A question of balance . . .
Burns lies "that-a-way" a distance seven times the distance between here and Mount McLoughlin. Sigh, sometimes even 340 km is still too close for comfort.
My right to swing my arms ends where your jaw begins. My right to free speech ends where your ears begin. My right to exert control, dominate, and otherwise "be the boss" ends where your domain begins. These are the first rules every grade schooler knows (well okay maybe not every). The ability to understand social norms is supposed to be a distinguishing characteristic of homo sapiens sapiens. Recent events in Burns highlighted the reality: Not all of us are self aware, and empathic enough to properly participate in a civil society unsupervised. Some "school yard bullies" sought to impose their version of reality upon the rest of us.
While I was born in Portland, I did grow up in the Pendleton environs. While some may say I am "all hat and no horse", I identify as an Eastern Oregon Cowboy. I am most at home in the Blue Mountains and really "get it" with respect to what it takes to live in Eastern Oregon. To be sure, the idiot invaders of Malheur had no real connection to my part of the country, however they did come to show solidarity with some of my kith and kin of Burns and Harney County.
There is no accounting for stupid, we are all subject to it from time to time. In fact I make a virtue of being stupid: I often tell my upper division physics students that the lack of stupid suggests you aren't doing it right. Stupid is not, by definition, bad. Being belligerently stupid creates a dysfunctional situation for all concerned. The persistence of the "anti-government" variant of stupid is particularly virulent, ubiquitous, and profoundly dysfunctional.
I keep returning to the theme: "anti-government" is grounded in an inappropriate conflating of federal budgeting with personal budgeting. So many still think taxes pay for government programs. The most visible examples are the many "Your Tax Dollars At Work" signs I saw along the 1504 mile route I drove last week. I wish we could exorcize this meme out of the collective mindset. The problem is that this meme is not restricted to the conservatives of our society, as it borders upon conventional wisdom. Progressives need to shape the economic dialogue to derail the lies perpetrated by both the extreme right and the ever present neocons.
Comments
As a particle physicist:
I have no credibility within the universe of economics. I know how sovereign monetary systems work from fundamental principles and the mechanics of a well constructed con. I grok economics from understanding how reality emerges from quantum processes. I do not possess the proper toolkit to accomplish the very important task of educating the general vote as to the nature of the disaster of staying the course pushed by all the other candidates opposed to Bernie Sanders.
You're an East Oregon cowboy particle physicist?
This must be the place.
Stay on track. Stay in lane. Don't throw rocks.
Solitary Life
Believe it or not these two things go together. Most particle physicists I know also like "the cowboy way" of being out in nature, particularly the woods. The creative aspect of nature (or better yet conservation) photography along with the unstructured flow of walking in the woods stimulates the same neural pathways needed for our chosen discipline.
Your thoughts
sound like the type that flow freely when on the road. I think Bernie is doing a pretty good job himself of educating the voters. And what you’re teaching your students is certainly helping to accomplish that task, as you quite elegantly reflect. Judging from the amazing momentum his campaign is generating, I feel hopeful.
Feeling the Bern
I love the energy generated at his various appearances and hope we all can sustain this into a large turnout in the fall. I am a concerned with the nomination process (as we all are) that succumbs to the compromising position of "middle of the road" is good enough. So, while others may find fault (or worse yet arrogance) with me, I will not vote for Hillary electing to write-in Bernie as the best option for a better future.
I sold my airplane to a rancher in Burns,
In 2004. He was originally going to come to Arizona to get it...then meet halfway...then asked me if I could fly it up there for him, as his calves were starting to 'come in'. I agreed. It was a long and intimate trek...navigating and dodging weather in a plane not equipped for the task...so I followed roads very closely. 50 feet, often. When I arrived in Burns, the winds had gotten so strong that I was unable to land, in two tries, and rather than ball the plane up in a third attempt, I headed up the road a bit farther, to John Day. Spent the night on a couch in the airport. Had no trouble in the morning, after following the road back to Burns. I spent the day with the rancher (I can't remember his name right now, but I know that I would have recognized it if mentioned in any of the news reports I followed every day during the standoff...I didn't), ate in a sort of country road house place on the way into Burns from the airport, with his Border Collie. He got me a ride to Redmond, where I got another ride to Eugene, where I got back into the commercial air travel realm, and made my way home.
I mention all of this, because I felt a connection with the place, immediately. I was very angry at everything that went on there during the standoff...I can't believe what they did to the refuge, and to the people of the area. It sure highlighted what we, as progressives, need to push back against, very strongly. I think it was an eye opener to people about protecting 'the commons'.
I think you have a beautiful place up there.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
Eastern OR is one of my favorite places to visit
As it happens, prior to the takeover by vanilla isis, there was a push to protect a not so insignificant sized piece of land that is home to some truly stunning scenery. During the whole event in January and February, news about the possible designation of this land as protected was completely overshadowed. Very shortly after the standoff ended, the idea of protecting this land in Malheur county in the southwest corner of Oregon was put to a vote in that county alone. It had no legal standing, but was rather a barometer of sorts to gauge what sort of support there may be for a federal designation. The idea of "more government" probably caused a few people to blow a gasket, the idea failed miserably at the ballot. Prior to the standoff, there was a good piece on OPB about some of the local reaction to the possibility of the land becoming federally protected. It was largely negative, but I can't help but think that the polarizing event that occurred nearby only served to galvanize people in that part of the state even further.
Gold is the wealth of kings; silver is the wealth of commoners; barter is the wealth of peasants; and debt is the wealth of slaves.
Good point.
This is the problem I have seen over the years. Positions galvanize and the specter of big government scares the hell out of many. That's one of the bad aspects of the "cowboy way" and traditional thinking. I have hope founded, ironically enough, upon the image of that Brooklyn Boy. He speaks to the heart as no other can, and this sort of honesty may have a desirable effect in that part of Oregon. I am no starry eyed fool, but I am certain that Hillary's chances with these people are like those famous cowboys Slim, and Nunn.
Salt of the Earth
My favorite story is the kid that came home from grade school on a friday, told his mom he needed time alone, bag up a few things from the kitchen, checked his rifle, saddled his horse, and rode away to live off the land in the Blue Mountains for the weekend.
I lived in the Sagebrush Steppe so for me it was wandering off to get "lost" for a day with the rattlesnakes and basalt cliffs. In some ways we grew up in an idyllic environment. This is a strong theme for many I have known and Western Oregon city dwellers often don't really understand the life. Most, like me, are not starry eyed romantics but very pragmatic and fierce old-fashioned conservationists of the Aldo Leopold, John Muir mold.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of jerks in Eastern Oregon, but you are right the occupation was an assault visited upon the spirit of the region and not just upon that tiny bit of land. When this hit the net there were many at TOP that thought a direct military like assault by my kith and kin would settle the matter. I am just glad cooler heads were in charge and the result was a minimal loss of life and the gears of justice will be allowed to grind slowly but surely.
The Ochocos and Steens Mtn in the Malheur Refuge make my heart
hurt. I am so in love with that country. The smells, the sounds, the history. I ran into a lady at a Burns laundromat who had worked on the ranch (big) on the eastside of Steens near the Alvord Desert. Right back to the stories told Oregon High Desert and Steens Mountain: a classic.
I once met John Scharff and his wife, Phyllis. I died and went to heaven that day. I saw lightening hit the top of Mt. Jefferson that trip; spent many days camping near the radio tower above Horse Thief Lake. Oh, to be there again.
Thanks so much.
You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again you did not know. ~ William Wiberforce
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Utah connection
There is a strong Utah/Mormon connection to the Bundy Gang occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Several of the occupiers came from Utah or had Utah ties, including Bundy spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum (who was killed resisting arrest).
You might think that the Malheur fiasco would totally discredit the boneheaded movement to grab our public lands for the corporations, but the land grabbers are not deterred at all. The Utah state legislature has enacted a so-called law that unconstitutionally requires the federal government to give up all the national forests and BLM land in Utah. Our Tea-GOP congressional delegation is pushing a "Public Lands Initiative" bill that would target a good part of the state for fossil fuel development, privatize some lands, and grant thousands of permanent rights of way across our public lands. Some rebellious public land ranchers in Utah think their federal subsidies aren't generous enough, and have vowed to stop paying fees for their grazing privileges.
Phil Lyman, a county commissioner who helped organize an armed illegal ATV ride in San Juan County has been given a 10-day jail sentence, but he is appealing. Compare to the case of Tim DeChristopher, who served 21 months in federal prison after peacefully interfering with a BLM oil & gas lease auction.
"We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."
The myth of the self-made man.
The intermountain west is packed with those that have no real concept of their debt to society. This is particularly true of Mormons. There is a meme: Ex-mormons are truly anti-mormons (the hate from within is strong). To truly understand "these people" you need to live with them. Most members of my extended family are acculturated to this as a norm. They can be reached (saved‽) but that usually requires at least virtual (if not actual) excommunication.
I am hoping Burns demonstrates best practice in these type of cases. Case law can work in our favor if law enforcement has the will to do the job. A key point is that some politicians were keep away and the one sheriff that was actively interfering may face some onerous repercussions.
Need I add my usual disclaimer: Yes, there are a lot of jerks here, but there are some dedicated officials here that work to do the right thing. It is not easy, and fixing the long term problems will take time.
Now that I will be living in the heart of "The State Of Jefferson" I plan to chronicle the social and socio-economic changes from within the belly of the beast.