Blueprint for a Police State

Considering that the Rand Corporation receives the bulk of its funding from federal, state, and local government agencies, it should really come as no surprise to read something like this:

Establishing security is the sine qua non of stability operations, since it is a prerequisite for reconstruction and development. Security requires a mix of military and police forces to deal with a range of threats from insurgents to criminal organizations. This research examines the creation of a high-end police force, which the authors call a Stability Police Force (SPF). The study considers what size force is necessary, how responsive it needs to be, where in the government it might be located, what capabilities it should have, how it could be staffed, and its cost. This monograph also considers several options for locating this force within the U.S. government, including the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) in the Department of State, and the U.S. Army's Military Police. The authors conclude that an SPF containing 6,000 people -- created in the U.S. Marshals Service and staffed by a "hybrid option," in which SPF members are federal police officers seconded to federal, state, and local police agencies when not deployed -- would be the most effective of the options considered. The SPF would be able to deploy in 30 days. The cost for this option would be $637.3 million annually, in FY2007 dollars.

You can read the entire publication in PDF format here.

What We Have to Look Forward To

Vaccinations at gunpoint?:

It took the strength of two sheriff's deputies to keep a middle schooler still enough to receive a shot of the swine flu, or H1N1, vaccine at a recent clinic.

During a regular Wheeling-Ohio County Health Board meeting Tuesday, health department Administrator Howard Gamble told board members about the student's attempt to flee Wheeling Middle School during a vaccination clinic held there last Friday.

He noted the boy's mother could not bear to watch the scene and left the gymnasium. Out of apparent fear of receiving the injection, the student ran out of the building. The school's resource officer, Ohio County Sheriff's Deputy John Haglock, coaxed the boy back inside. Once at the shot station, however, Haglock apparently needed some help keeping the boy still, and another deputy assisted

No one actually held a gun to the kid's head, but that is essentially what will happen if/when such vaccinations become mandatory. We're already faced with the prospect of going to prison if we refuse to buy health insurance, so nothing's impossible.

Crime Wave in the "Land of the Free"

The economic downturn has people looking for work anywhere they can get it. As a result, cops find themselves fighting for their lives against some of the most loathsome and despicable criminals in recent memory: unlicensed contractors.


So, America, you can rest well tonight knowing that these brave, armed tax-feeders are doing everything they can to protect the interests of the state and labor union thugs.

You Report, They Decide

Get Vaccinated or Get Kicked out of School

Humane Society Stages Armed Home Invasion over Sick Dog

What would you do if your dog was sick and you couldn't afford treatment at your local veterinary clinic? If you happen to live in Nebraska, you had better not refuse treatment, or you just might find yourself the victim of an armed police raid courtesy of the Humane Society.

Oh, yes, it really happened:

Days after police burst into a home and arrested a pet owner, tests have shown that the owner's dog died of natural causes.

Court records showed that the dog suffered from a uterine infection for two weeks before the owner took it to the veterinarian and then refused treatment. The dog owner will not face additional charges in the case, prosecutors said.

The Nebraska Humane Society has since defended its use of force in the case, saying it was trying to save what it believed was a dog in danger. (video)

Sending cops into a house with guns drawn because you don't approve of the way someone else handles their own property? To say this was overkill would be an understatement.

But perhaps when Obamacare is passed, and people have free health coverage for their pets, this kind of thing won't happen.

Governing Through Fear

When they aren't trying to frighten us into submission with possible nuclear annihilation or purported terrorist threats, the ruling elite like to try a good ol' fashioned health scare. From WorldNetDaily:

A "pandemic response bill" currently making its way through the Massachusetts state legislature would allow authorities to forcefully quarantine citizens in the event of a health emergency, compel health providers to vaccinate citizens, authorize forceful entry into private dwellings and destruction of citizen property and impose fines on citizens for noncompliance.

If citizens refuse to comply with isolation or quarantine orders in the event of a health emergency, they may be imprisoned for up to 30 days and fined $1,000 per day that the violation continues.

Um...does anyone remember what happened in 1976?

Torture Is Commonplace in America

Digby, filling in for Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com, discusses law enforcement's love affair with the reliably lethal Taser:

They kill people. Nobody knows exactly why some people die from being tasered, and they certainly don't know how to tell in advance which ones are at risk. But there have been hundreds of deaths ...

... Representatives of the government torture innocent citizens into unconsciousness, on camera, in United States courtrooms with tasers. They use them on prisoners and on motorists and on political protesters and bicycle riders, on mentally ill and handicapped people and on children And it's happening with nary a peep of protest.

America's torture problem is much bigger than Gitmo or the CIA or the waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The government is torturing people every day and killing some of them. Then videos of the torture wind up on Youtube where sadists laugh and jeer at the victims. It's the sign of profound cultural illness.

You can view a couple of the incidents he discusses here.

Fewer Cops = More Freedom

What do you call a massive layoff of police officers? A good start. Maybe people will start buying more guns and actually take responsibility for defending themselves.

The sad fact is that cops have become little more than uniformed tax collectors. Most of the laws they enforce serve no other purpose than to fill the coffers of greedy bureaucrats. The primary function of your average police officer is to protect and serve the interests of the state, not the citizenry -- unless, of course, protection is defined as responding to a crime after it has already been committed.

Obama Picks Up Where Bush Left Off

If you thought Bush's detention of suspected terrorists made a mockery of the rule of law, you ain't seen nothin' yet:

All Obama groupies knew as well as anyone that this is exactly the kind of thing that would happen. It was evident when they were willing to look the other way even when their "savior" showed his true colors by supporting Bush's presidential snooping powers.

They never gave a damn about freedom or the Constitution, but they knew that if their guy won, they would be the ones calling the shots. The lust for power is a potent aphrodisiac, which explains why they went along with the whole charade of "change."

The Thin Thug Blue Line

A cop "protects and serves" an innocent guy right into a concrete wall, leaving him in a coma. And does this agent of the state face assault charges? Of course not. Just another ordinary day in Police State, U.S.A.:

By the way, it's absolutely clear that the "fleeing suspect" in the video is barely jogging, and he is slowing to a stop before being brutally attacked.

And people still wonder why an innocent person might want to try to get away from these thugs.

Police State Survival Tip #1: Getting Out of Plastic Handcuffs

Canada's Nanny State Gone Wild

From Canada's Globe and Mail:

Anyone who has ridden an escalator and bothered to pay attention has seen -- and likely ignored -- little signs suggesting riders hold the grimy handrail.

In Montreal's subway system, the friendly advice seems to have taken on the force of law, backed by a $100 fine.

Bela Kosoian, a 38-year-old mother of two, says when she didn't hold the handrail Wednesday she was cuffed, dragged into a small holding cell and fined.

It's nice to know ours isn't the only police state in North America.

Get Them While They're Young

A new generation of thugs is being trained for post-9/11 law enforcement. From the New York Times:

The Explorers program, a coeducational affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America that began 60 years ago, is training thousands of young people in skills used to confront terrorism, illegal immigration and escalating border violence -- an intense ratcheting up of one of the group's longtime missions to prepare youths for more traditional jobs as police officers and firefighters.

"This is about being a true-blooded American guy and girl," said A. J. Lowenthal, a sheriff's deputy here in Imperial County, whose life clock, he says, is set around the Explorers events he helps run. "It fits right in with the honor and bravery of the Boy Scouts."

The training, which leaders say is not intended to be applied outside the simulated Explorer setting, can involve chasing down illegal border crossers as well as more dangerous situations that include facing down terrorists and taking out "active shooters," like those who bring gunfire and death to college campuses. In a simulation here of a raid on a marijuana field, several Explorers were instructed on how to quiet an obstreperous lookout.

"Put him on his face and put a knee in his back," a Border Patrol agent explained. "I guarantee that he'll shut up."

The kids sure seem to have fun while they learn:

One participant, Felix Arce, 16, said he liked "the discipline of the program," which was something he said his life was lacking. "I want to be a lawyer, and this teaches you about how crimes are committed," he said.

Cathy Noriego, also 16, said she was attracted by the guns. The group uses compressed-air guns -- known as airsoft guns, which fire tiny plastic pellets -- in the training exercises, and sometimes they shoot real guns on a closed range.

"I like shooting them," Cathy said. "I like the sound they make. It gets me excited."

Those running the Explorer programs want kids as young as possible to get hooked:

The law enforcement posts are restricted to those ages 14 to 21 who have a C average, but there seems to be some wiggle room. "I will take them at 13 and a half," Deputy Lowenthal said. "I would rather take a kid than possibly lose a kid."

And people demonize tobacco companies for targeting youngsters?

Quadriplegic Ticketed for Parking in a Handicapped Spot

This story from Portland, Oregon, is the perfect example of just how burdensome our "law and order" society has become:

A quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair got a $360 ticket for parking in a handicapped spot on Monday.

Gordon Pike said a volunteer enforcement team from Washington County confiscated his disabled placard after telling him the card was invalid.

Pike was hurt in Vietnam in 1969 and has been in a wheelchair ever since. He said he doesn't understand who the disabled parking spots are for if he doesn't qualify.

"(It) kind of wrecked my day," Pike said. "What are these spaces for? If they're not for me, who are they for, you know?" ...

... Sgt. Dave Marzilli of the Washington County Sheriff's Office said it appears that his enforcement volunteers did the right thing.

"Was It a valid citation? Yes," Marzilli said. "They checked through DMV and saw that permit matching that number was invalid and it was, so they issued a citation for it."

But Pike said it should've been obvious that he needed the parking spot. Plus, he still believes the disabled placard was valid. He said he wants the sheriff's office to take a closer look at who they use as volunteers he said they need to be more courteous.

OK, so no one was dragged from bed in the middle of the night and shot, but who says we have to let it get to that point before we start complaining?

No Warrant Required in Wisconsin

Wisconsin's District 4 Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that police can attach GPS tracking devices to cars and secretly track anyone's movements -- all without having to obtain a warrant.

Dissent Will Not Be Tolerated

Mayor David Green of Duncanville, Texas, had City Councilman Paul Ford arrested for speaking out against the use of traffic cameras. (Full story here.)



Note the calm complacency of the other members present. It's interesting how we have all been conditioned to simply stay out of the way of cops who are "just doing their jobs," even when they are clearly in the wrong.

How to Tell if Your Neighbor Is a Terrorist

So, if you're outdoors watching birds, taking pictures, sketching a building, or writing in your journal, be advised that you may be exhibiting suspicious, terrorist-like behavior.

The Lone Star Police State

"Remember the Alamo" may soon be replaced by "Your papers, please."

In the name of safety and national security, the Texas Senate has passed a bill that could have serious ramifications. The bill, SB 1175, amends Section 38.02(a) of the Texas Penal Code so that any person "lawfully detained" (a term which isn't clearly defined) by a "peace officer" (another ambiguous term) must provide his or her name, address, or date of birth on demand.

Naturally, citizens have been assured that there must be a good reason for an agent of the state to request such information, but we all know who gets to decide what constitutes a "good reason." That's right. The guy or gal with the badge, gun, nightstick, pepper spray, and Tazer.

More on this here, here, and here.

Man Detained by the TSA for Carrying Cash

Full, uncensored, 24-minute audio of Steve Bierfeldt's harassment here.