The Stupid Café staff has been waiting by the telephone because we're all sure that, sooner or later, Yokel Haram out there in Oregon will run out of the Café's House Specialty. Unfortunately, for the moment, anyway, they seem to have found enough local suppliers.

As the scene in front of the courthouse played out, another group of uninvited visitors was preparing to meet with Bundy over the objections of Grasty and state Rep. Cliff Bentz, a Republican from Ontario whose district includes Harney County. Heard and five other elected officials from Washington, Idaho and Nevada were on a "fact-finding mission," Heard said. Last year's Umpqua Community College shooting occurred in Heard's district, and Heard said he wanted to prevent a similar outbreak of violence. The out-of-state legislators were Reps. Graham Hunt and Matt Shea of Washington; Reps. Judy Boyle, Heather Scott and Sage Dixon of Idaho; and Rep. Michelle Fiore of Nevada, who joined by telephone.

There are undeniable comic aspects to this whole thing; if it weren't for the fact that these clowns are heavily armed, they might've picked up a couple of Golden Globes Sunday night. (I know more about them than I do about half the shows that actually won.) But what the situation certainly did not need is the involvement of imported nutbags like Michelle Fiore, whom we have entertained at the Café before. Meanwhile, Scott and Dixon have become quite the comedy team in their own right.

Scott said she flew the flag, along with three American flags, on her float, an old Army troop truck, during the festival's parade. It was tethered below an American flag behind the truck's cab. Scott, who said she joined fellow freshman Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay, on the float, said, "We see it as a symbol of free speech."

Can I just say that Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward has got to be the most patient guy in the world?

"Sheriff Dave, you're a veteran, right?" Lamborn asked. Ward said he was, and proceeded to detail his military history, including tours in Somalia and Afghanistan. The crowd cheered.

If he doesn't hit all of these guys in the face with a pie in the next few days, Sheriff Dave's got the Nobel Peace Prize locked up.

Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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