Posted on 01/14/2016 5:18:38 AM PST by Nextrush
Harney County, Oregon fire marshal Chris Briels has resigned after county officials refused to allow use of the fairgrounds for a town meeting on Friday night.
Briels is a leader of the Harney County Committee of Safety and the retired fire chief of Burns, Oregon.
"Oregon Live" reported the story quoting Briels as saying "I will not work for a government or a person that I do not believe in or have faith in...I will not work for somebody that I don't trust."
Mr. Briels appeared with the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge yesterday and spoke to the media.
Word from the group occupying the refuge is that the meeting will go on Friday night (7pm) with or without a meeting space furnished by the government or a private organization.
Citizens for Constitutional Freedom wants to use the forum to let the Harney County community know its plans moving forward including the cirumstances under which the occupation of the wildlife refuge would end.
County Commissioner-Judge Stephen Grasty told "Oregon Live" the use of county facilities like the fairgrounds will be denied to 'any group that is supportive of, or associated with or on the behalf of the militants at the refuge."
(The term 'militants' is used by the BBC to describe members of the Islamic State terrorist group.)
Meanwhile, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports a business boom in Burns, 30 miles north of the refuge.
America's Best Inn manager Vicki Allen told OPB that her 38 rooms nearly fill up every night.
Maid Liz Houer said she is usually on unemployment around this time of the year, but she's worked every day since New Year's Day.
The OPB says law enforcement and militia are both using the place, sitting in the same room for the continental breakfast every morning.
Other hotels in the area are reporting a big jump in business as well.
Restaurants are also experiencing a pickup in business as well as a local sporting goods store.
OPB spoke with Denny Thomas, owner of B&B Sporting Goods Store who said he's selling five guns a day, instead of four.
He told the media his buyers are local people, not outsiders.
The key demands of the people occupying the wildlife refuge buildings are the release of the Hammonds from prison and the release of the federal land in Harney County to local control.
What's so hard about that ?
All one syllable words even democrats can understand
My worries for these people: Every group has crazies, even groups of patriotic Americans. Every group that opposes government has infiltrators, even groups that support the Constitution. I’m not sure whether an FBI mole will try to trigger an unpleasant event or a nutcase will do that first, but I expect someone to take a step that should not be taken.
I wouldn’t go within 50 miles of that particular standoff.
My sense is that is not going to happen.
Ammon and Ryan Bundy look back at last year’s confrontation when the feds backed off and see another opportunity.
In the East I don’t think we fully understand the issues out West with federal rules and regs, environmental policies and so on..
They’ve turned the screws on farmers and ranchers and whether you or I like it or not, the time for resistance seems to be arriving.
Historically I see a pattern in civil disobedience.
Peaceful civil disobedience on race in the early 1960’s and at abortion clinics around 1990 were entrees to violence in their aftermath. The racial violence was worse with many dead but bombings and a few shootings-killings followed Operation Rescue.
One act of civil disobedience that did work was that of Reverend Everett Sileven Ramsey against the education regulations when he defied Nebraska authorities and operated a Christian school in the early 1980’s.
Democrat Governor Bob Kerrey backed down and President Ronald Reagan supported changing the regulations in a speech before religious broadcasters in early 1984.
And yes, the preacher was not armed, but he and those supporting him were determined, along with parents of the children who attended the school in violation of truancy laws.
The preacher and the fathers of the children all did time in the county jail. Nobody used firearms in this situation.
The feds have no right to take over the majority of a state, and in the west that is exactly what they have done.
These are big sky people with a whole different set of rules for breathing clean air and living hard
There are no urban buildings ... no black mobs ... no social interference of any kind ...
Strictly me n' you, Mr Fed
I pray God's protective hand on the people that are trying to live Godly lives
I’m not trying to tell anyone what to do like those who support the political machines do.
The Democrats contained Ferguson and Baltimore and the Republicans in Oregon who are elected officials are trying to contain things in Harney County.
JFK and the Democrats worked relentlessly to shut down MLK with FBI informants and eventually the FBI audio tapes of his sexual trysts.
The Uniparty politics of this country will not reverse the wrongs done to the land owners out West by the federal government and a lot of other wrongs on a host of other issues like the debt ceiling, Obamacare etc. etc..
I hope in my heart for a new political party and I also accept that some sort of action beyond politics is also a possibility and it appears to materializing in Oregon.
Quite often historically that has led to violence, I hope not and I pray not, but it has.
Suggestion, sue the crooked judge under Civil Rights laws for violating the rights of the People to assemble, petition the government, protest, speak, etc. His judicial immunity is generally limited to a court room. And there was no case before him on this.
Make him personally liable and see how much longer his tyranny goes on.
The firearms are justified for self defense purposes after Waco and Ruby Ridge.
I think there’s been some good demeanor from those at the refuge by using sidearms only and keeping the long guns and tactical gear out of the picture.
I hope the humble and thoughtful approach about firearms continues, keep one’s cool and let the other side overstep their bounds and look bad if possible.
The federal government is controlling the local Republican officials and the local Republicans are trying to control the people of the community but not all are going along as evidenced by the fire marshal’s resignation.
The more visible, determined, active and on scene support these ranchers have the less likely the other side will instigate vioence against them and more likely to make intelligent legal concessions.
That said, it’s time for state militias to fulfill their purpose. We have foriegners trampling our lands and no one would dare shoot one of them. Our goverent has
ceased to represent us. What’s left?
Violence.... :(
“The feds have no right to take over the majority of a state, and in the west that is exactly what they have done.”
By the very sequence of events, the federal government extended authority over lands it either purchased or seized. Private ownership of land was granted by law in various ways, some of which involved recognition of homesteads that were grandfathered. Others had give up their claims. In order to encourage settlement, the government gave blocks of land to people who would farm it, or to the railroads to pay for laying track.
But now that an area is settled, the burden must be shifted to force the federal government to cede all lands to private ownership unless a compelling public interest is served. Well, with socialists in power, anything they want is a “compelling public interest”. On this very forum, we have seen maps of UN projects where most of the lands in the US are under government control so as to return the land to its “natural biosphere”, including corridors so the buffalo can resume roaming the range from Texas to Canada.
What utter foolishness. What utter Gaia worship. What utter destruction of our liberty.
The federal government cannot take care of the lands it presently has under management. Recall when Yellowstone Park was on fire due to the way they managed the vast forest there. We spend billions of dollars so that we can have vast tracts that is off limits to any permanent human presence. There is one whole vast rivershed in Alaska that is off limits.
Socialists act like they can sequester vast amounts of natural resources without economic or social consequence. Yes, we need to preserve special areas for future generations, but we cannot make the whole of the west a “special area” like so many want to do.
And when you give a bureaucracy a budget, it only wants more. When you give the BLM lands to manage, they only crave more.
Part of this was enabled and set into motion when the government in 1913 gave itself the power to create near-infinite amounts of money out of thin air. Government used the money to hire more bureaucrats and enforcement agents. It also buys votes by funding “benefits”.
Government used to be restrained by the sheer limit on the amount of tax receipts in the till. But no more. That is why the first order of business for the Article V Convention that the States must call will be to find ways to strictly limit federal spending to federal tax receipts.
Spending is what drives tax policy, tax rates, federal debt creation and how the banking system is regulated. One way to help peacefully resolve the standoff in Oregon is to so constrain federal spending that the BLM must start selling land rather than trying to acquire control of more.
“I will not work for a government or a person that I do not believe in or have faith in...I will not work for somebody that I don’t trust.”
___
An honorable man. I wish more government employees possessed Mr. Briels integrity and patriotism.
Couldn’t agree more!
No right, but they'll make a law or executive order to cover that. Wetland control, even over private property. Protect endangered bugs and lizards, even on your private property. Coastland control, even if you own beachfront property (even on lakes and rivers). Feds don't respect private rights, they just trample them at the point of guns.
Isn’t Stephen Grasty the democrat that appointed the current sheriff?
Denying people the right to speak peacefully does not help him end a protest. He should let the county people tell the protesters its time to go home, they made their point. Nobody else is going to convene the them outside of the local people.
He is right the Democrat judge and his appointed sheriff are making this into a spectral that it need not be.
They need to let the protesters speak, nobody is going to convince them to go home better than the local people in a town hall.
Local republicans? The key players here are the sheriff and the judge, both of which are democrats. The elected sheriff retired January 1st.
The sheriff let this situation get out of control in terms of their reaction. There was never any reason to close down schools or take any special security measure period.
A bunch of protesters 30 miles from town are not exactly in a position to be a threat to anyone safety.
The local state representative is a Republican and he has spoken out against the occupation. He wants people to place their faith in the political system and said so at the town meeting with the judge-commissioner.
US Congressman Greg Walden made a passionate speech in Washington, but also wants a withdrawl by the group along with every Republican presidential candidate.
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