In case you haven't heard about cattle rancher Cliven Bundy in Nevada, he's the guy who has become the latest anti-gub'mint celebrity for the libertarian gun crowd. Ol' Cliven Bundy and I have a lot in common. Really! Both our families homesteaded in the West and started cattle ranches.
The only difference is that for the past twenty years or so, Bundy has refused to pay grazing fees for grazing his cattle herds on public Bureau of Land Management land. (You know, that land that belongs to every person in the United States.) He's taking a stand against those invasive government regulations that charge him a whopping $1.35 a month per cow (and calves) if they use public lands.
Now Bundy and his pals are calling the anti-government militia types to his side to keep him from having to pay past due grazing fees, not to mention stop grazing his cattle on protected land. (Say hello, desert tortoise.) There are so many issues rolled into this, it seems only fitting to set it to "Home on the Range." Enjoy the cartoon, and enjoy our public lands! (You can find more links to stories behind this cartoon on my website.)
[Cliven Bundy, to "Home on the Range"]
Oh give me a home,
Where mah' cattle can roam.
Fer free, while others must pay.
Where now all that's heard,
Are encouraging words--
For militias arriving today.
Home, home on the range,
Where FoxNews and Hannity play.
Where the right-wing is heard,
And the gun nuts are stirred,
Getting crazier each broadcast day.
Now thanks to the right,
Public land is a blight,
You can really just take it by force.
We're loaded and locked,
I'm a rancher half-cocked,
My rights they exceed those of yours.
Now sometimes at night,
When the cable glows bright,
I think 'bout the wild creatures, too.
But that's gone in a burst,
Private sector is first.
Take your laws and your rules and screw you.
Home, home on the range,
Where FoxNews and Hannity play.
Where the right-wing is heard,
And the gun nuts are stirred,
Getting crazier each broadcast day.