2MuchPoliticalPower

What really could happen in 5 months? It is only five months!

January 20, 2009 will be one of those days you will always remember where you were when; this administration’s term was over!

1/20/09 It’s about time.

Wow it’s real bad when shirts are designed for your last day of representing the American people.  Congress, you really drop the ball on this one!  You all should be fired and new representation should replace you!

In the late nineties, you all tried to rid Mr Clinton of his duties (duties ) , over some Oval Office Head.  Interns, learn how to clean yourselves when you leave the Oval Office, please.   [link]

In the seventies you kicked out Mr Nixon for the immense scope of crimes and abuses, which included campaign fraud, political espionage and sabotage, illegal break-ins, improper tax audits, illegal wiretapping on a massive scale, and a secret slush fund laundered in Mexico to pay those who conducted these operations. This secret fund was also used as hush money to buy silence of the seven men who were indicted for the June 17th break-in. President Nixon and his staff conspired to cover up the break-in as early as six days after it occurred.  After enduring two years of mounting evidence against the President and his staff, which included former staff members testifying against them in a Senate investigation, it was revealed that Mr Nixon had a tape recording system in his offices and that he had recorded many conversations. [link]

Here are the rules:

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High crimes and misdemeanors.

The Constitution also allows for involuntary removal from office. The President, Vice-President, Cabinet Secretaries, and other executive officers, as well as judges, may be impeached by the House of Representatives and tried in the Senate. The Congress may determine what exactly constitutes a high crime or misdemeanor.

If any officer is convicted after being impeached, he or she is immediately removed from office. Along with removal from office, the Senate may choose to bar the removed official from holding any federal office in the future. No other punishments may be inflicted pursuant to the impeachment proceeding, but the impeached party remains liable to trial and punishment in the courts for civil and criminal charges. [link]

Why did you all let Mr Bush and Mr Cheney get away with the dozen, most likely more, crimes, which we don’t know of in the White House, against the people of the United States of America and the world? You all let this man do this [link]

I hope the House of Representatives finishes what they start in June 2008 with the Kucinich Resolution, H.Res. 1258 [link]

No matter, I’m hoping Mr Bugliosi, the L.A. district attorney who became famous for successfully trying Charles Manson; does what he says he is going to do, help with charging Mr Bush and Mr Cheney with murder. 

It would be great if the Attorney General of Texas does it right when he gets to his Crawford Ranch, on the 20th of January, BIG Smile BIG Smile!

Even sweeter, if Mr Cheney high jacks Air Force Two, never to be seen or heard from again.  Then 4 years later, Air Force Two is found at former President of Pakistan, Musharraf’s home.  They also found a crap load of video equipment and what looks like a Hollywood make-up studio.  Interesting fact, the only one face and costume available is, you guess it, Osama Bin Laden and the other characters on my ”Men of Terror” deck of cards.  More lies!

Real and exacting change is need for the Executive Branch of our United States Government.  Can it be done? Better question yet, will it be done?

It is my belief, as well as hope, to see this ticket happen:

Change & Experience: Obama/Biden ‘08!

or Hope & History: Obama/Biden ‘08

However you what to call it (I like the first one).

Bill Maher is on CNN’s Larry King Live tonight at 6 p.m., 9 p.m., 12 a.m.! Ask a question, see if it makes it on the show tonight! [link]

This only means he is back live on his GREAT HBO show, Real Time with Bill Maher™

Recently reading an article that mentions the “Wolfowitz Doctrine” (now known as The Bush Doctrine)? Not knowing the contents of this doctrine, I did some research. 

The doctrine’s history: [link] Enjoy!

Wolfowitz Doctrine is an unofficial name given to the initial version of the Defense Planning Guidance for the 1994-99 fiscal years (dated February 18, 1992) authored by U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Paul Wolfowitz and his deputy Scooter Libby.

Not intended for public release, it was leaked to The New York Times on March 7, 1992, and sparked a public controversy about U.S. foreign and defense policy. The document was widely criticized as imperialist as the document outlined a policy of unilateralism and pre-emptive military action to suppress potential threats from other nations and prevent any other nation from rising to superpower status.

Such was the outcry that the document was hastily re-written under the close supervision of U.S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell before being officially released on April 16. Although the initial release was denounced at the time it was leaked many of its tenets have since re-emerged in the Bush Doctrine.

Here are the interesting articles in the doctrine:

Superpower Status

The doctrine announces the U.S.’s status as the world’s only remaining superpower following the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War and proclaims its main objective to be retaining that status.

“Our first objective is to prevent the re-emergence of a new rival, either on the territory of the former Soviet Union or elsewhere, that poses a threat on the order of that posed formerly by the Soviet Union. This is a dominant consideration underlying the new regional defense strategy and requires that we endeavor to prevent any hostile power from dominating a region whose resources would, under consolidated control, be sufficient to general global power.”

This was substantially re-written in the April 16 release.

“Our most fundamental goal is to deter or defeat attack from whatever source… The second goal is to strengthen and extend the system of defense arrangements that binds democratic and like-minded nations together in common defense against aggression, build habits of cooperation, avoid the renationalization of security policies, and provide security at lower costs and with lower risks for all. Our preference for a collective response to preclude threats or, if necessary, to deal with them is a key feature of our regional defense strategy. The third goal is to preclude any hostile power from dominating a region critical to our interests, and also thereby to strengthen the barriers against the re-emergence of a global threat to the interests of the U.S. and our allies.” 

U.S. Primacy

The doctrine establishes the U.S.’s leadership role within the new world order.

“The U.S. must show the leadership necessary to establish and protect a new order that holds the promise of convincing potential competitors that they need not aspire to a greater role or pursue a more aggressive posture to protect their legitimate interests. In non-defense areas, we must account sufficiently for the interests of the advanced industrial nations to discourage them from challenging our leadership or seeking to overturn the established political and economic order. We must maintain the mechanism for deterring potential competitors from even aspiring to a larger regional or global role.”

This was substantially re-written in the April 16 release.

“One of the primary tasks we face today in shaping the future is carrying long standing alliances into the new era, and turning old enmities into new cooperative relationships. If we and other leading democracies continue to build a democratic security community, a much safer world is likely to emerge. If we act separately, many other problems could result.”

Unilateralism

The doctrine downplays the value of international coalitions.

“Like the coalition that opposed Iraqi aggression, we should expect future coalitions to be ad hoc assemblies, often not lasting beyond the crisis being confronted, and in many cases carrying only general agreement over the objectives to be accomplished. Nevertheless, the sense that the world order is ultimately backed by the U.S. will be an important stabilizing factor.”

This was re-written with a change in emphasis in the April 16 release.

“Certain situations like the crisis leading to the Gulf War are likely to engender ad hoc coalitions. We should plan to maximize the value of such coalitions. This may include specialized roles for our forces as well as developing cooperative practices with others.”

Pre-emptive Intervention

The doctrine stated the U.S’s right to intervene when and where it believed necessary.

While the U.S. cannot become the world’s policeman, by assuming responsibility for righting every wrong, we will retain the preeminent responsibility for addressing selectively those wrongs which threaten not only our interests, but those of our allies or friends, or which could seriously unsettle international relations.

This was softened slightly in the April 16 release.

“While the United States cannot become the world’s policeman and assume responsibility for solving every international security problem, neither can we allow our critical interests to depend solely on international mechanisms that can be blocked by countries whose interests may be very different than our own. Where our allies interests are directly affected, we must expect them to take an appropriate share of the responsibility, and in some cases play the leading role; but we maintain the capabilities for addressing selectively those security problems that threaten our own interests.”

Russian Threat

The doctrine highlighted the possible threat posed by a resurgent Russia.

“We continue to recognize that collectively the conventional forces of the states formerly comprising the Soviet Union retain the most military potential in all of Eurasia; and we do not dismiss the risks to stability in Europe from a nationalist backlash in Russia or efforts to reincorporate into Russia the newly independent republics of Ukraine, Belarus, and possibly others….We must, however, be mindful that democratic change in Russia is not irreversible, and that despite its current travails, Russia will remain the strongest military power in Eurasia and the only power in the world with the capability of destroying the United States.”

This was removed from the April 16 release in favour of a more diplomatic approach.

“The U.S. has a significant stake in promoting democratic consolidation and peaceful relations between Russia, Ukraine and the other republics of the former Soviet Union.”

Oil

The doctrine clarified the strategic value of the Middle East and Southwest Asia.

“In the Middle East and Southwest Asia, our overall objective is to remain the predominant outside power in the region and preserve U.S. and Western access to the region’s oil.”

The April 16 release was much more circumspect and reaffirmed U.S. commitments to Israel.

“In the Middle East and Persian Gulf, we seek to foster regional stability, deter aggression against our friends and interests in the region, protect U.S. nationals and property, and safeguard our access to international air and seaways and to the region’s oil. The United States is committed to the security of Israel and to maintaining the qualitative edge that is critical to Israel’s security. Israel’s confidence in its security and U.S.-Israel strategic cooperation contribute to the stability of the entire region, as demonstrated once again during the Persian Gulf War. At the same time, our assistance to our Arab friends to defend themselves against aggression also strengthens security throughout the region, including for Israel.”

Remember these articles where written and rewritten in 1992.  I was still a Hilltopper, in Worcester, Ma, at the oldest educational institution and private school in the city.

General Powell had his own doctrine.  [link]  I think number five was not even discussed when he was Secretary of State.  He did leave office 20 months into the Iraq Invasion.

You think this 1992 doctrine is something, wait until you read what these people did 1997. Guaranteed future article on 2.MPP.com, shortly!

LAKE FOREST, California (CNN) — From their views on abortion to their greatest moral failings, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain used much different styles to tackle the same tough questions at Saturday night’s forum on faith.

John McCain, Rick Warren and Barack Obama take the stage together at the forum on faith.[link]

I am going to assuming it is not just Red Bull, either. [link]

Blackwater’s Top Brass [link]

Since the U.S.’s invasion into Iraq and Afghanistan, many American lives have changed.  So many lives lost in a fight that is viewed by most of the country and world as unjust. So many families shattered, so many bright futures tragically cut short.

For one man, the War of Bush/Cheney/Haliburton Oil was his golden ticket to massive wealth and an extraordinary level of influence and menacing power. Meet Erik Prince, born and raised in Holland, Michigan, and one of the country’s most dangerous men. [link]

This is a small price to pay to be apart of Erik Prince’s Blackwater, Worldwide.  You can join a fundamentalist Christian group, not to have any laws, and kill Muslims. Fundamentalist Christians killing fundamentalist Muslims and vice versa, why does history keep repeating itself?

These men are not soldiers, at least not anymore. All have military experience, but in order to join a new breed of warriors - private security contractors - they must pass this eight-week, $20,000 course.

To get here, they’ve sold possessions, quit jobs and left behind families. To stay here, they must measure up. Eight have already washed out; the 11 survivors have little time for sympathy. [link]

Eric Prince in an interview; I like this answer to this question the best.  He compares some historical references to his business and everything is a-oh-k, then, nice.

Q. Can you discuss the role played by Blackwater and other contractors in the Pentagon’s “total force,” as referenced in the latest Quadrennial Defense Review? What is its significance for Blackwater?

A. The “total force” refers to all resources available to be used in the nation’s defense. Blackwater considers itself a partner to the DoD and all government agencies, and we stand ready to provide surge capacity, training, security and operational services in various areas at their request. We are honored to contribute in some small way.

American history details the contributions of private contractors in the development of our Nation. Examples include the Jamestown, Plymouth, and Massachusetts Bay colonies; all started as private investment endeavors whose security was provided by PMCs. Across the street from the White House is Lafayette Park; on its four corners stand statues of Lafayette, Von Steuben, Rochambeau, and Kosciusko. All were foreign professional military officers that came here to help build and develop the capacity of the Continental Army. The base of one of the statues bears the inscription: “He gave military training and discipline to the citizen soldiers who achieved the independence of the United States.” Lewis and Clark’s expedition to explore the American West consisted of some active duty soldiers but their “Corps of Discovery” crew also consisted of what would now be considered contractors. [link]

Interesting fun fact about America’s Private Contractors:

Boy Scouts of America collect heaps of brass shell casings jingle underfoot on Blackwater’s compound, remnants of the countless rounds fired there. To clean them up, the company says it allows local Boy Scout troops onto the compound, where they collect the shells, turn them in for recycling and keep the proceeds. [link]

Our 43rd President of the United States of America (our highest representation to the world), enjoy this one! [link]

Why is this video ↑above↑ any different then this video ↓below↓

Blackwater Lodge and Training Center

A look at some of the assets at the Blackwater training facility:

SOURCE: Blackwater and Washington Post reporting | Satellite photo courtesy of Blackwater | GRAPHIC: The Washington Post - October 13, 2007

This is the latest news, which I could find on Blackwater, Worldwide in Iraq [link]

I was riding home from another work week completed and I realized the customers were not happy tonight. The system, internal was working. To be seen in the ED there were hardly any wait times. The admits got admitted in a private room and in a timely manner. The employees were more benevolent then even our normal selves, too!
 
Example 1: To keep a mother from going home (for a second time mind you) with her 17 year old daughter who swallowed a couple of bobby pins, a couple of employees offered to buy the mother a Rock Star®.  The mother says these statements repeatedly “I’m tired”, “I have been up for over 20 hours” and “I do not have my wallet on me”, “can’t this wait till tomorrow”, and my favorite “this will just pass when she takes a shit anyway, right?”  With the Rock Star®, a private room to sleep, and the doctor explaining, for the second time, that there is a danger; if the bobby pins don’t come out in the fun manner corn on the cob comes out.  The mother semi-calms down and storms away to her comfortable gurney and the teenager follows suit.  We finally get them the proper doctor to take the bobby pins out or just monitor daily with x-rays. Mother isn’t going to like this one, wait a couple of hours longer in the ER to see another doctor to get a direction of care. I can hear her voice now “I have to go to work today”, ”I got no sleep last night”, “I am in the same designer sweat suit from last night”, and “I am STARVING.” Karma is sweet when it comes our way. Being 6:45 a.m. we call this a DSP, Day Shift Problem.
 
Example 2: An 84 year old female, 12 hours in the ER has a left frontal lobe intracranial edema. Day shift tried to get a bed for more than half their shift, neither neurology beds nor neurologist, without a full load of patients in the entire Valley, it happens, this is not unusual, sad but true. It is my turn to find this lady a bed; only hope (very little) is at two Valley Hospitals. Time to think Tucson or Flagstaff, not that she is dying right now but, she needs a brain surgeon, not a Level 2 (non-trauma) ED! She isn’t altered and WILL NOT travel outside the Valley for this. Reason, her family won’t visit! The nurse called one sister, who sounds so intoxicated, she slurs every word. She continues to tell us about her brain surgery 8 years ago and how she needs another one to repair the first one. Conversation took 15 minutes with the nurse and 5 with me. Only in the ED at night, I swear I love this! Called the next sister and get the brother-in-law, excellent, the nurse fields this phone call only. Easy as 1, 2, 3; “your sister-in-law is waiting for a bed at another hospital, when becomes available we will call you with the details, any questions”. No questions. End of the shift comes and the 84 year old female now has been in the ED for 24 hours. It is time to get this patients the care she needs, DSP.

Of course, we have the variety of drug seekers that look for pain medication after just getting enough pain medication to knock a USDA cow over, less than hour ago. They then become medically cleared to have nothing wrong with them, at least in the immediate future, except for the pain medication. “Unless you have a ride you are with us until the medication wears off.” These people, 8 times out of ten, are the greatest people to be around, such a true joy.

Back to driving home………..listening to the local right wing AM radio station, for a laugh; I hear that there is a shooting at the Tijuana, Mexico/USA boarder.  Ok, this seems to be on the rise.  I then start to think of the possible major showdown between America and Russia in and over Georgia.  Then my mind takes me back to 1984 in the Rocky Mountains: Could movies come true, what a wake up call it would be for America today?

According to data provided to the House panel, the average per-day pay to personnel Blackwater hired was $600.  According to the schedule of rates, supplies and services attached to the contract, Blackwater charged Regency $1,075 a day for senior managers, $945 a day for middle managers and $815 a day for operators.

An unmarried sergeant given Iraq pay and relief from U.S. taxes makes about $83 to $85 a day, given time in service.  A married sergeant with children makes about double that, $170 a day.

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Baghdad overseeing more than 160,000 U.S. troops, makes roughly $180,000 a year, or about $493 a day. That comes out to less than half the fee charged by Blackwater for its senior manager of a 34-man security team.  [link]

Here are two pdf files, the first one is from the House Oversite Committee and then this one is from Blackwater Worldwide itself. 

As per request of a great friend, “you need to post about Blackwater, I hardly know anything about Blackwater.” 

Ok, I started a little research on the World Wide Web; wouldn’t you know there isn’t much discussed about Blackwater, as you would think, hmmm?

I have always loved timelines!  Timelines are a linear representation of significant events in a subject area shown in chronological order.  So here is Blackwater, Worldwide’s timeline and it is very interesting:

1965, Prince Corporation is founded in Holland, Michigan, by Edgar Prince, father of future Blackwater founder Erik Prince. The company specializes in auto parts.

June 6, 1969, Erik Prince is born.

1973, Prince Corporation begins marketing the “lighted sun visor” to car companies, a wildly successful innovation that nets the company billions of dollars.

February 1979, Erik Prince’s older sister Betsy marries Dick Devos, CEO of Amway and a billionaire contributor to the GOP and right-wing political causes. Devos was the Republican candidate for governor in Michigan in 2006.

1988, Gary Bauer and James Dobson found the socially conservative Family Research Council, funded primarily by the Prince family. Erik Prince interns there, before moving on to an internship in President George H.W. Bush’s White House.

1992, Erik Prince earns a commission in the U.S. Navy. He goes on to become a Navy SEAL and serves in Haiti, Bosnia, and the Middle East.

March 2, 1995, Edgar Prince dies of a heart attack.

July 22, 1996, Prince Corporation is sold for $1.35 billion. Erik Prince retires early from the U.S. military.

December 26, 1996, Erik Prince’s Blackwater Lodge and Training Center Inc. is incorporated in Delaware.

January 30, 1997, Blackwater purchases property in North Carolina.

January 1998, Blackwater gets its first paying customer, a Navy SEAL team. The company specializes in firearms training, but soon receives requests from Spain to train presidential security details and from Brazil for counterterrorism instruction.

February 1, 2000, Blackwater wins its first federal contract and is entered into the General Services Administration contracting database for government-approved goods and services, enabling it to compete for larger, longer-term federal contracts.

October 12, 2000, After the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, Blackwater gets its first long-term federal contract to train sailors for the U.S. Navy.

2001, Blackwater’s federal contracts total $736,906.

September 11, 2001, Terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, DC.

2002, Blackwater’s federal contracts total $3.4 million.

2002, Blackwater Security Consulting is founded, moving the company into the private security business.

2003, Blackwater’s federal contracts total $25 million.

March 20, 2003, The U.S. invades Iraq.

2004, Blackwater’s federal contracts total $48 million.

March 2004, Blackwater announces it has won a contract to train Azerbaijani maritime commandos. The work is done with approval of the U.S. government, which looks to Azerbaijan as a crucial ally in the oil- and gas-rich Caspian region.

March 31, 2004, Four Blackwater operators are killed in Falluja, their burnt bodies dragged through the streets and hung from a bridge. The incident sparks a major battle in the Iraq War. The public takes notice of Blackwater for the first time.

April 1, 2004, Blackwater engages Alexander Strategy Group to do damage control. Within days, Erik Prince has private meetings with senior Republican members of Congress.

April 4, 2004, U.S. Marines lay siege to Falluja, while to the south in Najaf, Blackwater operators defend the Coalition Provisional Authority’s headquarters from Mahdi Army attack.

June 28, 2004, CPA Order 17 provides private contractors with immunity from Iraqi law.

September 2004, Presidential Airways, a Blackwater-owned company, is awarded a $34.8 million contract to transport troops and supplies in Afghanistan.

November 27, 2004, A Presidential Airways plane crashes into a mountain in Afghanistan, killing three Blackwater operators and three U.S. military personnel. A subsequent investigation reveals that the pilots were joy riding in an uncharted area.

2005, Blackwater’s federal contracts total $352 million.

January 5, 2005, Families of the four Blackwater contractors killed in Falluja in March 2004 file a wrongful death suit against the company.

May 2005, A Blackwater-owned company called Greystone Limited is incorporated in Barbados. Among other things, it offers “proactive engagement teams” to conduct “stabilization efforts, asset protection and recovery, and emergency personnel withdrawal.” Clients are also offered training in “defensive and offensive small group operations.”

June 25, 2005, A Blackwater team fatally shoots an Iraqi man along the side of a road in Hilla. Operators do not report the incident.

August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina strikes New Orleans. Blackwater operators arrive within hours with weapons and combat gear. It is the company’s first foray into the U.S. domestic security market.

November 28, 2005, A Blackwater convoy collides with 18 cars while driving to and from a meeting at the Iraqi Ministry of Oil. Investigations later determine that operators’ accounts of the incident were “invalid, inaccurate, and at best, dishonest reporting.” According to one Blackwater operator, the convoy’s tactical commander “openly admitted giving clear direction to primary driver to conduct these acts of random negligence for no apparent reason.” Two Blackwater employees are fired.

2006, Blackwater’s federal contracts total $593 million.

May 2006, Blackwater announces plans for new combat training facilities in California and the Philippines.

February 6, 2006, Pentagon releases its Quadrennial Defense Review, classifying private contractors as a part of the Defense Department’s “Total Force.”

September 24, 2006, Blackwater convoy driving down the wrong side of the road (”counter flowing”) in al-Hillah strikes an oncoming car, propelling it into a telephone pole. The Iraqi car bursts into flames. Blackwater contractors leave the scene without offering help to the victim, who dies in the fire.

December 24, 2006, Drunken Blackwater operator Andrew Moonen shoots the Iraqi vice presidents’ security guard in the Green Zone. He is fired, fined, and flown back to the United States, but returns to Kuwait two months later with another private contracting firm.

2007, Blackwater’s federal contracts total $1 billion.

February 7, 2007, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee holds hearings on the use of private security contractors in Iraq, focusing largely on Blackwater.

April 2007, Blackwater abandons plans for its Philippines’ training center and instead opens a new facility in Illinois.

May 2007, Blackwater operators fatally shoot an Iraqi man who strayed too close to their convoy outside the Iraqi Ministry of Interior. The incident leads to a tense standoff with Iraqi military and interior ministry guards. U.S. soldiers are forced to intervene.

September 16, 2007, Seventeen Iraqis are killed and 24 wounded when Blackwater operators open fire in a traffic circle in central Baghdad.

September 23, 2007, The Iraqi government said that it expects to refer criminal charges to its courts in connection with a shooting involving Blackwater guard.

October 2007, Blackwater USA began a process of altering its name to Blackwater Worldwide, and enveiled a new logo. Blackwater founder Erik Prince testifies before a House panel, saying his company has few remedies for dealing with employees accused of crimes.

October 3, 2007, Blackwater helicopters were dispatched to evacuate the Polish ambassador following an insurgent assassination attempt.

October 5, 2007, the State Department announced new rules for Blackwater’s armed guards operating in Iraq. Under the new guidelines, State Department security agents will accompany all Blackwater units operating in and around Baghdad. The state Department will also install video surveillance equipment in all Blackwater armored vehicles, and will keep recordings of all radio communications between Blackwater convoys in Iraq and the military and civilian agencies which supervise their activities.

October 11, 2007, The Center for Constitutional Rights filed suit against Blackwater under the Alien Tort Claims Act on behalf of an injured Iraqi and the families of three of the 17 Iraqis killed by Blackwater employees during the September 16, 2007 Blackwater-Baghdad shootings.

October 29, 2007, immunity from prosecution was granted by the U.S. State Department, delaying a criminal inquiry into the September 16th shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians.  Immediately afterwards, the Iraqi government approved a draft law to end any and all immunity for foreign military contractors in Iraq, to overturn Order 17.  The U.S. Department of Justice also said any immunity deals offered to Blackwater employees were invalid, as the department that issued them had no authority to do so. 

December 2007, Blackwater says it will go ahead with plans to build a training facility in Southern California, about 45 miles east of San Diego. The announcement comes just a day after voters in the nearby town of Potrero voted to recall five planning board members who had approved the project. The issue is now in the hands of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, which is waiting for the results of environmental impact studies. The Defense Authorization Bill, including a provision to create a Commission on Wartime Contracting, is passed by the House, then the Senate — and is sent to President George Bush.

July 21, 2008, Blackwater Worldwide stated that they would shift resources away from security contracting because of the extensive risk in that sector.  “The experience we’ve had would certainly be a disincentive to any other companies that want to step in and put their entire business at risk,” company founder and CEO Erik Prince told The Associated Press during a daylong visit to the company’s North Carolina compound.

July 25 2008, Sen. Barack Obama has not been a fan of private police like Blackwater in war zones, and some news outlets even reported that they were spurned for his trip last week to Afghanistan and Iraq. But Whispers confirms that Blackwater did handle the Democratic presidential candidate’s security in Afghanistan and helped out in Iraq. What’s more, Obama was overheard saying: “Blackwater is getting a bad rap.” Since everything appeared to go swimmingly, maybe he will take firms like Blackwater out of his sights, the company’s supporters hope

Blackwater Worldwide’s Corporate Logo

[link, link, link]

The war contract business has become so large and complicated that one U.S. senator proposed a special war-contracting committee to watch over it.

“I believe that we need to create a special committee in the U.S. Senate to exercise oversight over contracting abuses related to reconstruction and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-North Dakota, said in April.

Dorgan’s proposal of an oversight committee on government contracting would model itself after the waste and corruption hearings held by Sen. Harry Truman in 1941 in the buildup to World War II.

“I still believe that we need to establish a bipartisan Truman Committee, with subpoena power, to exercise the oversight that these abuses demand,” Dorgan said.

Check out this interesting read from the Council of Foreign Affairs: When Congress Checks Out

One of Congress’ key roles is oversight: making sure that the laws it writes are faithfully executed and vetting the military and diplomatic activities of the executive. Congressional oversight is meant to keep mistakes from happening or from spiraling out of control; it helps draw out lessons from catastrophes in order to prevent them, or others like them, from recurring. Good oversight cuts waste, punishes fraud or scandal, and keeps policymakers on their toes. The task is not easy. Examining a department or agency, its personnel, and its implementation policies is time-consuming. Investigating possible scandals can easily lapse into a partisan exercise that ignores broad policy issues for the sake of cheap publicity.

Maybe these numbers above would not have happened if Truman’s oversight committee on government contracting, in the 1940’s, was accepted.

What is wrong with our checks and balances of our Government today?

Russian President Vladimir Putin accompanied by President Bush at the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, Monday, July 2, 2007 Gerald Herbert / AP

I am wondering what Mr Bush really saw in Mr Putin’s soul, back in the first meeting with then Secretary of State Colin Powell?

I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. We had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul; a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country. And I appreciated so very much the frank dialogue.

There was no kind of diplomatic chit-chat, trying to throw each other off balance. There was a straightforward dialogue. And that’s the beginning of a very constructive relationship. I wouldn’t have invited him to my ranch if I didn’t trust him. (Laughter.)

Secondly, I appreciate the opportunity to be able to talk about a new relationship, and we will continue these dialogues. The basis for my discussion began with this simple premise: that Russia and the United States must establish a new relationship beyond that of the old Cold War mentality. The Cold War said loud and clear that we’re opponents and that we bring the peace through ability for each of us to destroy each other.

Friends don’t destroy each other. People who cooperate do not have a basis of peace on destruction. Our nations are confronted with new threats in the 21st century. Terror in the hands of what we call rogue nations is a threat. I expressed my concern, and so did the President, very openly, about nations on his border and nations that can’t stand America’s freedoms developing the capacity to hold each of us hostage. And he agreed.

I brought up concerns about Iran. And I’m hesitant to put words in the President’s mouth, but he said he’s concerned, as well — I think that accurately categorizes your position — and we’ll work together to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction. And I believe as we go down the road that we’ll be able to develop a constructive relationship as to how to use our technologies and research and willingness to keep the peace, in a way that makes the world more peaceful. [link]

~George W. Bush June 16, 2001

Mr Powell recalled the story, as it was happening, like this:

At one point Bush looked at his Secretary of State and said (with a suitable Texas twang) “Powell, I looked into Putin’s eyes and I saw his soul” to which Powell replied: “Mr. President, I looked into President Putin’s eyes and I saw the KGB”.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush condemned the escalated violence between Russia and U.S.-backed Georgia on Sunday, while Vice President Dick Cheney said aggression against Georgia “must not go unanswered.”

President Bush chats with Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin at the start of the Olympic opening ceremonies.

To those readers whom love good gossip stories, bad break-up stories, and the stupid things politicians seem to get themselves into from time to time, since the beginning of our country, this is your page.

So, I am assuming that you all heard about John Edwards, a two time presidential candidate and the vice president on the losing ticket in 2004, extra-marital affair in 2006?  It was first story all over the Business-of-News-Entertainment (BoNE)!  BoNE, had other enormous stories to choose from, too?  You had that start of The Games of the XXIX Olympiad, in China.  Russia even invaded Georgia, not one of the 13 Colonies, the 4th State of the USA, but the Georgia “The Pipe-Line” country:

Route of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline

While reading about the “wife cheater” John Edward’s story, I came upon John McCain and his first wife Carol’s story.  Here is excerpt from: The wife U.S. Republican John McCain callously left behind:

 McCain likes to illustrate his moral fibre by referring to his five years as a prisoner-of-war in Vietnam. And to demonstrate his commitment to family values, the 71-year-old former US Navy pilot pays warm tribute to his beautiful blonde wife, Cindy, with whom he has four children.

But there is another Mrs McCain who casts a ghostly shadow over the Senator’s presidential campaign. She is seldom seen and rarely written about, despite being mother to McCain’s three eldest children.

And yet, had events turned out differently, it would be she, rather than Cindy, who would be vying to be First Lady. She is McCain’s first wife, Carol, who was a famous beauty and a successful swimwear model when they married in 1965.

She was the woman McCain dreamed of during his long incarceration and torture in Vietnam’s infamous ‘Hanoi Hilton’ prison and the woman who faithfully stayed at home looking after the children and waiting anxiously for news.

But when McCain returned to America in 1973 to a fanfare of publicity and a handshake from Richard Nixon, he discovered his wife had been disfigured in a terrible car crash three years earlier. Her car had skidded on icy roads into a telegraph pole on Christmas Eve, 1969. Her pelvis and one arm were shattered by the impact and she suffered massive internal injuries.

When Carol was discharged from hospital after six months of life-saving surgery, the prognosis was bleak. In order to save her legs, surgeons had been forced to cut away huge sections of shattered bone, taking with it her tall, willowy figure. She was confined to a wheelchair and was forced to use a catheter.

Through sheer hard work, Carol learned to walk again. But when John McCain came home from Vietnam, she had gained a lot of weight and bore little resemblance to her old self.

Today, she stands at just 5ft4in and still walks awkwardly, with a pronounced limp. Her body is held together by screws and metal plates and, at 70, her face is worn by wrinkles that speak of decades of silent suffering.

For nearly 30 years, Carol has maintained a dignified silence about the accident, McCain and their divorce. But last week at the bungalow where she now lives at Virginia Beach, a faded seaside resort 200 miles south of Washington, she told The Mail on Sunday how McCain divorced her in 1980 and married Cindy, 18 years his junior and the heir to an Arizona brewing fortune, just one month later.

“I heard a loud crash and then ‘bang, bang, bang,’ ” he said, recalling the sounds of the police shooting the dogs. “I hit the floor.”As the police came in, Calvo said, they shot his 7-year-old black Labrador retriever, Payton, near the front door and then his 4-year-old dog, Chase, also a black Lab, as the dog ran into a back room. Walking through his house yesterday, Calvo pointed out a bullet hole in the drywall where the younger dog had been shot.”I understand they have a job to do, but it didn’t have to go like that,” Calvo said. He said the police could have knocked on his door and asked him about the package. “I’ve never done drugs in my life. Anyone who knows me knows that I am so adamantly opposed to them.”

Police said yesterday that, when they seized the package during the raid, it was unopened.

Berwyn Heights Police Chief Patrick Murphy said county police and the Sheriff’s Office had not notified his department of the raid. He said town police could have conducted the search without a SWAT team.

“You can’t tell me the chief of police of a municipality wouldn’t have been able to knock on the door of the mayor of that municipality, gain his confidence and enter the residence,” Murphy said. “It would not have been a necessity to shoot and kill this man’s dogs.”

This plant called marijuana is dominating the news this week:

Mexican cartels running pot farms in U.S. national forest

Legislators aim to snuff out penalties for pot use

MIAMI - A man is being held in Florida by federal authorities on charges of threatening to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

This not 1968!  History is best learnt by not repeating mistakes made in our past!

The two “main” choices for the 44th President of The United States recently comment on how (and why) they would make a good Batman?

Not to mention, the pandering Mr McCain does at the end of the article about his favorite TV or movie president.  Mr McCain you should have selected, Morgan Freeman.  He did a fine job as president in ‘Deep Impact’, and he is closer in age. 

If that wasn’t enough Mr McCain ends the interview with his connection to Indiana Jones character, wow!

The NFL rules committee is at it again. This committee must be filled with former QBs?

One the NFL’s new rules is that defenders can no longer hit quarterbacks below the knee in the pocket.  This is no doubt in response to Cincinnati Bengals QB Carson Palmer’s injury in the playoffs against the Pittsburgh Steelers.  I hated seeing Carson Palmer go down, but this is NFL football, not some pickup game of touch football out on the schoolyard.  The defenders already can’t go near the helmet of the quarterback, even accidentally.  Late hits are called all too frequently, often when the defender can’t stop his momentum and accidentally grazes the QB on his way to the ground.  The offensive lineman attempt to drive defenders onto the turf.  Now that defender will be useless once the offensive line accomplishes that.  The league can’t protect against every possible contingency, but it seems that is what the NFL is trying to do.  Plenty of great quarterbacks survived the NFL without this rule: Joe Montana, John Elway, Dan Marino, Joe Namath, the list goes on and on.  This is one rule that isn’t needed in the NFL, one that shows the NFL is too soft when it comes to QBs.  Also, it seems the league will not distinguish between intentional and unintentional contact.  

The second rule that caught my attention, and by far, better for us the fan, is this one here.  A recent story told, in April, on Kull’s World can substantiate why MLB needs to adopt this rule for their ball parks. 

And I hope all your freedoms are taken away in 167 days when you stop hiding behind the White House doors!  Mr Bugliosi, please make it happen.

Cheney Considered Proposal To Dress Up Navy Seals As Iranians And Shoot At Them

McBush