150 armed Militia occupy federal property in Oregon.

[Civil War Man]

And now for something completely different

An Austin startup is doing its part to keep the armed protestors at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon energized and, well, entertained with a Bag Of Dicks.

In fact, one of the militants, already known for his anti-Islamic sentiments, featured the Austin-made product on a new Facebook post in which he rifles through some hate mail.

In a short video, Jon Ritzheimer stands in front of a countertop full of shipments, which includes a dildo, and says that the militia got an "abundance of the hate mail."

"It was really mind-blowing to me that people would actually spend their money... they spend and waste their money on all this hateful stuff to send out here to us and buy this ridiculous stuff. It's really ridiculous. This one is really funny, a Bag of Dicks," Rizheimer says, lifting a plastic Bag Of Dicks up for the camera.

Then, he clean sweeps the counter, pushing all that "hateful" stuff onto the floor.

"We're not going to be deterred," he said. "We're not going to let all your junk and hate mail sidetrack us."

Then, he encouraged more people to come and join the group.

As for the Bag Of Dicks business, the company was launched in Austin during SXSW last year, and the mention in the militia's video is basically a bag of free advertising -- grabbing thousands of eyes from the original Facebook post and all the blogs that followed. Now, the company is offering people a 25% discount when sending a Bag Of Dicks to Ritzheimer at his general mail address in Burns, Oregon.

"When the Oregon Militia posted their address asking for snacks, obviously we had to act," the company said in a blog post. "And act we did...by blasting our thousands of email subscribers with a promo code to send those 'brave souls' Bags Of Dicks."

"It's the American way to help our brothers in arms in any way we can," the Bag Of Dicks company wrote. "We're proud the Oregon Militia is enjoying our tasty Bags Of Dicks. They could certainly use the high fructose sugar rush to help keep their stronghold safe from police, bears, and elderly gift shop patrons."

Taylor Wilde, founder of a Bag Of Dicks, said that he pays attention to the news, and saw this as an opportunity.

"Initially, I thought that was pretty funny that they had all their equipment except food and drink," he told me in a short interview.

He said he first saw the Bag Of Dicks mentioned on the "Not the Onion" Reddit page, which features stories that sound like they could be satire, but aren't.

"I was like 'holy shit, people actually did this,'" said Wilde, who now lives in New York.

Wilde started checking his orders on shipabagofdicks.com, and he's noticed that a lot of people are sending the militia some penis-shaped gummy snacks. He prefers to talk about his product in the number of dicks -- not just the number of orders. From that perspective, the Oregon militia members can expect to get about 1,500 gummy penises.

Considering there are about 25 dicks per bag, that's roughly 60 orders. Wilde said the company gets a steady flow of orders, but saw a significant uptick over Christmas.

"I guess a lot of people were sending dicks instead of coal this year," he said.

The company got its first surge of business from April Fool's Day. But, Wilde said, the company keeps looking for opportunities to inspire people to send the gag gifts.

"We're glad to provide such a 'meaty service,'" he said.

[Flagg]

Seems to me that the perfect gift for such giant assholes are as many dicks as they can handle.

[the atom]

Considering that they all have guns, apparently lack respect for the idea of a wildlife refuge, and are begging for supplies on Facebook, I'd wager that they've probably at least attempted to bag a deer by now. Whether any of them is competent at actually doing that...

The fact that they're asking for snacks and shit tells me that these dudes aren't exactly hardcore badasses. If the Feds had the balls to turn away any vehicles coming to the area I imagine the whole thing could be over quickly and bloodlessly.

[Gandalf]

Presumably if they're worried about another Waco, they might also be concerned with the imagery of Americans starving because of government action.

[the atom]

Presumably if they're worried about another Waco, they might also be concerned with the imagery of Americans starving because of government action.

If they starve there will be nobody to blame but themselves.

In other news, there's reports from the locals of minor harassment and intimidation:
http://news.yahoo.com/law-enforcement-a ... 39291.html#

[Joun_Lord]

If they starve there will be nobody to blame but themselves.

Clearly you underestimate the stupidity and ability to alter the facts of reality to fit ones biases that the American public has because if these Waco wannabe whiners starved to death the blame would most certainly fall on the US government. They'd be blamed for blocking the roads (even if they didn't) or poisoning their supplies or not giving into their demands fast enough or something else equally stupid.

Though there should be no reason for them to starve. Not with all those dicks there. Also the gummy penises.

[the atom]

If they starve there will be nobody to blame but themselves.

Clearly you underestimate the stupidity and ability to alter the facts of reality to fit ones biases that the American public has because if these Waco wannabe whiners starved to death the blame would most certainly fall on the US government. They'd be blamed for blocking the roads (even if they didn't) or poisoning their supplies or not giving into their demands fast enough or something else equally stupid.

Though there should be no reason for them to starve. Not with all those dicks there. Also the gummy penises.

Again, I highly doubt these guys are committed enough to starve themselves and their families to death.

[Civil War Man]

Wow. Just wow.

Editor’s note: This story contains offensive language. After this story was published, David Fry deleted some of his offensive posts on social media and said they “were just a joke.”

Among the militant members who have accessed government computers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, one is an Islamic State sympathizer and Adolph Hitler acolyte.

While militant leader Ammon Bundy has repeatedly denied government computers were being used by militants, OPB has again confirmed that Department of Interior computers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge are being accessed, and in this instance, being used to make a website for the occupation.

One of the militants occupying the refuge posted video of himself using the computer.

Occupier David Fry said he drove from Ohio – through a blinding winter storm – to help Bundy and his supporters.

The website he created contains video and audio of Fry at the refuge, as well as a “List of Serious Injustice” and a link to buy fellow militant LaVoy Finicum’s mystery novel.

Fry tells OPB he knew the militants who have occupied the refuge “were pretty good people.”

“It was (a) miracle, that I got here,” Fry said Tuesday. “I’ve had quarrels with the government myself, and I feel there has to be some point where people have to put their foot down against the problems.”

Fry didn’t say when he arrived, but he’s set up shop in a building the militants want to turn into a media center, according to Finicum. Fry said he knows “a little bit” about computers.

“I’m just here to document what’s going on (at the compound),” Fry said.

Fry’s Google+ account shows the Ohio man regularly posts anti-Semitic, homophobic, and pro-Nazi propaganda on social media.

“ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS FOR ISIS TO NUKE ISRAELHELL!” he wrote on the site Nov. 30.

When asked to explain his feelings about Israel and ISIS, Fry spoke at length of government conspiracies, plots against multiple countries, Sept. 11, court records, computer viruses on Japanese computers, Fukushima and a Jewish conspiracy against the free world that involves causing nuclear meltdowns.

“One week before Fukushima happened, an Israeli security team installing security equipment was there at Fukushima,” Fry said.

He went on to tell OPB that he got the government computers running using flash drives with Linux on them.

“I am using any computer I can use,” Fry said. “Their data is perfectly preserved … you can’t access any of that, it’s got encryption on it.”

Though the occupation at the refuge has dragged on for more the a week, federal officials have been reluctant to take action against the armed men. FBI officials have said they’re monitoring the situation.

Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, Finicum said the group will announce their exit strategy Friday. However, it’s unlikely that the group’s stated goals of turning over federal land to local control and freeing two local ranchers from prison will be accomplished by the end of the week.

Fry, like other militants, said he’s frustrated with the government.

“If you talk to a lot of the people here, everybody’s got their reason to be here, everybody’s got their quarrels with the government,” Fry said. “I see this as a good stand for America. These are really good people out here.”

So, TL;DR version:
One of the nutcases there has designed a website for their little insurrection, and has confirmed that he is using government computers to design and operate the site (after Bundy's repeated denial that anyone there was using them). On top of that, he is a vocal Nazi fanboy and has, on several occasions, voiced his support of ISIS.

You really can't make this shit up.

[Raw Shark]

Wait, Israel can cause tsunamis? Oh shit we are so fucked...

[Jub]

Wait, Israel can cause tsunamis? Oh shit we are so fucked...

That fits with the world view that thinks gays can cause hurricanes.

[Simon_Jester]

If I believed that the Israelis could cause tsunamis by setting up security equipment at a nuclear reactor, I would not advocate resisting them; I would advocate surrendering to them right now.

This guy isn't just crazy.

This guy is an idiot.

Reminds me of a line from The Dark Knight, when Batman's accountant finds out his secret identity:

"Let me get this straight. You think that your client, one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the world, is secretly a vigilante who spends his nights beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands; and your plan, is to blackmail this person? Good luck."

[Civil War Man]

Wait, Israel can cause tsunamis? Oh shit we are so fucked...

I think it's less that he thinks Israel causes tsunamis, and more that he's spouting something like the 9/11 truther "Jet fuel can't melt steel" bullshit to claim that they used the tsunami as cover to sabotage the plant because something something Jews.

Anyway, to add to the comparisons people have been making between these guys and ISIS, there are apparently a lot of archaeological artifacts (and maps to the locations of more artifacts) stored at the refuge, which is raising concerns that people there will start damaging, destroying, or stealing them.

Thousands of archaeological artifacts — and maps detailing where more can be found — are kept inside the national wildlife refuge buildings currently being held by an armed group of protestors angry over federal land policy.

Ryan Bundy, one of the leaders of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon, says they have no real interest in the antiquities. Still, their access to the artifacts and maps has some worried that looters could take advantage of the situation.

"There's a huge market for artifacts, especially artifacts that have provenance, where you can identify where they came from," said Carla Burnside, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's refuge archeologist.

More than 300 recorded prehistoric sites are scattered across the refuge, including burial grounds, ancient villages and petroglyphs. Some of the artifacts — including spears, stone tools, woven baskets and beads — date back 9,800 years.

__

WHY AREN'T THE RELICS AT A MUSEUM?

About 7,000 artifacts and samples from the refuge are kept at a museum in Eugene, Oregon. But 4,000 more are kept at the refuge for research.

Only Burnside has a key to the room containing the artifacts and the maps. She's since seen pictures of the occupiers in her office, adjacent to the room where the artifacts are stored. The group has been looking through government files at the site, but it is unclear if they've gone through the room with the artifacts. Bundy told The Associated Press that he's seen the artifacts and lots of maps, but he didn't know what the maps illustrated.

The artifacts and maps are legally protected by the 1979 Archeological Resources Protection Act and other federal laws.

___

WHAT IS THE ARMED GROUP DOING WITH THE ARTIFACTS?

Bundy said they're not interested in the artifacts and would turn them over to the Burns Paiute Tribe, if asked.

"If the Native Americans want those, then we'd be delighted to give them to them," he said.

He said he didn't think it was likely that anyone would use the maps to loot the site.

"We haven't really been thinking along those lines," Bundy said.

Removing artifacts from federal property without a permit is illegal.

___

WHAT ABOUT THE PREHISTORIC SITES?

Scientists are also worried about unintentional damage that could be done to the prehistoric sites by cattle, vehicles and heavy equipment.

The group at the ranch has driven road graders and other large construction equipment around the refuge headquarters buildings, but Bundy said they haven't used the machinery to move any earth. He wouldn't rule out that possibility, however.

In 2014, Ryan Bundy and supporters of the Bundy family rode ATVs on federal land closed to motorized vehicles in Utah as part of a protest. Their route took them along an illegal trail that crossed through Native American archeological sites.

___

HAVE THE SITES BEEN LOOTED BEFORE?

While well-known petroglyphs or other prehistoric sites are occasionally publicized for public viewing, federal land managers often go to great lengths to keep such locations secret when they can't be safely protected from vandals and looters.

Looting has long been a problem at the refuge, with the first documented instance recorded in 1979, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service's comprehensive conservation plan.

"It's a huge problem in Oregon, especially in the southeast portion of the state," said Dennis Griffin, the state's archaeologist. "More often than not, when they are caught, it's connected to drug running or seeking quick money on eBay."

An online search of "great basin artifacts for sale" yields arrowheads, stone pestles and other items, many priced at hundreds of dollars each.

___

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Burnside said the artifacts are part of the ancestry of the Burns Paiute Tribe and are priceless to science.

"There's so much you can gain from looking at one artifact: Where the stone came from, how far they traveled, how it was used, the skill of the person who made it," she said.

The tribe works extensively with federal officials on the archeology projects. Tribe officials didn't return multiple phone messages requesting comment.

"Their history is being hijacked by these people," said Donald Grayson, an anthropologist and archeology expert at the University of Washington.

___

HOW DOES BUNDY WANT THE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES HANDLED?

Bundy said people interested in archeology are welcome to explore the refuge, but that cattle ranchers and loggers should have priority when it comes to land use.

"Before white man came, so to speak, there was nothing to keep cattle from tromping on those things," Bundy said.

Though some countries had domesticated cattle 10,000 years ago, the animals came to the United States with European settlers.

"We also recognize that the Native Americans had the claim to the land, but they lost that claim," Bundy said. "There are things to learn from cultures of the past, but the current culture is the most important."

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Now, Bundy claims that they have no interest in looting the artifacts, but considering that he also claimed that nobody was accessing the computers in the facility despite admissions from others that they are, I'd be surprised if he's not lying here too.

Also, I just wanted to point out the irony of this statement near the end of the article:

"We also recognize that the Native Americans had the claim to the land, but they lost that claim," Bundy said. "There are things to learn from cultures of the past, but the current culture is the most important."

So, he thinks that the natives lost their claim to the land when the ranchers stole it from them, but the ranchers didn't lose their claim to the land when they sold it to the government.

[loomer]

The idea that tsunamis are a method of covert government warfare is a long one in conspiracy land. It's been floating about since at least Y2K - that's the earliest recording I have about it - and probably earlier. They don't cause it with a nuclear reactor typically, but by using a nuclear device on the ocean floor at a fracture point in a large ridge or crevasse to cause major collapse and a major seismic event.

The americans actually developed something along those lines in WW2 but never fully finished or deployed it. It used conventional explosives, operating on the same principle of causing a grand explosion. It was a viable design, but massively inefficient - which naturally makes it perfect conspiracy fodder. It's quite an odd belief, but it's also one of the more plausible nutjob theories out there.

[Executor32]

They finally arrested one yesterday:

Protester arrested in Burns, accused of driving stolen refuge vehicle

By Les Zaitz | The Oregonian/OregonLive
on January 15, 2016 at 2:00 PM, updated January 15, 2016 at 6:23 PM

UPDATE: Protester ordered not to occupy federal property as condition of his release from federal charges now pending in Medford.

BURNS – Oregon State Police on Friday arrested one of the protesters occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge after he drove into town, accusing him of having a stolen vehicle.

The man was identified as Kenneth Medenbach, 62, of Crescent. He was arrested on suspicion of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison. He was to be booked into the Deschutes County Jail in Bend with bail set at $10,000, officials said.

According to federal court records, Medenbach is currently facing federal charges in Medford and was released from custody in November. A condition of his release was that he would not "occupy" any federal land. He was accused of illegally camping on federal property.

He is the first person arrested in connection with the armed occupation of the wildlife refuge, taken over two weeks ago.

He was arrested in the Safeway parking lot in one vehicle bearing federal government license plates. A second federal vehicle was parked next to him, but the man police suspect of driving that into town already had gone into the grocery before police arrived.

Both vehicles -- a pickup and a passenger van, bore door signs reading "Harney County Resource Center." That's the new name occupiers have given to the bird sanctuary they occupy, which is about 30 miles southeast of Burns.

"The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is grateful for the quick actions from law enforcement," said Megan Nagel, spokeswoman for the agency, which manages the refuge. "We will continue to work with law enforcement to recover vehicles bought and paid for by the American people to care for their national wildlife refuge."

In 1995, Medenbach was convicted on federal charges for illegally camping on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington state. He was ordered held in custody because of evidence that Medenbach poses a risk to the safety of other persons or the community because [he] acknowledges intimidation practices, references 'Ruby Ridge' and 'Waco, Texas,' and clearly would not follow conditions of release restraining his presence at the scene of the alleged unlawful activity," according to a federal appellate court ruling upholding his conviction.

The appellate ruling said there was "evidence that Medenbach had attempted to protect his forest campsite with fifty to a hundred pounds of the explosive ammonium sulfate, a pellet gun, and what appeared to be a hand grenade with trip wires. The government also proffered evidence that Medenbach had warned Forest Service officers of potential armed resistance to the federal government's continued control of the forest lands in question."

Mendenbach earlier attempted to squat on federal land in southern Oregon. During those court hearings, he claimed the U.S. Constitution gave the federal government authority to own property only for military installations and post offices, The Oregonian's archives show.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Hogan handled some of the proceedings. Hogan was the judge who in 2012 decided that Harney County ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son Steven should serve lighter sentences than required by law for setting fire to public lands.

Medenbach also has a long history of convictions on charges related to driving documentation and providing false information to law enforcement.

His most recent arrest comes amid growing public clamor for action to end the occupation.

Law enforcement officials have been taking a low-key approach so far. The FBI is handling the investigation of the occupation, but its presence in Burns is muted. Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward has repeatedly urged the protesters to go home, even offering to give them arrest-free passage out of the county. But at a community meeting earlier this week, he warned the militants that "there is an hourglass and it's running."

Whether Friday's arrest signals a change in tactics by police isn't certain.

No one from the refuge encampment appeared to show up at the scene of the arrest, though word of it spread through the compound and some of the occupiers hopped in cars to head toward town when they heard.

A tow company hauled away the van from the store parking lot as a state trooper drove away the pickup.

-- Les Zaitz

[Dominus Atheos]

So I just want to be clear on the events here. VanillaISIS "liberated" some vehicles from the wildlife refuge visitor center, put signs on them saying "Harney County Resource Center" which is apparently what they are calling said visitor center, and drove them to Safeway where local police recognized the federal license plates and arrested one guy while several more were inside Safeway who didn't get arrested?

[Patroklos]

Just like how an ISIS raid goes down. I am glad none of the SEALS involved slipped and hurt themselves I the wet floor in aisle four. Did they act in time to keep the cashiers from being beheaded?

[Dominus Atheos]

If you don't like Vanilla ISIS, I would also be willing to switch to calling them Y'all Qaeda or Teahadists.

Take your pick.

[Simon_Jester]

I think the "Vanilla Ice" in "Vanilla ISIS" is more important than the "ISIS."

Also, while the article says this guy is the first to be arrested, I'm not sure it's saying he's the only one. It may just be that he's the first one to get some news value by being the one who got far enough through the court process so that they actually issue a press release.

[Flagg]

It's so great to be white in this country. The fucking mud people should just accept our superiority and do what we tell them without question. Especially the blacks, who wouldn't even be in this wonderful land of freedom* if our wonderful ancestors hadn't delivered them** here! And they are still bitching and moaning about how all we asked in return for their salvation*** was to work for their room and board.

I really shouldn't have been overreacting and calling these true Americans terrorists****. I'm just so glad to have seen the errors of my ways before it was too late and I became a pure nigger-loving limp-wristed pro-abortion faggot liberal!

*For (non- Papist) Christian white men, all heterosexual of course, and women who do as their man tells them.
**Kidnapped, or purchased them from Arab slavers and brought them across the Atlantic packed into ships like sardines where a good portion would die of disease, dehydration, and starvation.
***""Salvation", as in "Slavery". Being treated as chattel, families split up, the men often castrated for "misbehaving" if whipping them to the bone didn't work, and the women casually raped by their "masters" who more often than not let their own mixed race children, resulting from said rape, be treated the same as any other slave as one drop of mud-blood makes you less than a real (white) person!
****Despite them having members in love with ISIS, and there being a real concern by people whose offices and vaults which are are full of precious, priceless, Native American artifacts (That have been seized by Traitorous Christian Terrorist "Militias") who, like their aforementioned best buds, may destroy them (Or steal them. My bet is on theft, as making Meth is harder to do in the US every day.) and use the maps to find and destroy Native holy places. Plus the use of hostages as human shields.

PS: Sorry about the hate-speech but sometimes it's useful to get the point across that that is how most of these troglodytes speak, think, and act.

[Joun_Lord]

Sorry about the hate-speech but sometimes it's useful to get the point across that that is how most of these troglodytes speak, think, and act.

Dood, I understand where you are coming from and I ain't saying this to be a dick, but I'm sure most people know how these morons speak. Even for those that don't have to deal with such actually offensive speech from very offensive people constantly know how people like Bundy talk because its not like they attempt to hide it.

As far as they are concerned what they say, no matter how stupid or racist or just stupid, is correct and everyone who doesn't like it has the problem. And is probably a liberal. Also if you don't say liberal like a dirty word you are saying it wrong and are also un-American.

Most people know that these idiots much of the time don't even consider themselves racist. When they say shit like black people were better as slaves or that being brought over here against their will, they say it because they love black people. They have that condescending paternalistic love where they think of them dirty darkies as ignorant children and the glorious white man master race knows better. Everything from enslaving them to still treating them like shit is for the betterment of black kind. Because the best thing for black people is to be told what to do or atleast act white.

That Bundy and his supporters are a very small group of very loud and very stupid people that the media loves giving attention to, they are sort of IRL attention whore trolls who grow in power the more people pay attention to them. Know that even in the community they Occupy most people want them to GTFO, even those who might think the gubmint owns too much land.

I'd also hope they know most white people, most Americans, and many people of the southern persuasion don't actually agree with Occupy Cowfucker Ranch or their goals but thats just me.

All that cowcrap said, I understand the want to curse and vomit out expletives normally reserved for only the worst message boards on the internet to express the anger and frustration with this situation and those involved. I feel the same way, especially when I run into people on the interwebs and IRL who express support for these fucknozzles. Such a thing is lunacy for so many reasons that if I started counting them I'd probably run out of fingers and toes and have to use my meat and giblets and still need more appendages. One thing Bundy does quite well, other then stealing land and getting away with it, is pissing people off. Just not enough people unfortunately.

[Flagg]

Sorry about the hate-speech but sometimes it's useful to get the point across that that is how most of these troglodytes speak, think, and act.

Dood, I understand where you are coming from and I ain't saying this to be a dick, but I'm sure most people know how these morons speak. Even for those that don't have to deal with such actually offensive speech from very offensive people constantly know how people like Bundy talk because its not like they attempt to hide it.

As far as they are concerned what they say, no matter how stupid or racist or just stupid, is correct and everyone who doesn't like it has the problem. And is probably a liberal. Also if you don't say liberal like a dirty word you are saying it wrong and are also un-American.

Most people know that these idiots much of the time don't even consider themselves racist. When they say shit like black people were better as slaves or that being brought over here against their will, they say it because they love black people. They have that condescending paternalistic love where they think of them dirty darkies as ignorant children and the glorious white man master race knows better. Everything from enslaving them to still treating them like shit is for the betterment of black kind. Because the best thing for black people is to be told what to do or atleast act white.

That Bundy and his supporters are a very small group of very loud and very stupid people that the media loves giving attention to, they are sort of IRL attention whore trolls who grow in power the more people pay attention to them. Know that even in the community they Occupy most people want them to GTFO, even those who might think the gubmint owns too much land.

I'd also hope they know most white people, most Americans, and many people of the southern persuasion don't actually agree with Occupy Cowfucker Ranch or their goals but thats just me.

All that cowcrap said, I understand the want to curse and vomit out expletives normally reserved for only the worst message boards on the internet to express the anger and frustration with this situation and those involved. I feel the same way, especially when I run into people on the interwebs and IRL who express support for these fucknozzles. Such a thing is lunacy for so many reasons that if I started counting them I'd probably run out of fingers and toes and have to use my meat and giblets and still need more appendages. One thing Bundy does quite well, other then stealing land and getting away with it, is pissing people off. Just not enough people unfortunately.

Well, if the mods want to change it and give me a spanking, I won't whine and complain.

But I make a point to reserve speech like that for very rare occasions such as this one. As someone who was born, raised, and spent most of his adult life in the south, if you got 2 white guys alone in a room, there's a decent chance one (the one that isn't me) might say some pretty racist and misogynist shit. If you got 3 white guys alone in a room, there is almost certainly going to be some racist, homophobic, and misogynist shit said, the longer left alone, the more vile and hateful. And if you're at a BBQ with no minorities or homosexuals... Yeah.

But this wasn't venting anger or anything of the sort. It was flat out using the language 75% of the white, heterosexual pigfucking shitpiles I grew up with, went to school with, and worked with used when they assumed it was "safe" to do so.

[Joun_Lord]

Well, if the mods want to change it and give me a spanking, I won't whine and complain.

But I make a point to reserve speech like that for very rare occasions such as this one. As someone who was born, raised, and spent most of his adult life in the south, if you got 2 white guys alone in a room, there's a decent chance one (the one that isn't me) might say some pretty racist and misogynist shit. If you got 3 white guys alone in a room, there is almost certainly going to be some racist, homophobic, and misogynist shit said, the longer left alone, the more vile and hateful. And if you're at a BBQ with no minorities or homosexuals... Yeah.

But this wasn't venting anger or anything of the sort. It was flat out using the language 75% of the white, heterosexual pigfucking shitpiles I grew up with, went to school with, and worked with used when they assumed it was "safe" to do so.

As someone who lives and grew up in an area filled with people who have 88 tattoos and probably don't have it because they are fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr, I do understand only too well how racist some people can be. Hell I'm ashamed to admit growing up in the backwoods middle of nowhere I was a bit of a racist myself (and still am though in a different way, I hate racing be it NASCAR, Formula 1, Forza, marathons, any of it). This is an area where the KKK and Mel Gibson's dad moved to and we just recently had a cop fired for being a long time member of some white supremacist group.

But my point was I think most people know that the racist shitbags at the refuge are racist shitbags. While they don't go around like a Youtube comment section and say "n-word" this or "n-word" that they've made no secret of their disrespect towards any culture or people but white and even then only white Christian people who agree with them. I know for certain I'd be just as much of an enemy as them despite being white enough to disappear in a herd of white rabbits and so redneck-ish pretty much anything I wear has some sort of camo in it (and that was true even during my goth days) because I don't believe in God and actually think evil Communist liberal land grabs for national parks and preservation of the natural beauty of America is a damn good thing. Clearly I'm a Commie leftist pinko like that fascist Democrat Theodore Roosevelt.

The fact they haven't exactly practiced any self-censorship and do act like a bunch of rednecks at a BBQ is whats going to sink them in the public eye.

[Flagg]

I just felt, and I fully admit I could be mistaken on this point, that every now and again, on very rare occasions, you have to put aside the euphemisms and lay it out the way it is. But I really don't want to argue about it. It's done. I'm not able to change it and I'm not going to request a mod or admin do so. If it offended you or you felt like it was out of place, I get it. But it was meant to offend, because it's offensive to anyone with more than 2 working brain cells.

[Alyrium Denryle]

http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-or ... occupation

Looks like some refuge employees are talking.

Abandoned homes. Compromised bank accounts. Threatened family members. Constant fear.

Employees of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge said they’re going through all of that and more, as an armed occupation at the facility reaches its 20th day.

“I’m afraid to go back at this point,” said a refuge employee in an exclusive interview Wednesday. “I would say that this is the most disrupted my life has ever been.”

OPB agreed to withhold the identity of the employee because armed militants who took over the refuge have made threats against federal employees.

The conversation marks one of the first times a current refuge employee has commented on the situation. The employee talked about how it’s affected their life and those of their co-workers, and described how the situation could damage conservation work at the refuge.

“Knowing that they’re combing through all of our files, everything that we have that’s government and personal at the refuge, that they have access to our computers, that they know everything from my Social Security number to my shoe size,” the current U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee said, “it’s a great sense of violation.”

Lives Disrupted
Kevin Foerster, who manages all of USFWS’s refuges throughout the Northwest and Hawaii, called the threats to his workers “egregious.”

Foerster said the agency has taken steps to keep refuge employees safe, including monitoring their credit and moving them out of Harney County. While only those working in the county have been relocated, a USFWS spokesman said the agency has put its facilities on alert.

“That’s an attack on individuals,” Foerster said. “It’s just not right, whatever their cause is, that’s just not right.”

Current USFWS employees said they’re angry and frustrated by what the armed militants, led by Ammon and Ryan Bundy, have done at the refuge.

In the days since the refuge was taken over Jan. 2, employees have regularly spoken to each other. They say they’re angry, even devastated, about being displaced.

“Some have children that are school aged, some don’t. But regardless, to have an entire upheaval of the entire family unit is very disruptive psychologically for all of our families,” the current refuge employee told OPB.

But talking helps, the employee said, noting there’s “therapeutic” value in sharing frustrations.

The refuge employees are still getting paid as the occupation stretches into its third week. Some workers are able to do their jobs remotely. For others, the agency has found temporary work in other locations.

For the federal employees who have stuck around, law enforcement said recently that the threats from militants have continued.

“That loss of a sense of safety,” the refuge employee said, “we don’t realize how core and how important that is until that’s been compromised and it definitely has in this situation.”

And the emotional toll is growing. The current employee spoke openly about the difficulty of concentrating because of obsessive thoughts, saying day-to-day work is both hard and a welcomed distraction.

“When everything that you hold dear, from your personal life to what you’ve achieved in your professional life, has all been seemingly taken away from you by people who have no comprehension of who you are or even the place where you live — it’s a difficult thing to process,” the employee said.

Many in Harney County have spoken openly about growing divisions between family and friends with opposing views of the occupation.

“I have some friends that believe that perhaps the militia is doing a good thing,” the employee said. “It’s quite surprising and disappointing.”

Foerster put it more bluntly.

“I suspect that Teddy Roosevelt’s probably rolling over in his grave right now if he knew what was happening out there,” he said. The former U.S. president established the Malheur refuge in 1908.
Work Disrupted
Foerster and the current refuge employee expressed concern about the damage that could happen to the refuge and the relationship with surrounding ranchers if the occupation continues.

The refuge relies on some cattle grazing to help maintain a healthy habitat for birds and other wildlife. In turn, the ranchers rely on the forage the refuge provides.

But the problems aren’t limited to personal relationships.

Workers manage water levels at the refuge using a series of dams. One of the reasons is to manage a carp population in Malheur Lake that swells each spring. Carp are an aggressive species that eat almost anything, and can hurt the ecosystem migratory birds depend on.

“If we’re not able to keep up with our water delivery system then all the progress that we’ve made in removing carp from the wetlands in the Blitzen Valley will be compromised and we could lose five years of work in just a matter of a month with our absence,” the refuge employee said.

If that absence continues into warmer months when the snowpack melts, it could even lead to flooding and major road damage in the county.

If the Bundys get their way, federal workers won’t return to the refuge. Earlier this week, the militants told a group of Harney County ranchers they want the federal government out of the area permanently. They asked ranchers to cancel their grazing leases with federal agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and the USFWS.

The Bundys said grazing on the public lands would continue, however, with ranchers being protected from repercussions by armed militants.

Foerster said if the Bundy plan occurred, it would be against the law.

“That’d be a contractual violation, as well as a regulation violation,” he said. “It’s just not in anybody’s best interest to go down that line.”
Progress Disrupted
The Bundys and their supporters said they originally came to Harney County to stand up for two local ranchers, Dwight and Steven Hammond, who went to federal prison for arson earlier this month. USFWS employees acknowledge that their relationship with ranchers in the area has been strained at times.

The refuge employee who spoke to OPB said they’ve personally been threatened in the past by the Hammond family, but the employee was quick to say that the relationship had become much more positive in recent years.

It’s a turn that’s representative of the overall improving relations with local ranchers, according to USFWS officials.

“We see Malheur as a model for collaboration,” said Foerster. “Locals have influence as to how that refuge is managed.”

Since the occupation began, the employee said, some ranchers have called to say they’re upset by the occupation and the damage it’s done to the community.

Despite the continued threats and fear being created by the militants, the employee said they still see Harney County as their home.

“I love working at the Refuge,” the employee said. “I’ve always seen myself as retiring there.”

In the end, the employee said the Bundys would fail in their quest to take over the refuge and rid the county of the federal government.

“I would say ultimately they picked the wrong community … that the ranchers in Harney County do not share their issues,” the employee said. “We will move forward together.”

TL:DR

Yes, they have threatened federal employees.

Yes, they are attempting to induce local ranchers to cancel their grazing leases while continuing to graze by promising to protect them from repercussions by way armed militants.

[Gaidin]

It is worth knowing that, Bundy has finally called the FBI back.

Inner article link. I just like the way Gawker describes Bundy's talking. More...to the point.

It’s getting colder and colder and no one’s taking them seriously anyway, so it’s little wonder that this week, Head Oregon Militia Idiot Ammon Bundy opened negotiations with the FBI.

The talks officially began Friday, though Bundy reportedly initiated the conversation Thursday on a cell phone he borrowed from an FBI agent outside the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, where Bundy and his merry band of idiots have been holed up for the last month.

According to The Oregonian, Bundy was returning one of 14 voicemails left for him by an FBI negotiator identified only as “Chris.”

Bundy’s negotiating tactic, it may surprise no one to learn, was to play dumb: “I’m a face-to-face kind of guy,” Bundy reportedly told the negotiator. “You reached out to me ... I’m not sure exactly what you wanted to talk about.”

Make that really dumb:

The negotiator asked why Bundy picked Harney County.

“You’re familiar with the Hammonds,” Bundy said in a sardonic tone. The federal government for years has tried to buy the Hammond ranch to add to the refuge holdings, he claimed.

The negotiator pressed for what Bundy wanted to see done with the refuge. Bundy said it should be turned over to Harney County officials.

He said his group wouldn’t leave until practical steps had been taken to get the refuge out of federal control and ensure the refuge buildings were never again used by the federal government.

How would that get done, the agent asked.

“I don’t know,” Bundy said. “We could put more thought to that.”

Make that really, really dumb:

Bundy had questions of his own. He asked by what right was the FBI involved in the refuge occupation.

“Are you here under authority of the sheriff?” Bundy asked.

When the negotiator said the sheriff had asked for federal help, Bundy responded, “You do not have the people’s authority to be here.”

In measured tones, the negotiator told him, “The sheriff has asked for our assistance.”

It’s going to be a long winter, and even worse—they only have one bag of dicks to last until spring.