The Blue State

Iraqis sue Blackwater

The family of an Iraqi that was killed in the Blackwater shootout last month is taking the company to court -- a US court:

A wounded survivor and relatives of three people killed on Sept. 16 when employees of the private security company Blackwater USA  opened fire on Iraqis in Baghdad sued the firm in an American court on Thursday.      

TheCenter for Constitutional Rights, a legal advocacy group, said it filedthe suit, which charges that Blackwater and its affiliates violatedUnited States law in committing “extrajudicial killings and war crimes.”

Meanwhile over in Afghanistan, authorities have shut down two private security firms.  According to the AP, "some suspected of murder and robbery."

More victims of private health insurance

Don't like the idea of free, not-for-profit health care?  Enjoy the system we have?  According to an exclusive New York Times report, our current system neglects those that are supposed to be covered:

Tens of thousands of Medicare recipients have been victims of deceptive sales tactics and had claimsimproperly denied by private insurers that run the system’s huge newdrug benefit program and offer other private insurance optionsencouraged by the Bush administration, a review of scores of federalaudits has found.

The problems, described in 91 audit reports reviewed by The New YorkTimes, include the improper termination of coverage for people withH.I.V. and AIDS, huge backlogs of claims and complaints, and a failureto answer telephone calls from consumers, doctors and drugstores.

So how about that American health care system.  I'd say that I favor a similar system to the one in Canada, eh!

Craig may have visited same male prostitute as Haggard

Every Democrat working on behalf of the DSCC has to hope that Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) will choose not to resign.  It will help the party and progressive activists turn the Craig scandal into a national issue in 2008.

And now the situation for Craig just got worse:

The gay escort whose allegations forced the resignation of nationallyrenowned evangelist Ted Haggard now says he was also visited by IdahoSen. Larry Craig.

The news was released on the radio on Wednesday:

It was during that commercial break Wednesday night that Jones made anaccusation that Craig had visited him in Denver in February 2005.

ATV news photographer for KESQ-TV, the ABC affiliate in Palm Springs,kept recording as Jones talked about his contact with Craig.

Feingold reportedly asked Jones if Craig met him in a hotel room.

Jones responded, "No, he came to see me."

Jones did not reveal if he had sexual contact with Craig.

Craig's office told KESQ-TV, "Mike Jones' allegations are completely false."

That may have been the last straw.  Although, Craig might wait until right before the Senate Ethics Committee hearings to resign.  Otherwise, it will be rather embarrassing, since Barbara Boxer chairs that committee.

Hillary's team defends Blackwater connection

Hillary's people freaked out when the connection between her chief strategist and Blackwater hit the blogs.  They quickly issued a statement:

“Mark Penn did no work on the Blackwater account,” Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said Friday afternoon.

True.  But he did do business with them.  The point is that when you are in Washington that long, you find yourself doing business with shady people.  After eight years of Bush, many Americans want a clean slate.  They want Washington insiders flushed out of Washington.  Electing Hillary Clinton would push us backward in that effort.

Hillary's ties to Blackwater are the last straw

Anyone surprised?

Mark Penn is the chief strategist for Hillary Rodham Clinton’spresidential campaign, working 24/7 on her behalf (indeed, he is knownto send email at 2 a.m.) and earning tens of thousands of dollars infees.

With that sort of day-and-night job, you would think Mr. Penn wouldhave time for little else. Indeed, other Clinton senior advisers tookleaves of absences or turned down clients in order to work for thecampaign.

But he somehow manages to remain president of Burson-Marsteller, apublicly traded global public affairs firm. And as such, he isinevitably linked to Burson’s clients — not all of whom are, shall wesay, on Mrs. Clinton’s Christmas card list.

Today we learned that recently one of those clients was Blackwater —the American contractor that provides security to some top Americanofficials in Iraq, and which is under investigation for allegedlyaggressive tactics and the role of its guards in the shooting at aBaghdad city square where 17 Iraqis were killed.

This is what happens when politicians are allowed to stay in Washington for too long.  Everyone that helps them is tied to dirty money.  And it underscores why I regret to say that, even with three full months until the Iowa Caucuses, I will not support Hillary Clinton in the primaries.  She epitomizes everything that is wrong with both Washington and the Democratic Party -- dishonesty, corruption, hyper political calculation, fenced thinking, and eliteness.

If during The Blue State primary next month no candidate receives a majority, this site's endorsement decision will come down to our editorial board.  The decision must be unanimous.  But as a member of the editorial board, I will refuse to support the former First Lady, and therefore she will not receive this site's endorsement.  We need change in Washington -- and that does not start when we keep recycling Washington insiders.

Hillary's Blackwater connection, as mentioned above, was the last straw.  Military contractors rely on war to boost their earnings.  We have seen that first-hand under George W. Bush.  And like with Bush, under a Hillary Clinton presidency, I hint a conflict of interest on issues pertaining to war.  I will not support a president whose friends profit off devastated military families and burned U.S. treasure.

Paying someone to keep a secret from you

Billions in tax money goes towards military contractors.  Yet, what they do is none of your business:

The State Department, which pays Blackwater hundreds of millions ofdollars to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq, has stringent rules barringthe private security contractor from discussing with the media thedetails of its work, according to those familiar with the arrangement.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel.  This week the House passed a resolution 389-30 that "would bring all United States government contractors in the Iraq war zone under the jurisdiction of American criminal law," according to the New York Times.  That means the FBI would investigate any wrong-doing, and any allegations would be open to the public.  Depending on how the Senate votes, a Bush veto on this issue would likely get overridden.

Holding our children to higher standard than Larry Craig

Senator Larry Craig will not resign even though the judge rejected his motion to overturn his guilty plea.  Yesterday on MSNBC's Hardball, Craig's lawyer warned Barbara Boxer's Senate Ethics Committee to stay away and not investigate him.  Interesting.

Employers can fire employees for their conduct outside the workplace.  Teenagers can be put on academic probation for yelling profanity while sitting in the bleachers during a high school basketball game.  Even elementary school students have been suspended for inappropriate content on their MySpace pages.  Bottom line: your conduct, even if it is done outside the institution you represent, does not make you immune from internal punishment.

And Larry Craig's lawyers think it is inappropriate for the Senate Ethics Committee to conduct an investigation?  Maybe Craig should start showing some respect for the long-standing institution called the United States Senate, which no lawmaker is ever above.

Blackwater paid victims' families to cover up shootings

Iraq has often been referred to as the wild west -- an utter state of lawlessness where contractors behave as they wish.  Last month, the private firm Blackwater was involved in a shootout that caused the unnecessarily killed 10 Iraqi civilians.  According to a report this morning in the Washington Post, of the 200 Blackwater shooting incidents since 2005, in a few of the incidents Blackwater paid off family members of victims to keep quiet:

In at least two cases, Blackwater paid victims’ family members whocomplained, and sought to cover up other episodes, the Congressionalreport said. It said State Department officials approved the paymentsin the hope of keeping the shootings quiet. In one case last year, thedepartment helped Blackwater spirit an employee out of Iraq less than36 hours after the employee, while drunk, killed a bodyguard for one ofIraq’s two vice presidents on Christmas Eve.

Even with shady behavior like this, the Pentagon awarded them with a new $92 million this week.

It just gets worse for Blackwater

This scandal just won't dissipate.  In the wake of reports that the military contractor Blackwater secured at least $92 million in Pentagon contracts following an unlawful shooting incident against Iraqi civilians, more damaging news is out today:

Private security contractor Blackwater USA has had to fire 122 people over the past three years for problemsranging from misusing weapons, alcohol and drug violations,inappropriate conduct, and violent behavior, according to a reportreleased Monday by a congressional committee.

That total is roughly one-seventh of the work force that Blackwater has in Iraq , a ratio that raises questions about the quality of the people working for the company.

The report goes on to add that Blackwater is involved in 1.4 shooting incidents per week.

Back to the contract for a moment.  This Administration has shown a consistent pattern of promoting people and groups that exercised incompetence, corruption or the lack of qualifications to get the job done:

• Hired Michael Brown, who was fired from the Arabian Horse Society, to run FEMA.
• Hired Porter Goss to run the CIA, even though a few years earlier he said flat out, "I couldn't get a job with the CIA today.  I am not qualified."
• Nominated a funder of the Swift Boat Vets for Truth to be the US Ambassador to Belgium.

And this is only touching the surface.

Blackwater secures new $92 million Pentagon deal

A few days ago, under the radar, the controversial military contracting firm Blackwater was awarded a defense deal worth $92 million.  It ensures that Blackwater will be doing work for the US government through September 30, 2011.

Here is what the deal includes:

Presidential Airways, Inc., anaviation Worldwide Services company (d/b/a Blackwater Aviation),Moyock, N.C., is being awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinitequantity (IDIQ) type contract for $92,000,000.00. The contractor is toprovide all fixed-wing aircraft, personnel, equipment, tools, material,maintenance and supervision necessary to perform passenger, cargo andcombi Short Take-Off and Landing air transportation services betweenlocations in the Area of Responsibility of Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan,Pakistan and Uzbekistan. This contract was competitively procured andtwo timely offers were received. The performance period is from 1October 2007 to 30 September 2011. The United States TransportationCommand Acquisition Directorate, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., is thecontracting activity

As you might have guessed, Blackwater Aviation is a branch of Blackwater USA, which has been criticized for its aggressive tactics against Iraqi civilians.

If we are trying to crack down on inappropriate wartime behavior by contracting firms, which Defense Secretary Robert Gates pledged last week to do, then this is exactly the opposite message we ought to send.  Why is the Pentagon essentially awarding a company for causing a diplomatic nightmare with a fragile government?