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Awesome quote, too bad he was a fantasy writer. It definitely applies, however.
This was a test post. We just swapped servers (again). How is the site performing for you now that we’ve escaped the clutches of HostGator?
Works well, all links and pix seem to be loading!
Bad ass as always brother.
According to Firebug HTTP profiler, main content loads withing two seconds. Banners (some of them are really huge, like 800-900 kB) and social buttons are a bit slower then main stuff – within 5-7 seconds.
My provider is Comcast.
Regarding the quote: Its too late – we’re screwed.
Regarding the site: Running much better for me. 🙂
Well, while we’re on Heinlein:
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
Site load is noticeably snappier, today.
Regarding the quote, no doubt. Cops are civilians, plain and simple. There is zero reason to arm them in any way differently than any other civilian.
I really like his ideas about citizenship being something that is earned, not just something you’re born into. I find it funny that we rejected the monarchy – a system where people are in power because they were born into it – but now not only is citizenship given without cost, but power (via money) is still something people are born into.
Damn straight.
Most people have equal or better firepower than law enforcement. The legality for them to carry it every where is the biggest factor affecting people. Second to that is armor which most people could legally buy but choose not to or companies choose not to sell it to them. If the every single dude had the same or better weapons every time there was a stand off, the only people to outgunned them would be the military which would be used as they in 17 and 1800s to quell incidents but people complain about the police having every day AR as too militaristic so the cycle continues.
Correction… Most people that choose to own weapons legally. If you live in one of the overly liberal states, that’s your choice…
Cool content, articles, and quotes like these really make the work day better for our crew. SolSys for life.
Cops are what percentage of the population?
In a town of 65,000, the police is VERY minimal.
Even in NYC, where on an average working day there are 4 million, there are ONLY approximately 35,000 NYPD for the entire city.
It’s because people by and large don’t conduct themselves like simians, and don’t need to be “policed” in order to carry out their daily lives. Shockingly, this is yet another reason why police ought only be permitted to carry what every other civilian is legally permitted – and in precisely the same manner. Oh, Condition 4 with magazines and weapon in two separate locations when mounted in a vehicle? I, personally, would find that inconvenient for cops – and dangerous – but no more so than it is for anyone else. No one’s life is any more precious than anyone else’s is, so if the law is idiotic for one party, it follows that it is for the next as well.
Also, I hear the price of fish in NYC is quite reasonable, today.
This quote reminds me of my stint in Libya where the average joe was cutting around on a landcruiser with a ZPU-2 on the back of it… awesome place…
Yes I’m sure the continent of Africa is heaven for some people.
For some, not the world in general, maybe my sarcasm too subtle.
your sarcasm is just fine. It went ballistic for orly. 🙂
Great, another cop hating site to stop reading, besides, reading about camouflage makes me all “militaristic” anyway while waiting for the FEMA Overlords to give the signal that 600,000 cops have somehow managed to keep secret.
SSD isn’t anti-LE. However, just like many sites, some of the readers apparently are. Remember, Internet discourse, like politics, draws in the most polarizing views. Just like bad cops, the citizens with an anti-LE stance represent a tiny minority. But like the actions of those bad cops, they just have a loud voice.
And nothing of value was lost.
The “average” citizen isn’t tasked with running into the shit, so the equal armament argument may apply in a static setting, but not on the job. The average department size is 13 officers. It takes approx. 5 officers(actually4.5) to keep one car on the road 24 hours a day. An ideal is 1 cop per 10,000 population, though obviously some areas need more, some less.
General Billy Mitchell wanted to deploy Army Air Corps bombers in the 1920s against striking coal miners in West VA at the Battle of Blair Mountain. People claim we are becoming more militarized, but every significant SCOTUS ruling and advancement in police doctrine since the late 60s/early 70s has had the opposite influence.
Thank you.
There’s a reason NYPD may or may not have Stingers in their inventory, routinely NEED SWAT, and swelled their ranks during the Bush administration.
But apparently some people feel they don’t need all that.
If the NYPD cant kill one guy without hitting 9 innocent bystanders, I don’t have much confidence in them being able to use a Stinger
What happens when police buy more ammo to train?
People get freaking paranoid and then another AMMO CRISIS occurs.
What happens when more police are recruited?
People start screaming “Police State” even when they can’t shoot.
If your intent with this posting was increased dialog, well congrats. Too bad it was of the “black helicopters overhead/big brother” variety.
As a veteran, and active duty law enforcement, I’ve visited this site regularly for good info on the necessary tools of a dangerous trade. Both overseas, and at home, I’m proud of my bothers and sisters that serve, and I’m proud to be one of them.
The important constitutional distinction to be made is that the true power of law enforcement is this: we serve the citizenry, our badge represents the moral stance we take to protect and serve, and our weapons are the least important part of our function in a civilized society. The weapons are just a tool, the democratic ideal it the real power behind the badge. I’m just glad that the command, and citizenry, I work for, understands the necessity of arming us as they do. If you think the cops, and their armament are the problem, try visiting the local prison yard…
Well said. I’m not sure where this went off the rails. We’ve been going through a server swap and half the time I couldn’t see this server.
I think the problem exists only when citizens feel that politicians, and bureaucrats misuse LEO’s to execute control over the citizens that put them into power.
What the citizens see as “police abuse”, I see it as “political misuse of forces”. The phrase “I was just following orders” is not an excuse to damage the trust that exist between the people, and those in power.
So please never misinterpret it as “hating cops”, most people don’t. We just don’t like how they’re used all the time.
The one filled with non violent drug offenders? Ok.
Yes the one filled with those on charges of non violent drug offenses. Don’t confuse that with non violent offenders….
Erin, well said, I have never heard such a definitive explanation of our mission, It’s a shame that decent citizens appear to be so oblivious to what actually goes on in American culture.
Very well said. I am using it.
After this, and the other Heinlein post? i think i need to really delve into this guy’s mindset. He was definitely ahead of his time.
don’t dig too deep, this is the same guy who wrote about having a 3-way with female clones of himself and uses time travel to have car sex with his own mother in the same book.
lost a lot of respect for him after that.
It’s science fiction
Heinlein liked to provoke a response from his readers by posing situations in his books that often defied or contradicted conventional thinking.
He didn’t shy away from controversy or toe a party line. He was always a free thinker and unafraid. In short, he was an iconic American author. I respect that.
Patterns, logistics, forensics, tactics, intel, communications, and evidence.
The average citizen apparently should do all of this.
Of course there are some that just “have a hunch.”
In my neighborhood, I routinely engage the seven items on your list. LEOs keeping the drug dealers out? Only after the local citizenry does all the heavy lifting, and hands over all that’s needed for a bust.
Just because someone is wearing Symbols Of Authority, doesn’t mean I give them a pass. It doesn’t matter if we are talking MIL, LEO, or FIRST RESPONDER. Act stupid, expect to get treated as such.
Bob’s quote isn’t anti-LEO, it’s anti-Abuse Of Power. Please learn the difference. The problem is that a person in a UNIFORMED occupation is expected to behave… uniformly. So, when someone has a run-in with a truly shithead cop, all the non-shithead cops that same someone deals with from then on will have a harder time of simply trying to do a little serving and protecting.
Just like when some shithead Deck Ape has a run at some local in a bar, every other Deck Ape that comes into that bar after the incident can expect a slightly less good time, and more hassling from LEOs, warranted or not. If you want to see how stupid it can get, there’s always the example of the Tidewater VA area in the early ’70s…
(all of this post is not necessarily directed at “orly?”)
Good lord. SSD makes one post that barely skims into dialogue about police militarization and everyone jumps on the “this is anti-LEO” bandwagon. This site is just about as pro-LEO as it gets, to a fault sometimes. The quote is neither anti-LEO nor anti militarization, it highlights the need of the average citizenry to take responsibility, instead of relying solely on the police. Jeez, don’t get your panties in a bunch because it opens up dialogue…
SSD knew what he was doing when he posted it….
Please tell me what I was doing?
Military entry teams have stricter rules of engagement then civilian SWAT teams during an entry.
And if the term civilian SWAT teams confused you, you are part of the problem.
Go on…. Please…. Tell me about the search warrants signed by judges after investigators have establishing probable cause, then showing extenuating circumstances for no knocks and forced entry.