"WE'RE BUILDING A DOMESTIC ARMY" -Marine Corps Colonel Speaks Out

[Segami]

Marine Corp Colonel speaks out at a local council meeting about the militarization of our police forces on 08/12/13 at 41 Green St, Concord, NH 03301.

"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."

- President Obama, Colorado, July 2, 2008

[defacto7]

1. Sure... let's bring our wars home, shall we.

Let's expand the war state by making sure it's right here where we see, hear and feel it for ourselves.

sarc.

[RC]

13. That will change minds when they start using drones to blow up people and neighborhoods here.

I wonder how many domestic terrorists that will generate? The war on terror could go on for decades, just in this country.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

54. Judging by the NSA's activity we know where they see their biggest threat.

[pnwmom]

80. I would like to see a source for the Obama quote from a legitimate member of the media.

I've just been through 10 pages of googling and didn't see a single source except for right wing sites (and this DU thread). If Obama said this, I'd expect some people on the other end of the spectrum to have been objecting.

[Segami]

82. Here you go:

[pnwmom]

83. Thank you. It turns out that context is everything. The context is he wanted to expand Americorps,

which explains why people like Maddow weren't criticizing him for this five years ago.

http://www.factcheck.org/2008/11/obamas-national-security-force/

Obama, July 2, Colorado Springs, CO: [As] president I will expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 slots [from 75,000] and make that increased service a vehicle to meet national goals, like providing health care and education, saving our planet and restoring our standing in the world, so that citizens see their effort connected to a common purpose.

People of all ages, stations and skills will be asked to serve. Because when it comes to the challenges we face, the American people are not the problem – they are the answer. So we are going to send more college graduates to teach and mentor our young people. We’ll call on Americans to join an energy corps, to conduct renewable energy and environmental clean-up projects in their neighborhoods all across the country.

We will enlist our veterans to find jobs and support for other vets, and to be there for our military families. And we’re going to grow our Foreign Service, open consulates that have been shuttered and double the size of the Peace Corps by 2011 to renew our diplomacy. We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set.

We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded. We need to use technology to connect people to service. We’ll expand USA Freedom Corps to create online networks where American can browse opportunities to volunteer. You’ll be able to search by category, time commitment and skill sets. You’ll be able to rate service opportunities, build service networks, and create your own service pages to track your hours and activities.

This will empower more Americans to craft their own service agenda and make their own change from the bottom up.

[pscot]

2. Jesus fuck!

I can't believe I voted for this guy twice.

[Brigid]

5. I am beginning to feel the same way after reading this.

[Ed Suspicious]

15. Yeah, I'm feeling sick over it. I've spent my time and energy and reputation putting on the line

telling my right wing relatives and acquaintances that Obama was good people. Their fears were completely irrational and foolish is what I told them. Who looks the fool now.

[cheapdate]

16. Barack Obama said those words in July 2008 -- before you voted for him the first time,

if the quote is accurate. He also promised on many occasions in the 2008 campaign that he would pursue Al Qaeda and their allies anywhere in the world and that if he had the chance to strike them he would take it -- no matter where they were.

He's less of a hawk than Hillary, though.

[mick063]

18. I suppose he did

But I thought it would be over with the neutering of Al Qaida and the death of Bin Laden.

Apparently, that only wetted their appetite.

Can't anyone see what is happening here?

This is not a war. Wars have an end game.

The only end game I see here is authoritarian control of the populace.

[cheapdate]

20. I'm not afraid of Al Qaeda.

But large numbers of my fellow Americans brains have been conditioned through endless repetition of "terror" and "the war on terror".

I didn't watch the video in the OP. Marine colonels are sometimes, but not always, full of shit.

Militarization is a real concern, though.

[pnwmom]

86. He said the sentence but the context was that he was talking about expanding volunteer service

as a way of strengthening our communities.

Young volunteers are better than more people in prisons, right?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3469208

[cheapdate]

88. Yes, I remember specifically now.

This was during the "glory days" for Glenn Beck. This speech about expanding service opportunities for young people reverberated around the right-wing freakout machine for a long, long time.

Thank you. It's amazing sometimes what even a little more context can do.

[pnwmom]

85. You probably heard the entire speech, not a misleading quote, and didn't have any concern about it.

Because he was talking about expanding Americorps and other opportunities for volunteer service as a way of strengthening America. In other words, he saw an expanded national service as a way to pull America together.

This isn't about sending soldiers out in flak jackets in every neighborhood. Here's the whole section of the speech.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3469208

[pscot]

87. As you say, context matters

But the militarization of local police, developments like the Fusion Centers and the pervasive extra-Constitutional eavesdropping create a new context. He's made a fetish of dismissing old Lefties like myself, so I don't feel like I owe him much, and it's been a while since I've trusted any politician. I will admit I've never understood him. I have no idea what his core beliefs are, but there seems to be a disconnect between word and deed.

[leveymg]

3. The country is going broke and destroying the Constitution twice as fast with two powerful groups

of heavily armed gladiators.

[leftstreet]

8. +1 We've got the circuses, where's our bread?

[Nuclear Unicorn]

53. The bakery doubles as a circus full of clowns

[Fantastic Anarchist]

71. They're gonna give us cake. nt

[Civilization2]

73. when we hungry the cake looks good,. .

although some of us would rather dine heartily on the rich.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

76. Break out the utensils!

[Brigid]

4. And Smedley Butler is rolling in his grave.

[Fire Walk With Me]

6. 10,000,000 points for Smedley Butler reference. A true hero! n/t

[cactusfractal]

22. General Butler is this Marine's favorite Marine. n/t

[Warpy]

7. Good. I've been screaming about it for 40 years

and people have dismissed me as some sort of crazy person.

Can you hear me now?

[Faryn Balyncd]

9. This retired Colonel should run for Congress & restore the Constitution.

Who is he?

I can't find any links that name him.

But he has the values we need if we are to save our democracy.

[Brigid]

10. Now this Colonel would make Smedley Butler proud.

[Faryn Balyncd]

11. He certainly would.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

27. So did David M. Shoup, the Commandant of the Marine Corps who was forced out in 1963 while

opposing the influence of the military-industrial complex and the pending escalation in Viet Nam.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

30. He was commandant when I was in. I didn't know he was such a good man until later.

[Maedhros]

65. You should read "Utmost Savagery: The Three Days of Tarawa"

by Col. Joseph H. Alexander.

Despite having no previous combat experience, Shoup took command of the invasion when it was in chaotic shambles. He definitely earned his Medal of Honor.

[Maedhros]

33. Shoup saved the invasion of Betio Island

in 1943. He knows what war is all about, which is why he opposed a military adventure in Vietnam. Similar to Senator Mark Hatfield (R-OR) who served aboard a hospital ship off Iwo Jima, and was one of only two Senators to vote against the Gulf of Tonkin resolution.

[donco]

12. WTF!!!

Did i somehow slip unnoticed into some horrid parallel universe?

[Segami]

14. People need to play n' listen

to this Colonel's rant a few times at the very least. Where exactly are we heading towards and who is steering us in that direction?

[mick063]

17. The time has come to make the Dept. of Homeland Security a big, big political issue.

We must get on this quickly before it spirals out of control.

We might have a chance if we start now.


We can take the extreme right's fear of the government and couple it with our growing fear of the rapidly growing government domestic militarism.

Together, left and right, we can politically take this department down if we start now.

We can't do it by demonizing the right to the point where they won't get on board, just to spite us. We can find common ground on this single issue. It appears we are finding common ground with respect to NSA surveillance as well.

[bvar22]

67. Who do you vote FOR if you OPPOSE the Militarization of the Police

...and the burgeoning, Out-of-Control Homeland Security and Surveillance Department?

BOTH dominant Parties absolutely AGREE on this issue.
They agree so closely that it wasn't even a item for discussion or debate during Campaign 2008 or 2012.

So, how exactly do we "get on this"?

*A Million E-Mails? deleted with a single key stroke

*Write letters? They don't matter, but unlike E-Mails, at least snail mail is opened to see if there is any money,
but after that...... tossed away by a staffer.

*Camp out on the streets?
if you like Pepper Spray and Police batons across your face, this is OK,
but the people you are trying to influence are sitting safe in their offices with their pack of Corporate Lobbyists drinking $100 Scotch, cheering on the Militarized Police beating you to a pulp and laughing at your blood.

*Take polls, and tell Congress & The President that a HUGE Majority of Americans OPPOSE this? LOL.
See: "Mandate to BUY Insurance without a Public Option"

*Try to elect "Progressive Democrats" in the Democratic Primaries?
SEE: Arkansas Democratic Primary, 2010
We did EVERYTHING right in the Arkansas Democratic Primary
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3405406


Truth is, our government is unresponsive to the will of the American People,
and our system has been rigged to support the Status Quo.

In 2016, we will again be give a choice between:
a)Another Trickle Down privatizing, Free Trading, Security/Surveillance State, Wall Street DEMOCRAT,

OR

2)A Trickle Down, privatizing, Free Trading, Security/Surveillance State, Wall Street REPUBLICAN.

The Monied Interests will Make Sure that America has no other options.




Historically, authoritarian states and governments with such a WIDE and Growing Distribution of Wealth as we now have eventually collapse,
but things here will have to get worse before they get better.

I don't have the answer.
My Wife & I cashed out, paid off debts,
and bought property in "The Woods" in 2006.
We live there now,
and produce most of our own food.
So far, so good,
but this is not a solution.

There is some "hope".
Our neighbors in Latin America have taken their governments BACK from the Global 1% in near bloodless Ballot Box Revolutions.

They are now using Profits from Natural Resource Extraction for the good of The People, and have made some really amazing progress fighting hunger, homelessness, ignorance, poor health, and disenfranchisement.
Naturally, you won't hear about this from OUR Media or Political Leadership.

They have given us a Blue Print for real change.
All we lack is the will.

[mick063]

70. Come now Bvar

You are taking action now.

Passionate people like you are what give me hope.

All we can do is give it our best shot and play with the cards that are dealt to us. In the meantime, you can rest easy at night knowing that you have given effort.

I have read many of your posts. I admire you.

You must be stalwart because you have earned a voice worth listening to. With it comes the responsibility of giving others hope and direction. You have perhaps unwittingly acquired this burden, but you must now carry it.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

72. +1000

[Civilization2]

75. Lets start by parsing the name "Homeland Security" only an empire,.

that has spread past its own boarders could even consider using the term "Homeland",. it is used to designate the land it started its military domination FROM, as opposed to the lands gained in conquest.

Germans called it the Fatherland, Homeland is not so far removed. Pointing this out helps people realize the lateness of the game here,. .

[Wounded Bear]

19. We used to joke back in the day....

We wished they'd start a war with Mexico. That way we could come home on the weekends.

Hey, this is even better. We can fight our wars and not even have to leave our home towns.

The second part, not the first. That line floated around MCAS El Toro back in the 70's.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

31. I was at El Toro '61 - '65

Except for a year at Atsugi. VMF(AW)-542 & H&MS-15

You?

[Wounded Bear]

34. Bounced around a bit at start....

Boot at San Diego, school in Memphis, then to El Toro. We deployed once to a carrier for a Med cruise in 72-73, and then came back to El Toro.

So I was there basically from '72-'77, when I got out, with the one gap to the Med and some short TADs to various bases around the west.

[kimbutgar]

21. I remember in the Bush years all the returning soldiers were encouraged to join the

Police department. These are our current law enforcement officers who lost their empathy when dealing with the Iraqis.

Now they are applying what they learned in Iraq within their local communities.

Before we all jump to conclusions we should check it out to see if this guy is a Alex jones type follower or like that right winger sheriff in PA. I am taking his comment with a grain of salt.

[lpbk2713]

23. Haven't I seen him in a movie before?

[jberryhill]

39. +1

It's amazing how many retired military officers are right wing loonies.

Although retired admirals seem to have a referral program for endorsing "free energy" schemes.

[AtheistCrusader]

74. Holy shit, why is that in color?

Is there a colorized version of the movie?

[Dustlawyer]

24. Hit the ROOT CAUSE, the buying of politicians at fundraisers, the Super Pacs...

They own the politicians, the judicial branch is compromised, the media is theirs too! They did not like being surprised by OWS. Now, with the information motherlode provided by the NSA, they will know what's going on!
Publicly funded elections and campaign finance reform are the answers if, and only if (big "IF" even), huge numbers of committed protestors get after it. It is not going to happen anytime soon, that's for sure!

[JCMach1]

25. Time to re-watch Terry Gilliam's Brazil...

seriously prophetic...

[denvine]

26. OK everyone, settle down.

This is right out of the wacko right wing sights. This Colonel could be talking to tea partiers. Where do you think the funds would come from to build a domestic army to match our military. Think this through before buying into it.

[Newest Reality]

35. So, you haven't

seen any signs of the acquisitions by various police forces of heave-duty, military-style gear and vehicles?

Or, maybe you haven't noticed the change in uniforms and how they are becoming more similar to heavy combat gear?

A little research can be useful. Also, Fusion Centers are interesting.

To suggest that the militarization of our police forces would be wacko, right-wing or tea party belies the issue at hand and does not change the implications.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

28. Time to Factcheck!!!

"Q: Is Obama planning a Gestapo-like “civilian national security force”?

A: This false claim is a badly distorted version of Obama’s call for doubling the Peace Corps, creating volunteer networks and increasing the size of the Foreign Service.

FULL QUESTION

I read a quote from Rep. Paul Broun from Georgia which stated that Obama wants to set up a civilian national security force that was similar to the “Gestapo” or the Nazi Brownshirts.

What is the truth behind Obama’s statements that he wants to create a “civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded [as the military]“?

FULL ANSWER

This question stems from an interview that Republican Rep. Broun of Georgia gave to The Associated Press Nov. 10. The story carried a headline, “Georgia congressman warns of Obama dictatorship.” It said that Broun “fears that President-elect Obama will establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist or fascist dictatorship.” And it quoted him this way: . . . "


http://www.factcheck.org/2008/11/obamas-national-security-force/

[Mojorabbit]

43. reminded me of this from back in the day

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/7/us_army_denies_unit_will_be
edited to try and embed without luck

[DevonRex]

44. Aw, hell no.

It's just too much fun seeing the panic.

[Roselma]

46. Pretty sad that DUers fell for this.

I thought it was only conspiracy theorists who would latch onto this type of stuff. I remembered that it had been debunked years ago.

[FiveGoodMen]

69. Your post implies that he was misquoted

Listen to him say it right here:

[SleeplessinSoCal]

84. An expanded Ameri-Corps became OFA

Organizing For Action. Like presenting awards for Climate Change Denial.

This is where his army is and are working to organize people to get away from their computers and to act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizing_for_America

[pnwmom]

91. Those 2 sentences were lifted out of a longer passage about expanding AmeriCorps

to give people more volunteer opportunities as a way to strengthen America. That's why only those 2 sentences are included. If you heard the whole context you'd have a completely different reaction.

Which is why no progressive media figure, including Michael Moore and Rachel Maddow, has complained about this quote for five years. And why googling the quote will only bring you to crazy right wing sites and no mainstream media sources.

I found the whole passage at factcheck.org.


http://www.factcheck.org/2008/11/obamas-national-security-force/

Obama, July 2, Colorado Springs, CO: president I will expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 slots and make that increased service a vehicle to meet national goals, like providing health care and education, saving our planet and restoring our standing in the world, so that citizens see their effort connected to a common purpose.

People of all ages, stations and skills will be asked to serve. Because when it comes to the challenges we face, the American people are not the problem – they are the answer. So we are going to send more college graduates to teach and mentor our young people. We’ll call on Americans to join an energy corps, to conduct renewable energy and environmental clean-up projects in their neighborhoods all across the country.

We will enlist our veterans to find jobs and support for other vets, and to be there for our military families. And we’re going to grow our Foreign Service, open consulates that have been shuttered and double the size of the Peace Corps by 2011 to renew our diplomacy. We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set.

We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded. We need to use technology to connect people to service. We’ll expand USA Freedom Corps to create online networks where American can browse opportunities to volunteer. You’ll be able to search by category, time commitment and skill sets. You’ll be able to rate service opportunities, build service networks, and create your own service pages to track your hours and activities.

This will empower more Americans to craft their own service agenda and make their own change from the bottom up.

[freshwest]

99. Obama's plan was very similar to that of FDR, to create jobs doing things for the USA.

WPA, CCC, TVA and other programs come immediately to mind. They employed people, brought up their skill sets, paid prevailing wages, and set many on course to sucessful lives.

They also worked on the environment, created infrastucture of all kinds. From the builiding dams to prevent flooding and make hydroelectric power, roads, bridges, schools of all kinds, hospitals, public housing and so many other things. Some still are serving Americans for the common good.

The insertion of the term military referred to jobs for those coming back from the wars so they would not be jobless and become homeless. How many times have we decried the amount of money that has been spent on warfare, saying it should be spent at home to help our people?

Many of us knew that the veterans of the Bush wars, just like those of other wars, could be employed to take care of our national needs. The RWNJs called it the Hitler Youth and their media, owned by cranky conservative billionaires, went into overdrive. And they have paid for many conspiracies now being preached to make the gullible terrified of all public employees and institutions from public school teachers, police, fire department, the medical profession and even the Post Office.

They say these things are forcing socialism and 'the gay agenda' on people while the police, are planning to kill us all and the fire department, schools, doctors and even the lowly postal workers are spying and making lists of us to be sent to the FEMA death camps and all of that. Such followers cannot think straight, they look around at the real world and see total evil.

They encourage their followers to flee and be terrified of all scientific research and technology. This guarantees they will have little sucesss in life as they reject education and innovation, instead dreaming of a utopia with no government that never was, except in fantasy. What they will get are 50 fiefdoms run by local bosses and an unyielding theocracy that will be enforcing their dogma on their private lives, with no secular alternative for those who don't choose or can't fit.

Those of us who fighting this get no support from the CTers. Mussolini described fascism as a religion, with the state taken over by corporate interests. He would be quite happy to see this flag flying over us, as he did the same thing:



Why any DUer would find the ravings of these RWNJs to be remotely credible, when their real objection was Obama doing FDR type job stimulus efforts to help people escape the GOP created poverty and despair is beyond me. As FDR said:

True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

The work of the GOP is to create that breeding ground of dictators. They have resisted healthcare, food, education, housing and jobs for Americans and work to take away all their rights. Obama did not promise to make 'the trains run on time' ala Mussolini.

For those who claim to be Democrats, another quote from FDR that needs to be heard:

Those newspapers of the nation which most loudly cried dictatorship against me would have been the first to justify
the beginnings of dictatorship by somebody else.

~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

The RWNJs are pushing the overthrow of all forms of government to allow their cronies to take over everything that is necessary to life in this country and worldwide. And many Americans are eating it up.

Thanks for your research debunking this, pnwmom.

[pnwmom]

101. +100. n/t

[Summer Hathaway]

104. I know we're not supposed to "call out" other DUers ...

but you've got this coming, pwnmom:

You can't seem to stop yourself from ruining perfectly good poutrage threads by bringing actual facts into the discussion. You then have the unmitigated gall to research quotes, statistics, etc., and post them - like the proverbial turd in the punchbowl at the latest Hair-on-Fire Brigade's party.

How are the Perpetually Pissed-Off supposed to get their up-to-the-minute non-information, when you keep debunking their outrage-de-jour with actual facts - not to mention context, fer chrissake?

Over the past few months alone, you (and/or your joy-boy buddies) have ruined some of the best poutrage threads with your oh-so-important FACTS, in a blatant attempt to deflect from important bogus news stories like Michelle Catalano's visit from the police being PROOF!!! that the NSA is monitoring people's website activities, Obama's unprecedented action in declaring May 1st "Loyalty Day", and Obama "taking control of the entire internet" by including it as a means of alerting citizens to emergency situations.

Your insistence on disrupting OMG! OMG! OMG! threads is rather disturbing. I think you might try NOT thinking before you post - just like others here do.

I just think it needs saying that you and your fact-hugging friends are making DU suck for a lot of people - so keep up the good work.

[Waiting For Everyman]

29. One thing we can always count on for sure...

Whatever we know about, there are things going on that we don't know about yet which are worse. We never find out all of the worst. It's always true, so figure that in. I always figure that whatever we know, it's twice that bad.

The only two reasons the government has to fear us the citizens is, if it is doing something that it knows we would not stand for -- whether it's in the past, present, or future, or all three. It's either that, or the domestic freaks really are ready to re-fight the Civil War. The reason I think those two are the likely possibilities is, if it was an outside problem we would be let in on it, to be part of the answer.

I tend to think the first possibility is the more likely, based on what we've already seen. I think it's only the tip of the iceberg, and some really dirty shit has been going on (against us) for a long time. To be a national threat and have all this secrecy not get out (any more than it has) it would have to be a both sides are equally guilty scenario, which fits too.

You don't arm for nothing. Even if it's a trumped up excuse, eventually, a reason for it has to be put on the table, if only to explain the expense and the hardware showing up in places, as in the video. I think there is a reason, and it's something we really would finally get the pitchforks out for (for instance if 9/11 was MIHOP). I think they know it's going to inevitably leak out soon, and that is why they're so upset about Snowden. Whatever he has, it must contain a tip off to it.

That's what I think, just fwiw. Time will tell.


ETA: As to whether what's said in the video is true, we can look around at reports of what's happening to police forces all over and know that it's true ourselves. It doesn't rely on this person's statement, it's already evident. Look on any page of GD.

[limpyhobbler]

32. This would sound crazy if it didn't match what I was seeing with my eyes.

[dkf]

36. Welcome to Post-Constitution America: What If Your Country Begins to Change and No One Notices?

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/welcome-post-constitution-america-what-if-your-country-begins-change-and-no-one-notices

Crossposted from TomDispatch

On July 30, 1778, the Continental Congress created the first whistleblower protection law, stating “that it is the duty of all persons in the service of the United States to give the earliest information to Congress or other proper authority of any misconduct, frauds, or misdemeanors committed by any officers or persons in the service of these states.”

Two hundred thirty-five years later, on July 30, 2013, Bradley Manning was found guilty on 20 of the 22 charges for which he was prosecuted, specifically for “espionage” and for videos of war atrocities he released, but not for “aiding the enemy.”

Days after the verdict, with sentencing hearings in which Manning could receive 136 years of prison time ongoing, the pundits have had their say. The problem is that they missed the most chilling aspect of the Manning case: the way it ushered us, almost unnoticed, into post-Constitutional America.

The Weapons of War Come Home

Even before the Manning trial began, the emerging look of that new America was coming into view. In recent years, weapons, tactics, and techniques developed in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as in the war on terror have begun arriving in “the homeland.”

Consider, for instance, the rise of the warrior cop, of increasingly up-armored police departments across the country often filled with former military personnel encouraged to use the sort of rough tactics they once wielded in combat zones. Supporting them are the kinds of weaponry that once would have been inconceivable in police departments, including armored vehicles, typically bought with Department of Homeland Security grants. Recently, the director of the FBI informed a Senate committee that the Bureau was deploying its first drones over the United States. Meanwhile, Customs and Border Protection, part of the Department of Homeland Security and already flying an expanding fleet of Predator drones, the very ones used in America’s war zones, is eager to arm them with “non-lethal” weaponry to “immobilize targets of interest.”

Above all, surveillance technology has been coming home from our distant war zones. The National Security Agency (NSA), for instance, pioneered the use of cell phones to track potential enemy movements in Iraq and Afghanistan. The NSA did this in one of several ways. With the aim of remotely turning on cell phones as audio monitoring or GPS devices, rogue signals could be sent out through an existing network, or NSA software could be implanted on phones disguised as downloads of porn or games.

Using fake cell phone towers that actually intercept phone signals en route to real towers, the U.S. could harvest hardware information in Iraq and Afghanistan that would forever label a phone and allow the NSA to always uniquely identify it, even if the SIM card was changed. The fake cell towers also allowed the NSA to gather precise location data for the phone, vacuum up metadata, and monitor what was being said.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023443569

[RobertEarl]

37. Oh c'mon

Obama was just joking around. He tells jokes like that a lot.

[gtar100]

38. Why does Obama want such a heavily armed domestic police force? That makes no sense unless

they (those in positions of power) are realizing what it's going to take to subdue us when they remove the charade of democracy once and for all. No doubt they are afraid that we unequivocally seek justice for the crimes committed by those of wealth and power. It's only those people who need such a powerful police force. It is they who have changed the game so much. We, the people of a Democratic society, don't need it.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

40. You people lapping up this right wing bullshit are something special

It's amazing how easily manipulated you are.

Vote for Rand Paul! Lolololol.

[Jeroen]

42. Lolololol!

[Pretzel_Warrior]

45. And? This is necessary because gun manufacturers and the NRA armed the crazies

Think about it. That is why nonviolent protests are the best. Take away their advantage of armed superiority

[Jeroen]

47. So you acknowledge the militarization of the police force?

nonviolent protests are the best: agreed!

[Pretzel_Warrior]

55. It's not universal and nowhere near what the video is portraying

So that is the reason for my comment a out people being easily taken in by what amou GE to "FEMA camps" story.

[reusrename]

57. Yeah, we should all pay attention to you instead, right?

Why believe our own lyin' eyes?

[Segami]

58. The proof is in the pudding....

The militarized fire power of state police forces will only escalate. But as always, we are imagining such claims. Lets just move along, because there is nothing here to see...

[HangOnKids]

68. Fuck for Virginity and Destroy the Village to Save it

Makes so much sense

[Jeroen]

98. I understand your aversion for right wing conspiracies.

That said, the video contains a warning about the militarization of the police. Current affairs, like the use of SWAT teams for routine law enforcement matters, strongly suggest that it should be taken serious.

Why Are SWAT TEAMS Answering Routine Police Calls?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023471131

[JoeyT]

49. Yeah, because police would never use violence against an unarmed, non-violent protest.

Yeesh.

[Puzzledtraveller]

61. What Joey said

[sabrina 1]

56. Occupy Wall Street was armed to the teeth? I don't recall a single weapon in the hands of

the OWS, a movement based on the strategy of peaceful, unarmed protest. So why did we need virtual armies of militarized cops to 'protect' us from some peaceful, unarmed Citizens?

And militarized weapons? Can you explain that for those of us who just don't get the need for armies and tanks on the streets of the US?

[Puzzledtraveller]

63. And when some of these people are staring down the barrel of a gun will they say

"but wait, I'm a Democrat!"

[Civilization2]

79. And you are lapping what now? Denial perhaps? Call it a RW conspiracy, whatever. facts are ?

the cops are militarising,. the laws are being disregarded, and the will of the people is being TOTALLY IGNORED,. you figure out where this is heading,. . Corporate-military state? perhaps..,

[pnwmom]

92. And the fact is that in that speech Obama was talking about expanding volunteer

opportunities in Americorps as a way of strengthening America.

That's why you never heard Michael Moore or any other reputable progressive complain about that passage before.


http://www.factcheck.org/2008/11/obamas-national-security-force/

Obama, July 2, Colorado Springs, CO: president I will expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 slots and make that increased service a vehicle to meet national goals, like providing health care and education, saving our planet and restoring our standing in the world, so that citizens see their effort connected to a common purpose.

People of all ages, stations and skills will be asked to serve. Because when it comes to the challenges we face, the American people are not the problem – they are the answer. So we are going to send more college graduates to teach and mentor our young people. We’ll call on Americans to join an energy corps, to conduct renewable energy and environmental clean-up projects in their neighborhoods all across the country.

We will enlist our veterans to find jobs and support for other vets, and to be there for our military families. And we’re going to grow our Foreign Service, open consulates that have been shuttered and double the size of the Peace Corps by 2011 to renew our diplomacy. We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set.

We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded. We need to use technology to connect people to service. We’ll expand USA Freedom Corps to create online networks where American can browse opportunities to volunteer. You’ll be able to search by category, time commitment and skill sets. You’ll be able to rate service opportunities, build service networks, and create your own service pages to track your hours and activities.

This will empower more Americans to craft their own service agenda and make their own change from the bottom up.

[Civilization2]

95. In any context you like, "national security objectives" are what the video is about; MILITARIZATION

"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives..",. seems to be a clear position on what the man in the video presents.

The man in the video is speaking about the acquisition of military equipment by local/state police forces,. and how this is being done in such a way as to "integrate" them with military standards and programs,. he is speaking about the FACT that military gear is NOT NEEDED in domestic policing, and yet we see the acceleration in this militarization of local and state police forces. This is an easily observable fact anywhere across America, the cops now look like storm-troopers with full body-armor, face masks and advanced weaponry including half-tracks, and drones.

The point he makes is valid and easily observable for anyone to verify. This is a disturbing trend and one we need to reverse and counteract at every opportunity. A military-state is not a free and open society, it is anti-democratic.

[pnwmom]

96. You are reading all that into it. He's not talking about the militarization of AmeriCorps volunteers

He's saying that you don't accomplish national security objectives only through military means. You also accomplish them through building a society where young people are encouraged to be involved in national volunteer programs instead of being thrown in high numbers into jail.

That video was deliberately cut to leave out the whole context of those two sentences, which completely change the meaning. The whole passage is about expanding the volunteer program of Americorps, and achieving national security through POSITIVE measures of building a better society -- not a more militarized one.

[Civilization2]

100. Have you watched the video in the OP? This is more the point than the Obama quote,.

actions speak MUCH louder than words. You keep trying to clarify what Obama meant in that little quote,. but more telling is what we see the police on the streets doing,. and we see the gear they be having,. and how they be acting.

[pnwmom]

102. Did I watch the tea party rally? Yes. The Repubs are trying to churn up their followers

by blaming Obama for programs they supported in even greater numbers. I don't take anything they say seriously.

[Civilization2]

105. Obama not mentioned ONCE in the video,. you are clearly deranged. Face reality,.

and stop being a partisan hack. No one attacked your boyfriend. We are speaking about a trend where the local/state police are adopting the tactics and hardware of the military,. why are you on some OTHER page ???

Perhaps you should take a break from defending your chosen "team" and take a step back. The video is a local council meeting in Concord, New Hampshire hardly a hotbed of tea-party activism. But is no criticism of your party is possible then perhaps you are look for a totalitarian state? I prefer an active democracy, guess it is personal preference though.

[snappyturtle]

107. I agree with your posts. The melding of the military and the local police

is astounding to those of us opening our eyes or listening to the news.
Last January, on two nights about the 25th, in Miami, the teevee
stations reported on an unpublicized exercise of military helicopters
and the local police. It scared people. What are helicopters doing
weaving about the skyscrapers of Miami? It happened in Indianapolis
too as I remember and probably other locales too...I not certain.

Although the fed gov't can't turn the army loose on us they can allow
them to work in conjunction with police departments in times of
emergencies. I'm fairly certain it's allowed in civil unrest...I can look
up the law if anyone questions this.

Then, the Obama Americorps deal. Is he really out of the loop that
much? How can the young volunteer their services when they're
out of work or scraping by to go to school and train for jobs that
aren't there when they graduate? Sounds like a propaganda brigade
to me...but maybe that's just me.

The marine in the video is right on. Time for people to get off their
rah rah USA parade horses and face reality. imho

[DevonRex]

41. Haha!! ScreenCap Time again!!! Gotta get everybody on record here.

Falling for RW bullshit from some "ex-Marine colonel" in NH on YouTube at a teeny tiny town hall.

[freshwest]

94. Hell, yeah...

This place reads like the Libertarian Republican website the day after the election in 2012...

It was one of the most hilarious things I've seen in years about moving to Mexico for FREE-DUMB, or bunkering down with Beck.

The webmaster, who said he was leaving the USA, later came back and deleted evidence of his hysteria. But I was able to save most of it for the Schadenfreude...

[DevonRex]

97. fresh, darlin'

Thank you so much for replying to this post of mine. I need a an updated screencap by now. Plus, all of us who enjoyed the hell out of this thread should be remembered for posterity.

[mwrguy]

48. Relax, Obama is still in charge

[drhobo]

64. look long term

What happens if/when a future president decides to 'secure' America further and use that power against his political opponents ? A militarized police for is a dangerous tool that is waiting for the wrong hands. Violent crime has been dropping steadily for two decades, there is no cause to give small town police military equipment and training.

[Dash87]

50. That Obama quote was blown out of proportion. It was a misspeak.

It was grabbed by Libertarians and Republicans and then twisted out of proportion. He didn't mean an actual army - just a well funded DHS and police forces, imo.

[dionysus]

51. FEMA CAMPS!!11!

[freshwest]

103. Definitely. Check the OP's supporting video link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3469092

Infowars conspiracy drekt but no one will hide it. Go to the video to see linked videos. This fits in completely with the memes in the first video attached, The Obama Deception.

I urge DUers to go and watch that with a vomit bag ready and compare it to the posts here. Any story that fits that meme will be posted here, and this one is so dishonestly edited as to read like a Faux Noise story. I feel bad for any person that is being taken in by this as they are denying their own opportunity to make changes for our country by this nihilism.

In the past, threads that were so well debunked as this one would have been hidden or deleted. Or locked.

The General Discussion Statement of Purpose reads:

Discuss politics, issues, and current events. No posts about Israel/Palestine, religion, guns, showbiz, or sports unless there is really big news. No conspiracy theories. No whining about DU.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=about&forum=1002

There is no reason for us to be amazed at the power of media, or the insane things being told to people to terrify and cause them to give up. This was arranged by masters of long-term planning, the Koch brothers. To promote this is to promote Bircher ideology to a different generation who don't know these bad actors.

An example of this has been posted on DU with a video and transcript:

Thom Hartmann: Conservative Millennials, Boomers & Libertarians all being Conned

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101744227

The Infowars franchise supports Ron Paul, Rand Paul, James O'Keefe, the Tea Party, the Libertarian Party, John Birch Society, militias and is against choice for women, voting rights for many people they call sheeple, calls gays a product of government population reduction planning, unions are thugs, public schools indoctrination centers, promotes hatred of hispanics and a form of Christian Nationalism. It also promotes its own form of anti-Semitism in its rantings.

Alex Jones is listed by the SPLC (Southern Poverty Law Center) in its hate groups, along with most bigoted groups that he supports.

Here is their page, it's hard to believe anyone would be comfortable with him. BTW, he and the AFA call the SPLC a hate site and he supports the Second Amendment Solution, the Tenther Movment and thinks the NRA is too liberal:

Alex Jones

Ideology: Patriot Movement

Alex Jones knows how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Every week from his studio in Austin, Texas, he dives into red-faced tirades exposing the forces that threaten to enslave all human life on the planet. The conspiracy always boils down to about the same thing: eugenics operations, the militarization of the police, a cabal of wealthy corporations and the United Nations involved in a fiendish plot to control the world.

Five days a week, online and on more than 60 radio stations nationwide, “The Alex Jones Show,” along with a pair of websites he runs (Infowars.com and PrisonPlanet.com), serves as the tumultuous showcase for his overactive imagination — a worldview governed by logic-leaping deductions and heedless pronouncements. His website is chock full of apocalyptic headlines and ads for products like “recession-proof coins” and manuals on How to Survive Martial Law in America. On the air, he’s given to stream-of-consciousness rants.

Influenced heavily by the conspiracy-minded John Birch Society, Jones ran unsuccessfully for a Texas House seat in 2000 as a Republican but said he doesn’t follow the platform of either of the two major parties. He has described his own politics as libertarian.

Jones has accused the federal government of involvement in the Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 attacks, said that the Branch Davidian cultists in Texas were purposely murdered by authorities, claimed that FEMA is secretly building concentration camps for liberty-loving citizens, and issued a series of videos with hair-raising, B horror-film titles. A sampling: “911: The Road to Tyranny,” “Police State 3: Total Enslavement,” “The Masters of Terror: Exposed,” “New World Order: Blueprint of Madmen” and “The Obama Deception: The Mask Comes Off.”

Although it hardly seems possible, Jones’ fecund imagination now seems to be sprouting even more conspiracy theories than before.

Last year, for example, after Jared Lee Loughner went on his January 2011 rampage in Tucson, Ariz., killing six and wounding U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Jones told Rolling Stone: “This whole thing stinks to high heaven… My gut tells me this was a staged mind-control operation. The government employs geometric psychological-warfare experts that know exactly how to indirectly manipulate unstable people through the media.”

It’s simply a matter of finding the truth, Jones says. Or something like that.

In August 2011, he featured on Infowars an article that called the Department of Homeland Security’s year-old “If you see something, say something” terrorism-awareness campaign a racist conspiracy to “characterize predominantly white, middle class, politically engaged Americans as domestic extremists.”

The program, which actually encourages people to consider “behavior, rather than appearance” when considering whether to report suspicious activity, entails a series of public service announcements designed to drive home that point. What piqued Jones was a 10-minute PSA in which most of the “terrorists” are white, while the citizens who report their suspicious activities are all minorities. He milked the issue for at least a month. “What do you think of [DHS’] rebranding that the terrorists aren’t Al Qaeda anymore?” he said on his Aug. 18 radio show. “It’s that veteran, it’s that gun owner, it’s that farmer… it’s that white person. Whites are the new Al Qaeda.”

Besides exploiting racial animosities, Jones’s conspiracy theories often appeal to the fears of the antigovernment “Patriot” movement.

At the movement’s previous peak in the 1990s, the “black helicopter” was a symbol of its cartoonish insistence that the government would soon be coming after freedom-loving dissidents who knew the truth about the New World Order. Jones gave these fears a 21st century update in an October 2011 online broadcast. He obsessed over news that the sheriff of Montgomery County, Texas, had used a federal grant to buy an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (also known as a drone) called the ShadowHawk. The laptop-controlled, miniature helicopter comes equipped with a powerful zoom camera, infrared heat-seeking optics and crowd-stopping cartridges.

To Jones, this was not simply a police department taking advantage of the latest law enforcement technologies but a glimpse at the insidious machinery agents of the New World Order are deploying in the night skies in advance of martial law. “They’ve got large unmanned drones,” Jones warned. “They’ve got small drones... And they’ve got million-dollar systems up there flying around with cops in control of them, surveilling you. And now they’re mounting them with ground-penetrating radar that looks right through your wall, while you’re on the toilet, having sex with your wife.”

http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/profiles/alex-jones

P. S.

Jones promoted false flag dreckt about Newtown, Aurora, the Sikh temple and Boston. And regarding his homophobia:

[democrank]

52. The militarization of our police forces is very, very troubling.

We need to wake up.

[drhobo]

62. +1

If something is worrying both the left and the right, it should be taken seriously

[Segami]

66. +2

[blackspade]

59. K&R!

[Puzzledtraveller]

60. First the wool, then the bullet

[Bernardo de La Paz]

77. Other news: Orson Scott Card thinks Obama turning gangs into private army to be permanently elected.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/15/orson-scott-card-racist-obama_n_3762891.html

"Obama is, by character and preference, a dictator," Card wrote before comparing the President of the United States to Adolf Hitler.

Here's more:

Obama will claim we need a national police force in order to fight terrorism and crime. The Boston bombing is a useful start, especially when combined with random shootings by crazy people.

Where will he get his "national police"? The NaPo will be recruited from "young out-of-work urban men" and it will be hailed as a cure for the economic malaise of the inner cities.

In other words, Obama will put a thin veneer of training and military structure on urban gangs, and send them out to channel their violence against Obama's enemies.

Aside from strong-arming the country through his "urban gang" army, Card claims, Obama will also reassert his power through puppet dictators. Possible proxy leaders? Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama.

I think the Marine Corp Colonel is more in tune with reality than Card.

[pnwmom]

90. Since the context of the quote is about expanding volunteer opportunities with Americorps

as a way of strengthening America, Card's reaction isn't any more ludicrous than many of the people responding here -- without ever once suspecting that maybe that quote had an innocuous explanation.

Hint: if a shocking quote is all over the right-wing blogosphere but left-wing reliables like Maddox and Moore never mention it -- maybe people should check its accuracy and context.

[NYC Liberal]

78. Yawn

[pnwmom]

81. I went through 10 pages of googling and couldn't find a single legitimate source for this quote.

Last edited Thu Aug 15, 2013, 09:38 PM - Edit history (1)

Everything except this thread was from the right wing echo chamber.

Would Rachel Maddow have had nothing to say about this? Or anyone else on MSNBC? Or Salon? Or Rolling Stone? Or the NYTimes? Wouldn't any progressives anywhere have been objecting if Obama had said this during a Presidential election?

Edit to add: This sentence was in the middle of a statement he made calling for national service volunteer opportunities.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3469208

[happyslug]

89. Domestic Army? That is what the Militia is for!!!!

Under Federal Law, every male between the ages of 18 and 45 NOT in actual Military services OR a member of the National Guard or Army Reserve, is member of the "Reserve Militia". The term "Reserve Militia" was adopted so that the National Guard, when it came under Federal Control under the Dick Act of 1903 could be called "Militia". Prior to the passage of the Dick Act (and the adoption of the present system for the National Guard) the only Federal Law that governed the Militia was the Militia Act of 1795. The Militia Act of 1795 required all males between the ages of 18 and 45 to be member of actual Militia units.

The problem was, once the Indian threat ended with the end of the war of 1812, States north of the Ohio River and the Mason-Dixon line, who under the Militia Act of 1795, were suppose to form these Militia units. decided to lower the fine for not showing up for Militia drill so that more people would opt to pay the fine. The States preferred the revenue from the fines then in maintaining the Militia. By the 1830s, states were getting upset, some people actual would show up for drills, even if the fine was quite low. The States solved this problem by making the Fine a Head tax, that people had to pay even if they showed up for drills.

Now, the slave states retained their Militia long after the North had all but abolished they Militia units. The reason was that Militia duty was tied in with the "Sheriff's Patrol". The "Sheriff Patrol" was a requirement that all free men of an area would patrol certain key points to prevent crime (In the North Robbery, in the South Slave escaping). In the North, most Sheriff's did not do the patrol for they view it as a waste of time. In the South, the Sheriff's patrol was the key to keep slaves in their place. Any African American walking on the roads that ran into a Patrol (Who tended to be at certain intersections) had to show he had a legitimate reason to be on the road. If Not the patrol could arrest the African American (and do anything else they wanted to the African American, including killing the African American. If a Patrol killed a slave, the county reimbursed the owner for the loss).

Now, even in the Colonial period some people in the Colonies wanted to be a member of a higher class of Militia then the General Militia. These people form clubs with other people with similar ideas. They had uniforms made and purchased arms. As the Northern Militia declined after 1812, such clubs expanded. In 1835 when Lafayette visited the US, a New York City Club, came out in full dress to provide a military escort for Lafayette as he visited the US. That club called itself the "National Guard" in honor of the formation Lafayette had organized and lead during the French Revolution. Other similar clubs adopted the name National Guard to distinguish themselves from the regular Militia.

Since these National Guard Units were NOT authorized by Congress, the state could NOT technically adopt the National Guard as anything more then Clubs. That was the case up to and during the Civil War. During the Civil War, all of these clubs volunteered as units for Federal Service. The Federal Government needing Troops, accepted them, but sworn them in as new enlistees NOT as some sort of called up militia. At the end of the Civil War, the states in the North, wanted to maintain these units (and other units created by the States during the Civil War), for many up and coming politicians had served in them. The States organized them as units, without Federal permission, and called them they militia, even through the Federal Government did NOT change the Militia Act of 1795.

This caused a mess in the late 1800s. Under the US Constitution the only troops the State can have is the Militia, as organised by the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, OR State troops if a State is permitted to have State Troops by the Federal Government. The Militia as authorized by the Militia Act of 1795 had wither away, but the National Guard existed but the Federal Government had NEVER adopted it as Militia or State Troops. The State and Federal Courts bent over backward to come up with reasons the National Guard was the Militia, especially after the General Strike of 1877, which was only put down by use of the Regular Army AND the National Guard.

As I said, the courts bent over backward to rule that the National Guard was the Militia. One rationale was the Militia could be formed by the State, whenever the Federal Government had not done so. The problems was there was a Federal Law as to formation of the Militia, but after the General Strike of 1877, the states did NOT want a general militia, but a select militia. A Select militia is the term for a reserve unit that was loyal to its pay master NOT to the State or nation as a whole. This is unlike the Militia set forth in the Militia Act of 1795 which was a universal service Militia, i.e every one served, unless otherwise exempt, but no one was pay to serve.

This was the situation in 1903 when Theodore Roosevelt wanted to upgrade the US Military and form some sort of Army Reserve, as opposed to a universal service militia. Theodore Roosevelt wanted to preserve the National Guard, for he had served in it in previous years. On the other hand people wanted to retain the Universal nature of the Militia Act of 1795, for that is what the Congress that adopted the Bill of Rights (and the Second Amendment) AND it was passed within 7 years of the signing of the US Constitution, and thus members of that early Congress had a better idea of what the writers of the Constitution wanted, then we do today, for many of the writers of the Constitution served in that Congress (Please note the first Militia act was in 1792, before the adoption of the Bill of Rights, and within 3 years of the adoption of the US Constitution in 1789. The Constitution had been signed in 1787, but only passed by the needed number of states in 1789. Congress passed the Militia Act of 1792, then re-passed with corrections of some typos in 1795).

Thus the Dick Act had to address two issues, to make it clear that the National Guard was authorized by Congress as part of the Militia (and once authorized, even if a court ruled the National Guard was State Troops, such State Troops would have been authorized) AND to keep the universal service part of the Militia Act of 1795 (While getting rid of the obsolete details in that Act). Thus, today, the National Guard is part of the Militia, but so is the "Reserve Militia" of all males between 18 and 45. It is the reserve Militia that is our "Domestic Army" not the police, unless like the courts after the General Strike of 1877 want hired guns to put down majority protesters, as the National Guard tried to do (and did in many locations) in 1877.


Side note: When the North had effective Militia, from the founding of New England by the Puritans in 1630, till Tecumseh was killed in the Battle of the Thames in 1814, the New England Militia was as good, and at times better then regular troops. New York and New Jersey Militias were not as good, but could be effective. Pennsylvania did not have a Militia till 1758, but then its Militia became as good as New England Militia. On the other hand, the Militia from south of the Mason Dixon line, was inferior, almost useless. The reason for this, was it was rare for the men in the Southern Militia to train together (Which the New England Militia did every Sunday after Church), they primary function was the Sheriff's patrol NOT to train as a military unit. i.e. they main job was to beat up on African Americans NOT to fight an armed enemy. Such a Militia could be a good pool to draw recruits from, that can be trained as a military Unit (which it appears is what the South did, and the reason the South is viewed as having better soldiers in the first year of the Civil war), but lousy if called into actual combat, for it personnel had very little, if any training as a unit, as oppose to individuals (Thus the reports during the American Revolution about the "Useless Militia", a term ONLY used as to Militia south of the Mason Dixon line, the further south the more useless it was).


Side note: The people of the City of Pittsburgh, during the General Strike had supported the Strikers and this support extended to the Pittsburgh division of the Pennsylvania National Guard, when the Philadelphia National Guard had fired on strikers in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Militia almost opened fire on the Philadelphia Militia. The Pittsburgh Militia was sent home while the strikers had opened fire on the Philadelphia Militia hold up in the Round House of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The strikers even brought up a Civil War Cannon to blast the Round House. The National Guard troops managed to keep people away from the cannon (by shooting then dead) and then marched out of town.

http://www.socialistappeal.org/uslaborhistory/great_railroad_strike_of_1877.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Railroad_Strike_of_1877
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3189
http://books.google.com/books?id=2Za8lifq1mYC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=Pennsylvania+National+Guard+General+Strike+of+1877&source=web&ots=T4MPp9Qhn3&sig=DNSYI2UuLrujc2XvYEm1rvrTUVA&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result#v=onepage&q&f=false


Side note: Pennsylvania did not form a militia till 1758, for that is the first year the Quakers lost control of the General Assembly. Quakers wanted peace and land. Militia violated they concept of peace, but the Quaker's greed for land was shown in the legendary "Long Walk" of 1735. In 1735 the Quakers brought in Speed Walkers to walk the one day distance from a river, that the Native Americans had agree to give to Pennsylvania in a treaty signed by William Penn Decades earlier. The Native Americans protested they had to run to keep up with these walkers and the distance covered by the walker was way beyond what had been agreed to. The Delaware and Shawnee tribes protested, but the Delaware had lost out to the Iroquois in the late 1600s AND the Shawnees were only in Pennsylvania by agreement with the Iroquois, thus both tribes could do nothing when the distance was accepted by the Iroquois the next year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_Purchase

The net result of this theft of land was hostility between the Native Americans and Pennsylvania, which did not have a Militia. in 1745 France and England went to war and Pennsylvania still did not have a Militia or any other types of troops. In the Colonial people, the main thrust of any war between France and England was the sugar islands of the West Indies/Caribbean. On the other hand, neither side wanted their fleet in the Caribbean during Hurricane season. Thus twice a year the French Fleet went from the Caribbean to Canada (about June) and then return to the Caribbean in October (The British Fleet did the same, but stayed in Charleston or New York City). This movement of the French Fleet put the People of Philadelphia in fear, twice a year the French Fleet sailed by, very quickly in June, much slower in October (The Gulf Stream goes along the East Coast north, thus a lot harder to go south then north). The Colony of Pennsylvania refused to do anything to protect Philadelphia from a sea attack being good Quakers. To deal with this problem Ben Franklin organized the people of Philadelphia to build and man a foot that could delay any French Naval attack, delay it enough to permit most of the people of Philadelphia to get out of town before the French took it.

Once the fort was built, Ben Franklin advised the people on the Frontier to from their own "Associations", which was the name he had given the people who built, maintain and man the first fort to defend Philadelphia. The people on the Frontier had been left defenseless when the war between France and England broke out in 1745. The Quakers who still controlled the General Assembly refused to form a Militia, after getting the Native Americans mad at them by stealing their land. These Associations were reformed when the French and Indian War broke out in 1754 and were the basis of the Pennsylvania Militia when the Quakers finally lost control of the General Assembly in 1758.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

93. To fight the war on Christmas

City by city and block by block

[underpants]

106. can't find it now but W. mention on a SOTU the need for a executive branch controlled military

I will keep looking