In, The Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 
recounts his first-hand experiences of life under the iron fist of a 20th Century government. His story records the thoroughly modernized tactics of a small, centralized group of authoritarians whose goal was total control of its own citizens. As Solzhenitsyn describes the lay of the land, we see it isn’t only about calling for tanks, guns and ground troops but it also included the bureaucratic masses. As his story progresses, the bureaucratic regulators turn out to be some of the most unprincipled and perfidious weapons.
Under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, the administrative system of the state was enriched with resources and empowered with the facade of legality. The result was a multi-tentacled Russian monster that grew from its simple task of administrative enforcement to a full-fledged police state complete with surveillance and population management.
American Similarities
The political similarities embedded in our own nation’s growing surveillance state cannot be missed. Common-place jurisdictional overreach, strangling regulatory regimes and unrelenting administrative takings all bear witness to unbalanced authoritarian rule.
Solzhenitsyn discloses one illustration of the supreme accuser, or Prosecutor General, who, “had the right to intervene in any judicial proceeding.” He characterizes the nature of this office as having the power to “pardon[s] and punish[es], at its own discretion without any limitation, whatever.”
This invokes a chilling reflection of the recent re-sentencing that Dwight and Steven Hammond received. A jury of the Hammond’s peers in Harney County, suggested reducing the original minimum sentencing requirement. The judge, the defense and prosecution teams were all convinced that a reduced sentence was justified.
Federal Judge Hogan, also in Harney Co., explained that sentencing the Hammonds to the mandatory minimum, “would shock the conscience.” He further thought that it would violate the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, because five years behind bars is “grossly disproportionate to the severity of the offenses here.” In fact, both “the judge and jury found the fire had arguably increased the value of the land for grazing.”
Then, why the re-sentencing? Maybe, there is a “supreme accuser,” or someone who can fix the problem posed by a jury who supported individuals over bureaucrats.
The “Fixer”
Small details like needing a “fixer” can be arranged with a quick phone call because our Congress has so thoroughly debauched the Constitutional standards that were created for our protection.
On Oct. 7, President Obama appointed a new U.S Attorney for the State of Oregon, based in Portland, 300 miles from Harney County, Ms. Amanda Marshall. Although she had no experience with the federal system, she showed the gumption necessary to accomplish the goal. It was her duty to use the color of law as a disguise for politically motivated appellate action, calling Judge Hogan’s punishments “unlawful.”
Notice, the claim wasn’t that the sentence was “unjust,” “inappropriate” or “inequitable.” The local community understood the true relevancy of any monetary damages and they knew government intrusions when they occurred. The Hammond’s peers proved best at harmonizing the defendant’s acceptance of responsibility, criminality, and/or misconduct. This is why our US Constitution requires, “The Trial of all Crimes … shall be by Jury.” Local community sentencing provides for truly just criminal punishment, criminal deterrence, and rehabilitation.
So, the “unlawful” nature of the penalties simply means that the Hammonds were not yet crushed. Solzhenitsyn reminds us, the “meat grinder of political interrogation” was designed too crush – body and soul. Over and over, the law is used to demonstrate that the defendant is wrong – in his views, his conduct, his life, and his relationships.
Solzhenitsyn forges a perspective where, “the engine room of the law,” spews out a “scrunched- up wad” that was once a man. The goal was, “To crush him once and for all and to cut him off from all others, once and for all.”
Now you have some insight into why the Bundys and so many good hearted Americans are in Harney Co. They are fighting the unconstitutional use of administrative law. Law, which by nature, ensures the illegitimate power of the federal bureaucracy.
U.S Attorney, Amanda Marshall has shown us her allegiance. Her allegiance isn’t to securing our liberty, our rights, or our communities protection and justice. Her allegiance is to power and power alone.
Unfortunately, there are thousands in the regulatory state who serve the naked interests of an all-powerful bureaucracy. These warped statist ideas slowly alienate every American, regardless of one’s race, gender, religion, country-of-origin or walk-of-life. This includes people across the political spectrum, both the left and the right, because absurd regulations negatively impact everyone.
Unless “we the, still free, people” step forward and challenge the illegal power that pretends legitimacy, it will continue to metastasize and thereby destroy our freedoms. Thomas Jefferson fought against this authoritarian tendency throughout his life. He wrote, “To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power…”
This boundless enrichment by the ruling class was why our founders established the strict separation of power, the Bill of Rights, and our Representative from of consensual government.
Rev. Samuel Williams, summarized it well, in 1774:
“In a despotic government, the only principle by which the tyrant is to move the whole machine … is fear, by the servile dread of his power.”
The men and women in Harney County are standing together with those who oppose administrative tyranny. They are standing for our founder’s vision where men have inalienable rights and governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
Thank you for having the courage to keep writing the TRUTH of these matters. Many will shrink away from standing up, for FEAR of retribution, not knowing that “it is for their life”. Like you say, we MUST stand NOW and at every chance we can, while we still can!
The dark and evil iron fist is still coming down again and again and again in the Tulelake area as well. Some of those who are associated in one way or another to involuntary occupancy in the Tule Lake WWII Dissent Camp are not satisfied with the escalating historic site designations which they oddly enjoy – oddly, as during the war this was for good reason known as a dissident camp. No, what they want to do now is to grab off some more land and force the airport out and take over the area occupied currently by the airport and the agricultural aerial application service which shares the space. Why? At least in part because there was a (sacred?) human waste elimination site on what is now the airport grounds, as they may want to go over there, or something. Is this part of the continued war on agriculture in general and property, civil and constitutional rights specifically? If this post WWII incursion is successful it will OBIOUSLY cause an untold level of social and economic disruption. Obviously. One could write a book regarding the nuances and intrigue involved in this modern tragedy yet the thing that is most relative to your article is that this particular land grab is now employing the same Marxism promulgating Hegelian Dialectic process that was used in the Klamath Dam Scam AKA the Klamath Basin Restoration and associated agreements! Here is what is planned: “The County of Modoc will be holding a public meeting at the Tulelake Airport on Monday, the 25th of January at 4:00 pm to provide the public the opportunity to share comments and concerns related to the Tulelake Airport. The Modoc Country Road Department has begun participation in a stakeholder engagement process aimed at bringing airport stakeholders to an agreement about how they can work together to meet each of their needs in a mutually beneficial way. As representatives in that stakeholder group, we want to hear from the community to ensure we are properly representing the interests of Modoc County. This will be a facilitated meeting session that is designed to allow residents of Modoc County and the Tulelake basin an opportunity for input…” The community might just as well be given a seat at the human waste elimination site. This thing is being presented and facilitated by some of the same folks who were here around about the time when property and rights began ebbing away from US citizens and slithering over to “others”. You will recognize them as the group who facilitated the Upper Klamath Basin Working Group – the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution. Nice going County of Modoc! Look out, here comes Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis and you know what they are trying to synthesize. That’s right, a lie into a truth that will cause you to cede something you own over to someone who just wants to take it from you. The Tulelake basin probably doesn’t have any more hope of pressing the greedy land octopus back than they do in Harney County. There are just too many people anymore in rural America with a strange financial dependence on the Funny Uncle Sam’s faux printed money. They will now bite the hand that truly feeds them while favoring the one which will unavoidable bring starvation and chaos. That is the only thing any form of Marxism has ever brought. The big populace dialectic has been working it seems. Maybe the synthesis that they crumble to in Tule will be the provision of some Depends over on the adjoining legal site, and thus resolve at least part of the airpot problem. So grab your least favorite cowboy hat and go on down to the Tulelake Airport in Newell this coming Monday for the sake of what is left of America. Sorry, I meant to say what’s Right in America. Best regards regardless, Finnioius
Nice article as far as it goes. It leaves out all the illegal activity that went into framing the Hammonds and the illegal activity of BLM to drive other ranchers off of their land. Ammon Bundy is in Harney County to get the land back that was illegally taken.
Hi Donna, Please share all that you know about that part of the subject matter as we all need to be better informed all of the time. There is so much going on the world over that it is mind boggling. For instance, just one of the multitude of seemingly unrelated background issues that is being faced in the Harney County issue might have to do with the world view of the appointed governor of Oregon. There may be something potentially disastrous behind her desire to have the federal government collide with the protestors. For some time now Ms. Brown has seemed to be in favor of the concepts that are hostile to private property ownership and rights. For instance, she doesn’t seem to think that it is OK if you purchase high valued “navigable waterway” waterfront property and restrict public access to it. She would like such properties and those which are wordsmithed into that category to exist solely under the domain of the Public Trust. Capitalism makes provision for individual rights and ownership, socialism favors superior rights of the general public over the individual and communism is where the government controls it all and declares that no one but they can go there, enjoy, benefit from, use it etc. Socialism is often a mere stepping stone on the road to communism. The FBI has recently (in essence and in so many words) suggested that the Governor settle down, take a deep breath and back off. In reality and as always is the case there are good and decent federal people and good and decent protestors facing off at this very moment. It is my sincere hope that the problem is that she just hasn’t totally thought over the implications that aggressive actions would bring. In any event we all have much to learn and know in order to negotiate through and survive these turbulent times. So anything you can add to this course would be most appreciated. Your friend in these matters, Finnoius