SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
President Trump will sign an executive order to allow local police departments to receive or purchase military surplus equipment:
Police departments will now have access to military surplus equipment typically used in warfare, including grenade launchers, armored vehicles and bayonets, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Monday, describing it as "lifesaving gear."
The move rescinds limits on the Pentagon handouts that were put in place by President Barack Obama in 2015 amid a national debate over policing touched off by a spate of high-profile deaths of black men at the hands of the police, including the shooting death in 2014 of 18-year-old Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Mo., by a white officer. Some local residents viewed police use of military equipment during the ensuing protests as an unnecessary show of force and intimidation.
In a speech to the Fraternal Order of Police in Nashville, Mr. Sessions said Mr. Obama had made it harder for the police to protect themselves and their neighborhoods. "Those restrictions went too far," Mr. Sessions said. "We will not put superficial concerns above public safety."
Mr. Sessions said that President Trump would sign an executive order on Monday fully restoring the military program, called 1033, and that the president was doing "all he can to restore law and order and support our police across the country." [...] The program was started in the 1990s as a way for the military to transfer surplus equipment to federal, state and local police agencies fighting the drug war. More than $5 billion in surplus gear has been funneled to law enforcement agencies.
Organized gangs get to play soldier.
Also at The Hill and USA Today.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday August 29 2017, @09:53PM (4 children)
Sanders got within striking distance of Clinton despite opposition to him within the DNC and Clinton being considered the anointed one by the media. It was supposed to be a done deal that Clinton would get the nomination, and that the loony-looking Sanders would get a token 2-10% of the primary votes.
Now we're going into 2020 with a Presidential candidate vacuum in the Democratic Party. It's inconceivable that Clinton would run again. She failed against the candidate that was supposed to be easy to beat. A lot of shady stuff [theintercept.com] happened to tank Sanders and push Clinton through, and it pissed off the left wing of the party.
Who is the best person to challenge Trump in 2020? Cory Booker? Who knows.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Tuesday August 29 2017, @10:19PM (1 child)
Now we're going into 2020 with a Presidential candidate vacuum in the Democratic Party. It's inconceivable that Clinton would run again. She failed against the candidate that was supposed to be easy to beat.
Really? With the way the DNC has behaved all along, and also considering their historical record of running lousy candidates (Kerry, Gore, Dukakis, Mondale), I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see them run Hillary yet again in 2020, and lose yet again. They really do seem to be clueless.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 30 2017, @02:34AM
Seriously, you couldn't have gone back to Humphrey? The Dems have been running anointed ones instead of candidates actually able to engender excitement my whole life.
I highly recommend people take the time to listen to Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs. List to their songs and you'll very quickly realize how long this shit's been going on.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Wednesday August 30 2017, @03:47AM (1 child)
Please no -- Cory Booker is just a pharma whore. He's exactly like Clinton, but with different plumbing and skin tone. If the DNC goes the Clinton way again, I might actually have to vote for whoever the GOP challenger is, though I'd prefer to vote for someone like Sanders or barring that, a 3d party.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday August 30 2017, @03:41PM
What are you talking about? Booker at least has done a couple of genuinely progressive things, such as publicly opposing the Drug War. He's no Sanders, but I wouldn't say he's exactly like Hillary; that's just ridiculous.