Not my America

See the pic on the right? This is wrong - this is not what police in a Representative Republic should look like.

Before anyone pops a circuit breaker: I have disliked and opposed the militarization of the police in the Carter, Reagan, Bush41, Clinton, Bush43, and now Obama administration.

This isn't a federal problem per se anyway - so put your AFDB away; this is a local problem.

Police officers should not be dressed in any way like those in the military. They do not need fatigues to go after protesters in urban and sub-urban environments.

They also do not need to dress like some perverted mix of Imperial Storm Troopers, SS, and the dudes from Aliens.

If you want to dress like that, join the military or one of those groups of goofs that run around the woods shooting paintballs at each other.

Serve and Protect. Don't look like some paramilitary tool. You scare the public, and to the military you just look like poseur wannabees. You are better men and women than that - and the taxpayers you serve deserve to be represented in a more professional way.

See HotAir for the details....and yea; they give multi-cam a bad name.

$.02.

Like ants on a dead rat ...

CNN - that is a bit north of a few thousand.

Moronic Convergence

I'm watching it on CSPAN so you don't have to. I haven't been from the start, and I don't know how long I can do it. But without commentary - and without Gathering of Eagles because CSPAN won't show them. Look up the names and organizations if you really need to know who these are. Communists, terrorists fellow travelers and useful idiots. Keep up, I will update as it goes on. Refresh when needed. Too bad it wasn't a Global Warming rally.

New Orleans. Haliburton. Capitalism. Cuba. Workers (undocumented and otherwise). Socialism. Militarism. Palestine. Congress. Bush. The People. Resistance. Brothers and Sisters. Hugo Chavez. Don't pay your taxes. I'm cold.

Yawn.

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Oh, that last thin crowd shot. 3, yes count them, 3 minutes after the last yapping from the podium. Pathetic

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UPDATE: It has been WAY to long since I last linked to my friend Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna. He was there and has a great report. Michelle does as well. If you just want to be mad - well, read the WaPo.

Eagles - watch your flank

If you are within a day's drive of DC or have some extra frequent flyer miles - you have a chance to stand up to the Left. Haven't checked Gathering of Eagles yet? Tomorrow is the day.

Defending the Vietnam Memorial

Anyone in the Army of Northern Virginia or The Potomac Flotilla looking for something to do 17 MAR?

Leftist activists who march to the Pentagon next month will discover that their path won't be as clear as it has been in the past.

The group, led by Cindy Sheehan, Jane Fonda, Ramsey Clark and their ilk, plan to gather March 17 at the Vietnam Memorial Wall to begin a march to protest America's involvement in the Iraq war. The date marks the fourth anniversary of the war's beginning.

This time, however, protestors will see objectors if they spit on Iraqi veterans again, or throw paint on a war memorial. This time, they will encounter a buzz saw of Vietnam veterans and supporters who will gather to protect the Wall, and show their support for U.S. troops. The counter-protestors are calling themselves the Gathering of Eagles.

"… An eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks. The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it."

An unknown author wrote that description, but it describes how the veterans see their mission. They are angry that the Wall is being used as a jumping off point for a political protest and they are gathering to protect it from another storm of anti-war activists.
..."The anti-war/anti-America group cannot be allowed to use the Vietnam Memorial Wall as a back-drop to their anti-America venom and stain the hallowed ground that virtually cries out with blood at the thought of this proposed desecration ... it must not happen," said veteran Bud Gross. "… All Americans are invited to support our effort, which is intended as a defender of hallowed ground and intended as a non-violent competition between those that would sell out America and those of us who support freedom and keeping the fight with the enemy on distant shores."

The group defending the Wall will be wearing armbands to identify themselves. Those who are unable to stand with the defenders are being asked to wear armbands with small U.S. flags to show their own communities that they abhor the Fonda-Sheehan tactics.

"We'll be there to act as a countervailing force against the Cindy Sheehan-Jane Fonda march from the Vietnam Memorial to the Pentagon," retired Navy Capt. Larry Bailey said. "We will protect the Vietnam Memorial. If they try to deface it, there will be some violence, I guarantee you."

Bailey and thousands of his fellow Vietnam vets are worried that the anti-war protesters will damage the wall, just as they spray-painted the steps of the Capitol at their last march.

Hat tip Bookie.

Seattle A55hattery

Oh, why not.

On Monday, four US military recruiting offices in Seattle were shut down when students blocked the entrances to protest recruitment practices and to oppose the occupation of Iraq. Meanwhile the Parent Teacher Student Association at one school has passed a resolution recommending that military recruiters be barred from the campus.

Socialist Worker. IndyMedia.Democracy Now. Tribe. Public Radio Exchange. Youth Against War and Racism. Yawn.

Well, at least I know I am on the right side.