In case you missed it, last week a potentially deadly stand off between Nevada rancher, Cliven Bundy, and the US federal government was resolved peacefully when the armed Bureau of Land Management officers withdrew from the vicinity of Mr Bundy's ranch. I'm not sure of all the details surrounding this case but the gist of the dispute is over grazing rights on federal land and fees the government says Mr Bundy owes. Regardless of who is ultimately found to be in the right, what I find troubling is that the Bureau of Land Management can muster a paramilitary response to a dispute over cattle grazing. Admittedly, the government claims Mr Bundy owes a million dollars in unpaid fees which to an ordinary citizen might seem like a large sum of money but in the grand scheme of things is a insignificant and it certainly should not have nearly come to bloodshed.
So my question is: Are you comfortable with the Bureau of Land Management (a part of the Department of the Interior) having a SWAT/Special Operations-type law enforcement capability including snipers that they are willing to use against ordinary citizens over cows eating grass?
I know I'm not!
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