Update: pic of an impromptu rally just came in from Jerry – after the jump
Jerry Delemus went out to Nevada to stand with Cliven Bundy in confrontation with the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) over grazing land and rights for his cattle. As I wrote here, he went out and got about an hour’s sleep Saturday night (but much more last nite). He’s been “assigned” to a group of 25 to 35 others within the “unorganized militia” that is responsible for, in part, in protecting the ranch’s security and protection of the property.
He confirmed the reports that I had seen in the blogosphere of 3 – 5,000 civilians on the premises when he first arrived but that there were just a few hundred still left (still outnumbering the BLM). His report also confirmed that the BLM agents are very heavily armed, black SUVs, and a gaggle of helicopters patrolling the area. He said it was quite the scene to see what even a partial demonstration of “the full weight and might of the Federal Government” when they decide that lands they designate will be used ONLY for the purposes that they decide upon. However, the civilians standing the line are not without their own gear – most folks in full camo, desert equipment, comm gear, hand and long guns. While he is with an “unorganized militia” of folks that just showed up (“that’s ok, we had an “organization in a day” moment), more formal “irregular militias have shown up – MN, CA, TX, AZ, NV, NH and a whole lotta local folks and horse mounted cowboys.
The BLM has withdrawn to some extent, especially after one instance where BLM folks were trying to “recon” the camps only to discover that the “rabble” had out flanked and out positioned them without their knowledge – and then then the latter refused to stand down to the ensuing “barrel to barrel” stare down
Jerry said that a lot of rumors have been flying around but that a number of meetings have been going in trying to resolve the standoff. Apparent, some Constitutional Sheriffs like Sheriff Mack have arrived along with state legislators from NV and AZ. You know, this is one of the few times that Jerry has actually praised a gaggle of legislators for doing the right thing, so they must be doing exactly that – from a States’ rights / 10th Amendment standpoint. Not many of the folks out West are all that enamoured with the Federal Government, believing that it has too much authority and too much sway in the State’s “internal affairs” (sorta like what Federal Government Ambassador Jeanne Shaheen did in overriding the NH Executive Council’s vote to not fund Planned Parenthood), so this confrontation is almost that kind of a deal.
Why? While it is clear that Bundy still believes that land is his, he as absolutely obeyed each and every state regulation and paid each fee that Nevada has concerning this matter.
As I said at the top, more later.
It’s later:
