Here is a disturbing trend. Since at least 2002, incoming vice president Joe Biden has advocated that U.S. troops be given authority to arrest civilians here at home. Since at least 2006, incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has pushed the ideas of “universal civilian service” and of a “U.S. Public Service Academy” whose graduates would “commit to spending five years serving their nation by working in public institutions in health care, law enforcement, [and] emergency management.” Finally, last July, Barack Obama called for “a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded” as the regular military.