looked out for their best interests. To fix the morale crisis generals need to stop acting like politicians. The instances Mr. Hunter documents are the kind of maddeningly stupid, petty bureaucratic abuses that have been a part of military life for years. What's new, and what is far more politically detestable and damaging to morale, is the growing recognition that our armed forces have become military proxies for Saudi Arabia and the other Sunni nations, (a.k.a. our Muslim "allies"), and that our middle eastern "friends" are directly responsible for the funding and encouragement of the worst terrorists on the Planet. In other words, the U.S. military is fighting as a Sunni proxy against other Sunni proxies who've now gone rogue and want to destroy their benefactors, our "allies." I can't imagine anything sapping the morale of the troops more than the knowledge that almost 7,000 troops have been killed and tens of thousands have been maimed fighting to (allegedly) liberate people who wouldn't squat and piss on them if they were in flames, and have little if any interest in democratic governance or western values. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/03/average-soldiers-don-t-trust-their-generals-and-they-have-a-point.html

U.S. gunfire kills two Reuters employees in Baghdad By David Finkel http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/06/AR2010040601368.html

Obama Drone Wars

The Intercept has obtained a cache of secret documents detailing the inner workings of the U.S. military’s assassination program in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia. The documents, provided by a whistleblower, offer an unprecedented glimpse into Obama’s drone wars. https://theintercept.com/drone-papers

Congressman protests punishment of soldiers who confronted alleged child rapist http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-boy-rape-20150926-story.html

U.S. Soldiers Told to Ignore Sexual Abuse of Boys by Afghan Allies http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/world/asia/us-soldiers-told-to-ignore-afghan-allies-abuse-of-boys.html

Afghanistan Obama War

Kunduz hospital attack: US forces did not act on MSF warnings for 17 min http://gu.com/p/4egqv/stw

US troops didn't have eyes on Afghan hospital before attack - Middle East - Stripes http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/us-troops-didn-t-have-eyes-on-afghan-hospital-before-attack-1.378335

Afghanistan hospital bombing was one of many such attacks - Middle East - Stripes http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/afghanistan-hospital-bombing-was-one-of-many-such-attacks-1.377740

We Asked An Expert if the US Bombing of a Hospital in Afghanistan Was a War Crime http://www.vice.com/read/we-asked-an-expert-if-the-us-bombing-of-a-hospital-in-afghanistan-was-a-war-crime-1029

AP: Green Berets Who Ordered Strike Thought Taliban Had Control of Doctors Without Borders Hospital http://gawker.com/ap-green-berets-who-ordered-strike-thought-taliban-had-1738792204 http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a39810b7161d42fcb0abe36576d26730/troops-who-sought-strike-thought-taliban-had-hospital

Afghanistan Bush War

Task Force Violent http://www.militarytimes.com/longform/military/2015/03/19/task-force-violent-part-3/24309667/

Ukraine

Threat of new Russian incursion as violence flares in Ukraine. http://www.stripes.com/news/threat-of-new-russian-incursion-as-violence-flares-in-ukraine-1.325166

Troops and Veterans

Veteran says he was attacked, shamed at Charlotte airport https://shar.es/1cp5pe

The Infidels Motorcycle Club, a group made up of troops, veterans and military contractors in Colorado Springs, drew attention recently with its pig roast to protest the holiest of Muslim holidays. While some people decried the club's gathering as tantamount to a KKK cross-burning, the group is not classified as an outlaw motorcycle group by authorities. But other, less-law-abiding motorcycle gangs are actively recruiting troops in the Pikes Peak region and worrying federal agents, a federal report obtained by the Gazette says. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Denver spokesman Chris Amon said his agency's concern over the interaction of troops and outlaw motorcycle gangs is obvious. "It always concerns us when people with specialized training in weapons and explosives is involved in a criminal enterprise," he said. Other experts say outlaw motorcycle life appeals to some troops. "I think it makes a natural draw for them," said Steve Cook, who heads the Midwest Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association. "You have to look at people in the military and fresh back from deployment — they are into a warfare mentality." "Infidels Motorcycle Club is a veteran-formed and -based MC for patriotic Americans and our supporting allies," the group says on its website. Sources familiar with the club say its leaders include several prominent Air Force Space Command contractors and a soldier from Fort Carson's 4th Combat Aviation Brigade — people in positions of trust who carry security clearances. The group advertised the June barbecue as "in defiance of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan" on a flier that included comparisons of Muslim men to pedophiles. The anti-Islam rhetoric coming from people who appear to be on the Pentagon's payroll upsets Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest Muslim rights group. "It would be great concern if these were members of the military or contractors, not because of the barbecue, but because of the extremist views it represents," Hooper said. http://www.stripes.com/news/us/outlaw-motorcycle-groups-efforts-to-recruit-military-troops-is-worrisome-officials-say-1.356600

Irregular Army: How the US Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Members, and Criminals to Fight the War on Terror, Matt Kennard Just weeks before the hardcover edition of Irregular Army came out in September 2012, a neo-Nazi US Army veteran walked into a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and shot dead six worshippers. A topic that had never managed to hold the interest of the American media during the War on Terror—the extremists being trained by the country's military—suddenly moved front and center. Many Americans wondered how this white supremacist could have survived in the military for so long; surely something must have gone wrong. But the Wisconsin shooter, Wade Michael Page, was merely one of many far-right radicals who have used the US military over the past two decades to gain access to the highest-grade weaponry in the world, alongside attendant training. The Springfield semiautomatic 9mm handgun used by Page in Oak Creek was, for instance, very similar to the Beretta M9, the civilian version of the pistol issued by the US military. And neo-Nazi veterans, like Page, were explicit about wanting to use their new military skills in the coming race war they hoped would ignite in the US. Page's heavy-metal white-power band, called End Apathy, was itself a call to arms. According to a 2010 interview he gave to a white supremacist website, he wanted to "figure out how to end people's apathetic ways"; the band was meant to "be the start towards moving forward." http://www.vice.com/read/american-isis-the-domestic-terrorist-fallout-of-the-iraq-war-213

Army cites investigation in revoking Green Beret's Silver Star. http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/2015/02/05/green-beret-matt-golsteyn-silver-star-stripped-investigation/22930207/

Ventura won't see 'American Sniper'; says Kyle is no hero. https://www.yahoo.com/movies/s/ventura-wont-see-american-sniper-says-kyle-no-214839865.html

Female vet harassed for parking in reserved spot resonates with other servicewomen (+video). In a recent incident in North Carolina, a female veteran received a nasty note after pulling into a veterans-only parking space at a grocery store. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2015/0123/Female-vet-harassed-for-parking-in-reserved-spot-resonates-with-other-servicewomen-video

Muslim sailor sues for right to reenlist and wear beard. Berts, an African American and native of San Francisco, served on the dock landing ship Fort McHenry at Whidbey Island, Wash., and with a beachmaster unit in Coronado before being assigned as a military history and physical education instructor at the Navy training site at Great Lakes, Ill. At Great Lakes, he was allegedly subjected to a “barrage of derogatory terms, anti-Islamic slurs, and inappropriate lines of questions about his religious beliefs and loyalty to the United States,” according to the lawsuit. Among other things, a senior noncommissioned officer repeatedly used slurs involving race and religion when addressing Berts, the lawsuit contends. Backed by Navy chaplains, Berts was seeking permission to wear a beard, which was permitted under Navy rules. The rules give commanders discretion to grant such permission. Berts’ request and appeal were denied, according to the lawsuit. After his “religious accommodation” appeal was denied, he was “removed from his teaching duties…and stationed in an abandoned roach-infested building” guarding obsolete office equipment, the lawsuit contends. He became depressed and had difficulty sleeping, the lawsuit adds. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-muslim-sailor-beard-20150110-story.html

The real American Sniper was a hate-filled killer. Why are simplistic patriots treating him as a hero? Chris Kyle, a US navy Seal from Texas, was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and claimed to have killed more than 255 people during his six-year military career. In his memoir, Kyle reportedly described killing as “fun”, something he “loved”; he was unwavering in his belief that everyone he shot was a “bad guy”. “I hate the damn savages,” he wrote. “I couldn’t give a flying fuck about the Iraqis.” He bragged about murdering looters during Hurricane Katrina, though that was never substantiated. He was murdered in 2013 at a Texas gun range by a 25-year-old veteran reportedly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/06/real-american-sniper-hate-filled-killer-why-patriots-calling-hero-chris-kyle

A worsening morale crisis AFTER 13 YEARS OF WAR, TROOPS FEEL BURNED OUT AND WITHOUT A SENSE OF MISSION. MORE DOUBT THEIR LEADERS AND THEIR JOB SECURITY. http://www.militarytimes.com/longform/military/2014/12/07/americas-military-a-force-adrift/18596571/

Christian War

Why 'Have a blessed day' greeting rattled the Air Force. When some airmen complained, gate guards at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia were told to stop saying 'Have a blessed day.' A minor uproar caused the Air Force to again allow the greeting. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2015/0313/Why-Have-a-blessed-day-greeting-rattled-the-Air-Force

Crime and Corruption

Army recommends no further punishment for Petraeus http://wpo.st/5YWv0

Justice Dept.: Navy, Coast Guard bilked by ship services contractor Inchcape, or ISS - News - Stripes http://www.stripes.com/news/justice-dept-navy-coast-guard-bilked-by-ship-services-contractor-1.379796

How ‘Fat Leonard’ fleeced the fleet http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/nov/14/fat-leonard-seventh-fleet/ via @sdut

The F.B.I. and Justice Department prosecutors have recommended bringing felony charges against retired Gen. David H. Petraeus for providing classified information to his former mistress while he was director of the C.I.A., officials said, leaving Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to decide whether to seek an indictment that could send the pre-eminent military officer of his generation to prison. The Justice Department investigation stems from an affair Mr. Petraeus had with Paula Broadwell, an Army Reserve officer who was writing his biography, and focuses on whether he gave her access to his C.I.A. email account and other highly classified information. F.B.I. agents discovered classified documents on her computer after Mr. Petraeus resigned from the C.I.A. in 2012 when the affair became public. Mr. Petraeus, a retired four-star general who served as commander of American forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan, has said he never provided classified information to Ms. Broadwell, and has indicated to the Justice Department that he has no interest in a plea deal that would spare him an embarrassing trial. A lawyer for Mr. Petraeus, Robert B. Barnett, said Friday he had no comment. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/10/us/politics/prosecutors-said-to-recommend-charges-against-former-gen-david-petraeus.html

Navy Commander Pleads Guilty In Massive Bribery Case. Jose Luis Sanchez entered the plea at a Tuesday hearing in San Diego federal court. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced March 27. A judge agreed to let Sanchez remove a GPS monitor while free on bond. Sanchez was accused of accepting bribes, including prostitutes and travel, for steering Navy ships to Leonard Glenn Francis, chief executive of a Singapore-based company that provided services to vessels at ports. Francis has pleaded not guilty. http://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/jan/06/navy-commander-pleads-guilty-massive-bribery-case/

Weapons, Ships and Equipment

Space Command general making changes to prep for possibility of space war - Stripes http://www.stripes.com/space-command-general-making-changes-to-prep-for-possibility-of-space-war-1.379059

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/neat-visualization-shows-which-country-has-the-most-nuk-1715140359

2015 SHIPS AND SUBMARINES OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY http://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/rtnwcm/groups/ids/documents/content/rtn_242005.pdf

Torture

Obama’s Pentagon Covers Up Bush-Era Detainee Abuse http://thebea.st/23Odcc9 via @thedailybeast

Pentagon releases photos of prison abuses in Iraq, Afghanistan http://www.stripes.com/news/pentagon-releases-photos-of-prison-abuses-in-iraq-afghanistan-1.392565

One year ago today, the Senate Intelligence Committee published a highly redacted executive summary of its investigation into the CIA’s torture and rendition program. The 525-page summary was shocking in many of its details, revealing the torture and rape of detainees held in CIA custody and encompassing treatment far in excess of even the torture techniques formally authorized by the Bush administration. The one-year anniversary of the report coincides with an increasingly dark national mood; fears of terrorism are once again on the rise. Attacks at home and abroad by the militant Islamic State group, and widespread anger and fear sparked by those attacks, have led presidential candidates to call for a renewal of extreme measures to fight terrorists. “The current environment feels very reminiscent of the days after 9/11, particularly with the terrible proposals being made,” said Beavers. “If the Senate report showing the abuses of that era ends up buried, the lessons from it simply won’t be learned. The message to future administrations will be that even the worst criminal acts can be concealed and that torture remains on the table for them as a policy option.” https://theintercept.com/2015/12/09/one-year-after-the-senate-torture-report-no-ones-read-it-and-it-might-be-destroyed/

Alvin Bernard “Buzzy” Krongard, who was the CIA’s executive director from 2001 to 2004 — the number-three position at the agency — was asked on a BBC news program if he thought waterboarding and putting a detainee in painful stress positions amounted to torture. “Well, let’s put it this way, it is meant to make him as uncomfortable as possible,” he said. “So I assume for, without getting into semantics, that’s torture. I’m comfortable with saying that.” He added: “We were told by legal authorities that we could torture people.” https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/08/05/new-campaign-rebut-torture-allegations-undermined-former-official-admits-obvious/

Torture Is Bad. So Psychologists Helped the US Redefine It. AFTER THE 9/11 attacks, the US government was willing to do anything to catch the perpetrators. “Anything” included subjecting detainees to simulated drowning, sleep deprivation, and fear-inducing tactics like letting attack dogs snarl and bark inches from their faces. To some, these tactics looked like torture. But the US doesn’t torture—so the government rewrote its definitions of torture. Not all the necessary revisions came from within, though. A new report says that the nation’s largest professional organization of psychologists colluded with government officials to make its own rules more permissive, allowing health professionals to do what had formerly been ethically off limits. The Hoffman report (so named because the principal investigator is a lawyer named David Hoffman) was commissioned by the American Psychological Association to examine a 2005 APA publication called the Psychology Ethics in National Security document (PENS). This document, voted into policy by APA leadership at the time, outlined the conditions in which a psychologist could ethically work alongside military and intelligence interrogators. Critics from within and without the APA had—since the document’s inception—suspected foul play. The Hoffman report lays those accusations bare, by showing that the APA’s head of ethics had been directly working with the military to create a back-scratching policy. http://www.wired.com/2015/07/torture-bad-psychologists-helped-us-redefine/

US torture doctors could face charges after report alleges post-9/11 'collusion' Following repeated denials that its members were complicit in Bush administration-era torture, leading group of psychologists faces a reckoning. http://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/jul/10/us-torture-doctors-psychologists-apa-prosecution

he Senate commendably passed an amendment “outlawing” torture by a wide margin on Monday, but given that torture is already against the law - both through existing US statute and by international treaty - what does that really mean? The bill, a response by lawmakers to last year’s devastating CIA torture report that exposed the agency’s rampant illegal conduct and subsequent cover-up in the years after 9/11, would force all US agencies - including the CIA, finally - to comply with the Pentagon’s rulebook on interrogations. It would also forbid any of the Pentagon’s interrogation rules from being secret and give the Red Cross access to all detainees held by the US, no matter where. One would’ve thought pre-9/11 that it would be hard to write the current law prohibiting torture any more clearly. Nothing should have allowed the Bush administration to get away with secretly interpreting laws out of existence or given the CIA authority to act with impunity. The only reason a host of current and former CIA officials aren’t already in jail is because of cowardice on the Obama administration, which refused to prosecute Bush administration officials who authorized the torture program, those who destroyed evidence of it after the fact or even those who went beyond the brutal torture techniques that the administration shamefully did authorize. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/17/torture-war-government-treats-policy-debate

Amendment Number: S.Amdt. 1889 to S.Amdt. 1463 to H.R. 1735 (Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016) Statement of Purpose: To reaffirm the prohibition on torture. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=1&vote=00209#position

CIA director George Tenet approved waterboarding and ordered medical staff to be present. Experts say the agency and its doctors violated its own limits on ‘human subject research’. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/15/cia-torture-human-experimentation-doctors

After five decades in politics, Senator Feinstein calls the Intelligence Committee’s investigation of interrogation techniques the most important work of her career. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/22/the-inside-war

BUSH WHITE HOUSE’S REPEATED TORTURE DENIALS LED CIA TORTURERS TO SEEK REPEATED REASSURANCES https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/03/02/bush-white-houses-repeated-torture-denials-led-cia-torturers-seek-repeated-reassurance/

MEET ALFREDA BIKOWSKY, THE SENIOR OFFICER AT THE CENTER OF THE CIA’S TORTURE SCANDALS https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/12/19/senior-cia-officer-center-torture-scandals-alfreda-bikowsky/

They Said ‘No’ to Torture: The Real Heroes of the Bush Years. The opposition to torture within the CIA was so strong, Mayer reports, that the CIA Inspector General, John Helgerson, “conducted a serious and influential internal investigation.” That led the Justice Department to “ask the CIA to suspend the torture program”—at least “until it could be reconciled with the law.” The heroes in the torture report include Ali Soufan, former FBI agent and interrogator of terrorists who, according to Lawrence Wright in The Looming Tower, came closer than anyone to preventing the 9/11 attacks. Soufan has argued publicly against torture and in favor of “rapport-building” as the best technique to get information from suspects. The CIA heavily censored his memoir The Black Banners in what Wright called an effort “to punish a critic and to obscure history.” He was featured in a Frontline documentary made by Martin Smith and James Gilmore. Another hero: Alberto Mora. As general counsel of the Navy in 2004, Jane Mayer reported, he tried to stop the torture program. He told his superiors at the Pentagon that the Bush torture policy violated the Geneva Conventions’ prohibition of torture and “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment.” He described the Bush program as “unlawful” and “dangerous,” and warned that the torturers could face criminal prosecution. He was featured in the documentary Taxi to the Dark Side by Alex Gibney (which won the Best Documentary Oscar in 2007). Some of the heroes were ordinary soldiers, like Sgt. Joe Darby, who first revealed the Abu Ghraib abuses. As a result,” Luban points out, he “had to live under armed protection for six months.” Others were high officials, like Philip Zelikow, an adviser to Condoleezza Rice, who, Luban reports, wrote an “anti-torture memo” that the White House “attempted to destroy.” And there was Ian Fishback, an army captain who reported that his own unit was abusing Iraqi prisoners. Eventually he wrote an open letter to Senator John McCain, asking, “Do we sacrifice our ideals in order to preserve security?” His answer: “I would rather die fighting than give up even the smallest part of the idea that is ‘America.’ ” http://www.thenation.com/blog/192873/they-said-no-torture-real-heroes-bush-years#

Imprisoned Former CIA Agent John Kiriakou Speaks About Torture, Prison, and the Future. A jailhouse interview with the man whose disclosures prompted this week’s damning torture report. http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/capitalcomment/national-security/imprisoned-former-cia-agent-john-kiriakou-speaks-about-torture-prison-and-the-future.php

CIA morale 'deeply hurt' following Senate report. The US Senate report on the CIA's interrogation methods has unleashed a fierce debate about America's intelligence services. CIA director John Brennan has defended his agency's program, in contrast to President Obama. With a reference to history, Ullman said he expects little to change in the future. "We had the attempted assassination of Fidel Castro by two administrations. We had Jack Kennedy working with the Mafia. I mean, it's absurd. But the fact of the matter is this is unfortunately the way governments operate." Bamford called it outrageous that there will apparently not be any legal consequences for the perpetrators of the murder and torture. Ullman, however, sees things differently. "They had the findings of the president, the authorization of the president, and the findings of the attorney general that this was legal," he said. "If anybody is to be prosecuted, it seems to me it should be the president." http://www.dw.de/cia-morale-deeply-hurt-following-senate-report/a-18124389

Those still searching for their moral compass after being confronted by the repulsive facts in the Senate’s report on torture should take a cue from the one man in Washington who actually knows what it is like to be beaten, humiliated, starved, and isolated — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). When the controversial report was released Tuesday, McCain broke with his own party and spoke passionately on the Senate floor in favor of the release of the report. McCain said that the use of torture, “did much harm and little practical good,” adding that it “stained our national honor.” http://news.usni.org/2014/12/12/opinion-john-mccain-senate-torture-report-revolutionary-war

FLOOR STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE REPORT ON CIA INTERROGATION METHODS http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=1a15e343-66b0-473f-b0c1-a58f984db996 http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2014/1210/Torture-John-McCain-s-unique-brutal-perspective-video

Americans are deeply divided about torture. http://theconversation.com/americans-are-deeply-divided-about-torture-35350

Who would Jesus torture? If it was conclusively proven that torture is not effective in intelligence gathering would you still torture?

Competing claims of torture effectiveness http://bigstory.ap.org/article/67fea22c39e84ce5b210347a676fa499/competing-claims-torture-effectiveness

Dianne Feinstein leaving intelligence job amid clash on tactics report. http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-feinstein-intel-20141207-story.html#page=1

Spying and Surveillance

Lisa Jones, girlfriend of undercover policeman Mark Kennedy: ‘I thought I knew him better than anyone’ She thought they were a normal couple until she found a passport in a glovebox – and then her world shattered. Now she is finally getting compensation and a police apology for that surreal, state-sponsored deception. But she still lies awake and wonders: did he ever really love me? http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/nov/20/lisa-jones-girlfriend-of-undercover-police-office-mark-kennedy-interview

U.S. surveillance hasn't thwarted large terror attacks, regardless of Snowden leaks http://interc.pt/1NBGZJK by @JennaMC_Laugh

Trevor Paglen: the artist visualizing the surveillance state The iconography and language of secret programs and landscapes of listening posts. http://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2015/09/trevor-paglen-the-artist-visualizing-the-surveillance-state/

William Binney spent more than 30 years at the National Security Agency designing programs that enabled mass surveillance of foreign terrorists. Weeks after the 9/11 attacks, Binney retired in disgust when he saw the agency using that technology to spy on every American. Since then, he has agitated for reining in unconstitutional invasions of privacy. At first he worked behind the scenes. Binney decided to go public after his actions resulted not in reform but retaliation, including being accosted at gunpoint by an FBI agent raiding his Maryland house. He began telling his story to journalists in 2011, two years before the stunning revelations of NSA contractor Edward Snowden. http://www.stripes.com/news/us/nsa-whistleblower-warns-of-surveillance-state-1.351131

Petraeus must be prosecuted. The Broadwell affair capped an ignoble history of betraying those he was sworn to serve. http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/1/david-petraeus-felonychargespaulabroadwell.html

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, STRONG ADVOCATE OF LEAK PROSECUTIONS, DEMANDS IMMUNITY FOR DAVID PETRAEUS https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/01/12/dianne-feinstein-advocate-whistleblower-prosecutions-demands-immunity-david-petraeus/

Border

Immigration

CNC Report Details Collusion Between Anti-Immigrant Groups and Immigration Agents. An important new report by the Chicago-based civil rights organization Center for New Community (CNC), released yesterday, documents collusion between the leadership of U.S. Border Patrol Unions and the organized anti-immigrant movement in the United States. The report, “Blurring Borders: Collusion between Anti-Immigrant Groups and Immigration Enforcement Agents” documents numerous examples of this collusion, and notes how extremely problematic it is when you consider the fact that Border Patrol agents are entrusted to carry out the country’s immigration policies as instructed by Congress and the Executive branch. The report reveals that the anti-immigrant movement is actively engaged in developing sources within these agencies and unions who are willing to leak data directly to them, and cultivating spokespersons from within these unions who are willing to echo their messaging and to advocate for their policy goals. One year ago today, anti-immigrant protesters in the town of Murrieta, Calif., blocked busses carrying some of the thousands of women and children who were fleeing violence in Central America. As the report notes, the activists would not have known about the busses coming to Murrieta if it were not for Border Patrol agents leaking the information to anti-immigrant leaders. http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2015/07/01/cnc-report-details-collusion-between-anti-immigrant-groups-and-immigration-agents/

Smuggling

Drug tunnel http://www.cbs8.com/story/30325229/12-tons-of-drugs-found-in-us-mexico-border-super-tunnel http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/10-tons-drugs-seized-border-tunnel-south-san-diego-n449546 http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2015/10/22/police-discover-half-mile-long-drug-tunnel-running-from-tijuana-to-san-diego/

Drone Carrying Meth Crashes Near San Ysidro Port of Entry. Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Drone-Carrying-Meth-Crashes-Near-San-Ysidro-Port-of-Entry-289353601.html

Checkpoints

I was locked up because I went to a Texas national park without my papers | Lise Ragbir http://gu.com/p/4f9nn/stw

Incidents at Border Patrol checkpoints spur complaints. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2015/01/30/teacher-legal-guns-triggers-cbp-checkpoint-incident/22634247/

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