I notice the police snipers in Missouri wearing camoflauge...

[JohnnyRingo]

At first I thought it odd that they were dressed in wilderness camo, the kind Duck Dynasty wears to sit in a blind in the middle of a swamp, but after some thought I think I see why.

It would certainly make more sense for an urban assault team to wear something like black to merge into the darkness or perhaps muted gray tones that match the background of the concrete jungle, but why the typical foliage type? Obviously the goal wasn't to blend in, but to stand out as a crack death squad. The person who chose those uniforms for the SWAT Team wanted to live out a personal dream fantasy of fighting with Seal Team Six, a unit that is not known for taking prisoners.

Near my home in Niles Ohio the big news last month was that city's procurement of an armored assault vehicle. The only difference between that piece of surplus desert hardware are the rubber tires instead of a cleated tread. Niles Ohio is a relatively peaceful mid-sized town with a large working class Italian population. There's no Ghetto or urban blight where crime runs rampant, but they're prepared for a shooting war against an overwhelming adversary. My fear is that now that they have it, they'll find an excuse to use it. It might be a bad month to litter in Niles.

It's turning into a crazy world

[leftstreet]

1. Maybe part of their Dept of Defense recycled freebies?

How America’s Police Became an Army: The 1033 Program
By Taylor Wofford
Filed: 8/13/14 at 10:47 PM | Updated: 8/14/14 at 1:21 PM

As many have noted, Ferguson, Missouri, currently looks like a war zone. And its police—kitted out with Marine-issue camouflage and military-grade body armor, toting short-barreled assault rifles, and rolling around in armored vehicles—are indistinguishable from soldiers.

America has been quietly arming its police for battle since the early 1990s.

Faced with a bloated military and what it perceived as a worsening drug crisis, the 101st Congress in 1990 enacted the National Defense Authorization Act. Section 1208 of the NDAA allowed the Secretary of Defense to “transfer to Federal and State agencies personal property of the Department of Defense, including small arms and ammunition, that the Secretary determines is— (A) suitable for use by such agencies in counter-drug activities; and (B) excess to the needs of the Department of Defense.” It was called the 1208 Program. In 1996, Congress replaced Section 1208 with Section 1033.

http://www.newsweek.com/how-americas-police-became-army-1033-program-264537

[JohnnyRingo]

3. I think I remember the turning point.

I believe it was when those two guys in California robbed a bank wearing bulletproof vests and armed with assault rifles. The cops took numerous casualties while pinned down and were commandeering civilian weapons at a local gun shop. Soon after came the outrage that police were perceived as outgunned on the street.

That may have been the case in that situation, but in typical overreaction the police have since armed themselves to the teeth, even in small towns like mine where crime is a bar fight on Saturday night.

I'm old enough to remember the mid-60s when my brother in law was in the National Guard and called to the Youngstown "race riots". It was a scandalous secret that the Guard had live ammo that week. Kent State confirmed it a couple years later. After an era of prevention against that happening again, we now see even Barney Fife with a trunk load of full auto ordinance at his daily disposal.

[blkmusclmachine]

2. Much like the 30,000 Spy Drones coming to your neighborhood skies:

This is a War. The 1% against the 99%.

The one with the most toys WINS.

And that's not us, people.