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Who: Kimball Corson. Text and Photos not disclaimed or that are obviously not mine are copyright (c) Kimball Corson 2004-2016
Port: Lake Pleasant, AZ
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The Democrats and Our Presidents Militarized Our Local Police

24 August 2014 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
Kimball Corson
In 1990, Congress passed a National Defense Authorization Act with a clause allowing the "transfer of excess personal property" from the Defense Department to local law enforcement—otherwise known as Section 1208. The clause was included in response to the surge of violent crime and the War on Drugs in the late 1980s. It's worth noting that at the time, both chambers of Congress were controlled by Democrats.

Section 1208 basically allowed transfer of anything the Department of Defense wanted. Homeland Security (under Secretary Janet Napolitano, my former partner) made requests for equipment and training. Virtually all were honored even as local police departments started to put their hands out and make requests.

The transfer program does not foist armored vehicles upon local precincts—as The NY Times explains, "the pace of transfers depends on how much unneeded equipment the military has, and how much the police request." And for local police departments with tight budgets, the free gear can be a welcome windfall. But it can also mean a disproportionately armored police force in a town of, say, 21,000.

The Pentagon's transfer program may have been a direct outgrowth of the War on Drugs, but as Alec MacGillis wrote in The New Republic on Thursday, it's not the only cause of heightened police militarization. The terrorist attacks of 9/11 led to a heightened state of security in the U.S., and that has trickled down to local law enforcement.

On a national level, the current Congress might reverse Section 1208. On Thursday, Sen. Rand Paul wrote a column in NY Time chastising the use of excessive force in Ferguson. "There is a legitimate role for the police to keep the peace, but there should be a difference between a police response and a military response," he wrote. "The images and scenes we continue to see in Ferguson resemble war more than traditional police action."

Paul's colleagues across the aisle share that concern. "This is America, not a war zone," Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted on Thursday. "The people of Ferguson just want answers. We all want answers."

But I submit we already have the answers. Section 1208, Homeland Security, police departments and Israeli training well explain what happened. Put an RPG in the hands of police and it is incredibly naive to expect them not to use it at some point. We should hope Congress acts, but I think it is naive to expect the military weapons to be taken away from the police and the military training is like a bell that cannot be unrung.
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Vessel Name: Altaira
Vessel Make/Model: A Fair Weather Mariner 39 is a fast (PHRF 132), heavily ballasted (43%), high-aspect (6:1), stiff, comfortable, offshore performance cruiser by Bob Perry that goes to wind well (30 deg w/ good headway) and is also good up and down the Beaufort scale.
Hailing Port: Lake Pleasant, AZ
Crew: Kimball Corson. Text and Photos not disclaimed or that are obviously not mine are copyright (c) Kimball Corson 2004-2016
About:
Kimball Corson: I am a 75 year old solo sailor, by choice. However, I did take on a personable, but high maintenance female kitten, now a full grown cat, named KiKiPoo when she is sweet, or KatKatPo after she has just killed something like a bird or bat. [...]
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Although I was a lawyer and practiced law with good success for thirty years, creating significant new law, I never really believed in the law, the politics of law or in the over reaching self-interest of most lawyers I met. Too much exposure to Nietzsche and other good and seriously thoughtful [...]
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Who: Kimball Corson. Text and Photos not disclaimed or that are obviously not mine are copyright (c) Kimball Corson 2004-2016
Port: Lake Pleasant, AZ