Community service, my foot. The judge's foot, too.

Ammon Bundy probably wouldn't make my list of Top One Hundred people I hope never to hear another word of or peep out of, ever, ever again in a million, kabillion years. But if I were to expand that imaginary list to Top Five Hundred, old Ammon might well make the cut.

To jog your memory about just who this jagoff is - and thank you, Mark Cuban, for exposing the world beyond Pittsburgh to the delights of this term for a contemptible person - he's a far-right activist who's been involved in all sorts of politically-"inspired" nastiness over the years. 

Back in 2014, along with his father Cliven, Ammon was part of an armed standoff with the BLM at the family ranch in his hometown of the aptly named Bunkerville, Nevada. He then moved his protest sights north and was involved, in 2016, in occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Range in Oregon. 

Charges were dropped in both of these cases because the prosecution withheld some key information. Which is not to say that Ammon Bundy isn't a hot-headed loud-mouthed jerk. Make that hot-headed loud-mouthed jagoff. 

It probably goes without saying that Ammon Bundy is in cahoots with ultra-rightists like the Oath Keepers. And it probably goes without saying that Ammon Bundy has also been involved in getting in the way of the government ability to do anything about the pandemic. This time, in Idaho.

This time, he ran out of "darn, the prosecution screwed up" luck:

Bundy was sentenced in July (2021) to 40 hours of "public service" in lieu of a jail sentence after being convicted of trespassing and resisting arrest for refusing to leave a closed committee room in the Idaho Statehouse during the 2020 legislative special session. (Source: Idaho Press)

Being sentenced to forty hours of "public service" isn't exactly like being put on a chain gang, but it apparently wasn't exactly his cup of tea.

At his sentencing, Bundy was explicitly instructed "that working for his own organization, or any service for which he got paid, would not count."

Well, count shmount.

Bundy, who is running for governor of Idaho, boldly:

...submitted hours that he had worked on his own political campaign, turning in a letter on his own "Ammon Bundy For Governor" letterhead certifying that he had completed all 40 hours.

How convenient. (Please excuse Ammon for not having been to school today. Signed, Ammon's Mom.)

I realize that not every non-profit agency is equipped to do the sorts of monitoring court-mandated community service requires, but t's really not all that difficult to find places to do community service.

I volunteer at a homeless shelter, and we occasionally have folks come in to work in the kitchen or the dish room as part of a plea deal. There's always a place that does good works that can use a spare set of hands for a few hours here and there. 

Maybe do-gooding by helping feed the homeless, or picking up trash by the side of the road, or hammering a few nails in for Habitat for Humanity, didn't appeal to Ammon Bundy. But to have the gall to think for a New York minute - or even an Idaho minute - that campaigning for himself for governor of Idaho is community services. Ha, I say, ha, ha. 

So, apparently, did the judge:

On Thursday, Judge Annie McDevitt ruled that not only did his campaign work not satisfy the requirement, but that it showed blatant disrespect for the instructions he had been given.

"The whole point of public service is to give back to the community in ways that do not serve yourself," she said. "Clearly, working for your own campaign is self-serving work."  

She sentenced him to ten days in the slammer: the original five-day sentence for the trespassing violation, which had been suspended, and a tacked on five days for contempt. Plus a $3K fine. 

The deputies slapped the handcuffs on his way and hauled him off to jail. 

Meanwhile, Ammon Bundy's been on probation for yet another offense, and has also committed yet another similar offense.

I suppose he thought he could just keep working off any "punishment" that came his way by putting up election signs or speaking to gatherings of RWNJ's. 

When Mitt Romney was running for president, he made a pretty dumb remark - especially given that he's a pretty smart guy. When asked about whether any of his five sons had been in the military service, he replied that they had served their country by working on his election campaigns.

Well, campaigning for your father is not quite the equivalent of going through bootcamp, getting flown off to god knows where, and having your leg blown off by an IED. Anymore than campaigning for yourself is community service. 

Mitt Romney's off-the-cuff remark was just a minor case of stupid. Political gaffe time. Ammon Bunday's trying to pass his "work" off as community service is stupid, ridiculous, and just plain galling. Glad he's now had a cuffs-on experience and has had to do some jail time. Meanwhile, I don't have a ton of faith in the voters of Idaho, but I bet they're smart enough not to let this putz win.