Witch Notes – The Things I Don’t Understand Edition

Occupation at Malheur

I’ll get this one out of the way first. I understand that they co-opted the legal situation of a couple of local ranchers. That part is clear. But I’m not sure what world they’re living in, or maybe what year they’re living in. Some guys from out of state have take over the Malheur Wildlife Refuge office. Other folks have joined them, coming and going at will. One used a federal vehicle to drive into town to the local Safeway for some snacks. He was arrested. One guy made a video where he expressed his concern over the excessive amount of dildos they’ve received. I’m sure asking for Miracle Whip and French Vanilla creamer caused the resulting confusion. Or not.

I read today that they’ve taken down some cameras, and then tried to present them to the FBI at a meeting this morning. Seriously. It was like a gift basket filled with cameras or something. They want the ranchers released from prison. That’s not happening. They want the refuge returned to the original owners, yet don’t seem to understand that means the Paiute Indians. They want a grand jury impaneled so that local officials are prosecuted for one thing or another, and seem to think it’s okay to make vulgar comments about a 15 year old girl who spoke up at a community meeting where folks voiced all sorts of opinions. I guess it had something to do with the fact that the girl is the granddaughter of a local judge who wants to charge the occupiers somewhere in the neighborhood of $75,000/day for all the crap everyone’s having to deal with. The local economy suffers every day that these folks are there.

Which brings me back to the question my husband keep asking. Why are they there again? Because it sure doesn’t look like it has anything to do with the two ranchers in prison. And it’s odd because everytime I turn around, I’m reading about some other provocative comment from them, daring law enforcement to come after them, and then blaming law enforcement for what will happen if they do go after them. They believe they’re doing nothing wrong. A whole bunch of people disagree. Some express themselves in town meetings; some express themselves by sending adult-themed care packages, sparking interesting responses from the recipients.

And then I read that the coyote hunt was still happening, so not to worry if gunshots are heard. I love the High Desert. We’re an interesting bunch on this side of the state. At least I’m two hours away from all the hoopla. And I’m betting the guy who went after the 79 year old birder wishes he were two hours away as well. The birder was out checking on some baby owls and he was confronted by one of the “visitors”. The poor guy, clearly out of his league, was sucking air on the ground, trying to recover from a high school wrestling move by said 79 year old that upended him, while the 79 year-old went on his merry way. Reportedly, he was breathing just fine. And did I mention he’s 79? I have a Twitter friend who assures me that birders are complete badasses. I’m pretty sure she’s right. Something tells me it’ll be the birders who convince these folks to pack up and leave. Then we can all get back to appreciating the beauty of Malheur Wildlife Refuge.

 

States of Emergency

There’s a gas leak in California and undrinkable water in Flint, Michigan. Gas has been poisoning the air in that California town, and the folks breathing it for quite some time now. It’s not capped off yet. The Governor of Michigan is apparently so clueless that he can’t figure out he needs to ask for Federal assistance. He evidently doesn’t understand that people can’t drink water with lead in it. I don’t understand why he isn’t in jail. Governor LaPage in Maine doesn’t understand why people think he’s racist. He evidently doesn’t understand that his comments are in an endless loop on cable news shows as well as on the internet. He’s worried about fantasy white girls becoming impregnated with fantasy babies from fantasy drug dealers from New York and Connecticut. He should count his lucky stars that it’s just rumors of impeachment floating around. Folks in Michigan are asking that their governor be arrested for his role in the lead poisoning of Flint residents. And that’s not including the Legionnaire’s that’s developing in the same area.

It’s bad enough that these situations happen, but when choice is involved, like in the case of Flint, how is it that it’s taken this long for anything to be done? Meanwhile, Flint residents continue to be poisoned. Paul LePage should be thankful his state won’t have to pay for fantasy babies. What will the eventual cost be to Flint residents? Because it won’t simply be monetary. Lives will be forever changed by the decisions made by their governor. The Federal government should be able to step in when a crisis like this happens and the governor won’t act. I have no idea what’s at the bottom of the gas leak in California, so it may be something that inadvertently happened. We’ll eventually know the answer to that, but again, what provisions and protections are there for the residents of the area? What will be the inevitable damage to their health while the leak is dealt with?

Have we become so accustomed to the notion of acceptable loss that we can’t respond quickly to situations that clearly need our quick response? Or does vested interest keep solutions at bay?

 

Campaign Rhetoric

Maybe rhetoric is too benign a word. Venom is probably more like it. It’s ugly and I can’t listen to it. I like both Democratic candidates, and I’ll vote for whichever one it is. I would love a woman President. But if it’s the Democratic Socialist, I’ll be equally thrilled. What bothers me is that now people who I once bonded with want me to choose, and if I make the wrong choice, then I’m a traitor. Within my own party no less. I get that people are passionate, but I want my liberal friends back. I don’t care which candidate they support. I want all of us to support each other. We can set the tone, the example, of how to listen to the views of another without letting that derail us into complete and total disrespect. We can support our candidate and still be friends at the end of the day.

I heard candidate Fiorina express some really disgusting views about Hillary. Her face contorted as she spoke into something so ugly I had to stop looking at her. It’s this kind of venom that Democrats need to avoid like the plague. We all may feel strongly about our candidate, but we need to feel even more strongly about each other. Our unity of purpose is necessary now, irrespective of who gets our vote. So let’s hang in there, hearing each other out, allowing for respectful differences of opinion. We can do this.

We must do this.

~Blessed Be