Martial Law

[Bailey Guns]

Gotcha! What about the post 2 above ya? Seems it doesn't have to be said, just contain the elemets of, no?

Yeah. Elements like military forces in control. That didn't happen here. As a matter of fact the Washington Post printed an article that stated Nat'l Guard troops were not allowed to assist on scene immediately after the bombings.

We have some of the elements of an alien invasion too: eyewitness accounts of "flying saucers", dead aliens in Roswell, unexplained phenomenon, etc. All but the most important part...aliens actually invading.

[Bailey Guns]

There was no one on the street because they all saw it as a free day off from work.

There's probably more truth to this than most people want to admit.

[losttrail]

Chicago? Go figure. A bastion of liberal blight with out-of-control crime. It's not the same as terrorism.

From Merriam-Webster

terrorism - noun - Systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective.

And the political objective of the gang killings in Chicago and other metro areas is to drive out the police and authority in order to take over and establish gang dominance or the area. To set up there own society of crime.

It may not be exactly the same as international terrorism as we see coming from Iran, Afghaistan, Pakistan, Chechnya, etc., but it is still terrorism.

[Bailey Guns]

Hence why I use it as an example. Furthermore.. Many businesses chose to open, media are allowed to move freely. They ask folks to stay home, never ordered them.

I was just going to use the media example...thanks for bringing that up. For a city under "martial law" that was a shit-load of media people in vehicles, on foot and in their helicopters. Not to mention, in a lot of those press conference videos I saw people and cars moving freely about.

[losttrail]

Yeah. Elements like military forces in control. That didn't happen here. As a matter of fact the Washington Post printed an article that stated Nat'l Guard troops were not allowed to assist on scene immediately after the bombings.

We have some of the elements of an alien invasion too: eyewitness accounts of "flying saucers", dead aliens in Roswell, unexplained phenomenon, etc. All but the most important part...aliens actually invading.

Aliens are invading and have been for decades. Now they are getting drivers licenses, free healthcare, free education, welfare, in state tuition, amnesty........

And yes, there were 'military' forces in control, or at least paramilitary.

The police.

Police departments nowdays are equiped and trained very similarly to the military.

Mulitple reports of people stepping outside their homes when the police/SWAT teams were on the streets and being TOLD/ORDERED to "Get the f___ back inside." Doesn't sound much like a "request" when a uniformed officer with an M4, sidearm and all the protective gear yells that.

[Bailey Guns]

I'll also concede that people in urban, liberal-controlled areas are typically less prepared and less self-reliant than people in rural or isolated areas. I'll concede most people need someone, whether it's the police, the government or their employer, telling them what to do and how to do it every waking moment of their day.

That's their choice in personal lifestyle. If one chooses to be dependent on the gov't, what're you gonna do about it?

My wife and I were ordered by the sheriff's dept to evacuate due to a wildfire several years ago. I told the deputy "thanks for the information and your concern" but we'll leave when we decide it's appropriate. He said, "Fine. I hope you get out in time because no one will be here to help you." We knew that and understood that and we were prepared to accept the consequences of not abandoning our home.

Not everyone will accept the premise they are responsible for their lives. Unfortunately.

[brokenscout]

I like this also

One of the biggest problems is that the people of Boston and that whole region, and all major metropolitan areas, have been almost completely disarmed and emasculated.

They have been indoctrinated for decades that they do not need to defend themselves, that when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

They are/were scarred beyond reason about a 19 year old fanatic that brought one of America's largest cities to its knees because our officials are more concerned with controlling the populace than defending our freedom.

[Bailey Guns]

Aliens are invading and have been for decades. Now they are getting drivers licenses, free healthcare, free education, welfare, in state tuition, amnesty........

And yes, there were 'military' forces in control, or at least paramilitary.

The police.

Police departments nowdays are equiped and trained very similarly to the military.

Mulitple reports of people stepping outside their homes when the police/SWAT teams were on the streets and being TOLD/ORDERED to "Get the f___ back inside." Doesn't sound much like a "request" when a uniformed officer with an M4, sidearm and all the protective gear yells that.

And do you really think that was anything more than isolated examples of hyped up and stressed out cops overreacting? I'm not saying there weren't some abuses. But to portray that as an "out of control" gov't seems like a stretch to me.

And cops, despite their training and equipment, are civilians. They may dress like the military and have some of the same gear and tactics, but they're still subject to civil control.

[losttrail]

Did you guys see all the articles on all the contraband they confiscated during the door to door searches? All those "other" criminals that they grabbed during the searches? Neither did I.

There was an obvious close danger to those residents. The members on this forum are generally a bit more prepared for something like that but not all of the country is as responsible. A lot of people count on the policy to protect them and thats their right, just as it is ours to not count on them. Could you imagine how clouded things would be if you added 100 residents scowling the neighborhoods with their AR-15's? This is way different than full on riots in the streets. They were looking for a single person and they were just asking to keep the public space clear so it's easier to notice one person slinking in and out of alleys/cars/etc. Clear all the bullshit outta the way to make the job easier. We can all understand that.

Just my $.02.

What I did see was that once the 'lockdown' was lifted, a private citizen, exercising his right to kill himself with cigarettes, located the terrorist. So what did the lockdown and door-to-door searches accomplish?

It sent a lesson to the citizens that the 4th and 14th Amendments are easily suspended based upon a supposed threat. No, I am not saying that the threat was fictional. It was real and I agree that it makes sense to reduce the number of innocents from the equation.

I just don't see all that happened as 100% benign.

[Ronin13]

Why was the request to "shelter in place" issued AFTER commuters were already at or on their way to work and school?

IIRC, the shelter in place was requested around 4am... I don't know that many people that head to work that early, and I certainly don't know anyone who goes to school that early, not even teachers. I understand the point you're trying to make, but at least try to be factual when citing examples.

The last 5 days I've been seeing quite a bit of tin foil being donned... I'm not too sure if people are getting more foolish or what, but you know what they say about a drowning man grasping for straws? He still drowns. I concur that a little paranoia and healthy distrust of the government is needed, but you have to draw the line somewhere, otherwise you end up looking like Ted Kazynski or Alex Jones, aka a crazy person. While entertaining, a lot of the folks on Doomsday Preppers are a little bit over that line and venturing into loony territory. I hope they don't do an episode with anyone from on here.

ETA:

And cops, despite their training and equipment, are civilians. They may dress like the military and have some of the same gear and tactics, but they're still subject to civil control.

THIS! If you were to look at cops (yes, even a SWAT team) and compare them to infantry soldiers, there are so many more differences that it's not even worth counting the similarities.

What I did see was that once the 'lockdown' was lifted, a private citizen, exercising his right to kill himself with cigarettes, located the terrorist. So what did the lockdown and door-to-door searches accomplish?

It sent a lesson to the citizens that the 4th and 14th Amendments are easily suspended based upon a supposed threat. No, I am not saying that the threat was fictional. It was real and I agree that it makes sense to reduce the number of innocents from the equation.

I just don't see all that happened as 100% benign.

I'm just curious, if you were in charge of the situation and you had an armed and dangerous terrorist on the loose in a very loosely defined area (let's say 20 square blocks or so), what would you do to try and find him and mitigate the risk to the public?