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You are here: Home / Politics / Glibertarianism / Monday Evening Open Thread: Douchecanoe of the Week

Monday Evening Open Thread: Douchecanoe of the Week

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Eric “the” Prince, glibertarian, military teat-sucker, war profiteer. Yahoo reports on a yahoo:

Erik Prince has a message for ISIS: You’re lucky Blackwater is gone.

On Friday night, the controversial founder of the private military company had plenty to say about what the organization he once ran could be doing in the fight against the so-called Islamic State—and also why Republicans need to stop being such losers.

“It’s a shame the [Obama] administration crushed my old business, because as a private organization, we could’ve solved the boots-on-the-ground issue, we could have had contracts from people that want to go there as contractors; you don’t have the argument of U.S. active duty going back in there,” Prince said in an on-stage discussion featuring retired four-star Gen. James Conway. “[They could have] gone in there and done it, and be done, and not have a long, protracted political mess that I predict will ensue.”

Prince was speaking at a dinner event for donors to the Maverick PAC, a conservative group with ties to the Bush dynasty, at the Capital Hilton just blocks from the White House.

His private military company (since rebranded as Academi) courted more than its fair share of trouble during the Bush years, in large part due to Blackwater guards gunning down 17 civilians in Baghdad. The Obama administration severed most ties with Blackwater, and Prince sold the company and uprooted to Abu Dhabi, where he continued doing sketchy work with security forces. Feeling betrayed by the Obama administration, he has since said that his days working for the U.S. government are over…

… at least until there’s another Republican administration, so, goddess willing: Never!
***********
I owe one of you a hat tip for that link, if “owe” is the right word. (ETA: Hat tip to commentor Howard Beale IV.)

Apart from mocking the chest-thumpers, what’s on the agenda for the evening?

Reader Interactions

94Comments

  2. 2.

    WereBear

    In my wildest dreams I would not have come up with a science fiction novel where a Christian pyramid cult would sell household products until they had enough money to form a mercenary army known for its rampant bloodthirstiness and hedonistic party tendencies.

    Yeah, now, it’s just obvious, but I wouldn’t have thought of it.

  5. 5.

    Amir Khalid

    I’m surprised anyone ever considered a corporation offering mercenary services to be a legal business, let alone that the government running the world’s largest and best-equipped military felt the need to hire it. And how come Eric Prince is not in jail?

  12. 12.

    JPL

    Tonight I plan on watching Big Bang Theory, Scorpion and the Blacklist. Although, I enjoy watching Spader, truth be known, I though the Blacklist was blah. I continue watching though.

  13. 13.

    WaterGirl

    @raven: Hey, I root for the Bears! (whenever I know they are playing.) My brother-in-law is on vacation, so I guess I am out of the loop. oops.

  14. 14.

    WaterGirl

    Speaking of TV, did anyone watch The Good Wife last night? TV is not supposed to be that stressful!

  15. 15.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    Too early in the week for a DCotW call.

    Tonight? Bardot night on TCM. Yeah, she has turned into a far right freak, but she was an icon of her era.

  17. 17.

    Steeplejack

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    Thanks for reminding me about that. Even back in the day Bardot was more famous for being famous than for actually being seen in any of her movies. This TCM block is a nice corrective. I have seen Contempt (3:15 a.m. EDT), which is just weird. Bardot, Jack Palance, Jean-Luc Godard. ’Nuff said.

  18. 18.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: Well, those weren’t premieres, but yes, there is plenty of TV to watch tonight even if you are not a football fan.

    Edit: nice to see you back from vacation/house sitting/pet sitting/mom sitting. Though I really did enjoy your descriptions while you were gone.

  20. 20.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    @WaterGirl: @Steeplejack: Rats and rats. My sense of time has been haywire the last few weeks.

    Scorpion is a maybe, but I was planning on seeing that tomorrow, if the buzz is good. Castle and SHIELD are the only shows I watch on broadcast.

  24. 24.

    Calouste

    I don’t object to Eric Prince putting his own boots on the ground in Iraq.

    Fighting a fairly organized movement is something very different than providing security, which is what Blackwater was mainly doing.

  25. 25.

    Citizen_X

    his days working for the U.S. government are over…

    Oh how shocking. Fucking mercenaries are being fucking mercenaries.

  26. 26.

    Anne Laurie

    @Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: Whoops — the ABC website says it’s the premiere of FOREVER (tonight, another new episode at the usual time tomorrow). CASTLE season premiere is next Monday.

    (And I have to check in w/the Spousal Unit, because Castle is the only show we watch now, but I want to add FOREVER to that list… )

  29. 29.

    Anne Laurie

    @Amir Khalid:

    And how come Eric Prince is not in jail?

    Same reason George W Bush & Darth Cheney aren’t. Although there was considerable speculation, at the time, that Prince’s “protest” move to Saudi Arabia was also meant to keep him out of reach of American law enforcement.

  30. 30.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    I ain’t gonna mock the guy. He’s trying to become a real-world army, and by and large we let him. He’s got military hardware civilians and cops can’t get. Like jet fighters and tanks. No, not gonna mock him. Treat him like a snarling rabid dog, absolutely.

  31. 31.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    Oh, sorry, season premieres.

    Last week was very strange. I felt lethargic and slept a lot, like I was recharging my batteries after the Vegas trip. I had a good time out there, really enjoyed seeing the city at a more leisurely pace, but there was some emotional upheaval. That is definitely the crazy side of the family. Oops, sorry, crazier. My old college friend, who has known the family for years, told me I was the only sane person in the family. At least that’s what I heard. Later, when I was laughing about it, she corrected me and said I was the sanest one in the family. Big difference.

  32. 32.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: Well you’re plenty sane for our little family here at Balloon Juice! :-)

    As for the other stuff, switching between worlds is very tiring, I think, not just our bodies but our brains. I think it takes awhile before autopilot knows where we are.

  37. 37.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @Steeplejack: I don’t think there is a sanest one in my family. Everyone is completely barmy in his or her own way. Luckily for family gatherings, no one is a RWNJ. Misers, sports fanatics, genealogy nuts, worriers with insomnia problems, etc…? Sure.

  39. 39.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    “[They could have] gone in there and done it, and be done, and not have a long, protracted political mess that I predict will ensue.”

    Greeted as liberators, no doubt, then mission accomplished, in a matter of weeks, possibly months, certainly not years…. I should not have been surprised if, in future years, had Blackwater gone in, there should not have been some grand square in Erbil named after Eric Prince.

  42. 42.

    Howard Beale IV

    Actually, I’m surprised that Prince Charming isn’t in the Top 10 on Islamic State’s Hit Parade-if there’s anyone they’d want to take out who could pose a threat to their plans, he’d be right up there.

  43. 43.

    JPL

    @WaterGirl: Matt Czuchry, the actor that portrays Cary, always seemed adequate to me for the skills necessary to portray his role. Last night’s performance blew me away. His expressions and aura was so dark, that I was really impressed. Last night’s premiere was a credit to the writing of the program. A friend did turn it off though at the knife scene. Maybe it’s just me because I like Mike Colter’s character, Lemond Bishop because it is so dimensional. He appears to be such a great father but such a darn creep at the same time. He scares me.

    I don’t think Madam Secretary will be given the time to develop because it sure did come across as weak compared to the Good Wife.

    also, too .. just my opinion..

  45. 45.

    Fort Geek

    @Amir Khalid: Connections. He’s in with the Bush family, Family Research Council (his father helped Gary Bauer and James Dobson found it), Amway (his wife’s the sister of the founder of the company, which is notorious for “selling” home cleaning products no one wants and also a big Dominionist grift and religious recruiter [don’t dare call them a “pyramid scheme’; they’ll sue the crap out of you].

    Apparently Prince is an ex-Navy SEAL the way John “I was a POW” McCain was a POW–people around him will say how modest he is and how he never mentions it, though.

  46. 46.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    after two weeks of screeching that Obama has to “do something” about these beheadings, Tweety is now concern trolling Obama for trying to draw us in to war.

  50. 50.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: I want someone, whether Tweety or Lindsey Graham or I don’t know who, to explain to me how US citizens who have been flirting with ISIS returning home is an argument for bootsontheground

    ETA: Ed Kilgore reminded me yesterday of the “flypaper theory”, which I had completely forgotten about.

  51. 51.

    CaseyL

    @JPL:

    He scares me.

    Lemond Bishop scares everyone. I love the way Colter plays him, so soft-spoken and normal-seeming; it makes him more menacing.

  54. 54.

    JPL

    @raven: She played her role admirably but sometimes you are just dealt a bad script. SPOILERS.. During the first five minutes both she and her spouse had on blue knit scarves, not the same color blue, thank you god, but still was that necessary. Then she was cleaning the horse barn when the president arrived with twenty other cars. I was polite about the cleaning the horse barn, she was shoveling shit.

  55. 55.

    rikyrah

    @WaterGirl:

    Speaking of TV, did anyone watch The Good Wife last night? TV is not supposed to be that stressful!

    I thought it was a joke, Cary being arrested…and then I realized it was a serious charge…and I was like WTF?

    I’ve loved the actor who plays Cary since Gilmore Girls.

  56. 56.

    JPL

    @CaseyL: As much as I love his character, I want him taken down. I liked that Finn was back and took on Alisha. It only added to their chemistry.

  58. 58.

    Patricia Kayden

    “The Obama administration severed most ties with Blackwater”

    Wonder what ties the Obama administration did not sever with such an odious organization.

    It’s a real shame that war hucksters like Prince and Cheney aren’t making boatloads of money from needless wars, though. My tears cannot be contained.

  60. 60.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Jay Newton Small says John McCain would love to work on a climate change bill but there’s “no one to work with”– Barbara Boxer? Ed Markey? Al Franken? Mark Udall?

  61. 61.

    Steeplejack

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    I would love to be in among sports fanatics and genealogy nuts. I’m talking lifelong (undiagnosed) manic depression (with subsequent parenting issues), gun hoarding and foaming RWNJobbery. Plus the RWNJ brother is a sports nut (cf. vanity plate “MICH ST”).

  64. 64.

    Roger Moore

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Jay Newton Small says John McCain would love to work on a climate change bill but there’s “no one to work with”– Barbara Boxer? Ed Markey? Al Franken? Mark Udall?

    Translation: McCain wants a token Democrat who will rubber stamp his plan, but it’s so God awful that not even Manchin wants to be associated with it.

  65. 65.

    Steeplejack

    @JPL:

    Madam Secretary [. . .] did come across as weak [. . .].

    I didn’t watch the show, but even from the promos it looked like Téa Leoni doesn’t have the gravitas for the role. Hard to see her as a big-ballin’, shot-callin’ mover and shaker.

  66. 66.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL: @CaseyL: @rikyrah: @ raven @momsense

    I haven’t seen the knife scene yet. It was so stressful for me that I paused the show and figured I will come back to it in a day or two. I think the whole overreach and abuse of power in having him arrested, and the force of the police who arrested him takes me back to Ferguson and how out of hand our police and courts have gotten.

    I thought they were just screwing with Cary and harassing him so it was kind of shocking to think he could be locked away forever. If he lived that long – the actor did a really good job making it clear how completely vulnerable a prisoner is, even someone who might be innocent.

    I had never seen “Cary” in anything before, and I’ve liked him, but you’re right that his is showing some serious acting chops. It’s like when I saw Born on the Fourth of July. I have never been a Tom Cruise fan, but I had no idea he could really act until I saw him in that movie.

    The Lamond Bishop was really scary last night – that dead/cold look in his eyes when they were having the whole “Cary won’t turn on Bishop” conversation was understated and very powerful.

    I think Madam Secretary shows a lot of potential. I didn’t think The Good Wife made it look week, maybe because it came first.

    I like Finn, and this whole plot point makes him much less one-dimensional, not “too nice”.

  68. 68.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: I don’t know that I’ve seen her in anything before. What are her big roles?

    I am usually willing to give shows a chance if there is a decent premise and they seem kind of shaky at first.

    I thought Castle was kind of lame until episode 7 or so, and now it’s one of my favorite shows. They just needed to settle into their roles. Same with Burn Notice. I thought it was kinda lame for the first few episodes, then I watched it until the end of season 7 or whatever it was.

  74. 74.

    Violet

    @raven: She always seems to have the same expression to me. I don’t get her appeal. When I saw she was in “Madam Secretary” I didn’t think she’d have the chops to pull it off. She just seems to work on one level emotionally. She can act angry or sad or whatever, but she comes across as emotionally at the same level. To me, anyway.

  76. 76.

    Anne Laurie

    @WaterGirl: Leone was good in Deep Impact(aka “the asteroid movie that didn’t have Bruce Willis”) as a skittery TV reporter who stumbles across a giant government conspiracy that she is totally unprepared to handle. “Who’s Elly, to the president?” “It’s not a person they’re talking about, it’s an Extinction-Level Event.”

    Basically, the opposite of her role as Madame Secretary…

  80. 80.

    raven

    @Baud: He got grief from the French!

    I had this great cameraman, Henri Decaë, whom I knew from the early Melville films. I, as well as those in the New Wave, admired Decaë tremendously. He started me, he started Chabrol, and then Truffaut7, and then a number of others. When we started shooting, the first scenes we did with Jeanne Moreau were in the streets, on the Champs-Élysées. We had the camera in a baby carriage, and she had no light – it was black and white of course; we were using this new fast film, the Tri-X, which serious film makers thought too grainy. We did several long tracking shots of Jeanne Moreau…she was lit only by the windows of the Champs- Élysées. That had never been done. Cameramen would have forced her to wear a lot of make-up and they would put a lot of light on her because, supposedly, her face was not photogenic.

    That first week there was a rebellion of the technicians at the lab after they had seen the dailies. They went to the producer and said, “You must not let Malle and Decaë destroy Jeanne Moreau.” They were horrified. But when Elevator was released, suddenly something of Jeanne Moreau’s essential qualities came out: she could be almost ugly and then ten seconds later she would turn her face and would be incredibly attractive. But she would be herself.

  83. 83.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    The main thing I remember her from is as Adam Sandler’s unsympathetic wife in Spanglish. Just checked her IMDB page and saw that she pops up in a movie every year or so. I actually remember seeing her more often than she actually shows up. Weird.

    ETA: I know what you’re saying about shows starting off a little shaky and getting into a groove. Person of Interest was like that for me. Now one of my favorites, and I’m really looking forward to the new season with everybody on the run.

  84. 84.

    kc

    @Anne Laurie:

    I thought Leoni was great in “Fun With Dick and Jane,” tho apparently I’m the only person who likes that movie. But she really held her own comedically with Jim Carrey.

  85. 85.

    Tenar Darell

    @Steeplejack: I was impressed with the Madame Secretary premise, then there was a conspiracy (! With caps!) and I started going oh nos! Because they don’t need that, but they decided to have one anyway. (I just wanted to start shouting Boo! Booo!,like in Princess Bride fer Xxx-sake!)

  86. 86.

    Steeplejack

    @Tenar Darell:

    Like I said, I didn’t see the premiere, but the premise just seemed unappetizing to me: sexy Hillary Clinton! And Téa Leoni comes across as a reasonably with-it soccer mom, not a high-level career diplomat.

  87. 87.

    Tenar Darell

    @Steeplejack: at least Good Wife did not disappoint, and I am very happy watching Sleepy Hollow now, because it is totally unreal and awesome. (But I am also a very strange person who thought Fringe was wonderful).

  91. 91.

    BruceFromOhio

    If I had nuclear weapons, I could turn this planet into a burnt cinder. That would show ’em.

    @raven: TriX was magical stuff. With a yellow filter and a little push in the lab, it would do mystical things with skin tones in the bleakest of light.

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