One of the sustaining myths out here in the rural west is "I work damn hard, constantly, so all my success is due to my hard work." This is, of course, a very self-flattering myth and thus very appealing. After all, most ranchers do work damn hard.
The fact is that most homesteaders in the same areas worked much harder, lived on a much smaller real income, failed in spite of backbreaking toil, and had to move away because the land would not support them no matter how hard they worked. The successful homesteaders usually succeeded because they got onto the right parcel of land, bought out their failing neighbors for a song, and hung on by their fingernails until WWI brought a commodities boom. Even then, they barely survived until the federal government programs of the New Deal put the local economies on a more stable footing.
― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Wednesday, 6 January 2016 20:25 (eight years ago) link
after he retired he still goes to these meetings to yell back at these guys.
I love this
― sleeve, Wednesday, 6 January 2016 20:46 (eight years ago) link
local native tribe says "get the hell out"
Burns tribe says armed activists 'desecrating' Oregon land
― sleeve, Wednesday, 6 January 2016 20:55 (eight years ago) link
<3
― big Mahats (mattresslessness), Wednesday, 6 January 2016 21:02 (eight years ago) link
OK so these Hammond guys aren't so great either
(trigger warning: descriptions of child abuse)
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/01/04/3735722/meet-the-child-abusing-arsonists-at-the-center-of-the-oregon-militia-standoff/
― sleeve, Wednesday, 6 January 2016 23:03 (eight years ago) link
"I work damn hard, constantly, so all my success is due to my hard work."
one of the sustaining myths of capitalism even
― mookieproof, Thursday, 7 January 2016 00:24 (eight years ago) link
Yup
― lute bro (brimstead), Thursday, 7 January 2016 01:05 (eight years ago) link
Colin Meloy of the Decembrists has been tweeting erotic fan fiction about the Malheur standoff.
@colinmeloy"Jason pressed Jed against a rack of "Birds of Oregon" books; his breath was sweet with jerky. Somewhere, an egret cried" #bundyeroticfanfic
― sleeve, Thursday, 7 January 2016 01:53 (eight years ago) link
Apologies if this has already been linked, but this is a good 'splainer: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/upshot/why-the-government-owns-so-much-land-in-the-west.html.
Among other things, it notes that the ranchers couldn't afford to buy the land, and it would cost states too much to administer it, so it would be tricky for the feds to dispose of even if they wanted to.
― something totally new, it’s the AOR of the twenty first century (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 7 January 2016 03:23 (eight years ago) link
that's a very strange notion, since, you know, the government itself is setting the price for the land. either it isn't priced to market or it's implied that other parties (but not the ranchers) would be able to buy the land.
― Sharkie, Thursday, 7 January 2016 03:49 (eight years ago) link
When Astroturf Patsies Go Rogue lol
― Agents, show the general out. (Bananaman Begins), Thursday, 7 January 2016 11:00 (eight years ago) link
If the federal government were to divest itself of federal lands directly to private ownership, they would sell it in such enormous parcels that only banks, insurance companies, hedge funds, or pension funds could afford to bid on them. These owners would, in their turn, go about maximizing their profits on those lands as they saw fit. Handing them over to ranchers at bargain prices seems like the most unlikely outcome of all. More likely the new owners would just put up no trespassing signs and sit on their investment, if it didn't yield an immediate 30% profit.
That's why the Bundy types want the lands turned over to the local counties. Lots of these counties are very sparsely populated, so it would be relatively easy to capture county government with just a small amount of horse-trading, back-scratching, and a healthy dose of voter intimidation whenever needed. Just the way the KKK worked in the Jim Crow south.
― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Thursday, 7 January 2016 18:12 (eight years ago) link
Is this a really dull story? Feels like one.
― everything, Thursday, 7 January 2016 19:27 (eight years ago) link
you're bored of it, congratulations
― big Mahats (mattresslessness), Thursday, 7 January 2016 19:29 (eight years ago) link
http://usuncut.com/news/oregon-standoff-member-caught-drinking-donation-money/
― sleeve, Thursday, 7 January 2016 23:18 (eight years ago) link
xpost, well I'll keep checking in case someone posts a link to an article summarizing the situation! Can't wait.
― everything, Thursday, 7 January 2016 23:44 (eight years ago) link
That summary could be pretty long, since there are a lot of facets to the story.
― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Thursday, 7 January 2016 23:47 (eight years ago) link
http://www.vox.com/2016/1/3/10703712/oregon-militia-standoff
― schwantz, Thursday, 7 January 2016 23:58 (eight years ago) link
so good http://gawker.com/we-sent-the-oregon-militia-idiots-a-care-package-1751223009
― big WHOIS aka the nameserver (s.clover), Friday, 8 January 2016 01:15 (eight years ago) link
That Vox summary had the look and feel of something tossed together in about an hour. Its facts were factual enough, but woefully insufficient to arrive at any understanding of the situation at all. It didn't even connect the few facts it contained in a particularly coherent sequence.
― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Friday, 8 January 2016 01:43 (eight years ago) link
yup
Who is Vox Media writing for?
― sleeve, Friday, 8 January 2016 02:32 (eight years ago) link
Oh. An ironic link, then?
― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Friday, 8 January 2016 02:33 (eight years ago) link
nah I think the link was in good faith but I agree w/your critique
I found that thread pretty interesting in and of itself, they only got on my radar recently
― sleeve, Friday, 8 January 2016 02:34 (eight years ago) link
Vox thread, that is
xxp thx Aimless, useful explanation
― Sharkie, Friday, 8 January 2016 13:16 (eight years ago) link
tensions w/local increasing
http://thelapine.ca/79-year-old-bird-watcher-takes-down-oregon-militant-with-old-high-school-wrestling-move/
― sleeve, Monday, 11 January 2016 04:15 (eight years ago) link
localS
“We’re hoping this is an isolated incident and we’re asking the elderly not to knock any more militants on their ass,” said the grinning FBI agent.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Monday, 11 January 2016 04:28 (eight years ago) link
that is a 'satirical' website, isn't it?
― soref, Monday, 11 January 2016 04:34 (eight years ago) link
god damn it, yes I think so. sorry.
― sleeve, Monday, 11 January 2016 04:38 (eight years ago) link
here's some better links that are real:
http://usuncut.com/news/oregon-militia-descends-into-fist-fights-chaos/
http://www.hcn.org/articles/im-not-so-different-from-the-bundys-heres-what-id-like-to-say-to-them
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/01/oregon-malheur-standoff-militia-ammon-cliven-bundy/
― sleeve, Monday, 11 January 2016 04:40 (eight years ago) link
and this one, which illustrates the frustration of the locals:
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/pissed-as-hell-rancher-blows-up-at-bundy-militants-im-not-going-let-some-other-people-be-my-face/
― sleeve, Monday, 11 January 2016 04:41 (eight years ago) link
Militants say they'll reveal exit plan Friday
― sleeve, Tuesday, 12 January 2016 22:05 (eight years ago) link
Cue post of finale to The Wild Bunch
― Noodle Vague, Tuesday, 12 January 2016 22:15 (eight years ago) link
If they say anything they haven't already said, I'd be surprised. This is more likely to be just another excuse for grandstanding in front of the media.
― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Tuesday, 12 January 2016 22:45 (eight years ago) link
sick of these idiots. let them have the outpost, keep the roads blocked and the power & water off and just wait it out. eventually they'll exit the standoff and enter custody.
― if pizza is wrong, i don't want to be right (art), Tuesday, 12 January 2016 22:51 (eight years ago) link
hope to some day see a play based on this with some brokeback mountain types cast
― big Mahats (mattresslessness), Tuesday, 12 January 2016 22:59 (eight years ago) link
yessss
― sleeve, Tuesday, 12 January 2016 22:59 (eight years ago) link
script by Colin Meloy
― sleeve, Tuesday, 12 January 2016 23:00 (eight years ago) link
"yokel haram" is a good name if that hasn't been mentioned yet
― big WHOIS aka the nameserver (s.clover), Wednesday, 13 January 2016 02:35 (eight years ago) link
they brought in a "judge"
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/oregon-militiamen-prepare-for-grand-jury-against-local-officials
― goole, Wednesday, 13 January 2016 17:01 (eight years ago) link
how long wld these guys persist if they didn't get so much press i wonder
― art, Wednesday, 13 January 2016 17:17 (eight years ago) link
but also how did they get this guy in i thought somebody was preventing movement in/out
― art, Wednesday, 13 January 2016 17:18 (eight years ago) link
lol a fake judge, that's adorable
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 13 January 2016 17:20 (eight years ago) link
the roads to the wildlife refuge are still open to anyone coming or going. if those guys had any money, they could order a dozen pizzas every night to be delivered.
― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Wednesday, 13 January 2016 17:26 (eight years ago) link
U.S. Superior Court Judge Bruce Doucette (not a real judge)
please god let that be his title in full
― this album is just called "lodger" not "the lodger" (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 13 January 2016 17:49 (eight years ago) link
some day history will remember these brave men that took off work and say in a powerless cabin drinking beer for a few weeks.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Wednesday, 13 January 2016 17:53 (eight years ago) link
we are witness to history
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/jon-ritzheimer-militia-care-package--4
― goole, Wednesday, 13 January 2016 18:28 (eight years ago) link
“We’re not going to be deterred, we’re not going to let your junk and hate mail sidetrack us”
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Wednesday, 13 January 2016 18:30 (eight years ago) link
some day history will remember these brave men who got a bunch of free gifts from strangers and threw them on the floor.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Wednesday, 13 January 2016 18:33 (eight years ago) link