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Info on Government Stockpile of Ammo
ILoveCats:
--- Quote from: Dan W on March 23, 2013, 07:46:14 PM ---My question is this...
If all this activity can so easily be explained away, why does the administration not respond to inquiries from Congressman?
--- End quote ---
Very interesting question. The short answer is: I really don’t know why this isn’t handled better.
If you look at social media forums, it’s easy to see that the homeland security components have major PR problems. For every positive “thanks for keeping us safe” message on Facebook, etc., there are five ranting about the latest conspiracy theory.
Obviously more transparency would help. But I imagine -- in a world where a lot of the most worrisome threats are highly classified -- the activities and assets needed to counter those threats are commensurately classified.
Changing public perception is expensive. Some agencies do it way better than others. The DOD must have spent a fortune over the years running “Army of One” and “The Few, the Proud…” commercials. NASA had some pretty effective programs to do outreach to teachers, who are in a position to then take cool science curricula back to the classroom and, in the process, get future generations psyched up about space exploration. DHS’s own “Coast Guard Alaska” on the Weather Channel is quite good. But, like I said, PR campaigns are spendy. Using tax dollars to do PR to explain why an agency needs more tax dollars to buy more equipment or hire more people should be viewed quite skeptically.
As you suggest, though, the logical answer would just be to ANSWER the questions. Explain why FEMA, which is responsible for dealing with large scale disasters, needs coffins. (OK, that’s kind of a “duh” issue, but obviously some people need it spelled out, and what harm could come of explaining disaster preparations?) Take the media on a tour of the federal law enforcement training centers. Take them on ride-alongs on the southern border. Maybe this is being offered and the media doesn’t care because they sell more commercials doing TV interviews with some idiot pop star. Or maybe it’s not being done for reasons I cannot guess and am not privy to. But if there is reluctance to answer, a fair assessment would be that the underlying reasons are highly “political” rather than apocalyptic.
Ultimately, combating conspiracy theorists may just be swimming upstream. Right now the “FEMA death camps” are en vogue. Rewind to a few years ago and people on the other side of the political spectrum were claiming that President Bush used his hurricane-generating equipment to wipe out New Orleans.
My beef with the conspiracy theories is that they detract us from the real political fight. Someone said here recently that this president wants to make us a communist nation. That’s not quite right: he wants to make us a socialist one. He wants to make us like Europe. Hey, Europe’s an awesome place. I have lived there, and I love visiting there. But when I come back to the US, I don’t want it to be like Europe here. The US is better, as evidenced by all the Europeans trying to immigrate here because they have lost their liberties. We don’t need to “change.”
Wow, even as I wrote that last paragraph, it occurred to me THAT might be the answer to your question. If your political opponents are barking up the wrong, conspiracy theory tree, why should you stop them? Let them expend their time and resources in fruitless pursuits.
GreyGeek:
The biggest problem with the denial is that they purchased JHP ammo for "target practice". If they were buying in bulk to "save money", and for "training" purposes, they'd purchase the cheaper ball ammo, not the more expensive hollow point ammo.
RedDot:
Why do conspiracy theories get started? For the most obvious of reasons,.. people feel they are being lied to. I almost get the sense Feral, you are going to lengths to cover for the fact that this Admin. has repeatedly lied to the public.
The conspiracies you look down on start out with one little nobody who sees something that makes him stop and think "Why is this happening? What is this for?". In answer to his question he gets a nonsense answer or none at all, "nothing to see here". Left to his own devices he may indeed come up with the wrong conclusion, but it does not disprove the fact that he did indeed see "something".
In 1941 there were several "sightings" and indications which were dismissed right up to the time the first wave crossed over Pearl Harbor. Leading up to the 9/11 attacks (both of them it seems) there were also several indictions of "something" building up.
It seems foolish to just dismiss it all as "conspiracy theory" as all facts start as theories and "sightings" and "somethings" have a bad way of adding up to hit us right in the mouth.
NENick:
--- Quote from: RedDot on March 23, 2013, 10:38:46 PM ---Why do conspiracy theories get started? For the most obvious of reasons,.. people feel they are being lied to. I almost get the sense Feral, you are going to lengths to cover for the fact that this Admin. has repeatedly lied to the public.
The conspiracies you look down on start out with one little nobody who sees something that makes him stop and think "Why is this happening? What is this for?". In answer to his question he gets a nonsense answer or none at all, "nothing to see here". Left to his own devices he may indeed come up with the wrong conclusion, but it does not disprove the fact that he did indeed see "something".
In 1941 there were several "sightings" and indications which were dismissed right up to the time the first wave crossed over Pearl Harbor. Leading up to the 9/11 attacks (both of them it seems) there were also several indictions of "something" building up.
It seems foolish to just dismiss it all as "conspiracy theory" as all facts start as theories and "sightings" and "somethings" have a bad way of adding up to hit us right in the mouth.
--- End quote ---
This. I'm perfectly fine with conspiracy theories. I like to know that folks are out game planning and watching for potential problems. People who knock conspiracy theories never have any way to disprove them.
As for the government... I'll never trust it, nor assume that it isn't trying to utilize its current power to gain more power.
SS_N_NE:
--- Quote from: GreyGeek on March 23, 2013, 10:33:04 PM ---The biggest problem with the denial is that they purchased JHP ammo for "target practice". If they were buying in bulk to "save money", and for "training" purposes, they'd purchase the cheaper ball ammo, not the more expensive hollow point ammo.
--- End quote ---
I also use various bullets in factory and reload ammo. Largely to test the function of various bullet styles in my handguns and reliability. It is not unreasonable to practice with JHP if you intend to use that style bullet. If your firearm chokes feeding hollow points, you need to resolve the issue or get a different firearm. I have noticed difference in various weight and style of bullet and charge to target hit (who hasn't that have tried different styles?). It could well be that someone is savy enough to realize that they should practice with what they will use on a regular basis.
Just my opinion/explanation. However, the sheer volume of ammunition is alarming. Maybe a "spend it" budget effort? They have funds allocated and need to spend it or loose it? Concern over ammo availability? A 'good ol' boy' purchase? A requisition error? Could be dozens of reasons, could be embarrasing to explain.
In any case, with issues of government spending and existing resources (military, et al) it seems unnecessary to build/fund another army. Especially when Obama suggested building some entity with military capacity in some of his speeches. I really dislike the idea that a president can evoke his own militia.
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