as seen on tv
Senator
Some old-timer Nevada cattle rancher is in the news. He and his wife (who probably doesn’t make as much as he does) have been grazing their herd on federal lands “forever”, but unilaterally stopped paying the grazing fee about 20 years ago. All other ranchers pay it, apparently. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/10/us-usa-ranchers-conflict-idUSBREA390QI20140410
Enter Eric Holder’s justice department. According to several media reports, some 200 armed FBI agents have surrounded the property, and government helicopters hover overhead. The cattle are being herded onto trucks, and will be stored (and presumably fed) at some US government location until god knows when.
The cost for all this? Over $3 million, according to some sources.
Excuse me? $3 million to repossess several hundred cattle over a grazing fee dispute?
In no way do I think ranchers – of any political persuasion – should get discounted or free grazing. Certainly not for 20 years, either. But what happened to getting a court order, or seizing a bank account?
“Hey - Old MacDonald . . . I have a court order here. We’ve seized your checking account, and if this isn’t cleared up by the end of next month, we’ll take title to your ranch, and auction it off. The whole kit and caboodle – cattle, barn, house, pickup truck . . . so settle this thing up, eh? Don’t make us bring in 200 FBI agents with machine guns and have black helicopters overhead, eh? It’ll just make us look like idiots, like we don’t know how the legal system works.”
Full disclosure – Harry Reid has no comment, even though this is his home state. Probably better not to.
Enter Eric Holder’s justice department. According to several media reports, some 200 armed FBI agents have surrounded the property, and government helicopters hover overhead. The cattle are being herded onto trucks, and will be stored (and presumably fed) at some US government location until god knows when.
The cost for all this? Over $3 million, according to some sources.
Excuse me? $3 million to repossess several hundred cattle over a grazing fee dispute?
In no way do I think ranchers – of any political persuasion – should get discounted or free grazing. Certainly not for 20 years, either. But what happened to getting a court order, or seizing a bank account?
“Hey - Old MacDonald . . . I have a court order here. We’ve seized your checking account, and if this isn’t cleared up by the end of next month, we’ll take title to your ranch, and auction it off. The whole kit and caboodle – cattle, barn, house, pickup truck . . . so settle this thing up, eh? Don’t make us bring in 200 FBI agents with machine guns and have black helicopters overhead, eh? It’ll just make us look like idiots, like we don’t know how the legal system works.”
Full disclosure – Harry Reid has no comment, even though this is his home state. Probably better not to.
