My Declaration of Retirement

There is a tradition in retiring from our office of federal employees for the U.S. Department of the Interior (National Parks, Indian Affairs, Fish & Wildlife, Public Land Management, Reclamation (western water dams and management), Geological Survey, etc.) to send of a farewell email to All-Employees. They are usually friendly little good-byes with the occasional long diatribe of political sentiment pent-up in the "non-political" civil service until that day of release.

Mine was this:

That was a last-minute and appropriate replacement for my diatribe. I thought it best to save that for this blog. My post-departure comments are in [ ],  i.e., brackets. Here goes:

The Last Wagon

Nobody died. Nobody ate anybody. But we did have an adventure on the Donner-Reed Party's route along the Hastings Cutoff.

The Last Wagon by Lynn Fausset

We went with some great public servants from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). When I saw the notice of this trip on BLM's Facebook page, I immediately thought of my old friend from all the way back to grade school who is now teaching Law Enforcement at Great Basin College, Elko, Nevada. And he has a four-wheel drive.

In the old days, we did our exploring on bikes and in the woods. Sometimes our moms would meet at the grocery store and each would say, "I thought they were at your house!" while we were miles away from either. We found a lot of cool places but the golden hoard of some lost mine or buried treasure always eluded us. We did learn that the reward is in the adventure itself. That is the life lesson. So we took on another adventure yesterday on National Trails Day. 

The best part was to spend some good time together in one of those friendships that picks up after 40 years without skipping a beat. His wife came along and the night before our adventure, she and my wife found a connection in quilting and got along great. My buddy and I talked a lot about the old days but more so about who we are now and the mutual respect we have for each other. Friendship.

Preserve the Public Lands!

My hat is off to Field & Stream web edition, and hopefully, the print edition as well for the excellent article on the latest movement to turn over America's public lands to the states and eventually private interests.

Ken Ivory and the Malheur occupiers get special mention as part of the problem, not the solutions. And there's this great quote from the late Western Historian (and Utahn), Bernard DeVoto, who also got it:

“the ultimate objective is to liquidate all public ownership of grazing and forest land in the United States…the plan is to get rid of public lands altogether, turning them over to the states, which can be coerced as the federal government cannot be, and eventually into private ownership.”

Oh, Canada!

Why can't we have a nice, capable, young guy like this run for President? oh yeah.

I feel so disloyal.

I spent the day at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) National Training Center teaching public land managers how to reference the law in decision-making. We talked about the U.S. Constitution. I told my patriotic story of a public servant I know who did the right thing under the rule of law ignoring political threats from a Congressman. I sold them on the ideals of the More Perfect Union.

Then I sat in the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport watching loops of CNN political reporting on the delegate lead of the Republican front-runner. There was also the clip of Governor Christie standing behind him with the strangest look on his face as if he needed to get to a restroom really fast but didn't know how to make his exit.

Utah Can Save a Lot of Money Letting the Bundy Trials Test Ownership of Public Lands

Yes! Governor Gary Herbert and especially, legislator/lobbyist Ken Ivory take note! The State of Utah is seriously considering a lawsuit to challenge United States ownership of the federal public lands within the state of Utah based on some tricky readings of the U.S. Constitution, the Utah Enabling Act, and the Utah State Constitution - basically the same theories that the Bundy Bunch have used to claim the feds have no authority in Oregon and Nevada!

But wait! Please! A major part of the charges filed today against accused co-conspirator Cliven Bundy in armed confrontation with federal officials performing federal activities on federal public lands is that those lands were obtained by the United States under the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Mexico and never relinquished!

From the Criminal Complaint filed today against Cliven Bundy

Mama, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Sovereign Citizen Cowboys

Cliven Bundy speaking at a forum hosted by the American Academy for Constitutional Education (AAFCE) at the Burke Basic School in Mesa, Arizona.
22 July 2014, from Wikipedia Commons, by Gage Skidmore who graciously allows use without any endorsement of this blog or use of the photo

In a brilliant move by the FBI, agents arrested Cliven Bundy at the Portland Airport last night. I mean, how stupid could ol' Cliven be? He is the patriarch of the Bundy Ranch Clan and the scofflaw who cowardly called out the unregulated militias to fend off BLM's attempt to legally impound his cattle that he has been trespassing on public lands for 20 years. He now faces charges for that interference with the duties of authorized government officials and I hope there are additional charges related to his active support for the armed occupation of the National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.

Armed Protesters at Malheur Intend to Void 1846 Treaty with Queen Victoria of Great Britain

Original Treaty of 1846 between the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Here's a great example of the very basic point I'm trying to make in response to the insane claims of the armed protesters at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge. You can't just ignore 230 plus years of actual Constitutional History by plucking a few words out of context that you contort into your own political Jeremiad.

From The Oregonian:

[Armed Occupier] Payne said the group believes the federal government has no constitutional authority to hold vast land tracts. He said any deed transferring land to the federal government should be considered void.

That means they will have to void the 1846 Treaty with Queen Victoria.

Meanwhile, Back at the Occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge . . . .

The Mythic American Cowboy

Without license as I stole another idea from Monty Python:

Overheard around the campfire at Malheur:

"What has the federal government ever done for us?"

"yeah!"

 "Nothin'!"

"Only cause problems!"

"Threatened to take our guns and our cattle away!"

Malheur is Alcatraz, NOT Waco

A friend reminded me of a better comparison to the armed occupation by self-proclaimed militia at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge other than the debacle at Waco, Texas with the Branch Davidians. From November 20, 1969 to June 11, 1971, Alcatraz Island was occupied by militants of the American Indian Movement (AIM). They had a series of demands somewhat like the Malheurians about returning land to the "rightful" owners. The feds just waited them out. I still hope the Malheur confusion is resolved without getting anyone hurt even if it takes a year or so.

A remnant of the Indian Occupation now that the Island, and former Prison, have become a U.S. National Park.

I do sympathize with the Indians, or Native Americans, more than I do with the armed cowboys at Malheur. In fact, the local Paiutes have already stated their position that if the Wildlife Refuge is returned to anyone, it should be them. But history is a bit beyond that.

Mormon Church Condemns Armed Protesters at US Wildlife Refuge in Oregon

As President Uchtdorf once said, "Stop it!"

I don't want to hear any more allegedly scriptural arguments for extreme right-wing political views. That includes the teachings of W. Cleon Skousen. It includes the political preachings of past leaders of the LDS Church that in any way be used to justify resistance to the Constitutionally established government of the United States. That includes the false teachings of lobbyist/legislator Ken Ivory arguing that the states have a valid and legal claim to the federal public lands, they do not. That includes the erroneous idea of posse comitatus a bizarre reading of medieval Anglo-Saxon law of England (not the US!) that the county is the supreme authority of the people. It includes any crazy idea that the Fourteenth Amendment somehow created a class of citizens different than the alleged white Christian founders of the United States. I don't want to hear any more offensive argument that somehow our Constitutionally elected President, Barack Obama, is not legitimate because of where he was allegedly born or who his parents were.

It has appalled me that members of my own religious faith have held and promoted such erroneous ideas - not just because they threaten my livelihood as a public servant employed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, and not because my life may be threatened by those who would promote violence against law-abiding officers of the United States performing our Constitutional duties. It is because it breaks my heart and my soul to see such people misuse the sacred scriptures and doctrines of my church to such ridiculous purposes.

Have Yourself a Bureaucratic Christmas!

Lest anyone think I'm trying to start a war or something, let me remind you that "Christmas" (spelled exactly thus) is a legal and recognized federal holiday ever since President Grant. I just wanted to share a memo that came by email, well, just because:


To:                   All Departmental Employees

From:               __________, Designated Agency Ethics Official

Subject:           Ethics Guidance for the Holiday Season


I would like to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a very merry and safe holiday season. Each year at this time many of us participate in holiday celebrations and activities occurring in and out of the office. While this is a time of celebration and joy, we must still be aware that there are ethics rules and regulations which apply to all Federal employees. As a result, the Departmental Ethics Office generally receives a number of questions from employees on the appropriateness of certain holiday activities.

Therefore, in anticipation of the more common questions received by the Departmental Ethics Office, I am providing you with a summary of the ethics rules governing various holiday activities.

Acceptance of Gifts

Daniel Wood in Ohio: Found!

It wasn't even that hard. Good to know a thing or two about the U.S. Department of the Interior.

 

This is my 3rd-Great-Grandfather Daniel Wood's patent for about 40 acres of land some miles south of Kirtland, and pretty close to Hiram, Ohio, and the John Johnson Farm just a little to the southwest.

Here's a modified map from BLM's geo-locator to show the location of my family's land:

My 31st Anniversary with the Feds

Only today did I realize that my bureaucratically formulated service computation date falls on the same day as Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address! March 4! Lincoln's address was 150 years ago today! Glad to be working for the same government of, by, and for the people. (My actual first day was May 31, 1983).

We've got a long way to go, Mr. Lincoln. The peoples' power of self-government has been vastly eroded by corporate financial power that tends to write its own rules, regulations, and laws. There are many perverse philosophies abroad in the land to tear at the fabric of the Constitution. (Many funded by the corporate financial power). But you know all about that in your tight-rope walk at the most dangerous hour of our Constitutional survival. Your actions weren't perfect, but they accomplished great good in destroying the cancer of America and its Constitution - the right of property to own humans in bondage. Thank heavens that's gone!

Blanding Conspiracy Theorists Charged for Trespass on Public Lands

See any evil here? I don't

Work-related. Caveats in place. Not talking about inside information. And, I haven't yet been invited to secret Agenda 21 meetings to destroy truth, justice, and the American Way because such meetings simply don't exist. In fact, if more people actually believed in truth, justice, and the American Way and practiced them, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

I am not directly working on the four-wheel trespasses on public land administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for the multiple use of US Citizens (and even foreign visitors) under law, regulation, and the US Constitution. I wasn't going to comment at all until I saw the hand-held poster of one of the riders in an article of the Salt Lake Tribune. Check out the photos. The guy trying to hold on to the poster about Agenda 21 is also attempting to hold on to a young child. It is not clear which will slide off the moving vehicle first, the guy riding side-saddle, the poster, or the young child. I try not to go pejorative on the blog, but . . . .

Tin Cowboys and Cliven Coming

Pulitzer-winning photo (w/fence post)  by John Filo which
Wikipedia says is likely subject to fair use because of its fame.

I remember the 1960s. Nuclear drills disguised as earthquake drills (earthquakes seeming more credible since we had a 6.5 in my grade-school years); Blank Panthers and cities burning; endless war in Viet Nam; radical leftists blowing up Post Offices; mass marches and demonstrations. Yep, real scary times.

And I was a secret subversive. I put up a good front as a conservative, but I listened to popular music, even Chicago, singing about the coming revolution. I was hoping it would be for the good and the idealism espoused. But I was cautious.

Live-Blogging SOTU 2014

President Barack Obama delivers the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Feb. 12, 2013.
 (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

It's close to time! Keep checking back as I try to update this as we go along. Although I am using my new notebook with a different keyboard that sometimes trips me up and Windows 8.1 which I haven't gotten used to yet and sometimes the strangest things happen if I accidentally touch the screen.

But I wanted to give you a little preview before the Prez starts. The country is down. Congress is a disaster. The Prez is polling terribly (although much better than Congress!) The Prez is not going controversial tonight. No socialism (as if) and not much liberalism even except for what the Beckheads and Teapots will find regardless of what he says. It will be all the things that he knows John ("Are-You-Kiddin'-Me?") Boehner will at least want to talk about:

Why I'm Not Going to my Rep's Town Hall Meeting

My U.S. Congressman of the whatever gerrymandered District we're in now, is holding a town hall meeting this month that I will not be attending. There are some questions I would like to ask, but I don't think they'll get me very far with my political tea-partier, erstwhile Mormon-pop, apocalyptical-fiction* writer, and Beck-buddy Representative. My questions follow:

Governing without Government

That is the basic cognitive dissonance I have been sensing among many Republican politicians for the last couple of decades. How do you expect to govern if you think government is the problem? I blame President Reagan for separating the people from their government with his crass "government is the problem" mantra. (Well, we did have Nixon and Johnson attempting to separate the government from the people with unnecessary wars and criminal conspiracies).

There are some few Democrats in the Utah Legislature. Three of them, Jim Dabakis (SLC), Susan Duckworth ( Magna), and Larry Wiley (West Valley), just made my hero list for calling the bluff on Republican grandstanding by Republican Representatives on the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee in the Utah House. I was particularly pleased that they got ol' Roger Barrus, my own Representative - (even if I never voted for him and likely never will). You can read the article here at Utah Political Capitol.

Dad, What Do You Do at Work?

Bison by Ernest Thompson Seaton
(not an official Interior Buffalo as I am not in official capacity at present)

Well, as my kids have occasionally asked that question and been bored to tears with my explanations, I though I would share that joy with you all. As I have explained ad naseum, I have to be careful about my blogging because I am a federal employee, an attorney for the U.S. Department of the Interior. I am entitled to my freedom of expression, but can't use government resources or time for political speech, and I have to keep attorney/client confidences (I do my part, but it's not like the government can ever keep a secret. Hence, my distrust of conspiracy theories.) So I don't talk about my job much. Most of it is rather boring but there are a few interesting things out there in the public domain (a few more if you have a Westlaw or Lexis subscription).

Doing another one of those Google searches to see what's out there in my internet footprint, I find the blog all over the place. And there are also a few published decisions from federal courts but mostly in administrative proceedings with my name on them. Litigation is actually a small part of my work. Most of it is advising (wrangling) client agencies to figure out how to accomplish things legally, because no federal employee can do anything for the government that is not authorized by the laws of Congress. So if you have any problems with us, go complain to Congress and I'm sure they'll fix it (heh, heh, -little joke there).

Ken Ivory's Public Lands Luau

The Utah State Legislature is still in session for a few more days. I've been trying to avert my eyes but I slipped today and read an article from a few weeks back about Utah State Representative Ken Ivory's bill for Utah to "take back" the public lands (Hint No. 1: you can't "take back" what you never had).

And I admit I was already aware of another odd Ivory bill from my blogger friend at Utah Political Summary. That blogger is a perfectly rational moderate Republican, a vanishing breed. I don't exactly see Rep. Ivory that way.

But back to the Luau.