While we debate Bookbag Gate, Blackwater just got a renewed contract.

[Lyric]

Has either candidate addressed the unregulated murdering mercenaries of Blackwater today; you know, the jerks who get paid hand-over-fist while the government shirks away from providing decent raises to our REAL soldiers? Has either Obama or Clinton spoken out today to denounce this contract renewal?

Sometime it feels like we're arguing over which emergency stairs to take while the building burns down around us. Do you think we can talk about something that actually *matters* today? Or is it going to be the same old tired nitpicky hyperbole? There are a lot of innocent Iraqis who'd be grateful if we could take the time to verbally kick the asses of our respective candidates and prod them into laying off of each other for a few minutes in order to give this the attention it deserves. The American people need to be reminded of the havoc that the Republicans are wreaking--havoc that will only continue if John McCain is elected in November.

[JayFredMuggs]

1. Have you ever heard Obama speak?

Talking about getting rid of the influence of big business and lobbyists on our government?
Blackwater is part of this obscenity, right?


No?

[Lyric]

2. I think something a little more direct is in order today.

General statements about "big business" and "lobbyists" simply do not cover the horror that is Blackwater, or the travesty of their renewed contract to murder in Iraq.

[Lyric]

3. dupe

[2rth2pwr]

6. no

AMY GOODMAN: Obama was speaking at the Cooper Union. I had a chance to briefly interview him as he was shaking people’s hands after he left the stage. I asked Obama why he’s not calling for a total withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in accordance with the 70 percent of Iraqis who say they want the US out.

AMY GOODMAN: Senator Obama, quick question: 70 percent of Iraqis say they want the US to withdraw completely; why don’t you call for a total withdrawal?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Well, I do, except for our embassy. I call for amnesty and protecting our civilian contractors there.

AMY GOODMAN: You’ve said a residual force—

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Yeah, but—

AMY GOODMAN: —which means thousands .

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Well, no. I mean, I don’t think that you’ve read exactly what I’ve said. What I said is that we do need to have a strike force in the region. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in Iraq; it could be in Kuwait or other places. But we do have to have some presence in order to not only protect them, but also potentially to protect their territorial integrity.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/3/28/amy_goodman_questions_sen_obama_on
AMY GOODMAN: Can you call for a ban on the private military contractors like Blackwater?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: I’ve actually—I’m the one who sponsored the bill that called for the investigation of Blackwater in , so—

AMY GOODMAN: But would you support the Sanders one now?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Here’s the problem: we have 140,000 private contractors right there, so unless we want to replace all of or a big chunk of those with US troops, we can’t draw down the contractors faster than we can draw down our troops. So what I want to do is draw—I want them out in the same way that we make sure that we draw out our own combat troops. Alright? I mean, I—

AMY GOODMAN: Not a ban?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Well, I don’t want to replace those contractors with more US troops, because we don’t have them, alright? But this was a speech about the economy.

AMY GOODMAN: The war is costing $3 trillion, according to Stiglitz.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: That’s what—I know, which I made a speech about last week. Thank you.

[Lyric]

8. See, I think what he said there is bull.

If we offered to pay our soldiers what Blackwater pays its mercenaries, we'd likely have quite a few more volunteers. But the DD is balking at that step, and I don't understand why. It makes no sense.

[PCIntern]

4. I am quite capable of doing more than one thing

at a time.

I can post a funny reply to 'bookbag-gate' and discuss Blcakwater's renewal.

What would you like to say...in depth, if you please...I'm a bit tired of:

"such-and-such occurred, isn't that horrible?"

what do you propose we do...?

[Lyric]

7. About Blackwater? Yank the funding.

Give our Dem Reps and Senators unholy hell until they stop paying for mercenaries. If both of our candidates get loudly behind the notion, Congress is going have a hard time justifying why they aren't listening. A good first step would be to write to Obama and Clinton's campaigns and tell them to get together and say something about this--the sooner the better.

[PCIntern]

10. You're right...good. and one more thing....

I want true investigations by an Independent Prosecutor into the money flow of pallets of CASH into Iraq, presuming it really ever got there, and wasn't diverted to, say, Paraguay.

[Lyric]

11. I don't understand the reference to Paraguay, but

I'm all for investigating anything to do with the money flowing into Iraq. For all that the Republicans bitch whenever we want to put an extra few million toward WIC, Food Stamps, or education, they sure seem to have no problem at all handing over taxpayer dollars to the greedy slimeball opportunists over there.

[PCIntern]

18. A certain blonde twin went to Paraguay

to settle a transaction which procured many acres of land for her family.

[Lyric]

19. Well doesn't that just fucking figure.

Thanks for letting me know; I hadn't heard about that yet. College tends to limit my hours for news-gathering, unfortunately.

Is there any level those parasites won't stoop to?

[PCIntern]

20. You're in college? that's great....

I wish I had the resources you have in every respect...it would have been a more exciting time politically and academically all those years ago, but I think that we had a more complex (and quite frankly more interesting) social life IN GENERAL than you folks have now...

but if you were thrown back into the early 70's into University, you'd think it were the Stone Age.

[Lyric]

21. Well, I'm not the typical college student. I'm actually a

non-traditional student (28 years old) with a soon-to-be 8 year old little boy. My family was really poor when I was young, and due to a lot of tragic circumstances involving my Dad's death and my Mom's health, I had to drop out of high school and start working full-time. I got my GED last May and nailed one of the highest GED scores in the state, and from there I decided that it was time to fulfill my dream of going to college. I'm almost at the end of my second semester as a freshman at WVU, and I'm doing really well. My Mom (who didn't even finish high school) is absolutely bursting with pride over the fact that one of her kids is going to be a college grad. First one in my family. :hi:

As for a social life, I'm afraid I don't have much of one. With the kidlet at home, there isn't much time for anything that doesn't involve either my homework or his, lol.

[PCIntern]

24. Wonderful!

You've made all of us proud here at DU...

[msongs]

5. the primary job of a US president is to funnel $$ to the military-industrial complex nt

[Lyric]

9. I disagree. The primary job of a US President is to run the executive branch

in a dignified, lawful and effective manner. Granted, that hasn't been done in a long freaking time, but still.

[SOS]

12. Considering that Mark Penn does PR for Blackwater

We probably won't hear much complaint from the Clinton camp.

[Lyric]

17. Penn does Blackwater PR?

If that's true, she should fire him, period.

[SOS]

23. Sadly true

From today's New York Times:

"Mr. Penn’s continued association with Burson-Marsteller has caused heartburn for the campaign before. The firm represents the Countrywide Financial Corporation, the nation’s largest home mortgage lender, an industry that Mrs. Clinton has criticized. It has also provided public relations advice to Blackwater Worldwide, the private security firm under investigation by numerous government agencies for the deaths of civilians in Iraq."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/us/politics/05penn.html

[Blue-Jay]

13. Where can I get a Blackwater bookbag?

[bunnies]

14. Penn must be psyched!

Maybe he'll get a bonus.

[crankychatter]

15. good post, thank you

thanks for pulling my awareness up

actually, scahill's investigations were my chief reasons for holding back regarding sen obama...

I do believe his primary values indicate a greater probability of the restoration of common sense, and drawing back on neoliberal adventurism and this debacle in Iraq... lesser of evils thing with an eye toward winning the general election

BUT this post is REALLY where our discussions on the nomination race should be centered...

I'll try to keep from getting sucked back into this goofy shit

YOU keep posting

thanks again

k/r

[Lyric]

22. It's hard not to get sucked in, I know.

Just when I've made the resolution to stay above the mud-flinging, somebody posts something that makes me so mad that I forget about it and dive in. Man, I hate when that happens.

Thank YOU for rising above. :hi:

[Neshanic]

16. Someone posted historical pictures! This is HUGH!