Too Much Government Trying To Assert Control Over “We The People” , by J.S.

[Editor’s Note: This article contains some controversial and uncomfortable topics and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the editors. However, there is much to consider here regarding the police state.]

I propose that there exists too much government trying to assert control over the U.S. citizens– “We, the people”. The burden upon the citizens is enormous, and the citizens have accepted it under the guise that it is necessary for our well-being and for the safety and well-being of those who protect us. Let’s take a look at the evidence.

Wisdom from U.S. Forefathers

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Benjamin Franklin

“Give me liberty, or give me death!” – Patrick Henry

“The land of the free and the home of the brave.” – Francis Scott Key

“…a government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” – Abraham Lincoln

The Size and Force of our Law Enforcement Agencies

A US citizen is eight times more likely to be killed by a police officer than a terrorist. – Jim Harper at the CATO Institute

The Department of Homeland Security Total Budget Authority for 2016 alone was $64,858,484,000. (That’s billion with a “B”!. Note that this information comes from the department itself.)

Citizens Are Ignorant of the Law

If “ignorance of the law is no excuse,” then every American citizen— literally, every single one— is ignorant and in peril, for nobody can know all the laws that govern their behavior. Edwin Meese III was U.S. attorney general under President Reagan and is chairman of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation

SWAT Team Dramatic Expansion

Since the early 1980s, the use of SWAT teams has undergone a dramatic expansion, in the number of departments creating SWAT teams and in the mission and sheer number of SWAT deployments. The number of departments—both large and small—with SWAT teams has increased by 48 percent from 1985 to 1995. SWAT team use increased as well, with team deployments jumping by 939 percent from 1980 to 1995, reaching about 30,000 deployments.

The nature of their use changed as well. Peter Kraska, Professor and Chair of Graduate Studies and Research in the School of Justice Studies at Eastern Kentucky University, estimates the increase in SWAT team use from 1980 to 2000 to be about 1,500 percent. Karl Bickel, Senior Policy Analyst US DOJ

The Department of Homeland Security has issued an open purchase order for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition. As reported elsewhere, some of this purchase order is for hollow-point rounds, mostly forbidden by international law for use in war, along with a frightening amount specialized for snipers. Also reported elsewhere, at the height of the Iraq War, the Army was expending less than 6 million rounds a month. Therefore 1.6 billion rounds would be enough to sustain a hot war for 20+ years… in America!! This is from Ralph Benko, Contributor to Forbes Magazine March 11th 2013.

How Dangerous Is the Police Officer’s Job?

Assertion: “Police officers have a dangerous job” Fact: They don’t even make it into the top 10 most dangerous jobs in America. US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Judges Rule Police Duty Doesn’t Includes Protecting Citizens

Our judges have ruled that it is not the police department’s duty to protect citizens any longer. “Police Do Not Have a Constitutional Duty to Protect Someone” Linda Greenhouse in New York Times JUNE 28, 2005. This is evident in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals Case Warren v. District of Columbia

Police Killings

U.S. police have killed nearly 9,000 civilians since 9/11. At least 8,882 civilians have been killed by police since 9/11 as of July 2016. This figure is based on government data and civilian- and media-run databases of police killings, although experts agree that the true number could be far higher. By contrast, the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks– still the deadliest act of terrorism committed on U.S. soil– claimed the lives of 2,996 people and injured over 6,000 others. This comes from Kit O’Connell.

American Citizen Detainment

Everywhere an American citizen goes in their own country, they can be detained or arrested by any one of the following government organizations, many times even if they are not committing a crime. Too many times fear and mindless suspicion is enough to get you investigated or even killed. Sometimes the interaction with law enforcement does not go well and citizens get Tazered or shot and/or killed, all while their civil rights are violated.

When they do get killed, the killer is almost never convicted of the crime. Sometimes they even keep their job. It is brushed off as a training issue to be handled by the department or an accident. (“I thought I was reaching for my Taser when I shot him”.) Or, the officer says he was in fear for him/herself or another officer, even if the suspect was unarmed, sometimes in handcuffs.

If you are in fear that much while wearing a bullet resistant vest with five or six of your fellow officers all with guns around you, you should not be on the job in the first place. Cities and counties pay millions, sometimes tens of millions of dollars, in lawsuits every year due to excessive force, assaults on citizens, false arrests, unlawful detainments, wrongful deaths (murders), et cetera. But the behavior is not changing. It’s getting worse. One thing is clear: they are not around to “protect and serve”, and policing for profit is sometimes the goal they are trained for to keep their budgets in the black.

Thomas Jefferson’s Disappointment

Thomas Jefferson is turning over in his grave at what, we the people, have allowed this country to become. It is time we admitted we have a problem with the way law enforcement is acting towards American citizens, and we fix the problem. Otherwise, the terrorists have already won. America is supposed to be a country of freedom. I know an “Andy in Mayberry” style of policing will not work on the south side of Chicago, but it is part of America. And the Constitution still applies. There must be a way to fix the inner cities and keep the Constitution intact.

Patriot Act Turned All Citizens Into Suspects

The Patriot Act and its follow-up laws have turned all U.S. citizens into suspects for the last 15 years. The combination of cameras everywhere in public, facial recognition software, license plate readers, NSA’s warrantless wiretapping of every American email and phone call all remove any memory of privacy we once had. We have banking laws that track every American’s money and spending. (Do a web search for “know your customer” to see why your bank needs your ID before allowing you to deposit a few hundred dollars cash into your own account with a preprinted deposit slip from your checkbook.)

Privacy Is Dead in America

There is no privacy in America. Even the receptionist at your dentist’s office has your full name, date of birth, and social security number given to them by your health insurance company, who got it from your employer, so you can prove you have health insurance or be fined (taxed) under Obamacare rules. If the Department of Justice can get hacked, how safe is your identity at your dentist office computer server?

Pharmacies require your date of birth for every contact you make with them. You also can’t get a car insurance quote anymore without giving your date of birth and social security number. Using the Internet, someone with your full name and date of birth can know all your sensitive information and steal your identity therefore doing lasting damage to you and your finances. Hence, privacy is dead. But, just stand on a sidewalk in front of a police station or FBI building with a video camera and see what happens when you record them. After initial contact, they will demand ID, even in states that don’t require it by law, and you will probably be arrested for “security reasons”.

Your arrest is probably because again they rear for their safety. This will all happen for a 1st amendment activity that is protected and acted while standing on a public sidewalk. (See all the people that have tried this on YouTube. Search “first amendment fail”.) The government doesn’t like to have the cameras turned on them.

No Knock Warrants, Searches, and Detainment

They initiate “no knock” warrants, searches without any warrants (for their safety) on our streets and at border checkpoints 150 miles inside America. And if you don’t wave your 4th amendment right to not answer their questions, you will be detained until they are “satisfied”. All of this occurs while you are traveling inside your own country! If you had told your grandfather who fought in WW2 you would have to show ID to get on a bus or plane traveling from state to state inside this country, he most likely would have said you were crazy. George Orwell saw it coming in his book 1984.

Police Propaganda

Movies and TV are full of dozens of propaganda police shows that try to make the American people feel like law enforcement are the good guys. And some cops are probably good, moral people. But ask one you think is a good one, how many of their coworkers he/she has arrested when they saw them violating someone’s civil rights. How many times did they file an official report that was not exactly how the actual encounter happened? Did they lie on the stand in court to get a conviction.

Even “the good ones” are part of the problem, because of the thick blue line that has them protecting their own at our expense. They take an oath to the Constitution but get training to violate it in the course of their work. Video/audio from dash and body cams have shown LEO actions, and later they lie on the witness stand forgetting the proof of their lie was being recorded. But they are almost never charged with perjury, as any of us would if the lie was so obvious. The U.S. justice system was supposed to be one where no one was above the law. It should be where badges do not grant extra rights and citizens have civil rights and rights to privacy that are all gone now, and we need to fix it soon.

Law Enforcement Organizations

While there may be others, the following is a quick list of law enforcement and government agencies that exist for our supposed safety:

  1. Municipal police (your Town or City)
  2. County sheriff
  3. Transit/rail road / sea port /airport authority police
  4. University police
  5. State police
  6. The State highway patrol/DPS
  7. State & Federal Dept. of Corrections officers
  8. State capitol police
  9. US Customs & Border Patrol (They’re operating checkpoints up to 150 miles from all borders. Are you kidding?)
  10. Dept. of Homeland Security / Federal Protective Service police
  11. National Guard MP- Army, Air, Navy, et cetera
  12. Federal Marshal Service
  13. State & National Park Rangers
  14. TSA (They have not caught one terrorist!)
  15. DEA
  16. FBI
  17. ICE/INS
  18. DOJ
  19. DOD Federal Police
  20. ATF/ATFE
  21. Army, Navy, Airforce, Marine & Arsenal police
  22. Private Security Agents at State & Federal Buildings
  23. Courthouse bailiffs
  24. NSA (Rhey read your emails… to keep you safe?)
  25. US Fish & Wildlife (They have SWAT Teams. Why?)
  26. CIA
  27. Federal Air Marshals
  28. Coast Guard/Harbor Patrol
  29. Treasury Department agents
  30. Secret Service agents
  31. Federal Reserve police (They say they have arrest powers. From a private corporation masquerading as a government agency?!)
  32. US Postal police (They are not just for reading your mail.)

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 71 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. An infrared sensor/imaging camouflage shelter from Snakebite Tactical in Eureka, Montana (A $350+ value),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  9. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A custom made Sage Grouse model utility/field knife from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a $125 Montie gear Gift certificate.,
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value), and

Round 71 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.




43 Comments

  1. Part of the problem is the quick reaction to accept settlements in police shootings. These always contain wording that exonerates the police department and the body governing the department.
    Go through with the law suit; the cash is nice, but you want the legal ruling they were in the wrong.
    Yes, there will be some losses but the wins will out way them in the long run.

    1. Dave,
      Many States like Washington state have laws on the books protecting police from wrongful death shootings.They call it qualified immunity. Simply put, you wont get a ruling against them, it’s that simple.

  2. Police everywhere take courses like “combat mindset”, etc. They have it drilled into them that they are in a war. When you are trained to be a hammer…everything looks like a nail.

  3. Another part of the problem is that the legislative branch (federal,state, and local) has too much time in session.
    Why is it that politicians need to be “working” so much of the time? Answer: so they can pass more laws limiting our freedom, get sound bites to stroke their egos, and raise money to support their power.
    Also, this branch has given too much power to bureaucracies who have little to no oversight.

  4. 32. State’s Labor and industry Compliance officers. They have the power to fine your business out of existence for any number of safety, regulatory, licensing reasons. Appeals can be filed only after you pay the fine. These fines can run into the tens of thousands of dollars
    They can’t shoot you, Yet. But they can make you wish you were dead.

  5. In my lay opinion, one needs to look more closely at economic aspects of the rise of the police state in order to reign it in. To digress a bit:

    I was at the ARRL ham fest yesterday and talked with an operator who was retired at 62 after twenty years in the military and working two or three short stints with military contractors, I think Lockheed, Raytheon or others like that.

    He now enjoys pension benefits of $86,000 and health care etc. Yes, no doubt part of this is sour grapes. I too am 62 but will never enjoy this luxury. I am a professional who spent many years in training as a civilian.

    Not that I dismiss or diminish the contributions of those who have served their country. Indeed, those who are KIA or psychology/physically maimed or crippled indeed pay a heavy price for their service. Discloser: I never served. I applied after college to the Air Force, scored perfect 9’s on all sections of the Airman Qualifying test back in 1976-whatever that means, but was disqualified for flying because of sub threshold vision requirement. I went on to get a private pilot license as a civilian.

    I hear incessant talk about joining the military or joining the government (NSA, CIA, etc) because of the benefits. The benefits. It’s always about the benefits and pensions, never about duty, love of country etc. Instead, it is more about self “service” from the government food trough.

    I used to think only an employed, all volunteer, army was the way to go, but my opinion has changed. I think that all people should be required to put in some military or paramilitary service. No doubt many would not like it. But this discontent would be a way of tempering this gravitation of an increasing number of people towards government jobs, military related one especially , including SWAT, police, National Guard as this mandatory service would in theory eliminate the necessity of having to financially “entice” people into these jobs.

    We now have such a large police/paramilitary force “on the dole” that it will be very difficult to reverse this trend. These individuals are like politicians, who by definition are simply “those who seek re -election, “and do as they’re told in order to keep their jobs.The Bankers/Deep State have effectively commandeered funding of these “mercenaries” through the central banking system of fiat money and fractional reserve lending which quietly robs, through inflation, the people, who wind up paying for this police state.

    More plainly stated, young men who have few prospects in a bad economy wind up joining the military, which further enables the military industrial complex and deep state objectives.

    1. To Hubbs,
      The problem with your thesis is that law enforcement numbers are dropping, not rising. Candidates are much harder to find nowadays, as our culture is changing. And those grandiose pensions? Mine is under $30k after nearly 40 years at my state’s largest agency. You don’t do police work for the money or the working conditions. It requires a willingness to serve the greater good.

    2. All due respect sir, but you said it yourself. Sour grapes from someone who never served (not to
      mention off topic). There are many jobs in the AF that do not require you to fly sir, but apparently you wanted no parts of those. Now, those jobs don’t impress the ladies, but they need to be done, and you elected not to participate. That is 100% fine and your option. You spent your time in the civilian world where you had the right and ability to quit/call-in/move anytime you pleased, with no obligation to do or go places you didn’t want to for 20+ years. As a prior serviceman, I attest to the sacrifices made, for median (at best) pay and benefits. This is done by most military/GS positions for 2 reasons: a desire to serve and the willingness to trade more income now for more financial security later. You opted to maximize your earning power in your prime years in exchange for less guarantees in your later years. Now that the piper has come calling, your bitter about it. But something tells me you were not so bitter when you were sitting in your couch watching me and my comrades live from Afghanistan on CNN on your big screen TV with your boat parked outside next to your new car….

  6. So, paranoia reigns supreme. We should huddle in our homes waiting for the Gestapo in blue to come and get us, right? I noticed the National Guard was on the list, really!! Yes, the government is to large and out of control, but!!! Some reality is good for any conversation and this is a one sided article that leads to paranoia. I know, I was one of the paranoid. So let’s take a deep breath, back up a step and remember our own history. Let’s also remember Chicken Little and Peter and the Wolf. Prepare, stay focused and live, normal everyday live. “Posse Commentates”.

    1. 1) No offense but I think Germans were probably saying the same thing in the 1930s.
      Some “Reality”.
      2) Counting the Intel Community, DOE, DOD, Homeland Security, interest on Pentagon debt, etc etc we were spending almost $1 Trillion per year during the Obama administration on “defense” — and yet Americans living in Camden NJ, Chester PA, Flint MI, etc live in fear with some of the highest homicide rates on the planet. Similar to Honduras and El Salvador. Because our elites defend themselves and their foreign investments, NOT America.

      The Pentagon doesn’t “defend” sh%$*t. That is why Bill Clinton could spend roughly $4 Trillion on “defense” in the decade prior to Sept 11, 2001 — and yet Bin Laden could pull off that attack with a budget less than $200,000.
      3) Our great “democracy” imprisons its citizens at the highest rate on the planet — far above even “totalitarian” nations like Russia and CHina. We have a concentration of wealth and income within the richest 1% that is among the highest on the planet. Look at South America, especially the Dirty War in Argentina , to see how that turns out.
      4) Our giant News Corporations obviously exist to lie to the Americn People 24/7 . They lied about why the Sept 11 attack occurred and what provoked it. They lied about the agenda behind the Ukraine coup. Most of all they lie by omission. The suicide rate during the Obama administration soared through the roof — Democrat corruption killed more Americans than Al Qaeda as Obama dumped years of massive unemployment onto workers of all colors while letting his rich donors haul money out of the Treasury in wheelbarrows.
      5) Who PAID for the incompetence that let AL Qaeda pull off Sept 11? Who justified the destruction of the Bill of Rights and running up $15 Trillion in federal debt? The Intel Budget was $26 billion in 2000 — it is now around $75 Billion. If you reward people for trainwrecks, trainwrecks will happen.

  7. After reading the SB post, ‘Killing the “HAKA”’, by The Recovering Feminist, June 18, 2017, https://survivalblog.com/killing-haka-recovering-feminist/, I watched the “The Soviet Story” film.

    The Soviet’s preferred method seems to be a pistol shot in the back of the head, for folks rounded up from their “lists”, who have no place in the new society.

    Also, look up “Katyn massacre” on YouTube.

    Those recently purchased, billions of rounds of pistol ammo, are really starting to worry me…

    There seems to be a few of Americans who don’t want to change and have no place in the NWO…

    The film also mentions, “Revolutionary Holocaust”…

    And, now all the celebrities and activists, are calling for a “Revolution”…

  8. This is a long overdue topic, and one that really shows the root of all of our cultural and social degradation over the last few decades.
    We have a son who’s a cop. The stories about his coworkers would make your skin crawl. He’s gunning for early retirement.
    I fear the only outcome/solution of this aggressive escalation of police power is the eventual rebellion against it. Cops will no longer be “safe”. We’re already at the point most departments can’t find enough qualified applicants. Good people simply don’t want to be cops anymore.
    If we could vote for best article of the month, this one would get my vote every month. It’s a topic far more pertinent to our survival than beans or bullets.

  9. J.S. is a true patriot. His links are to articles which reveal a wealth of truth.

    The whole phony ‘War on Terror’ is based on 9/11. To believe the government’s story, Americans are to believe that the only THREE steel-framed skyscrapers in the world to collapsed due to fire all collapsed on 9/11. I am one of over 2,800 architects and engineers (ae911truth.org)who are fighting to reveal the truth of 9/11. Remember truth?

    1. I remember truth. I also remember 40 years of experience in commercial masonry. I know a little bit about what it takes to knock a building down as well as build it.

      I know that structural steel melts at about 2,200 degrees and that there was no fuel in the World Trade Center that burned hotter than 1,000 degrees.

      Yet the fire melted the structural steel. Better yet, it melted through every single support beam at EXACTLY the same time so the building fell straight down into its own footprint.

      And I remember the writings of some of the great philosophers of the past so I know that anyone who believes the official government story as to what happened on 9/11 is already a slave and just doesn’t know it yet.

      The communists’ dumbing down of our educational system has been so wildly successful it is truly amazing!

      1. Well, you’d be on to something except:
        Heat is not temperature. Go take Thermo 101 again.
        Please go look up “forging temperature.” Metals get weaker well below their melting point.
        If you want to make a compelling case, you need to say “we’ve built a detailed model of the Towers based on their blueprints, taking into account lifetime fatigue from wind loading, the impact damage from the airliner strike, the existing and introduced fuel sources, oxygen supply to the fire… [insert about 50 other factors to consider here, plus about as many pages of calculations and a cite on the modeling software you’re using]… and as you can see, none of the possible modes on our failure tree matches the observed collapse of the towers.”

    2. 9/11 shows how far we generally have fallen that anyone who has passed basic science or has ever welded didn’t laugh out loud at the incident and immediately call for a criminal investigation of those who really committed the crime and those who covered it up(starting with President Bush)

  10. As someone who just retired after 30 plus years a local police officer, I have to say your words ring loudly as an armchair warrior with lots of blog reading experience.
    In you article, you mix your messages and issues pretty wildly. Do you really mean to suggest that the wording of various laws and statutes are the fault of any much less,all police? Get real, cops very seldom have any input on proposed laws, that’s the first of lawyers, who almost never talk to cops much less consult with them.
    Since you have all the answers here, what are you doing to fix the problem? Most law enforcement academies now have no upper age limit for entry provided you can pass the other requirements, so step up and apply. It might give you a more realistic view of the world.
    This article actually demonstrates one of the problems with the internet, it gives everyone the same volume and validity when voicing opinions. Sorry for getting off topic here, but it really requires the reader to think not just read, something current society doesn’t prepare you for.
    Back on topic, if you don’t like what you see in the world, what are you doing about it? Talk is cheap.

    1. Thank you Sir
      I’m a Retired Soldier, who fought in this “so called phony war”. I’m Also the group leader for our community emergency relief plan and ” a Prepper”. James W. We need to hear from you right now! There is a hysteria running through our organizations and it couldn’t be more evident, than right in the responses to this article. Like my Brother in arms, this fellow oath keeper in blue, it is indescribably offensive to read some of these remarks. Captain Rawles, we could use your calm steady, intelligent, factual leadership. Sempre Avanti

      1. Agreed. As a recently retired 34 year state patrol sergeant, I’m amazed and offended by the ignorant statement describing “some cops as PROBABLY good” along with the implication that even the good ones are bad for the reasons you assert.

        The vast majority of men and women serving DO have a regard for right and wrong. To take the shotgun approach painting us all as civil rights violating liars who operate above the law is exactly what contributes to the anti-blue culture.

  11. “Unfortunately we have to hire from the human race, maam” Joe Friday

    The problem lies much deeper than intrusive government agents and their SWAT teams. It lies in everyday citizens that are the pool they are recruited from. It is rooted in our innate sin nature, a sin nature we have no true realization of just how pervasive and massive it is. Perfection will be found in Heaven, until then civilizations will rise and fall and sinful man will be restrained by the sinful government institutions they themselves staff.

    A reminder; Romans 13 was written during the reign of the emperor Nero who was using Christians for candles. If even Nero was an agent to restrain evil our personal sin nature must be MUCH larger then we are willing to see.

  12. It is intentionally misleading to simply say that the police kill more people than the terrorists do. I assume that like me you are happy when the police kill a murderer or someone who is trying to murder someone. To my knowledge the terrorists have never done this for us. If the terrorists would come in and make Baltimore or St. Louis safe to walk the streets at night then maybe you might have a point.

    Turn your back on and abandon your police and other safety workers at your own peril.

    1. In reply to”gone with the wind” you don’t remember the citizen groups that have done exactly that? Guardian Angels(New York),Black Panthers(southside of Chicago) are two examples of not only protecting the public from criminals but from the police.

      1. Black Panthers are protecting the public from police? Same Black Panthers who were “guarding” polling places to see that only voters they liked were getting in? Another armchair warrior heard from!
        Get real people. Chicago is a good example of the downward spiral that results when the police start giving up and pulling back.

  13. swat teams are a nec evil…you have to have specialized units that can handle certain situations…not every officer is a swat level officer…and if the police in general bother you, believe me, you don’t want a whole police department full of super type A swat officers…dangerous job or not, a lot of officers are just like us…the job they have chosen makes them unliked but they believe in fairness, the American way…but they have a job to do and sometimes they don’t have a choice in what they do on the job…everyone has a boss and in some states you don’t a choice in using discretion…

  14. Forest thru the trees here. In the creation of the UN and following years, it was made clear that the plan was to disolve borders, create a UN peace keeping force to squelch insurrection, in a world without militaries large enough to fight the UN peace keepers. We are seeing the intelligence apparatus put in place to keep the people under government controls, as they dismantle our nation and our sovereignty. It’s a big deal, it’s world government, it’s slavery. It’s the end of America, and the US government is the motor force in this world revolution. They side with Soros behind closed doors. This surviellance apparatus will be used to enslave us, as it does daily right now……..

  15. It’s unfortunate how narrow minded this article is. But divisive rhetoric is what sells these days. You see the same narrow minded articles on the left about black lives matter and climate change.

  16. Who would have ever thought that you would have/need a police presence at church? I attend a high profile church with an ever present police presence (in the parking lot/in service/outside the nursery area). The world we live in seems to dictate this and I have some comfort in having law enforcement there. I also know many church members who conceal carry which adds to my comfort. I also have many family members who are in law enforcement two of whom serve in Baltimore and was a scary time for family members a couple years back. Like the pendulum there has to be a balance.

  17. The majority of police are good people and public servants. However, if you live in certain areas, like I have (but not anymore), you learn quickly that the whole police department is crooked, brutal, and corrupt.
    A clue- do a lot of the arrest reports in the newspaper include’resisting arrest’ charges, or that the arrestee was injured during the arrest ?
    Be thankful if your local police are helpful and decent, like I am.
    Move away if your police are not.

  18. Many jurisdictions fast-track former military in recruiting for police departments. People with a combat mindset trained to kill people and break things; what can go wrong?

  19. I will be the first to admit that “we the people” have surrendered far too many of our freedoms. One only needs to look at the “licenses” that we possess…fishing, hunting, drivers, marriage, etc. Why do we need the government’s permission to engage in any of the activities? Having said that, I take exception to the author’s assertion that most of our police and military personnel are evil and are just in it for the retirement.

    A little about my perspective on the topic; I served 9 years in the military, all during the Vietnam war. I did so voluntarily and I draw no retirement or benefits whatsoever for my service. I have been a reserve police officer for the last 17 years. I have volunteered thousands of hours of service to my community with no compensation. In my area, reserves work as one man units just like the paid officers and are required to have the same training. All my training and equipment are at my own expense. I am a small business owner and work more hours per week than most. I rely on no government subsidies.

    The author quotes various sources to suggest police killings are unjustified and the job is not dangerous. In my 17 years, I have been involved in one police shooting which resulted in the suspect being killed. There was no plan to go out that day and kill a citizen. It was simply kill or be killed.

    Again, I assure you that I have no more trust in my government that many of you, but most who serve in the police departments and military are good people. I suspect the author is an internet warrior. Try spending a few years in the trenches enforcing the law and supporting the Constitution before you criticize those who actually do.

  20. The comments to this article are a bit hyperbolic, but for understandable reasons. We do live in a society where police power is abused (infrequently), and there is evidence of poor training. And some of those incidents have been quite troubling. (The Philandro Castile case is a prime example. Announcing that you have a concealed carry permit shouldn’t cause a police officer to get trigger happy.) But meanwhile the vast majority of police have honesty, integrity, and self control. So PLEASE folks, try to see both sides of this situation. Support you local police. Keep them independent of Federal control and hold them to a high standard. As for the Federal police? Clearly, there should be a lot less of them.

  21. I’m reminded of a bumper sticker from the 60s that said “If cops are so bad, the next time you need help try calling a hippie.” I guess there are bad cops and good cops but a hippie will always let you down.

  22. My thoughts are not whether the police are good or bad but many of their policies remind me of a police state. Such as sobriety check points, just turn a block before you get to one and see how fast they run you down. I watch all of these cop shows on TV and I know they catch a lot of people with drugs while just walking down the street, but when they just stop some pedestrian and then search them for no good reason other than they have caught them before, it burns my ***. And for the record I rarely drink and never use drugs and don’t have much sympathy for those that do, but undue harassment can get out of hand. Trekker Out

  23. Dear readers,
    To hold these positions in being the ‘Peace Officers’ is probably the most uncomfortable place to fill. To be squeezed from the top and the bottom is a stressful and poor quality of life. The strain is not eased when you deal with a certain type of people who are of a mindset that is not governed by willful conscience. The mindset of our populace as a whole does not have a love of the truth and a richness of a greater view of who they are before God.
    Now have those people provide you certain specific (and can be limited)tools to keep the peace and enforce the laws (that are constantly being schemed around by the populace) that are the only way to try to ‘force” these people to have a conscience and take responsibility for their breach upon other peoples freedom and peace.
    Then have a separate power pick and choose which laws to prosecute and which laws to ‘fine’ and empower certain mindsets to proliferate or imprison. They choose more often a monetary penalty for “crimes” or breaches of freedoms. The public does not see the courts unless the courts want them to. So the ‘Peace officer” gets the flack from the victims unrepresented both of the system and the perpetrators of breaches of freedom (those that lack self rule). Now do you want this job? Think it can change how you view people? It is a dirty business dealing with people, down right nasty and filthy. You need a rare and Godly person to not change your demeanor just to cope and last in a job like this. That is why less of the right people for the job apply and are willing to sacrifice. The only others that last in a job like this find a gap that they can reside in that allows them to cope and sometimes that gap is the gap that the training allows for and sometime not. This training does not train to handle the job on a spiritual level and without God it must continue to increase force at the same level as the nation becomes more wicked and will not govern itself.
    A side note: Look at the synthetic conscience that is being built. Video camera’s, permitting for everything on and on. People without self government and responsibility continue to be caught even on video breaching other peoples freedoms to be secure in their persons and effects. It is not the job that is the problem it is the people as a whole. The change starts with me as a person and my motive for preparation. Is it rebellion? Or me wanting to self govern and take responsibility for my life and actions and submit willfully to my Lord Jesus Christ. Then will all just laws be upheld. The other increasing laws and statutes are a consequence for others not willing to do the same. The demand for more and more laws will increase as long as the penalties (monetary and prison) do not fit the crimes.
    The ‘Force’ is equally proportioned to the lack of self governance and accountability to God. The more we willfully turn to selfishness and immorality without check, the check will have to be more creative to create a constructed conscience to counterbalance the ‘beast mentality’ by force. You cannot speak to a rebellious dog and get them to leave the chickens alone. Its us that is the problem and and remember all government is us in this country. We the people need to repent outwardly and inwardly before God, then understand that these things must come to pass as the world becomes more wicked and not kick against the pricks that are a reflection and counter balance to the increasing wickedness of others. Come quickly Lord Jesus.

  24. I am glad someone finally mentioned God. Our Bill of Rights states in number 3 that if we want to have moral and virtuos leaders we must vote them in. We the people are responsible for the mess we are in. I am a Christian and as one I unfortunately have to accept a huge sum of responsibility for this country’s current problems. I do vote but am not knowledgeable enough about who I vote for. I tried to enter the military thirty years ago but was rejected due to past actions as a juvenile. I finally caught a case that stopped me from becoming a police officer, firefighter, etc. I do not stand up against the evils of this world as I am supposed to do. I allow these evil people to continue to do what they do and do not take any action against them. I.E.: speak out to anyone that matters.

  25. More cops have been killed in the US since 9-11 then all US personnel killed in Afghanistan. There are certainly jobs with higher death rates but very few people besides cops put on a protective vest routinely when they go to work. There is a reason for that.

  26. Being a retired Marine, for disabling injury incurred in the line of duty; and, being a former Peace Officer (Sergeant of Correctional Officers), incurring a second disability while in the line of duty doing that; but also being a father, and grandfather, who watched one of my children have her constitutional rights violated seven ways from Sunday…I dare to think I can speak to both sides of the coin.

    Are there crooked individuals in the Military? You better believe it, Sparky. Are there just as many who come home, join the P.D., bringing their combat mindset with them, and/or that crookedness earlier mentioned? You better believe it, Sparky.

    That being said…

    It has been my experience that the majority of the current “Beirut” mindset, for lack of a nicer way to put it, among Law Enforcement is the direct result of the training received. In my area, the youngsters who are seemingly the only souls still willing to wear a badge have a nasty tendency to come out of the Academy believing that they are in an active war zone. Terminology is at least partially at fault for this. Phrases like “War on Drugs”, “War on Gangs”, and so on come to mind. Having been trained by the state I live in, myself, I can attest personally that a lot of the mindset comes from how the new ones are being taught. The slightly older folks who were well into their late twenties or early thirties, and thus more fully matured, before joining the local force do not seem to have this problem with mindset, and largely remember what they are there for. Food for thought.

    As for SWAT and the ever increasing use, and in some cases blatant abuse, of it…I recall as a youngster that it was vehemently argued that including such services into the general policing powers would lead to what we are now seeing. Yes, I AM old enough to remember those arguments in the 70’s. I grew up hearing them firsthand. While the hiring of veterans, and especially combat veterans, on a preferred basis was intended at inception, and still is, a great thing, it carries with it a pitfall that we are seeing all too often now. That is, simply put, when under mortal stress a person will almost always revert to first training. We veterans are often maligned no end for being trained to kill, plain and simple. Truth is, we are, for obvious reasons. Combine that with folks still young enough to be impressionable enough to believe it when someone in the training department, who hasn’t patrolled even their own yard in years if ever, tells them they are at war on everything that moves, and what do you get? So called Peace Officers, barely old enough to enter a bar off duty(21…and some not even that old..only gotta be 18 here, last I looked), NOT old enough to own real estate property(25), running around in the descendants of what my dad’s generation would instantly recognize as “Chicken Plate” air crew armor, and thinking that every last interaction is naturally a felony take-down.

    Absolutely, I support Peace Officers. But I most vehemently have a problem with teaching the new ones that they are entering an environment that is akin to south side Beirut, back in the day. Fixing that would go a long way to fixing the attitude, I dare to think. Problem is, as I see it in front of my face every day, not enough of us who still understand the difference are standing up and raising Cain about the issue. Worse yet, as I have personally witness, those who do are routinely run right out of the town hall or the courtroom where they’re arguing it.

    No idea how to fix either situation. Thus, I prepare as best I can for the time when the “wheels come off”.

    Just a couple things to think on, folks, from an old goat who’s been on both sides of the street.

    Semper Fi

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