rebecca LANDO

spytap:

nickdouglas:

rachelfershleiser:

jeffmiller:

(via Twitpic - Share photos and videos on Twitter)

So I guess the Tampa police brought this out to face the Occupy protestors down there.  If the movement is looking for something discrete to protest, perhaps they could protest LOCAL POLICE OWNING TANKS.

And suddenly the libertarians and I agree on something. Thanks police!

In all fairness I really wanna drive that around for a couple hours.

Even with all the talk about the increasing militarization of the police, I thought the “they’ve even got tanks” comments were hyperbole. Whelp, looks like I was wrong.

I can’t think of a single scenario - no matter how unruly a crowd got - that would require a local police force to use a tank. Not one. As per the playbook, I guarantee this thing was sold to combat the (actually minuscule) threat of “terrorism,” and is now being brought out against the citizenry.

Dude, everyone on the Gulf Coast of Florida has a tank. Seriously. My brother’s best friend bought a street-legal tank* instead of a car for his 16th birthday. If you live in Florida and you don’t have a tank, a boat, and an in-ground pool, you’re a redneck and a freak.

*That picture is from a short film we shot a few years ago, specifically because we had a tank, and could make an action film.