I didn't know the US Department of Homeland Security hired Blackwater mercenaries to patrol New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Some of them were also deputised by the Governor of Louisiana to make arrests and use lethal force.
A simple case of out-sourcing policing to the private sector in a disaster? Or more crony pork-barreling?
"Blackwater's success in procuring federal contracts could well be explained by major-league contributions and family connections to the GOP. According to election records, Blackwater's CEO and co-founder, billionaire Erik Prince, has given tens of thousands to Republicans, including more than $80,000 to the Republican National Committee the month before Bush's victory in 2000. This past June, he gave $2,100 to Senator Rick Santorum's re-election campaign. He has also given to House majority leader Tom DeLay and a slew of other Republican candidates, including Bush/Cheney in 2004."I'm voting for pork barrel. When you start outsourcing public services to private sector clients, you end up pouring cash into the pockets of cronies under secret "commercially sensitive" contracts. If the EFA is repealed by a National government, and secret donations via trusts restored, we will have witnessed the creation of a perfect storm for enabling corruption like New Zealand has never known.
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