Blame Bob Inglis, for one

Mutating Here Boss

Unplugged Monday I sat fixated watching a "City Confidential" documentary about Claude Dallas.  There was even a movie that I had never seen.  Here's a thumbnail of old Claude. “ During the Vietnam War, he dodged the draft and fled west, earning a living as a ranch hand and trapper. Dallas was eventually charged with killing two game wardens in rural Owyhee County, Idaho, in 1981. In 1986 Dallas escaped from prison and eluded law enforcement officials for a year before being captured. Dallas attracted national media attention after both incidents, becoming a particularly controversial figure in Idaho. Some Idahoans saw him as a folk hero, defying the government by defending his right to live off the land; many others, however, were shocked and disgusted. After a manslaughter conviction, Dallas served 22 years of a 30-year sentence and was released in February 2005. ” Normally I would have nothing but disgust for Vietnam draft evaders like Bill Clinton, but as the story progressed I found myself pulling for the guy.  Didn't want to.  He shot to death two federal game wardens who were about to arrest him for poaching. It was made clear, early on, that folks despised the gummint land management laws, and those who enforced them, especially "badge heavy" wardens like Bill Pogue. There was an eye witness to the murders.  When Pogue reached to handcuff him, Dallas pulled a pistol and shot him in the chest, then he  shot Conley Elms, a second warden - who was not armed.  Then he retrieved a hunting rifle, and shot both in the head.  It took forever for the feds to catch him, but they finally did.  Open and shut case , right? Should have been, but half the town, and half the jury didn't see it that way. So disliked are the feds in this area that the townsfolk largely saw Dallas as someone who just wanted to be left alone, and acted in self defense.   Not only did the jury not convict him of first degree murder, they didn't even do 2nd degree.  They found him guilty of manslaughter.  The judge was so enraged that he gave Dallas the maximum - two consecutive 10 year manslaughter terms, and an additional 10 years, consecutive, for using a firearm during the commission of a crime.  Even with a prison escape, he was released after 22 years for good behavior.   It's a testament to how I've changed over the years that I found myself ebullient.  Whoa!  What the hell is happening to me?  That's a rhetorical question, of course.  It's stuff like this that have left me so frustrated that armed insurrection is the only answer I can summon on a bad day.  It's a good thing I'm 112 years old and confined to a home, and such a good citizen, or there'd be hell to pay.