The WAWG Blog

Six Active Nuclear Armed Cruise Missiles Transferred to Active Bomber Base That is the U. S. Staging Area for Middle Eastern Operations – A retired lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve who served with the Navy’s Supervisor of Salvage questioned in a little-noticed editorial Sunday why six active nuclear armed cruise missiles were being transferred to an active bomber base that “just happens to be the staging area for Middle Eastern operations.” “The United States also does not transport nuclear weapons meant for elimination attached to their launch vehicles under the wings of a combat aircraft,” Navy veteran Robert Stormer wrote in the Texas-based Star-Telegram. “The procedure is to separate the warhead from the missile, encase the warhead and transport it by military cargo aircraft to a repository — not an operational bomber base that just happens to be the staging area for Middle Eastern operations.”

Blackwater Tends to Shoot First – Between 2005 and September 2007, Blackwater security staff was involved in 195 shooting incidents; in 163 of those cases, Blackwater personnel fired first.

Blackwater Ties to the Bush Family; and How Money Makes Money That Makes More Money – At least 90% of its revenue comes from government contracts, two-thirds of which are no-bid contracts. US pays large amounts to Blackwater, more than any other security firm. Blackwater’s CEO was an intern in George H.W. Bush’s White House. Prince has contributed $168,000 to the Republican National Committee since 1998, and also has supported the candidacies of various conservatives.

The father of Blackwater’s CEO founded the Family Research Council, which favors strong military action against radical Islam. Blackwater CEO donates large sums from government contracts to the Family Research Council, which uses the money to convince citizens to support wars against radical Islam, which brings in more money to Blackwater.

Eat Shrimp; Burn in Hell
Shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, mussels; all these are an abomination before the Lord, just like gays are an abomination. How do I know? The Bible tells me so:

Leviticus 11:9-12 says:
9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcasses in abomination.
12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.

Deuteronomy 14:9-10 says:
9 These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:
10 And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.

Regards,

Jim

I’ve waited a few days before writing about Bush’s veto of the SCHIP bill . Had to. Otherwise the profanity would have set off alarms in most email clients.

For those not familiar, SCHIP (State Child Health Insurance Program) is federally funded health insurance for children in low-income families. The program covered 6.6 million children. The Democrat bill would have extended that to 4 million more at a cost of $35 billion over five years. Can’t have that! Noooooo, it just might help someone who isn’t completely destitute! President Bush vetoed the bill last week saying that it would give health insurance to people who could afford to buy it and it would raise taxes.

SCHIP covers families that make less than twice the Federal Poverty Level and not having other assets above certain levels. For a family of four that’s $40,000 without a car. Make $42,000 or own a car reliable enough to get to work and you’re out of luck. Health insurance for the average child is $725/year or just over $286/month for two kids. The Democrat plan would expand that to 2.5 – 3 times the poverty level depending on local cost of living. If you live in Texas, the state with the most uninsured children thanks to ex Governor Bush and current Governor Perry, a family of 4 making $50,000 a year could qualify for SCHIP. That family living in San Diego where the cost of living is much higher could earn $60,000. A family of 6 or more could earn as much as $80,000 in high cost areas. $80,000 isn’t that much if the rent on a 2BR apartment is $30,000 a year. By the way, Senator John Cornyn and Rep. Joe Barton voted against SCHIP and will likely do it again on October 18 when it comes up for veto over ride. Perhaps they should hear from you. Health care costs

Last year Bush told us that a “surge” in troop levels was necessary to buy time for political reconciliation in Iraq. After half a year and nearly a thousand more dead American soldiers we learn that Iraqi leaders have said there never was a chance for reconciliation, isn’t now a chance for reconciliation and won’t ever be a chance for reconciliation. “I don’t think there is something called reconciliation, and there will be no reconciliation as such,” said Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, a Kurd. “To me, it is a very inaccurate term. This is a struggle about power.” In the areas where violence is abating locals attribute it to ethnic cleansing. One side kills the other until there isn’t anyone else to kill, so violence decreases.

Bush has announced that there will be a troop reduction because the surge has succeeded so well. Bull. The draw-down of one battalion was scheduled six months ago because the Army can’t give troops enough rotation time. It was all in the works a year ago. The “surge” sent 50,000 new troops into Iraq, only 30,000 will be rotated back as part of the pre-arranged plan leaving 20,000 more troops in Iraq than before the “surge”. Bush is a damn liar.

There are two possibilities. Bush is too stupid to pour water out of a boot and couldn’t hear what the Iraqi leaders have been saying for three years or Bush is too stupid to pour water out of a boot and doesn’t care what Iraqi leaders say as long as he can pass his war on to the next President. In either case we put 50,000 troops in harms way for somebody too stupid to pour water out of a boot. Reconciliation? What reconciliation?

In 2004 reports of abuse and torture surfaced at a place called Abu Garib. George Bush stood before the world and said, “We don’t torture.” Then legal findings written by AG Gonzales surfaced saying that the Geneva Conventions were “quaint”, didn’t apply to the President and “enemy combatants” were exempt from laws governing treatment of prisoners. George Bush again said, “We don’t torture.” In 2005 Congress passed a law sponsored by Sen. John McCain specifically putting all “detainees” in US control under the protection of law. Bush added a signing statement saying the law did not apply to the President. In 2006 the Supreme Court ruled in Hamdan vs Rumsfeld that all detainees were subject to protection of US law, the Geneva Conventions, the UCMJ and international law. George Bush said, “We don’t torture, but if we if we ever did we quit.”

This month new DoJ memos written by AG Gonzales surfaced. They specifically authorize “enhanced interrogation techniques” for the CIA and establish “black locations” and “extreme rendition” for such questioning. The techniques alluded to include temperature extremes, sleep deprivation, loud noises, water boarding and stress positions. Every one of these has been described as torture by international courts and the US Supreme Court.

If it isn’t bad enough that the President of the United States is violating US law, International law, the Geneva Conventions and the UCMJ not to mention simple human decency the very people charged with carrying out torture say it doesn’t work. According to the CIA and the Pentagon torture does not provide reliable information and in most cases does just the opposite. If a detainee is an “evil doer” he will give false information to tie up valuable resources investigating dead ends and often alerting others that a plan may be compromised. If a detainee is innocent he will likely fabricate a story to satisfy the interrogator and make the torture stop thus tying up valuable resources chasing dead ends. It seems that the only reason we torture is because George Bush, who exploded frogs with firecrackers as a child, wants to. We don’t torture?

Gathering intelligence is so important that we must give up the basic right to privacy and be spied on by our own government. At least that’s what we’re told by Bush. What could be more important than gathering intelligence on terrorists? Scaring the sheeple into supporting being spied on. Last month a new bin Laden tape surfaced. Did you know that you got to see it on FOX News before it was released by Al Qeada?

A small intelligence company got a copy of the tape early enough to translate it and look for clues to possible terror plans. They notified two high level officials in the Bush administration asking them to keep it secret until Al Qeada released it. By mid afternoon FOX News was airing the tape along with parts of the translation. The release of the information and its source to the public destroyed a valuable intelligence resource and compromised technology that had taken two years to develop.

We shouldn’t be surprised. If discrediting Joe Wilson was important enough to out a CIA operative and shut down an international CIA operation exposing agents worldwide compromising this small company to keep us afraid can’t be that big a deal.

Because of actions taken by this administration the President alone has the power to declare anyone anywhere at any time an enemy combatant and hold them in secret prisons indefinitely without due process or charges being filed. It is my fondest dream the President Hillary Clinton will declare this entire administration enemy combatants and pack the lot of them off to GITMO never to be heard of again.

Excerpts from JFK’s Commencement Address at American University in 1963, which had a profound affect on the Soviets and lead to the limited nuclear test ban treaty:

There are few earthly things more beautiful than a University,” wrote John Masefield, in his tribute to the English Universities – – and his words are equally true here. He did not refer to spires and towers, to campus greens and ivied walls. He admired the splendid beauty of the University, he said, because it was ” a place where those who hate ignorance may strive to know, where those who perceive truth may strive to make others see.

I have, therefore, chose this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is to rarely perceived – – yet it is the most important topic on earth : world peace.

What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace – – the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living — the kind that enables man and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children – – not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women – – not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.

…
Some say that it is useless to speak of world peace or world law or world disarmament – – and that it will be useless until the leaders of the Soviet Union adopt a more enlightened attitude. I hope they do. I believe we can help them do it. But I also believe that we must re-examine our own attitude – as individuals and as a Nation – – for our attitude is as essential as theirs. And every graduate of this school, every thoughtful citizen who despairs of war and wishes to bring peace, should begin by looking inward – – by examining his own attitude toward the possibilities of peace, toward the Soviet Union, toward the course of the Cold War and toward freedom and peace here at home.

First: Let us examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many of us think it is unreal. But that is dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable – – that mankind is doomed – – that we are gripped by forces we cannot control.

We need not accept that view. Our problems are manmade – – therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man’s reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable – – and we believe they can do it again.

…
Truly, as it was written long ago: “The wicked flee when no man pursueth.” Yet it is sad to read these Soviet statements – – to realize the extent of the gulf between us. But it is also a warning – – a warning to the American people not to fall into the same trap as the Soviets, not to see only a distorted and desperate view of the other side, not to see conflict as inevitable, accommodations as impossible and communication as nothing more than an exchange of threats.

No government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue. As Americans, we find communism profoundly repugnant as a negation of personal freedom and dignity. But we can still hail the Russian people for their many achievements – – in science and space, in economic and industrial growth, in culture and in acts of courage.

…
So, let us not be blind to our differences – – but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.

…
We must conduct our affairs in such a way that it becomes in the Communists’ interest to agree on a genuine peace. Above all, while defending our vital interest, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy – – or of a collective death-wish for the world.

…
We must conduct our affairs in such a way that it becomes in the Communists’ interest to agree on a genuine peace. Above all, while defending our vital interest, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy – – or of a collective death-wish for the world.

…
But wherever we are, we must all, in our daily lives, live up to the age-old faith that peace and freedom walk together. In too many of our duties today, the peace is not secure because freedom is incomplete.

It is the responsibility of the Executive Branch at all levels of government – – local, state and national – – to provide and protect that freedom for all of our citizens by all means within their authority. It is the responsibility of the Legislative Branch at all levels, wherever that authority is not now adequate, to make it adequate. And it is the responsibility of all citizens in all sections of this country to respect the rights of all others and to respect the law of the land.

…
The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough – – more than enough – – of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we labor on – – not toward a strategy of annihilation but toward a strategy of peace.

Regards,

Jim

White House Security Breach Tips-Off al-Qaeda – A small private intelligence company that monitors Islamic terrorist groups obtained a new Osama bin Laden video ahead of its official release last month, and around 10 a.m. on Sept. 7, it notified the Bush administration of its secret acquisition. It gave two senior officials access on the condition that the officials not reveal they had it until the al-Qaeda release. Within 20 minutes, a range of intelligence agencies had begun downloading it from the company’s Web site. By midafternoon that day, the video and a transcript of its audio track had been leaked from within the Bush administration to cable television news and broadcast worldwide. The founder of the company, the SITE Intelligence Group, says this premature disclosure tipped al-Qaeda to a security breach and destroyed a years-long surveillance operation that the company has used to intercept and pass along secret messages, videos and advance warnings of suicide bombings from the terrorist group’s communications network.

Conservative Bloggers Attack 12-Year Old Boy Over SCHIP – With debate raging in Washington over children’s health insurance, congressional Democrats found a new way to make their case for an expansion last weekend: Rather than have a senator or a congressman respond to President Bush’s weekly radio address about the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), they decided to have a child who was helped by the program speak directly to the public. Now conservative bloggers have attacked the 12-year old boy. Some bloggers have made repeated phone calls to the home of Graeme Frost, demanding information about his family’s private life. The conservative bloggers have tried to portray the Frost family as well-to-do freeloaders taking advantage of the program. One example: A blogger on FreeRepublic.com discovered that Frost and his sister, Gemma, attend a private school where tuition costs $20,000 a year. However, conservative bloggers didn’t dig deep enough. It turns out that the Frost children attend Baltimore’s Park School on near-full scholarships; they pay roughly only $500 per child per year in tuition and they need the special education because of their health problems. FreeRepublic.com also posted the Frosts’ home address to assure the family got plenty of personal harassment from other conservatives.

Army Denies Education Benefits To National Guard Troops Who Served 22 Months In Iraq – Approximately 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard recently returned home after serving multiple tours of duty in Iraq. They served 22 months — longer than any other ground combat unit — received nine fatalities, and were awarded dozens of Purple Hearts. But the Army wrote the orders for 1,162 of these soldiers for 729 days, making them ineligible for full educational benefits under the GI Bill, which requires written orders saying they were deployed for 730 days or more. These soldiers were shorted more than $200 per month for college.

Democrats Seem Ready to Extend Wiretap Powers – Two months after insisting that they would roll back broad eavesdropping powers won by the Bush administration, Democrats in Congress appear ready to make concessions that could extend some crucial powers given to the National Security Agency. Administration officials say they are confident they will win approval of the broadened authority that they secured temporarily in August as Congress rushed toward recess. Some Democratic officials concede that they may not come up with enough votes to stop approval. A Democratic bill to be proposed on Tuesday in the House would maintain for several years the type of broad, blanket authority for N.S.A. eavesdropping that the administration secured in August for six months.

They’re so afraid of being labeled “weak [on terrorism],” that they can’t stand up for what’s right. [We not only have ‘lame duck president, we have a lamb congress, Andy]

Conservative TV Host Unloads on “Iraqi losers” for Complaining about Blackwater for Blowing Away So Many Iraqi Civilians – On 10-8-2007, MSNBC morning show host Joe Scarborough unloaded on “Iraqi losers” for complaining about Blackwater for blowing away so many Iraqi civilians.

American Peace Activists Stalled at Canada-U.S. Border – Two high-profile American peace activists on Thursday accused the Canadian government of denying them entry into Canada solely because of past arrests in the U.S. for peaceful protests against the war in Iraq. Medea Benjamin, founder of the women’s peace movement CodePink, and former U.S. diplomat Ann Wright were detained for several hours by Canadian authorities at the border crossing between Buffalo, N.Y. and Niagara Falls, Ont., then turned back because their names appeared on an FBI database detailing their misdemeanour convictions. “We believe the Canadian government should not be doing the dirty political intimidation work for the Bush administration by using that database,” Wright, a former U.S. army colonel and deputy ambassador, said at a news conference outside the Canadian embassy in Washington. In Benjamin’s case, border agents cited a past misdemeanour trespassing conviction for a sit-in at the U.S. mission at the United Nations. She was fined $50 in that incident.

Regards,

Jim

FCC Officials Leaked Information to Lobbyists and Corporate Insiders – Federal Communications Commission officials leak information to lobbyists and corporate insiders before the agency’s regulatory decisions are made public, according to a report released Wednesday. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that “multiple stakeholders generally knew when the commission scheduled votes on proposed rules well before the FCC notified the public.” Those with advance information about future agency moves can tailor their lobbying approaches accordingly — but stakeholders without an inside scoop cannot, the report said.

Katie Couric felt pressured by NBC to support war – According to Reality Show, a book by Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz which hits bookshelves this week, CBS’ Katie Couric felt pressured by NBC to ‘lighten up’ on her coverage of the war.

Blackwater crushed car with three kids, old man to avoid traffic
Janessa Gans, a visiting political science professor at Principia College who served as a US official in Iraq from 2003 to 2005, says she witnessed firsthand “over-the-top zeal” of the behemoth US mercenary force. “We would careen around corners, jump road dividers, reach speeds in excess of 100 mph and often cross over to the wrong side of the street, oncoming traffic be damned,” she writes. “I began to wonder whether my meetings, intended to further U.S. policy goals and improve the lives of Iraqis, were doing more harm than good. With our drivers honking at, cutting off, pelting with water bottles (a favorite tactic) and menacing with weapons anyone in their way, how many enemies were we creating?”

Gans describes a particularly “infuriating” incident where the lead Chevy Suburban in her convoy allegedly crashed into a sedan ferrying an older man, 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,” she pens. “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 for a 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.”

Bill O’Reilly Says White House Press Corps Has to be Wiped Out – Former Fox News commentator turned White House Press Secretary Tony Snow sat down with Bill O’Reilly to discuss his battle with cancer and his career aspirations going forward. O’Reilly asks Snow what his plan is, career-wise, since he left his job at the White House for “financial reasons.” “You could make a lot of money bloviating, like I do,” says O’Reilly, “get the speeches–You know, you could write a book–I assume you’ll do that, right?” Snow plans on “a lot of speeches,” along with writing about how to deal not only with cancer, but with the unexpected. “You can combine ‘how I deal with cancer’ with ‘how I deal with the White House Press Corps,'” quips O’Reilly, “because they’re both insidious, invasive…they both have to be wiped out.”

Warner Bros President of Production Says, “We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead” – Warner Bros president of production Jeff Robinov has made a new decree that “We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead”. This Neanderthal thinking comes after both Jodie Foster’s The Brave One and Nicole Kidman’s The Invasion (as if three different directors didn’t have something to do with the awfulness of the gross receipts) under-performed at the box office recently.

Another Republican elected official caught toe-tappin’ in the boys room – Joey DiFatta is the chairman of St. Bernard Parish Council and a prominent Republican leader (until 2004 on the GOP state party Executive Committee). He just withdrew from his state senate race, after his arrests for lewd behavior in a public restroom were made public.

Republicans Love Authoritarianism – On The McLaughlin Group, host John McLaughlin let the truth slip out:

McLaughlin: “Look Americans — particularly Republicans like you — they love authoritarianism.”
Blankley: “I don’t love authoritarianism. Even though I love you, John.”
McLaughlin: “Keep quiet now. They don’t want a President. They want an imperialist.”

Regards,

Jim

Republican Presidential Candidates Agree With Bush Over Children’s Health Care Veto – The four leading Republican presidential candidates have aligned themselves with President Bush’s veto on Wednesday of an expanded health insurance program for children, once again testing the political risk of appearing in lock step with a president who has low approval ratings and some critics of the veto within their party.

Republican Presidential Candidate in Court for Disorderly Conduct – Republican presidential candidate Robert Haines was more than two hours late yesterday for his arraignment in Manchester District Court on a disorderly conduct charge.

The Committee Tasked With Oversight of The C.I.A.’s Detention and Interrogation Program was Provided More Information by the New York Times Than by the Department Of Justice – The disclosure of secret Justice Department legal opinions on interrogation on Thursday set off a bitter round of debate over the treatment of terrorism suspects in American custody and whether Congress has been adequately informed of legal policies. One 2005 opinion gave the Justice Department’s most authoritative legal approval to the harshest agency techniques, including head slapping, exposure to cold and simulated drowning, even when used in combination. The second opinion declared that under some circumstances, such techniques were not “cruel, inhuman or degrading,” a category of treatment that Congress banned in December 2005.

Fred Thompson Has to Beg Crowd For a Round of Applause – Twenty-four minutes after he began speaking in a small restaurant the other day, Fred D. Thompson brought his remarks to a close with a nod of his head and an expression of thanks. Then he stood face to face with a silent audience. “Can I have a round of applause?” Mr. Thompson said, drawing a rustle of clapping and some laughter. “Well, I had to drag that out of you,” he said.

More on the Failings of FMEA – After the horrors of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of black evacuees were unwittingly transported to Utah, a state where only one percent of its residents were black in 2005.

Blackwater Shot First – According to unreleased military reports, the September 16th shooting incident involving guards from Blackwater indicate that the guards shot without provocation. A U.S. military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the incident remains the subject of several investigations, says, “It was obviously excessive, it was obviously wrong. The civilians that were fired upon, they didn’t have any weapons to fire back at them. And none of the IP or any of the local security forces fired back at them.”

“Americans Against Hate” Hates Muslims– “ Americans Against Hate ” is a conservative organization founded by a Republican activist. They plan to protest a Muslim Family Day at Six Flags Over Texas later this month because, according to their chairman, Joe Kaufman, “We believe this [Islamic] organization is a threat to the city and a threat to the United States because of its ties to overseas terrorism, because of their financing of overseas terrorism.” Local Muslims are outraged by these comments and have called the accusation a lie. “They have an agenda and they have a focus, and that is to absolutely tear down any Muslim organization that has any level of promise in America,” said Khalil Meek of Plano, president of the Muslim Legal Fund of America.

Isn’t this a typical conservative trick to name your group, or legislation, or whatever, the exact opposite of what it really represents? Want to pass a law to allow industries to pollute? Just call it the “Clear Skies Initiative.” – JLV

CIA Detention Program Remains Active – A secret CIA overseas detention program revealed by President George W. Bush last year remains active and has held at least one al Qaeda militant since then, a U.S. official said on Thursday. The official confirmed the detention as the White House skirted the question of whether the agency had resumed holding prisoners at secret sites and insisted that the United States does not torture.

Dick Cheney’s office protested the content of “Hardball” and “attempted to influence its editorial content – At the 10th anniversary party for his “Hardball” show Thursday night in Washington, D.C., Chris Matthews outlined what he said was the fundamental difference between the Bush and Clinton administrations. The Clinton camp, he said, never put pressure on his bosses to silence him. “Not so this crowd,” he added, explaining that Bush White House officials — especially those from Vice President Cheney’s office — called MSNBC brass to complain about the content of his show and attempted to influence its editorial content. “They will not silence me!” Matthews declared. “They’ve finally been caught in their criminality,” Matthews continued, although he did not specify the exact criminal behavior to which he referred. He then drew an obvious Bush-Nixon parallel by saying, “Spiro Agnew was not an American hero.” Matthews left the throng of Washington A-listers with a parting shot at Cheney: “God help us if we had Cheney during the Cuban missile crisis. We’d all be under a parking lot.”

Cheney part of top-secret conservative policy group – An ultra-secret conservative group — so secret that members don’t even use the group’s name in communications — featured Vice President Dick Cheney as a speaker at a meeting in Utah last week. Cheney addressed the fall meeting of the Council for National Policy, a group whose self-described mission is to promote ‘a free-enterprise system, a strong national defense and support for traditional Western values. “The media should not know when or where we meet or who takes part in our programs, before of after a meeting,” one of the group’s rules reads. Members “meet to share the best information available on national and world problems, know one another on a personal basis, and collaborate in achieving their shared goals.” What might those goals be? Southeastern Louisiana University philosophy professor Barbara Forrest says of the Council for National Policy, “The CNP membership also includes a sizeable segment of Christian Reconstructionists: Reconstructionists espouse a radical theology that calls for trashing the U.S. Constitution and replacing it with the harsh legal code of the Old Testament.”

Angry Vet Cuts Down Mexican Flag, Steals American Flag From Business – FoxNews Calls Him A Patriot – This past Monday, veteran Jim Broussard became so enraged when he heard a news report of a business in Reno, Nevada flying a Mexican flag above an American flag, he drove there and cut down the Mexican flag and stole the American flag. When Broussard appeared on FOXNews with Neil Cavuto, who called him an American patriot, claimed it was his patriotism that moved him to break the law and steal an American flag that belonged to the owner who is a U.S. citizen.

Regards,

Jim

CNN Weatherman Considers Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth to be Fiction – CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano said in response to criticism of Al Fore’s book and movie, An Inconvenient Truth ,”Finally, finally,” before commenting sarcastically that “the Oscars, they give out awards for fictional films as well.” Marciano said he objected in particular to the film’s claim that global warming causes stronger hurricanes, noting that the current hurricane season has only been average. Although the number of named storms this season has not been unusual, USA Today pointed out last month that “the first two hurricanes in the Atlantic this season reached the highest Category 5 level, the first time that’s happened since record-keeping began in 1851.” In addition, three storms this year shattered records for speed of intensification, leading concerned weather bloggers to suggest that the possible effects of global warming on hurricanes demand far more intensive study.

Ann Coulter Says, “If we took away women’s right to vote, we’d never have to worry about another Democratic president” – In an interview with the New York Observer, conservative commentator, frequent Fox guest, and alleged plagiarist Ann Coulter left this choice quote: “If we took away women’s right to vote, we’d never have to worry about another Democrat president. It’s kind of a pipe dream, it’s a personal fantasy of mine, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. And it is a good way of making the point that women are voting so stupidly, at least single women. It also makes the point, it is kind of embarrassing, the Democratic Party ought to be hanging its head in shame, that it has so much difficulty getting men to vote for it. I mean, you do see it’s the party of women and ‘We’ll pay for health care and tuition and day care — and here, what else can we give you, soccer moms?”

Regards,

Jim

AT&T Threatens to Disconnect Subscribers Who Criticize the Company – AT&T has rolled out new Terms of Service for its DSL service that attempts to give AT&T the right to disconnect its own customers who criticize the company on blogs or in other online settings.

Corporate-funded research designed to influence public policy – Reports by well-known think tanks and individuals funded by telecoms are helping quash competition, increase phone rates and set up a corporate-oriented Internet system. It is clear that we are in the age of “stink tanks,” in which corporate-funded think tanks and well-paid, credentialed academics are hired to make corporate arguments and give the appearance of being independent experts.

Katie Couric Felt NBC Pressure on Iraq Coverage – Katie Couric now admits Rice After the interview, Couric said she received an email from an NBC exec “forwarded without explanation” from a viewer who wrote that she had been “unnecessarily confrontational.” “I think there was a lot of undercurrent of pressure not to rock the boat for a variety of reasons, where it was corporate reasons or other considerations,” she said.

Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Record Low – Arctic sea ice is melting faster than most global warming models predict. On September 16, Arctic sea ice reached a record low of 1.59 million square miles, shattering the previous 2005 record of 2.05 million square miles. Compared to 2005, this year’s record minimum represents a loss of 460,000 square miles of sea ice — an area roughly the size of California and Texas combined.

Secret U.S. Endorsement of Severe Interrogations – When the Justice Department publicly declared torture “abhorrent” in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations. But soon after Alberto Gonzales’ arrival as attorney general in February 2005, the Justice Department issued another opinion, this one in secret. It was a very different document, according to officials briefed on it, an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the CIA. The new opinion, the officials said, for the first time provided explicit authorization to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, including head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures.

Fox News pushes claim that Media Matters is a ‘criminal enterprise’ – On the Sept. 28 broadcast of his radio show, host Mark Levin concluded that the media watchdog group Media Matters is a “criminal enterprise.” Fox News — on air — went beyond reporting Levin’s remarks by inviting guests to debate the legality of the media watchdog group.

Bush Vetoes Child Health Plan – Apparently, there are no depths to which Pres. Bush cannot sink. This morning, he chose the health of health care executives over that of poor children. There is no reason to veto the SCHIP legislation other than blind ideology.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coalition Affairs Says, “I hate all Iranians.” – British MPs visiting the Pentagon to discuss America’s stance on Iran and Iraq were shocked to be told by one of President Bush’s senior women officials: “I hate all Iranians.” And she also accused Britain of “dismantling” the Anglo-US-led coalition in Iraq by pulling troops out of Basra too soon.

Regards,

Jim

Blackwater USA’s efforts may be concentrated in Iraq, but one day those services will no longer be needed. What then for this private company and its employees?

Like employees of Blackwater USA, I work for a government contractor who’s contract will eventually expire. Both companies have plans for surviving beyond their current contracts with private contracts. Unfortunately, Blackwater USA’s expertise is unregulated, heavily-armed and lead by a righteous evangelical neocon.

Here are Blackwater USA’s vision and mission as stated on their web site:

Blackwater USA comprises nine separate business units to offer the most comprehensive professional security, peacekeeping, and stability operations company in the world.

VISION
To support security, peace, freedom, and democracy everywhere.

MISSION
To support national and international security policies that protect those who are defenseless and provide a free voice for all with a dedication to providing ethical, efficient, and effective turnkey solutions that positively impact the lives of those still caught in desperate times.

Blackwater is committed to the foot soldiers — the men and women who stand on the front-lines of the global war on terror and who believe in a peaceful future for their communities and nations. Whether serving in or out of uniform, Blackwater is committed to providing these men and women with the very best in training and tactical support to ensure they are fully prepared to meet current and future global security challenges.

Blackwater USA was founded by Erik Prince. According to a London Review of Books (LRB) book review of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill, Mr. Prince:

• … is a privately educated, avowedly devout Roman Catholic, a former member of US Navy special forces and the father of six children.
• … declared: “Our corporate goal is to do for the national security apparatus what FedEx did to the postal service.“
• … Is part of the right-wing Republican DeVos-Prince dynasty of Michigan, which has bankrolled radical Christian evangelical movements that campaign against homosexuality, abortion and stem-cell research.
• … was an intern in the administration of the elder President Bush, but found him too liberal and backed the extreme right-winger Pat Buchanan to replace him.
• … has given a quarter of a million dollars in campaign contributions to Republican politicians.
• … donated half a million dollars to an organization set up by Charles Colson, a felon convicted for his role in the Watergate scandal, to get prisoners to become born-again Christians in exchange for better jail conditions (in 1996, Colson floated the possibility of a Christian coup against the re-elected President Clinton).
• … in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when survivors were desperate for food, drinking water, shelter and medical supplies, his company flew ammunition into New Orleans to supply the groups of heavily-armed mercenaries it had rushed to the disaster zone.
• … helps fund campaigners against high taxation and welfare spending, while the hundreds of millions of dollars Blackwater has taken in fees since 2001 have come almost exclusively from the US taxpayer.

According to the LRB’s review, Mr. Prince has hired “a squad of elite lawyers to fight to protect his company from liability for anyone’s death, foreign or American, anywhere overseas …” There have been multiple incidents where he needed these lawyers:

• … at least one incident of Blackwater mercenaries in Iraq shooting death of an innocent man
• … the death in Fallujah of four Blackwater mercenaries to whom the company hadn’t given proper armored vehicles, manpower, weapons, training, instructions or maps
• … the death of three US servicemen in Afghanistan at the hands of a reckless Blackwater aircrew, who also died

Blackwater USA was started in 1998. Initially, Erick Prince used his company to respond to incidents like the Columbine High School shooting and show others how to better apply guns to a problem while they make a profit. Then with the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. They won their first government contract for $35,700,000 to train sailors how to defend large ships with small-calibre weapons. But what really boosted the fortunes of Blackwater USA was the attack on September 11, 2001. This tragedy allowed Mr. Prince to convert his company from training others how to shoot to becoming hired guns for service anywhere in the world while also supporting his above stated corporate goal. (Do you remember those movie westerns where the local land baron had his personal civilian army to keep control of the local town and abuse its citizens?)

Scahill summarized Blackwater’s ascent this way, “it has risen out of a swamp in North Carolina to become a sort of Praetorian Guard for the Bush administration’s ‘global war on terror’.”

Speaking of the Praetorian Guard, here is an excerpt from Wikipedia, “The Nazis regarded the SS as an elite unit, the party’s ‘Praetorian Guard,’ with all SS personnel selected on the principles of racial purity and unconditional loyalty to the Nazi Party.”

Schutzstaffel (German for ‘Protective Squadron’)

Blackwater USA may be small now, with about 2,300 private soldiers, but Hitler’s SS started small too, according to Wikipedia. “‘Die Schutz-Staffel der NSDAP’ (shield squadron of the Nazi party) Under the leadership of Heinrich Himmler between 1929 and 1945, the SS grew from a small paramilitary formation to become one of the largest and most powerful organizations in Nazi Germany.”

As discussed elsewhere in this blog, Posse commitatus has been abridged. So now, if our own military is busy elsewhere and cannot be used against us in the next state of emergency, the President has a backup to maintain control – Blackwater USA.

Can you spell T-h-e L-a-n-d B-a-r-o-n?

In this twenty-third survey of the web, The WAWG Index monthly average was down by 51.6 percent from August 2007. Of the fourteen categories tracked, all 14 were down. The largest decrease for September, 75 percent, was for suppressing the power of labor. The smallest decrease was for rampant sexism at 28 percent.

Through September, the 12 month group moving average for all fourteen categories went negative for the first time at -7.3 percent. It was 13.1 percent last month. Of the fourteen categories tracked, all but one, media control, is now negative.