The Battle over Public Lands

The first 40+ days of 2016, we watched the Bundy Gang invade Burns Oregon and occupy the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Today, the Bundys and 20 others are retained in Portland, awaiting trial. Others may be indicted in this fiasco. One man is dead.

Malheur was just another of the battles over our public lands. Today (Feb 25, 2016) bills are being introduced at the national level to give America's public lands back to the states, so that the states can do anything they want with them — like sell to raise money, or open the lands for uncontrolled mining and logging. This would be a disaster.

Cammo and plaid cowboys are agitated by various rabble-rousers to rise up against the Overreach of the Federal Government, using invented concepts like constitutional sheriffs.

This blog entry is my attempt to make sense out of what's going on. I'm not chronicling all the events, but collecting key events and players, issues, and images. It's a work in progress. It's a waste of time, but it is a fascinating learning experience.

JM - August 18, 2016

• The Curious Pocket Constitution
• The Pocket Constitution is an Attention Getting Device
• W. Cleon Skousen and the NCCS
• Paul B. Skousen, and a new edition of the Pock Con
• Richard Mack and the Constitutional Sheriffs
• KrisAnne Hall, Constitutional Mystic
• Michele Fione
• Matt Shea
• The Bundys
• LaVoy Finicum
• ALC and ALEC
• Utah Public Lands Initiative
• The Tea Party
• Sovereign Citizens
• States Rights & Nullification
• The Fringe
• Public Lands
• Harney County Committee of Safety (HCCOS)
• The #OregonStandoff at Malheur
• Coalition of Western States (CoWS)
• Entertainment
• Memorable Images...
• How You Can Help...

The Curious Pocket Constitution

Are you curious about a 'Pocket Constitution' you've read about being carried by Cliven Bundy, Ammo Bundy, Jon Ritzheimer, and others? The PockCon is produced by NCCS - National Center for Constitutional Studies. More on NCCS later.

• You can order a the NCCS reproduction of the COTUS for $1, via this [FORM]
  You'll need to register your name, email and USPS addresses, and e-transfer $1 to NCCS.
• You can send a business-size SASE, with 71¢ postage to: [NCCS / 37777 W Juniper Rd / Malta ID 83342]. NCCS will return your Free Pocket Constitution, in ~3 weeks.

---

• You can download a scan of a copy given to OSU Professor Peter Walker by LaVoy Finicum [17 MB PDF]
• You can download the front matter only, where signed by LaVoy Finicum [3.5 MB PDF]
• You can download the last page and back cover only [770 KB PDF]

Peter Walker explains the autograph on his copy: When I talked with Finicum I asked him about his book* (which is a creepy and scary novel — post-apocalyptic, guns-and-blood, and comes to a very violent conclusion) and whether he saw the occupation as something similar. He dodged the question. Then I joked that I should have brought my copy of his novel for him to autograph. He seemed to like that idea, so he told Jason Patrick (who was standing there) to give him a copy of the pocket constitution, which he signed for me and said, Anyway this (the constitution) is a better book. On that one point, I agreed!

*Only by Blood and Suffering: Regaining Lost Freedom, by LaVoy Finicum [Amazon].

The Pocket Constitution is an Attention Getting Device

The Pocket Constitution contains ~4 pages of front matter — selected quotes from the Founding Fathers, some of which allude to Providence and the almighty guiding the creation of the Constitution, and so on. Otherwise, the NCCS pamphlet is no different than others you can find on the internet. This [PDF] from constitutionbooklet.com, doesn't give the dates of each amendments with a footnote. The NCCS version does.

The Pocket Constitution has no added oddball footnotes, or any interpretation of the Articles. We've heard that the Federal Government is not allowed to own any property outside of Washington DC except forts and ports (only by consent of that state), and that Constitutional Sheriffs are the highest ranking Law Enforcement Officers in the land, the existence of Common Law, Natural Law, and so on. Where do those notions come from? Evidently from The 5000 Year Leap, and The Making of America. More on that below.

There being nothing radical or special (other than selected founding father quotes), the Pocket Constitution is nonetheless carried like a bible, gun, or flag to wave, while spouting various creeds, principles, rhetoric, and fighting words in the war on the big bad federal government. The bully answer is always in the constitution, as interpreted by free men who don't wanna be slaves. The Declaration of Independence is the frosting on their Constitutional FruitCake.

Profile: W. Cleon Skousen and the NCCS

Read more in This Mormon pseudo-historian is why the Oregon militants are so confused about the Constitution on [RAW STORY]. Snippets below:

• The National Center for Constitutional Studies, which Skousen founded in Idaho, sells copies of the annotated Constitution at 35 cents each — and the low cost has appealed to some school districts in Florida, which were forced to apologize in 2013 after distributing them to students.
• Bundy gets the pamphlets from a wealthy friend who buys them by the million and gives them away.
• Now Skousen's (other) teachings are inspiring a rogue band of armed militants who believe, like the Koch brothers and other industrialists, that federally owned land should be looted and pillaged without any government oversight.

Paul B. Skousen, and a new edition of the Pock Con

More about Skousen's NCCS pamphlet

John Ritzheimer holds up the pamphlet at around 5:00 minutes in his emotional [YouTube video].

Skousen's book: The 5000 Year Leap

[Wikipedia] lists the 28 fundamental principles contained in the The 5000 Year Leap. The wikipedia article is weak, relying on a single source. I cite it here for the list it has. Not all of the principles are bad! But we see the basis for the Tea Party, patriots, oath keepers, and so on:

• Natural Law
• sovereign authority
• free market economy and minimum of government regulations,
• strong local self-government
• manifest destiny to be an example and a blessing to the entire human race.

These things are not explicitly written into the COTUS, so a narrative is supplied that does that, twisting the COTUS beyond recognition.

Skousen's book: The Making of America

Published 1985, second edition 1986, Nearly 900 pages! [Current version?] [Give overall structure.]

The Making of America has 286 principles! The COTUS is interpreted clause by clause forming principles 1-214. The Amendments (1st-26th) are interpreted into principles 215-286. Amendment #1, 4, and 5 each spawn four or five principles.

To be continued.. Just picked up the book at Powell's on 2/22/16.

Profile: Richard Mack and the Constitutional Sheriffs

Here is Richard Mack in Burns on February 12, 2016. He gave a lecture, How Sheriffs and Local Officials Can Restore Liberty, and talked about his book (below). He's scheduled to come back, as is KrisAnne Hall, and other COWS members, reportedly to attempt to replace local officials, and perhaps Sheriff Dave Ward, and create a full-fledged constitutional county. See Hall and COWS below.

The pamphlet, The County Sheriff: America's Last Hope, by Sheriff Richard Mack in 2009, is available on [Amazon]. Mack's pamphlet has been sent to all 3,144 county sheriff offices in the USA.

Here's the 'Hook' that Mack has come up with:

1. Sheriffs, police, et al, all take an oath to uphold the constitution.
2. The US Constitution is not being followed today as was intended.
3. The Federal Government (Obama) is overreaching its authority by considering gun control, and by managing (even owning) public land.
4. Therefore, it's up to the sheriffs and police officers not to enforce any federal laws that are 'unconstitutional'.
5. Furthermore, Sheriffs can eject federal USFS rangers and FBI marshalls — arrest anyone they think is violating the constitution.

That might not be bad, except for the Mystical interpretations of the constitution, provided by Cleon Skousen and a cast of living characters, notably KrisAnne Hall profiled below. Also, it's very odd — federal LEO also take the same such oaths!

Sheriff Richard Mack Quote: We will take America back, Sheriff by Sheriff, County by County, State by State.

The Constitutional Sheriff and Police Officer Association

Developing the story, theory, narrative here... Originally Richard Mack got his power from winning a case against implementing unfunded background checks for gun purchases. He founded CSPOA, which has now expanded to fighting perceived federal overreach, mainly over public lands (USFS, BLM, ...), and other so-called over-reach of federal government (eg Pasteurized Milk).

Originally (2013) Fifteen state sheriff associations and ~500 county sheriffs supposedly supported their Mission to take back America. On 3/6/16, CSPOA.org showed only the Utah Sheriffs Association and 59 Sheriffs, including 12 from Oregon, but the list looked broken. CSPOA staff indicated the site had been 'compromised'. On 3/24/16, a totally new site appeared, with NO sheriffs publicly listed. It now offers a private membership for $50/year. (Why private!?) The fee is supposedly to fund a conference, and other services. CSPOA is basically reduced to a shopping site for Mack's books, a DVD, and a shirt.

Scary Footnote: Previously, Sheriffs didn't need to explicitly 'join' CSPOA, many were merely nominated by some 'member'. That member may have spoken with the sheriff, or have spotted a memo by the sheriff, or the sheriff may have just taken some action that they favored. Nominations came in as comments and were approved by an Admin. This is how they built up their phony list! Further, 'Bad' sheriffs were nominated for their 'Red Coat' list.

Imagine a sheriff who discovered himself/herself on CSPOA list but didn't want to be. S/he could complain, but that would land him/her on the Red Coat list! It was like the NRA, issuing a failing report card for a naughty lawmaker. Instead, CSPOA downgraded Law Enforcement Officers for not being 'constitutional'. That was insidious.

Status: As of 3/24/2016, keeping an eye on it. The new website will probably be fleshed out over time. Anyway, the public list of constitutional sheriffs are gone. Unknown who may have access to such a list.

References and Further Reading

• The Rise of the Constitutional Sheriffs
  Read about Sovereign Citizens, Constitutional Sheriffs, and more in High Country News. [HCN]
• Piute County Sheriff threatens arrest of Forest Service personnel
  This a current story, Feb 23, 2016. Read the comments behind it to see how pervasive this misunderstanding has become due to this 'constitutional' movement, and FOX News. [fox13now]
• Regarding above story - see Piute County web site on [UTAH.GOV]
• On Wikipedia: [County_(United_States)]
• Sheriff Richard Mack on [SheriffMack.com]
• About Sheriff Mack on [LINK]
• Growing List Of Sheriffs Saying 'No' To Obama Gun Control
  Oops! That page can't be found (~3/23/16).
• The CSPOA Mission: In short, the CSPOA will be the army to set our nation free. [LINK]
• Sheriff Joe Arpaio: I'm Not Confiscating Guns [FOXNEWS]
• Note: Joe Arpaio was previously listed on CPSPOA for his public objection to gun control, citing his oath to protect his constituent's constitutional rights. Here's Joe on Wikipedia: [LINK]

Profile: KrisAnne Hall, Constitutional Mystic

Let's talk about KrisAnne Hall. She is one angry woman. She lectures fringe groups about her special theory of constitutionality. She injected herself into the negotiations with Final Four holdouts of the Malheur #standoff, blathering on about Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17, telling David Fry he was a coward, edging him toward suicide.

Listen and watch (as much as you can handle). This same video has been titled differently and posted several times on YouTube. Each version has a separate thread of angry comments. The first one is on her own YouTube channel.

• [YouTube] What's Really Going on in Oregon! Taking Back the Narrative
• [YouTube] It's Not About The Hammonds
• [YouTube] Bundy Ranch - Confused? A Constitutional Attorney NAILS IT

Here are two articles explaining what is wrong with Hall's narrative.

1. KrisAnne Hall's rant about Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17 is without merit
   This is a very simple, easy to follow, direct refutation of each of the errors in KrisAnne Halls discussion:
   [SNOPES]
2. Federal Ownership of Land in Oregon and Other States West of the Mississippi
   Susan Lea Smith, Professor of Law Willamette University, January 22, 2016.
   This paper goes through the history of Public Lands and how the federal government is over all of them, rather than individual states. [PDF]
3. Ted Cruz, Clive Bundy, and Ownership of Public Land in the West
   The article contains the quote: there is nothing remotely illegitimate, unconstitutional, or improper about the fact that the Federal government owns and manages a great deal of public land in the West.
   [LINK]

See below for more general articles and links. I'm not sure where Hall's material or money comes from. Definitely Skousen's The Making of America, or some derivative work(s). I'm working on that. Her supporters think she is absolutely right, and won't even look at anything to the contrary.

Hall's Website: [KrisAnneHall.com]

Hall's Facebook page: [LINK]

Profile: Michele Fione

Michele Fione is currently a Assembly woman from Nevada. Running for congress? Michele put on a celebratory BBQ for the Bundy Standoff crew in Nevada (2014). After the Bundy Boys were busted, she pushed Cliven Bundy to travel to Portland. Michele swooped into Malheur and talked three holdouts into giving themselves up. She tried to persuade David Fry, but over-mothered him.

Letter to Oregonian Editors from Craig Dewey Vancouver, Washington; Michele Fiore and Malheur: If a bunch of armed yahoos broke into Michele Fiore's house, slept in her bed, ate her groceries, rifled through personal papers in her desk, rummaged through her family heirlooms, accessed her computers, drove her cars around, tore down her fence and dug up her yard with a backhoe, would she say they were exercising their right to political free speech when she called the police on them?

Photo above is from her all-gun 2016 Calendar.

Fiore: Oregon occupiers were campers who were victimized by government, interview by [Las Vegas Sun]

Fiore: Gun-Toting, Bundy-Defending Nevada GOPer Loses Congressional Race - June 15, 2016 [Talking Points Memo]

Michele Fiore's Website: [Vote Fiore]

Profile: Matt Shea

What is Matt Shea's agenda? thesheareport.com website is kaput. On December 19, 2019, he was accused of domestic terrorism in a report released by the Washington State House of Representatives.

Matt Shea on Wikipedia [LINK]

Profile: The Bundys

• Before white man came, so to speak, there was nothing to keep cattle from tromping on those things.
• We also recognize that the Native Americans had the claim to the land, but they lost that claim. There are things to learn from cultures of the past, but the current culture is the most important.
• People interested in archeology are welcome to explore the refuge, but cattle ranchers and loggers should have priority when it comes to land use.
• She's not here working for the people. She's not benefiting America. She's part of what's destroying America. (On the Carp Lady, see I Stand with Linda Sue Beck on this page.)

Cliven Bundy, on the Pocket Constitution: It's something I've always shared with everybody and I carry it with me all the time. That's where I get most of my information from. What we're trying to do is teach the true principles of the proper form of government.

Bundy Ranch on Facebook [LINK]

Profile: LaVoy Finicum

LaVoy Finicum: We're saying, federal government, you do not rule with impunity. You get your fish and game and wildlife out of here.... We will not stand by and let this travesty go on.

LaVoy Finicum: I have no intention of spending any of my days in a concrete box.

LaVoy Finicum Was Not Murdered. He Forced Oregon Police To Shoot Him
A frame-by-frame analysis posted on Bearing Arms website. I have read since then that the agent behind Finicum reportedly held a taser.
[LINK]

The Relationship of Mormon Religion to the Martyrdom of LaVoy Finicum
Investigative report by Prof Tony Hall uses phrases like the Federal Assassination of Roy Finicum, and Ambush Highway. Not a very good article.
[LINK]

Profile: ALC and ALEC

ALC == American Lands Council.
ALEC == American Legislative Exchange Council.

It's Not Just Militia Members Who Want to Take Over Federal Land
Republicans are latching onto this man's crusade to claim millions of acres in the West.
By Stephanie Mencimer | November/December 2015 issue of Mother Jones
[LINK]

No, federal land transfers are not in the Constitution
Legal scholars debunk arguments about how founding documents support local control of all lands. Bryce Gray Feb. 4, 2016.
[HCN.org]

The Koch Brothers Are Now Funding The Bundy Land Seizure Agenda
The political network of the conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch signaled last week that it is expanding its financial and organizational support for a coalition of anti-government activists and militants who are working to seize and sell America’s national forests, monuments, and other public lands.
[LINK]

Oregon Takeover Update: The Plot Thickens
ALEC and the Koch brothers pulling strings behind the Malheur takeover
[LINK]

American Lands Council. Ken Ivory is perhaps no longer with ALC? [ALC]

American Legislative Exchange Council clones and drafts legislation for all kinds for mischief. [ALEC.org]

Profile: Utah Public Lands Initiative

As described on Rob Bishop's U.S. House web page.
[LINK]

Profile: The Tea Party

Constitutional Boot Camp sez: The Tea Party takes seriously the possibility of amending the Constitution. Tea Partiers have rallied around various proposed changes to the Constitution, transforming ideas that had previously only been discussed in isolated conservative circles into issues for public debate. Critics see this as hypocritical. Why would a movement that claims to revere the sanctity of the text of the Constitution and the stability provided by unchanging constitutional principles be so enthusiastic about rewriting certain parts of the document? The self-proclaimed party of conservatism has become a constitutional graffiti movement... [LINK]

The Tea Party Home Page [LINK]

Profile: Sovereign Citizens

Have you heard about: Freemen, Redemption, Committees of Safety, Admiralty Law, Common Law, Common-law Courts, Common-law Grand Juries, Common-law judges? Check the 'Dictionary Of The Peculiar' below.

27 States Act Against Antigovernment Movement’s Common Law Courts
The 'common-law courts' have been the most radical and active part of the antigovernment Patriot movement for the past three years, making threats and issuing dangerous false legal documents.
Southern Poverty Law Center [LINK]

Sovereign Citizens Movement
The strange subculture of the sovereign citizens movement, whose adherents hold truly bizarre, complex antigovernment beliefs, has been growing at a fast pace since the late 2000s. Sovereigns believe that they get to decide which laws to obey and which to ignore, and they don't think they should have to pay taxes. YOU WILL NOT BLEEVE THIS.
Southern Poverty Law Center [LINK]

The Sovereigns: A Dictionary Of The Peculiar
Southern Poverty Law Center [LINK]

The Crackpot Alternative Legal System That Threatens To Escalate The Oregon Standoff
[LINK]

Profile: States Rights & Nullification

'States Rights' in these circles is the notion that individual states determine most everything that happens within their border. That may sound fine, but rivers, air, commerce, crime, and many other things cross state boundaries. Sewage flows downstream so to speak. And Public Lands are best kept in America's hands, not sold off or exploited. States need to work together to manage these lands consistently and wisely.

Book: A Less Perfect Union: The Case for States' Rights
Adam Freedman, June 30, 2015.

Profile: The Fringe

• [III%-ers]
• [Oath Keepers]
• [Growing anti-government movement]
• [Historical, Posse comitatus]

Further research left to the reader: The State of Deseret, How Mormonism relates to any of this. (Many of the key players are Mormon.) How Tea Party relates.

Citizens for Constitutional Freedom — mainly a collection of links put together prior the occupation. Defunct? [CFCF.us]

Profile: Public Lands

Public Lands.. How did all that land end up under federal ownership? Through a variety of methods, including war, purchase, treaties with other nations, and outright seizure from the Native Americans. It began with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and continued through the Oregon Treaty of 1846, the Mexican Cession under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, and 1867 purchase of Alaska, along with the 19th century wars against the Native Americans.

Malheur occupation is over, but the war for America's public lands rages on
Peter Walker, Professor of Geography, Oregon State U, February 19, 2016.
[LINK].

Federal Land Ownership: Constitutional Authority and the History of Acquisition, Disposal, and Retention
Kristina Alexander, Legislative Attorney American Law Division; Ross W. Gorte, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy Resources, Science, and Industry Division; December 3, 2007.
[PDF]

Counties Turn To Little-Known Policy To Boost Say In Federal Land Management
Amanda Peacher, OPB | April 4, 2016
Counties across Oregon are turning toward a little-known federal policy as a means to have more say in how federal lands in their backyards are managed.
[OPB]

There is a Facebook group: Public Land Management Issues, in which Woody says: The Pacific Northwest Region (Region 6) of the US Forest Service contains 17 National Forests, two National Scenic Areas, a National Grassland, and two National Volcanic Monuments, all within the States of Oregon and Washington. These national forests provide timber for people, forage for cattle and wildlife, habitat for fish, plants, and animals, and some of the finest recreation lands in the country.

Profile: Harney County Committee of Safety (HCCOS)

Committee of Safety: A governmental body established by the people in the absence of the ability of the existing government to provide for the needs and protection of civilized society. [HCCOS]

Unfortunately, the HCCOS links to faulty analysis of The COTUS on Federal Land Ownership. Someone should challenge them on this. [LINK]

Further Reading

Harney County Committee Of Safety Asks Occupiers To Leave (1/9/16)
[OPB]

What Harney County safety committee wants (OPINION)
By the Harney County Committee of Safety [LINK]

Committees of Protection, Correspondence and Safety of the various States United under and by the Constitution for the United States of America
The nntional organization, wherein the Pre-revolution 'Broadside' message seems to be equated with the COTUS... [LINK]

Anti-Refuge Occupation Organizers Raise More Than $130K
[OPB]

Coalition of Western States (CoWS)

Coalition of Western States
The Coalition of Western States represents (so they say) over 50 legislators, elected delegates and grassroots leaders predominantly in the Western United States dedicated to stopping Government overreach.
[COWS BLOG]

Michele Fiore, KrisAnne Hall, and Gavin Seim are fellow Coalition of Western States members. Hall is a self-described Constitutional scholar. Seim is a former Washington Congressional candidate who serves as COWS' social media coordinator.

GOP Politicians Planned And Participated In Key Aspects Of Refuge Occupation
by John Sepulvado OPB | March 16, 2016 11:45 a.m
[OPB]

County Cattlemen call wilderness 'land of no use'
An Anti-wilderness billboard on US 395 at Arden, Washington is sponsored by the Stevens County Cattlemen's Association.
[LINK]

Entertainment

Gov. Chris Christie's Older Brother, Sumo Challenge
Kelly, (a real Sumo wrestler), challenges the governor (not his brother) to ten Sumo matches. If Gov. Christie wins just one bout, Kelly says the Oregon occupation will disperse. Theater Of The Absurd, on [YouTube]
Joseph Rose does an amusing writeup of it on [OregonLive].

Oregon Militia Leader Goes Berserk Over Mailed-In Dildos
Video of Ritzcracker shoving snacks and dildos off a table. 1¾ min.
[YouTube]

Oregon Standoff - CHRISTIANS THE BATTLE TRUMPET HAS BEEN SOUNDED
Share update Burns Oregon! Christians the battle trumpet has been sounded time to rise! Call to action send in the troops to stand with us in Burns Oregon! 1 min.
[YouTube]

Shana Cox's $666,666,666,666.66 claim for your reading enjoyment. It's a hoot!
[LINK]

Memorable Images...

Each of these images should be attributed to the photographer.

This page compiled by an Ordinary Citizen in Portland, Oregon, USA.