Strange bedfellows
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66Park
Member
I do believe that gun rights, which, as we know, are guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, fall under the category of "civil liberties." Therefore, I believe the ACLU should be defending those rights. The fact that they haven't been shows, in my opinion, great hypocrisy. At least that investigation is a step in the right direction.
I'm no fan of the ACLU, they should give as much attention to protecting everyone's rights as they do to worrying about criminals.
That said, there were a few things in that article that are hard to argue, the 1033 program or DHS grants are a ridiculous waste of money. Every PD I know of has been getting "mobile command posts" we used to use a clipboard and a walkie-talkie, and accomplished the same thing in most cases (we didn't have the portable johns, though).
My old dept. obtained boats, trucks, M16s, armored vehicles- it got to the point they had to get warehouse space to store the stuff, and had difficulty manning the equipment. I mean, how many boats can you launch and staff? Plus we're on the Hudson and the interstate compact gives jurisdiction to the NYPD from shore to shore anyway, so we can really only find a use on the other side of the city on the Hackensack River, but wait - the NJ State Police cover that as well as other cities.
Same thing with the Fire Boats, every NJ town on the shore has a Fire Boat, but The NY Fire Dept has theirs in the water, the NJ guys have to run a crew down to the marina and set out on each call - but every FD along the Hudson County shore has a boat.
A few years back, when Capt. Sullenberger (sp?) crash landed his plane in the Hudson, It was the NYC Police & Fire emergency personnel that got their before any other emergency responders, but even they were too late, the private ferries had already rescued all the passengers. That didn't stop the NJ departments from launching everything they could, just to cruise up there and add to the traffic jam.
If you looked at the equipment wasted, it would almost bring a tear to your eye to realize what huge waste it is. How many people could you hire with that money? What necessary equipment could you get (how about radios that work?) While they were getting this kind of stuff, they closed down the local police academy, and their pistol range is on land loaned from a local utility company.
Government - solutions to problems that you don't have.
That said, there were a few things in that article that are hard to argue, the 1033 program or DHS grants are a ridiculous waste of money. Every PD I know of has been getting "mobile command posts" we used to use a clipboard and a walkie-talkie, and accomplished the same thing in most cases (we didn't have the portable johns, though).
My old dept. obtained boats, trucks, M16s, armored vehicles- it got to the point they had to get warehouse space to store the stuff, and had difficulty manning the equipment. I mean, how many boats can you launch and staff? Plus we're on the Hudson and the interstate compact gives jurisdiction to the NYPD from shore to shore anyway, so we can really only find a use on the other side of the city on the Hackensack River, but wait - the NJ State Police cover that as well as other cities.
Same thing with the Fire Boats, every NJ town on the shore has a Fire Boat, but The NY Fire Dept has theirs in the water, the NJ guys have to run a crew down to the marina and set out on each call - but every FD along the Hudson County shore has a boat.
A few years back, when Capt. Sullenberger (sp?) crash landed his plane in the Hudson, It was the NYC Police & Fire emergency personnel that got their before any other emergency responders, but even they were too late, the private ferries had already rescued all the passengers. That didn't stop the NJ departments from launching everything they could, just to cruise up there and add to the traffic jam.
If you looked at the equipment wasted, it would almost bring a tear to your eye to realize what huge waste it is. How many people could you hire with that money? What necessary equipment could you get (how about radios that work?) While they were getting this kind of stuff, they closed down the local police academy, and their pistol range is on land loaned from a local utility company.
Government - solutions to problems that you don't have.
Delos
Member
Read it again
Somehow we must have read something different into the above article?
I was left with the idea that you would prefer to have a drug lab next door with no chance of a police drug team would raid it.
You might prefer a drive by shooting where police wait a half hour to show up. Like the stories about the British disarming the police in northern Ireland 50 or 60 years ago. One story claimed when the crooks came to rob a house, and the homeowner pointed a gun at them - the crooks would call the police and report the homeowner had a gun. Naturally the police would then go take the gun from the homeowner. Naturally the criminals would later come back and rob the house.
I saw nothing in the above article to indicate our police are not on our side. Who makes the most mistakes - Doctors or Police?
In the south side of Chicago - you want police driving the modern light weight economy cars?
Somehow we must have read something different into the above article?
I was left with the idea that you would prefer to have a drug lab next door with no chance of a police drug team would raid it.
You might prefer a drive by shooting where police wait a half hour to show up. Like the stories about the British disarming the police in northern Ireland 50 or 60 years ago. One story claimed when the crooks came to rob a house, and the homeowner pointed a gun at them - the crooks would call the police and report the homeowner had a gun. Naturally the police would then go take the gun from the homeowner. Naturally the criminals would later come back and rob the house.
I saw nothing in the above article to indicate our police are not on our side. Who makes the most mistakes - Doctors or Police?
In the south side of Chicago - you want police driving the modern light weight economy cars?
Pasifikawv
Member
I support all the rights enumerated in the Constitution. Sometimes, the ACLU represents some pretty nasty characters, but I suppose that the rights of dip-wads should be defended also. Heck, I'd be a member of the ACLU if they could count to 10 without skipping 2. The opinion of the ACLU is that the second amendment only grants a collective right to those associated with a gov't-regulated militia. However, that is a faulty understanding of the Constitution and in conflict with SCOTUS. The RTKBA is a fundamental right afforded the individual - not a mysterious collective right only for those the gov't determines to be part of a official militia.
badguybuster
Member
It's good that they are finally helping but it does seem weird
