Another Twitter threat to Obama, Secret Service takes note

By GottaLaff

My Twitter pal IanDavidB called the Secret Service on this guy and they listened. The Boston office forwarded it to "The Internet Threat Desk", taking a particular interest in this tweet:


I took a screen grab of his page, just in case (click on image to enlarge, but first take a swig of something strong):


As you know, I continue to air this horrific stuff out, because I feel that ignoring it is allowing the miscreants way too much wiggle room. By exposing them, it allows the Secret Service to nail a few of them, and it calls them out for what they are: Racists, bigots, terrorists.

The level of hatred is unacceptable. The boldness with which some of these animals bear their fangs is downright scary. Whether they do it solely for attention, or because they are committed to their brand of toxic prejudicial sludge, it's out there and needs to stop.

And I repeat my demand for those in positions of leadership to stand up to them and condemn them publicly, on a daily basis, until we see this violently ugly trend ebb.

As President Clinton acknowledges:

“[L]egitimate” comparisons can be drawn between today's grassroots anger and resentment toward the government and the right-wing extremism that bubbled up prior to the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City 15 years ago.

Tea Baggers, take note. You wouldn't want another Oklahoma City on your resumes.

Feds: Blackwater Saves Taxpayers Money

By GottaLaff

I wouldn't care if they saved us billions, there is no justification for their existence. Period:

But a new government report says they may actually have saved U.S. taxpayers money. The State Department saves roughly $900 million a year using private firms to protect American diplomats in Iraq rather than relying on U.S. government employees, according to a recently published review by the non partisan Government Accounting Office.

Here are the reasons they give for the differences. Ready?

The state department did not have to pay overtime or provide benefits or vacation time to the contractors. They were not saddled with extensive travel and housing costs. And they did not have to outfit them with weapons and gear.

Seriously. Those are the reasons. Well, then, by all means, go with Blackwater, er, Xe, er, Blackwater, er, Murder Inc.

But wait, it gets even better:

The report noted that the State Department would have been "reluctant to hire third country nationals to provide security in Iraq because the department does not want to be perceived as hiring mercenaries."

I'm sorry, but did I just wake up in Crazy World?

Moral of the story: Money first... Except for Jan Schakowsky. She's smart that way:

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), who has sponsored a bill to outlaw government contracts to private security companies, defended her bill against the report, told ABC News that money was not the biggest factor in assessing the value of contractors in war zones.

And with that, it's time to re-introduce my old primer, Blackwater for Dummeez. Consider it a refresher course on who these thugs are:

BLACKWATER FOR DUMMEEZ

What is Blackwater USA, boys and girls? Blackwater USA is an international security contractor founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and is based in the U.S, . state of North Carolina where it operates a tactical training facility that it claims is the world's largest. Wow!

Let's take a peek into their world, in their very own words, where they claim to be: "The most comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations company in the world".

Our leadership and dedicated family of exceptional employees adheres to an essential of core corporate values- chief among these are integrity, innovation, excellence, respect, accountability, and teamwork.

In doing this, we have become the most responsive, cost-effective means of affecting the strategic balance in support of security and peace, and freedom and democracy everywhere.

Blackwater's Federal Contracts

Year Amount Paid

2001 $736,906

2002 $3,415,884

2003 $25,395,556

2004 $48,496,903

2005 $352,871,817

2006 $593,601,952

Well, howdy-do, that's impressive!

Now! What do they do? Stuff that includes integrity, innovation, excellence, respect, accountability, and teamwork? Nah, they were just kidding. They do this:

The lead Suburban in our convoy loomed up behind an old, puttering sedan driven by an older man with a young woman and three children. As we approached at typical breakneck speed, the Blackwater driver honked furiously and motioned to the side, as if they should pull over. The kids in the back seat looked back in horror, mouths agape at the sight of the heavily armored Suburbans driven by large, armed men in dark sunglasses. The poor Iraqi driver frantically searched fora means of escape, but there was none. So the lead Blackwater vehicle smashed heedlessly into the car, pushing it into the barrier. We zoomed by too quickly to notice if anyone was hurt.

That's what they do.

Who's in charge? Just a dickens of a guy! Erik Prince! And what a resume has he!

Born: 6-Jun-1969 Religion: Born-Again Christian Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight Occupation: Business, Military Party Affiliation: Republican Executive summary: Founder, Blackwater USA Military service: Navy SEAL Team Officer (1993-96, Bosnia, Haiti)

Erik Prince is a multi-millionaire right-wing fundamentalist Christian from a powerful Michigan Republican family. His wealth came from his father, Edgar Prince (d. 1995, billionaire, started Family Research Council with Gary Bauer). A major Republican campaign contributor, he interned in the White House of President George H.W. Bush and campaigned for Pat Buchanan in 1992, finding time to intern for conservative congressman Dana Rohrabacher as well. Prince founded the security and mercenary firm Blackwater USA in 1997 with Gary Jackson, another former Navy SEAL.

Prince's sister Betsy DeVos is a powerful conservative in her own right. Married to the son of Richard DeVos (Republican bankroller and co-founder of Amway), she served as chair of Michigan Republican Party in the 1990s. His mom is Elsa Prince Broekhuizen (Republican Party funder, remarried)

Can you say mercenary? I knew that you could. Now why would I go and ask a thing like that? Here's why!

In the capital, American officials said a joint U.S.-Iraqi commission formed to look into last month's shooting incident in which Blackwater USA security guards killed at least 11 Iraqis had yet to meet. In addition, most members of an FBI team that also will investigate the Sept. 16 shootings have not arrived and probably will not get to Iraq until next week, said U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo.

Why, there were more killings than we can count! There was the one where a drunk killed a guard on Christmas, and there was one where…oh never mind. Now remember, boys and girls, killing is bad. Killing for money is worse. And killing for money with no repercussions is worst of all!

No need to worry, because there's o-ver-sight. Can you say oversight? Yes, the U.S. Congress is on the job! Or are they...?

Darrell Issa: On the "Democrat side", this isn't about Blackwater. It's a repeat of the MoveOn dot Org attack on Petraeus' patriotism. They'll simply switch targets. I'm here to defend General Petraeus and our men and women in uniform.

Oooopsies! Well, kids, sometimes love can be misplaced. Erik Prince has a lot of love to share, too, but in the form of big fat checks:

Prince's latest donation was in July, when he gave $20,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee. California recipients of Prince's $1,000 checks include Reps. Jerry Lewis and Duncan Hunter, a current GOP presidential candidate, and former Rep. Richard Pombo.

The former serviceman has given almost all of his donations to Republicans. There was, however, an exception in 2006, when he donated $5,000 to the Green Party of Lucerne County, Pa. That was a Republican ploy to ensure the Green Party's U.S. senate candidate got on the ballot in an effort to peel votes away from Democrat Bob Casey and help Republican Rick Santorum. The effort failed and Casey won.

What's a mercenary to do? He has to invest his hard earned wages somewhere, doesn't he?

Well, kiddies, that's enough for today. No go eat your supper before it gets cold. You can sit in front of the TV and catch up on the latest news. What could be more fun than all the dinner you can eat, and all the Blackwater you can stomach?

Justice Dept.: Blackwater Contractor Saw Killing Iraqis as 9/11 Payback

By GottaLaff

Here's a little refresher course I call Blackwater for Dummeez. Check it out (it also includes Jeremy Scahill's excellent reporting), and then you'll have some context for this:

These allegations are contained in court records [PDF] filed on Monday by Justice Department lawyers prosecuting five Blackwater contractors for the September 2007 shooting frenzy in Baghdad's Nisour Square that killed 14 Iraqis and wounded 20 others. [...]

According to the court filing:

In addition to verbal expressions of hatred towards Iraqi civilians, the defendants engaged in unprovoked and aggressive behavior toward unarmed Iraqi civilians in Baghdad. In so doing, the defendants routinely acted in disregard of the use of force policies that they were required to follow as a condition of their employment as Blackwater guards.

...

This evidence tends to establish that the defendants fired at innocent Iraqis not because they actually believed that they were in imminent danger of serious bodily injury and actually believed that they had no alternative to the use of deadly force, but rather that they fired at innocent Iraqi civilians because of their hostility toward Iraqis and their grave indifference to the harm that their actions would cause.

The prosectors maintain that one of the defendants, Nicholas Slatten, believed that by killing Iraqis he was avenging the 9/11 attacks:

During the twelve months proceeding the events charged in the indictment, while assigned to the Raven 23 convoy operating at various locations in the Red Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, defendant Nicholas Slatten made statements that he wanted to kill as many Iraqis as he could as “payback for 9/11,” and he repeatedly boasted about the number of Iraqis he had shot.

Prosecutors also say that in the year leading up to Nisour Square, Slatten "deliberately fired his weapon to draw out return fire and instigate gun battles." [...]

This anonmyous ex-employee also alleges:

Mr. Prince operated his companies in a manner that encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life. For example, Mr. Prince's executives would openly speak about going over to Iraq to "lay Hajiis out on cardboard." Going to Iraq to shoot and kill Iraqis was viewed as a sport or game. Mr. Prince's employees openly and consistently used racist and derogatory terms for Iraqis and other Arabs, such as "ragheads" or "hajiis."

There now, aren't these the kind of stellar warriors you'd want guarding your family members and representing your country?

Blackwater, as well as these animals, are who the BushCo and the ObamAdministration have chosen to do business with, and with whom our State Department has recently renewed contracts.

One word: Unacceptable.