The PATRIOT Act was justified with the intelligence failures that led to 9/11. The militarized police get much of their gear from surpluses sold off from the endless wars justified by people no one would challenge because of "with us or against us" rhetoric following 9/11. Their funding comes from bills justified with "terrorism!" cries from people who feared a stranger with a bomb more than a cop with an armored personnel carrier following 9/11.