Obama's real secret.

[capsulecorpjx]

No Obama is not muslim or a communist or a socialist.

His real secret is that he's a Republican and a Neocon lol.



The State Department just hired Blackwater again. OMG.

[techgnome]

when ever I read abut Blackwater... I hear "Smoooooke on the waaaaater ...." in the back of my head... wonder what that means.

-tg

[baja_yu]

What's Blackwater and what are Neocons?

[techgnome]

Blackwater is a paramilitary gov't contractor with ties to Dick Cheney.... they've been implicated in a number of shady deals and been involved in several ... incidents in the Mid East that had less than desirable results.

Neocon - I believe comes from neo meaning "new" and con from conservatism... new conservatism... look it up, there are several definitions, not counting all the "-pedia" ones...

bleh...

-tg

[FunkyDexter]

"Smoooooke on the waaaaater ...."

The next lyric's particularly apt: "Fire in the sky"

[wossname]

"Biscuits on the floor."

[Hack]

when ever I read abut Blackwater... I hear "Smoooooke on the waaaaater ...." in the back of my head

When ever I read about Blackwater I think of the old Doobie Brothers song.

[dilettante]

When ever I read about Blackwater I think of the old Doobie Brothers song.

Same here.

[demotivater]

As PMC's go, Blackwater's reputation is not bad at all. There are several "dirtier" firms still operating world wide. Blackwater got smeared quite a bit in the media's effort to get at Bush/Cheney. I suspect they won't get the same smearing this time around, wouldn't want to embarrass Dear Leader O.

[capsulecorpjx]

As PMC's go, Blackwater's reputation is not bad at all. There are several "dirtier" firms still operating world wide. Blackwater got smeared quite a bit in the media's effort to get at Bush/Cheney. I suspect they won't get the same smearing this time around, wouldn't want to embarrass Dear Leader O.

Are you saying the the accusations that they shot civilians for sport was a lie?

The "media" especially the Leftist media has been calling out Obama's administration on this. I got this article from Wired and it's on Huffington post.

Oddly enough, it's the right-wing who's defending both Blackwater and Obama's use of them.

In any case, no way am I voting for Obama or anyone associated with him, I feel many other progressives feel the same way now. This incident broke the camel's back. Obama is a fraud and a Neocon Republican.

So the Right-wing get their wish, Obama won't be relected due to disllusioned Progressives.

Hopefully they put up a moderate Republican for President. I might vote for Romney.
If they put Sarah Palin or another warmonger, I'll vote Green Party.

[System_Error]

So the Right-wing get their wish, Obama won't be relected due to disllusioned Progressives..

Is that the right-wing wish? I would think it's not a great time to be president. So let Obama get another four years and continue to spiral downward. Then put out a strong candidate for 2016.

[Lord Orwell]

there's nothing wrong with this candidate. Frankly i don't see what else he could do. According to legitimate numbers, his methods ended the recession in 2009, and you know exactly how the senate/house work on spending bills. They won't cut funding to anything for fear of not being re-elected, and won't raise taxes for fear of not being re-elected.

If you want to blame obama for anything, don't forget, we have 3 branches of government, and he can't do a darn thing without approval of at least one other branch. Technically the prez can't even declare war, but Bush got away with it...

Everyone has to admit: Cheney was evil. He even managed to "accidently" shoot someone in the face.

Somehow even though he had the lowest approval ratings since Warren Harding (imho), Bush has somehow escaped blame. People wanted to impeach Clinton, yet he left us with the first surplus we had in a century. Any chart can tell you that we have been working on hitting income-adjusted debt equivalent to the results of wwii. Check out zfacts.com. I'm not saying they are perfect, and they leave out some very relavent information (ex: Reagan's spending was designed to force the soviet union into bankruptcy from an arms race, and it worked), but basically add reagan and both bushes and that = 80% of our income-adjusted debt, with the lion's share being gw bush.

[System_Error]

If you want to blame obama for anything, don't forget, we have 3 branches of government, and he can't do a darn thing without approval of at least one other branch.

Executive orders?

Technically the prez can't even declare war, but Bush got away with it...

Technically, in some situations the president can declare war. The president has emergency powers which were brought to light by Abraham Lincoln.

Somehow even though he had the lowest approval ratings since Warren Harding (imho), Bush has somehow escaped blame.

Bush has the lowest approval rating. He escaped blame. Do you see the contradiction in that?

[Lord Orwell]

that's my point. emergency powers. There wasn't an emergency. We weren't in any danger of iraq invading us, for example.

approval ratings: bush hit an all-time high since 1930 when they started, but on the other hand, he had the highest also during a different part of his presidency. If you take the average, truman and carter were lower. And frankly carter was railroaded like obama. He took over during a recession and pulling out of one just isn't easy. The stuff he did wasn't working fast enough and he didn't get re-elected, and his successor got all the credit.

I just saw an ad for "trent van hatten" blaming nancy pelosi because of 2.5 million jobs lost. Let the mudslinging begin.

[System_Error]

that's my point. emergency powers. There wasn't an emergency. We weren't in any danger of iraq invading us, for example.

I see. We were all fools at the time, though. Who didn't think that the nation was under attack? I know Bush knew exactly what he was doing, but we didn't.

approval ratings: bush hit an all-time high since 1930 when they started, but on the other hand, he had the highest also during a different part of his presidency. If you take the average, truman and carter were lower. And frankly carter was railroaded like obama. He took over during a recession and pulling out of one just isn't easy. The stuff he did wasn't working fast enough and he didn't get re-elected, and his successor got all the credit.

I just saw an ad for "trent van hatten" blaming nancy pelosi because of 2.5 million jobs lost. Let the mudslinging begin.

This reinforces what I said earlier: it's a bad time to be president. Which is why if you support a certain party, you should want the other party in office in the upcoming election.

[FunkyDexter]

Who didn't think that the nation was under attack?

The rest of us. We were quite vocal about it actually but we were derided as unpatriotic and told we were supporting terrorism. That's a brit perspective, admittedly, but I think it's just as relevant over there.

There wasn't an emergency. We weren't in any danger of iraq invading us

No, but Bush and Tony were in danger of not getting re-elected if they were seen as wek. From their point of view it was an emergency.

[Lord Orwell]

The rest of us. We were quite vocal about it actually but we were derided as unpatriotic and told we were supporting terrorism. That's a brit perspective, admittedly, but I think it's just as relevant over there.

No, but Bush and Tony were in danger of not getting re-elected if they were seen as wek. From their point of view it was an emergency.

yep, and it amazes me how otherwise smart people can look at him through rose colored glasses and blame clinton for everything, including 911, which was actually a retaliation for our butting in after a terrorist attack on a motel.

interesting note: The people who have been brainwashed all seem to be older people who watch news channels.

[demotivater]

Are you saying the the accusations that they shot civilians for sport was a lie?.

I didn't say anything of the sort. But, since you bring it up, I don't think the "for sport" portion was part of the issue. They did shoot civilians, for sport implies they were hunting them. That was not the case. Frankly, I really don't care enough about it, or the civilians, to give a damn.

If interested in the subject in general, check out National Geographic's Iraq: Guns For Hire (its on Netflix watch instantly if you have NF), it's pretty interesting. I don't recall if it deals specifically with BW, but PMC's in general. I can put you in touch with a couple of them as well, they've got some wild ass stories to tell.

[Lord Orwell]

The rest of us. We were quite vocal about it actually but we were derided as unpatriotic and told we were supporting terrorism. That's a brit perspective, admittedly, but I think it's just as relevant over there.

No, but Bush and Tony were in danger of not getting re-elected if they were seen as wek. From their point of view it was an emergency.

don't forget approximately half the county WAS bamboozled. He lost the popular vote in the 2nd election.

[Shaggy Hiker]

He lost the popular vote in the 1st election, I'm not sure about the second.

9/11: Greatest advertising campaign in history?

Prior to that they were a face in a crowd. Since terrorist organizations are like any other NGO, they resemble an organism in that they thrive and grow as long as they are fed. The food they require is contributions of money, material, and volunteers. As just another face in the crowd, Al Q couldn't command the attention of a wealthy donor interested in contributing to some disaster. With one act they became THE name. After that one attack, one name is to terrorism almost as Xerox is to copiers. The organism secured an abundance of food, and has continued to thrive and grow while other organizations, starved out by the competition, will wither and fade. Some will even die out entirely for lack of nutrition.

We want to believe that we are important. That 9/11 was an attack on America. It wasn't. We were irrelevant. An organism found that it could ring a bell and receive a pellet. The bell might feel aggrieved at being struck, but the striking wasn't important to the organism, only the pellet was. As long as that pellet is received, the bell will keep being struck.

[Lord Orwell]

perhaps. Or just as likely they really do hate us because people act like they are superior and want to control them.

[capsulecorpjx]

I didn't say anything of the sort. But, since you bring it up, I don't think the "for sport" portion was part of the issue. They did shoot civilians, for sport implies they were hunting them. That was not the case. Frankly, I really don't care enough about it, or the civilians, to give a damn.

If interested in the subject in general, check out National Geographic's Iraq: Guns For Hire (its on Netflix watch instantly if you have NF), it's pretty interesting. I don't recall if it deals specifically with BW, but PMC's in general. I can put you in touch with a couple of them as well, they've got some wild ass stories to tell.

I don't really understand the Conservative mindset. I thought a major reason for the Iraq war was to liberate the Iraqi civilians (meaning you care about them).

But you say you don't care about civilian casualties.

Least Obama could have done was to NOT hire a company that has been shooting civilians in the middle of traffic for no reason.

The soldiers don't like them either, Mercenaries are getting paid 10 times more for the same job, and these mercenaries are not under military law or under the same discipline.

They also CHOSE to go to a war zone, rather than doing their duty like regular soldiers.

That shows something about the mercenary's mental state. Sure most mercenaries go due to a hyper A+ personality. But I think at least 10% go t here because they're psychotic and want to legally shoot people for fun.

[Lord Orwell]

personally i say send the people that want to be there. A large portion of the military we have there are in a branch of the service that isn't actually supposed to go overseas. The national guard is supposed to defend our borders. Plus there is the fact that for a long time they weren't honoring the time-limit agreed to on enlistments. This was called "back-door draft" by a lot of people because it was conscripting people into a war that had already served their obligation.

[MasterBlaster]

The soldiers don't like them either, Mercenaries are getting paid 10 times more for the same job, and these mercenaries are not under military law or under the same discipline.

They also CHOSE to go to a war zone, rather than doing their duty like regular soldiers.

That shows something about the mercenary's mental state. Sure most mercenaries go due to a hyper A+ personality. But I think at least 10% go t here because they're psychotic and want to legally shoot people for fun.

Dude you are so detached from reality that it's f-ing amusing. First of all, The Blackwater guys are former military. Most of them have done tours in Iraq and/or Asscrackastan already with the military. The US is recycling guys in and out of Iraq. Most of the guys I served with already have 4 tours under their belt. So look at it like this. You finish your term of service with the US ARMY. You can either re-enlist and pretty much be guarenteed to go back to Iraq and recieve military pay( which is practically nothing) or you can go back with blackwater and pull six figures. It really is that simple of a decision for guys with no skills that translate into civillian jobs.

Anyone who chooses to join the military right now is choosing to go to a war zone. The only thing you got correct is that at least 10% of them are psychotic. That is a given. They're largely former Special forces guys. Having a screw loose is a requirement for that job.

[capsulecorpjx]

Dude you are so detached from reality that it's f-ing amusing. First of all, The Blackwater guys are former military. Most of them have done tours in Iraq and/or Asscrackastan already with the military. The US is recycling guys in and out of Iraq. Most of the guys I served with already have 4 tours under their belt. So look at it like this. You finish your term of service with the US ARMY. You can either re-enlist and pretty much be guarenteed to go back to Iraq and recieve military pay( which is practically nothing) or you can go back with blackwater and pull six figures. It really is that simple of a decision for guys with no skills that translate into civillian jobs.

Anyone who chooses to join the military right now is choosing to go to a war zone. The only thing you got correct is that at least 10% of them are psychotic. That is a given. They're largely former Special forces guys. Having a screw loose is a requirement for that job.

You fought in Iraq / Afghanistan? What's it like over there?
For how long?

[MasterBlaster]

You fought in Iraq / Afghanistan? What's it like over there?
For how long?

I was honorably discharged in the early 90's. I chose a carreer in the civilian world. I come from a military family and stay in contact with a lot of friends that I met while I was in. The shared opinion is "It Sucks".

What you need to understand is the job the security companies are doing over there. Insurgants are are attacking other civilian contractors that are over there rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure. The Blackwater guys are protecting them. They are guarding Physical Infrastructure, Doctors, Politicians, Engineers, Techies, Truck Drivers, Horticulturalists...... you get the idea. What they are not doing is driving around shooting civilians for sport. They are highly trained professionals doing a very difficult and f-ing dangerous job that is necessary if Iraq has any hope of avoiding falling into a vaccum of sheit. People crack under stress in lesser high pressure environments in the civilian world all the time. Fortunatly, most of them aren't standing behind a 50 cal when it happens. You should also note that Blackwater is only one of dozens of security companies working over there. They are just one of the bigger ones so they get most of the press

[Lord Orwell]

I was honorably discharged in the early 90's. I chose a carreer in the civilian world. I come from a military family and stay in contact with a lot of friends that I met while I was in. The shared opinion is "It Sucks".

What you need to understand is the job the security companies are doing over there. Insurgants are are attacking other civilian contractors that are over there rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure. The Blackwater guys are protecting them. They are guarding Physical Infrastructure, Doctors, Politicians, Engineers, Techies, Truck Drivers, Horticulturalists...... you get the idea. What they are not doing is driving around shooting civilians for sport. They are highly trained professionals doing a very difficult and f-ing dangerous job that is necessary if Iraq has any hope of avoiding falling into a vaccum of sheit. People crack under stress in lesser high pressure environments in the civilian world all the time. Fortunatly, most of them aren't standing behind a 50 cal when it happens. You should also note that Blackwater is only one of dozens of security companies working over there. They are just one of the bigger ones so they get most of the press

I understand completely. I was discharged in 1994.