Imagine a dusty, Old West street, tumbleweeds, cowboys facing off with guns.

I am writing this post in advance of me posting it because I've discovered I have moods for writing and often several ideas all the same time before I then lose all ideas and don't post anything for a month. This way I am making more use of the few moments that I do feel like writing.

That, and the World of Warcraft server is still down. And I already finished my book, cleaned part of the freezer, dusted my bedroom and the study, wrote a vignette, read or skimmed all the recent posts on LewRockwell.com and drank several cups of tea and it has not yet come back online.

Word of caution: The above link is to a very libertarian website with very libertarian views. It can open your mind and then fill it. Beware, and enter if you dare.

It was from that particular website that I saw a link to a certain news article on a rancher in Nevada named Cliven Bundy. Apparently, he keeps his cattle on this sort of public grazing lands his family has been using for a century or so and got his access revoked in 1993 when federal government classified the land as federal property to protect some sort of rare desert tortoise that seems to have persisted despite there being cows this last century. He stopped paying fees and kept his cattle on the land.

I'm a bit confused on this point. As far as I can tell based on the structure of the language, he was paying fees, and then they ordered him to get his cattle off, and he didn't do that AND stopped paying fees. Which, if you aren't allowed to keep your cows somewhere and you decide to keep them there, that makes paying fees seem a little silly, doesn't it? Like paying rent after you're evicted and hiding under the porch.

Anyway, somehow things came to head recently and you should probably read the article to get the feel of it. From what I've read, and I find this whole thing hard to believe, federal forces stormed the property with helicopters and snipers and started seizing his cattle. Meanwhile, private militias of gun enthusiasts, anti-federals, and others in the area and from nearby states poured in to stand with Cliven Bundy, dressed in camo, flak-jackets, and bringing guns.

The feds ended up releasing the cows after a standoff and backing down.

You look at the pictures and read the story and it makes no sense. When reading it, I kept saying, "This doesn't happen in America." People don't just group up, armed, against the government and make the government back down. I didn't even think anybody would ever consider that option.

Obviously, it's a rather libertarian track of thought. Government is oppressive, citizens have the right to bear arms against oppressive government. And nobody got shot, in this case.

But this doesn't happen in America. Does it? I still have a hard time believing this story.

Although, you know, if this story is true, the government isn't the type to back down. Maybe Cliven Bundy and the militias won the day, but that doesn't mean it's over. But it's nice to see that people can think outside the box.