The U.S. Department of Agriculture has submitted its intention to purchase submachine guns for USDA agents.

The Office of the Inspector General has filed a notice of “Sources Sought” for the acquisition of .40 caliber SMGs complete with flashlights, optics, burst fire capability, and 30-round magazines — the kind that will get regular citizens put in prison Washington, D.C., where the USDA office is located.  The notice was filed on May 7th.

The USDA is militarizing so that it can more efficiently threaten people who growlemon trees; impose huge fines on people for selling bunnies; confiscate grapesbecause they can; and destroy the livelihoods of small farmers.

The federal government has taken the official position under the Obama Administration that Americans “do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish.”  The only way they can back that threat up is with superior firepower.

For years people have been warning against the federal government’s legion of militarized bureaucrats.  Recently we have seen a deployment of heavily armed Bureau of Land Management agents to steal cows, and ATF agents breaking into businesses and safes to steal merchandise and customer lists.

In 1997, Representative Ron Paul gave a prophetic speech about the militarization of federal bureaucrats; including the BLM, which was not yet armed.  He called for driving the federal government back to its constitutionally mandated size and necessarily abolishing agencies that did not meet constitutional standards.

“All government power is ultimately gun power and serves the interests of those who despise or do not comprehend the principles of liberty,” said Dr. Paul.  “The gun in the hands of law-abiding citizens serves to hold in check arrogant and aggressive government. Guns in the hands of the bureaucrats do the opposite. The founders of this country fully understood this fact.”

And if the threat of armed bureaucrats wasn’t evident enough, there is the fact that the U.S. is well over $17 Trillion in debt and still arrogantly chooses to buy unnecessary toys for unnecessary agencies.  One way or another, this trend must be put to an end.