Does the BLM Have Unfinished Business?
Who Occupies The Legal And Moral High Ground?
“Nobody should lose sight of what the core issue is here,” Ford said. “We’re a nation of laws, and frankly Cliven Bundy chose not to follow them and still doesn’t.”
~Mike Ford, former BLM Nevada deputy director, as reported by the Oregonian.
It was previously noted in the article “For the federal team, losing is not an option” that, in spite of the good news of dismissing the trial with prejudice, many of the same issues remain that gave rise to the April 12, 2014 protest and the subsequent charges against the Bundys and others.
It did not take the reporter long to report on the remaining issues and that it is only a matter of time before the federal government revisits the Bundy ranch waving their court orders and proceeding with the unfinished business that was delayed due to the protests.
This time, the federal team’s strategy is to enlist the help of the local authorities under the assumption and preconceived notion that the local authorities will, of course, agree with the federal team and that there is no chance that the local authorities will side with the Bundys.
According To The Bundy’s Religion, The Constitution Is Divinely Inspired
Mr. Ford, former deputy director for the BLM in Nevada, is right, the core issue is we are a nation of laws, but he fails to state that all the laws hang on the supreme law of the land, the constitution. Mr. Ford is wrong in assuming that the laws he refers to are constitutional and assuming that Cliven is wrong because “frankly Cliven Bundy chose not to follow them and still doesn’t.”
Mr. Ford believes, as do millions of other Americans, that the BLM continues to occupy the legal and moral high ground and that the trials of the Bundys and their supporters were dismissed on technicalities and that the core issue, the trespass of the Bundy cattle, has not been resolved.
Larry Klayman, in a recent interview with Redoubt News, mentioned that he was impressed with how knowledgeable Cliven was with regard to the constitution and that within the context of Cliven’s Mormon religion, the constitution is revered as a “divinely inspired” document. Specifically, Mormon writ and scripture declare,
“According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;”
“And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.”
“Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you…in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land; And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil.”
So, a fundamental belief of the Bundys is that, because the constitution is divinely inspired, whatever is more or less than that which is contained in the constitution, is derived from evil. The Bundys believe that they, along with other adherents to the original constitution and its limits on government, are the ones who occupy the legal and moral high ground.
Because I Read Them
Jon Ritzheimer, in an interview with Redoubt News, told about how Senator Ron Paul had a reputation for voting against most of the bills that came before him. When he was asked why he was always voting against the bills being proposed, Ron Paul replied, “Because I read them.”
And Ron Paul, after reading them, understands that the thousands of laws being passed today, are more or less than what the constitution allows under its very limited and defined enumerated powers:
“This essential principle of our Constitutional Republic is being ridden roughshod over by imperial Washington, which bullies local governments into accepting its illegal and unconstitutional policies.” Ron Paul Interview by Joseph Murtagh, June 28, 2007
Judge Napolitano praised Ron Paul for his defense of the constitution in passing laws:
“There are 535 people on Capitol Hill whose job it is to write the laws that govern all of us, and he is one of them. There are 535 people on Capitol Hill whose job it is to preserve the constitution, and he is one of them. There are 535 people whose job it is to preserve our liberties, and he is one of them.” ~Andrew Napolitano, Future of Freedom Foundation, June 3, 2007
So, Mr. Ford, and the hundreds of thousands of federal employees who make up the federal team and who want to protect their turf and their job security, believe that Cliven Bundy is a criminal and an outlaw because he wants to defend and obey the constitution.
But, the federal team, including Mr. Ford, might answer with something like this,
“The BLM, federal ownership of 640 million acres of land, protection of the desert tortoise, the BLM authority to enforce its administrative orders and the BLM authority to exist, can all be traced back to acts of congress and to decisions made by the courts”, Acts which Ron Paul would not vote for because they are unconstitutional and are not part of the enumerated powers found in the constitution. As to Mr. Ford’s claim that we are a nation of laws, Ron Paul would reply,
“And the Constitution and the courts said slavery was legal, too, and we had to reverse that.”
- Fox News Sunday, 15 May 2011, quoted in Millhiser, Ian (15 May 2011)
As Ron Paul acknowledges, not even the constitution is perfect, and where it tramples on individual rights, the rights of African Americans, then it needs to be amended. But, where it promotes individual rights, it is the supreme law of the land, and all subsequent laws should have the same DNA as the original constitution.
Study Of Constitution Law Not Relevant To The Bar Exam
A law professor recommends that constitutional law not be taught to law students in preparation for the bar exam, as it is not relevant to the questions asked on the bar exam and knowledge of the constitution’s original intent will only frustrate them.
In effect, this is what Mr. Ford is saying when he said the core issue is that we are a nation of laws, laws that are multi generational offspring of other laws that no longer orbit the constitution.
Bringing The Fight Back To Bunkerville
So, we are faced with the same issues that precipitated in the April 12, 2014 protest, they have not gone away. The only thing that has gone away is the trial of Cliven, Ammon, Ryan Bundy and Ryan Payne and their unconstitutional imprisonment. The fate of other political prisoners is still not resolved.
The fate of the Bundy ranch and the fate of the Bundy cattle are still not settled according to the article cited above. What is settled is that local authorities, like Sheriff Dave Ward in Burns, Oregon and Sheriff Joe Lombardo in Clark County, Nevada, are more likely to recognize the unconstitutional authority of the federal government, as opposed to the deeded rights, the prescriptive rights, and the constitutional rights of the Bundys in Clark County.
Sheriff Lombardo and his deputies, under pressure from the powerful landlords who rule 85% of Nevada, will probably capitulate and do their bidding, without ever studying or understanding the supreme law of the land and their oath of office.
All those who violate their oaths of office and do not uphold and defend the constitution, do not occupy the moral and legal high ground and are perpetuating the evil that comes from supporting massive, powerful, centralized and unconstitutional federal bureaucracies like the BLM.
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