The Bundys are at it again.

[Muffin]

@enipla

Send in a group of little old ladies to re-open the visitor center and ignore these guys. Except for free coffee and information brochures of course.

You want to see tough? Send in the grandmothers.

That’s actually worth trying.

[rat_avatar]

Wow even Sean Hannity, one of the patron saints of wackadoodlism has denounced their actions.

Opinion | Sean Hannity disses actions of Bundy sons in Oregon

[not_what_you_d_expect]

@Steve_MB

One member of Bubba Haram posted a melodramatic goodbye-cruel-world video along those lines.

Oh this is just too funny! What a fucking melodramatic tool.

[simster]

@enipla

Send in a group of little old ladies to re-open the visitor center and ignore these guys. Except for free coffee and information brochures of course.

You want to see tough? Send in the grandmothers.

Hell’s Grannies

[Equipoise]

@D_Anconia

Many of the posters here aren’t taxpayers, though.

Oh, sorry I didn’t specify “…belong to the taxpayers (those from outside the United States who pay no taxes to the United States government excluded, but you’re welcome to come visit the reserve and use the Visitor’s Center too as soon as the yahoos vacate and we fumigate the place).”

[Fubaya]

@Enginerd

I can’t speak to the impact on birds, but cattle grazing is extremely damaging from the perspective of stream ecology. In the desert, animals gather around water sources. Cattle trample the native riparian vegetation, destabilizing slopes and leading to incised streams that move water much more quickly than natural channels. Changes in water velocity, sediment load, temperature, etc. are quickly seen in the benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) community that occupies the streams. The BMI community is a fundamental part of the aquatic food web, and the ecological changes can cascade from there. Malheur Lake is awfully big and is probably pretty resilient, but the streams running into and out of it are very susceptible to damage.

Worse than the changes, though, is the fact that it’s so difficult to undo them. It’s easy to straighten a meandering stream; it’s an expensive, multi-year project to return a straightened channel to a (more) natural condition.

I read something from someone in the area who says they have a lot of cattle (Cliven Bundy had 900 when his fiasco went down) and the cows shit everywhere. If they don’t shit in the water, it gets washed away with snow and rain and ends up there anyway and kills everything. They were pissed because the militants claim to love the land but their herds just destroy it wherever they go.

@Fear_Itself

With umbrellas?

And bibles (youtube link)

[Colibri]

@D_Anconia

Many of the posters here aren’t taxpayers, though.

Actually, they don’t belong just to taxpayers, they belong to all US citizens.

And I would bet that a majority of the posters here pay some federal taxes.

And you’re another tool and an asshole.

[dropzone]

@Miller

Hang on. You’re a hard-core, “all taxes are theft” libertarian who uses the phrase “War of Northern Aggression” unironically.

By what possible measure are you “normal folk?”

Another +1 for Miller.

@AngelSoft

Well, that was never really up for debate lol But I’m still curious where it came from on this cause it seemed like not at all connected.

You’re right, of course. It’s only racist jerks like your dad who can connect the dots, and then only into the picture they want to see.

@Euphonious_Polemic

Indeed. How many duck hunters are there in the USA? Someone needs to tell them that Bundy and his pack of inbred dick-holes are trying to steal the public land that supports duck habitat.

Has Ducks Unlimited declared war yet? I think we have states with smaller populations.

[Colibri]

@TroutMan

And I know it’s not the place for a serious question, but I’m too lazy to open another thread and since Colibri’s already here…

What is the ecological risk of waiting them out until they give up?

At the moment, the risk for birds is not severe, because it’s midwinter. Malheur is most important as a stopover site for migrants during the fall and spring, and as a breeding area in the summer.

From Google Earth, it looks like there are about a dozen buildings at the refuge headquarters. Besides the Visitor Center, I imagine it includes admin buildings, maybe staff quarters, maintenance, garages, etc. Most of the refuge appears to be accessible by alternate roads that do not go near the headquarters.

I don’t know how much management is done at the reserve during the year. Possibly work needs to be done to manage water levels in breeding areas and so forth. The occupation would probably interfere with that if it prevents access to equipment.

At what point is there damage done to the birds’ habitat and migratory patterns if the militants somehow manage to open up the land for grazing?

Most of the area of the reserve is wetlands which would be severely damaged by cattle grazing, as per Enginerd’s excellent post.

Really, turning the reserve over to cattle grazing would be unthinkable.

[Steve_MB]

@enipla

Send in a group of little old ladies to re-open the visitor center and ignore these guys. Except for free coffee and information brochures of course.

You want to see tough? Send in the grandmothers.

That approach does have the advantage of avoiding a firefight – remember, these guys want to be martyred so they can go to Paradise and get their seventy-two cousins.

[Muffin]

The invading Bubabundies requested snacks.

Malheur lake is grossly overpopulated with the invasive species carp.

Let them eat carp.

[davidm]

@Muffin

…
Let them eat carp.

I think you spelled that wrong.

[eschereal]

Now the freedom fighters say they will leave if the locals ask them to.

[davidm]

@eschereal

Now the freedom fighters say they will leave if the locals ask them to.

Sounds like they’re looking for a graceful way out. “We did not bow to the jackbooted Feds, we were simply respecting the wishes of the local citizens”.

So now the question is, if they do leave will they be arrested?

[BigAppleBucky]

@Muffin

The invading Bubabundies requested snacks.

Malheur lake is grossly overpopulated with the invasive species carp.

Let them eat carp.

Is it true they’ve asked supporters to mail them packages of food, etc via the USPS?

[davidm]

@eschereal

Now the freedom fighters say they will leave if the locals ask them to.

I’m wondering if NPR got this wrong somehow. No one else seems to be reporting this. I’m watching CNN and they’re not reporting it. But CNN did just show a video of the local sheriff asking them to leave. So they have their request and apparently aren’t leaving.

[The_King_of_Soup]

Recent interview of Bundy supporter/self-proclaimed "bodyguard "’ calling himself “fluffy unicorn,” combined with widespread disavowal from other right-wing unfortunates, indicates this so-called “insurrection” is actually a medium-sized furry orgy without a valid credit card.

[John_Mace]

@BigAppleBucky

Is it true they’ve asked supporters to mail them packages of food, etc via the USPS?

They gave their address as “General Post”. But I’m at a loss to understand why these guys are expected to be anti-post office. They seem to be radical Constitutionalists, and the Constitution explicitly gives Congress the authority to establish Post Offices.

[eschereal]

@davidm

I’m wondering if NPR got this wrong somehow. No one else seems to be reporting this. I’m watching CNN and they’re not reporting it. But CNN did just show a video of the local sheriff asking them to leave. So they have their request and apparently aren’t leaving.

Yeah, but that is just the sheriff, who is with the government. I suspect they will not leave without a public vote. And then they will still probably find a reason to not leave. Like some kind of herpes or something.

[davidm]

@John_Mace

They gave their address as “General Post”. But I’m at a loss to understand why these guys are expected to be anti-post office. They seem to be radical Constitutionalists, and the Constitution explicitly gives Congress the authority to establish Post Offices.

I can’t speak for others but that’s not what puzzles me so much about the mail request. I’m wondering how they think they can go to the Post Office without getting arrested. If someone outside picks up the mail for them then I’d think that that person could be arrested as an accessory.