Militarizing Police Depts. With Your Bailout Money

[Hugo Chavez]

"cops gone Rambo" lol

George Orwell, call your office !

If prostitution is the world’s oldest profession, then city mayors follow a very close second.  In fact, it occurs to me they may be the spiritual offspring of the aforementioned liaisons.  Whenever there is loose change or unclaimed dollar bills laying around, mayors can smell them a mile away and if a Sugar Daddy offers free cash, they never stop to question what the vigorish might be.  The urban emperors, suburban commissars, the hack and the highbrow, the Republican and Democrat, the apolitical and amoral, the exurban apparatchiks all assemble to line dance down Pennsylvania Avenue like ladies of the evening on the way to a golden score with Big Daddy.

 The United States Conference of Mayors has assembled the most ridiculous and repulsive example of government excess I think I have ever seen.  Here is a PDF file of the document which stretches to 344 pages.  One of the most alarming features of this civic gluttony is the gift list request for funds to buy military SWAT assault equipment for police forces like the examples offered here by Texas blogger and Reason.com contributor, Trey Garrison:

• Frisco wants $125,000 for an armored vehicle and $200,000 for a mobile command vehicle. You know, for all that gang tank warfare going on up in Frisco.
• McKinney wants $5 million for SWAT toys and stuff.
• North Richland Hills wants $51,000 for volunteer patrol volunteers. Let’s throw in $10 for a dictionary so they can look up the word “volunteer.”
• Irving wants $5 million for biometric scanners, digital cameras, RFID scanners — nothing Big Brother there.
  Grand Prairie wants $1.25 million for nicer landscaping around the public safety building.
• And finally, Arlington is really gearing up for urban warfare. Arlington wants $1.6 million for SWAT toys including more equipment for those deadly but camera-friendly no-knock raids, $56,000 for military grade carbines, $625,000 for unmanned aerial surveillance drones, and $130,000 for “covert ops.”

Here is the “Public Safety” wish list from the US Conference of Mayors.
Radley Balko, of The Agitator and contributing editor of Reason, offers these galling examples of cops gone Rambo:
cont... http://lonestartimes.com/2009/02/11/militarizing-police-depts-with-your-bailout-money/

[Soul Crusher]

And these uncivil servants wonder why many of us have contempt for the police??

[Hugo Chavez]

And these uncivil servants wonder why many of us have contempt for the police??

I've wondered for a bit what they think they are protecting and serving...  I don't want to bash them all, I've known some dang good people who were officers and sheriffs but the whole theme is heading down the wrong road.

[Soul Crusher]

As a collective, they are treating people like civilians not citizens.

They treate people like dogs and think a dog wont bite back??

[headhuntersix]

I've wondered for a bit what they think they are protecting and serving...  I don't want to bash them all, I've known some dang good people who were officers and sheriffs but the whole theme is heading down the wrong road.

But no outrage over Nancy pelosi and her pet mouse money right?

[Bindare_Dundat]

But no outrage over Nancy pelosi and her pet mouse money right?

Why do people always answer in tit for tat ways? Do you agree or disagree with this heavy militarization of police? yes or no?

[Hugo Chavez]

But no outrage over Nancy pelosi and her pet mouse money right?

How in the fuck have you missed my bitching about Nancy Pelosi?  I've certainly not hidden my distain for the bitch on this board.  Are you freaking serious?  Oh and this is an extremely off topic post.  Do not derail threads like this, thanks.

[IFBBwannaB]

"cops gone Rambo" lol

George Orwell, call your office !

If prostitution is the world’s oldest profession, then city mayors follow a very close second.  In fact, it occurs to me they may be the spiritual offspring of the aforementioned liaisons.  Whenever there is loose change or unclaimed dollar bills laying around, mayors can smell them a mile away and if a Sugar Daddy offers free cash, they never stop to question what the vigorish might be.  The urban emperors, suburban commissars, the hack and the highbrow, the Republican and Democrat, the apolitical and amoral, the exurban apparatchiks all assemble to line dance down Pennsylvania Avenue like ladies of the evening on the way to a golden score with Big Daddy.

 The United States Conference of Mayors has assembled the most ridiculous and repulsive example of government excess I think I have ever seen.  Here is a PDF file of the document which stretches to 344 pages.  One of the most alarming features of this civic gluttony is the gift list request for funds to buy military SWAT assault equipment for police forces like the examples offered here by Texas blogger and Reason.com contributor, Trey Garrison:

• Frisco wants $125,000 for an armored vehicle and $200,000 for a mobile command vehicle. You know, for all that gang tank warfare going on up in Frisco.
• McKinney wants $5 million for SWAT toys and stuff.
• North Richland Hills wants $51,000 for volunteer patrol volunteers. Let’s throw in $10 for a dictionary so they can look up the word “volunteer.”[/li]
  
  
  • Irving wants $5 million for biometric scanners, digital cameras, RFID scanners — nothing Big Brother there.
    Grand Prairie wants $1.25 million for nicer landscaping around the public safety building.
  • And finally, Arlington is really gearing up for urban warfare. Arlington wants $1.6 million for SWAT toys including more equipment for those deadly but camera-friendly no-knock raids, $56,000 for military grade carbines, $625,000 for unmanned aerial surveillance drones, and $130,000 for “covert ops.”
  
  Here is the “Public Safety” wish list from the US Conference of Mayors.
  Radley Balko, of The Agitator and contributing editor of Reason, offers these galling examples of cops gone Rambo:
  cont... http://lonestartimes.com/2009/02/11/militarizing-police-depts-with-your-bailout-money/
  
  
  

In regards to that "smart" remark, volunteers still need equipment, training and much more.

[JBGRAY]

I am firmly against the militarization of the police.  I believe that whatever police can obtain, that civilians are able to do so as well within reasonable measures(fingerprints, background, yada yada). 

I will submit some exceptions as areas of Los Angeles, Detroit, and the Southwest border in general can field some pretty nasty gun battles.

Case in point:  A husband held his wife hostage at their rural Maine home.  Now you may expect a significant number of cops to arrive along with a guy with a bullhorn to talk to him.  Nope.  Instead, we get a dozen heavily armed SWAT members clad in camoflauge inside of an armored personnel carrier.