"The Government Has Acted Outrageously": Bundy Trial, Update on Dr. Wetselaar, and my first blog GIVEAWAY!!!

For the last couple years ranchers and other individuals have been fighting the federal government. Sometimes they have appeared quite foolish, even to me and my family and we have been supporting them for a long time.

For most of the world, few have been able to understand the Bundys or those that stood with the family against the government.

When telling others about what was happening I was often confronted with these statements:

"Our government isn't that bad." And you know this because they told you this, right?

"They should just submit. Read Romans 13." It's funny how people will preach and twist Romans 13, a small chapter, and forget what the rest of the Bible says about our basic rights and loving one another.

"I don't believe what you are saying. If this were really happening we'd hear about it in the news." Since when has the news told us the whole truth?

Their big day that decided what would happen was January 8. Hundreds of people gathered at the courthouse to witness the trial. Not even half of those that showed were able to enter the courtroom. My whole family didn't even make it. Mom and the five younger ones remained outside, after we stood in line for an hour thinking we all could make it in.

I think it's rather fitting that the only living thing at the federal courthouse are cacti. 

The trial was actually shorter than I thought it would be. I'd been to some of Judge Navarro's hearings back in August. She seemed like the same person to me: monotonous in tone, body language depicting stress and irritation.

She spoke for a while... we listened to her, trying to understand each word and phrase that can mean so much in a courtroom.

And then she surprised us with these words, "The government has acted outrageously. The case is dismissed with prejudice."

DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE!

This means she admitted that they had prosecuted the Bundys with malicious intent, hoping to sentence them to prison because they disliked them. They admitted to withholding crucial information from the public that would have proven the Bundys and everyone else's innocence. She admitted to the federal government conspiring against the men at the refuge!

All the Bundys were released, allowed to go home.

For Cliven this was big, for he hadn't been free of his cell for a couple years... for two years he sat in prison awaiting a trial to prove his innocence.

For two years they kept an innocent man in prison.

Yes, he was finally set free... but he had two years of his life stole away. GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT is what we have all taken from this. Yes, he was innocent... but he had to prove that with time and money.

The doors waiting to open before the Bundys!

Everyone gathers near to take a picture of Cliven Bundy.

Media engulfs Cliven with cameras... and hugs.

The first time he's been free under the sun for a long time. 

Cliven and Carol holding hands again.

Cliven and Carol, free together. 

Andrea Parker, on the left. Her husband was found not guilty in the last trial. 

I thought Andrea's and Carol's expressions were funny in this picture. In reality these two women like each other and are always smiling. Even pictures can lie ;p 

My little brother Joash was everywhere, camera happy! First he had his face in my Dad's live streams, jumping up to tell the world "Hi!". Then he wandered around outside the courthouse talking to every person, especially those with cameras. He made sure to let everyone know his dad was John Lamb.

Joash stayed with Cliven a good little while, walking and talking with him as Cliven left the courthouse.

In the picture above, he's carrying a large chocolate coin a friend gave us, and his camera in his other hand :D Sadly, he forgot batteries for his camera, so he had to be content looking into everyone else's cameras.

And hopefully they have turned their backs to tyranny's clutch forever! 

The crowd follows yet!

Don't they look happy? I think they were very glad to be on their way home. 

But it isn't over yet. 

Ryan Payne still has to remain in prison as he's still facing charges in Oregon over this same case.

My family gave both Ryan and his mother a ride up to Nevada so they could be there for this trial as they live near us. It was very interesting getting to know both Ryan and his mother, Elisheva more and see the person behind the name.

Ryan was one of the many men that supported the Bundys and was there when LaVoy was shot. He was being tried in Nevada with the Bundys.

After the trial was over and we heard the words, "Dismissed with prejudice"  most of the room started crying and screaming, except Elisheva. She was very controlled and put together, with a beautiful smile displayed on her face. And she looked so peaceful! Her expression out of everyone's made me happy. Half of her son's battle is done and won, and for that she thanked God.

There is still more to come, though, more work to do. We need to make sure not to forget the trial in Oregon amidst all the excitement of winning in Nevada. Continue listening, praying, acting in any way you can.

There will always be more work to do as long as the system remains the same, and people remain conceitedly ignorant.

And there are so many people still in prison, some sentenced for years. And few know about them. Not every man who was involved in this case have had the blessing of walking away free. Some are in prison yet. Some are awaiting trial. And outside of this case there are injustices happening. Search Baby Holmes and you'll read about a sad kidnapping that is receiving little publicity.

Elisheva, Ryan Payne's mom. She's a very sweet woman. She's orthodox Jew and I had a lot of fun getting to know a little about her heritage.  

Of course we had to get a family picture in front of the Federal court building :D 

My arrowhead necklace I made :) 

I have this weird thing I always do... I wear this necklace through security when I fly or go to court to make my own silent stand against security and show its stupidity.

You see, this is classified as jewelry, so I can wear it. But I can't carry my knitting needles onto the plane or into the courtroom because those are weapons.

It's like they value frivolous beauty over worthwhile productivity...

Seriously, I could do a lot of damage with this arrowhead if I smashed it into someone's eye. It might be gory... but so would anything I try to do with knitting needles.

Many of you will remember I did a post on a 93-year old doctor being sentenced ten years to prison for handing prescriptions out too freely.

I have a wonderful update about that! His family and lawyer appealed his case, and this people they appealed to had sympathy for his age and condition. While the case is being appealed they said to let him go home under house arrest.

House arrest is this: he can never leave the house, except for direct permission. He has permission to go to church every Sunday, but must phone in before and after. It's still not freedom, but at least his health is no longer declining.

He's still not "free" but at least he's at home. He had to sit in prison for about two months. Because of his age he had been sent to a medical prison in Minnesota. When I asked him about his experience there he said, "I was shipped there in chains, like a wild animal. It was a medical prison, so it was supposed to be better than some of the others. The medical care there was not very good. Some of it was, but some things were sloppy."

"Prison," he said "Would have been easier if you are younger and stronger. But the hard beds were not good for my back. They had cold air conditioning always blowing on me, kept at 60 degrees, all year round. Thin clothes. There were a bunch of young guys in the same room, screaming and laughing past midnight. Lights were always on. Being sleep deprived for one day you can get over. But I was sleep deprived for eight months."

He had no family in Minnesota. He was sent there thinking he'd have to stay for ten years, rarely seeing anyone he loved. And when he did see them he wouldn't be allowed to see them for very long amounts of time.

"It was a miracle," he said. "That they let me out so soon. Most appeals take two to three years before anyone gets to them. But they saw my case in just a couple months."

During the court case I witnessed back in August Dr Wetselaar had his glasses taken away, because "they are a weapon." When they returned his glasses they were broken, and the government never replaced them.

He had to wear his broken glasses for quite some time until he was able to afford to buy himself a new pair.

He's told me he knows he doesn't have much time left. In his book he has a picture of his best friend, Henk. Henk was executed just two weeks before WWII ended. "Just two more weeks and he'd have been alive. But that's OK, because I know I'll get to see my best friend soon."

It's sad that he gave so much to this world and this is how society treats him in his final years. For sixty years he practiced medicine, and was approved by ten different medical boards. He kept his practice updated. "But then a couple bureaucrats came and decided I was doing something wrong." 

He told us that while in prison he didn't meet anyone that actually belonged there. Here's a story he told:

"There was this guy who was a landscaper. Someone hired him to do their lawn. So he took some big rocks from federal land. The federal government found out and were not happy. But what did they do to him for taking a couple of rocks? Reprimand him? No. Give him a fine? No, prison! That's how idiotic the government has become."

Dr Wetselaar was born February 16, 1924. That means his 94th birthday is next month! I would love if we all could flood him with birthday cards and letters. To prevent him receiving any hate mail, we will send all the letters and cards to this address, and then I will forward them on to him!

Keturah Lamb
1627 West Main Street Suite 101
Bozeman, Montana 59715

I am giving away a signed copy of his book he wrote about when he was young and actively fighting against the Germans in WWII.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My family thought it would be interesting to drive through town and see a homeless camp, as there are many in Las Vegas. It took awhile, as many of the homeless we asked wouldn't tell us where the camps were at. We soon found out just why they were hesitant to tell us...

We finally did find them... only to see police officers and dump trucks hauling away all the homeless's things, and evicting the homeless from that part of town. Many people were crying as they watched all of their belongings be scooped up and thrown away. Their food, blankets, tents. Everything they owned.

Dad went up to a police officer and asked, "Are you making all these homeless people move?"

The police officer answered, "We are providing them a service."

"A dumpster service," I muttered under my breath.

Dad and a few of us older kids went through town interviewing some of the homeless to ask them about this. Many people wouldn't talk to us, "I don't want to talk about it. No cameras. I don't want my face on T.V."

But a few would speak. One guy said, "Treason. That's what it is. They think they can just treat me however they like simply because I'm homeless. Why do I suddenly not have rights? Our government is corrupt. All they care about is their taxes."

And we found out this is a common occurrence that happens every couple days, just to keep the homeless always on the move.

If you look at those signs above, you'll wonder even more exactly what our government want for these people. It's illegal to go to homeless communities and offer them work or anything.

I didn't get any good pictures of any of the homeless camps, but those are full of hundreds of people. And they are constantly moving, because every couple days the city is after these people, telling them to "Go!"

One homeless man's belongings. 

On one side of Las Vegas all the restrooms are closed unless you buy something. Even then many of them won't open to the public. It is to keep the homeless from using them. This was a park where many homeless were staying at, and there happened to be a restroom they could use. At many of their "camps" they have their own portable outhouses they carry around. 

A homeless lady washing her clothes. 

We attended a press conference of Cliven Bundy's, in front of the Sherriff's office. It was the first time I heard Cliven speak in real life. Reporters bombarded him with questions, some of which were leading.

But he handled every single questions well! I learned a lot about him in that short amount of time, and what I heard impressed me. You can find a recording of his speech all over, but here is the live stream my Dad did. 

If you look to the floor with lights on you will see a couple guys watching. My Dad says they were most likely government snipers, waiting just in case there was any trouble. 

Some final pictures!

Three families' kids, Kelli Stewart's (3), Ryan Bundy's (9), and ours (11).

 We spent a lot of time with all these people. Ryan Payne is the guy in the middle on the far right. Make sure to be praying for him as he faces his sentencing in Oregon. 

A bunch of us went to Bundy ranch and got to see just where everything started. It was neat seeing how their ranch looked very much like a real, dirty ranch, and not like the millionaire mansion estate the media has claimed it to be. 

 I enjoyed my week in Nevada and getting to see news happen. I was sick with a cold the whole time, but it was still a great time! I do hope you send Dr. Wetselaar a card or letter even if you don't enter the giveaway for his book, though do enter for that, too! And make sure to keep Ryan Payne and everyone else still fighting in your prayers!