There's high drama playing out here in Oregon right now.
Four remaining armed militant militia members (is there any other kind?) who have taken over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County are now surrounded by the FBI, who apparently have moved in to within 50 feet of them with armored vehicles.
The Oregonian newspaper has a story on this, which includes an embedded You Tube live audio feed of the militants talking among themselves, and to some supporters who currently are driving to the refuge from Portland.
The militants see themselves as Christians standing up for their twisted version of the United States Constitution. They're crazy people who have precisely zero understanding of how wacko they are.
I'm both fascinated and appalled by this drama. I can listen to the live audio for a few minutes, then find the militants and the Nevada legislator (Michele Fiore) so irritating, I have to turn off their idiotic conversation for a while.
They do a lot of praying. Believe me, a lot.
They believe that God is on their side, and the FBI law enforcement officers are evil. This is a great example of how religion can make stupid people even more stupid, and dangerous people even more dangerous.
Here's what I said in a Facebook post not long ago:
Yes, I'll admit that the live audio feed of the militants talking their crazy talk is gripping. (Available on the Oregonian web site and many other places.) But I can only take so much of their crap before I have to turn it off for a while.
These idiots do a lot of praying to their imaginary God. If anyone wants a good reason not to be religious, just listen to the absurd blathering of the Nevada legislator (Fiore) and Franklin Graham, I believe it was.
They actually believe that the FBI agents, who have been amazingly restrained during the illegal takeover of the refuge, are evil. Along with, apparently, all other government officials. Well, as an atheist I've been doing my own form of "praying." It just isn't to any God.
"I hope these fools don't cause themselves to be shot, and they decide to surrender peacefully, then spend time in jail for the crimes they've committed. But if anything goes wrong, it clearly won't be the fault of the FBI, as anyone who listens to the rants of the militants fully understands.
So thank you, militants, for making a couple of things crystal clear. Anybody who believes in their twisted view of the Constitution doesn't deserve to be taken seriously. Their demands to have federal land turned over to private ownership also can never be taken seriously. And anyone who prays to God while surrounded by the FBI because they're armed and doing something illegal shows up the ridiculousness of religion."
After getting a few supportive comments, I added this:
I don't know very many deeply religious people. But if any read this comment, I'm curious if you true believers think it makes sense to pray repeatedly to God when surrounded by the FBI because you're armed and have broken numerous laws, including threatening violence against law enforcement officers. Is that what your God wants, or do you agree with me that this sort of religious crap is ridiculous?
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