Let me first state that I agree with what y'all are saying.

But.

If I had a culture to design (kinda like a 'paint by numbers' design-a-culture kit) and I had a lot of extra APC's and stuff and I had a lot of ex-military turned law enforcement who knew how to use them (knew 2 such) and I WAS SURE THEY WERE ON MY SIDE...

Then it might be nice to contemplate an America that upped the ante of Yamamoto's putative saying "You cannot invade the mainland US. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass." to "...There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass and an APC behind every tree, staffed by organized war veterans."

OK. This is dreamland. But it is a good dream. If these vehicles were not the 'hammers' that beg to be used against every thumbtack that is reported to Law Enforcement, then the dispersal of military weaponry amongst the civilian population would be an advantage, not a liability.

Jan
(Yes, I know that there is no written substantiation for Yamamoto having said that. But it does sound very much like him, does it not?)

I think what you are referring to, evlwhtguy, was the quote below.

"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."

The Browser Hijacker Object in Chief

where did I call it a tank? how fast can these travel anyway? are they easy to see out of? give us info scinch

Ok...I get the point about the militarization of our police departments...but for those of you that are referring to this vehicle as a tank...get your head out of your hind parts. It is an armored vehicle.

Yes, we now have a National Police Force (Homeland Security), we need them to keep us in line. It seems some police forces are being indoctrinated to join them rather than represent the needs of the local communities they are supposed to be serving. Speaking of lines, in the future lines will be important, we will have gas lines, bread lines, food lines, etc.. The people in these control organizations are, knowingly or not, being trained to be in charge, to rule what we do. These macho kinds of tools give them power and power allows them to do things they might not normally do if they were thinking for themselves. Ask any veteran that has been in combat, ask them how having the tools and ruling the situation made them feel, how getting shot at felt, how shooting back felt, and what being successful at it felt like. In no time at all, when they pull my comments out from the NSA, I'll probably be tracked down and shot or at least incarcerated for making them. But I don't see any need for these kinds of vehicles in this country except the military. They can only be used against us here, not a foreign enemy. What's next, miniature tactical nukes? If they put them on the borders that might be a different story.

Yes. A brilliant psychologist who created the Hierarchy of Needs.

Ask any of the remaining people who lived under fascism what it was like and the similarities between that and the described event. Ominous parallels indeed.

Hopefully, most of them will become rusted out hulks just like the detritus surrounding Starnesville for lack of competent maintenance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2yGzHfy...

Yes, it is.

This is just hearsay, but one time I was at a hair appt n the city where I lived. The hairdresser was married to a policeman who was in the SWAT division. He was describing an arrest for a a fugitive that had escaped a federal prison. Anyway, they had a lead on a car that was stolen and caught up with him in a busy intersection. He gleefully recounted shooting the tires of his vehicle as it slid through the intersection slamming into other cars, and the police cars all skidding into the intersection hitting other cars to stop him. In the end, the fugitive was caught, lots of damage to cars and several people hospitalized, but to him (in his late 20s) the point was to capture him, everyone else-get out of the way. all part of you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. The arrogance and self-congratulatory attitude of this swat team member sickened me. Like our city was part of a war zone or something.

I really like your quote, is that Maslow the psychiatrist?

Someone already made this point but I think I will re- make it...nothing is free...maintenance and operational costs will kill some of these small town police departments.

I cannot find an attribution but during his first election run Obama stated that we needed an internal military as large as our external military. I always watch his speeches and heard it myself.

The Sheriff's Department in my area got a tank a while ago. The only training they received for this or any of the other toys they have received over the years was some brief instruction in how to drive it. So far, to my knowledge, they have used it twice, both times to serve search warrants (not quite sure how they did that--held them out a port on a stick?). The Sheriff's "Emergency Response Team" has a long history of having "standoffs" which involve nothing more sinister than a passed-out drunk who wasn't awakened by the telephone. More than once, they have surrounded empty houses, or the wrong house.

"If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail" --Abraham Maslow.

Under the second amendment, I want one, er, for free.

I'm all for supporting Barney. =)

Lol. A town that Hiraghm grew up in and I grew up less than 20 miles from, small and rural got an MRAP recently. The police chief for over 30 years is taking a ribbing for it. He got it for free and didn 't want to turn it down. Yes, the locals who enjoy a cup of coffee with him today are not thinking about tomorrow. Who is John Galt?

As long as we are talking about Barney Fife, can I do a "Citzen's Arrest, Citizen's Arrest"? Seriously, these MRAPs for your everyday police force is beyond the pale.