What Do I Know?: Ma'am, You Called for a Gun for Hire?

What Do I Know, Anyway?

About Me
I am an American living in Britain, a beautiful island in the North Atlantic. (more)
What To Eat?
An index of my vegan recipes. See? Not deprived.
Where To Go?
A list of my travel articles.
Wednesday Food Blogging
My new food blog, where I post all the food news and recipes I used to publish here. (Not just on Wednesday, either.)
Best of WDIK
If my blog were burning, these are the posts I'd save.

Plan to vote? Read these links first!

The secret to Obama's success
Turns out it's the secret to most everyone's success: smarts.
Before the surge
There was the Anbar Awakening. Not the other way around, Sen. McCain.
Obama's Uncle Charlie
Fascinating interview with the man who helped liberate a Nazi death camp.
Obama's fat cat donors
Repeat: I. Am. Barack. Obama's. Special. Interest.
Maliki agrees with Obama
"We're f*cked" says one Republican operative.
Confusing the issue
Why Czechoslovakia matters.
Where are the loud liberals when you need them?
Here's something to howl about.
It's 3 a.m. Your children are safe and asleep...
Who's answering the email?
Lessig puts it in perspective
Obama's "flip-flopping" I mean. A must-read.
The Unity President?
RJ Eskow speculates--overspeculates?--on Obama's core value. Interesting reading.
McCain's adultery
Know the truth.
This is not a Viagra ad
So go ahead and click. You really want to hear what McCain has to say about Viagra ...uhh...uhhh...hmm...actually, he doesn't remember how he voted on that issue.
Obama keeps tacking left
While the media accuses him of tacking center. Sounds about perfect to me.
Last word on FISA
I promise.
"Do you think we'll be able to save our trailer?"
Something tells me this woman doesn't give a flip about FISA, or any of the other issues people are ready to throw themselves on the alter of purity for.
What this election is about
Hint: Not FISA, or any other fringe issues.
The real deal
A literary critic reads Obama's books.
Obama's brain trust
A president with a brain. Imagine that!
Upset over Telco immunity?
Then read Kleiman. As always, he makes sense.
Send Barack your baby
"What would you like Senator Obama to do with your baby? Kiss? Hug? Give hope?" I'm pretty sure this is legit.
Why Hillary lost
I missed this earlier, but it's a pretty good analysis.
Wow. Just wow.
Great piece of writing, on FISA, but really on much, much more.
The loud silence of feminists
Solidarity is for white women, apparently
Not safe for work video
But hilarious nevertheless.
Obama, the Great Listener
From a UC colleague
New word for the day:
Sophrosyne. Obama's got it.
The Audacity of Stealth Reading
Libraries, dentists' offices, your grandmother's book club...all likely targets for stealth audacity.
On the day after Barack Obama was born:
"Two Freedom Riders, a blind white woman and a Negro, broke the segregation barrier today in a Jackson, Miss., bus depot."
"God sent you here to save this election"
Good commentary, in The Independent
Why didn't women vote for Hillary?
The optimist vs pessimist primary.

September 11, 2005

Ma'am, You Called for a Gun for Hire?

When Gov. Kathleen Blanco told the President "we need everything you've got" I don't think she meant mercenaries. But they're there now, the same mercenaries from Blackwater private security firm who've been in Iraq, pulling down salaries far in excess of the active duty military stationed there. What is their role in New Orleans? To do essentially the same thing volunteer fire and police squads from around the country are there to do. You've seen their photos, relaxing in frustration, waiting for an assignment from the ineffectual FEMA.

Blackwater's soldiers of fortune are earning $350 a day, by the way, less than they'd make in Iraq.

And as Kathryn Cramer points out, what happens when amid a rumor-plagued New Orleans, one of these macho gun-toters points a gun in a resident's face and orders them to move? Will we see the same thing we saw in Falluja? There, no one asks any questions about innocent civilians who are killed for "driving while Arab."

In other news, gun control advocates have finally succeeded. Guns are being taken away from private citizens. Who knew the Bush administration was going to "take your guns away"?

September 11, 2005 at 12:26 PM in Political Rant | Permalink

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/267290/3164295

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Ma'am, You Called for a Gun for Hire?:

Comments

A feature writer in New Orleans said that members of the California National Guard came to the house where the news people were staying and inspected their guns. They warned them that if they heard guns going off, they'd be back. A little while later, members of the California Highway Patrol arrived and took all the guns. And a little while later, they returned them without explanation. I think it's all too chaotic to understand.

And don't forget--in St. Bernard, they're already shooting dogs they're supposed to be rescuing, so anything can happen.

Posted by:Diane | September 11, 2005 at 09:00 PM

I'm pretty sure the Framers intended the Second Amendment only to apply to white people. The cops must be strict constructionists.

Posted by:Chris Clarke | September 12, 2005 at 04:16 PM

But Chris, didn't all the amendments apply only to white people? Due process, etc., even the one about presidential succession--I haven't seen anyone other than a white person succeed yet.

Posted by:KathyF | September 12, 2005 at 04:52 PM

Wasn't Clinton Black?

Posted by:Chris Clarke | September 12, 2005 at 04:57 PM

Ah, but he didn't succeed, he was elected.

Posted by:KathyF | September 12, 2005 at 05:27 PM

BlogHer Ads