Should Christian Terrorists Be Allowed To Dictate Public Environmental Policy?

Given that they sincerely believed that the whole universe was created by some mystical magic-man with a white flowing beard 6,000 years ago, should Christian terrorist groups in America be allowed to shape or even dictate public environmental policy?

By: Ringo Bones 

Maybe it was just the current resulting escalation since the Fox News Network successfully convinced the conservative white supremacist Christian right back in the mid 1990s that climate change / global warming is a hoax perpetrated by left-leaning scientists, but the latest military adventurism by American Christian terrorists back in January 2, 2016 that resulted in the taking over of the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. state of Oregon supposedly as a “protest” to the treatment of two cattle ranchers convicted of arson only highlights the resolve of these Christian terror groups in the United States that they really mean serious business even if their core beliefs tend to more often than not clash with current scientific findings and will continue to do so as time goes on. Given that these white supremacist Christian militia groups in the United States – often dubbed by the mainstream media as “domestic terrorists” to appease the right wing of the US Republican party – sincerely believe that the entire universe was created 6,000 years ago by some mystical magic-man with a white flowing beard, are they really in a position to shape the U.S. federal government’s public policy when it comes to the environmentally sustainable use of public lands? 

From an environmental perspective, the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Preserve by these so-called white supremacist Christian terrorists / domestic terrorist / militia groups poses an immediate threat to the wildlife refuge given their “core beliefs” more often than not make them do things that treat these fragile ecosystems like an inexhaustible resource just by proclaiming that white supremacist Jesus will fix it after they done their callous ecological scorched-earth policies. The unlawful occupation also represents a larger movement by the conservative extreme right of America to put state and local authorities in charge of public lands, which often results in unregulated logging, minerals extraction and crude oil and natural gas drilling / fracking. What happened in the first few days of 2016 in Oregon may set a precedent for how federal lands will be protected and managed in years to come. 

The Audubon Society of Portland – based in the U.S. state of Oregon – issued a warning back in January 3, 2016 that the 188,000-acre refuge contains “some of the most important bird habitat on the Pacific Flyaway” and the unlawful occupation “violates the most basic principles of the Public Trust Doctrine and holds hostage public lands and public resources to serve the very narrow political agenda of the occupiers.” The Malheur National Wildlife Preserve is also home to one of the biggest wetland restoration efforts ever undertaken. 

The Christian terror group currently occupying the federally owned facility is lead by a 40-year-old Nevada rancher Ammon Bundy who also claims that he is a (self-styled?) Mormon Militia leader and is also one of the three sons of Cliven Bundy, who back in 2014 posted a video tirade on You Tube that has more N-word count than a typical late 1990s rap / hip-hop artist / performer often uses about how the federal government violated his rights. Despite the significant financial breaks the federal government already extends to ranchers, the Bundy Family has been refusing to pay land use fees for years. If these “Christian extremists” occupy the federal facility any longer, they could rename it as the “Ammon Bundy Preserve for the Armed and Cranky”.