[Grampa Dave]

We have a lot of home grown hate America kooks of all colors and all political spectrums.

Yesterday in one of the linked articles, an expert on these kooks and their violence noted that there were some strange alliances with these kooks on both sides of the political spectrum. Their common basis was a hatred of America and most Americans.

[eno_]

So please refrain from conflating these nutbags with mainstream Republicans like me that want to REFORM policing. As it is, these nutbags are the mote compared with the great plank of corruption, waste, and abuse in policing today. If we didn't get so many examples of dangerously (often deadly) bad policing, out-of-control budgets, unconstitutional search and siezure, scams like DARE, etc., everyone would be a lot more sympathetic to the police. To me and a lot of other people, policing is heading in the same direction as public schools: less and less effective and higher and higher costs. Look at the trends in crime solution and reporting rates. They SUCK! Look at the trends in the militarization of policing. Look at Chief Moose and his Cracker Jack box Ph.D. But, like I said, I'm a long-time law-and-order Republican, so convince me: is there any trend within policing that is improving? I'd support it in an instant! Who are the insider reformers? I don't know of any.