Sacrificing an Acorn

The attacks on ACORN began last year when Republicans accused the organization of voter fraud. This month, however, the opposition has turned into a full assault after a few low-level ACORN employees were caught on tape giving some really stupid advice to a guy in a badass pimp costume.

Well, tally another win for Fox's Glenn Beck. Apparently he can set the agenda for the entire country and swiftly take down a community organization whose mission is to advocate for affordable housing, affordable healthcare, higher minimum wages, and better schools. ACORN was also against predatory lending before it was cool.

In other words, ACORN's mission was staunchly against the interests of big business, and that's why nobody wants to be friends with them now. The media hates them and Congress hates them too.

So last week, while Congress was busy defunding ACORN for their transgressions, I stewed over all the other corrupt government contractors who have defrauded tax payers and are accused of rape and murder. Why can't we defund them?

Oh wait... We are?!

When our government shoots fish in a barrel, they like to use a bazooka:

The congressional legislation intended to defund ACORN, passed with broad bipartisan support, is written so broadly that it applies to "any organization" that has been charged with breaking federal or state election laws, lobbying disclosure laws, campaign finance laws or filing fraudulent paperwork with any federal or state agency. It also applies to any of the employees, contractors or other folks affiliated with a group charged with any of those things.

In other words, the bill could plausibly defund the entire military-industrial complex. Whoops.

Hysterical! I don't mind sacrificing an ACORN if it means we also defund the likes of Blackwater and KBR.

In a sane country, the Defund ACORN ACT would be declared unconstitutional as it is clearly a bill of attainder. But these days, the insanity doesn't end at Fox.

Deadly Serious

I'm not sure how much longer we can look forward without looking backward. After years of following the criminality of American CEO's and politicians, I should be drained of any outrage. But then my outrage is suddenly refueled when I read this report by Jeremy Scahill, an expert on the private military contractor Blackwater:

A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company's owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life."

You should really read the entire article and the two sworn statements linked within. However, I'll summarize some of the allegations against Blackwater founder and owner, Erik Prince:

• Operated a web of companies to obscure money laundering and evade taxes.
• Smuggled illegal weapons into Iraq for profit.
• Destroyed incriminating videos, emails and other documents.
• Did nothing to stop the excessive and unjustified deadly force against civilians.
• Views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe.
• Ignored the assessments done by mental health professionals and deployed "unfit men" obsessed with killing "ragheads."
• Knowingly hired two persons previously involved in the Kosovo sex-trafficking ring to serve at relatively high levels in the company.
• Failed to stop the ongoing use of prostitutes including child prostitutes by his employees.
• Murdered, or had murdered, one or more persons who have provided information, or who were planning to provide information, to the federal authorities about the ongoing criminal conduct.

Is it just me or does that list get weirder and weirder? The first couple of crimes are what we've sadly grown to expect from war profiteers, and then we get to the murderous Christian crusader and sex-trafficking parts...

Our government wants us to believe that they're simply outsourcing and privatizing military security, but the UN says it's a new form of mercenary activity. However, the U.S. is not under any law or treaty barring the use of mercenaries. I think that makes us look like some kind of banana republic.

We gave a 1.2 billion dollar contract to a company that operates with impunity and is run by a greedy, neo-Christian crusader in a volatile region that wants us out. At first I wanted to add Blackwater and Erik Prince to the long list of idiotic mistakes made by the Bush Administration, but Jeremy Scahill believes that Bush and company considered the crusader element a definite plus in the decision to hire Blackwater:

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Probably because of all the bad press, Blackwater changed their name to Xe -- which looks like a word I'd try to get away with in Scrabble. I have no idea what the name means, but I'm guessing it's short for "xenophobia."

Culture Clash

Too often we measure the cost of the Iraq invasion in dollars and deaths, but we forget about the country's cultural heritage. In 2003, when the tanks rolled in, the U.S. protected one treasure only -- the oil wells. The statues, museums, parks and cemeteries were left unprotected to be damaged and looted.

John Curtis, an archeologist and historian, tells the story of Who Stole Iraq's Priceless Treasures:

The source of my dismay is evident: as an archeologist and historian, I’m aware of what is at stake. But why should anyone else care? Iraq is rightly referred to as the cradle of civilisation. It is where writing was invented, the first cities appeared, and Mesopotamia – the land between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates – was home to Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians. The Iraq Museum was one of the richest museums in the Middle East, if not the world, and housed a magnificent collection of treasures from ancient Mesopotamia.

The cradle of civilisation has been looted, but don't worry, the U.S. government has plans to build the American Dream in its place with the help of Ride and Show Engineering (RSE), a company founded by designers and engineers from the Walt Disney Company. Yep, say good-bye to Iraqi culture and history. Say hello to Disneyland!

Of course, I think the whole idea is obscene. Iraq is in the middle of a civil war, and we think they need more entertainment. Entertainment that is an integral part of war propaganda. Entertainment designed to cut youth off from their own reality. Entertainment to mold a pro-American view of the world. Entertainment to depoliticize. Hmm now that I think about it, that's exactly what pop culture has done in the U.S.

Let's not kid ourselves that this is all for the Iraqi people. It's mostly for the benefit of the American profiteers. Llewellyn Werner, one of the sponsors of the project, pitched his Disneyland idea in Baghdad:

After explaining skate…boarding, Werner tells the assembled Iraqi business and government men, “I’m a businessman. I’m not here because I think you’re nice people. I think there’s money to be made here.”

He sounds like a bit of a jerk to me, but at least he's being honest and not prattling on about democracy and justice.

Because, on the topic of justice, I'm not sure there is anything we can teach Iraq. We certainly don't set an example. In a recent LA Times article titled Blackwater shooting highlights a U.S., Iraq culture clash, the private military contractor can't understand why they can't pay off victims' families, and they conclude it's some weird cultural thing:

Deputy Chief of Mission Patricia A. Butenis told him that she was sorry for what had happened, Abdul-Razzaq recalled. She gave him a sealed envelope. It had his name written on it. Abdul-Razzaq pushed it away.

"I told her I refuse to receive any amount," the auto parts dealer said. "My father is a tribal sheik, and we're not used to taking any amount unless the concerned will come and confess and apologize. Then we will talk about compensation."

Confessions and apologies are not an odd request. Americans might be obsessed with money, but we still understand social justice. Iraqi culture is not incomprehensible, and we should stop acting like it is.

I wonder if Baghdad Disneyland will have "It's a Small World."