Am I being paranoid, part 1

Good day all. The title of this post also asks a very important question. Am I being paranoid about certain things that are happening? Also, I titled this as part 1 of hopefully, a series of one.

Here’s what’s making me a bit paranoid. A news story appeared this morning on the Drudge Report that led to the Gateway Pundit site reporting that the Department of Homeland Security is purchasing some 2700 MRAPS. Now the MRAP was first seen by the American People during the Iraqi War. This is basically a heavily armored truck that is designed to clear and withstand land mines and improvised Explosive Devices. (What used to be called “Bombs” and “Boobytraps” before it became a victim of Pentagonspeak) Apparently, Gateway Pundit found out about it from The Survival Blog. (Isn’t internet linking fun?) According to the Survival Blog:

The Department of Homeland Security (through the U.S. Army Forces Command) recently retrofitted 2,717 of these ‘Mine Resistant Protected’ vehicles for service on the streets of the United States.

Although I’ve seen and read several online blurbs about this vehicle of late, I decided to dig slightly deeper and discover more about the vehicle itself.

The new DHS sanctioned ‘Street Sweeper’ (my own slang due to the gun ports) is built by Navistar Defense (NavistarDefense.com), a division within the Navistar organization. Under the Navistar umbrella are several other companies including International Trucks, IC Bus (they make school buses), Monaco RV (recreational vehicles), WorkHorse (they make chassis), MaxxForce (diesel engines), and Navistar Financial (the money arm of the company).

The International® MaxxPro® is Navistar Defense’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle and incorporates the latest design in armoring technology. Extensively tested by the military and used in theater today, the MaxxPro features a V-shaped hull and other design features that greatly improve survivability. With so much protection, it’s the vehicle that every crew wants when they’re out in the field.

I’ve read about how effective these things are when it comes to protecting our troops. My question is, why is DHS buying these things in such large numbers? I could see a few being useful in limited circumstances, but 2700? I’m not sure we had that many deployed in Iraq. (Although I do expect someone with more information then I to let me know)

My paranoia meter started ticking a while back when it was announced that the Department of Homeland Security was buy a couple of billion rounds of ammunition. Someone I respect ran the numbers and said this would be the number needed for training purposes, but, considering just how bad law enforcement officers at all levels of the government, (Federal, State, County and Local), shoot, why am I not hearing about new training standards with officers spending a lot more time on the ranges and the classroom learning when and how to shoot and when NOT to shoot? (You know, like when a truck breaks through some police tape they didn’t see while delivering newspapers?)

Then we have Obama and his latest, cool toy, the Remotely Piloted Vehicle, more commonly known as drones. For the last 8 years, we have been using drones to knock off assorted terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan, and lately throughout the middle east. (Primarily in countries that are pretty much lawless such as Yemen) There has been a lot of talk over the last few years of drones being used in the United States. Not so much as an aid for border security and aerial mapping, which very few people are concerned about, but more towards the use of drones as a surveillance platform against American Citizens. Here’s the story by Declan McCullagh of CNET. (Not one of your standard right wing conspiracy sites by a long shot)

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has customized its Predator drones, originally built for overseas military operations, to carry out at-home surveillance tasks that have civil libertarians worried: identifying civilians carrying guns and tracking their cell phones, government documents show.

Now, why would the DHS be so concerned about Americans going about their business who also happen to be armed?

The prospect of identifying armed Americans concerns Second Amendment advocates, who say that technology billed as securing the United States’ land and maritime borders should not be used domestically. Michael Kostelnik, the Homeland Security official who created the program, told Congress that the drone fleet would be available to “respond to emergency missions across the country.”

What sort of “Emergency Missions” I wonder?

A Predator drone was dispatched to the tiny town of Lakota, N.D., to aid local police in a dispute that began with reimbursement for feeding six cows. The defendant, arrested with the help of Predator surveillance, lost a preliminary bid to dismiss the charges.

“I am very concerned that this technology will be used against law-abiding American firearms owners,” says Alan Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation. “This could violate Fourth Amendment rights as well as Second Amendment rights.”

Well, we know just what Obama and the Department of Homeland Security think of the Second Amendment. It needs to be abolished and all those privately owned guns have to be confiscated. As to the 4^th Amendment? The courts killed that some time ago. You no longer have the right to be secure in your home, papers and possessions.

So, am I being paranoid in being somewhat concerned that President Obama might be considering implementing a full blown police state in the United States?

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2yGzHfy7s’]

I’m sure this was all just hyperbole and Obama really doesn’t want to do this, right?

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOtGr1JFCnE’]

Hmmm, Now I’m wondering….

Thatisall

~The Angry Webmaster~

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