Amid the circus that is the Bundy Ranch standoff is the much more important and revealing story surrounding a previously little-noticed agency called the Bureau of Land Management. Even observers who believed that Cliven Bundy did not have a legal leg to stand on regarding his claims that he did not owe grazing fees for his cattle to the BLM were curious as to the reason behind the heavy-handed response to Bundy’s recalcitrance.  The move ostensibly was to remove Bundy’s cattle from public lands, where they were illegally grazing.  Even though every federal agency these days, from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Department of Education, feels the need to have its own SWAT team, 200 federal agents with assault rifles and dogs seems an inappropriate way to conduct a roundup. Upon closer examination, the reason for the importance to the BLM of establishing its authority may entail much more than the revenue from grazing fees. For starters, the...(Read Full Post)