Dept. Of agriculture orders ballistic body armor

[Chuck Haggard]

I do think we have too many federal agencies with enforcement authority that extends down to individual arrest powers.
I think more federal agencies should have their enforcement authority limited to the "paperwork investigations" level and consolidate the arrest authority into just one or two agencies that serve warrants on their behalf.
That being said...
Those agents tasked with making arrests should have the equipment they need to perform those duties safely and efficiently.

I think that sometimes, but then I think about how specialized some of this stuff gets. I know way more about gang-bangers and street crime than any Fed ever. What do I know about food stamp fraud being used by illegals from the Middle East funneling the funds to Hamas? Trafficking in illegally hunted endangered species parts? Toxic waste dumping?
Not nearly as much.

[Chuck Haggard]

Here's what ELSE the feds need this body armor for.


http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...-raw-milk-mob/

This is very troubling for those of us in agricultural communities, or whose livelihoods depend on agricultural resources. Forgive me, but I don't want the feds having any more toys.

So gun owners should also be disarmed because gang-bangers do bad things with guns?

[Josh Runkle]

I do think we have too many federal agencies with enforcement authority that extends down to individual arrest powers.
I think more federal agencies should have their enforcement authority limited to the "paperwork investigations" level and consolidate the arrest authority into just one or two agencies that serve warrants on their behalf.
That being said...
Those agents tasked with making arrests should have the equipment they need to perform those duties safely and efficiently.

Absolutely. Can't say it any better than this.

[jlw]

And arrest warrants never come after search warrants and nothing ever goes bad with those.

[Josh Runkle]

I think that sometimes, but then I think about how specialized some of this stuff gets. I know way more about gang-bangers and street crime than any Fed ever. What do I know about food stamp fraud being used by illegals from the Middle East funneling the funds to Hamas? Trafficking in illegally hunted endangered species parts? Toxic waste dumping?
Not nearly as much.

If a single agency had these responsibilities they would have hundreds, maybe thousands of divisions, and millions of agents. Instead we spread it out into hundreds of agencies (the US has 16 intelligence agencies, for example, when it should have maybe 2). Why? Because the American Public would not tolerate the way the American Government works if they were aware to the truth.

That being said, the people on the ground deserve our support, as they do not create policy and simply represent the government.

ETA: sorry, actually 17 intelligence agencies. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unite...ence_Community

[Chuck Haggard]

People get the LE that they vote for.


I'll note that would any of us want the same guys running the entire show that were running the ATF when F&F went down?

At least thing being spread out means that not everyone is screwed up all at the same time, mostly.

[Dan_S]

So gun owners should also be disarmed because gang-bangers do bad things with guns?

I fail to follow you. That has nothing to do with the application of these so-called "necessary" pieces of equipment, or their usage, which is inappropriate.




What I see, is a bunch of over-armed and under-brained feds, packing tens of thousands of dollars-worth of gear, to raid farms for supposed violations. How that could possibly equate to gang-bangers and gun-control....well, that's puzzling.

[Stephen]

People get the LE that they vote for.


I'll note that would any of us want the same guys running the entire show that were running the ATF when F&F went down?

At least thing being spread out means that not everyone is screwed up all at the same time, mostly.

I won't pretend to be knowledgeable enough to know how it should be done, but I have to assume some consolidation would increase efficiency. Its pretty ridiculous how many agencies we have and how large they are. But Chuck brings up a good point. Imagine how much easier it would be for Obama to remake various agencies in his image if command was more centralized.

[TSH]

Here's what ELSE the feds need this body armor for.


http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...-raw-milk-mob/

This is very troubling for those of us in agricultural communities, or whose livelihoods depend on agricultural resources. Forgive me, but I don't want the feds having any more toys.

Ballistic body armor hardly falls in to the "toy" category.
I suppose we should make sure the Feds don't have access to other life saving equipment, like AEDs and tourniquet kits. Cause, you know, tyranny and stuff...

[JodyH]

And arrest warrants never come after search warrants and nothing ever goes bad with those.

And there's no department of redundancy department in federal law enforcement...