View Full Version : I wanna be a Sheriff!
NousDefionsDoc
04-29-2006, 08:17
May Be Time to Get to Know Your Sheriff: the power of localism
by Jackie Payne
County sheriffs in Wyoming have scored a big one for the 10th Amendment and states rights. The sheriffs slapped federal intrusion upside the head and are insisting that all federal law enforcement officers and personnel from federal regulatory agencies must clear all their activities in a Wyoming county with the Sheriff's Office. Deja vu for those who remember big Richard Mack in Arizona.
Bighorn County Sheriff Dave Mattis spoke at a press conference following the recent U.S. District Court decision (Case No. 2:96-cv-099-J) and announced that all federal officials are forbidden to enter his county without his prior approval. "If a sheriff doesn't want the Feds in his county he has the constitutional power and right to keep them out or ask them to leave or retain them in custody."
The court decision was the result of a suit against both the BATF and the IRS by Mattis and other members of the Wyoming Sheriffs' Association. The suit in the Wyoming federal court district sought restoration of the protections enshrined in the United States Constitution and the Wyoming Constitution.
Guess what? The District Court ruled in favor of the sheriffs. In fact, they stated, "Wyoming is a sovereign state and the duly elected sheriff of a county is the highest law enforcement official within a county and has law enforcement powers exceeding that of any other state or federal official." Go back and re-read that quote. The court confirms and asserts, "the duly elected sheriff of a county is the highest law enforcement official within a county and has law enforcement powers EXCEEDING that of any other state OR federal official." And you thought the 10th Amendment was dead and buried -- not in Wyoming, not yet.
But it gets even better. Since the judge states the sheriff"has law enforcement powers EXCEEDING that of any other state OR federal official," the Wyoming sheriffs are flexing their muscles. They are demanding access to all BATF files. Why? So as to verify the agency is not violating provisions of Wyoming law that prohibits the registration of firearms or the keeping of a registry of firearm owners. See, that would be wrong. The sheriffs are also demanding that federal agencies immediately cease the seizure of private property and the impoundment of private bank accounts without regard to due process in state courts.
Gosh, it kinda makes you wish the sheriffs of whatever counties have Waco, Texas, and Oklahoma City in their jurisdictions were drinking the same water these Wyoming sheriffs are...
Sheriff Mattis said, "I am reacting to the actions of federal employees who have attempted to deprive citizens of my county of their privacy, their liberty, and their property without regard to constitutional safeguards. I hope that more sheriffs all across America will join us in protecting their citizens from the illegal activities of the IRS, EPA, BATF, FBI, or any other federal agency that is operating outside the confines of constitutional law. Employees of the IRS and the EPA are no longer welcome in Bighorn County unless they intend to operate in conformance to constitutional law." Amen.
However, the sad reality is that sheriffs are elected, and that means they are required to be both law enforcement managers and politicians. Unfortunately, Wyoming sheriffs are the exception rather than the rule ... but they shouldn't be. Sheriffs have enormous power, if or when they choose to use it. I share the hope of Sheriff Mattis that "more sheriffs all across America will join us in protecting their citizens. ..."
If Wyoming Sheriffs can follow in the steps of former Arizona Sheriff Richard Mack and both recognize their power and authority, they could become champions for the memory of Thomas Jefferson who died "thinking" he had won those states' rights debates with Alexander Hamilton.
This case is not some amusing mountain melodrama. This is a BIG deal. It is yet further evidence that the 10th Amendment is not yet totally dead,
atrophied, or in complete decay in the United States. It is also significant in that it can/may, and hopefully will be interpreted to mean that "political subdivisions of a State are included within the meaning of the amendment, or that the powers exercised by a sheriff are an extension of those common law powers which the Tenth Amendment explicitly reserves to the People, if they are not granted to the federal government and specifically prohibited to the States."
http://sianews.com/modules.php?name=...ticle&sid=2911
Bill Harsey
04-29-2006, 08:31
Maybe we can get a real cowboy movie about Wyoming now.
Great article NDD.
Great article. Why don't you and TS run for Sheriff of two contiguous counties along our Southern border? :munchin
Team Sergeant
04-29-2006, 08:40
What the article fails to mention is that there is only 16 people that live in WY and they're all related to the Sheriff (including the judge).
Might work well for a "little" state like WY but not a good idea for the real "populated" states. The local Sheriff here is not a Sheriff but a full time politician.
One last thing.... you know how the feds will respond, "Have fun taking care of those "highways", no more federal funds for maintenance......
NousDefionsDoc
04-29-2006, 08:50
Bighorn County, Wyoming: population 11, 461 - SAAAAALUTE! :)
The Reaper
04-29-2006, 08:52
Great news. States Rights live!
If he were in Chicago or New Orleans, I would vote for the Sheriff, several times.
TR
Bighorn County, Wyoming: population 11, 461 - SAAAAALUTE! :)
I just got a REAL ugly, Mental picture in my head.
NDD as a Hee-Haw honey.......:eek:
I think I just threw up a little in my mouth. :D
Great news. States Rights live!
If he were in Chicago or New Orleans, I would vote for the Sheriff, several times.
TR
Well back in the day, when the first Richard Daly was mayor, "vote early and vote often" seemed to be the unofficial motto... ;)
CoLawman
04-29-2006, 11:25
In my not so humble opinion: This is more an issue of egos than state's rights. Sheriff Mattis and his ilk, I predict, will not be joined by the majority of the National Sheriff's Association. Wyoming is unique in that they have a very sparse population which obviously equates to a very low crime index. (SEE Uniform Crime Report on FBI website.)
Sheriff Mattis said, "I am reacting to the actions of federal employees who have attempted to deprive citizens of my county of their privacy, their liberty, and their property without regard to constitutional safeguards. I hope that more sheriffs all across America will join us in protecting their citizens from the illegal activities of the IRS, EPA, BATF, FBI, or any other federal agency that is operating outside the confines of constitutional law. Employees of the IRS and the EPA are no longer welcome in Bighorn County unless they intend to operate in conformance to constitutional law." Amen.
Pure hyperbole. The feds operate under the same constitution as state law enforcement. In fact you will find that the Federal Courts apply the exclusionary rule more stringently than states. Unfortunately most Case Law originates from local jurisidction's rights violations, not from Federal law enforcement.
Most State County and local law enforcement work hand in hand with Federal law enforcement agencies. They are interdependent. Most jurisidictions clambor for MORE federal assistance. WHY? Because the feds have resources and funds that supplement local law enforcement's efforts. Task Forces, dealing with drugs, gangs, and organized crime, across this nation, are manned with Feds and locals, with the lion's share of the funding coming from the FEDS!
Most law enforcement agencies would not be staffed at their current levels if it were not for past and present Federal Grants. Most agencies would not have the manpower to deal with gangs, drugs, and organized crime without Federal funding and Federal manpower. Reality is that most law enforcement agencies rely heavily on Federal law enforcement and the funding that is part and parcel of that relationship. Me thinks that Sheriff Mattis does not require any of the aforementioned assistance as Sheriff Mattis' community does not have those concerns. (See population 11,000).
I have dealt with these small town Sheriffs and the old axiom, you get what you pay for applies. An even older axiom might apply here as well; "Me thinks thou dost protest too loudly."
Keep it up Sheriff, we will take the few meager Federal officers working in your state in Colorado!
One final opinion: It is doubtful that the Wyoming Police Chiefs in Cheyenne and Laramie (most populous) are willing participants.........they cannot afford to be. They actually have crime they have to deal with in their jurisdictions.
:munchin
Jack Moroney (RIP)
04-29-2006, 13:33
Maybe we can get a real cowboy movie about Wyoming now.
Great article NDD.
Well actually they should have filmed it in Vermont if we are going to put Sherrifs in the starring roles. We have one female sherrif down south of us that thinks she has so much power that she diverted about 60K of tax funds to use to keep her female live in partner happy.
rubberneck
04-29-2006, 14:11
Can you imagine what would have happened if the FBI had to seek approval from some Sheriff's from the deep south during the 60's to investigate lynchings and other civil rights abuses. Yikes.
The Reaper
04-29-2006, 14:21
Can you imagine what would have happened if the FBI had to seek approval from some Sheriff's from the deep south during the 60's to investigate lynchings and other civil rights abuses. Yikes.
Yeah, or the mafia in Jersey.:rolleyes:
The real issue is that the Feds have a deservedly bad rep for jumping in late on a case, crapping on the locals, taking credit if it is successfully concluded, and leaving the state or locals holding the bag if it goes bad.
TR
Most State County and local law enforcement work hand in hand with Federal law enforcement agencies. They are interdependent. Most jurisidictions clambor for MORE federal assistance. WHY? Because the feds have resources and funds that supplement local law enforcement's efforts. Task Forces, dealing with drugs, gangs, and organized crime, across this nation, are manned with Feds and locals, with the lion's share of the funding coming from the FEDS!
They may think they work hand in hand, but it is the agenda of the Feds that take priority every time. I'm sure you have had many incidents wherein arrests weren't made, warrants weren't signed, obvious targets were ignored and investigations were shifted at meetings where the locals were not invited.
It s the classic double date analogy - you want to date the beautyful girl (funding) but she'll only go if her 6'5 280lb sister can come with you (the Feds). Problem was you just could not get Federal assistance (funding) without the Feds.The fix just may be the independant funding from local CT Task Forces & Homeland Security Grants that come only with a department documentation caveat.
That being said, I agree and will even go further to say that I know of no police department or federal agency wherein politics does not make up 60% (or better) of the God Damn business day. There may be some argument as to whether the small hometown department is worse than the huge metro, but its still all wasted time and complete loss of focus.
The thing that really pisses me off is when a keeper of the funding (or "clerk of record") injects personnel who have no knowlege base of the task force initiative - hence the dreaded 4 year investigation with its 2 indictments for misdemeanor crimes (if prosecuted at all) and a plethora of media coverage
NousDefionsDoc
04-29-2006, 15:09
Can you imagine what would have happened if the FBI had to seek approval from some Sheriff's from the deep south during the 60's to investigate lynchings and other civil rights abuses. Yikes.
Do you think the FBI had a major positive impact on the civil rights movement?
Going from memory, I worked for a SO and currently a Volunteer for one. The SO is unique in that they do have special authority. When I was in AZ only a Sheriff could arrest the Governor..(hope memory is correct). The SO is also a arm of the court. A duputy serving papers for the court has more power than a regular LEO. Screwing with that Deputy is basically screwing with the Judge. I think most states give special powers to SO, that is one reason why it is a elected position and NOT appointed.
Sadly the FBI under Hoover had problems.
Also didn't the Wyoming and Montana's challenge the Mandatory firearms check required by the Fed on the basis of involuntary servatude?
incommin
04-29-2006, 16:17
The feds have earned their rep! I have only been with a sheriff's dept since 1980; but I have seen the feds come in and want our intel and info but give nothing up themselves; pick and chose what cases they will take....usually the ones that are already worked up with physical evidence..... openly look down on and talk down to local officers.........some of that is not the individual officers fault; some of the blame goes to the US prosecutors.....
The other side of the coin is that they can often get the bad guys longer sentences in federal courts, pool assets locals don't have, and help take investigation into surrounding states.
rubberneck
04-29-2006, 16:57
Yeah, or the mafia in Jersey.:rolleyes:
The real issue is that the Feds have a deservedly bad rep for jumping in late on a case, crapping on the locals, taking credit if it is successfully concluded, and leaving the state or locals holding the bag if it goes bad.
TR
I am all for the fed being able to go after a sheriff if he has ties to the mob. In fact they have with a good deal of success. While the feds have a bad rep (sometimes deservedly so) there have also been plenty of times in recent history where the Feds were the only ones that had interest in enforcing the law.
Do you think the FBI had a major positive impact on the civil rights movement?
Yes, if for no other reason than they were able to effectively infiltrate the Klan and get federal convicitions against all the major players. The Klan went from being a major force against the civil rights movement to a bad joke in less than 10 years. I think the FBI desrves some credit for that.
NousDefionsDoc
04-29-2006, 17:16
That is because you are from NJ. The FBI didn't get the Klan. The FBI couldn't find it's own ass with both hands.
rubberneck
04-29-2006, 17:44
That is because you are from NJ.
I am not from NJ, I just happen to live here currently.
The FBI didn't get the Klan. The FBI couldn't find it's own ass with both hands.
If the FBI didn't get the Klan then who managed to get all those convictions?
NousDefionsDoc
04-29-2006, 18:54
Might want to do a little research. The FBI was investigating the civil rights movement. Check King's comments and the suits filed. They only looked at the KKK after the pressure got too great. It was obvious by that time that the civil rights movement was going to suceed.
Most of the KKK's trouble ended up being financial from seizures etc. Sort of like getting Capone for income tax evasion. Not impressive.
The KKK is cyclical anyway. It wouldn't surprise me at all if we see a resurgence because of illegal immigration.
NousDefionsDoc
04-29-2006, 18:56
Oh, and all of what convictions?
NousDefionsDoc
04-29-2006, 19:02
Anti-Civil Rights Involvement
The KKK experienced another, less successful resurgence during the 1960s as African Americans won civil rights gains in the South. Opposed to the civil rights movement and its attempt to end racial segregation and discrimination, the Klan capitalized on the fears of whites, to grow to a membership of about twenty thousand. It portrayed the civil rights movement as a Communist, Jewish conspiracy, and it engaged in terrorist acts designed to frustrate and intimidate the movement's members. KKK adherents were responsible for acts such as the 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in which four young black girls were killed and many others injured, and the 1964 murder of civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney, in Mississippi. The Klan was also responsible for many other beatings, murders, and bombings, including attacks on the Freedom Riders, who sought to integrate interstate buses.
In many instances, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), then under the control of J. Edgar Hoover, had intelligence that would have led to the prevention of Klan violence or conviction of its perpetrators. However, the FBI did little to oppose the Klan during the height of the civil rights movement.
By the 1980s and 1990s, the Klan had shrunk to under ten thousand members and had splintered into several organizations. However, it increasingly cooperated with a proliferating number of other white supremacist groups, including the Order and Aryan Nations. Like these groups, the KKK put new emphasis on whites as an "oppressed majority" victimized by affirmative action and other civil rights measures.
The Klan's campaign of hatred has spurred opposition from many fronts, including Klanwatch, an organization started by lawyer and civil rights activist Morris Dees in 1980. The group is affiliated with Dees's Southern Poverty Law Center, in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1987, Dees won a $7 million civil suit against the Alabama-based United Klans of America for the 1981 murder of a nineteen-year-old man. The suit drove that Klan organization into bankruptcy.
The KKK suffered another setback in 1990, when the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of that state's Anti-Mask Act (Ga. Code Ann. § 16-11-38) by a vote of 6-1 (State v. Miller, 260 Ga. 669, 398 S.E.2d 547). The case involved a Klan member who had been arrested for wearing full Klan regalia, including mask, in public and had claimed a First Amendment right to wear such clothing. The court ruled that the law, first passed in 1951, protected a state interest in safeguarding the right of the people to exercise their civil rights and to be free from violence and intimidation. It held that the law did not interfere with the defendant's freedom of speech.
answers.com
Jack Moroney (RIP)
04-29-2006, 19:03
The FBI couldn't find it's own ass with both hands.
Now, now-I have had nothing but good fortune with the FBI. I have been fortunate never to have had to depend on them for anything, I have been fortunate to find the snub-nosed .38 that one of their weenie agents who was in the reserves had stuffed in his belt during my JMPI before he would have lost it on the opening shock, I have had good fortune in having them only as a back up on a sting operation to nail one of my slicksters who was ripping off weapons and toting stuff he ought not to have been toting in places he ought not be, I have had good fortune and who would have gotten away with it if I had followed their lead, etc, etc, etc.
Also didn't the Wyoming and Montana's challenge the Mandatory firearms check required by the Fed on the basis of involuntary servatude?
As far as I know they did. I lived in Montana for a few years and I remember a friend of mine from there mentioning something about this. It didn't fly however, the background check forms are still being used. Depending on who you ask though its just because MT and WY decided to play nice.
Montana also doesn't have a state sales tax (not for lack of some poeple trying) on the grounds that it is taxation without representation.
groundup
05-01-2006, 19:49
Yeah, or the mafia in Jersey.:rolleyes:
What mafia? Never heard of such a thing.
NousDefionsDoc
05-01-2006, 19:52
What mafia? Never heard of such a thing.
I believe you yankees call them "Waste Disposal Companies" or some such.
the 1964 murder of civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney, in Mississippi.
Oddly enough, it was the mob that solved that case, not the FBI.:cool:
bost1751
05-01-2006, 23:46
The case of the three civil rights workers killed in MS was never successfully investigated, tried and convicted. Originally from MS, and still there when this took place, not to mention the county this took place in is the next county to my orignal home I have a good idea of several involved in the incident. The majority of those directly involved in the killingswere questioned and that is as far as it went. There were, and still are, very tight lips about this and I honestly doubt if the world will ever know much more than they do know about the killings.
The Reaper
05-02-2006, 07:59
Not exactly.
If you are referring to the three civil rights workers (James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner) killed on 21 June, 1964 near Philadelphia, MS, 18 men were arrested. In 1967, seven of them were convicted on federal conspiracy charges and given sentences of three to ten years. On Jan. 7, 2005, Edgar Ray Killen was charged with three counts of murder. Killen was convicted on three counts of manslaughter, a lesser charge. He received the maximum sentence, 60 years in prison.
TR
bost1751
05-02-2006, 23:45
I didn't say there where no arrests or convictions. James Edgar was just a pure and simple loud mouth redneck. There were a bunch of players that never got anything but an interview. I doubt any of them are still alive now and the entire truth and facts about the entire killings will never be known now.
What is being overlooked in this whoe deal is the incident took place in the deep south. The civil rights workers were from up north. The FBI agents were from the "outside" also. This area is still somewhat funny about that. The talk was about a sheriff in WY. In the 60's a sheriff in MS was somthing else. Even in the 80's in these particular counties.
bost1751
05-02-2006, 23:46
Correction, Edgar Ray. No matter what you call him he's stil a pos.
The KKK is cyclical anyway. It wouldn't surprise me at all if we see a resurgence because of illegal immigration.Don't forget the NAACP....
The_Future
02-24-2007, 15:56
The KKK is cyclical anyway. It wouldn't surprise me at all if we see a resurgence because of illegal immigration.
I don't think that will happen. The majority of the illegal immigration (Mexican) that I come into contact with are drug traffickers. To know that one would know that they are not intimidated with ease. They are well organized and their drug trafficking is intertwined in their religious beliefs (ex. Santa Morte). Reality is they are the new MOB. The Klan are extremist just like Hamas, White Supremacist, Crips..etc.....The Klan could not rid America of Black people and they wont with Hispanics either.
spectre919
02-24-2007, 17:26
I was stationed in WY for three years. The "anti" Fed attitude is pretty common there.....along with antelope, elk, moose, and bison (i'm gettin hungry :) ).
NousDefionsDoc
02-24-2007, 19:04
I don't think that will happen. The majority of the illegal immigration (Mexican) that I come into contact with are drug traffickers. To know that one would know that they are not intimidated with ease. They are well organized and their drug trafficking is intertwined in their religious beliefs (ex. Santa Morte). Reality is they are the new MOB. The Klan are extremist just like Hamas, White Supremacist, Crips..etc.....The Klan could not rid America of Black people and they wont with Hispanics either.
Yeah, that you come into contact with. You are a narcotics LEO, so that makes sense. You are buying their propaganda if you believe religion and drug dealing are in anyway connected. I'm not at all sure what you mean by "Santa Morte." "Morte" is Portuguese, not Spanish. If you mean Doña Sebastiana, that is a cult, not a religion and it has nothing really to do with drugs per se.
I didn't say the KKK would rid the US of Hispanics, I said it wouldn't surprise me to see a resurgence because of illegal immigration. You think it is a huge leap from Minutemen to KKK? You think the KKK started any differently? Might want to do some research into mob mentality, group dynamics and the history of vigilante groups. The AUC didn't start out as a drug running organization.
On a different note, I'm not sure I follow the user name. We have a rule here, if you are not SF, you don't put SF in your user name. Feel free to PM me any mitigating circumstances you feel might apply, or your choice of a new user name.
Welcome to PS.com
NousDefionsDoc
02-24-2007, 19:05
I was stationed in WY for three years. The "anti" Fed attitude is pretty common there.....along with antelope, elk, moose, and bison (i'm gettin hungry :) ).
Any thoughts as to why?
Defender968
02-24-2007, 19:40
FutureOf_SF I think you view may be a bit over simplified. I understand as a Narco detective you see allot of illegals who are drug runners/dealers, and while I agree with your description of the drug running type, they are only a small portion of the illegal immigrant population. They are not who the Klan will target, the folks in the Klan are ignorant but they're not stupid. I’d wager if you talk to your brothers on the road in patrol you would find they deal with many illegal immigrants who have nothing to do with drugs, but do work in construction and on the farms in NC. These are the people that the Klan will go after. While they did not succeed in their previous endeavors I don't think that will stop them from continuing to spread hate. If you've lived in NC for very long you should know there are places where the Klan never truly went away, just laid dormant. Out in the Smithfield area would be a great example. They'll use peoples fear over illegal immigration to spread hate, raise money, and gain influence.
In SC we've already had multiple crimes portrayed on hardworking but illegal Hispanic immigrants. Some crimes were based on their race, and others because the honest ones (i.e. non drug dealers) are easy targets due to the fact that they carry large amounts of cash and won't go to the police. In many cases the hispanic victims would rather just deal with what happened than to have "la migra" come banging on their doors. The illegal immigrant culture is extremely skeptical of the police in any form and often will not call even if things have already turned violent. I have no doubt there are many more crimes we haven't even heard about because they go unreported.
Not that media is always correct by any stretch, but check out this article,
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,251427,00.html it would seem to indicate that what NousDefionsDoc said months ago is already happening.
Just my .02
NousDefionsDoc
02-24-2007, 19:54
Yes, they eat their own and you will usually not hear a lot about it.
The_Future
02-24-2007, 20:10
Yeah, that you come into contact with. You are a narcotics LEO, so that makes sense. You are buying their propaganda if you believe religion and drug dealing are in anyway connected. I'm not at all sure what you mean by "Santa Morte." "Morte" is Portuguese, not Spanish. If you mean Doña Sebastiana, that is a cult, not a religion and it has nothing really to do with drugs per se.
I didn't say the KKK would rid the US of Hispanics, I said it wouldn't surprise me to see a resurgence because of illegal immigration. You think it is a huge leap from Minutemen to KKK? You think the KKK started any differently? Might want to do some research into mob mentality, group dynamics and the history of vigilante groups. The AUC didn't start out as a drug running organization.
On a different note, I'm not sure I follow the user name. We have a rule here, if you are not SF, you don't put SF in your user name. Feel free to PM me any mitigating circumstances you feel might apply, or your choice of a new user name.
Welcome to PS.com
NDD, Santa Muerte (Holy Death) and Jesus Malverde (Patron Saint to Drug Traffickers) is talked about in this course.
WWW.narcoticstraining.com/seminars
And Minutemen believe in the law. Their project is against violence. The Klan believe in their law. We know their history. Similar to FREEMAN. And being Afro-American/Dominican I know better than most. They are still out there. Just more covert.
WWW.minutemanproject.com
I deal with organized crime groups everyday. My unit infiltrates them and breaks them down from the inside out and bottom to top. The last three years of my life have been in an undercover capacity. The DEA get locals to do the U/C work because after 9/11 their mandate upgraded to title 3's (Wire Taps). So in essence they need us just as much as we need them.
And as for the name I have PM'D you.
NousDefionsDoc
02-24-2007, 20:17
Neither of which is religion, but rather cult. Drug dealing is a strictly for profit proposition - don't buy into the other crap. There is no "patron saint of drug traffickers." Neither of those are saints anyway. They made that shit up. Hanlon's Razor applies.
When I read your response about the Minutemen, I actually sighed. Out loud.
If I were you, I wouldn't be posting that on the internet. Perhaps instead of worrying about Doña Sebastiana you should take a course in PERSEC.
As for the user name, I already changed it.
The_Future
02-24-2007, 20:43
FutureOf_SF I think you view may be a bit over simplified. I understand as a Narco detective you see allot of illegals who are drug runners/dealers, and while I agree with your description of the drug running type, they are only a small portion of the illegal immigrant population. They are not who the Klan will target, the folks in the Klan are ignorant but they're not stupid. I’d wager if you talk to your brothers on the road in patrol you would find they deal with many illegal immigrants who have nothing to do with drugs, but do work in construction and on the farms in NC. These are the people that the Klan will go after. While they did not succeed in their previous endeavors I don't think that will stop them from continuing to spread hate. If you've lived in NC for very long you should know there are places where the Klan never truly went away, just laid dormant. Out in the Smithfield area would be a great example. They'll use peoples fear over illegal immigration to spread hate, raise money, and gain influence.
In SC we've already had multiple crimes portrayed on hardworking but illegal Hispanic immigrants. Some crimes were based on their race, and others because the honest ones (i.e. non drug dealers) are easy targets due to the fact that they carry large amounts of cash and won't go to the police. In many cases the hispanic victims would rather just deal with what happened than to have "la migra" come banging on their doors. The illegal immigrant culture is extremely skeptical of the police in any form and often will not call even if things have already turned violent. I have no doubt there are many more crimes we haven't even heard about because they go unreported.
Not that media is always correct by any stretch, but check out this article,
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,251427,00.html it would seem to indicate that what NousDefionsDoc said months ago is already happening.
Just my .02
I agree...let me say that all Mexicans are not drug dealing, cold hearted sob's. Just like all blacks are not gang members. It's funny how people get labeled because of others. And my statement of minutemen goes with the same jusitce is blind mindset. Well all know it is not. It is a difference between being a racist and a coward and just being a racist. I spent four years in patrol. I see how people treated me then and how the treat me now that i work U/C.
spectre919
02-24-2007, 22:21
Any thoughts as to why?
NDD-
The predominant attitude in WY is self-reliance. They don't ask for much from the Fed's and really don't want alot of outside interference.
In a lot of ways WY doesn't really have a shared experience with many other states. They don't feel the economic drain on their state/county governments that other states do; they are the 3rd largest geographic state, with a little over 550k residents.
1) There is no "personal income tax" because the state makes enough revenue through precious metals and gems, they just don't need to tax personal income.
2) Serious crime is realitively non-existant, so they don't need large prison systems.
3) State provided healthcare/wellfare for the poor is pretty damn good, but because the population is so small it is again pretty much paid for by 1).
4) The state owns quite a bit of land there so they make pretty good money from the cattle ranchers that use the land for grazing. This is also a good thing for the citizens (ie, I used to go shoot on state land anytime I wanted to: 365)
5) It is still legal to "open-carry" a sidearm or long-gun in public; NO permit required...of course all of the concealed carry laws apply (places that you can/can't carry, etc.)
So I guess they have the mindset that "we are rather untouched by many of the problems throughout the rest of the country; let's leave it that way." If you ever get a chance to read up on the Johnson County War and some of the politics associated with it, that will give you a glimpse of the powers that made Wyoming what it is.
From what I witnessed while I was there, little has changed.
Hope this helps.
S
I loved it out there and would return in a heart-beat.
Any thoughts as to why?beyond what spectre919 has already answered, i'd offer a couple more...the Federal Government "owns" most of Wyoming...if you have never lived with the BLM or Forest Service as a neighbor, it would be hard to understand how frustrating and enraging it can be...beyond Joe Citizen thinking that your cattle pasture is his overnight campground, there are serious issues involving land use that an easterner or anyone else not encumbered with dealing with bureaucrats would find impossible...example...in most of the western US, subsurface rights are not owned by the person who has title to the surface...in many areas, the Feds own the ground beneath your foundation...this conundrum is subject to all sorts of misinterpretation, particularly if you have an "eco-friendly" (read anti-American) administration in the White House like the recent Democratic folks...during one faux pas press briefing, a local BLM guru brought forth the notion that land owners may have to have a federal permit to build fences, plow fields etc., as those activities encroach into the public domain...living next to land owned by the US of A makes this sort of nonsense very prevalent (aforementioned bureaucrat was moved to a safe location before her neck could be stretched...and the comment was disavowed by the WJC administration, although this person was lauded upon hiring for her environmental fervor)...
in short, the Feds are the 800 pound gorilla...
roads that have been commonly used for 100+ years wind up in "Wilderness" areas and locals have to fight tooth and nail to keep them opened...San Juan County, Utah has been at war with the BLM for as long as i can remember over this issue...basically, the Feds wanted to close a county road, altering a 20 mile trip (one-way) for groceries, medical care, etc., to a nearly 75 mile one way trip for the same, all to preserve Indian ruins in the land nearby...now i have no complaint about preserving pre-Colombian artifacts, but the truth be known, there were insufficient BLM rangers to do the job, so why block a road...?
i could go on, but most westerners, particularly rural westerners, have a strong distrust of the Federal government...and Wyoming is a very rural state...
and the wind blows in Wyoming because Nebraska sucks...:D
spectre919
02-25-2007, 19:12
and the wind blows in Wyoming because Nebraska sucks...:D
..yep...it's as if you know that bad stretch of road along I-80 aka NE....:D
Thank's for pointing out the BLM thing...totally forgot about that goatrope.
..yep...it's as if you know that bad stretch of road along I-80 aka NE....oh, yeah...driven I-80 across the state a time or six...drive I-25 the length of the state as well...and Nebraska...well, someone has to live there...glad it ain't me...
I always enjoy how the local-yokals will dis the Federal Gov’t but whenever there is a huge local disaster issue it seems that locals all cry out that the Feds did not come help them fast enough or with enough resources. I am all for states rights and totally believe in the 10th amendment, but I don’t get onboard with everyone out there that wants to blame the Federal Gov’t for all their ill
I would propose to you that over 90% of the membership here is, was, or will be a member of the Federal Govt! So are we part of the problem?
spectre919
02-26-2007, 18:34
I always enjoy how the local-yokals will dis the Federal Gov’t but whenever there is a huge local disaster issue it seems that locals all cry out that the Feds did not come help them fast enough or with enough resources. I am all for states rights and totally believe in the 10th amendment, but I don’t get onboard with everyone out there that wants to blame the Federal Gov’t for all their ill
I would propose to you that over 90% of the membership here is, was, or will be a member of the Federal Govt! So are we part of the problem?
SF18C,
I completely agree with you about the natural disaster thing. I think the larger problem is not the Fed's, but some in society, who think that there is no inherent risk to living on this planet; and the Federal government should replace thier beachhouse after it's destroyed by Hurricane Younameit.
However, I would say the State of Wyoming can probably walk-the-walk when they say they don't want the Fed's there. They get very little in the way of disaster relief from the Fed (except for wildfires, mainly in manpower and some eqmt) or other subsidies.
If some other state's just asked for wildfire assistance, think of how much money we'd have to spend on..... ;)