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| Subject: The Great Blackwater Debate (Part One) | |
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Author: Jimmy |
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Date Posted: 05:01:42 11/12/07 Mon Author Host/IP: c-71-197-21-170.hsd1.mi.comcast.net/71.197.21.170 Actually, I kinda lost interest in it once I got the Adderall. “Orthodoxy, of whatever color, seems to demand a lifeless, imitative style.” George Orwell Politics and the English Language “Is it better to be feared, or respected? And I say, 'is it too much to ask for both'?” Tony Stark The Invincible Iron Man The reason Blackwater is the latest compulsion of far-Left subordinates is quite simple: Erik Prince has never given a dime to the Democratic Party. Is this nothing more than an attempt at extortion? Perhaps. The most bewitching aspect of the movement against Blackwater is ‘how’ and ‘why’ they go after Prince. Last Friday on Real Time With Bill Maher, Jeremy Scahill was promoting his book, “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army” on Real Time With Bill Maher. Scahill’s depiction of the Private Security Firm is quite scathing and there is no doubt Blackwater personnel have used questionable judgment at times. Fair enough. Before concluding the interview, however, Scahill painted Prince as a Right-Wing Christian Fundamentalist with his own Shadow Army that Scahill and Maher agreed wanted to stage a coup. That’s a very serious charge, not to mention extremely paranoid, but Maher’s crowd proudly salutes the host’s penchant for marijuana so it’s not too big-a-leap to assume the majority of them is tuning in, turning on, and…blogging. Hence, Scahill’s captious allegations will resonate with a large share of Maher’s ineffectual viewers looking for a lead to make their own as they blog from the safety of their apartments. I watched the interview a few more times on YouTube before regaining control of my own delusional imagination. The whole matter would have been dropped if not for a few insidious comments made by the Left-Wing Blogger, and old friend of mine, Mr. Joseph Bungle of Tulsa, Oklahoma. After polishing off two bottles of cheap red wine—always a bad drunk—I let the idea swim in my head, as it’s known to do from time-to-time (see band drunk), of re-enlisting into the Military. In a drunken effort to recruit the esteemed gamer, I mentioned to Bungle that he should come with me. After responding astringently against the idea and hurling numerous personal insults against my character (most conspicuously: my potential role as a father), Bungle concluded that I should go “Merc for Blackwater,” because I hate the constitution as much as the rest of the Military-Industrial-Complex and their lackeys. Based on misconceived notions about me being a Right-Wing Lunatic with militant tendencies, Bungle said I’d be perfect working for Blackwater. Before taking a final shot against the Pope, he fired up his bowl and got back to “Halo 3” and caustic intuition against people of Faith. What caused this normally-mild peacenik to lose control so vehemently? Was it because of Guy Fawkes day? Is he on cocaine? I decided to look into Blackwater myself. Sans Adderall, it would be a difficult task but one, nonetheless, I felt I owed myself. At the inception of my quest all I knew of Blackwater and Prince was what I had seen on Television; this was generalized by all the Private Security Firms in Iraq. After seeing the documentaries “Ghost of Abu Gharbi,” and “Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers.” In principale, I agreed with the filmmakers, particularly Robert Greenwald’s ‘Profiteers.” Greenwald does a nice job of delineating an assertive thesis that states and proves the motives of the Defense Industry and their influence over the Administration whose campaign they funded. The kickbacks Bush and Cheney gave the Defense Industry is one of the reasons we are at war with Iraq. You really can’t argue a lot of that and all I took away was: I’m not involved; they’re getting rich; I remain nobody. Playa-Hatahs!!! Abu Gharbib doesn’t bother me too much; though, I do feel bad for the Soldiers who were prosecuted while the Chain-of-Command--including the Private Contractors which I believe was CACI in this case-- got off scot-free. Only Rumsfeld should have answered for that, and ultimately he did. Instead of just reporting the story, both docs do something curious: they exacerbate the tension the indignant troops have towards the higher-paid Blackwater and CACI contractors so they can continuously frame their negative narrative of the war. That’s just what a kid in the suck needs: a narcissist reporter with a personal agenda manipulating the soldier’s justified grievances. But isn’t that what moveon.org and the Huffington Post do to their third-string low man’s and girl Friday’s? You can say the same thing about the Right Wing galvanizing their conservatives without conscience with wedge issues. But isn’t the Left supposed to idealize the free exchange of ideals in an open and civil debate? Yes. And they do. My point is that it’s only the right that’s painted as credulous zealots when it’s clear both have their share of sycophants repeating the party line. I hate Ben Affleck. With righteous candor, I began reading Scahll’s momentously-researched censure on Blackwater and Erik Prince. Granted, I realized that Scahill was biased but I was determined to see his incriminations as assertive reporting. Slowly, however, this view melted away as Scahill began telling Prince’s story about his conservative Midwest upbringing. Born and raised in Holland, Michigan, Erik followed in his father’s footsteps and volunteered for military service despite coming from a class—these days—that rarely makes this principled move. I found Prince, my neighbor, to be a very admirable man based on his Fortunate Son status that led him to the United States Navy where he would undergo the arduous training program before becoming an Elite Navy Seal Officer. Also, I was quite jealous of several anecdotes that portrayed Prince as the hard-working Calvinist who never had time to waste. One story, in particular, illustrates this point well: Erik, having volunteered for the local Fire Department while going to college was described as the type of guy who, after the fire was put out, immediately began picking up the equipment while some of the Fire Men smoked cigarettes or relaxed with a soda. Falling into that latter category (I like to pat myself on the back with a little whiskey in that soda), I felt envious of Prince’s Calvinist work ethic, looks, intelligence and wealth. Well, at least these rich kids can’t fight, huh? Navy Seal. So, now I’m just this nothing Catholic. I should have hated Prince. But I never did…not even for a second. Having passed the test of the deadly sin of envy, Scahill suddenly put into context: “Erik Prince adopted his father's behind-the-scenes demeanor, as well as his passion for right-wing religious causes, but with a twist. "Erik is a Roman Catholic," said author Robert Young Pelton, who has had rare access to Prince. "A lot of people brand him in his father's religion, but he converted to Roman Catholicism. Indeed, many of the executives who would later form the core of Prince's Blackwater empire were also Catholics..." That alone is going to turn a large number of people against Prince. An Evangelical Roman Catholic who worked and financially supported the “xenophobic Roman Catholic homophobe. But that’s only what those on the Left spellbind their gullibly-green base with. These are Keith Olbermann’s people. Janene Garfalo’s. Pro-Wrestling fans from the fringe Left. Perhaps if their minds were not so adamantly closed to how open they are they would see Olbermann is just as bad as O’Reilly and Garafalo as…shit, I got nothing. Garafalo is a rare breed of fuck. I think I hate her more than Ben Affleck. It’s close at any rate. But no, these are not clear-think Liberals in the classic sense of Thomas Payne or JFK, these are rabid hippies bewitched by one half of the machine just as the Christians they hate are galvanized by the other. If they ever stopped to think about why Blackwater is just a hot issue they’d know that Erik Prince and Blackwater, unlike the other Private Defense Firms, have never contributed a single cent to the Democratic Party. (Cue Hillary Clinton Karaoking “What About Me”) [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| The Great Blackwater Debate (Part Two) | Jimmy | 05:02:56 11/12/07 Mon |
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| Re: The Great Blackwater Debate (Part One) | Mr. Bungle | 18:08:59 11/12/07 Mon |
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