In an editorial Saturday, the Oregonian identified the real patriot of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge occupation debacle: Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward:

It turns out there's been a true patriot in Harney County all along. His name is Dave Ward. When the armed militants arrived and occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, they called themselves patriots and twisted a reading of the U.S. Constitution to suit their purposes. Among other things, they argued public lands never really belonged to all Americans and that the federal government had no legal standing to manage them. But they should have had that conversation more fully with Ward, better known in Burns and around the county as Sheriff Dave, because it's likely Ward could have set them straight/Oregonian Editorial Board. More here.

Question: How would you describe a true American patriot?