YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP

From the Shreveport (LA) Times:

The Bossier Parish sheriff's office is launching a program called "Operation Exodus," a policing plan for an end-of-the-world scenario involving a mostly white group of ex-police volunteers and a .50-caliber machine gun, inspired in part from the Book of Exodus in the Bible.

"The buck stops with Larry Deen," said Bossier Parish Sheriff Larry Deen. "The liability stops with Larry Deen. I am the chief law enforcement officer in this parish, and it is incumbent upon me protect all of the people in it."

Deen said he had been formulating a plan to protect Bossier Parish's vital resources, like food and gasoline, in the event of a catastrophic event, such as war or a terrorist attack. Deen said he had been thinking of the plan since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
....

These volunteers will be armed by the sheriff's office, using, among other things, shotguns, riot shields and batons. The members are mostly white men. Five are black. Women involved will only be used in "support roles," Deen said, which indicated non-combat activity. One of their first official training sessions was Feb. 20 when they learned basic hand-to-hand combat techniques.
....

Deen said in a press release last week that he named the program in part from the Book of Exodus in the Bible. However, on Wednesday, when asked whether he believed in a true "End of Days" scenario, he declined comment.


Last night, Rachel Maddow showed videos of the men during training sessions. A good many are - ahem - men of a certain age, and I spotted not a few pot bellies amongst them as they kicked the protective pads of their "opponents" in the session. You can imagine that Rachel had a good time with the scenes and even speculated about the Rapture, and that if a rather large group of Republicans are "taken", health care reform would be easier to pass. I can only hope and pray that the idea of "Operation Exodus" doesn't spread to other parishes in Louisiana.