I’d totally pitch in my $10 to help TIm out.. i’d LOVE to see one person make a huge difference… anybody know where to send it?

Dear Tim –

Thank you for your creative civil action during a crisis situation. It will help save the land we love here in Moab. You and your friends are welcome at our dinner table anytime!

As you enter into a time of public scrutiny and legal complications, it might help you to remember that the word “patriot” comes from the Latin word “patria,” which means home-land, with an emphasis on LAND. In other words, the original meaning of the word “patriot” is a defender of the land against those who seek to conquer it. In this sense, conservationists are the true and original patriots, because they defend the land for its own sake and for the benefit of future generations. Unfortunately, in recent decades the word “patriot” has been co-opted by the far right to mean “those who defend the economic growth of the country at all costs, exploiting the land whenever possible for a quick buck,” and they have wrapped themselves in the American flag to confuse the masses.

Because you now represent the focal point for the competing American values of land preservation and land exploitation — essentially the age-old battle between widsom and greed — you will get to see first-hand how those with financial power use it and abuse it to further their own agendas. Of course you are aware how the Bush administration is leaving a legacy of great violence toward the land of America and the climate of the world. They also leave a legacy of great violence toward innocent people who stood between vast Iraqi oil reserves and the Texas oil-men like Cheney who coveted it blindly. You are now a highly visible person who stands in between these same violent exploiters and the few drops of oil they hope to squeeze from the sands below Moab.

It might be useful to you to remember that both Gandhi and Martin Luther King repeatedly said that, while they would not condone any form of violence, their methods of protest served to expose the violence that already existed, lurking below the surface in the oppressive societies they confronted. While the protesters committed no acts of violence, they were exposed to violence from the police, who represented the arm of enforcement for oppressive regimes. Similarly, there is great psychological and social violence hiding behind the chant “Drill, baby, drill!” heard at the Republican convention earlier this year. You will be the target of that mob mentality, of the confused masses of people who believe that the only answer for their personal and collective financial woes is the further rape and pillage of the American home-land.

Please use caution where you step, and don’t underestimate the power of angry mobs. Greed, anger, and other human frailties turn into social memes that can cloud the judgment of those in power, even those who are truly well-intentioned. Please treat the individual humans who oppose you with kindness, as if they are confused but well-meaning people, because that is a correct psychological perspective, and a perspective that allows for real and permanent social change.

Gandhi and MLK both humbly adhered to Jesus’s commandment to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” They firmly believed that wisdom and justice would ultimately prevail, not by destroying the people who opposed their peaceful agendas, but by appealing to their shared humanity and eventually winning their enemies over as allies. History has proven them right. Your creative act of civil disobedience has made you the lightening rod for the anger of those who are blinded by the lust for money and oil. Now win them over with wisdom and compassion.

Meanwhile, know that you are a true hero to me and my wife, Dorina, and we open our guest room to you whenever you visit Moab!

Best regards,

Damian Nash
Moab, Utah

dog tale
and what great things have you accomplished

I bet it is nothing but complain.

Have you don anthing close to what Tim has accomplished all by himself

Tim DeChristopher
You are the coolest person I have read about in a long time.

God Bless you and anyone whoever thinks like you again.

OK,

So here is my idea:

Tim needs to claim his right to buy the land he bid on and as is everyones right to do bid on our collective land that is being auctioned off. Every 300 million of us.

Ok now for the math:

1.7 million devided by 300 million

That’s 1/2 penny for each one of us.

So let’s say that only one in 200 are willing to help, that brings the total per person to 1 dollar each.

So if some of us (1 in 200) coughed up a dollar each we could pull off Tim’s ambitious plan and go beyond mere civil disruption.

1 in 2000 contribute and 10$ each is needed.

if this is was done right say by the web geniuses that helped get Presentational Elect Obama elected.

I bet we could get this done closer to the 1$ per person than the 10$, either way I am in for 10$

And I am one of the unemployed thanks to the genuineness’s steering the ship right now. But I am still good for the 10$

Tim is indeed a true hero. He said that he was waiting for someone to step forward and do the right thing and when no one did he realized that you have to be the person to step forward. I am damn glad he did.

But here is the rub about purchasing the land. It already belongs to us. The land, the oil, the minerals, all of it, belong to us already. people point at Hugo Chavez and say he is on his way to becoming a dictator. But look at what he and Evo Morales have done that none of our Presidents have done. They realized that the source of their wealth was being stolen from them by the oil companies. The People were getting 20% and the oil companies were getting 80%. These leaders have now said that the oil companies will get 20 and they will get 80. And what have they done with these new found riches? How about free health care for every citizen along with a free education. And the oil companies are still posting record profits.

Our leaders continue to give away our land and resources for pennies on the dollar. Why? Because the Oil Companies have bought our elected officials. That is why they refuse to seriously investigate them for fraud, why our courts let oil compaines off the hook even when juries find them guilty and fine them billions of dollars, and why the CEO’s laugh at any attempt to curtail their abuses. See today’s LA Times article on Colorado attempting to place rulkes on oil drillers.

In a true Democracy Tim would not have to defend himself.I will contribute to his defense fund but until someone spells out exactly what is to be done with the land Tim purchased I will not contribute to that fund. That land already belongs to the People and we should not have to buy what is already ours. Tim should be able to give it back to the People without any penalty.

i congratulate anyone who takes any action to defend the earth against the corporate state. and i congratulate you mr. dechristopher. right on.

but the line that “i didn’t see anyone else stepping up… so i had to.” come on. either you are really uninformed or you are playing others’ ignorance for your own ego. let’s see… who else has stood up? let’s start with big names like chico mendez or ken saro-wiwa. they got cut down for standing up. oh—that’s not in the u.s.? ok—david “gypsy” chain—mudered by a pacific lumber logger during the fight for california’s north coast old growth redwoods and doug firs. karen silkwood—murdered; too heavy? here are a list of folks who have stood up over and over and some are on their second stint in the cage for fighting back: rod coronado, judi berri, marie mason, eric mcdavid, jonathan paul, daniel mcgowan, brianna waters, the shac 7, i could go on.

i respect you for your action. but keep things in perspective, and give some credence to so many have gone down a lot harder than you will should they bring charges.

mikerobe

...This is Rosa Parks on the bus…It is the whistle blowers, on Abu Ghraib, and warentless wiretaps, and water-boarding…it is the Zapatista in southern mexico…. people standing up for what is right, especially with the courage to go at it alone.
“...a revolutionary is inspired by great feelings of love.” -Che

Fantastic move Tim DeChristopher.  I was truly touched by your interview with Amy Goodman and thank you so much for saving some of the BLM land up for auction.  I haven’t been able to figure out, though, what land has actually been sold (and, indirectly, lost in a way)?  If there were 150,000 acres bought, where are the other acres located?  I am also curious about whether any of these companies will sell back the land because they think they paid too much for it after DeChristopher’s bids boosted up the price.  And my last question for now: have these companies made any statements on how they will manage the land they acquired? If anyone knows how to dig up the answers to these questions, I’d appreciate the help!  The fruits of my online research have been quite meager.

The economics are ridiculous and Tim DeChristopher was a genius to figure this out. Tim DeChristopher’s bids amount to one nickel from every person in America. Put another way, it is about $1 from each in the upper income quintile. If corporations hadn’t bid, the cost would have been even less. More of this behavior would send the message that the American public really does love their country. The price is small compared to the benefits.

just in time for christmas timmy.  lets hope this christmas carol don’t get you killed by some agent.  watch your back jack and start rallying up that cash you’ll need for your first payment.  its a good idea.  maybe next time they try to auction off america’s natural capital more of its patriots will stand up and defend democracy instead of this con-facist approach that big business is readily aquiring.  good luck boy.  your in the big leagues now.  time for some corporate sponsorship and maybe some celebs for a photoshoot out in the desert.  let the stormtroopers quiver in the thought of thousands of patriots lining up to do what you’ve just done.  smart cookie now make sure you get that first payment paid capitalist style.  time for some of those eco-friendly millionares to start putting their money where their mouth is.  maybe a foundation should be set up to counter this oil and gas grab.  let the private sector save america from its own neo-con evil twin.  where’s those brainwashed believers to step in and save america from the evil multinationals?  i’m sure the tithe can be collected every other sunday and timmy would have enough for more bids.  timmy took a leap of faith and this canadian salutes you.

what happens if everyone who wants to save the environment pitches in for the money to pay for this land to be purchased.  He took a step to throw in the monkey wrench what if we make it so they can’t take it out..

Now come the donations and help from organizations like the Land Stewardship Project. Keep the public lands public!

My hat goes off to DeChristopher and I extend him a warm, heart felt bow and rebellious smile. The beauty of this action only shows that the American West has not yet been numbed to the capitalist ways of much of the rest of this country. The time has come for humans of all walks to come together in the name of something larger than ourselves…in the name of the environment, our home, and the only one we have. If they will not listen to our voices, our pleas, and our lawsuits then surely direct action is the next step. The environmental crisis calls out for a multifaceted approach to defense. We CANNOT let these lands fall to the hands of a few greedy men and women and the destructive hands of the corporate hacks that threaten a livable world.

NO COMPROMISE, EARTH FIRST!

Right on Mr. DeChristopher.

I remember when Kerry said Bush owned a forest and he said “me own a forest”, come to find out he had mineral rights under the forest these crooks will lie and steal as long as no one is looking.

To say that we need a smaller government is code word for so we can steal more, case in point Wall Street.

Smaller government is called a dictatorship.

DeChristopher pointed us to

http://oneutah.org/

where there are several links to

http://www.wateradvocacy.org/id86.html

or, they say,

“If you don’t want to use a credit card, please send checks made out to “Center for Water Advocacy”.  Please include “Tim DeChristopher Lease Purchase Fund” in the memo field. Mail checks to Center for Water Advocacy, P.O. Box 331, Moab, UT 84532.”