Mercenary Territory

Paul Krugman
Eugene Robinson
Edward Harrison & Matt Taibbi

"Hawks who suspected -- and doves who hoped -- that Obama was a secret pacifist will see that although he did not set out to be a "war president," he has accepted his fate." - Eugene Robinson

David Letterman's Top Ten Signs the Nobel Prize Has Gone to President Obama's Head

10. Ends every argument with, "Yeah, and how many Nobel Prizes have you won?"

9. Announced plans to send 30,000 troops to Target to do his Christmas shopping.

8. Thinks he also has a good shot at winning the Heisman Trophy.

7. Gave himself a ten billion dollar bailout.

6. Last night he crashed a party thrown by the Salahis.

5. Spending fewer hours at work than Bush.

4. Hired scientists to make his Nobel Prize capable of holding 10,000 songs.

3. Now refers to his abs as "The Situation."

2. Sits around all day massaging his cat.

1. Claims he can bring peace to Tiger Woods' house



It's a mercenary territory
I wish you knew the story ...

Is it official if it makes the front page of the NY Times? They get a lot of events wrong, and often have quite biased reporting, though less than papers owned by the Reverend Sun Moon or Rupert Murdoch. Finally, they write about the ties to the CIA and the military that Blackwater has: "The raids against suspects occurred on an almost nightly basis during the height of the Iraqi insurgency from 2004 to 2006, with Blackwater personnel playing central roles in what company insiders called “snatch and grab” operations, the former employees and current and former intelligence officers said.


Several former Blackwater guards said that their involvement in the operations became so routine that the lines supposedly dividing the Central Intelligence Agency, the military and Blackwater became blurred. Instead of simply providing security for C.I.A. officers, they say, Blackwater personnel at times became partners in missions to capture or kill militants in Iraq and Afghanistan, a practice that raises questions about the use of guns for hire on the battlefield."

Blackwater was originally hired to provide security to CIA officials in Iraq and Afghanistan, and had separate contracts with the State Department and DOD. They hired a lot of ex-special forces and paid them more than the military personnel made, had more expensive equipment and any kind of gun they wanted. They had far less rules to follow, and often ended up doing the dirty work that the military was constrained from doing. It's pretty obvious that the terms "providing security" were defined pretty loosely...

I've did my time in that rodeo

It's been so long and I've got nothing to show

Well I'm so plain loco

Fool that I am I'd do it all over again

So here we have a not so big secret, of hiring mercenaries to work alongside our military and CIA abroad. Back home, we have a rise in homegrown militias and the popularizing of the jingoistic parts of military culture. Hey, you are un-American if you don't support the troops! Our military is no longer composed of people who were drafted, it is a volunteer, professional force, and people go into it as a career, not a four year stint that you do between high school and college. And they are better educated and better trained than ever before, just don't end up at Fort Carson and need some therapy, because they still don't recognize those kinds of problems here in my hometown...

But, I digress. Using mercenaries is not a wise thing to do. They are people who recognize their predatory instinct and like to kill. They become amoral and kill for money and lack any kind of discipline. Using mercenaries was one of the causes of the fall of Rome, and is recognized as a savaging influence on civilization. No, no, bad blackwater...

Now some kind of man, he can't do anything wrong

If I see him I'll tell him you're waiting

'Cause I'm devoted for sure but my days are a blur

Well your nights turn into my mornings

If you are a young man in America who happens to be raised Muslim, you are faced with a quandary. During the puberty years the hormones that provide emotions are pure and strong; this is when many seek the deeper meanings to religion, and are more passionate over their beliefs. Going into the US military isn't all that attractive, you get enough ethnic slurs and people hassling you for being Muslim at home, who needs it in concentrated, hazing form?

Lately, the lure of going to Pakistan or Somalia and trying to hook up with is a romantic, Quixotic quest. Instead of being patriotic to your nation, where you may not feel accepted, you choose to be patriotic to your faith. And since you are a guy, and probably have trouble getting a date, you have no problem with how sharia law treats women. The larger the backlash we create towards our local Muslim kids, the more we will see them trying to join in extremist revolutions, taking out their frustrations on the American dogs... ( my apologies to Little Feat )

Is it the style?

Is it the lies?

Is it the days into nights

Or the "I'm sorrys" into fights

late night political jokes:

"Do you know what President Obama is doing tomorrow? And this is kind of cool, especially if you're the president. He's going to accept his Nobel Peace Prize. And as you know, the Nobel Prize is a predictor of the Academy Awards." –David Letterman

"I looked this up. In the history of presidents in the United States, only two have won Nobel Prizes while they were in office. The first one, of course, Woodrow Wilson, because he is the man that they credit for ending World War I; second, Theodore Roosevelt, for, what? Yes. He invented the Teddy Bear." –David Letterman

"The Salahis — now these are the people that crashed the state dinner at the White House for the prime minister of India. It looks like they're going to be subpoenaed now by the House Homeland Security committee, and I'm thinking why bother? They'd probably show up anyway." –David Letterman

"Well, did you hear about this, ladies and gentlemen? I thought this was exciting. Our top commander in Afghanistan, General McChrystal, says that it's time now to get Osama bin Laden. Why not? All right." –David Letterman

"According to the CIA, Osama bin Laden has been sneaking into Afghanistan from Pakistan and as a matter of fact, in Afghanistan, he lost $125 million in the casino." –David Letterman

"You know how I warmed up today? I stayed inside and watched the coverage of the global warming conference." –Jay Leno

"Well, at the Copenhagen climate summit — where they talk about the environment, you know, saving the environment — the delegates had 1,200 limousines and 140 private jets, or as they call that in Malibu, 'Earth Day.'" –Jay Leno

"And as you know, Santa Claus is working very hard with his elves to make sure every child gets at least one toy this Christmas, or as Glenn Beck calls that, 'socialism.'" –Jay Leno

"Well, President Obama's approval rating has hit a new low — 47 percent according to the latest Gallup poll. But White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that a '6-year-old with a crayon could' come up with those same poll results. You know, I'll bet it's the same 6-year-old with a crayon that came up with the last budget they came out with." –Jay Leno

"Speaking of the budget, in his speech on the economy, President Obama said that we have to 'continue to spend our way out' of the recession. Now, I don't know much about economics, but aren't we like a trillion dollars in debt? Spending our way out of the recession? Isn't that like trying to drink your way out of alcoholism? I'm just saying." –Jay Leno

"And after a 13-year legal dispute over historical accounting mistakes by the Department of the Interior, the government has agreed to pay more than $3 billion in reparations to American Indians for the way they were treated, to which black people said, 'Hello? Civil War, hello! Slavery, we're here, anybody?'" –Jay Leno

"I have to say, not a great day for President Obama. A new poll shows that President Obama has the lowest approval rating of any first-year president in the history of presidents. Things are so bad today the president said the surge in Afghanistan was all Tiger Woods's idea." –Craig Ferguson

"Rush Limbaugh says black people are depressed because President Obama isn't doing a very good job. That proving, once again, that no one has their finger on the pulse of the African-American community like Rush Limbaugh." –Conan O'Brien

"Congress was hard at work today trying to come up with a fair playoff system for college football. Congress was working on this. Meanwhile, the NCAA spent the afternoon kicking around ideas for how to win the war in Afghanistan." –Jimmy Fallon

"They were like, the real issue wasn't health care, two wars and unemployment, it's who gets to play in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl." –Jimmy Fallon

"A California congressman named Joe Baca has announced he's no longer pursuing legislation that would have given Tiger Woods the Congressional Gold Medal. He released a statement saying, 'In light of the fact that Tiger has comported himself in a manner utterly lacking in character, dignity, and ethical integrity, I am withdrawing Tiger Woods from consideration for the Congressional Gold Medal and instead I'm recommending that he run for Congress.'" –Jimmy Kimmel

"The president and first lady are getting criticism from the right today. I know, who could have seen this coming? But they're getting criticism because they sent out the White House holiday card, and it says, 'Season's Greetings' on it, makes no mention of Christmas, and doesn't have a passage from the Bible in it like the ones the Bushes used to send out. But actually, it does keep one beloved George Bush holiday card tradition alive, and that is the funny sound effect when you open the card. It wouldn't be Christmas without that." –Jimmy Kimmel|

Stephen Colbert on the "GOP Purity Test," which defines 10 bedrock Republican principles: "They're like the Ten Commandments, if one of the tablets said 'F' and the other said 'U.' I believe this is perfect. A party of white Christian men who call Obama a Nazi, pushing the concept of purity." (Watch video clip)