Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet.com
August 3, 2012

The Pentagon is conducting surprise military drills with increasing frequency around the country, alarming citizens and acclimating them to the presence of obtrusive combat technology and simulated warfare.

The latest in-your-face training exercise occurred in Plainville and Worchester, Massachusetts.

As usual, most citizens were unaware of the drills until helicopters swooped over their neighborhoods.

“Many residents were surprised and scared Wednesday evening when military helicopters descended on the vacant Wood School into the late hours of the night in a scene that might have appeared to simulate the United States’ special forces attack on Osama bin Laden’s compound last year.” the Sun Chronicle reported on Friday.

“The helicopters were landing around the Worcester Memorial Auditorium in Lincoln Square and buzzing neighborhoods, prompting many telephone calls and e-mails to the Telegram & Gazette from residents curious about what was happening,” another newspaper reported.

Even the cops were clueless. “A police officer sent to close off Main Street at State said he did not know what was going on, leaving the people around there to wonder. Left to their own devices, people thought the hubbub might be that it was filming for a new Sandra Bullock movie or that it was part of a police effort to round up all the gang members or prostitutes in the city.”

“We apologize for any inconvenience or unforeseen disturbance,” said Maj. Emily Potter, public affairs officer for the U.S. Army.

A Plainville bureaucrat who signed off on the U.S. Army Special Operations Forces exercise was miffed the operation went past midnight. “A 6-year-old would have more common sense” than to continue a military exercise in a residential neighborhood at that time, he said.

Black helicopters swooping over residential homes and simulated warfare in the public space after midnight are obviously designed to send a message – the military will do whatever it wants, whenever it wants and the irritation voiced by citizens is not a consideration.

The Federalist Papers are replete with warnings about standing armies and how they are used to deliver tyranny. The framers of the Constitution objected to a standing army because a “standing army in the hands of a government placed so independent of the people, may be made a fatal instrument to overturn the public liberties; it may be employed to enforce the collection of the most oppressive taxes, and to carry into execution the most arbitrary measures. An ambitious man who may have the army at his devotion, may step up into the throne, and seize upon absolute power.”

Read more:

 http://www.prisonplanet.com/massachusetts-citizens-frightened-by-midnight-military-exercises.html

House Natural Resources Committee To Hold Pasco Field Hearing On ‘Saving Our Dams’ Legislation

http://www.cbbulletin.com/421922.aspx

The Times-Standard

Created:   08/03/2012 02:14:19 AM PDT

The National Park Service is awarding $462,063 in grants to five local Native American tribes to assist them in implementing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which helps return human remains and cultural objects to their native people.

Projects funded by the grant program include consultations to identify and affiliate individuals and cultural items, training for both museum and tribal staff on the act, digitizing collection records for consultation and consultations regarding culturally significant unaffiliated individuals, as well as the preparation and transport of items back to their native people, according to a press release.

Local recipients of consultation grants include the Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria with a $89,990 grant, the Karuk Tribe with a $88,673 grant, the Smith River Rancheria with a $90,000 grant, the Wiyot Tribe with a $90,000 grant and the Yurok Tribe with a $90,000 grant. The Karuk Tribe is also slated to receive a $13,400 repatriation grant, which will help return items to the tribe.

 PLF Liberty Blog

Appeals court tosses out Hage judgment | capitalpress.com

http://www.capitalpress.com/content/mp-hage-reversal-080312

By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI

Capital Press

August 3, 2012

A federal appeals court has thrown out a $4.4 million legal judgment that deceased rancher and Sagebrush Rebellion icon Wayne Hage had previously won from the federal government.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has reversed an earlier court decision that ordered the U.S. Forest Service to compensate Hage for infringing on his property rights.

The descendants of Hage won a legal victory in the case in 2008, two years after his death and 17 years after the lawsuit was initially filed.

The judge ruled that the agency deprived Hage of his water rights by building fences that prevented him from accessing streams in the Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada.

Hage owned easements that allowed him to transport the water over federal land through ditches, which he claimed the Forest Service prevented him from maintaining.

The lawsuit also sought compensation for the fences, roads and improvements to water sources that Hage built on federal land before his grazing permit was revoked.

After years of litigation, a federal judge agreed with the complaint’s arguments and awarded Hage’s estate roughly $2.9 million for his water rights and $1.5 million for the value of improvements.

The government challenged that ruling, which a three-judge appellate panel has now reversed on several grounds.

Hage could have applied for a special permit to maintain the ditches that conveyed his water, so the claim that the government prevented him from doing so isn’t “ripe” for federal court, the most recent ruling said.

Building fences around streams also isn’t a physical taking of property, because Hage hasn’t demonstrated that he could put the stream water to beneficial use, the appeals court said.

Water rights only allow the owner to use water that he can put to beneficial use, but the Hage family hasn’t shown “there was insufficient water for their cattle on the allotments or that they could have put more water to use,” the ruling said.

The appellate court also overturned the award for rangeland improvements, ruling that Hage could have sought compensation directly from the agency instead of in federal court.

Aside from vacating the financial award to Hage’s family, the most recent ruling has caused uncertainty about legal principles in such conflicts, said Brian Hodges, an attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation property rights group who monitored the case.

“The decision raises more questions than it answers,” Hodges said.

For example, the appellate judges did not resolve the key issue of whether the government even had the right to regulate Hage’s ditches, he said.

Hage claimed the Forest Service did not because his water rights predated the agency’s authority over the land.

“It’s unsatisfying the court assumed the federal regulations were valid without first determining whether water rights holders like Hage have a right that is superior to the regulations,” Hodges said.

The Hage estate can still ask for reconsideration from a broader “en banc” panel of appellate judges, or request the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case, he said.

Hage’s battle with the Forest Service is one of the sparks that started the “Sagebrush Rebellion” of popular resistance to changes in federal land policy, Hodges said.

“This case exemplifies the abuses the Western ranchers and natural resource industries suffered at the hands of the federal government,” he said.

Local Governments – Exclusive — 03 August 2012

Panel adopts comprehensive Oregon water strategy | capitalpress.com

By MITCH LIES

Capital Press

August 3, 2012

SALEM — Oregon’s first comprehensive plan for addressing the state’s future water needs is launching with apparently little support from agriculture, despite widespread support from state natural resources agencies.

In a packed hearing room, the Oregon Water Resources Commission on Aug. 2 unanimously adopted the Oregon Integrated Water Resources Strategy, which was three years in the making.

“I think we have a terrific first Integrated Water Resources Strategy in front of us,” said Katy Coba, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Coba said the Board of Agriculture previously endorsed the plan.

The strategy was initiated in 2009 legislation and developed under the direction of an 18-member citizen advisory group. The group worked with Oregon Water Resources Department staff and representatives from three other natural resource agencies and heard hundreds of hours of public testimony in hearings and open houses around the state.

The strategy passed despite criticism from the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association that it doesn’t address several association priorities. Among them are explicit calls for additional sources of water to expand agricultural production and plans to coordinate planning for water shortages and water use with other states.

“The Integrated Water Resources Strategy should make it a priority to gather more data and to assess in a credible and meaningful way the positions relied on by federal and state regulators to allocate water … away from agriculture and rural communities to instream uses,” said Jim Welsh, a lobbyist for the cattle association.

Read more:

 http://www.capitalpress.com/content/ml-water-strategy-final-080312

Oregon Farm Bureau alerts growers to DOL crackdown | capitalpress.com

http://www.capitalpress.com/content/ml-labor-violations-080312

By MITCH LIES

Capital Press

August 2, 2012

The Oregon Farm Bureau is alerting farmers that the U.S. Department of Labor appears to be cracking down on Oregon farms.

The Farm Bureau has learned that at least two Oregon farms in recent days have been found in violation of labor laws and been slapped with what is called a “hot goods” order.

The order allows the U.S. Department of Labor to keep farm goods out of retail and processing chains while the agency investigates whether a farm has violated labor laws.

Shawn Cleave, an associate director of government affairs for the Oregon Farm Bureau, said the farms were cited for what he characterized as “really minor violations.”

In one case, two pickers were working piece rate off the same punch ticket, Cleave said.

While both pickers may have been making minimum wage, the practice is in violation of labor laws because there is no way to ensure both are making minimum wage, Cleave said.

The Farm Bureau has alerted Oregon producers to make sure they are in compliance with minimum wage, overtime and child labor laws, Cleave said. Farmers employing under-age family members under legal exceptions, should know what exception the family member is working under, he said.

Cleave said the “hot goods order” was first introduced as a way to crack down on sweat shops in the 1930s and 1940s and wasn’t intended to be used in cases where perishable goods are involved.

Cleave said the Farm Bureau is in communication with the office of Gov. John Kitzhaber, Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and the Oregon Department of Agriculture. And, he said, the Farm Bureau is urging producers who are being investigated to contact it.

“We’re trying to get people in touch with attorneys who know something about farm labor laws as quickly as possible,” Cleave said.

Cleave said the investigators aren’t checking the immigration status of workers.

http://pioneer.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODE/HeraldandNews/

Area crops looking good 

By SAMANTHA TIPLER

H&N Staff Reporter

August 2, 2012

H&N photo by Samantha Tipler

KBREC potatoes  Potato varieties bloom in the fields around the Klamath Basin Research & Extension Center in Klamath Falls. Brian Charlton, cropping system specialist, said potato growth is in-line with the five-year average, likely indicating an on-time harvest this fall.

Hay, alfalfa, grain and barley are growing well, and potato growth and development is ahead of last year, agriculture officials at the Klamath Basin Research and Extension Center said this week.

“I would say the crops I’ve been looking at — wheat and barley and alfalfa hay and grass hay — look good this year,” Richard Roseberg, research agronomist.

“Potatoes are doing well, probably slightly ahead of last year and average over the last five years,” said Brian Charlton, cropping system specialist. “Farmers will likely adhere to the same vine-kill schedule as they normally do, and the potato harvest will be about the same.”

The dry winter and wet spring seem to have had minimal affect on crops this summer.

For potatoes, the wet spring made it too damp to get equipment in the field after planting, Charlton said. Planting season lasts from early May to mid-June. Now that things are drying out and temperatures are rising, most potato farmers are irrigating heavily, he said.

The spring rains provided some extra moisture in the soil for hay and grains, Roseberg said.

“That was a huge benefit to irrigation water supply,” he said. “It delayed the need to start irrigating. The downside is it also delayed planting for spring planted crops, like wheat.”

He said he expects spring-planted wheat will be harvested later than usual this year.

Most hay and alfalfa producers are finishing up or done with their second cutting, and waiting for growth for the third cutting around Labor Day.

Midwest drought may have some effect

Widespread drought across the Midwest has meant disaster declarations for about half the nation’s counties, an Aug. 1 press release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. The U.S. drought monitor indicates 66 percent of the nation’s hay acreage is experiencing drought, and 73 percent of cow acreage is hit by drought. Drought conditions have also resulted in poor ratings for soybeans and corn.

Though not all of those crops are grown in the Klamath Basin, Roseberg and Charlton said the drought can have some trickle-down effects to the Basin’s agriculture and prices on commodities.

With corn, soybeans and wheat suffering in the Midwest, corn becomes scarcer and thus more expensive, Roseberg said.

“People that use corn for livestock feed will substitute wheat,” he said. “The price of corn also affects the price of meat down the line because so much corn is fed to livestock. To some degree, that influences hay prices as well. At a certain point, it becomes economically more attractive to feed hay instead of corn to cattle.”

The drought will have less effect on potatoes, Charlton said, but the market is not immune. As prices on commodities increase, so do prices in inputs, like fertilizer.

“They may not notice or see an effect this production cycle, but there may be an impact next year,” Charlton said.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

This information and much more that you need to know about the ESA,
the Klamath River Basin, and private property rights can be found at The
Klamath Bucket Brigade’s web site – http://klamathbucketbrigade.org/index.html –
please visit today.

http://pioneer.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODE/HeraldandNews/

By SAMANTHA TIPLER

H&N Staff Reporter

August 3, 2012

H&N file photo – Bill Garrard  Klamath Falls resident and Oregon House of Representatives member Bill Garrard retired this year after 12 years in the Legislature.

Oregon State Representative Bill Garrard’s life is changing.

“I was in my first movie a couple of weeks ago,” Garrard said.

He sent his photo to a casting agency, and the makers of a TV movie being shot in Las Vegas chose him as an extra.

“We shot about six scenes,” he said. “And I thought, ‘This is really cool. This is different.’ ”

That was a far cry from the role Garrard, 72, has been playing in Klamath County and Oregon government for the last 16 years. After serving as Klamath County commissioner for four years, Garrard was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2000. This year he decided to retire and not run for re-election.

He has sold his home in Klamath Falls, though he still rents an apartment to keep residency through the end of his term. But he and his wife, Sharon, will move permanently to a home they own in Las Vegas.

Throughout his work in state government, Garrard said he strove to be a statesman, not a politician.

“It’s someone who puts politics aside and leads,” he said.

“The statesman is a combination of representing the people who elected you, to the best of your ability, as opposed to special interests and political pressure, and doing what is morally right as opposed to what is politically expedient,” said Oregon Sen. Doug Whitsett, Garrard’s fellow Republican from Klamath Falls. “I think for the most part Bill did a pretty good job.”

Whitsett said he saw times when Garrard would go against the Republican Party, if it meant voting with his conscience.

“It really bothers me when I hear, ‘you’ve got to vote for this because it’s important to the conservative movement,’ ” Garrard said. “You get people angry at you.”

“When you put principle over pressure, sometimes you get beat up,” Whitsett said. “But I think Bill tried to. Over the years I think Bill did a pretty good job on voting on principle as opposed to what was politically expedient.”

Water issues and KBRA

A year after Garrard started in the state Legislature, the Klamath water crisis hit.

With his role as representative, Garrard introduced a resolution to President George W. Bush to declare Klamath County a drought area.

“It was right in the middle of the bucket brigade,” Garrard said. “And it passed. It was my first significant bill.”

Water has remained a hot topic in the Klamath Basin. Garrard found himself in the middle of water issues again with Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement.

Garrard said he has always been against dam removal, one of the key components of the agreement which proposes removing four dams along the Klamath River. It also advocates for affordable power and reliable water for irrigators, restoration of fish habitat and assistance for the Klamath Tribes in acquiring a 92,000-acre tree farm. Garrard also was against what he called the “behind closed doors” way the KBRA was written.

When the Oregon Legislature proposed legislation to allow Pacific Power to collect a surcharge to pay for removal of the Klamath River dams, Garrard opposed it.

Whitsett joined Garrard in that fight, against Pacific Power, a Democratically-controlled House, Oregon and California’s governors, state agencies and the U.S. Department of the Interior.

“It was the most frustrating time I’ve had in the Legislature,” Garrard said. “They are big and strong and they brought their A team. I was basically it in the Legislature, fighting.”

“It was difficult at best,” Whitsett said. “It was an uphill proposition. We kept going back to the people of Klamath County and on the river, and as I believe is still the case today, most people do not want those dams destroyed.”

Garrard said he persuaded every Republican but one, and one Democrat, to vote with him and oppose dam removal.

“We still came up shy,” he said. “We lost that battle.”

As small victory came when Garrard and Whitsett worked together to ease the increase in power rates for farmers, best known as the “rate shock bill.”

When a contract with Pacific Power to keep pumping costs low for irrigators expired in 2006, the price was set to increase from a half-cent per kilowatt hour to 5.8 cents per kilowatt hour in one year, Whitsett said. When a bill to spread the rate increase out over seven years couldn’t get traction in the Senate, Garrard helped Whitsett attach it to S.B. 81 when it went to the House. That was successful.

The average rate has now increased from 5.8 cents per kilowatt hour to 9 cents per kilowatt hour, Whitsett said. So between 2006 and now, Whitsett estimated the incremental increase saved irrigators in Klamath County a total of $35 million to $40 million.

Side Bars

Important legislative actions

■ In 2001, Garrard made a House resolution to ask President George W. Bush to declare Klamath County a drought area.

■ Also in 2001, Garrard sponsored a bill to create the renewable energy center at the Oregon Institute of Technology.

■ In 2005, Garrard worked with Oregon Sen. Doug Whitsett to pass the “rate shock bill,” which spaced out energy cost increases for Klamath County irrigators.

■ In 2008, Garrard procured $20 million in funding for the Martha Anne Dow Center for Health Professions.

■ In 2009, Garrard and Whitsett worked to designate Highway 97 as the World War II Veterans Historic Highway.

■ In 2011, Garrard worked with Whitsett on a bill to allow police on either side of the Oregon/California border to cross the border to help one another in emergencies.

This is part 1 of 2 -

Bill Garrard spent 12 years in the Oregon Legislature, fighting for Klamath County’s interests. During his tenure, the Klamath County economy spiraled, and Garrard recognized a need to emphasize and support education in Klamath Falls. He also served on two influential committees, land use and ways and means. Garrard discusses these topics in part 2.