Marvin Heemeyerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer
Posted on 04/09/2014 1:47:24 PM PDT by Rusty0604
Sometimes the news is just so drearily awful that you have to sit back and almost appreciate the pure comedy induced by it.
Take this item from Washington, Iowa, where the local police have recently acquired an MRAP vehicle (short for Mine Resistance Ambush Protected) through a Defense Department program that donates excess vehicles... to local police departments across the United States,
If you’re having a bad day, I highly recommend watching a video produced by the Des Moines Register in which Washington police officials try to justify the possession of a vehicle it clearly has no use for. The excuses range from school shootings (which are an actual concern but an MRAP seems like overkill) to a terrorist attack happening in central Iowa (because if there’s any place that seems ripe for a high-profile terrorist attack it’s Washington, Iowa, population 7,000).
I mean if the police were realistic, they could come up with actual reasons to use their MRAP/machine of doom. Drunken high-school house parties could be broken up by ramming the MRAP into the side of the building.
As Radley Balko, the author of... an expose of the police militarization of the last decade, found, in 2006 alone the Pentagon, “distributed vehicles worth $15.4 million, aircraft worth $8.9 million, boats worth $6.7 million, weapons worth $1 million and “other” items worth $110.6 million to local police agencies.”
The effects of cops moving from handguns to assault rifles and being equipped with tanks, bazookas, and Kevlar has been twofold. First, civil liberties have absolutely been eroded, with police-brutality rates skyrocketing in last decade according to the Justice Department. Not only that, but, with the influx of military gear into local police forces, cops begin to view themselves as soldiers whose main job is combat rather than keeping the peace.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailyiowan.com ...
Washington, Iowa probably has larger and more powerful tractors that could become armored.
Cops are now the enemy.
Chief of Police O’Leary speaking.
Yeah uh this is the uh Department of Homekand Security and we uh produced too many MRAP vehicles and we’re uh giving them away for free. We just wanted to know if you wanted one.
Why sure, I’d be delighted but why would we need one.
For um citizen suppression activities.
But we’re only a town of less than 15,000.
Well you can have it for free but you just have to fill out the paperwok that says the vehicle will be on call and for citizen uprisings in the future. Thats all there is to it. Do you want it or not?
We, OK. Where do I sign?
Chief of Police O’Leary speaking.
Yeah uh this is the uh Department of Homeland Security and we uh produced too many MRAP vehicles and we’re uh giving them away for free. We just wanted to know if you wanted one.
Why sure, I’d be delighted but why would we need one.
For um citizen suppression activities.
But we’re only a town of less than 15,000.
Well you can have it for free but you just have to fill out the paperwok that says the vehicle will be on call and for citizen uprisings in the future. Thats all there is to it. Do you want it or not?
Well, OK. Where do I sign?
Under the idea of “If you cant beat them, join them.” I wonder if it would be possible to create a very small town (few acres) in an unincorporated county, then apply and get an MRAP for the town’s volunteer police department (me and a couple of my buds)
Remember the guy who up-armored a bulldozer and wrecked a Colorado town? An MRAP would be useless against that kind of thing.
I even refrained from speculating that in addition to the town being surrounded by huge tractors, there were likely many bulldozers lurking in equipment sheds.
I think he only got a few preselected targets.
Marvin HeemeyerThermite on the hood. Instant 10 ton paperweight.
Sure they plan to have a use for it; to suppress the people when the Ruling Class decides to go for broke.
There may be some hoarders out there, and they may need to be persuaded to distribute their stash to those less fortunate. There any number of crimes those people in small towns commit everyday.
Front-end loaders - probably flip it like a flapjack.
The MRAP is supposed to be operated by a certified operator who has been trained in its peculiar (and potentially dangerous) handling characteristics. The Mayberry Police Department cannot afford to let officers Billy Bob and Barney Fife take their neat, new MRAP for a joy ride only to see it get broken. MRAP repairs and spare parts aren't cheap unless you're plugged into the military logistics system. It's doubtful that the Mayberry PD is.
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