There are times that use of the national guard makes sense--the first is easy, when state and local officials ask for it, something that has not happened in DC (or California for that matter). The second is to enforce the law in very extreme circumstances (such as in Little Rock); but I would generally reserve it to enforce a properly enacted law--you know, one which Congress passed and the president signed--not one which is just made by the president alone (I have problems with Executive Orders generally).Well Big, how do you feel about the u se of the National Guard in 1957 at Little Rock Central High School, or its use to suppress riots and insurrections?
And while they may serve as guards in emergencies, the National Guard is not a security organization, but a military one trained in military tactics. They're not going to shoot you--I'm sure that is what many (like those at Kent State) thought. Taking a military unit and putting it on the street for normal law enforcement duties (absent a dire emergency) is reckless at best.
Video cameras? Let's leave that for another day; for now we're talking about placing troops in the street becausethe president has dreamed up an idiotic justification.
