December 2020, Wrap up and Reminders

   Due to an ongoing family crisis, today's blog post will be basically links to help you stay  informed.  May the new year bring all of you new hope, love, and health.  JW

                                    ~~~~~~~~~~

 

Post from Representative Phil Lyman Dec. 22, 2020

~~  Today is an important day for my family and me, and for rural Utah. To say the last 5 years were difficult would be an understatement. My family has been my salvation in the darkest moments. My wife, Jody, is my partner and friend. I am blessed, and grateful beyond words for her support and for her resolve to always, always, always do the right thing regardless of the consequences. My adult kids are people of capacity who live by their convictions as well.

The false narratives of the media have been so damaging, not only to me but to the truth. Our protest here in San Juan County was not about a road or about ATV rights. We protested a federal agency that wrongly and maliciously raided our community. Had the administration, at the time, done what they should have in 2009, it would have prevented a massive waste of taxpayer dollars and the devastation of the lives of the honest people who were targeted by dishonest people.

I am deeply grateful to President Donald Trump. Today he righted a wrong. People should not fear prosecution when they have done nothing illegal and I hope that my experience brings attention to the persistent federal attacks on rural Utah by the Bureau of Land Management, the US Attorneys, activist federal judges, and career politicians who choose to sit quietly when the moment calls for them to stand.

My friend Monte Wells was with me on the day of the protest, along with 700 of our closest friends. Monte was falsely charged and convicted in a kangaroo court but had the integrity to forego asking for a pardon when no offense had occurred. He has my utmost respect and deserves more than a pardon; he deserves respect from every person who understands what it means to stand up for truth.

My most sincere thanks goes also to Senator Mike Lee , former Congressman Jason Chaffetz, State Senator Dan McCay, former State Representative Mike Noel, my friend and advocate Jerold Perkins, and to Commissioners Darin Bushman, Leland Pollack, Mark Whitney, and the rest of The Posse, and to so many others for always being on my side.

I will say more soon, but for now, I am truly grateful.

Thank you, President Trump, for reminding us what it means to lead.

Phil Lyman

~~ Deseret News Coverage of Representative Lyman's Presidential Pardon

~~ San Juan Record Coverage of Presidential Pardon 12/22

~~ Salt Lake Tribune Coverage of Lyman's Presidential pardon 12/22

~~The Monolith Hypocrisy and Legal Exemption by Monte Wells

Copies of 3 issues of Blue Mt. Shadows related to the uranium industry in San Juan County are still available in print.  

 These and other older issues are available at Gone Thriftin  (Blanding 708 S. Main) or The San Juan Record (Monticello.) Newer issues sold at Clarks Market, San Juan Pharmacy, --or contact.  Blue Mountain Shadows

~~  Energy Fuels Plans to Process Monazite Sands by David Boyle

~~ Creation of new national uranium reserve could mean jobs in Utah, but is the environmental cost too high? by Zac Podmore

~~ ABOUT THAT DRILLING NEAR LABYRINTH CANYON by Bill Keshlear

    "Given what I'd call "Leave No Trace" rules that mandate reclamation during and after construction and drilling, there’s no reason to believe the project will have much of a long-term impact on “opportunities for solitude primitive and unconfined recreation,” wildlife habitat, scenic views or really anything else. However, as the EA points out, the so-called improved county access roads will be better able to handle big-rig traffic required for drilling operations, while allowing easier access to relatively popular back-country trails by visitors driving run-of-the-mill passenger vehicles. "

~~ SJ County NewsThat Clicked in 2020 : San Juan Record

~~ The Plot to Steal America

~~ Bluff seeks to protect geoglyph near west-side gravel site

~~ New BLM Field Manager in Monticello

~~ John Curtis: Covid 19 Bill needs to Aid those Most Vulnerable and Small Businesses

~~Local Residents (Pete Sands) Recognized by Time Magazine 2020

~~ For History Buffs:  A Trip Back in Time to Kayenta by Harvey Leake   The Canyon Zephyr

     

Life in the West Amid Covid and Controversy -- Oct. 5, 2020

News In The West

Fall on Blue Mountain:  Photo Courtesy Blanding City

~~November Election: Think Before You Vote  

by Janet Wilcox       

With just a few months until the elections, it behooves all of us to dig a little deeper for facts, as we determine for whom to vote in all levels of government. It’s a time to evaluate our core values, philosophies and freedoms, then then seek candidates we can trust to promote and protect those eternal truths. The future of the United States could turn sour for all if “extreme” socialists are elected who do not believe in these values.  Please research and query every candidate before you vote.  Rather than criticizing how candidates deliver their messages or believing other superficial data, we should evaluate their political philosophy and past actions.  

      Those who live in less populated states should be also be concerned about protecting the Electoral College which ensures that each state is equally represented in Congress; otherwise we are controlled by the East and West Coast extremes.  All of us should also vote for those who will curtail excess Federal spending, instead of looking at more ways to spiral the debt ever more into the abyss. (This includes not voting for those who support using our hard earned Social Security Insurance to pay for foolish whims.) The National debt is now over $26.7 TRILLION!  Consider who the foreign countries are who may bail the USA out of that fiscal quagmire!  Citizens who value peace, security, and individual rights must elect those who will support our military, law enforcement, The Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.  Don’t take your right to vote lightly; the future of all Americans depends on far-sighted and judicious voters.  

~~Stiles: Fast Forward to 2045 -- What Election 2020 Triggered

--From 2045…REMEMBERING THE 2020 ELECTION …by Jim Stiles • September 30, 2020 

“I am very cautious of people who are absolutely right, especially when they are vehemently so.”  –Michael Palin NOTE: This story is not intended to be prophecy, projection, or prediction; nor is it offered as a warning or a celebration of “things to come.” It’s merely idle speculation on my part, based on trends I see happening in America, for better or worse. And 34 days from now, give or take a month or two to count the mail in ballots, we’ll all know if at least part of this tall tale was accurate, or total bullfeathers. And now, on to the Future, as I look back at the distant past…J.Stiles

~~The Long Walk to Socialism: 

This video shares the unfiltered stories of the harsh struggles of the Navajo Nation. These raw experiences reveal the individuals, families, and communities torn thin by socialistic government programs and waste.

~~Indigenous People and Land Grant Universities.  High Country News Investigates

~~Governor Herbert:  An Anti -Masker at Heart?  

~~Excerpt from Billionaire Wilderness :  By Justin Farrell 

"Billionaire Wilderness offers an unprecedented look inside the world of the ultra-wealthy, focused on their increasingly significant relationship to the natural world. More specifically, it shows how the ultra-wealthy use nature to resolve key predicaments in their lives. Along the way, it reveals the surprising ways in which nature and wealth intersect in America, and the swelling impact of these relationships on the nation’s social and environmental landscapes."  Canyon Zephyr

~~The Slovenly Wilderness: The Least Consequential Election …by Stacy Young

"As regular readers of this column know, it is a deep and abiding frustration of mine that serious consideration of the material conditions of modern America is consistently avoided in favor of lazy identitarian demagoguery. This criticism applies not just to our political industry, but also to the news media, the arts, corporate marketing, and the way we “choose” to spend our own individual attention on social media, and it is an imbalance that not only distracts us from the root causes of things but divides us along relatively superficial categorical lines. . ."

~~Census Count Still Not Complete on the Navajo Reservation 

by Kate Groetzinger

~~ Phil Lyman, State Legislature, Call's Out Court Corruption   Recorded Interview

         (The Bad News is that this case has drug on forever!)

~~ Meet Supreme Court Nominee  Amy C. Barrett

~~ High Speed Internet Coming to San Juan County Reservation Schools  by Kate Groetzinger

~~ Western Senators Push Bill to Control Wild Fire Risk 

~~ Reflections of the past: Trials and Travails of Park Ranger John Wetherill at Navajo National Monument by Harvey Leake/ The Canyon Zephyr

~~ Operation Firewood Blesses Navajo Reservation

~~  Wildfires: Creating a Defensible Space Around Your Home

Utah has had a record 1,300+ wildfires this year, over 1,000 of which have been human-caused. When recreating outdoors this fall, pay attention to federal, state, and local guidelines and warnings, always completely put out your campfires, and leave our lands better than you found them. If you live close to at-risk landscapes, take a few minutes and learn what you can do to protect your home.

~~ Political Polarization Taking Over Lives  Pollution of our dysfunctional political dialogue

~~ BLM Director Nominee Under Attack by Green Machine

~~What Does Kamala Harris Stand For? And What Should We Fear?

~~ Chad Booth's County Seat Funding in Jeopardy  Zac Podmore article 

                             Sunset Over Bears Ears -- Photo by David Homedew

Hopefully, COVID-19 Hasn't Spawned Non Involvement and Laissez Faire

News in the West

~~ Public Lands Near Parks Could be Auctioned off for Drilling this Fall  KUER

~~ Jim Stiles: Reflections in Canyon Zephyr on the New Reality:  You may also agree with Jim Stiles' opening paragraph: "After 2 1/2 months of this, I’d almost rather eat Brussel Sprouts than write about COVID-19. Like many of you, I am conflicted and tired and frustrated and scared and angry. Sometimes I even think that God is just playing a joke on us, testing our collective sense of humor. Nothing I write below, other than the hard historical facts, are opinions or convictions I hold unequivocally. And that’s been the problem for all of us."

   There are lots of good articles in the newest edition, and in past ones.  Take time to read while Covidlessing. 

~~ Energy Fuels Prepares to Extract Rare Earth Minerals   

               (partial article from San Juan Record) 

~~SLTribune article: Importing Materials from Estonia to White Mesa Mill by Zac Podmore

~~ Navajo Utah Water Rights Settlement Act passed the U.S. Senate on June 4 by Kate Groetzinger

~~ President Trump Enacts Executive Order Forming Task Force to Investigate Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women

~~ Utah Farm Bureau Brings Sheep to Utah Navajos

~~ Navajo Strong Site Includes Positive Efforts to Aid the Navajo Reservation

~~  Follow Senator Mike Lee's Work in Congress

~~ Rebuttal from Phil Lyman

~~Grand Canyon Trust Protests Estonian Recycled Fuels

~~ Google Interfered with Last Election:   Democratic investigator testifies at Judiciary Subcommittee

~~ China Gobbles up Agricultural Lands in the West

~~ Colorado Environmentalists Try to Stop Historic Cattle Drive; Judge Rules in Favor of Ranchers

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Recent Message Received from a Friend.  I'm afraid there is a lot of truth in the description. 

"It’s all starting to add up....talking of getting rid of the police? Smells like New World Order is in the works.
Here's the TRUTH of what's happening in the world!!!! Create a VIRUS to scare people. Place them in quarantine. Count the number of dead every second of every day in every news headline. Close all businesses. 40,000,000 out of jobs. Peak unemployment. Remove entertainment: parks, gyms, bars, restaurants, sports. No dating. No touching. Mask people. Dehumanize them. Close synagogues, temples and churches. Create a vacuum. Let depression and anxiety and desperation set in.
THEN... ignite hatred and civil war. Civil unrest. Empty the prisons because of the virus and fill the streets with criminals. Send in Antifa to vandalize property as if they are freedom fighters. Undermine the law. Loot. Attack law enforcement, but tell government to order a stand-down. We are all being baited by adversarial governments who want to destroy America - China, Iran, Russia. And, in an election year, have Democrats blame all of it on the President.
Can’t take America in a war, destroy it from within.
We are being conditioned, manipulated, and programmed by multiple agendas as never before.....time to DO OUR OWN RESEARCH and MAKE UP OUR OWN MINDS rather than eating everything being spoon-fed to us! SOCIAL MEDIA is going to kill us!

Spring Runoff: Water! Words! and Warnings: Bear Essentials May 12, 2019

News in the Nation and the West

Recapture overflows: April 29, 2019 8:14:22 AM by Kelly Jeppesen -- San Juan Record

=================================================================

Bears Ears Advisory Council Hosting Public Meeting June 5-6

"Written comments to address the BENM-MAC may be sent to the BLM Canyon Country District, 82 East Dogwood, Moab, Utah 84532, or via email with the subject line “BENM-MAC” to blm_ut_mt_mail@blm.gov. Written comments must be received by Friday, May 31, 2019 to be considered by BENM-MAC members in their first meeting."  Canyon Echo

               Five Years Ago: Recapture Canyon in Retrospect  by Rep. Phil Lyman

 --Free Range Report--  

"Recapture had gone from being a symbol of conflict in the west to being a symbol of corruption in the BLM and the so-called Department of Justice."

"Now, five years after the May 10, 2014 protest in Recapture. The BLM admits, behind closed doors of course, that they do not have a Title V Road in Recapture Canyon. They admit that they had conflated their pipeline right of way for the county road, inappropriately asserting jurisdiction over the county road. They, and the U.S. Attorney’s office admit that those they convicted for trespass and conspiracy did not trespass or conspire. They were forced to drop their claim of damages to archeological sites, when respected archaeologists called their claims of damages not only ludicrous, but spurious and dishonest."

BYU Commencement Speaker Arthur Brooks: 

"We don't need to disagree less. We need to disagree better."

Controversy over Non-Native Mt. Goats in La Sal Mts

Social Movement: Eco-Socialism or Death

Shuttles for Tourists Begin in Zions

A Variety of Concerns in Navajo Times: Letters to the Editor

~~ Bears Ears Advisory Council; a brief summary of board members 

~~ Signatures for Studying Forms of County Government needed before June. 

  Those circulating petitions, please get them to to Mayor Lyman's office by June 1.  If you haven't signed, go to his office in Cedar Mesa Pottery to sign, or to the Wilcox home, 112 S. 300 W. 

~~ Applicants needed for County Administrator, closes May 17

"Serves as County Administrator to the San Juan County Board of Commissioners. Incumbent will perform a broad range of duties including advising the Commission, attending meetings on their behalf, and recommending management strategies. Incumbent will also perform duties as the Risk Manager for the County. Incumbent will also attend Commission meetings and receive work assignments from the Board of Commissioners. Requires an MBA, MPA, or Business / Accounting degree, or similar degree, with five (5) years progressive experience in managing organizations, or a combination of education and experience.

Position Location: San Juan County Administration Building, Monticello. Position closes: May 17. https://sanjuancounty.org/?s=jobs

~~Link for Filing Complaints to the Attorney General's Office

~~ Recording of May 7, 2019 SJC Commission Meeting (First part of meeting is missing because camera wasn't turned on.)

~~ Recording of May 7, 2019 County Commission Work Meeting 

~~ County Web site

~~ Public Notices of Meetings  (Thus avoiding secret combinations)

~~ Radical Gratitude for Recapture Reservoir By Merry Palmer

          Watch: Twisted Arch Video: Recapture Reservoir Spring 2019 👍 Brett Saunders

Recapture Reservoir May 5 by David Homedew

~~ Congressional Western Caucus: 

 "Update on what Interior is doing with regards to wild horse population management, permitting reform, critical minerals, oil and gas drilling, and mining.

~~ San Juan and Ethics in County Government

Utah codes: Title 17 Chapter 16a County Officers and Employees Disclosure Act, Section 2 - Purposes

17-16a-2. Purposes. 
The purposes of this chapter are to establish standards of conduct for county officers and employees and to require these persons to disclose conflicts of interest between their public duties and their personal interests.

and also Section 11

17-16a-11. County ethics commission -- Complaints charging violations -- Procedure.
(1) A county may establish by ordinance an ethics commission to review a complaint, except as provided in Subsection (3), against an officer or employee subject to this part for a violation of a provision of this part.
(2)
(a) Except as provided in Subsection (3), a person filing a complaint for a violation of this part shall file the complaint:
(i) with the county ethics commission, if the county has established a county ethics commission in accordance with Subsection (1); or
(ii) with the Political Subdivisions Ethics Review Commission established in accordance with Title 63A, Chapter 15, Political Subdivisions Ethics Review Commission if the county has not established a county ethics commission.
(b) A county that receives a complaint described in Subsection (2)(a) may:
(i) accept the complaint if the county has established a county ethics commission in accordance with Subsection (1); or
(ii) forward the complaint to the Political Subdivisions Ethics Review Commission established in Section 63A-15-201:
(A) regardless of whether the county has established a county ethics commission; or
(B) if the county has not established a county ethics commission.
(3) Any complaint against a person who is under the merit system, charging that person with a violation of this part, shall be filed and processed in accordance with the provisions of the merit system.

For More information regarding legal issues

~~ Tribal Sovereignty Does not Generate Successful Businesses

“We’ve been in a socialist system for the past 100 years,” Begay charged. “We don’t even understand what it means to have a private sector. It does not mean establishing 
enterprises owned by the tribe and run by the tribe to compete with small businesses 
owned by individual Navajos.”

~~Fed. Gov. Lied about Who Owned Recapture Canyon    The Petroglyph

~~ Interim County Administrator Hired in Defiance of Ut. Open Meeting Laws  San Juan Record

~~ Utah's Open Meeting Law Violated by New Commissioners  Deseret News

"During the work meeting, Adams said the job opening should have been filled in-house, or if there were no suitable candidates, advertised outside."
"I wonder what the negotiation process was, and why I wasn't included," Adams said, referencing a meeting Everitt had with Grayeyes and Maryboy to discuss working for San Juan County.: Des. News

~~ A Reminder of what Tourist Towns do to Housing Market

~~ Extreme Environmentalists Continue Attack on Oregon Multiple Use Lands

"In the most recent lawsuit, the U.S. Forest Service is accused of unlawfully approving a 10-year grazing permit for the allotment despite “irreparable harm” to the threatened Oregon spotted frog and wetland plants and mollusks."

Judgement vs Justice: Bear Essentials 1/29/2019

News in the West

Summary of Judge Torgerson's Decision video by SJR

San Juan County Commission Minutes: Recording--January 2019

 Bears Ears Blogs by Rebecca Robinson

Robinson Book Forthcoming

Remember: live within your budget!

Unfortunately, not much Good News

Details of Judge Torgerson's Decision: pdf file 9 pgs

"Written 1/27/2019: Joy Howell So, tomorrow (or later) we get to find out if we're still a Constitutional Republic or if we are a lawless continent. We will know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, if we are a Union of States bound together with a contract--the Constitution. What does it mean if we are not lawful? If the Rule of Law has been usurped beyond the law abiding citizens having any point of reference...what do we do? Do we still pay taxes? Pretend that our Sheriff has jurisdiction? Are we required to abide by ANY law? I think not. Laws are not a pick and choose according to race, gender, creed, religion...laws are for all of us...or none.

Day Two of State Legislature

Follow Representative Phil Lyman on Facebook

2016 Article: Interviews with Phil Lyman, Mark Maryboy by R. Robinson

Judge Rules in Favor of Willie Greyeyes

New Commissioners Plan to Upend County with Resolutions 

Brian Mullahy Welcomes Phil Lyman as New Representative

Response to article: "A courtroom hoax it was, the notion that the 2014 Phil Lyman lead ATV ride in question caused archaeological damage to the route traveled. Construction vehicles and earth moving equipment tore up significant portions of that route decades prior to the ride in question; as well maintenance vehicles much heavier than the ATVs in question traveled the route’s entire length countless times before and after. A 3/4 ton pipeline maintenance truck - again much heavier than an ATV - still travels that entire route multiple times per week to this very day. But the United States Attorney’s Office ignored all that and made the judge believe the ATV ride in question caused archaeological damage.

Add to all that a recorded conversation of the State BLM Director assuring Phil Lyman that no one would be arrested. Add also the suppression of evidence that the route was a dedicated public highway.

These and other issues too numerous to mention produced an injustice for Phil Lyman. A politically and ideologically motivated exercise that cost him dearly."  Balanced Resources

Colorado River Shortage Serious; States Join to Solve Problems

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2019: A New Year of Hope in the West

In the News

~~ Commissioners Benally and Lyman Honored at Commission Meeting:  Job Well Done!

~~Seven Other Presidents Tougher on the Media than Trump

~~ John Marshall, Shaped Supreme Court Policies

~~ Phil Lyman Battles with State Tax Commission 

~~Tax Reform for Small Businesses

~~Winter Solstice Burn in Bluff  video

~~Snow Looks Good From the Monticello Side Too!

~~Colorado Native Likely Choice to Replace Zinke  

“He has more experience in that building working on these issues than any predecessor,” Jon Hrobsky, an attorney who worked with Bernhardt in President George W. Bush’s Interior Department, told the Washington Examiner. “The uniqueness of David for this job is there has never been anyone more qualified to do it.”

~~ Trump Takes Steps to Stop More Catastrophic Forest Fires

"Trump issued an executive order Friday to allow for active management of forest and rangelands, including thinning and removing debris from millions of acres of federal lands.

The order also calls on federal officials to streamline regulations and permitting processes to allow the harvest of at least 3.8 billion board feet from U.S. Forest Service lands and 600 million board feet from Bureau of Land Management lands."

~~ How Freelancing Can Help Save Rural Life
"Utah is taking advantage of a technological wave that connects skilled workers with work, and increasingly enables people to work from anywhere as freelancers, entrepreneurs, or employees.

~~ Utah in the Top Ten for Mining Industry

~~ Utah Rings in New Year With Toughest DUI Laws in the Country

~~ Winter Storms Build Utah's Snow Pack 

~~ The Left Looks at Zinke's Legacy

~~Wind Power Viability as Energy Source Decreasing 

~~ Only 1 Utah National Park to be Staffed as 2019 Begins

Socialists still haven't figured out a bankrupt country can't afford more National Parks and Monuments.

~~ARE RUSSIANS BACKING US ENVIROMENTAL GROUPS?

"An open records lawsuit filed against the State Department is attempting to uncover whether Russian entities attempted to financially support U.S. environmentalist causes.

The Institute for Energy Research (IER) — a free-market energy group based in Washington, D.C. — filed the lawsuit on Monday. IER has requested that the State Department hand over correspondence concerning hydraulic fracturing, environmental advocacy and Russia that was exchanged to and from high-ranking employees."