Obama Unilaterally Confiscates 265 Million Acres
BY Herschel Smith
8 years, 10 months ago
AP:
Right fight; wrong strategy.
That’s what many ranchers and sympathizers opposing federal control of public lands in the West concluded after the armed occupation of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon.
[ … ]
“We’re not backing off,” said Greg Whalen, a military veteran from Las Vegas who supports the Bundy ranching family that led the occupation. “We’re actually going to fight harder – peacefully.”
Whalen and others say protests must remain a key part of the strategy – but they must be civil to avoid giving a reason for arrests.
Others suggest the battle should shift to the courts to pry authority over open space from the federal government. State lawmakers, notably in Utah, are considering a legal way to take control of U.S. lands that account for a majority of the West, including most of Nevada; about two-thirds of Utah, Idaho and Alaska; and half of Oregon.
Oh how sad. They may as well read nursery rhymes and fairly tales to themselves. I’ve done my share of criticizing the tactics employed by the occupiers at Malheur, but relying on the black robed tyrants to protect you from the beltway tyrants is a bad strategy. No one has shown any proclivity for stopping anything this president has done, and they won’t start now. Just to show you how bad it is, consider this.
President Obama declared three national monuments in Southern California on Friday, creating the world’s second-largest desert preserve and nearly doubling the amount of land he has unilaterally protected while in office.
The new Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow and Castle Mountains national monuments cover more than 1.8 million acres of land and include sand dunes, Native American petroglyphs and one of the continent’s youngest volcanoes. The designations under the 1906 Antiquities Act connect an array of existing protected areas, including Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave National Preserve and 15 wilderness areas, creating a nearly 10 million-acre arid land reserve that is surpassed only by Namibia’s Namib-Naukluft National Park.
[ … ]
Obama has now conserved more than 265 million acres through the Antiquities Act, which allows him to put federal lands and waters off limits to development without congressional approval.
This is breathtaking. Consider this again. Obama has unilaterally confiscated 414,000 square miles of land for use of the elitists, rich, and corporate robber barons who make the deals with the politicians. 414,000 square miles. This is equivalent to a square block of land 644 miles on each side. By one man. With no one objecting, no one with the backbone or moral fiber to stop him.
Too bad for those who think politics considers the common man.
On February 15, 2016 at 2:13 pm, Billy Mullins said:
“414,000 square miles … is equivalent to a square block of land 644 miles on each side”
I’d like to put Obama’s total land grab (to date, mind you; he still has a good 11 months to go) into perspective. Using the numbers Herschel provided (and which I do not in any wise doubt to be factual) and consulting Wikipedia, a couple of keystrokes yields the following facts:
The total land area Obama has conquered with the stroke of a pen is just over one and one half times the total area of Texas! It also represents almost 2/3rds of the land area of Alaska! FREAKING ALASKA for goodness sake!
As for no one objecting, where, how, to WHOM would we object? The government has the bit in its teeth. The only way I know of to stop a runaway horse – short of just letting run itself out (which this horse(‘s ass) has not shown any indication of doing any time soon) is to put a bullet in its brain! Do you know of another way, Herschel?
On February 15, 2016 at 7:38 pm, henrybowman said:
“nearly doubling the amount of land he has unilaterally protected while in office.”
See them rioters running down the street carrying TVs and computers?
They’re not stealing them. They’re “PROTECTING” them. Remember that.
On February 15, 2016 at 10:18 pm, UNCLEELMO said:
Just think of all the federal employees it will take to administer these 414,000 square miles.
And you thought Obama wasn’t creating jobs.