[EA-18 Growler]

I've heard there will be drops for CSOs out of Pcola for Growlers, and there will also be drops for pilots out of UPT coming soon.

[Decline of Baseops.net (aka The Wrath of PYB/Mods gone wild)]

Of course it wasn't for you, it was for all the other screen names who have a peculiar fixation on a single topic and a penchant for self-promotion.

Believe what you want, I'm not going to argue with you.

[Decline of Baseops.net (aka The Wrath of PYB/Mods gone wild)]

PYB, I think you should just post as yourself. Using alternate screen names and TOR browsers seems like a long way to go for an online debate.

If this was meant for me, your assumption is incorrect.

[Decline of Baseops.net (aka The Wrath of PYB/Mods gone wild)]

So does anybody have thoughts on my question? Are differing political stripes and ways of life converging into agreement that a police state violating our rights is not acceptable?

POLICING AMERICA: SECURITY VS. LIBERTY

Where's the line between security and liberty? American police are now armed like the military; they use their power more often and forcefully than ever before. The state has new and expanding powers to spy on almost everything you do.

THE WARRIOR COP: SWAT teams were once called out only in emergencies. Now there are almost 100 raids a day. The weapons and tactics they use come straight from the military. Sometimes innocent people are killed. Why use so much force so often? What would you do if armed men in masks broke down your door in the middle of the night?

CONSTITUTION-FREE ZONES: Lots of Americans are getting upset about being detained by armed border patrol agents not on the border but miles away from the border. Some push back, sometimes with violent results.

MANDATORY MINIMUMS: Do mandatory minimum sentences work? Prosecutors like them because they give them more power when they plea bargain with suspects. But judges often object, and sometimes people serve long sentences for trivial crimes. Or no crime.

NSA SPYING: New revelations surface almost daily on ways the Feds spy on Americans. Does this make us safer? Or invade our privacy in destructive ways?

I SPY: Government spying is one thing. Now new, cheaper "personal" drones make it easy for anyone to spy on anyone. Some say: "I've got nothing to hide. Why should I care?" But then why do you have drapes? Stossel goes to Florida to test the spying power of personal drones.

LEGALIZE WEED: Washington State and Colorado just legalized marijuana for recreational use. Could this be the start of America's trillion dollar drug-war coming to an end? Former advisor to the president Kevin Sabet says: "Colorado will show why legalizing marijuana is a mistake."

Guests

Radley Balko, "Rise of the Warrior Cop" Author
Sr. Cpl .Steve Claggett, Dallas SWAT (Ret)
Maj. Steve Ijames, Springfield, MO SWAT (Ret)
Sgt. Charles Huth, Kansas City SWAT Leader
Joe Lipari, Home Raided by SWAT
Kevin Sabet, Fmr. Sr. Advisor - Office of National Drug Control Policy
Tony Ryan, Retired Denver Police Lieutenant
Rep. Peter King, New York ®
Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky ®
James Duff Lyall, ACLU Staff Attorney
Rick Rynearson, Iraq and Afghanistan War Veteran
Lis Wiehl, Fox News Legal Analyst
Greg Newburn, Families Against Mandatory Minimums
Lawrence and Lamont Garrison, Served Mandatory Minimum Sentence
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy.com

[Decline of Baseops.net (aka The Wrath of PYB/Mods gone wild)]

Glad he's somewhere imparting wisdom to young guys. Waiting for this to be a public decision to take his talents for a full time dedication to domestic enemies.

He's got less than two years until retirement, so I don't think you will have to wait long.

[Decline of Baseops.net (aka The Wrath of PYB/Mods gone wild)]

There is a CSO T-6 Instructor Pilot out here in Pensacola who is going to be on the Fox News Channel this weekend, talking about many of the issues in this thread (Saturday and Sunday night at 10PM eastern time). It's the John Stossel special called, "Policing America: Security vs Liberty."

He was also quoted in a Slate Magazine article the other day, saying:

"I am not politically active,” says Richard Rynearson during a Skype call from South Korea. "I am a military officer, and I took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against foreign and domestic enemies. When I am deployed I focus on foreign enemies, and when I am here, I focus on the domestic ones.”

John Stossel published an article today (Policing America) about his upcoming special, and it mirrors the Slate Magazine article, and Bill Maher's latest episode on HBO and that common theme is that liberals, libertarians, and conservatives and people from all walks of life are starting to galvanize in their hatred of a police state. Anybody think this is happening? Are Americans actually starting to join together because they don't want government violating their American rights in our Constitution?

Should be an interesting show this weekend. As a wise man once said, never trust the media -- words to live by.

[NAS Pensacola information]

Perdido Sports bar is just over the bridge on the left, it's relatively new (new owner). Great music and good food.

[Promotion and PRF Information]

Gen Moseley was the one that was fired, Gen Fogleman was the one that quit.

Fogleman was great. Quit to make a point about politicians interfering with military leaders holding their officers to high standards. Wish we had more like him.