Are you tired of the presidential campaigns? Super Tuesday ad nauseum? Me, too. Here is something to take your mind off the elections and on to other politics.
President Obama recently designated 1.8 million acres in California as national monuments. They are three separate designations supposedly under the authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906.
The Antiquities Act was signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt and was originally intended to preserve archaeological sites, historic landmarks and historic buildings and sites of national significance. Think the Liberty Bell or Independence Hall, both in Philadelphia. The wording in the law sets limits of ”the smallest amount of land necessary” that was unfortunately not clearly defined. It was not originally intended for millions of acres to be set aside as quasi-wilderness areas
Further, the law intended for Congress to enact the National Monuments. That was first conveniently ignored by President Clinton. Obama has carried that torch further. Like any adroit politician, they both managed to find ways to circumvent the law.
Politicians in general have a nasty habit of bending laws to the point of breaking when it suits their agenda. Republicans are certainly not immune from this, but Democrats have mastered the art. Here is a simple but illustrative example. Say a law is passed to clarify the primary color blue. That is somewhat tricky to do, so there is some ambiguity in the language. Over time the law becomes construed to mean ayy color with a tinge of blue. That ranges from orange-violet to reddish green. The intent of the law is thrown aside in favor of the letter of the law in order to fulfill an agenda.
Why is this important? After all, it is just some public land. First, it interferes with the Supreme Court decision in Hage v. U.S. codifying the right of grazing on public lands. It also eliminates any mineral exploration or extraction. It also eliminates, for you greenies, any solar, wind, or geothermal development. It other words, it becomes hands off.
Bear with me a moment and this paragraph will make sense. While in office President Clinton turned control of all U.S. National Parks over to the United Nations. I know, conspiracy theory, right? My parents confirmed this when they lived in Idaho that was served by Representative Helen Chenoweth. When they moved back to Nevada, they confirmed this with then-Representative Dean Heller. There you go. It was confirmed by two representatives from two states with a six-year time difference, so the investigations were independent. Believe what you will.
My point with this is that if Clinton would give away National Parks, why would Obama hesitate to give away National Monuments? Remember, China is still our largest lender aside from the Federal Reserve. Since our debt has doubled while he is on office, he may view making a trade of debt for land completely legal and feasible in order to continue his profligate spending habit. Further, should Hillary Clinton be elected, do you think she would behave any differently than Obama or her husband?
Make no mistake, it is entirely possible that you could live in the Chinese State of Nevada or the United Nations Territory of Nevada. Given the history of Democrat presidents, it is apparent to me that they would not hesitate to throw western states under the bus in order to save their own political hides, or other body parts.
This is why it is critical that we assure that the next state legislature hears and acts upon action to obtain management and or ownership of all federal lands in Nevada excluding military installations and reservations. An extensive bi-partisan two year feasibility study was conducted before the last legislature. That study showed that with even a major percentage of the revenue now paid to the federal government going to the state, Sandoval’s gross margins tax would not be needed at all.
One other step should be taken. That is to join Utah’s lawsuit to obtain ownership of their lands. Joining their suit would place the case in the Tenth Judicial District in Denver instead of the ultra-liberal Ninth District in San Francisco.
We have the pieces in place. Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison is on board, along with Attorney General Adam Laxalt. I’m not sure about Gov. Brian Sandoval. Pressure needs to be placed on the Legislature to act on this critical issue. Otherwise, maybe you had better plan on moving or learning Chinese.
Tom Riggins’ column appears every other Friday. He may be reached at news@lahontanvalleynews.com.