Sorry For All the Palin Posts–It’s just too good

This time Governor Palin was videotaped at a church saying (roughly) that they should pray to god for a new pipeline, and Iraq is a task from god.  No Kidding

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/02/palins-church-may-have-sh_n_123205.html

Military Getting Smarter in Iraq?

For the first time, today I read about an American policy in Iraq called Sunni Awakening.  And in the great American spirit they are awakening to $$$.  In a novel (to them) idea, instead of spending huge sums of money on highly trained soldiers and expensive equipment, they pay a much smaller amount to the Sunni insurgents to be their own neighborhood policemen.

Some were skeptical at first, but it appears to be working better than could have been expected and it is allowing the Iraqi military to focus on other regions of the country.  I am very pleased to see some evidence that the church of cost-effectiveness is penetrating the military ranks.

If we’re trying to avoid looking like Christian missionaries…

This isn’t helpful. 

The Christianist tilt of the military is hard to dispute.  In an article last October, Jane Lampman of the Christian Science Monitor documented a series of evangelizing instances within the military, this being one of the more egregious:

“In 2006, MRFF (Military Religious Freedom Foundation) learned of a video produced by Christian Embassy, a group that conducts Bible studies at the Pentagon and seeks to evangelize within the armed services. Aimed at fundraising for the group, the video was improperly taped in the Pentagon and involved endorsements by Army and Air Force generals in uniform.”

Another hilarious example from earlier this year – at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, the military paid evangelical Christians portraying themselves as former Muslim terrorists to participate in a conference on terrorism. 

I’ve mentioned Blackwater’s krazy-kristian ties before. 

To round this up, here’s Rod Parsley, one of two hateful preachers that John McCain has embraced, talking about the United States’ obligation to destroy Islam. 

I suppose the counter-argument would be that the military does not endorse Christianity and oppose Islam, that these are isolated incidents and/or mistakes, and that some Christians will necessarily attempt to spread the Word, perhaps unwisely, but certainly without harmful or aggressive intentions. 

Industry Rule #4080 – Blackwater

The Times of London reports that Blackwater, the krazy kristian disaster-fiend mercenary group, is in search of financial backing after talks with the Cerberus group fell through.  Apparently the U.S. government contracts may run out, and, as Talking Points Memo puts it, they’re in need of a new sugar daddy.  I find this fascinating in itself, but the real reason for linking the latest development in the Prince saga is to take another opportunity to highlight how massively shady these people are, and that their bid to relaunch themselves as peaceful friends of mothers with babies is kind of hilarious.

Check out this ridiculously cool interactive map of the government connections of Total Intelligence Solutions, a Prince Group spy-for-hire company.