Our local county Sheriff Department is seeking funding from civic organizations to buy Kevlar vests for its staff.

I like our Sheriff and I have a great deal of respect for local law enforcement. But here’s the thing — we live in rural Oregon. During all my years of reporting, I can only think of one major shoot-out in the region. There have probably been others but I spend a great deal of time traveling and don’t always catch them. Still we are hardly the hotbed of violence around here.

Domestic violence and child abuse are our two biggest problems, if you discount the drugs Eric Holder wants us to.

The only shoot-out I watched from behind cover of a police car door was the result of a child-custody issue. So, honestly, it seems to me to be a bit overreaching, this dressing of county deputies in Kevlar. Especially when one considers one of the biggest domestic violence stories I covered as a reporter involved one of our own county deputies and his battered wife.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for equipping law enforcement with the tools they need to do their jobs. I’m just not persuaded that out here in cowboy country, where our largest population of  runaways are cows, we need to equip our law enforcement in riot gear, and prepare them for the coming tribulations.

Speaking before a Concord, NH city council this past week, a retired Marine colonel suggested that the US is building a domestic Army. You really should listen to him. He’s humorous.

Marine speaking at City Hall meeting

I love a good city council meeting, don’t you?  I really should spend more time at them. You can really get to know your neighbors in a new light. And the things that people say there.

What do you think of this Marine’s claims?