TLH, Benton and our other LEO TFL members, I'm sure you understand why these emotions run so hotly sometimes. However, that doesn't excuse painting all of you with the bloody brush of errant LEO's, federal, state or local.
I'm in my mid 40's, and when I grew up, LEO's were protectors. They were the guys in the white hats. That was always naive, but unfortunately we've had some bad apples in the last few years that have screwed up, and have caused the needless deaths of innocent men, women and children. And, they have helped create tremendous suspicion.
The problem is that those acts, combined with all of the oppressive legislation we've all seen, has led to where some civilians have real concern about the direction of government. Especially federal law enforcement. That concern is present to some extent at all levels in our society.
I still believe that the vast majority of LEO's are good, decent people who honestly want to stop BG's and aid honest civilians. But, it may take federal LEO's a generation to cure the reputation created by incidents such as Waco and Ruby Ridge.
It saddens me whenever I see the rhetoric become too strong on this issue. TFL's great strength is that it is a meeting ground for civilians, LEO's and military personnel. I hope that never changes. Not only because this forum provides such a great technical resource, but also because it helps keep the communication open between honest civilians and honest LEO's. We're both in the majority, and we need to keep talking with each other. We need you, and I hope you feel that you need us.
If my cynical comment above helped color this debate, I apologize. My family and I are able to sleep in peace to a great extent because LEO's protect our town. I do appreciate that, as I believe most TFL members do.
I think JJR had the best take on this - sometimes you've just gotta laugh about it.
Regards from AZ.