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Ok. Respectfully, I am not trying to convince you otherwise or win some argument. They say that arguing with someone on the internet is like the Special Olympics; no matter who wins, you're both retarded... You are more than entitled to your opinions and beliefs, and while I respect your opinion, I just happen to disagree. However, I would like some facts out there for folks who read this, but are not motivated to jump into the fray...
Randy Weaver, Waco, and Elian Gonzales are all perfect examples of excessive use of government force. But they were NOT examples of some grand plot to overthrow civilians and exert some sort of dictatorial control. They all happened during the Clinton Administration, a Democrat I might add, and were the result of Janet Reno's warped perception of concocted threats and boogie men.
Randy Weaver was charged with illegally converting shotguns to a short-barreled weapon by sawing off the barrels. The idiots at the ATF and FBI thought he was far more dangerous than he actually was, because back during the Clinton administration, the liberal press got everyone worked up over "far right wing" boogie men. The FBI murdered his son and wife (and also his dog) in the stand-off, and Weaver was later awarded over $3 million dollars in a wrongful death lawsuit. Also because the use of force was found to be unconstitutional, the federal use of deadly force rules were changed as a result of Ruby Ridge to only be allowed in a case of "imminent danger." Another result of Ruby Ridge was that the FBI became far more conscience of their public image, and began adopting less lethal tactics in hostage and confrontation management.
Regarding Waco, I watch the whole thing live on CNN. David Koresh was charged by the ATF with manufacturing illegal automatic weapons. In probably the most bone-headed move of any agency ever, they decided to serve the arrest warrants using "overwhelming force" even though the Branch Davidians had advanced warning they were coming, and the ATF knew that. The resulting deaths of both ATF agents and Branch davidians, as well as the stand off, was front page news for months. The FBI took over after the ATF screwed up so badly, and again per Janet Reno's orders, the place was attacked after a long stand-off, with the facilities burned to ground, and almost all of the Branch Davidians, including women and children, were burned to death. Afterward, all of the people involved in making that decision appeared before various congressional committees, and most of the leadership, including the ATF director, as well as many FBI were fired or demoted. Timothy McVeigh then blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City for what the government had done in Waco. McVeigh thought he was leading a new revolution, but instead just got the needle. Again, Waco was an example of excessive use of force, over zealous law enforcement agents, and warped perceptions of people who were "different." It was not an example of the government intentionally going after civilians in some sort of overthrow scenario.
Elian Gonzales, again another Janet Reno debacle, was an abuse of power and excessive use of force. Not a grand plot to overthrow civilians.
My basic point is this. The lens with which many of us are looking at these issues is warped. It is perfectly healthy to view government with suspicion and skepticism. But always remember, we are representational republic. We elect the people who make these decisions on our behalf. It is our fault if the people we elect abuse their office for personal gain. Our government is chock full of morons who can't make it out in the real world. Government screws up just about everything it touches. That is why our country is 17 trillion in the hole, because we spend like stupid drunken sailors. Actually, that is an insult to drunken sailors.
However, I believe, and this is only my opinion, that while the government is fully capable of abusing enforcement power on a small scale (Ruby Ridge, Waco etc..,) it is completely incapable and too incompetent to devise a grand scheme to take over American civilians in some sort of power grab. I am not living life afraid of our government. They are too stupid to be scared of. I am sad that the majority of Americans voted the way they did, but hey, they deserve the government they voted for. This is a HUGE and diverse country. No army in the world could conquer it, let alone a few DHS knuckleheads in surplus MRAPS. 99% of what our government does is just plain stupid, not evil. But if we want to change it, we need stop electing liberal elite do-gooders whose ego is only stroked by spending other peoples money. Regarding the large ammo purchases, it seems to me that the by buying in bulk, the government is at least trying to get a better price. These public bids (does anyone really believe that if the government wanted to overthrow civilians, they would put it out to a PUBLIC bid???) are for multi year deliveries and contracts. They may be putting in an order for a billion rounds of .40 S&W pistol ammo this year, but spread that out over 5 or 10 years or so, and the purchase does not seem that large or inconsistent with their annual qualifying demands. Buying in bulk is just as plausible a reason as getting ready to take over the country.
But to those of you who see all these things as evil, good luck to you. This is still a free country, and you are free to believe anything you want. Just please don't shoot the mailman for being on your property. He is just trying to do his job...
Ridicule the government every chance you get but don't fear it.
