Oh, I'm keeping up with the story, my FRiend - and using my experience to make it hot for the soldiers of the King.
As for the other, I've learned a great deal of patience in my many years at FR. I love a gently simmering pot on the back burner.
I will tell you - they'd be FOOLS to pull that sh*t. While it would please their yellow-back Lefty sheeplings to no end, it would notify the rebel horde that their Masters mean to bring the Boot down hard.
Wonder what the bounty on Brave Companion pelts is, these days? Perhaps enough of them might approach $500 million...
The alphabet agencies love to assess impossible fines, and sometimes it pushes the digit limitations on our pocket calculators. It’s no secret the charge amounts like a few hundred bucks a head per day for “trespassing cattle,” Bundy has 700-900 head, and they’ve been on him for over 20 years. Lowball estimate: $200 x 800 cattle x 365 days per year x 20 years.
That’s the thin air to which I was referring. Comes to about $600 Million, if they go full bore at it. Of course, they’ll want to demonstrate how full of compassion they are, and only insist on a few million. The key is it’ll be enough to ruin the rancher, and a “few million” is as good as a “few hundred million,” which was my point. Using government math, it’s way, way larger than the numbers we keep hearing.
That’s why I say “Wait a bit,” because the true assessment will be some unknown amount substantially more than Bundy can pay, even if he were willing to do so (he’s not).