Big Dan's Big News Dec 11, 2009

Two great stories today on Big Dan's Big Blog about Blackwater and C-Street/The Family! Watch both these videos I put together!!!

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.

NYTimes: Blackwater is an extension of the CIA.





Senator Inhofe may have been present when Ugandan ‘kill the gays’ bill introduced

Everything you wanted to know about C-Street & The Family:

Special commentary by Big Dan: "I went to the Eddie Day health care task force last night with Carl Romanelli. The first thing that struck me about this health care task force, is there was no representation of anyone from single-payer. So, right off the bat, it's a sham because the amount of Pennsylvanians that want single-payer is significant. A task force ignoring representation of a significant portion of people is a rigged task force. It had a lot of representation from corporations including Geisinger and Blue Cross. The jest of what I got from it, is that they want to cut down on waste. That will bring down health care premiums. So, keep everything the same in the broken health care system and cut down on waste. That doesn't sound like a good plan to me. My first question would be, how do we know the savings from the waste in health care would be passed on to the consumers' premiums? I don't believe they will. The CEO's will get a couple of extra million in their bonuses for lowering waste. There will be a big ceremony and party with awards on how they cut down waste. Another thing they didn't address was how to cover all Pennsylvanians or Americans with health care YESTERDAY! Not a year from now, not two, not three, not five or ten years from now, YESTERDAY! What does it matter cutting down on waste if everyone isn't covered with health care? Job #1 should be covering everybody YESTERDAY, and this was not even talked about. Sounds like the same old same old, especially since there was no representation on this task force of anyone advocating single-payer. They didn't take any questions at the end. I would've asked the Geisinger and Blue Cross reps: 'Can you, right now, sign me and my wife up for affordable health care? We don't have any right now.' I bet everyone on that task force has a Cadillac health care plan. Also, the link between your job and having health care was not mentioned. Why should your health care depend on your job? That should be two separate things. Right now, Pennsylvania has crisis level unemployment, which means crisis level of people without health care if it's tied to their jobs. Get rid of the middleman, the health care industry, get rid of having health insurance through your job, and get single-payer. It's the only thing that will work, and there was no representation on the task force of single-payer. One thing they did say, was that health care is a right, not a privilege. Then let's start acting like it...YESTERDAY!!! We live in a country that doesn't cover all of its citizens with health care. Israel and Mexico even have government run health care for all, we are the only ones who don't. Let's stop pretending this isn't a SIN what's going on in this country! Let's stop the 'I got mine' mentality of those against health care reform who have health care. I keep saying, show me someone without health care who is against health care reform!"



Matt Taibbi: Obama's Big Sellout - The president has packed his economic team with Wall Street insiders intent on turning the bailout into an all-out giveaway