Those tempted to write off the standoff at the Bundy Ranch as little more than a show of force by militia-minded citizens would do well to reconsider their easy dismissal of this brewing rebellion. This goes far beyond concerns about grazing rights or the tension between the state and the federal government.
Few conflicts are ever black and white, and the Bundy situation, with its abundance of gray areas, is no exception. Yet the question is not whether Cliven Bundy and his supporters are domestic terrorists, as Harry Reid claims, or patriots, or something in between. Nor is it a question of whether the Nevada rancher is illegally grazing his cattle on federal land or whether that land should rightfully belong to the government. Nor is it even a question of who’s winning the showdown— the government with its arsenal of SWAT teams, firepower and assault vehicles, or Bundy’s militia supporters with their assortment of weapons—because if such altercations end in bloodshed, everyone loses.
What we’re really faced with, and what we’ll see more of before long, is a growing dissatisfaction with the government and its heavy-handed tactics by people who are tired of being used and abused and are ready to say “enough is enough.” And it won’t matter what the issue is—whether it’s a rancher standing his ground over grazing rights, a minister jailed for holding a Bible study in his own home, or a community outraged over police shootings of unarmed citizens—these are the building blocks of a political powder keg. Now all that remains is a spark, and it need not be a very big one, to set the whole powder keg aflame.
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On Friday, April 18, President Obama voiced his righteous indignation over anti-Semitic fliers pasted on synagogue walls in the pro-Russian eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk. The fliers, calling on all Jews to register or face expulsion, had appeared the day before and were instantly denounced by Donetsk leaders as a gross provocation and a forgery.
The next day, however, Obama “expressed his disgust quite bluntly”. At least, that is what his hawkish national security advisor, Susan Rice, told the public. “I think we all found word of those pamphlets to be utterly sickening, and they have no place in the 21st century,” she declared.
This presidential reaction occurred 24 hours after the pamphlet in question had been thoroughly denounced as a fake, not only by the Donetsk leader, Denis Pushilin, who said his signature on the document had been forged, but by local Jewish community leaders and even by The New Republic, which cannot be accused of indifference to anti-Semitism.
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Eastern Ukraine is Blowback for Kiev: McAdams on Jay Taylor Show
RPI Director Daniel McAdams is back with Jay Taylor, where they discuss the Bundy ranch raid and showdown, the problems with government-held land, and they potential for real violence to break out in Nevada. They also discuss Ukraine, and how what is happening now in the eastern part of the country is in many ways blowback for US actions supporting the February coup in Kiev.
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Judge Napolitano: Hooray for Obama’s Clemency for Nonviolent Drug War Prisoners
Judge Andrew Napolitano, speaking on Fox News with Jenna Lee, explains why, “as someone who has harshly and repeatedly criticized the President,” he believes President Barack Obama “is doing the right thing” in granting clemency to potentially hundreds or thousands of people who have been incarcerated for nonviolent drug crimes.
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Ron Paul and Pat Buchanan With Charles Goyette: What a Show!
Nevada and Ukraine are on the meny when Ron Paul and Pat Buchanan join Charles Goyette in this week's podcast. What a double-header!
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Sen. Reid Ups Threats Against Bundy Ranch Protestors, Calling Them 'Domestic Terrorists'
United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is upping his threats against the protestors at the Bundy ranch. Following his ominous declaration on Monday that the US government’s confrontation with protestors at the Nevada ranch is “not over” despite the government having backed-off from its raid of the ranch, Reid is now calling the protestors “domestic terrorists.”
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Ron Paul on 'The Independents' — But Why The Blindside?
RPI Chairman Ron Paul appeared on the Fox Business program "The Independents" last night to discuss the recent standoff between a Nevada rancher and the federal government. Dr. Paul again expressed his support for people standing up to federal government abuses and noted that he was very pleased that although there were plenty of guns present on both sides, none were used. It was a small victory, he said, but he warned that federal officers may well return, because, as he put it, "authoritarians will be authoritarians" and the federal government hates to back down.
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New Apr 7:
Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN) on March 13 presented on the floor of the United States House of Representatives a brief and insightful plea against the US government “sending billions” of dollars to Ukraine and escalating US intervention to cause “some type of military confrontation.”
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