That letter makes a really good point that the FEDS could have served as negotiators and facilitators of a public meeting, and at least shown more of an effort to do something about the situation that put the Hammonds in jail ie
"This is an obvious case of why mandatory minimums aren't always good. Let's ask the president for clemency and work to get this law changed. Let's also action listen to grievances about grazing rights and see whether priority can return to something similar to the separate agency that used to take priority for that. "
.... or something
All that being said, my totally amateur armchair opinion wondered before if it wasn't a reasonable idea to just arrest some of these guys while they were out on the road. And that's what was done. So while it may not have been the perfect choice, I don't have any room for criticism. It seems a lot more likely to cause bloodshed if they confronted them at the compound.
I do agree with IndyDave that we have criminals within our own government. That is why things like this will eventually gain more supporters. It will probaly ultimately be an attempt at gun confiscation that will bring things to a head though. Or perhaps severe economic problems where the government can no longer provide "carrots" without offending more people with "sticks". Because Americans on the whole just don't care about freedom and independence anymore.
I do think they need to release the video and hope it accurately portrays what happened.
"This is an obvious case of why mandatory minimums aren't always good. Let's ask the president for clemency and work to get this law changed. Let's also action listen to grievances about grazing rights and see whether priority can return to something similar to the separate agency that used to take priority for that. "
.... or something
All that being said, my totally amateur armchair opinion wondered before if it wasn't a reasonable idea to just arrest some of these guys while they were out on the road. And that's what was done. So while it may not have been the perfect choice, I don't have any room for criticism. It seems a lot more likely to cause bloodshed if they confronted them at the compound.
I do agree with IndyDave that we have criminals within our own government. That is why things like this will eventually gain more supporters. It will probaly ultimately be an attempt at gun confiscation that will bring things to a head though. Or perhaps severe economic problems where the government can no longer provide "carrots" without offending more people with "sticks". Because Americans on the whole just don't care about freedom and independence anymore.
I do think they need to release the video and hope it accurately portrays what happened.