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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dan B. who wrote (67345)	9/22/2005 8:06:00 PM
From: Skywatcher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

why we have paid lethal soldiers of fortune now patrolling AMERICA....instead of just hiring out of state police for temps One might ask, given the enormous presence in New Orleans of National Guard, US Army, US Border Patrol, local police from around the country and practically every other government agency with badges, why private security companies are needed, particularly to guard federal projects. "It strikes me...that that may not be the best use of money," said Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Blackwater's success in procuring federal contracts could well be explained by major-league contributions and family connections to the GOP. According to election records, Blackwater's CEO and co-founder, billionaire Erik Prince, has given tens of thousands to Republicans, including more than $80,000 to the Republican National Committee the month before Bush's victory in 2000. This past June, he gave $2,100 to Senator Rick Santorum's re-election campaign. He has also given to House majority leader Tom DeLay and a slew of other Republican candidates, including Bush/Cheney in 2004. As a young man, Prince interned with President George H.W. Bush, though he complained at the time that he "saw a lot of things I didn't agree with--homosexual groups being invited in, the budget agreement, the Clean Air Act, those kind of bills. I think the Administration has been indifferent to a lot of conservative concerns." Prince, a staunch right-wing Christian, comes from a powerful Michigan Republican family, and his father, Edgar, was a close friend of former Republican presidential candidate and antichoice leader Gary Bauer. In 1988 the elder Prince helped Bauer start the Family Research Council. Erik Prince's sister, Betsy, once chaired the Michigan Republican Party and is married to Dick DeVos, whose father, billionaire Richard DeVos, is co-founder of the major Republican benefactor Amway. Dick DeVos is also a big-time contributor to the Republican Party and will likely be the GOP candidate for Michigan governor in 2006. Another Blackwater founder, president Gary Jackson, is also a major contributor to Republican campaigns.

To: Dan B. who wrote (67345)	9/23/2005 2:59:41 PM
From: American Spirit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Abu Ghraib was a failure of leadership. The leaders are responsible for massive degeneration in the lower ranks. This whole attitude they took ended up really hurting our country and getting more of our troops killed. It's no way to run a military or a war. Back in 2000, didn't Bush-Cheney promise us they'd be humble, competent, efficient commanders in chief. Didn't the pundits on the right tell us Bush-Cheney were the "adults" who knew how to run things? Yeah, run things into the ground.