Armed, "Sovereign", & Dangerous

Last month, the local "newspaper" figured it was a great idea to publish the new home address of US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D). What could possibly go wrong with that?

Apparently, the local "newspaper" didn't realize that Charles Jason Moreland was already sending explicit emails to Senator Reid declaring that he's "a dead man". Moreland wrote to Senator Reid to demand he resign from office "or face stern, harsh, unimaginable consequences to him and his family." And now, Moreland is about to stand trial in an Oklahoma federal court for his alleged death threats against Senator Reid.

Meanwhile just to the south in Texas, Douglas Lee Leguin was arrested in a tony North Dallas neighborhood. Dallas firefighters had arrived to fight a dumpster fire when Leguin allegedly opened fire on them. A SWAT team was then called to respond to him. And after an armed standoff with police, Leguin was arrested and charged with 7 counts of aggravated assault.



During the shootout with police, Leguin declared himself to be a "sovereign citizen". This isn't the first time a sovereign citizen has resorted to violence to "fight for freedom". In May 2010, the father-son team of Jerry & Joseph Kane shot dead West Memphis, Arkansas, police officers Brandon Paudert & Bill Evans during what was supposed to be a routine traffic stop.



Sovereign citizens and their ideological twins in the Patriot Movement are not above violence. In fact, they sometimes resort to violence to "start the revolution".

Does the West Memphis murder of 2 on-duty police officers seem eerily familiar? If so, that may be due to what happened in Las Vegas this past June. Metro Police Officers Alyn Beck & Igor Soldo were shot dead at a local CiCi's Pizza by Jerad & Amanda Miller to "start the revolution". They then moved to a nearby Walmart, where they shot Joseph Robert Wilcox dead before they sacrificed themselves to "the revolution" in their final standoff with Metro.



Before they brought "the revolution" to Las Vegas, the Millers were in Bunkerville to assist Cliven Bundy in his "Range War" against the federal government. The Patriot Movement and allied anti-government radicals formed a critical mass in Bunkerville to defend their fellow sovereign citizens at #BundyRanch. They declared "posse comitatus" as they commanded Metro Officers to arrest federal agents for trying to enforce federal law.

Even before Cliven Bundy made international headlines, radical right violence was on the rise. But ever since sovereign citizens and the Patriot Movement (re)gained major media attention earlier this year, they've been enjoying a cultural zeitgeist on the fringe right as they increasingly permeate into what's supposed to be "political mainstream". Even though the Bundy clan no longer command media attention like they did in April, various "TEA" flavored media personalities continue to fan the flames of Bundy approved extremism with discredited conspiracy theories and xenophobic fearmongering.

Charles Jason Moreland didn't just send ugly emails to Senator Reid. Last September, the Tulsa man sent The White House an email last September in which he threatened to go to Washington, DC, “and start killing people if the monitoring of his Internet and cell phones did not stop.” He also sent threatening emails to his local Member of Congress, Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Oklahoma).

Once upon a time, this kind of activity was considered shocking. Not any more. It's unknown at this time if Moreland has any direct ties to the Patriot Movement and/or any sovereign citizen group. However, we can't deny they're leaving indelible and rather dangerous marks on contemporary American politics.

Can't They Just Say, "Happy PRIDE Month"?

On Tuesday, we learned who would advance to the November general election. In NV-04, Rep. Steven Horsford (D-North Las Vegas) will be up against outgoing Assembly Member Cresent Hardy.

Remember Cresent Hardy? He's a self-proclaimed expert in "segregation laws". He doesn't want to "create classes" and "separation"... Unless that separation is called for by his "religious beliefs".

When he and Adam Laxalt launched their puzzling campaign against LGBTQ civil rights just as other Nevada Republicans were trying to "rebrand" their way out of the Stone Age, we could sense that "Republican rebranding" wouldn't accomplish much of anything. After all, it's not just a Nevada problem. It's a nationwide problem for their party.



Scott Esk is a Republican running for a Oklahoma State Legislature seat. Normally, a candidate running for state legislature doesn't attract national headlines. However, this is a special case. In this case, Scott Esk supports the death penalty (stoning, specifically) for "homosexuality".

But wait, there's more. Remember Rick Perry (R)? He's the future ex-Governor of Texas. He made a total @ssclown of himself when he tried running for President in 2011/12. And he's still making a total @ssclown of himself now. Just this week, he compared being queer to alcoholism... Because he's such a "compassionate conservative".

Wouldn't it just be easier for the Republican Party to send out a nice press release wishing everyone a happy PRIDE Month? Couldn't they just follow Katie Couric's lead and learn from their past mistakes? Why are they so hell-bent on repeating their mistakes over and over and over again?

Republicans in Nevada and elsewhere have been trying so hard to "rebrand" when they simply need to reevaluate their Stone Age era platform. Seriously, there's no way to "rebrand" "the right side of the Bible". Perhaps instead of constantly trying to sell us on "Republican rebranding", they can try treating us with some respect & dignity for a change? Oh, and they can start by simply wishing us a happy PRIDE Month.

Deadly Blame Game

Yesterday, a number of local constituents gathered across the street from Rep. Joe Heck's district office to demand action on gun violence. Today, we reflect on even more saddening headlines of brutal gun violence across the nation.

Last Friday, Chris Lane was shot dead "for fun". He was an Australian national and budding baseball star studying at Oklahoma's East Central University. His untimely death sparked shock and outrage in both countries, but Australians have particularly noticed a dangerous aspect of American culture that contributed to Chris Lane's death.

Frank FitzGerald, who was the principal at St Bernard's while Mr Lane was a student, said Mr Lane had been an integral part of the school leadership. He said the violence of Mr Lane's death made it particularly difficult to bear.

"I think the rest of the countries around the world just look at that country and shake their head," Mr FitzGerald said.

"How many tragedies do they have and Chris is just one of many.

"When you hear of the ones in schools where they have massacres, I cannot conceive of what that is to deal with. We had a number of tragedies over the years at St Bernard's and it cuts right through."

But of course on this side of the Pacific Ocean, the usual G-O-TEA suspects have been quick to pile on the race baiting. They've even gone on bizarre rants over fried chicken and vegetables! After all, they're still trying to spin away the brutal death of Trayvon Martin. And of course, they have to find something to divert attention from the root cause of both their deaths, along with the untimely deaths of many more people in this nation.

Also this week, we saw another school shooting. This time, it was in Decatur, Georgia. Yet this time, there were no deaths.

How did that happen? Antoinette Tuff was able to talk down the shooter. And she was able to talk him down without using a gun. So of course, this has caused many G-O-TEA heads to explode.

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Tuff is, of course, the bookkeeper at Ronald McNair Discovery Learning Center in Decatur, Ga., whose work talking shooter Michael Brandon Hill into surrendering to police Tuesday was captured live on a stunning 911 tape that’s gone viral. The fascination at the heart of Tuff’s tale, the reason it’s riveting, is the way she used compassion and empathy to disarm a mentally ill man intent on killing. “Was the potential there to have another Sandy Hook? Absolutely,” the local police chief told reporters as he praised Tuff.

In this story, the only thing that stopped a bad guy with a gun was a good woman with a heart. Or to entirely rewrite Wayne LaPierre’s dumb Manichaean NRA propaganda: The only thing that stopped an emotionally damaged, despairing and unloved young man with 500 rounds of ammunition was a compassionate woman sharing her own story of damage and despair, and telling him she loved him.

Oh, and then there’s this: As we try to recover from the unnecessarily polarized aftermath of the Trayvon Martin killing and George Zimmerman’s acquittal, it’s worth noting that Tuff is a black woman who helped save a young white man from harm at the hands of police. Of course, the race-baiters at Fox News, who were so agitated about the crimes of young black men a few weeks ago, have hardly rushed to emphasize that a young white man opened fire at a predominantly black school – let alone that he was helped to save his own life by an African-American woman (for example, check out how they approach these facts here).

But of course, the usual G-O-TEA suspects have rushed to race-bait in the Chris Lane case. And of course, they continue to refuse to address the root cause of his death, the near miss at Antoinette Tuff's school, the police shootout here in Henderson that Desert Beacon discussed this morning. After all, it's easier to play deadly blame games than to get Congress to actually do something to save lives.

In the Wake of the Storm

Yesterday, this horrific tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma. As you can see below, it truly was as frightening as we were hearing from survivors yesterday.



Fortunately, we've seen some good news since last night. For one, the death toll has actually been revised downward. It now stands at 24, as some lost victims were counted twice amidst all the chaos of the first few hours after the storm.

Also, charities have been quick to begin delivering aid where it's most needed in Oklahoma. And with continued support, they should be able to continue helping there.



And now, federal assistance should be coming soon... Or will it? Earlier this morning, Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) actually demanded "offsets" for any and all federal disaster aid for his own state. No really, he went there.

I've seen many note overnight that Coburn is at least consistent -- there are plenty of politicians who've balked at disaster-relief funds when there's a devastating storm, only to change their minds when their constituents are among the casualties. Coburn, however, has routinely questioned emergency funding for everyone, and apparently wants to apply the same standards to his own home state.

But while consistently is welcome, it doesn't change the questions about unnecessary callousness.

For many years, federal disaster relief was effectively automatic -- there was bipartisan support for quickly responding to American communities in their time of need. It was a reflection of who we are as a people -- when disaster strikes, we're there for the people in affected areas, regardless of politics.

But in recent years, many Republican lawmakers have decided to change the standards. Under the new approach, they'll consider emergency resources, but only if Democrats agree to cut a comparable amount from the budget elsewhere. There's no real economic rationale for this, but for much of the right, the ideological rationale is sufficient.

However since then, Senator Coburn has been quieter about it. His office pledged earlier to work with Congressional colleagues and President Obama to send help without delay. So we'll have to wait and see if Oklahoma Tornado aid becomes as politically thorny as efforts earlier this year to secure aid for Hurricane Sandy victims.

Already, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has promised speedy delivery of federal assistance to Oklahoma...

"While we may not know the extent of the damage for some time, we will continue to do everything in our power to help the people of Oklahoma as they recover from these terrible tornadoes," Reid said. "And we will stand vigilant today, ready to send additional assistance as more storms threaten the region."

"Whenever tragedy strikes one part of our nation, it strikes us all. And so I pledge the people of Oklahoma our continued support as they begin to rebuild."

And so has President Obama.



As we discussed last night, austerity has harmed our efforts to both prepare for disasters like this beforehand one and respond to them afterward. And now, some in the "tea party" (including one of Oklahoma's own US Senators?!) want to (mis)use this disaster to force more austerity upon the country? Why? Why must we worsen the toll of this disaster by demanding unnecessary suffering on top of the pain that many in The Midwest are already enduring? Joan Walsh nails the nonsensical insanity of this ideological rigidity.

Especially in the wake of the sequester cuts, the notion that the federal budget is larded with easily eliminated spending is ludicrous. Would Coburn like to see more kids thrown out of Head Start? More seniors losing Meals on Wheels? The federal deficit is shrinking faster than at any time since just after World War II, but Coburn is going to insist that someone, somewhere must lose their federal help so Oklahoma can get it instead.

There’s something so typical about today’s GOP in the way Inhofe can dismiss comparisons between tornado aid and Sandy aid, while Coburn grandstands for his long-term demand that new spending, even on disaster relief, must be “offset” by cuts elsewhere. Meanwhile, the notion that a new disaster relief bill should include funding to cope with future disasters isn’t lauded as common sense, it’s derided as pork. Like Inhofe, Coburn objected to the Sandy bill’s including funding for future disaster relief. (It should be noted that Moore, Okla. Rep. Tom Cole, also a Republican, voted for the Sandy aid bill.)

Just as modern conservatism helped create categories of “deserving” and “undeserving” poor, we now apparently have deserving and undeserving disasters. When tragedy strikes, most Americans tend to want to pull together, but many Republicans look to pull us apart, placing their own constituents’ needs above everyone else’s.

And as we were discussing last night, this likely won't be the last time we see this kind of horror. New research strongly suggests we're in for even more mega-disasters as the climate crisis continues to worsen. No really, think about it. While we don't know how climate change was involved in this specific storm, it's been affecting the overall landscape of Tornado Alley.

Climate change is supposed, among other things, to bring warmer and moister air to earth. That, of course, would lead to more severe thunderstorms and probably more tornadoes. The issue is that global warming is also forecast to bring about less wind shear. This would allow hurricanes to form more easily, but it also would make it much harder for tornadoes to get the full about lift and instability that allow for your usual thunderstorm to grow in height and become a fully-fledged tornado. Statistics over the past 50 years bear this out, as we've seen warmer and more moist air as well as less wind shear.

Meteorological studies differ on whether or not the warmer and moister air can overcome a lack of wind shear in creating more tornadoes in the far future. In the immediate past, the jet stream, possibly because of climate change, has been quite volatile. Some years it has dug south to allow maximum tornado activity in the middle of the country, while other years it has stayed to the north.

Although tornado reporting has in prior decades been not as reliable as today because of a lack of equipment and manpower, it's still not by accident that the six least active and four most active tornado seasons have been felt over the past decade. Another statistic that points to the irregular patterns is that the three earliest and four latest starts to the tornado season have all occurred in the past 15 years.

Basically, we've had this push and pull in recent history. Some years the number of tornadoes is quite high, and some years it is quite low. We're not seeing "average" seasons as much any more, though the average of the extremes has led to no meaningful change to the average number of tornadoes per year. Expect this variation to continue into the future as less wind shear and warmer moister air fight it out.

The overall result could very well be fewer days of tornadoes per Harold Brooks of the National Storm Center, but more and stronger tornadoes when they do occur. Nothing about the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, or tornadoes over the past few decades break with this theory.

Over 30 million people worldwide were displaced last year due to climate change related natural disasters. How much more evidence do we need here? How much more disaster must we endure before we act to save ourselves and each other?

In the wake of the storm, we face some difficult questions to answer. How will we answer them? Will we give the people of Oklahoma the helping hand up that they so desperately need? And will we be proactive in preparing for a dangerous future?

Moore Tornado

Today has been a tragic day for a wide swath of The Midwest. Tornadoes have been hitting for the past week. But today, a tornado that's already being described by some as "the worst in recorded history" hit Moore, Oklahoma.

A mile-wide tornado churned through the Oklahoma City suburbs, destroying homes for the second day in a row Monday, as part of a severe weather outbreak that was expected to spread in other parts of the Plains and Midwest. [...] “We’re just waiting to see what happens. It’s a mile-wide tornado. It’s still grinding out,” said Mark Meyers, a spokesman for the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office. “We are currently on standby for tornado response. Whatever happens, we’ll be ready to respond.” The strongest winds on earth — 302 mph — were recorded near Moore during a tornado May 3, 1999. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman had predicted a major outbreak of severe weather Monday in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Storms on Sunday killed two people near Shawnee, about 35 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. Gov. Mary Fallin earlier Monday took a tour of the areas hardest hit and she expressed concern that, with power out, Oklahomans might not receive warnings about the new round of storms.

The tornado was a mile wide with wind speeds up to 200 miles per hour. It was likely an EF 5 tornado, which is the most severe level of storm. Its footprint was 3 times the size of the 1999 storm. At least 51 people have died today... And recovery efforts are just beginning. At least 120 people have been hospitalized as a result of this tornado. Again, there's actually been a chain of tornadoes hitting The Midwest for the past week. Oklahoma already secured a federal emergency declaration before this particular tornado even hit. And now, the storm system that produced this super tornado is about to wreak havoc in Arkansas and Missouri. Lately, we've been reminded of the increasing severity of climate change. While we don't know yet how much climate change contributed to this specific storm, there's been increasing evidence of climate change... Well, affecting the weather and overall climate. Are we prepared for more "mega-disasters" like this, Hurricane Sandy, and epic Western Wildfires? Are we prepared? As we detailed earlier today, federal austerity has led to devastating budget cuts affecting emergency preparation efforts and disaster response. Already, today has been an incredibly painful day for numerous Americans. Will austerity worsen the pain wrought by natural disasters? The American Red Cross has been trying to prepare for this slew of tornadoes. But now, perhaps more than ever before, The Red Cross needs help in helping victims in Moore, Oklahoma, and in other tornado affected areas of The Midwest. If you can give, now is a good time to do so.


And stay tuned here at Nevada Progressive for further updates on the Midwestern Tornadoes.