You may remember that the Bundys were charged twice about having their cattle grazing on ‘federal’ land without paying for it. They went to court twice and were found not guilty twice, and ‘with prejudice’ the second time, meaning that they cannot be tried again. The question then is; who owns the ‘federal’ lands? I am going to quote almost word for word from chapter eight (out of 89) of my book “I hold These Truths,” which I wrote 30 years ago, and I haven’t changed my mind about any of it.
“Among the general powers of Congress are, ”To exercise like authority over all places PURCHASED by the consent of the legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, stockyards, and other needful buildings.” – Article 1, Section 8, clause 17.
“Get the point? The ONLY lands authorized by the Constitution to be owned by the federal government, are lands that have been BOUGHT from the individual states, and then ONLY for the uses of forts, stockyards, etc. I would love to see the deeds given to Uncle Sam for the 86.2% of total land areas in Nevada, 61% in Alaska, 52% in Oregon, 49.6% in California, 64% in Idaho, 67% in Utah, 49% in Wyoming, 41% in Arizona, and huge parts of Colorado and other states the federal government claims, administers, controls, and ruins in many cases! Such deeds do not exist. The states never deeded or sold these lands to the federal government, and in actuality the federal government doesn’t own them.
“California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, parts of Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming were formed as a result of a treaty with Mexico, signed in 1848, and commonly called the “Treaty of Hildago.” In this treaty, speaking of the transferred lands, “They shall be formed into free, sovereign and independent states, and incorporated into the Union of the United States as soon as possible, and the citizens thereof shall be accorded the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages, and immunities as citizens of the original states.”
“Congress stated in 1787, that when new states were admitted to the Union, they were to be, “On equal footing with the original States in all respects whatsoever.” The hundreds of millions of acres claimed by the federal government were not bought from the states, no deeds for such lands exist, and the federal government should immediately vacate such properties to the individual states. For over 200 years the federal government has run roughshod over the Constitutional rights of the individual states, and it must stop. As each day passes, the outrages by the Beltway Bunch become more intolerable. Washington D.C. is the wealthiest place in the world, is a lifestyle and thought process totally different and alien to the rest of America, just as our lives are unknown and uncared for by them. When will we stop this untrammeled march over the American States, businesses, families, and farms by worthless bureaucrats and the Congress that appoints them?” – Don Stott -1-888-786-8822
*The views and opinions expressed in these posts are those of the author only and do not reflect the policy or position of Colorado Gold.