From time to time, the Greenbean blog is just a random list of things that are on my mind. This is one of those times.
Home, Home on the Range, Where the BLM Roam
Did you notice that this past week there was what can only be called a “Showdown” going on out in Nevada. Apparently a rancher claims hereditary rights to land that the government seized in 1993 due to a provision in the Endangered Species Act. The feds will let him continue to graze there, but he has to pay a fee, they say, to use land his family has always used. He refuses to pay.
It is quite the scene as the Bureau of Land Management has begun seizing his cattle unless he pays the $1.1 million in back grazing fees.
Three things come to mind.
- Why are the feds acting now. What do they really want?
- The way of life in the west is different from the rest of the country, and this strikes me as being more of a cultural problem than a law problem.
- This is the kind of thing that never ends well.
Putin Gambles with Other People’s Money
Putin is at it again in Ukraine. I’ve already blogged about this (click here), and it seems my analysis was accurate. Putin is upping the ante, and this will now only end in one way–with Ukraine being reabsorbed by the Russian state. I don’t think the U.S. or the U.K. will honor its moral obligation to protect Ukraine, which is something they promised in 1994 when Ukraine voluntarily gave all its nuclear weapons to Russia.
Under a Blood Red Moon
Mrs. Greenbean woke me up at 2:45 this morning to see the lunar eclipse. It is the first of four in this lunar eclipse tetrad that spreads out until September of 2015. It was impressive, I have to admit. The moon was a reddish/orangish hue and might be quite frightening if a person didn’t understand the science behind it. I looked at it for a moment and then crawled back in bed.
Here comes the interesting part. This mornings newspaper reports that San Antonio preacher John Hagee believes that this is a sign that the end is near. Click here for a news report about Hagee and his claims. Of course Hagee is wrong, although he will no doubt make a little coin off his book about it. I don’t know why anyone gives any credence to loons like that (pun intended–loon–lunatic–lunar) when they howl that everything that happens is a sign of the end. (Click here, here and here for other end of the world analysis). These types of people, like Hagee, should never be trusted by anyone again on any issue because they have consistently proven they do not rightly handle the word of God.
Hate is a Poor Marksman
There is not much to say about the tragic shootings in Kansas. Frazier Glenn Cross, 73 years old, hates Jews. This is supported by his role as a leader in the Klu-Klux-Klan and avid white supremacist activity. He attacked the Jewish center on Passover Eve and killed three people. The problem, for him at least, is that the three people he killed were all self-identified Christians.
Much analysis is now taking place over hate crime laws, since he missed his mark. The question seems to be, “Is it a hate crime to kill white Christians?” I take the whole issue to be ridiculous because the crime is not in the hating, the crime is in the killing. Regardless of who this man shot, he should spend the rest of his life in jail. (For why I’m against the death penalty, click here.) I continue to hold firm to my believe there is no such thing as a hate crime. There is only crime. Motivations are pretty meaningless.
lunar image from CNN.com