Riot Ammunition

Trained as an Ohio National Guardsman for riot control and deployed as a Platoon Leader on active riot duty, I have direct knowledge and experience, albeit from the 1970s.

Here is what I learned:

1. With and without plastic shields, soldiers with rifles can effectively move rioters away from assets, buildings, and people that need protection in the proper formation.
2. With gas masks, soldiers can deploy gas grenades to subdue and discourage a crowd.
3. Gas grenades come in several types and are used effectively with minimal permanent harm or danger to most rioters except those with respiratory medical issues.
4. Soldiers armed with rubber bullets can subdue and disable rioters who intend to resist arrest and commit an assault on authorities.
5. Soldiers armed with dye bags, sandbags, and buckshot can stop the most aggressive leaders and disable them for arrest.
6. Guardsmen deployed for riot duty do not make arrests as that is the responsibility of local police.
   
   

Given that, what was missing in the deployment of Guardsmen at the Capitol? They did not have the proper ammunition and were not deployed with the appropriate tactics. That was poor planning resulting from deficient leadership and management. 

"In current usage a riot gun or less-lethal launcher is a type of firearm that is used to fire "non-lethal" or "less-lethal" ammunition for the purpose of suppressing riots. Less-lethal launchers may be special purpose firearms designed for riot control use, or standard firearms, usually shotguns and grenade launchers, adapted to riot control use with appropriate ammunition. The ammunition is most commonly found in 12 gauge (18.5 mm/.729 inches) shotguns and 37mm/40 mm (1.46 inches/1.57 inches) grenade launchers.

In the United States, the term riot gun more commonly refers to a riot shotgun."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riot_gun

Modern Riot Gun

Prosecuting Trump In Criminal Court

 Astonishing is how Donald Trump has consistently escaped laws and regulations, skating through them without impairment or constraint. Bullies can do that because they realize that they might wear down the opposition by imposing brute force and ignoring the rules. 

Trump and his disciple Republicans undermined the impeachment process by declaring the verdict in advance of the trial. They discredited the legitimacy of the process and then ignored the evidence—intent on protecting Donald J. Trump at the expense of the American Political System.

Rumors of alleged Trump crimes have persisted throughout his presidency and began before it. Sheltered from prosecution by protections afforded a sitting President, investigations and prosecution languished, incomplete. 

Trump successfully stonewalled the first impeachment, and the Republican Party ensured his "success" in escaping from the second.

As Senator Mitch McConnell said, there is always criminal prosecution as the next avenue in seeking justice.

Constrained are the Biden Administration and his Attorney General in pursuing Trump's crimes because they know that Republicans will allege political persecution and will use it as an excuse to block Biden's legislative agenda and appointments.

Today, the excellent news is that the NAACP and the House Homeland Security Committee's chairmen have initiated a lawsuit against Trump, Giuliani, Proud Boys, and Oath Keepers for the alleged violent insurrection and treason committed against the United States of America on January 6, 2021.

It is most appropriate for the NAACP to lead the charge because it represents one prominent constituency victim of white supremacy.

However, action by this organization also benefits all citizens by confronting the source of tyranny in the criminal court, where a conviction will result in imprisonment and fines. When the NAACP wins, it will be a win for all of America. 

Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against former President Donald J. Trump and others over the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.Credit...Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times

Will Republicans Convict Trump?

The question of the hour is will seventeen Republican Senators convict Donald Trump of inciting the insurrection against our Capitol? Will leaders emerge as statespersons to take back the party from radical right-wing racist extremists or not?

If they don't, what is next? If they convict him, the Republican party can begin a transformation to regain integrity as a viable institution. If they don't, Americans must accept on-going civil strife until a new equilibrium is achieved. Stay tuned.

Image Credit: NBC News

Impeaching the Republican Senate

I have been unusually quiet, watching the second Donald Trump Impeachment Trial where I am riveted and emotionally distraught over the former President's ghastly betrayal of his Oath. Seething inside is knowing that his disciples are sitting in the Senate where they were also victims as was Vice President Pence. This disgusting circumstance underscores the necessity for several actions:

1. Democrats and President Biden must continue with a laser focus on righting the economy and solving the pandemic crisis.
   
   
2. The Impeachment Managers must complete their argument for all Americans to see from which it will become apparent that many members of the House and Senate are complicit in the insurrection travesty.
   
   
3. Prosecutors in States must pick up the baton and prosecute Trump and his disciples as they can in State Court jurisdictions.
   
   
4. The US Department of Justice and FBI must continue to investigate legitimate charges stemming from investigations into sedition and insurrection including Trump and members of his administration as well as members of Congress.
   
   
5. The American people must continue to increase their vigilance over latent enemies in their districts and communities.
   
   
6. The American people must improve security among local police.

My conclusion, before the trial is complete, is that the American government is infiltrated by a political insurgency that is not Republican or Democrat. It is a brand of terrorism for which some call themselves Republicans.

Vulnerable Republicans, Image: The New York Times

Should Ohioans Have The Right To Vote?

One might think that the question, "Should Ohioans Have The Right To Vote? " is rhetorical. I believe there is a legitimate debate to consider because in my book, How to Select an American President (c) 2017 Archway Publishing, they should not. The possible reasons and answers include the following:

1. Uninformed and misinformed
2. Ignorant and deficiently educated
3. Unprepared and ill-prepared
4. Deficiently allegiant
5. Deficiently engaged
6. Violaters of laws and regulations
   
   

The list contains only six items because that is the maximum number of things most people can consider at once. My reference is Miller's Law: "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information" is one of the most highly cited papers in psychology. It was published in 1956 in Psychological Review by the cognitive psychologist George A. Miller of Harvard University's Department of Psychology. It is often interpreted to argue that the number of objects an average human can hold in short-term memory is 7 ± 2."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magical_Number_Seven,_Plus_or_Minus_Two

The U.S. Constitution guarantees every citizen of age "The Right to Vote."

"U.S. election laws date back to Article 1 of the Constitution. This gave states the responsibility of overseeing federal elections. Many Constitutional amendments and federal laws to protect voting rights have been passed since then."

https://www.usa.gov/voting-laws

Throughout history, political parties and states' governments have sought to impose restrictions on defining voter qualifications beyond these requirements:

1. Living in the municipality, district, State, and Nation as a legal citizen
2. Being of voting age

Some have sought to require being English literate, for instance. Having disabled persons find a way up the stairs, imposing a poll tax, making people pay to vote. 

The idea is that the Right to Vote should not be denied to anyone for arbitrary and hurtful reasons. 

While I agree that a democratic society's goal is to maximize the number of citizen voters, I don't agree that voting rights should be without qualifications. Nor do I agree with slim requirements and standards for candidates to elected office.

The nation and world have become too complex to abide by the standards of 1776, for instance.

I believe people should earn the right to vote, beginning with primary education and requiring graduating high school students to pass a citizen-voting rights test based on a specific curriculum administered uniformly throughout the nation.

I submit that most of my fellow Ohioans have not earned the right to vote or whose skill, knowledge, and proficiency are disastrously impaired.