Posted on 02/27/2013 5:07:45 PM PST by Third Person
The feds say Sarah Palin is firing blanks with her claim that the government is “stockpiling bullets” for potential civil unrest in case the country defaults on its loans.
While government agencies are, in fact, purchasing large amounts of ammunition, they are doing so for training exercises and shooting ranges, according to federal officials. The Washington Post last month summed up the Department of Homeland Security’s buying of more than 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition for training with an article headlined, “Not so sinister: Homeland Security is stockpiling ammo for target practice.”
And last summer, the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General released a public statement to squash fears - fueled by the internet - about the SSA buying ammunition.
“Our investigators are similar to your State or local police officers. They use traditional investigative techniques, and they are armed when on official duty,” SSA wrote in a public post Aug. 16, 2012.
“Media reports expressed concerns over the type of ammunition ordered,” the statement continued, apparently referring to hollow-point bullets. “In fact, this type of ammunition is standard issue for many law enforcement agencies. OIG’s special agents use this ammunition during their mandatory quarterly firearms qualifications and other training sessions, to ensure agent and public safety. Additionally, the ammunition our agents use is the same type used at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.”
Meanwhile, as the Atlantic Wire noted on Wednesday, Snopes had debunked the rumor last August tracing it (in part) to an anonymous online conspiracy letter from last August.
Palin - who wrote on her Facebook page on Tuesday, “We’re going to default eventually and that’s why the feds are stockpiling bullets in case of civil unrest” - joins conservatives Alex Jones of InfoWars.com, who wrote about the ammo buy last year, and radio host Mark Levin, who said on his radio program earlier this month that the government is “arming up” because society is “unraveling.”
“Law enforcement and national security agencies — they play out multiple scenarios. They simulate multiple scenarios. I’ll tell you what I think they’re simulating: the collapse of our financial system, the collapse of our society and the potential for widespread violence, looting, killing in the streets, because that’s what happens when an economy collapses,” Levin said on his radio program.
They are incapable of 'debunking' anything; they are masters of excreting "bunk".
WHY do the Homeland Security agents need so much practice? What are they practicing for?
If we are going to wet our proverbial pants over 0.3% in annual spending cuts when we’re running up trillion dollar annual deficits, then we’re done. Put a fork in us. We’re finished. We’re going to default eventually and that’s why the feds are stockpiling bullets in case of civil unrest.
Yeah...those target practice figures being pregnant women, children, grandmothers...we should not get too worried, huh?
but the people at the Politico are real journalists and they must know more than Sarah Palin.... They simply read the Washington Compost and the Compost said that Homeland Security is just doing some target practice. See! It’s all so simple! They need 1.6 billion rounds of ammo for target practice and they’re not really going to shoot anybody and a little extra research might show that they ordered about 10 million skeet because they go shooting all the time.
pure bravo sierra from the Feds and the media don't know enough about firearms and shooting to see that they are being lied to...and if they did know enough they wouldn't care unless the president was a conservative
Either way, that’s a lot of target practice. Yeah nothing to see here.
But then what do they care about cost? It is not like they give a damned about how much of the taxpayers’ money they are spending.
I run a magazine or two through to see how they feed and to see if there is a difference in aim point.
After that, if no problems, FMJ for practice.
That's what everybody I know does.
Why do the Feds need hollow point rounds at all? Funny how our military is forbidden by the Geneva Convention from using them against our nation’s enemies, but the very agencies whose sole reason for existence is to protect us is allowed to use them against our nation’s citizens.
Been done by a FReeper BP Agent.
Also, are hallow points typically ordered by police for target practice? That doesn't sound right.
Apparently it is.
I thought the purchase of most of the ammunition was through some straw company that had no ability to make the ammunition. It doesn’t make much sense.
The word is “rebut”. All they did is make a counter-claim - they haven’t disproven a thing Palin said.
Right, pregnant ones & old ladies like me.
Really? The US Army from what I can find buys around 1.3 billion rounds per year. DHS needs more then the US Army?
Pull the other one honey child, it has bells on it.
So, if they are using hollow points for practice, they are wasting money.
I get that they have to qualify with duty ammo (hp), but they don’t have to practice with it also.
That’s why one is called duty ammo and the other training ammo.
OK.
Let’s just guess that DHS has fewer than 50,000 employees.
1,600,000,000 / 50,000 = 32,000 rounds per employee
More lies from this WH!
So what are the hundreds of armored vehicles the DHS is buying to be used for? Pulling floats for Christmas parades?
AND, all this talk about drones here in USA w/o restrictions, I find upsetting.
I wondered about that myself. Seems kinda spendy for target practice.
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