TheBlaze TV

These Four Sheriffs Are Taking a Bold Stand Against Gun Control: ‘An Unarmed Public Is a Tyrant’s Playground’

Feb. 20, 2013 11:00pm Jason Howerton

Four sheriffs from across the country joined Glenn Beck on TheBlaze TV Wednesday to discuss the current push for more gun control legislation in the United States. Beck called them the “bravest sheriffs in all of America” for standing up for the Second Amendment and refusing to even consider disarming Americans, even under pressure.

“You have a right to own the firearms of your choice,” Beck said. “That right shall not be infringed. It’s not about hunting, it’s not about target practice, it’s not even about rape or home defense. It is about an armed public being necessary to keep people free. An unarmed public is a tyrant’s playground.”

Beck argued it is important to become educated but also to know who is on the side of the American people when it comes to the Second Amendment. He also encouraged viewers to contact their county sheriff to find out where he or she stands on the Second Amendment.

Joining Beck were Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, who garnered national attention for asking residents to arm themselves and get firearms training in case they ever found themselves in a dangerous situation in which the police may not arrive in time. Also in Beck’s Dallas studio were Sheriff Glenn Palmer of Grant County, Oregon, Sheriff Steve Cox of Livingston County, Missouri and Sheriff Tim Mueller from Linn County, Oregon.

The four sheriffs represent 484 other sheriffs who have banded together and vowed to keep the oath they took to uphold the U.S. Constitution.

 http://www.video.theblaze.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=25606501&source=THEBLAZE

“What I want to say is, that we as a nation are facing some very difficult time right now,” Sheriff Palmer said. “Our Constitution is very near and dear to me, and I believe it’s under attack. And it’s still a living document, and as police officers we still have to abide by the Constitution.”

Sheriff Clarke said the Second Amendment is about “liberty.”

“The Government doesn’t get to…say how people can and should defend themselves,” he said. “I trust law-abiding citizens, I always have. And government has to learn to start letting go and trusting citizens.”

Sheriff Cox agreed, saying Washington will continue to go after guns and it is important that someone “takes a stand.”

“We have to put our foot down whenever we see something that’s wrong,” Cox added. “Sometimes if you lead, you may stand alone.”

“If not us, than who?” asked Sheriff Mueller.

Recapping TheBlaze’s in depth coverage on gun control, Beck also went over some of the current gun control efforts from across the country:

Link to article on American Free Press!

JANUARY 30, 2013   AFP

 American Free Press

• Many concerned about population loss outside of big cities
• Can rural America maintain its pertinence in urban nation?

By Victor Thorn

A little more than 150 years ago during the Civil War, division among Americans was so severe that pools of blood and 625Kslain bodies lay between the North and South. Today, another geographic split exists, except this one has rural Americans being pitted against their urban counterparts in a battle to determine whoseinfluence counts most in these times.

On December 8, 2012, United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a starkwarning that reflected this trend: “Rural America, with a shrinking population, is becoming less and less relevant to the politics of this country.”

Associated Press (AP) writer Hope Yen foretold of this division in a July 28, 2011 column. “Many communities could shrink to virtual ghost towns as they shutter businesses and close down schools,” she wrote in her wire service article released on that day.

These words should be taken seriously. This trend has been happening in the U.S. for the past century but it has been picking up in recent years.

In 1910, 72% of Americans lived in rural areas across the U.S. By 1960, however, that figurehad dropped to 30%. Today, those defined as living in rural areas with fewer than 50K residents make up only 16% of the total U.S. population despite possessing 75% of total U.S. land.

Whereas urban growth rose by 10.8% in the past decade, those in agricultural communities experienced an anemic 0.3% increase. In fact, deaths have surpassed births—a phenomenon known as “natural decrease”—in 36% of rural locales, while half of all rural counties suffered population declines over the past 10 years. West Virginia senior citizens now nearly double those aged 18-24.

Due to significant losses in industries such as logging, mining and agriculture, poverty rates are almost 20% higher in rural areas than in major cities. As a result, from 2007 to 2009, food stamp recipients in the rural U.S. grew by 26%. Similarly, two of every three dollars spent by the Agriculture Department is earmarked for welfare programs, with food stamp expenditures topping the list.

With America plagued by a stagnant economy, businesses are isolating rural parts of America. Yen wrote that, “Delta Air Lines announced it would end flights to 24 small airports, several of them in the Great Plains, [while] the U.S. Postal Service is mulling plans to close thousands of branches in mostly rural areas of the country.”

Marred by aging populations and few young workers to balance it, other consequences affect rural residents. Hospitals in these regions are facing bankruptcies or severe financial difficulties, and have been unable to attract surgeons and medical specialists who demand high salaries. Moreover, since they can’t fill enough beds to generate revenue, financial sharks on Wall Street get into the game, forcing rural hospitals into corporate buyouts with larger, banker-financed healthcare entities, who then downsize the hospitals to cut costs and increase profits for shareholders.

At the other end of the scale is education. With fewer students and shrinking tax bases, rural  schools face obvious disparities compared to urban schools teeming with pupils. In Georgia, smaller districts receive, on average, $400 less in funding per student than those in cities.

However, good news does exist, though, especially in rural parts of North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Ohio, that are capitalizing on a boom in shale oil, natural gas and coal. These states are attracting flocks of new employees searching for work in these fields. Other savvy planners in small town America have bolstered awareness of their skiing, hiking and recreation, which urban populations seek out to relieve stress.

In addition, the low crime rates in rural areas are in stark contrast to the war zones in Chicago, Oakland and New York City. According to 2008 data from the Centers for Disease Control, “60% of U.S. firearm homicides occurred in [only] 62 cities.” These tend to be isolated to the largely black and poor areas of major cities.

However, one remaining factor withholds bittersweet connotations for rural residents. Namely, increased “urban sprawl” may simply swallow up smaller regions. A perfect example is a megalopolis stretching from Baltimore, Maryland to Washington, D.C., and then down to Richmond, Virginia that may ultimately blur the line between urban, suburban and rural.

Reviving Rural America

American Free Press

• Activists work with county sheriffs to save America’s heartland

By Victor Thorn

On January 16 AMERICAN FREE PRESS interviewed Erin Ryan of Support Rural America, an organization that seeks to save America’s heartland and works closely with county sheriffs.

“There is a deep-seated drive to force people out of rural areas and into urban environments,” Ms. Ryan told AFP.

When asked why, Ms. Ryan said, “It’s easier to control them in cities.”

According to Ms. Ryan, legislators are the ones who are really behind this plot.

“There is a full-court press by environmentalists, the EPA, pseudo-scientists and other regulators that are all tied to Agenda 21,” said Ms. Ryan. “Whether they steal water rights or pull backdoor eminent domain schemes by taking out dams that flood properties and make them worthless, 50% of farmers in the Central Valley [California] are now on public assistance. Because they’ve lost their water and the ability to maintain crops, farmers madebumper stickers that read: Congress created this dustbowl. Thank you Barbara Boxer andDianne Feinstein.”

Under the auspices of fighting pollution, Agenda 21 refers to a complex set of regulations created by the United Nations that seek to define how land can be used. The U.S. is a signatory to the agreement, but many local communities still manage to block efforts to impose it.

Getting to the crux of this issue, Ms. Ryan continued, “Most of the policies coming from Sacramento and Washington are enacted by lawmakers more concerned with urban areas than rural. The bottom line is: Liberals like [Sens. Barbara] Boxer and [Dianne] Feinstein scoff at people who don’t live in cities. Worse, they don’t get out here where we live, and they have no interest in learning about us.”

Ms. Ryan further elaborated on the cultural divide: “Rural people tend to be more self-sufficient, conservative, community-oriented, pro-gun and able to work with their hands. To crush this spirit, legislators want to make them dependent by removing their ability to earn a living.

“In a nearby logging community, there were once 22 mills. Today, after being besieged by government agencies, only one remains. So people get poorer, which leads to more domestic abuse and alcoholism.”

Ms. Ryan said the situation is troubling because older people are encouraging youth in their communities to leave the rural areas in search of easier lives in the cities.

“Sadly, more parents aren’t planning on passing  their farms along to their children,” she said, “or they’re encouraging them to find other careers.”

Link to article on American Free Press!

American Free Press

By Victor Thorn

A century ago, 39% of Americans tilled the land on family farms. Today, that number hovers at around 2%. Total operating farms have dropped by three-quarters from 80 years ago, and only 6% of agricultural workers, excluding migrants, were born after 1980.

When most people think of the American heartland, the iconic hard working family farmer frequently comes to mind. But with the declining number of farmers out there, what does this say of the country’s future? There are some positive signs that a modern “back to the land” movement is again underway, with many young Americans leaving their dead-end jobs in the city to take up farming without the use of pesticides, herbicides, drugs and genetically-modified seeds. Additionally, a technological renaissance is blooming for the farm industry, one not without worry, however.

In a July 2012 article for Atlantic magazine, Chrystia Freeland envisioned a production revolution led by sophisticated technology. She wrote, “Prior to WW II, it took 100 hours of labor to produce 100 bushels of corn. Today, it takes less than two hours.” With machinery that combines GPS units and computer systems, Freeland described this 21^st century shift. “The cabs of today’s combines look like airplane cockpits or the control rooms on factory floors.”

Freeland provided one more positive bit of news. “In 2010, of all farms in the U.S. with at least $1M in revenues, 88% were family farms.” However, the Environmental Protection Agency offered a disclaimer. “Fewer than one in four farms in this country produce gross revenues in excess of $50K.” Then, of course, there’s the Monsanto factor where 80% of all corn raised in America is genetically modified. Or, as Michael Snyder of a popular Internet website The Economic Collapse stressed on April 26, 2012, “The predatory business practices of Monsanto have been well documented. Monsanto has taken countless numbers of farmers to court, and they are absolutely ruthless.”

To combat these corporate Frankenfoods, health-minded consumers are enjoying a renewal in farmers markets and butcher shops that produce their own foods. Plus, a revitalized interest in urban homesteading now allows those residing in cities to raise poultry, grow vegetables or fruits, produce bio-fuels, or make honey from their own beehives. As Alexis Petru commented in a May 26, 2011 article, “Urban homesteading takes the local food movement to the next level. Rather than buying local seasonal produce to reduce the amount of miles food travels to your plate, an urban homesteader’s meal makes an even shorter trip—from the backyard or community garden to the plate.”

On the Internet, there are thousands of blogs maintained by young farmers who have left behind careers in finance, design, construction and other industries. Today, they work the land to varying degrees, some doing so only part-time while maintaining a job in a neighboring town or city.

Author and farmer Jenna Woginrich is a good example of this trend. In 2012, she quit herjob as a graphic designer to raise sheep, chickens and hogs full-time. In order to pay the bills, the 31-year-old has written several books on farming that document her own trials and tribulations when it comes to agriculture.

Lisa Steele is another example. Ten years ago, she gave up an unfulfilling job on WallStreet to move to Suffolk, Virginia and start raising chickens with her husband on her farm. Since then, she has created quite a following by documenting her life on her website.

Then there are Ethan Book and his wife, who bought an old farm in Knoxville, Iowa, andstarted raising rare-breed animals and became advocates for small farmers.

These young farmers have figured out how to bypass multinational agricultural corporations like Archer-Daniels Midland and work directly with consumers through farmers markets and community-support agriculture.

Also, health-conscience consumers have been enjoying this renewal in farm markets andbutcher shops that specialize in local foods.

Link to article on American Free Press!

American Free Press

By Victor Thorn

With data indicating that pastoral America is waning in influence, this trend is no more apparent than in Washington, D.C. For the first time in decades Congress failed to pass a farm bill in 2012.

Displeased by this snub, Michael McCurry of the South Dakota State Census Bureau complained, “Rural people are not that insignificant, [but] we don’t have the votes. We don’t have the voice.”

Similarly, in a January 13 article for Gannett News Service, Christopher Doering observed, “Rural Americans are becoming less relevant in the country’s increasing urban landscape, and unless they find a way to reverse the trend their voice will continue to fall on deaf ears in Washington.”

Today in Congress, 80% of legislators don’t represent rural areas, thereby insuring that these locales receive a smaller chunk of government spending. In addition, many lawmakers on the east and west coasts view the Heartland as “flyover country,” ignoring their more conservative views on abortion, religion, traditional marriage and ethnic diversity.

Considering America’s changing demographics, even though 61% of rural residents voted against Obama, they simply couldn’t compete with urban venues. Of the 30 most populous U.S. cities, 27 voted for Obama, with only Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City and Phoenix going for Romney.

In a March 14, 2012 article for Forbes magazine, Joel Kotkin noted, “Cities have become so lockstep Democratic as to be essentially irrelevant to the Republican Party.”

Personally, in this writer’s home state of Pennsylvania, even though 55 of 67 counties voted GOP, Obama still attained victory because Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and the state capital of Harrisburg trumped them. The same applies to Texas. Despite resounding support for Romney across the state, Texas’s four largest metro areas—Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin—all weighed in for Obama. Likewise in Michigan, over 75% of counties voted red, yet Romney lost under the weight of urban powerhouses in Detroit and Flint.

Victor Thorn is a hard-hitting researcher, journalist and author of over 30 books.

Link to article on American Free Press!

Here’s the video link from yesterday’s Constitutional Sheriffs event in Grant Pass: http://vimeo.com/50012579

Attached is a petition that folks can sign in support of Sheriff Lopey then mailed to him at his office:  http://www.co.sisqjustice.ca.us/contact.htm

Also, the “Solemn Compacts ~ Statehood and Sovereignty” event will take place in Reno October 7^th thru 9^th…If interested in attending, contact Rae soon:

Special kudos for setting up this excellent event, which propelled informed patriots toward further activism, together, for both constitutions – esp. relating to our constitutional county sheriffs who need our continuous support for standing against administrative tyranny each and every day!

For freedom,

Kevin

County Sheriffs speak out on critical issues

 By Liz Bowen

GRANTS PASS, OREGON – Josephine County Sheriff Gil Gilbertson is hosting the 7^th Support Rural America Sheriffs’ Event on Sept. 22^nd at the Josephine County Fairgrounds.

 Using a speakers’ panel, county sheriffs have shared concerns and critical issues with citizens in Northern California during the past year. Now, Oregon Sheriff Gil Gilbertson is bringing the old-fashioned Town Hall type of meeting to his county.

The event will be held at the Pavilion at the fairgrounds in Grants Pass. Time is 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is free. Donations are accepted to help pay for the cost of the building.

As sheriffs of rural counties, these law enforcement officers find a common theme is affecting economies and livelihoods of their constituents with devastating results: An increase in health, safety and welfare problems.

All 12 of the sheriffs involved in Support Rural America Events believe the Constitution is the law of the land. They are pro-government, but are finding abuses by specific agencies or bureaucrats are causing economic and safety problems.

For Sheriff Gilbertson road closures in the Public lands without coordination, with him, is a major issue. For several years, local gold miners have complained of harassment by federal agents filing complaints, with the Regional Office of the U.S. Forest Service, to no avail.

“Road access is critical to our publics’ health and safety,” said Sheriff Gilbertson. “I assert my lawful authority to use any road I deem essential.”

A case in point was when the sheriff tried to use keys from both the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to open a gate in the heat of a search and rescue operation. The keys did not open the gate. When contacted, the Forest Service refused to open the gate.

“It’s a cold, callous disregard for the health and safety of this community,” explains a still frustrated sheriff.

“I am simply asking the federal agencies to follow their own rules and regulations,” said Sheriff Gilbertson.

Other sheriffs have spoken during the last six Support Rural America Events with the same type of frustrations. Northern California sheriffs shared instances where the Forest Service is also drastically reducing the availability of use in the Public’s land, especially in the reduction of roads through the new Travel Management Plans.

Yet, all of these sheriffs cite that illegal marijuana-growing cartels are actively using the Public lands managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Sheriff Gilbertson said the sheriffs are responsible for law enforcement operations, including crime response, fire suppression, emergency medical response and even assistance to federal agents.

“I am willing to work with both the USFS and the BLM in the preservation of our natural resources, but will not abrogate the Sheriffs’ authority or responsibilities.”

Five additional sheriffs will participate on Sept. 22^nd including Oregon’s Grant County Sheriff Glenn E. Palmer. From California, Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey, Trinity County Bruce Haney, Del Norte County Dean Wilson and Modoc County Mike Poindexter will address their issues.

Solutions are a major topic and several have been brought forth. One is “coordination and consistency.” This is a mandate for government agencies to contact and meet government-to-government with county commissioners, local districts and the elected sheriff. Unfortunately, federal agencies have ignored the coordination process and are dragging their feet. But Support Rural America sheriffs are demanding compliance.

An exciting additional solution will be discussed at the Sept. 22^nd meeting in Grants Pass. Citizens are invited to attend. Questions will be taken at the end of the speakers’ panel. For more information, go to the website: Support Rural America.com or contact organizers Liz Bowen at 530-467-3515 or Erin Ryan at 530-515-7135.

By TIFFANY REVELLE

Updated:   08/21/2012 12:07:53 AM PDT

Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman welcomed the crowd of about 100 at 10 a.m. at the Redwoods Empire Fairgrounds.

A standing ovation occured many times throughout the three hours.

Oregon’s Josephine County Sheriff Gil Gilbertson.

Tehama County Sheriff Dave Hencratt.

Del Norte County Sheriff Dean Wilson.

Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey.

 Photos by Liz Bowen

Published: Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 6:27 p.m.

               

       Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman.  Photo by KENT PORTER / The Press Democrat

By GLENDA ANDERSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 6:27 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 6:27 p.m.

Four sheriffs from rural Northern California and one from Oregon counties gathered Saturday in Ukiah where they railed against state and federal agencies, accusing them of overstepping their authority to the detriment of individual property rights and the economy.