Blackwater Lobbyist Will Manage the House Intelligence Committee

[dixiegrrrrl]

House Intelligence Committee, which oversees government intelligence operations and agencies, the changing of the guard means a lobbyist for Academi, the defense contractor formerly known as Blackwater, is now in charge.

Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA), the incoming chairman of the Intelligence Committee when the House reconvenes in January, announced that Jeff Shockey will be the new Staff Director of the committee. As a paid representative of Academi, Shockey and his firm have earned $80,000 this year peddling influence on behalf of Academi.

In previous years, the House Intelligence Committee has investigated Blackwater over secret contracts with the Central Intelligence Agency. Now, the shoe is on the other foot. As Staff Director, the highest position on a committee for a staff member, Shockey will oversee the agencies that do business with his former employer.

Shockey also represents a number of other companies with business before defense agencies: General Dynamics, Koch Industries, Northrop Grumman, United Launch Alliance, Innovative Defense Technologies and Boeing.

http://www.nationofchange.org/2014/12/19/blackwater-lobbyist-will-manage-house-intelligence-committee/

[sabrina 1]

1. Omg,it gets worse every day. Talk about a conflict of interest, AGAIN. See Clapper eg.

I think it is so out of control now there is nothing anyone can do about it.

I wish we were back in the old Bush days when I thought there was hope of changing things.

[rhett o rick]

5. Sabrina, I don't know how many times you've written posts that say what I am thinking.

During the Bush years I kept my hopes up because the transgressions were so great that when we got a Democratic president they would for sure get straightened out. Now that we have a Democratic president and the transgressions are getting worse, with the prospect of another conservative Democrat president in 2016, makes it hard for me to have hope.

I honestly don't see a way out. The public has zero influence on our elected representatives. Any day I dread that Sen Warren will be neutralized like many before her.

[sabrina 1]

23. It's true, bad and frustrating as those awful years were, we were so motivated to

see some justice done that people were willing to work even in the face of huge disappointments, such as the 2004 elections, to get Democrats into power so these monsters could be stopped.

Now it looks like it's just the way things are. We get a few things if Dems win, but the basic system, Wall St, all of our Wars, the people who put in place to 'guard' the system, they don't change.

[NewDeal_Dem]

9. +100

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. If we do not stop TIPP and it's relative plans, it will get so very much worse.

I am going to do a post about soon, found some good info.
It is bad, and they are planning on taking over the 'net, too.

[olddots]

2. this is very bad news

Very very bad news .

[Octafish]

3. War is a trough of cash filled past overflowing by US taxpayer.

Congress, let alone the Department of Justice, may be OK with this, but it is wrong and against Americana principles.

[reddread]

17. those military contractors have unlimited resources

Im sure they know how to treat congressmen and women.

[Octafish]

19. Definitely.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2008/10/former-cia-director-porter-gosss-dusty-foggo-problem

[No Vested Interest]

4. Who can and will challenge this appointment? nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. We can complain to our mostly deaf Congress critters.

I think it will take a massive complaint campaign.

Hey, I know...massive complaints sent to Elix. Warren.

But...keep in mind...already the Fed has made an end run around her new Consumer Financial Agency that was supposed to help us.

[grasswire]

6. how can he do this?

"Shockey also represents a number of other companies with business before defense agencies: General Dynamics, Koch Industries, Northrop Grumman, United Launch Alliance, Innovative Defense Technologies and Boeing."

So while children go hungry in America, while retired men and women lose their pensions, while the Post Office is gutted, while veterans go homeless, while college students drown in debt because they can't get work, while schools go begging, while a single mother must work three jobs......the voracious maw of the war profiteers will be fed to gluttony.

America, America.

[helpmetohelpyou]

7. Welcome to cronyism

nothing new

[adirondacker]

8. Corruption sure pays off.

[RobertEarl]

12. He's the fox

...and we're the chickens.

The republicans are in complete control now... well, except for a deal making Obama, who will be replaced in two years with someone who won't make deals with Liberals at all. At least Obama made it look like he listened.

Heh, these may be remembered as the good old days, even as awful as they are. Sorry, kids. You're own your own. But I think you knew that?

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. The time of we Boomers will be seen as a Golden time.

Most cycles run about 20-25 years.
I will be gone before the worst hits.
I do worry about my adult sons, tho.

[RobertEarl]

14. We had it good, us boomers

Back then, if something like this happened the press would have been all over it and so the crooks would have shied away from such outrageous behavior. But now anything goes, just as long as the dirty hippies get punched and the powerful stay clean looking.

They have the voting machines any more and so the power of the vote is gone along with the free press so there isn't much to go on to make change happen. And we boomers let it be. Well, some of us.

[sabrina 1]

24. That's why they took over the media. They learned from the days when the press

was actually working, that it slowed down their 'progress'. Now only the internet has that effect and from what I've read, they are working on taking that avenue over also.

[UglyGreed]

16. I worry about my children N/T

[Faryn Balyncd]

15. Nunez should be expelled from Congress for this.

[nilesobek]

18. I'm considering becoming an expatriot.

I'm on evil corruption overload here. I've got children and grandchildren to worry about.

The torturing murderers won the world, won the internet, and have all the money...I never had a chance. I'm losing everything because I couldn't get sick leave from this shit job that didn't pay me enough to live on. Not sure I want my kids and grandkids to learn "American values." They aren't so hot.

[dixiegrrrrl]

20. If I were 20 years younger, I would leave.

Not too sure where a safe haven is anymore, tho. This crap is now global.

[True Blue Door]

21. These are the people who threatened the lives of US diplomats in Iraq

if they reported what Blackwater was doing. Really not a good idea giving one of their lackeys operational control of Congressional business.

[cascadiance]

22. Correction.. he was the Xe lobbyist...

Now we wouldn't want to bring back old bad memories of Blackwater and call that company by its old name instead of its "proper" new name ("Xe&quot appropriately now wouldn't we? Erik Prince has left the country... Shouldn't be bothering us any more!

[dixiegrrrrl]

25. Xe is now gone.

Prince, to escape the notoriety, changed the name to Xe in 2009 and then in 2010 sold the company, it is now named Academi.
https://www.google.com/search?client=ubuntu&channel=fs&q=New+name+ofr+Blackwater+is&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8


I give us all credit for those changes and eventual sale, altho it still exists churning out contractors.

[cascadiance]

27. Hmm... I guess even Xe had too much publicity. Missed that subsequent identity change...

... that apparently has worked better at hiding what it has now become moreso...

[dixiegrrrrl]

28. I only knew about it because I have an "alert" in my gmail.

Nice option, that alert thingy.
Loads news of anything I want to track, like BOA, Ebola, current topics, etc.

[Aerows]

26. And we can pretty much guarantee

that the only politicians that get elected in 2016 are those who are loyal to all of those businesses. The ones that aren't will likely have tons of dirt come out on them.