Sovrun Cattle - The Sagebrush Saga of Cliven Bundy

[The Observer]

What's with all the "peaceful" references on the Bundy Standoff Wikipedia page?

It appears that whoever is posting this has decided that the militias' combative and militant postures is not helping in gaining widespread support. Could it be as well that the stories about the militia's position on putting women and children in front has human shields has backfired? We also know that at least two of the militia groups are feuding with each other. I imagine that as the dust settles on this situation, there is going to more embarrassing stuff to come out about not only Bundy and his background, but also over the other personalities who let their egos shape the events.

[The Observer]

And the saga now spreads to the lower levels of government in New Mexico.

[fortinbras]

But it seems that Bundy is hearing from a higher authority:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/13/c ... -the-feds/

[The Observer]

And it is being reported that another militia group, Operation American Spring, is planning an event in Bunkerville and in DC, with the goal of telling American political leaders to step down.

[fortinbras]

The 'Operation American Spring' twits imagine they are so important that Obama will waste a drone on them.

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/o ... hington-dc

[ArthurWankspittle]

Been covered elsewhere (Fogbow). They will be lucky to get 30 people at both locations and you can halve that for DC as the weather is predicted to be pouring down so that will flood and short out the Rascals and Hoverounds.

[fortinbras]

I expect then that their own insane predictions of a drone attack will be used by them as an excuse for why so few show up.

[grixit]

Been covered elsewhere (Fogbow). They will be lucky to get 30 people at both locations and you can halve that for DC

They can call it the Dozen Man March.

[webhick]

Been covered elsewhere (Fogbow). They will be lucky to get 30 people at both locations and you can halve that for DC

They can call it the Dozen Man March.

Dozen Doofus Dissent

[AndyK]

IF this march on Washington actually materializes, it will -- as have all of its predecessors -- end somewhere in Virginia.

Even these loonies must have someone advising them as to the folly of carrying weapons -- loaded or not -- into DC.

For some strange reason, the various law enforcement agencies in Washington REALLY get upset about people waving weapons around.

[ArthurWankspittle]

IF this march on Washington actually materializes, it will -- as have all of its predecessors -- end somewhere in Virginia.

Even these loonies must have someone advising them as to the folly of carrying weapons -- loaded or not -- into DC.

For some strange reason, the various law enforcement agencies in Washington REALLY get upset about people waving weapons around.

This is all "off the top of my head" so here goes. Yes some of these idiots have talked about carrying weapons. No permits have been sought, which is required for meetings or marches of over 25 people. One of the super sekrit meet up points is Arlington Cemetery (IIRC) where meetings and protest get togethers are banned. To find out where your super sekrit meet up point is, you needed to email the designated organiser. Consequently their websites are about as sockpuppet free as Camp Idiot was on a bad day. I'd guess up to half the registered users are trolls.

[fortinbras]

Rachel Maddow did a riff on the American Spring rally tonight, the rally is supposed to take place tomorrow in DC.

The organizers are calling for, and predicting, a crowd of Thirty MILLION people in DC. In other words, more than the entire population of Texas, or nearly twice the population of the State of New York, crammed into Washington DC, and supposed to stay until ALL the important people (not just Obama and Biden but also Boehner, McConnell, Harry Reid, Pelosi, Holder, any other names that jump up) quit. Supposedly the inducement is that IF Obama resigns now THEY will spare him from serving a prison term, although exactly how they can guarantee that to him is unclear. And they want their 30 Million people to stay put in DC until all those resignations - or at least Obama & Biden - are gotten. AND they are telling their followers that they are sure that Obama's side will be violent and dangerous; they are not telling their people to bring weapons, but with that sort of prediction you can be pretty sure that some of those 30 Million will come equipped to fight even against instructions.

The last rally to oust Obama, in November, missed its intended draw of several million by just a whisker - it only got several. Maybe two dozen.

[notorial dissent]

OAS seems to believe in the mathematical calculation of 1, 2, 30 million. The so called leader an alleged former colonel in Military intelligence never seems to have actually taken any logistics or math classes on his way to his exalted position in Military intelligence, and doesn't seem to have been able to attract any one who has, curiously enough. It was left up to the attendees to figure out how they were going to get to DC, where they were going to stay, and loosely where they were finally going to meet up once they all managed to get there. Since the inception of the entire idea, there has been nothing but wholesale fighting and bickering, and real lack of interest in the great plan. One report has them planning on meeting at Arlington and then moving to the mall to "demonstrate" or whatever it is that a bunch of senile old coots do. I rather suspect that if the weather goes as predicted that will be a miserable slog for the handful that actually show up. I personally doubt if any of them have any idea of where Arlington even is in relation to the mall.

As to drones, I have a feeling that they will be more in far more danger from low flying pigeons with an attitude and the ubiquitous street people that are usually on the mall than from anything else, their own stupidity and lack of preparation not withstanding. Since I have a feeling most of them will effectively have signs on them saying easy mark, they could have some nasty experiences on the mall.

Andy, on the gun note, you are assuming an awful lot of actual common sense, that this group has not shown any abundance or the least scintilla of. In fact, there has been a fair amount of comment by followers of the various blogs that people are talking about coming armed. Admittedly, they-on the blogs, like most of the OAS crowd, are impotent pointless windbags, but there are a few of them who really are serious about it. I am betting that at least a few of them will be exercising their 2nd Amendment rights during their little exhibition, whether they get caught at it is anyone's guess.

I don't see this turning in to anything more than an unremarkable exercise in futility by what will be a very sour handful of soggy old farts, if the weather holds as predicted. I just don't discount the possibility of terminal stupidity to turn a non event in to something tragic.

[fortinbras]

I could not have said it better. But you can bet I will try. By the way, presently (7:30 AM of The Day) it is raining hard in DC area. If the Farrakhan March, about 15 years ago, is any indication, there are Very Serious logistics problems about even one million descending on DC. Add that some of today's people are supposedly spoiling for trouble ......

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show ... 7183299809

I don't expect anything violent - or interesting - to happen at today's rally in DC, but I worry that, if enough armed twits are driving cross-country to this rally, either on the way or on the return one of them is gonna do a Jerry Kane.

[Demosthenes]

Live feed here:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/thepetesantillishow

[Kestrel]

As of 3:45 pm I see a few dozen people walking past thousands of empty chairs.

Wasn't this supposed to start about six hours ago?

[The Observer]

As of 3:45 pm I see a few dozen people walking past thousands of empty chairs.

Wasn't this supposed to start about six hours ago?

Yes, but the free food didn't show up and you know how something like that can just kill attendance at these events.

[Kestrel]

Yes, but the free food didn't show up and you know how something like that can just kill attendance at these events.

It's now 5:30 pm and the Live Feed camera is aimed at one guy sitting on a bicycle. He's mouthing off for the camera, but otherwise looks like he's leaving. No one else is in sight. So much for standing their ground until the Federal government surrendered.

I wonder who paid to put up all those thousands of chairs. That work crew had to have been bigger than the "crowd" who rallied for Operation American Spring. There weren't even enough people present to leave a trash trail.

Must have been that lack of free food.

[notorial dissent]

Yep, free food had to have been a deal breaker. Going to one of those things would have been bad/read boring enough, but NO munchies!!!!! Oh the inhumanity, the unconstitutionality of it all.

Or it might just have been the lack of actual attendance. Just sayin'.

[fortinbras]

BEFORE IT'S NEWS (an ultra-SovCit and occasionally antisemitic website) published a photo of the American Spring rally in DC:

http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/20 ... 57332.html

... except, of course, it's really a photo from last year's 50th Anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech.

Today the same website admits and laments the lousy turnout and suggests that Obama deliberately caused it to rain in order to discourage people from showing up:

http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/20 ... 57450.html

If Obama can make it rain on command, why didn't he do this for the wild fires out West? And if Millions of people got into the cars days before, and drove hundreds of miles to DC, why did they suddenly cop out at the last moment because of a little rain?

Hey, if Obama can make it rain on command, I don't dare badmouth him, ever!