By Mike Appleton, Guest Blogger
I first heard of John Prather sometime in 1957. We were living outside of La Luz, New Mexico, a village near Alamogordo. My father was working on a guided missile project at Holloman Air Force Base at the time. Prather was a cattle rancher and I followed his story over the next few years with a mixture of boyish awe and admiration.
Prather was born in east Texas in 1873, and moved with his family by covered wagon to New Mexico ten years later. He took up ranching in the 1890s, raising both cattle and mules, supplying the latter to the army during both world wars and acquiring the nickname “Mule King.” By the 1950s, Prather had accumulated 4,000 acres stretching from the foothills and fertile mesas of the Sacramento Mountains into the arid desert of the Tularosa Basin, and held grazing leases from the government on another 20,000 acres. Rough-edged, but gentle, he built his ranch house by hand and grew pecan trees. Prather was one of the last pioneer settlers in New Mexico Territory and looked forward to passing on what he had created to his children. But the government had different ideas.
The Tularosa Basin lies between the San Andres Mountains on the west and the Sacramentos on the east. White Sands runs down the middle of the basin, just south of the prehistoric lava pits known as the Malpais. It is stark, arid, rugged and beautiful. Only a few miles away from the Malpais is the Trinity Site, where the first atomic bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945. In the years following World War II, the White Sands Proving Ground, as it was then known, was gradually expanded. By the early 1950s, America had embarked on the Cold War and the earnest development of guided missile systems. The proving ground was transformed into the White Sands Missile Range, necessitating even further expansion. The nearby McGregor Missile Range was also expanding and by 1956, hundreds of thousands of additional acres of the Tularosa Basin had been set aside for the development and testing of missile systems.
A number of ranchers were affected by the expansion. Most of them negotiated purchase prices with the government and moved on. A few battled condemnation proceedings and eventually settled. And then there was John Prather. He had no desire to sell under any circumstances and made his views clear. When asked about his plans, he replied, “I am going to die at home.” Although he was unwilling to give up his land, he did offer to lease it to the army for $2.00 per year, so that he “could go on raising beef for the army to eat and paying taxes for them generals’ salaries.” But a sale was out of the question. “If they come after me,” he said, “they better bring a box.”
With negotiations going nowhere, the army began formal condemnation proceedings. The U.S. attorney’s office deposited $341,425.00 as compensation for the Prather ranch and the federal court in Albuquerque issued an order of taking requiring him to move his livestock and vacate his ranch by March 30, 1957. When that deadline passed, federal district judge Waldo Rogers issued a writ of assistance on August 6, 1957. Three U.S. marshals were dispatched the next day to serve the writ. Prather still refused to budge and reportedly said, “I will kill the first man that steps into the door of my house.” The army posted the land and sent armed soldiers to convince him to leave, but by this time the affair had attracted widespread media interest. This was, after all, an 82 year-old man standing firmly against the might of the military. The soldiers were withdrawn.
During the course of the next three years, John Prather became an unwilling folk hero. He received a personal visit from the commander of Fort Bliss. The State of New Mexico intervened. Sen. Clinton Anderson publicly denounced the army’s efforts. Congressional hearings were held on the federal “land grab.” And through it all Prather remained, unfazed and adamant. “I never did take to killing, even of animals,” he said. “I figure each time you kill a thing, you take a little joy out of the world. But a man does what he has to, and if he has to kill to protect his ranch and his home …well, that’s his God-given right.”
In the end, John Prather didn’t move. The army agreed to allow him to remain on his ranch and retain fifteen surrounding acres for as long as he lived. When he died in 1965, at the age of 91, his body was buried next to his ranch house. And true to his word, he never accepted the money set aside for his land.
When the controversy erupted over gun control recently, and I listened to the dire predictions of the NRA and the alarmist condemnations from the right, I thought about John Prather for the first time in many years. Throughout his battle with the army, not a single shot was fired. He didn’t barricade himself and amass stores of ammunition. He didn’t attend armed rallies discussing Second Amendment “remedies.” He didn’t hate his government or the soldiers he confronted. He served them coffee and explained his position in simple and direct language. He prevailed because his humility and integrity commanded respect. He understood what “stand your ground” ought to mean. He won by moral force rather than force of arms.
Following Prather’s death, of course, the army took possession of the remainder of his land. And a year later, deciding that not all of the land was immediately needed, it began leasing portions of the Prather ranch-for cattle grazing.
Sources: C.L. Sonnichsen, “Tularosa, Last of the Frontier West,” (University of New Mexico press, 2002); Calvin A. Roberts, “Our New Mexico: A Twentieth Century History,” (University of New Mexico Press, 2005); Marc Simmons, “New Mexico: An Interpretive History,” (W.W. Norton & Company, 1977); John A. Hamilton, “Blazing Skies: Air Defense Artillery on Fort Bliss, Texas, 1940-2009,”(GPO, 2009).
James Carville called Cruz the best Republican candidate for prez in the past 30 years on This Week, yesterday. For whatever that’s worth.
Bron, I think Cruz might take a page out of Obama’s playbook and go early.
SM:
he is a relative unknown outside Texas and people of a political inclination isnt he? Do you think he will run in 2016 or wait until 2020?
It seems like this Benghazi mess is gaining steam and it doesnt look good for Obama or Hillary at least that is what I am reading. I know Hillary has quite a following but she is going to need some independents to win.
Jeb Bush is hanging out on the side lines and I am praying he breaks a leg and has to sit out the season, nothing serious just enough to side line him. 2 was enough for me. I should have listened to Jesse when he said “stay out the Bushs”, dam was he right.
Bron, Cruz will be the Texan that runs. He is smarter, meaner and more ambitious. The tea party loves him.
SWARTHMORE MOM:
you better be nice to Rick Perry, he is going to be our next president.
Hey Lottakatz: that will give you the vapors. 🙂
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/06/opinion/waldman-nra-conference/index.html
“Eighteen years ago, after a right-wing anti-government extremist bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 men, women and children, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre railed against the threat from “jackbooted government thugs” in “Nazi bucket helmets.” In response, former President George H.W. Bush wrote the group an outraged letter defending those who work for the government, including one Secret Service agent killed in Oklahoma City who had worked on Bush’s detail in the White House. “He was no Nazi,” Bush wrote, and resigned his NRA life membership in disgust.
In the time since, the NRA has become even more extreme, even more paranoid, even more ensconced in its self-reinforcing world in which guns are all that matter. There may be a few Republicans who now have the courage to stand up to them. But there are still plenty such as Perry, Cruz and Palin, who will troop to their convention and jump into their festering pool of anger and fear. They don’t seem to realize how it makes them smell.” CNN
Elaine.
I wonder, and i am just speculating here, if this is just a prelude to shut down the medical marijuana dispensary business in anticipation of the state licensed marijuana stores, which in WA will pay much more in tax along with the dopethat is grown within the supply chain. That way if they are out of business, courtesy of the federal gov’t, the state gov’t can then rack in more taxes once congress allows it in states that have approved of recreational use and licensed sale
raf, Liquified cannabis is on the market in Ca. dispensaries. It may not be this specific type, but the rechargeable vaporizers[size of a pen] use a liquified cannabis. Also, it can be purchased in honey form, butter[for baking] oils, salves, etc. When cannabis is legalized nationwide it will be a HUGE industry. What is most maddening to me is seeing cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, etc. patients in these dispensaries. They fear not being able to get their medicine based on the whims of the Justice Dept. It’s a f@ckn’ sin.
Elaine, I’ve said here many times Big Pharma but even more, the liquor industry, are the lobby money behind this. The lobby money in favor is tobacco. They have been buying property in Mendocina County[best climate] for some time. They’re ready to roll joints in mass production!! Quite a trio of industries, don’t you think.
Elaine,
I was shocked to read that big pharma might own the FDA! We need to get FDA approval to buy this liquefied marijuana. We could make a killing selling it to college students!! 🙂
nick,
Methinks, perhaps, that big pharma is involved.
*****
Big Pharma set to take over medical marijuana market
By David Edwards
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/04/20/big-pharma-set-to-take-over-medical-marijuana-market/
Excerpt;
Just as the federal government is clamping down on medical marijuana dispensaries, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) may be set to give Big Pharma the clearance to take over the market.
In 2007, GW Pharmaceuticals announced that it partnered with Otsuka to bring “Sativex” — or liquefied marijuana — to the U.S. The companies recently completed Phase II efficacy and safety trials testing and began discussion with the FDA for Phase III testing. Phase III is generally thought to be the final step before the drug can be marketed in the U.S.
“GW Pharmaceuticals plc (AIM: GWP) today announces the initiation of the Phase III clinical trials programme of Sativex in the treatment of pain in patients with advanced cancer, who experience inadequate analgesia during optimized chronic opioid therapy,” GW said in a statement. “This indication represents the initial target indication for Sativex in the United States.”
Sativex is the brand name for a drug derived from cannabis sativa. It’s an extract from the whole plant cannabis, not a synthetic compound. Even GW defines the drug (.pdf) as marijuana.
Yet as the FDA is poised to approve the drug for Big Pharma, state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries that provide relief for thousands of Americans are under attack by other federal agencies.
Lynette Shaw, the owner and founder of Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana (MAMM) in Fairfax, California, was stunned when the IRS audited her 2008 and 2009 tax returns and disallowed the foundation’s business deductions, then demanded millions of dollars in back taxes.
The IRS pursued her under § 280E of the federal tax code, which states that no business deductions will be allowed for companies “trafficking in controlled substances”.
*****
FDA in the pocket of big pharma
October 25, 2012
http://www.examiner.com/article/fda-the-pocket-of-big-pharma
Excerpt:
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals was given the approval needed from the Food and Drug Administration, for Stivarga (regorafenib), after only a single clinical study of 760 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Study results showed patients treated with Stivarga lived an average of 6.4 months compared to 5 months in patients treated with a placebo. So, 1.4 extra months, and what are the side effects?
Side effects include the possibility of severe and fatal liver toxicity, weakness, fatigue, loss of appetite, hand-foot syndrome, diarrhea, mouth sores, weight loss, infection, high blood pressure, and changes in voice volume or quality (dysphonia).
This proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the FDA is on the side of Big Pharmaceuticals. Medical marijuana has been shown to not only inhibit cancer cell growth, but also cause cell death in cancer cells. Cancerous cells are abnormal cells that are incapable of self-destruction. Medical marijuana has shown the ability to cause death in these cells.
Not only is medical marijuana potentially more beneficial than any man-made pharmaceutical to date, but it does not have the laundry list of negative side effects that accompany every drug made by man. Even the age-old threats by the propaganda machine of long term memory loss have been disproven.
Basically, even if it doesn’t help, it won’t hurt. So why is the federal government so ignorantly stubborn about marijuana? A few reasons.
First, America is an insanely puritanical country. This is a place where anything that can be remotely seen as pleasurable comes with a stigma. Not that anyone holds back from pleasure because of that, but it is hidden, like in Victorian times. America is still an immature adolescent when it comes to that, giggling in the back at the mention of boobs while pretending not to be interested.
The main reason, however, is corporate profit. Marijuana was originally made illegal because it is an easily renewable resource that competes with cotton, timber, and fossil fuel industries. Now that it has been proven to have positive medical benefits, it is also an enemy of the pharmaceutical industry.
Elaine, It should come as no shock to you that the govt. likes to pick on people, companies, etc. w/o the means to fight back. They are classic bullies. There’s video of Obama during the 2008 campaign chuckling and saying in regards to cannabis dispensaries, “We have bigger fish to fry like terrorism, my Justice Dept. will not go after marijuana dispensaries,”
Swarthmore mom, at 10:23 am: NRA talking points, ‘you’re too emotional’.
You’re too emotional; they’re too emotional to be trusted with the decision; emotion clouds their reason; blah, bah, blah. We’ve heard that before. Lol, that’s a dog-whistle. That was used to deny women everything including the vote since forever. It’s a bit of coded, sexist info. It translates to ‘If you want restrictions on guns it’s because you’re a girl, a girly-man’ or *fill in the blank for a sex-based pejorative*.
Off Topic:
Feds Ramp Up Crackdowns On Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
By Nicole Flatow
ThinkProgress Justice
May 6, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/05/06/1961751/feds-ramp-up-crackdowns-on-medical-marijuana-dispensaries/
In several West Coast cities, federal officials are initiating a new round of crackdowns against dispensaries that are seemingly complying with state medical marijuana law. In Seattle, 11 dispensaries received shutdown warnings. In San Francisco, almost half of the city’s small number of state-licensed dispensaries received similar warnings. And in neighboring cities like San Jose, several others were warned.
The cease-and-desist letters from the Drug Enforcement Administration warn harsh federal punishment, including as much as 40 years in jail even for landlords that rent to marijuana dispensaries. They also warn that they if properties do not cease marijuana activity within 30 days, the agency will pursue what’s known as civil forfeiture, in which the federal government threatens to seize the facility and other assets if the marijuana business continues. For those who are renting space, this means the landlord is effectively asked to evict its marijuana tenant — a process that has proved difficult, as state and federal courts handling eviction proceedings resist this federal intervention.
*****
Doesn’t the government have real criminals to go after? Why doesn’t it bring criminal charges against the banksters who caused the financial meltdown?
Texas House Approves 12 Firearms Bills To Put More Guns In Classrooms And Defy Federal Law
By Aviva Shen on May 6, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/05/06/1967041/texas-house-approves-12-firearms-bills-to-put-more-guns-in-classrooms-and-defy-federal-law/
Excerpt:
On Saturday, as Texas hosted the National Rifle Association’s annual convention, the Texas House passed 12 gun bills to make it even easier to obtain and possess firearms in the state. The onslaught of legislation contains provisions to allow college students to carry handguns in class and to block any theoretical federal bans on assault weapons or high-capacity ammunition. The 12 bills, a veritable goody bag for gun rights advocates, passed easily in the Republican-dominated House.
Texas lawmakers introduced about twice as many gun bills this session as last year, generally in response to the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. The state’s already forgiving gun laws will become even more permissive if even a handful of these bills become law. See a sample below:
No federal gun laws apply to the state. In a blatantly unconstitutional move, the House approved Rep. Steve Toth’s (R) proposal to exempt the state from any future federal laws to ban or restrict assault weapons or magazines. Federal law enforcement officers would be punished with up to 5 years in prison and a $50,000 fine if they tried to enforce these bans.
Guns in classrooms. Even after recent shootings at Texas A&M University and Lone Star College, one of the newly passed bills now opens college classrooms to concealed weapons. Schools will be allowed to opt out if they choose. Separately, the Texas Senate approved a measure allowing college students to keep their guns in their cars on campus.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/vendor-that-pulled-obama-target-at-nra-convention Vendor that pulled the Obama target also sells the “ex” target.
“When the controversy erupted over gun control recently, and I listened to the dire predictions of the NRA and the alarmist condemnations from the right, I thought about John Prather for the first time in many years. Throughout his battle with the army, not a single shot was fired. He didn’t barricade himself and amass stores of ammunition. He didn’t attend armed rallies discussing Second Amendment “remedies.” He didn’t hate his government or the soldiers he confronted. He served them coffee and explained his position in simple and direct language. He prevailed because his humility and integrity commanded respect. He understood what “stand your ground” ought to mean. He won by moral force rather than force of arms.”-Mike Appleton
While that might have been true in the early 60s, today, with the militrazation of the police force, he would have been LONG dead had he lived now instead of then. What would have been totally outside the norm in the late 50s and early 60s (private weapon stockpiles, etc) has now become necessary for just plain self defense. In the 60s, we were still a country that believed in the Constitution; ALL of it, and we were taught respect for the rule of law for which the Constitution was the basis. Our rights are being erroded day by day and BOTH parties are complicit in the erosion. We are becoming what we were fighting against all through the Cold War.
13-Year-Old Florida Boy Shoots 6-Year-Old Sister In Chest (VIDEO)
Sun Sentinel
By Mike Clary
Posted: 05/06/2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/06/13-year-old-shoots-6-year-old_n_3220852.html
Excerpt:
OAKLAND PARK — Late Saturday afternoon, Justin Latourrette noticed that the two young children of his new neighbors were out in the driveway washing a family car.
“I thought it was strange,” said Latourrette, 29. “They didn’t seem to have any supervision.”
What happened about an hour later was even stranger: “A loud boom,” said Latourrette; police confirmed it was a gunshot.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the 13-year-old boy shot his 6-year-old sister inside their residence in the 5900 block of Northeast Second Terrace just before 7 p.m.
“The siblings had been home alone when the teen found the handgun,” Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Dani Moschella said in a news release.
The girl was taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where she was listed Saturday in critical but stable condition. Moschella said the shooting appeared to be accidental and remained under investigation.