Why do the police have tanks?

[oknow]

My apologies to all for overestimating the number of police killed on the job. Just a little research tells that over the last twenty years the average number of on the job police deaths is ONLY about 150 per year; 65,000 were assaulted per year; 23,000 injured seriously. In 2010 it was only 56 killed by FBI stats, all but one shot, but now in 2011 that number has already been surpassed as of July 1. They say things are getting meaner out there. Here in Portland a police officer was shot just six blocks from me a couple of months ago. Yes, some cops over-react and when sent into "combat" shoot first in fear of getting shot. Mistakes are made in bloody wars, and there is collateral damage---but nowhere as much as the drug gangs cause. Monday morning quarterbacks will always analyze what went wrong, comfortable at their keyboard and free from the "fog of war," and free from the immediate fear of getting their face shot off.

As for bikers, what motorcyclist has not encounterd "outlaw" biker gangs? You have never met with cranked-out meth bikers and their scags? Lucky you, you must be a teetotaler and avoid beer! I am alive today only because my Triumph was always faster than those crappy Harleys.

Knowing dopers and druggies? To my shame I used drugs for eighteen years. I was "intimately" involved with the drug trade, growing, transporting, dealing, and grubbing around in the filthy homes of my clients and friends, full of neglected and damaged children. Yes, I have seen it, to my sorrow. Fortunately I could never afford to become much of a coke-head, or it would have simply killed me. My life never actually began until I quit drugs a few decades ago, and I only survived because I never got into needles---even I was not THAT dumb. Yes, I know more about drugs than the average bear. I am VERY aware of how dangerous and destructive that whole culture is. Funny, all that anti-drug propaganda we were fed in high school---almost all of it turned out to be true. And now the police need armor plate to survive the battle, alas, because all of those harmless druggies tend to shoot at the police to protect their stash and lifestyle.......................elsullo

because of the so called collateral damage, do you think that that could be the reason for it getting meaner out there and the cops are getting shot because people fear for their lives just like the cops do? it works both ways and I think in the long run if the cops keep this ship up they will be the losers in this nasty game just because of shear numbers.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Oh, sure. Just legalize drugs and the gangsters will stand down and go get jobs and become good citizens. Legalize drugs and all of the meth heads will just stay home and stay high...........and only rape and torture their own kids and nobody elses. And all of the tweaking motorcycle gangs will just become riding clubs again and bother nobody, uh-huh. All of the crackheads will become so docile when they are literally burning out their brains with unlimited supply, and their families won't care. And all of the children of the catatonic potheads will grow up strong and healthy after surviving repeated food poisonings from their own filthy homes. Whoopie. Anybody who advocates for drug legalization is either an addict or has never known any to any degree. Sure, a few sound individuals can use a little pot or coke recreationally without obvious problem. For a while. Until they can't. And then they become a burden on their families and on society, an expensive burden which eventually becomes a social worker problem and then a police problem.

Why do the police need armor, and hard-core courage? Because lousy criminals KILL THEM. I can't remember the figure but about three hundred police officers are killed in the line of duty every year---not counting the hundreds of suicides from stress and its attendant alcoholism.

I should move? I have moved, and I guard my current luxury of a peaceful neighborhood very jealously! Yet I can never forget my past homes in terrorized neighborhoods, the people living in aching fear of the random violence and cruelty of the gangsters: working folks afraid to ride the bus, old folks who dare not go out, and children that cannot even play in their own front yards---and worst of all the anxiety that their own children will be sucked into the violent "glamour" of the gangster livestyle. All you proud anti-cop "patriots" have never lived with the casual violence of gangsters hurting strangers randomly just for fun, getting high on the money from the purse they just snatched from an old lady, and after dark they will drive around and shoot into houses. It's tempting to say that I hope that you get to know that personally, but that would mean that the Northwest will go even more downhill, and I'd hate to see it. So, why don't YOU guys move to where the cops can't go without armored vehicles and see how your views on cops stand up?.......................elsullo

Why don't cops target the gangs with the fervor of the druggies (clean house instead of nitpicking)? And how about living with the fact that they take innocent lives? What type of restitution do they pay for killing someone by mistake?
I'm curious what your stance on gun control is?
Do you believe that law abiding gun owners should be disarmed because criminals steel from them?
Do you believe that criminals should be targeted for gun violence or coddled because they are outnumbered by the law abiding gun owners who can legally stand their ground?
Inquiring minds want to know

 

[billdeserthills]

Unfortunately Caveman Jim, elsullo appears to have been banned...
Too bad you didn't get those answers, pre-ban

 

[gunnoob75]

Because they're dick heads.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Dang..... I knew he was up to no good with gasoline on this one...

 

[U201491]

Police with batons face off against 'Million Vet March' at White House - National Policy & Issues | Examiner.com

<broken link removed>

"Thank God we have baton wielding riot police to protect us from 85 yr old vets in wheelchairs. Thanks, Mr. Obama," tweeted actor James Woods

The local police even prepped and rolled out one of those to use on the vets.
In the article.

 

[Powderman]

Why don't cops target the gangs with the fervor of the druggies (clean house instead of nitpicking)? And how about living with the fact that they take innocent lives? What type of restitution do they pay for killing someone by mistake?
I'm curious what your stance on gun control is?
Do you believe that law abiding gun owners should be disarmed because criminals steel from them?
Do you believe that criminals should be targeted for gun violence or coddled because they are outnumbered by the law abiding gun owners who can legally stand their ground?
Inquiring minds want to know

We do target gangbangers.

However--we cannot "profile" (just because you're flashing gang signs, hanging flags, and screaming "copkilla" at the top of your lungs does NOT even give us reasonable suspicion to stop).

By killing someone by mistake, do you mean when officers kill by mistake? Ask the idiot who shot the woodcarver in Seattle--he lost his career; he can never be hired in a law enforcement capacity again; the civil trial is forthcoming and he'll be paying monetarily for the rest of his life--plus, he can still be found criminally culpable for murder.

My stance on gun control? I'm not the poster you're addressing, but I'll answer anyway--You want a pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun? Let's go shopping. How about SBR, SBS, AOW? We'll discuss the merits and shortcomings of shorter barrels and operating cycles as I help you pick one out. Select fire, burst, full auto? Help me set up the Dillon 1050 so we can keep it fed. Big bore, AT rifles, field pieces, howitzers, grenade launchers? Just make sure no one is in the burst radius when you light that thing off, and I get to watch! Guns are inanimate objects, and we have the right to bear arms. Period.

Disarming gun owners? In my perfect world, if a citizen shoots a criminal in the commission of ANY criminal act of violence, good on ya! It would make my job a lot easier.

Here's the heart of the matter, though: I am a sworn Police Officer. I enforce the law. I did not write the law, and may disagree with it. But I will enforce it. If you and I want the law changed, the Constitution gives us three avenues of lawful change--the petition, the referendum and the recall. Still, we have this tendency to rattle sabers and shout when it is not necessary. We do not have to think about armed resistance--if we simply used those three methods guaranteed to us.

Remember the four boxes of freedom--the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box--and God forbid, the cartridge box. We haven't even used the ballot box yet.

 

[Caveman Jim]

We do target gangbangers.

However--we cannot "profile" (just because you're flashing gang signs, hanging flags, and screaming "copkilla" at the top of your lungs does NOT even give us reasonable suspicion to stop).

By killing someone by mistake, do you mean when officers kill by mistake? Ask the idiot who shot the woodcarver in Seattle--he lost his career; he can never be hired in a law enforcement capacity again; the civil trial is forthcoming and he'll be paying monetarily for the rest of his life--plus, he can still be found criminally culpable for murder.

My stance on gun control? I'm not the poster you're addressing, but I'll answer anyway--You want a pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun? Let's go shopping. How about SBR, SBS, AOW? We'll discuss the merits and shortcomings of shorter barrels and operating cycles as I help you pick one out. Select fire, burst, full auto? Help me set up the Dillon 1050 so we can keep it fed. Big bore, AT rifles, field pieces, howitzers, grenade launchers? Just make sure no one is in the burst radius when you light that thing off, and I get to watch! Guns are inanimate objects, and we have the right to bear arms. Period.

Disarming gun owners? In my perfect world, if a citizen shoots a criminal in the commission of ANY criminal act of violence, good on ya! It would make my job a lot easier.

Here's the heart of the matter, though: I am a sworn Police Officer. I enforce the law. I did not write the law, and may disagree with it. But I will enforce it. If you and I want the law changed, the Constitution gives us three avenues of lawful change--the petition, the referendum and the recall. Still, we have this tendency to rattle sabers and shout when it is not necessary. We do not have to think about armed resistance--if we simply used those three methods guaranteed to us.

Remember the four boxes of freedom--the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box--and God forbid, the cartridge box. We haven't even used the ballot box yet.

That is only one that turned out the way it should have, there are hundreds more that turned out badly in favor of the crooked system. The lawmen are not above the laws of which they are sworn to protect & yeah I know they are not sworn to protect citizens anymore (due to the SCOTUS ruling). I see allot of harassment of citizens by these sworn police officers all over the US, so many law abiding citizens see LEO's as the adversary (if you will). We don't know who to trust, LEO's who enforce laws especially written for politicians who benefit themselves and not the people, who elected them to support us in the first place.
What do you think of how the citizenry has changed about LEO's? (not saying this negatively by the way, just curious)

Yeah, I wanted the OP to answer this one.

I am well versed in the armory department thank you, but I wanted to know "why gun control" (a form of disarming) and not "gun violence control" (criminals), which is what America needs. Not controlling the millions of law abiding American citizens.

Thanks for your opinion as a LEO.

 

[U201491]

. We haven't even used the ballot box yet.

That is the biggest part of the problem.

 

[Sstrand]

Does anyone remember the FBI's white tanks rolling in Florida a few years ago to rip Elian Gonzales from the arms of his uncle so they could send him back to Cuba, or when they burned down the Branch Davidian compound in Waco.
I'm surprised they didn't roll on the unarmed mother in D C a few days ago!!

Sheldon

 

[jimwsea]

Why do the police have fortified vehicles? My take on this question...

Because some senator/congressman makes a deal with some company to make them for the troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and wherever. After about 18 months in service in the middle east, these "need to be replaced", or upgraded, and are decommissioned. The next cycle of contracts, profiteering and money-laundering begins. Their buddies get the lucrative contracts and the lawmakers get to invest in the companies they just gave the contracts to, or where heir relatives work, or where they will get a lobbying job after their political career (see Monsanto). As Smedley Butler said..."War is a racket".

The vehicles end up back in the states in working order, and are offered to law enforcement departments in exchange for information sharing, their allegiance to using them against the people. Give a man a hammer, and every problem looks like a nail. A quiet town with a population below 500 suddenly has a SWAT vehicle or other high-tech gear, with the townsfolk scratching their heads.

Besides the fortified vehicles, sound cannons were tested in the middle east, then brought back and used against peaceful protesters in downtown Pittsburgh, before going around the close-in neighborhoods (where nothing much was happening) hurting the eardrums of little kids playing in their front yards. Microwave guns are showing up now; I wonder when those will actually be used against us.

These items are basically paid for by the raising the debt ceiling and the Treasury borrowing more federal reserve notes. The Grace Commission Report concluded that most of the federal income tax paid by taxpayers goes to pay the interest on the borrowed fed notes; very little goes to infrastructure or the military.

As these cycles are completing, we are allowing the government to borrow funds to buy weapons to be used against us. As long as our lawmakers and defense contracts can profit, I don't expect them to mention the police state mess in their wake (see Boston). The government feels that these items will be needed when the economy eventually collapses. Just look at what happened when the EBT card system went haywire.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

This is why I have my firearms I chose to have. This is why there are multiple layers of protection at the entry points of my home.
I may get shot, but Ill be damned if they think they can come into my home guns a blazing and point them at my family or myself when a bubbleguming knock on the door would have sufficed. Ill take out as many unwelcome intruders as I can, should any feel the need to break into my home and threaten our lives.
Its sad that we're living in the world we are.. But this whole "LEOs are the good guys" rhetoric has to stop.. All too many times we keep seeing or reading about these "accidents" and there is absutly no genuine remorse or repercussions for these murderers actions!

 

[Powderman]

But this whole "LEOs are the good guys" rhetoric has to stop.. All too many times we keep seeing or reading about these "accidents" and there is absutly no genuine remorse or repercussions for these murderers actions!

A question...there are, to be sure, plenty of negative stories about cops who go bad, over react, et cetera. But think about it...how many stories about GOOD cops have you seen? I'll hazard a guess--not too darned many. Why? Because it doesn't sell newspapers, and doesn't make good stories on the news. It's boring.

Do you see stories about cops who are hanging down a steep incline, trying to talk a guy who is off his meds back up the incline--when this guy is buck naked and was running around city streets?

How about the stories about cops who run to an accident with EMS and fire, and manually peel back a car roof to that they can get to the guy inside--who just got run off the road?

How about the mention about the cops who pull someone over for no taillights who talk to the driver, find out that he's in serious financial trouble, drive BEHIND him to a parts store (it was nighttime), buy the proper bulbs and install them for the guy, instead of writing a citation?

Or, perhaps the one where you get a frantic call about a guy hanging out of a window with a rifle, where you head to the house, set the perimeter, announce yourself, push open the door and go into the dark--knowing that there is a good possibility that the next thing you see will be a flash, feel a bit of heat and nothing after that?

There are hundreds, maybe thousands of good cop stories out there, every day, every week. You don't notice them, and that's OK.

As for "not being sworn to serve and protect", I--and every other officer I know--will, in an instant, lay my life down to protect an innocent. Why? Because that's what I do. That's what I am. I walk and drive the streets so that you--and other people like you--can rest easy.

What do you think of how the citizenry has changed about LEO's?

First, a clarification...We are ALL citizens. The only difference between you and me is how I earn my living. Period. Full stop. I have no more rights than you, and I darned sure have no more privileges than you. I do, however, have the duty--the solemn obligation--to ensure that the trust placed in me is held inviolate. I will serve and protect the people I watch over. Moreover, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies foreign and domestic. I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.

My profession, my calling, is that of being a Peace Officer; a Law Enforcement Officer; a Police Officer, a cop, 5-0, whatever. The names change, but the profession and the heart inside stay the same. We stand between those who would do evil; who would hurt or attack good, honest people.

And there are a LOT more of us who wear a badge that feel this way than you can possibly realize.

All I ask is this: Judge us--it is your right. But judge each of us individually--not by the actions of others. When you read a story, if it interests you, get the FULL story. See BOTH sides. Don't tar all of us with a broad brush.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

A question...there are, to be sure, plenty of negative stories about cops who go bad, over react, et cetera. But think about it...how many stories about GOOD cops have you seen? I'll hazard a guess--not too darned many. Why? Because it doesn't sell newspapers, and doesn't make good stories on the news. It's boring.

Do you see stories about cops who are hanging down a steep incline, trying to talk a guy who is off his meds back up the incline--when this guy is buck naked and was running around city streets?

How about the stories about cops who run to an accident with EMS and fire, and manually peel back a car roof to that they can get to the guy inside--who just got run off the road?

How about the mention about the cops who pull someone over for no taillights who talk to the driver, find out that he's in serious financial trouble, drive BEHIND him to a parts store (it was nighttime), buy the proper bulbs and install them for the guy, instead of writing a citation?

Or, perhaps the one where you get a frantic call about a guy hanging out of a window with a rifle, where you head to the house, set the perimeter, announce yourself, push open the door and go into the dark--knowing that there is a good possibility that the next thing you see will be a flash, feel a bit of heat and nothing after that?

There are hundreds, maybe thousands of good cop stories out there, every day, every week. You don't notice them, and that's OK.

As for "not being sworn to serve and protect", I--and every other officer I know--will, in an instant, lay my life down to protect an innocent. Why? Because that's what I do. That's what I am. I walk and drive the streets so that you--and other people like you--can rest easy.



First, a clarification...We are ALL citizens. The only difference between you and me is how I earn my living. Period. Full stop. I have no more rights than you, and I darned sure have no more privileges than you. I do, however, have the duty--the solemn obligation--to ensure that the trust placed in me is held inviolate. I will serve and protect the people I watch over. Moreover, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies foreign and domestic. I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.

My profession, my calling, is that of being a Peace Officer; a Law Enforcement Officer; a Police Officer, a cop, 5-0, whatever. The names change, but the profession and the heart inside stay the same. We stand between those who would do evil; who would hurt or attack good, honest people.

And there are a LOT more of us who wear a badge that feel this way than you can possibly realize.

All I ask is this: Judge us--it is your right. But judge each of us individually--not by the actions of others. When you read a story, if it interests you, get the FULL story. See BOTH sides. Don't tar all of us with a broad brush.

Never in my life have I heard of anything like that taillights story.. Im sure there were great SS troopers too.. But they never talk about their good deeds either.. So we'll never see eye to eye on that subject. Also, when in my time on this earth has a leo ever made an effort to NOT be an egotistical or power hungry thug. Ive not once had an officer just say "Hi" or "Hows your day going" or anything civil for that matter.
Half my family were law enforcement officers and even they fit my "profile" sadly.
While they may be blood, so long as they wear that badge theyre totally different.
Am I saying that an officer should go out of his way to ask me petty thing? Lord no.. Should he or she go out of their way to not be an bubblegum? Yes. Be civil, and quite fankly theyre not.
Not a single one. Ive had better small talk with a sweaty lady behind the DMV counter than I have with a law enforcement officer.

Judement is something thats in our nature.
My personal opinions have formed over time with enough encounters.. Is it the same for your kind when it comes to talking to us OCers? Or even half the secret shame firearm owners crowd here on NWFA that bash us OCers without even seeing our side.

 

[U201491]

A question...there are, to be sure, plenty of negative stories about cops who go bad, over react, et cetera. But think about it...how many stories about GOOD cops have you seen? I'll hazard a guess--not too darned many. Why? Because it doesn't sell newspapers, and doesn't make good stories on the news. It's boring.

Do you see stories about cops who are hanging down a steep incline, trying to talk a guy who is off his meds back up the incline--when this guy is buck naked and was running around city streets?

How about the stories about cops who run to an accident with EMS and fire, and manually peel back a car roof to that they can get to the guy inside--who just got run off the road?

How about the mention about the cops who pull someone over for no taillights who talk to the driver, find out that he's in serious financial trouble, drive BEHIND him to a parts store (it was nighttime), buy the proper bulbs and install them for the guy, instead of writing a citation?

Or, perhaps the one where you get a frantic call about a guy hanging out of a window with a rifle, where you head to the house, set the perimeter, announce yourself, push open the door and go into the dark--knowing that there is a good possibility that the next thing you see will be a flash, feel a bit of heat and nothing after that?

There are hundreds, maybe thousands of good cop stories out there, every day, every week. You don't notice them, and that's OK.

As for "not being sworn to serve and protect", I--and every other officer I know--will, in an instant, lay my life down to protect an innocent. Why? Because that's what I do. That's what I am. I walk and drive the streets so that you--and other people like you--can rest easy.



First, a clarification...We are ALL citizens. The only difference between you and me is how I earn my living. Period. Full stop. I have no more rights than you, and I darned sure have no more privileges than you. I do, however, have the duty--the solemn obligation--to ensure that the trust placed in me is held inviolate. I will serve and protect the people I watch over. Moreover, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies foreign and domestic. I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.

My profession, my calling, is that of being a Peace Officer; a Law Enforcement Officer; a Police Officer, a cop, 5-0, whatever. The names change, but the profession and the heart inside stay the same. We stand between those who would do evil; who would hurt or attack good, honest people.

And there are a LOT more of us who wear a badge that feel this way than you can possibly realize.

All I ask is this: Judge us--it is your right. But judge each of us individually--not by the actions of others. When you read a story, if it interests you, get the FULL story. See BOTH sides. Don't tar all of us with a broad brush.

I have a question. Please do not take it wrong.
I am surprised no one has just come out and asked this before..
It is a truly serious and real need to know.

If you are ordered to go door to door and confiscate people's firearms. What will you do knowing it violates the Constitution, specifically the 2nd Amendment.
Knowing people would fight rather than submit. People that have been good law abiding citizens their entire life, but decide to say no, you will not take them.
What will you truly do ?

Without citizens guarding and being willing to fight and die for the freedom that is ours, freedom does not exist. It becomes life under "rule". America fought that war once in 1776. Will we have to do it all over again?
Hopefully never. But it is uncertain times.
WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THOSE ORDERS ?

It is a question we all would like to know. Who will he friend, who will be foe?
If every man stands tall and declares NO, we will never submit to "RULE" over a Democratic Republic, we will all win.
I know you stated you will defend the Constitution, but will you sacrifice all to do so and stand with the every day citizens against such a direct order ?

WHAT WILL YOU DO IF ORDERED AGAINST THE CITIZENS ?

I pray I never have to give fire or take fire from Any Citizen of our country, but will never submit to "Rule" by any tyranny. I have supported my country for 67 years and will never stop supporting it regardless of the consequences.

In that instance, What Will YOU and the majority of LE do. It is a question that every pro second defender needs to hear an honest answer to.
It a question in everyone's mind.

Everything in the US is upside down right now.
The only chance we have is 2014 and 2916, but I doubt Obama will let things get to those elections. Who knows.
I never expected to see all this in my lifetime.
I hope you will reply. It is a very serious question.

 

[Powderman]

Friends, like I said--there are a LOT more folks that are true Americans than you imagine.

Me? I'm a peace loving sort. I like to read, to putter around my garage and my reloading area, trying to work up accurate loads. I like playing with my three dogs, and walking around my property, spending time with my wife.

My son is also a quiet type. When he's home, he will get into some role playing games with his best friend. He loves our dogs as well.

We live quietly and peacefully. But I'm also the type of guy who still stands and comes to "Present Arms" when our Colors pass by.
When I hear a good rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner", I still get a lump in my throat.

When I pass a military graveyard--those awful gardens of stone--I think of the soldiers, sailors, Airmen and Marines--and yes, Coast Guard--who paid the final price.

I mentioned my son, and what he does when he's home. He'll probably be headed out soon, on his third trip to Afghanistan as a Sergeant of Marines. He was in Iraq for the taking of Fallujah in 2004. He has seen his brother Marines fall in battle, some right in front of him. He has been up close--WAY too close--and personal with some members of the Republican Guard. He came home. They did not.

We talked about this very subject some time ago. His answer? He said to me that before he saw something like mass confiscation happening that he'd die in blood and fire. Happily.

As for me, I've mellowed out some. I remember standing guard during winters in Korea. Going through Jungle Warfare Training Center, in Panama--when we were still stationed there. I've stood posts in various places, for a good chunk of my adult life.

My wife is a mountain girl, born and raised in West Virginia. Honest, steadfast and straightforward, a good Christian woman who loves her Nation dearly.

Some of the guys I work with have also been deployed to Iraq. They bear their own hidden scars and their stories.

I think that what I believe in--and what I stand for--is best described by this opinion, noted below:

"My excellent colleagues have forgotten these bitter lessons of history. The prospect of tyranny may not grab the headlines the way vivid stories of gun crime routinely do. But few saw the Third Reich coming until it was too late. The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed—where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once.

--Kozinski, Alex. Chief Justice, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, dissenting from denial of re-hearing, en banc: Silveira v. Lockyer, 328 F. 3d 567 - 2003

No flowery speech, no big declarations. Just simple fact, and take it as you will: I will not live to see this Nation perish.

 

[U201491]

Friends, like I said--there are a LOT more folks that are true Americans than you imagine.

Me? I'm a peace loving sort. I like to read, to putter around my garage and my reloading area, trying to work up accurate loads. I like playing with my three dogs, and walking around my property, spending time with my wife.

My son is also a quiet type. When he's home, he will get into some role playing games with his best friend. He loves our dogs as well.

We live quietly and peacefully. But I'm also the type of guy who still stands and comes to "Present Arms" when our Colors pass by.
When I hear a good rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner", I still get a lump in my throat.

When I pass a military graveyard--those awful gardens of stone--I think of the soldiers, sailors, Airmen and Marines--and yes, Coast Guard--who paid the final price.

I mentioned my son, and what he does when he's home. He'll probably be headed out soon, on his third trip to Afghanistan as a Sergeant of Marines. He was in Iraq for the taking of Fallujah in 2004. He has seen his brother Marines fall in battle, some right in front of him. He has been up close--WAY too close--and personal with some members of the Republican Guard. He came home. They did not.

We talked about this very subject some time ago. His answer? He said to me that before he saw something like mass confiscation happening that he'd die in blood and fire. Happily.

As for me, I've mellowed out some. I remember standing guard during winters in Korea. Going through Jungle Warfare Training Center, in Panama--when we were still stationed there. I've stood posts in various places, for a good chunk of my adult life.

My wife is a mountain girl, born and raised in West Virginia. Honest, steadfast and straightforward, a good Christian woman who loves her Nation dearly.

Some of the guys I work with have also been deployed to Iraq. They bear their own hidden scars and their stories.

I think that what I believe in--and what I stand for--is best described by this opinion, noted below:

"My excellent colleagues have forgotten these bitter lessons of history. The prospect of tyranny may not grab the headlines the way vivid stories of gun crime routinely do. But few saw the Third Reich coming until it was too late. The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed&#8212;where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once.

--Kozinski, Alex. Chief Justice, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, dissenting from denial of re-hearing, en banc: Silveira v. Lockyer, 328 F. 3d 567 - 2003

No flowery speech, no big declarations. Just simple fact, and take it as you will: I will not live to see this Nation perish.

You came through as I hoped you would.
God Bless you, Your Son and Your Wife and all who believe as you do.
I had a hunch that would be an answer we would receive.
I have been brought up as friend to LE all my life, and have a close friend
in IA that has discussed similar beliefs and he stated many also take that stand.
Your reply was excellent and in my opinion and belief from the heart.
We pray daily that this country is spared the insanity of serious internal conflict in
the manner of 1776 repeats.
I hope those in Congress and In the Senate wake up to how serious people are taking all this.
That would be our first hope, but I doubt many there will alter their ways. The next best is to take it back
to a Real America in 2014 and 2016, if enough people can be motivated to actually vote this time.
As for honest elections, That is a serious concern.
Anyway, you impress me and may the Lord bless you and protect your son and bring him home safely.
America needs both of you here.
I hope I didn't make you feel like a cat in a hot frying pan, but had to ask the question.
For the record, I have received similar positive responses from many other LE on a one on one basis.
It gives us all hope.
Thank you, and Please thank your son for his strong service to America.
And Semper Fi !

 

[BoonDocks36]

And for ZA, others, you see and read Powderman's straight forward reply to Taku, and Taku's response... Are you still naysayers?

I put ZA first, as I felt his reply about good SS was an unwarrented ~jab~ At Powderman.

ZA, do you recall, several years ago, the OSP lost an officer near Albany or Salem I believe, (currently I am recovering from illness, or I would search name location) She Was Only Killed because she stopped to help change a tire... Major I-5 bad zone... "She" was ~news~ For a few days.... Lars Larson, much longer....

My point is ~most~ "cop bashers" do not recall these things, they are more ready to see the BAD COPS NEWS, it is more brutal, and ~don't you Know It~ They are All Bad ~Right~???

How about our Eugene officer, trying to pull over a Meth headed high speed chase, only tobe KIA, Two Children, wonderful wife.... Dutch Brothers did a benefit for their children, and 100% of earnings went to the family. That night of the benefit, on Seventh, there was a Two Block long line of cars.... My TIP, after the Hot Chocolate I purchased saying, Keep the change, My Tip was a Ten Dollar Bill.... I only mention that, because:

1. I knew why the line was there, and CHOOSE to be late: to my motel reservation, Grants Pass....

2. I had LEO friends who personally knew him... My closest friend to him: i have written about here before, his Wednesday PM shift, he took his break, at our Church, walking in, "blued out, full uniform" Glock in holster... THE MOMENT he was through the doors, His Son, WAS RUNNING, to jump in Daddies Arms. Never a miss in catching his son.

Only after a long hug for his Son.... Did His Wife, get the same. The sweetest most loving Marriage a person could ever view.... That was His BREAK. he then returned to shift, returned to patrol.

Did he have bad marks on his personnel file???? Yes, in fact, I watched one go down! That was interesting!!!!! To her the bad guys attorney, his client was only short of Saint Peter on God's list of good guys.... I would share more about the story.... But it would not interestyou, it was the Cops fault, Is how you think... In all your posts....

You mention that LEO's never say "how's your day" I say you do not know enough Non Family LEO's..... I say potentially you might have a Bias, Because of your Family in LE !!!!

To Powderman. Straight up: thank you for your candid honest remarks. I know some of how you are percieved as ~All~ the bad names LEO's get... I lost several "friends" when I Spoke to the County Sherriff, Ferry County WA, about his advertisement, OJT deputy... I did not even fill out the paperwork, I was not Close Enough to town, for his need, it took me the same time to drive 5 miles 4WD Road, ss Two Miles of Hwy 20!!!!! Sherriff wanted closer trainee.

Powderman, was that a "friend" I lost, or a ~sort of~ Friend ???? You DO WHAT for a living ???? Gotta go, sorry I spoke to you

philip, it is good to be alive, I was not, on Sunday, at least my body said it was off duty, Know What I Mean??????

 

[U201491]

And for ZA, others, you see and read Powderman's straight forward reply to Taku, and Taku's response... Are you still naysayers?

I put ZA first, as I felt his reply about gooD SS was an unwarrented ~jab~ At Powderman.

ZA, do you recall, several years ago, the OSP lost an officer near Albany or Salem I believe, (currently I am recovering from illness, or I would search name location) She Was Only Killed because she stopped to help change a tire... Major I-5 bad zone... "She" was ~news~ For a few days.... Lars Larson, much longer....

My point is ~most~ "cop bashers" do not recall these things, they are more ready to see the BAD COPS NEWS, it is more brutal, and ~don't you Know It~ They are All Bad ~Right~???

How about out Eugene officer, trying to pull over a Meth headed high speed chase, only tobe KIA, Two Children, wonderful wife.... Dutch Brothers did a benefit for their children, and 100% of earnings went to the family. That night of the benefit, on Seventh, there was a Two Block long line of cars.... My TIP, after the Hot Chocolate I purchased saying, Keep the change, My Tip was a Ten Dollar Bill.... I only mention that, because:

1. I knew why the line was there, and CHOOSE to be late: to my motel reservation, Grants Pass....

2. I had LEO friends who personally knew him... My closest friend to him: i have written about here before, his Wednesday PM shift, he took his break, at our Church, walking in, "blued out, full uniform" Glock in holster... THE MOMENT he was through the doors, His Son, WAS RUNNING, to jump in Daddies Arms. Never a miss in catching his son.

Only after a long hug for his Son.... Did His Wife, get the same. The sweetest most loving Marriage a person could ever view.... That was His BREAK. he then returned to shift, returned to patrol.

Did he have bad marks on his personnel file???? Yes, in fact, I watched one go down! That was interesting!!!!! To her the bad guys attorney, his client was only short of Saint Peter on God's list of good guys.... I would share more about the story.... But it would not interestyou, it was the Cops fault, Is how you think... In all your posts....

You mention that LEO's never say "how's your day" I say you do not know enough Non Family LEO's..... I say potentially you might have a Bias, Because of your Family in LE !!!!

To Powderman. Straight up: thank you for your candid honest remarks. I know some of how you are percieved as ~All~ the bad names LEO's get... I lost several "friends" when I Spoke to the County Sherriff, Ferry County WA, about his advertisement, OJT deputy... I did not even fill out the paperwork, I was not Close Enough to town, for his need, it took me the same time to drive 5 miles 4WD Road, ss Two Miles of Hwy 20!!!!! Sherriff wanted closer trainee.

Powderman, was that a "friend" I lost, or a ~sort of~ Friend ???? You DO WHAT for a living ???? Gotta go, sorry I spoke to you

philip, it is good to be alive, I was not, on Sunday, at least my body said it was off duty, Know What I Mean??????

Also many forget the Police Chief up in Rainier who was loved by everyone in his community.
He was just murdered by a retard AH.
It is the risk they live with every day.

 

[Brutus57]

These are NOT tanks, at least not from the view point of a former tanker. They are heavily armored vehicles, but are not tanks. Even the CEV that was used at Waco by the FBI was not a tank, but a combat engineer vehicle. I do realize the press has no clue about what a tank really is, but hey, they think an SKS is an assault rifle....

All true but when the sob rolls over you and squashes your innards in to the macadam the difference to your loved ones will be negligible!

They are unnecessary except for use against you know who. Note how no tank APC or engineering vehicle stopped or apprehended the tsarnaev scum.

Brutus out