America's most in-demand police vehicle is a 10-officer 16,000-pound armored tank that takes bullets like Superman and drives 80 mph. The federal government buys dozens each year for local police departments. Do America's local police need tanks? "If somebody looks out and sees a Ford Crown Victoria sitting out there, they may not take you very seriously," Warren County, Va., Sheriff Daniel T. McEathron told a local newspaper in October, "but if they look out the window and see this thing sitting there, they're going to know you're serious." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41912754/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
They are preparing. Expect demonstrations to become more frequent, police become more ruthless. The rest of the population will just medicate themselves to insignificance.
This is another example of excessive spending against the trumped up threat of terrorism. The thing that is far more likely to destroy the American empire is currency collapse. Stupid spending by the government like this is only going to increase the likelihood of a currency collapse happening.
Worked my way through college as a Police Officer. I can say without a doubt that these tanks are insanity! Imo, they're simply doing this as a way to fight off Citizens who will sooner than later want to take THEIR Country back. I'm not against law enforcement at all with the above comments. I have several friends who are officers and they are telling me they are receiving crowd control training that they've NEVER received before living in this laid back southern community... Scary when a sleepy southern area on the east coast has police officers going through mandatory crowd control/riot training. They've also been told they should expect to take orders from the government, and it would be a jailable, misdemeanor offense for the officers to fail to show up when alerted. Food for thought...
"Terrorism" is just a key word to justify any kind of absurd spending or rule changes (e.g. airport scanners). That's how the average man reasons with himself - "it's okay if it keeps the terrorists away", under that reasoning, the government can do whatever it wishes.
I've heard "rumors" of this from my buddies in LE. Never heard about the "take orders from Da Gubmint" tho...:eek:
The problem with this sort of over the top equipment is that they will look for excuses to use them. Just like every two-bit county sheriff's office now has to have a bunch of Barney Fife's pretending to be SWAT teams. Rather than go out during the day to arrest somone, they assemble the "Team" and go in guns blazing at 3AM. The problem is, most of the time they are doing this because some kid is growing a couple of pot plants. They see "Major Narcotics Bust."
because they are cool and they aren't paying for it. If you had the option between a BMW or a Ford Focus, and your company was going to pay for it, which would you choose? Now think of yourself as a policeman with an annual budget funded by OPM, which would you buy? The cool one right?