Which is part of the point. If Utah is successful in seizing federal land (not likely, but what if), the Republican-controlled legislature will quickly admit to being financially unable to manage the land, and put it up for sale to the highest bidder.
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Get it back??? As I recall, it was the federal government that bought (from France) or stole (from Mexico) the land in the first place. The part that the government does not own is the legacy of its generosity to squatters. Where the hell do these crackpots get their history? There are other and better sources than David Barton or the Texas School Book Commission for Christ’s sake.
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Bundy has already reserved first place in line at the auction … and he’s got plenty of dough because he doesn’t pay any taxes or fees on that Federal land he’s been using for years.
That is what killed all interest in the proposal here in Montana. What would normally be a constituency for the repugs, the sportsmen fought against the proposal realizing that no public lands means no access and no hunting or fishing. In short the groups that mobilized against the proposal knew there was nothing to stop the from selling off the lands. The tea baggers got really greedy here and wanted to state to also assume control of the national parks.
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Lawyers Without Borders…and Morals
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Well, then maybe the Federal Government should simply rescind the Congressional action that created the State of Utah.
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"The commission made the decision after a consulting team it hired said its research concluded the Constitution does not give the U.S. government power to control federal lands within state borders.
The team of hired lawyers recommended the commission urge the governor and attorney general to take on the lawsuit, even while warning it could cost up to $14 million, take years to play out in the courts and saying it would be far from a sure victory."
And those lawyers just hit the lotto. They appear to have gone to the law school of “Tell you whatever I can to milk you for fees and leave you high and dry.” This is exactly what groups like the Liberty Counsel (see Kim Davis) do. They line up people like this to make a point on a case they’ll never win and they know they’ll never win while sitting back and screwing the organization/taxpayer over for big fees.
Damn, people are stupid.
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I saw that. Brady Mccombs, who apparently wrote this article, is an idiot. You can’t get something “back” that you never had.
ENABLING ACT, Approved, July 16, 1894
AN ACT to enable the People of Utah to form a Constitution and State Government, and to be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States…
Second. That the people inhabiting said proposed State do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within the boundaries thereof; and to all lands lying within said limits owned or held by any Indian or Indian tribes; and that until the title thereto shall have been extinguished by the United States, the same shall be and remain subject to the disposition of the United States, and said Indian lands shall remain under the absolute jurisdiction and control of the Congress of the United States;
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Thanks, Shoreline_Jim. That’s what I was looking for.
These public lands will not remain public for very long, the “highest bidders” have already picked out the very best areas for themselves all that they need to do is figure out how many ‘No Trespassing’ signs to purchase and hire fence builders.
Rep. Keven Stratton, R-Orem, chair of a commission for the stewardship of public lands, said the decision was made after years of careful consideration and countless stories from residents in rural counties about how federal management makes living and doing business on federal lands cumbersome and unpleasant.
Well, stop “living and doing business on federal lands.” See? Easy peasy.
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So do the rest of us get to testify?
The “State of Utah” did not exist until it was created by the Federal Government of the United States. At the time of that creation, the Federal Government placed certain lands under the control of the newly created State, and retained ownership of other lands. The state has never owned or in any other way had jurisdiction and/or control of any kind over those Federal lands.
An analogy to this would be if, as I pass a panhandler in the street, I take out my wallet and give him $10. Whereupon he says “OK, now that gives me the right to claim the rest of the contents of your wallet”.
These teahadding morons are not going to achieve any fucking buyback 
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If the Federal government gave the land back, it would have to be to the people they got/bought/stole it from: the Utes, Shoshone and Southern Paiute.
Be worth it just to watch the gumps get served with eviction notices, and to see the muffintop militia face off against the Tribal Police
Wow!
"forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands"!
What is unclear about “forever disclaim”?
Mormons enrich themselves by stealing.