Guess what . . . the heart, mind, & soul of Blackwater is . . .

[patrice]

the rich Right Wing Catholic and Evangelical theocons who helped crown Herr Bullshitler.

The ECT (Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium, by Richard Neuhaus - famed Protestant minister turned Catholic priest) became the manifesto of the movement that Erik Prince (wealthy Catholic convert and owner of Blackwater) would soon serve and bankroll. It declared that "the century now drawing to a close has been the greatest century of missionary expansion in Christian history. We pray and we believe that this expansion has prepared the way for a yet greater missionary endeavor in the first century of the Third Millennium. The two communities in world Christianity that are most evangelistically assertive and most rapidly growing are Evangelicals and Catholics." The signatories called for a unification of these religions in a common missionary cause, that "all people will come to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior." The document recognized the separation of church and state but "just as strongly protest(ed) the distortion of that principle to mean the separation of religion from public life.... The argument increasingly voiced in sectors of our political culture, that religion should be excluded from the public square must be recognized as an assault upon the most elementary principles of democratic governance." But the ECT was not merely a philosophical document. Rather, it envisioned an agenda that would almost identically mirror that of the Bush administration a few years later, when Neuhaus would serve as a close adviser to Bush, beginning with the 2000 campaign. - Jeremy Scahill in Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army

Perhaps you're like me and thought Blackwater was just some company that happened to land a contract in Iraq. No. That is not the case.

This does help explain things I experienced on various phone banks in 2000 and 2004, when people mentioned the social pressure they were getting in their parishes to vote for Bush. That really surprised me, because it was so unlike the Catholic Church I grew up in. But even though I thought it was more of an ad hoc phenomenon, I have been wondering HOW this pressure was created.

[jwirr]

1. I met Richard John Neuhaus when he was a pacifist. I liked him then.

[patrice]

2. Interesting. What made him soooo "Pauline"? nm

[jwirr]

3. I am not sure. He was from the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church who

are somewhat Pauline in the first place but when I met him he was in trouble with them for being an activist who was not toeing the line. From then on I kind of lost track. I do know that he is the editor of a very right wing magazine for the Catholic Church and is now a priest.

[Morgana LaFey]

4. k&r -- but you need a link!

important information

[patrice]

7. I thought the cite would be enough, but here's a link . . .

http://www.blackwaterbook.com/?gclid=COLv78P414sCFQstWAodXHlvaw

The quote is from my copy of the book, so I don't know how you're going to verify it with a link.

[live love laugh]

5. Here's a thread I did about them with more info. n/t

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=489934

[patrice]

9. I am not prone to using the word "Evil", but . . .

I've got to say it; people who choose to make a living by killing are Evil. They simply have proven Osama bin Laden is right about the U.S.

[BlooInBloo]

6. I thought there were also a bunch of enterprising white supremicists in it.

[patrice]

8. Oh, I'll bet there are. We're talking North Carolina here afterall.

You should take a look at some of the blogging that goes on about Blackwater!

I'm only on Chapter 3; we'll see what turns up.