Police Departments Scrape for Ammo After DHS Buys 1.6 Billion Rounds

For your consideration: "Police Departments Beg And Barter For Ammo While DHS Buys Up 1.6 Billion Rounds In Past Year"

The nationwide shortage of ammunition has left many police departments scrambling to get their hands on the necessary rounds - with some even bartering among each other ...[Meanwhile] the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has failed to respond to multiple members of Congress asking why DHS bought more than 1.6 billion rounds in the past year. Police Chief Cameron Arthur of Jenks, Oklahoma says, "Ammunition and assault weapons in general have skyrocketed...In addition to the fact, not only is it a lot more expensive, but the time to get it could be six months to a year, or in some cases even longer."

With that as a backdrop, may I present the following news reports?

1. The Department of Homeland Security recently acquired 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition, which represents thousands of rounds per DHS employee.

2. Newly released drone records have revealed extensive military flights inside the U.S.; police departments and federal agencies plan to have as many as 30,000 drones monitoring Americans within the next seven years.

3. When Can the U.S. Kill Americans? The White House Won't Say -- and Won't Even Tell Congress; President Obama's successful efforts to renew and strengthen The Patriot Act under the NDAA means, according to the ACLU, American citizens may be subject to "indefinite military detention without charge or trial... for the first time in American history."

4. The FBI director said in March he'd have to check whether the president can assassinate citizens inside the U.S.. When questioned by Congress regarding a speech by Attorney General Holder, who offered his "legal justification for assassination", FBI Director Mueller was unable to say whether the president could unilaterally decide to assassinate U.S. citizens inside the borders of this country.

5. The DHS has specifically listed Americans who believe in "individual liberty" as potential terrorists. These "right-wing extremists" who insist in fidelity to the Constitution are, according to multiple studies funded by DHS, among the country's most dire terrorist threats. Not Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Ansar al-Islam, Hamas, or Iran's Revolutionary Guards -- together responsible for tens of thousands of murders -- but "violent right-wing extremists" who believe in the principles of the nation's founding.

6. The military recently deployed gunships over Miami, executing training exercises with local police departments. A few days later, similar exercises were conducted in Houston. Last year the military deployed ground forces, armored personnel carriers and tanks on the streets of St. Louis for "training exercises". Military exercises in domestic urban environments of this scale are "unprecedented".

7. Police departments throughout the country are receiving tanks, humvees and drones from the Department of Defense, according to a WLS-TV (Chicago) I-Team investigation. "Short of a weapon of mass destruction, you can get any kind of military gear that's out there," the police chief of Benedectine University told WLS. "We chose firearms and a vehicle." WLS also reported rampant theft of military equipment, including body armor and night-vision goggles issued to the Chicago Police Department.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Do these data points offer any context into President Obama's promise to create "a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded as our military?"

Conversely, do these news reports offer any insights into the president's efforts to disarm American citizens, a clear violation of the Bill of Rights?

The sources of these news items include such right-wing extremist groups as the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and National Journal. Suffice it to say that even "progressives" appear to be getting antsy with the erosion of individual liberties and the militarization of police forces under this president.