Discussion for article #221248
Read the article. I still donât understand. Why do they believe sheriffs have that kind of power? What is the origin of the idea, do they have some legal basis, real, imagined or hilarious?
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It is part and parcel to a lot of the âsovereign citizenâ nonsense as well as a lot of the militia, white nationalist and posse comitatus groups views that no legitimate government exists above the county level.
The Posse Comitatus (from the Latin phrase meaning âforce of the countyâ) is a loosely organized, far-right social movement that opposes the federal governmentâŚFederal taxes, supremacy of Federal law, etc.
Under their whackadoodle interpretation of the law, they believe that the income tax system is illegal. They contend that this means the individual is sovereign and the government has no power to enact laws that would âloot and plunder the wealth produced by the sovereign individual.â
It often fits in with the neo-confederate and neo-nazi views that the Federal government is illegitimate and/or a Zionist occupation government.
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A county Sheriff does not have the kind of power that group thinks they do. Article six clause two of the US Constitution explicitly says so: âThis Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.â That quote is the exact language that I referred to. State law is secondary and subservient to the Constitution and federal law And those state laws are what county sheriffs carry out.
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âI would have put my own wife or daughters there, and I would have been screaming bloody murder to watch them die."
Do the women get a vote in this tactical decision?
"Iâm not afraid to die here. Iâm willing to die here.â
Every villain is a hero in his own mind.
Edit to add: Sorry, I didnât intend to post this as a reply and I had problems when I tried to delete and re-post as a stand-alone comment.
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Amen. Was interested/infuriated that one of the comments to the great letter to the editor Doremus Jessup posted in an earlier thread stated the exact opposite - that Federal law is subservient to the Arizona Constitution. It really does feel like weâre raising and educating people in two different countries these days.
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The ignorance of a lot of the commenters who support Bundy is astounding. Iâve seen them confuse the term âgrazing rightsâ with ownership, drag out totally irrelevant issues such as imminent domain and declare revolution legal by rights of ânatural lawâ.
The Oath Keeper types, when you get past the hyperbole which makes up most of their argument, seem to be saying county sheriffâs have the authority not only to enforce the laws but also interpret them.
Bad Days at Little UkraineâŚ
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Every law enforcement officer has an obligation to support the constitution. Nothing new there. Whatâs completely loony is the idea that they get to override the judiciary in deciding what the constitution means. Seems to me that membership in this organization should be considered incompatible with government employment, since one of its purposes is apparently to oppose the government of the United States by force.
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When will the black helicopters arrive?
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"Do the women get a vote in this tactical decision?"
LOLZ.
Also too: every coward is a legend in his own mind.
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Arizona Constitution? I confess to some confusion. The Bundy dust up is happening in Nevada though there are similar attitudes among some (certainly not a majority by any means) Arizona ranchers.
Doremus, interpreting law is one of the reasons that Arizona county sheriff is no longer a county sheriff. He got voted out. And in a pretty conservative area of the state I might add. I get the feeling a lot of folk in the Bundy crowd have no idea what the US Constitution actually says. Or what the actual rights of citizens are beyond the 2nd amendment.
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Agreed. Itâs particularly troubling that serving members of U.S. military are allegedly members of the Oath Keepers. Theyâre violating an oath theyâve already taken.
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Agreed. This issue was settled a long time ago at a different courthouse.
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âwomen needed to be the first ones shot.â
It used to be the phrase âwomen and children firstâ meant protect them, not make them decoys for target practice.
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I read on the internet how the ZOGs have infiltrated all levels of government!! It has to be true!! How can you blame them!!!eleven
Good to see the familiar shaded avatar, btw :).
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This isnât anything but treason and they should be dealt with as traitors. The longer this is tolerated the more violent the endgame is going to be.
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Ah. Ok, I admit that I am not all that conversant with the âsovereign citizenâ credo. I was wondering why all of a sudden a sheriff was the ultimate power.
These people are going to get a lot of people killedâŚ
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Donât try to understand. Theyâre kooks. Thatâs about all you need to know. I wonder how many members of the â1,500 strong militiaâ actually paid to graze their own cattle on the same land.
This whole issue is nuts. How can Fox sink so low as to feign any support for this?
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