Officials' interests are not public's interests.

One of the reason we are having problems with government at all levels is that the interests of officials do not coincide with the Public Interest.

Case in point, the Associated Press finally woke up to this MRAP armored vehicle give away program.

For police and sheriff's departments, which have scooped up 165 of the mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, or MRAPS, since they became available this summer, the price and the ability to deliver shock and awe while serving warrants or dealing with hostage standoffs was just too good to pass up.

"It's armored. It's heavy. It's intimidating. And it's free," said Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, among five county sheriff's departments and three other police agencies in New York that have taken delivery of an MRAP.

Armored, heavy, intimidating and free. That's what's important to the Sheriff. He gets a new toy to haul out whenever he wants to scare somebody, and for parades, and maybe just to cruise around looking tough in.

Is it in the interests of the citizens in Albany County that the Sheriff's department be thinking about how they need to have a big heavy intimidating armored vehicle? No. There's pretty well nothing that POLICE should be doing that required an armored assault vehicle. They should be thinking in terms of sending one uniformed guy to knock on the door, not sending in a platoon of SWAT ninjas, an assault helicopter and a tank.

Because there's no war on, is there? If you need a tank, you're doing it wrong.

The Phantom