JASON MILLER: Privatize Me...Corporatize Me.... Blackwaterize Me...

[Tace]

by Jason Miller -- World News Trust

Thomas Paine saw the United States as an "asylum for mankind." Sadly, under the political and social dominance of the Social Darwinists, America has become more of an "asylum for the insane." Torture, state-sponsored terrorism, illegal wars, flagrant disregard for international law, tax decreases for the wealthy, funding cuts for social safety net programs, government endorsed racism, and diasporas in the aftermath of natural disasters are but a few examples of the handiwork of the wealthy elite as they create a gross perversion of Paine's vision of the United States. Not to worry though. America's patrician class now has its own private armies to protect its gold from the proletariat they so graciously tolerate.

Recently, a company called Blackwater Lodge and Training Center Inc. ("Blackwater") unleashed some attorneys on me for an editorial I published on Thomas Paine's Corner (my blog). The article was by another writer and I had published it under Fair Use since my blog generates no revenue. Blackwater's legal representatives threatened me with a libel suit and demanded that I depublish the article because it contained factual inaccuracies. After some research I agreed with them and removed the article from Thomas Paine's Corner. However, in the course of my research, I made some startling discoveries about the corporate mercenaries of Blackwater and their disturbing relationship with the U.S. government, which clearly illustrates the threat America's parasitic aristocracy poses to the poor, working and middle class of the world.

Martial law? Here?

As some have written and conjectured, the Posse Comitatus Act (passed by Congress during Reconstruction to prevent the government from using the military to enforce civilian law) is in serious jeopardy of going the way of the dinosaurs. Signs of ill portent for the Act are its statutory rather than Constitutional nature (leaving it much more vulnerable to legislative changes), the federal government's use of the military to fight the "War on Drugs" along America's borders, the precedent set by the deployment of Blackwater's military proxies in New Orleans, and the Bush Regime's repeated statement of its intention to rely heavily upon the military in times of domestic crisis (i.e. during future hurricanes, a potential outbreak of Avian Flu). Unfortunately, Posse Comitatus affords the American public about as much protection from martial law (at the whim of our deranged president) as the levees provided New Orleans from the ravages of Katrina.

Tell me sweet little lies

In a time that is roughly comparable to that of the Gilded Age, corporations and the wealthy elite in the United States revel in their virtually unparalleled power and wealth. Labor unions, whose membership peaked at 35% of the hourly wage force in the 1950's, now comprise less than 10% of the U.S. work force. The wealth gap continues to widen to devastating proportions as the middle class slowly disappears. Statistically, unemployment is relatively low, but many of those who are working are under-employed or working multiple jobs just to make ends meet. As the wealthy elite continue to tighten the screws by raising regressive taxes and lowering progressive taxes, lowering wages and benefits for the working class, off-shoring jobs, and cutting social programs, the threat of riots and social unrest becomes real. Hence the Bush Regime's moves to lay the foundation for declaring martial law and the rising fortunes of companies providing private military forces, like Blackwater.

more

http://worldnewstrust.org/modules/AMS/article.php?storyid=1861

[papau]

1. Well said - and true - and makes me wish I had a talent for writing!

but I will have to survive on my good looks I fear.

I think I am correct in that fear - in many ways - :-)

[Miss Chybil]

5. Talent is learned. If you have the genetic disposition to absorb and

utilize information you have what it takes to develop a "talent." Good looks on the other hand... well, they always help.

[Tace]

6. Your Writing Is Wonderful!

You're always so self-depreciating. : )

[papau]

7. Thanks! :-)

:-)

[punpirate]

2. It's worth making the connection between then...

... and now. It was commonplace for wealthy industrialists to have their own private armies and security forces (basically, Pinkerton's was an outgrowth of the need for such services), and those private security forces were principally employed in quelling labor unrest by force. They were very often aided local elected officials and police, and rarely were prosecuted for deaths and injuries they caused (witness, for example, Henry Ford's private police killing members of the "Ford Hunger March" in 1932).

Throw in the power of federal money and high technology today, and you've got a volatile mix.

[Clara T]

3. From Article

More frightening still, the Social Darwinists sitting atop the food chain in the wealthiest, most powerful nation in humanity’s history now have access to their own paramilitary force. They can unleash their private army on the "unfittest" when the need arises, whether it be within America’s borders or otherwise. New Orleans is a prime example. 150 highly trained Blackwater quasi-military professionals openly armed with assault weapons descended on a tragedy-stricken city. As hurricane victims taking necessities were called "looters" and shoot to kill orders were in effect, those who value property over people saw to it that their interests were well-protected. Thankfully, Blackwater was there to protect the patrician class from the "savages" from the Lower Ninth Ward who had the audacity to attempt survival.

Blackwater is one of many symptoms of a very sick America. Thomas Paine would feel deeply ashamed of what has become of the nation he helped forge with his powerful writing.

http://www.selvesandothers.org/article12761.html

[katty]

4. Calling it like it IS

>In a time that is roughly comparable to that of the Gilded Age, corporations and the wealthy elite in the United States revel in their virtually unparalleled power and wealth.