Blackwater mercenaries "advise" Romney: This is getting serious, folks.

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has a senior advisor named Cofer Black. Mr. Black is currently the Number 2 man at BLACKWATER, the rent-a-soldier corporation who have been accused of killing Iraqi civilians and appear to have no legal or military consequences for their actions.

Questions for discussion:

• How much do you want a corporate-controlled military force to be involved in the political process of you country?


• How do you feel about a mercenary force gaining power and influence in the United States that does not have to answer to Congress, the US Military or the Judicial System?


• How do you feel about a corporation building it's own military force that not only is on the ground in Iraq, but has BOOTS ON THE GROUND IN THE UNITED STATES?


• What happens when a President's chief military advisor stands to gain billions from military actions?

LAST QUESTION: What happens when a militarily-reinforced corporation, whose soldiers are loyal to a COMPANY – not the COUNTRY – decide that a person, a group, or perhaps a President, is adversly affecting it's bottom line?

C'mon people. Stop judging your candidates on race, sex, religion, or appearance. This is really serious. Blackwater, despite an ongoing investigation and a direct order from the government of Iraq to leave the country, continues to grow in profit, power, and influence. You think Wal-Mart sucks? What about a military corporation with the ear of a sitting President.

Vote wisely. We're on a very slippery slope here. I have no axe to grind with Romney, but he's moving is some shady circles getting dubious info, and we've seen how that has gone since 2001. This is Revenge of the Sith shit we're playing with.

More info on this at: Democracy Now or huffingtonpost.com

Please read my earlier post on Blackwater

I'd be very nervous if I was that bear.

The logo of the bear paw in the gun sight is the logo for Blackwater. The bear is something they sell online in the store. 10 bucks for the first person to see the irony.

PS: Blackwater just updated their logo slightly to look less "aggressive" and more "corporate". What's the difference between those?

America's Hired Guns: Isn't this how Yoda fucked up?

George Bush may want to take Bingo night off and spend some time with the work of George Lucas. As every sci-fi geek knows, the Jedi were getting heat from a lot of mysterious evil dudes. The Sith hate freedom, and Yoda's posse has gotta go smoke 'em out. But the Jedi were spread too thin from being the galaxy's police. What to do? Hey, let's hire some contractors to help do the fighting. Send in the CLONES! They are lean, mean, come with their own armor, and hey, if they die, who cares? Contractors don't get benies... not even dental. It's a slam dunk!

But while the clones fought for the Jedi, they had no loyalty to them. They were doing the highest bidder's bidding, and the Sith pay better. Before you know it, the clone army was making Jedi hamburger.

Taken for a punk, Yoda has.

While hiring mercenaries in the real world hasn't always worked out too great either (see Rome, England, etc), the U.S. is now getting into the game. Companies like North Carolina's Blackwater USA are picking up where the U.S. military is leaving off all over the place, especially in Iraq. Born in 1997 by millionaire and former US Navy SEAL Erik Prince, BlackWater is has been hired by the government to help out in post-Katrina's New Orleans, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Blackwater USA has also been contracted by various foreign governments. In Iraq, when a U.S. General is touring the latest horrors, it's Blackwater that is guarding him, not the General's own men.

Controversy surrounds Prince and Blackwater. A recent book by independent journalist Jeremy Scahill is highly critical of the company (Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army). It seems not even Congress has a real grip how involved they are. A talent drain has been affecting the U.S. Army as soldiers quit the military and "Go Blackwater" to get better pay and equipment. There's also President's Eisenhower's 1961 warning about the "military industrial complex" where so much of the economy depends on war that we need to make it. They currently are not disciplined in the same way regular military is. An insider quote has surfaced regarding Blackwater conduct in Iraq: "What happens in Iraq, stays in Iraq."

President Bush on the question (during the Rumsfield era):


While all the above issues are important, they seem secondary to a basic common sense question: If these companies need war to make money, and are willing to work for those willing to pay, where ultimately does their loyalties lie? Can we be assured that they are here to protect and defend the Constitution, or their CEO's mandates and their quarterly profits.

Meditate on this, we must.

LEARN MORE:

• Diane Rhem Show


• Wikipedia


• Blackwater USA's corporate site


• Democracy Now! interview with Scahill about his book


• Jeremy Scahill's Blackwater blog


• You Tube media