Showing posts with label Jan Schakowsky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jan Schakowsky. Show all posts

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Wife of Felon Wants to Drive Blackwater Out of Business

The wife of a convicted felon is using the indictments of five ex-Blackwater men as an excuse to drive the company out of the security business.

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois), whose husband recently served a prison term for federal felony convictions, says she doesn't like Blackwater and wants to "get them out of this business."

Schakowsky has parrotted the conspiracy theory line of anti-Blackwater activist Jeremy Scahill for a couple of years. Now she says she intends to run for the Senate seat left vacant by President-Elect Barack Obama.
“The indictments will likely get rid of a few bad apples, but there will be no real consequences for Blackwater," Schakowsky tells The Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress. "This company could continue to do business as usual — the solution is to get them out of this business."

Monday, July 21, 2008

Blackwater Airships Fill ISR Need

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has described the military's appetite for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) collection, including video from unmanned aerial vehicles, as “insatiable.”

But the Air Force Times reports that “the Army and Air Force can’t seem to keep up.... Gates described getting the military to provide more airborne ISR as 'pulling teeth,' even though the number of Predator orbits — or continuous 24-hour patrols — have doubled in theater since last year.”

And that's where Blackwater comes in. The company's new Polar 400 airships can fly twice as long as Air Force Predators and cost just a fifth as much. “In the past, airships have proven ineffective because they were susceptible to weather, especially high winds,” Air Force Times explains. “Blackwater designed a propulsion system so the pilot can control the airship on all three axes.”

True, the airships won't carry Hellfire missiles like some UAVs currently in use, but the airships are perfect for loitering over a dozen city blocks for up to 60 hours at a time, just the sort of coverage our men in uniform often need when they find themselves in difficult urban warfare.

Blackwater founder and CEO Erik Prince “also suggested his airships could replace Predators flying drug and alien interdiction missions over the US-Mexico border and the Caribbean. He proposed using one ship as a 'lily-pad' and launching three to four airships to form a chain.”


* * *

In spite of the obvious advantages that Blackwater airships offer to the military - both in terms of filling the ISR gap and doing so at a lower cost - certain critics are not keen on the idea. Air Force Times quoted Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., as saying “Now we’re talking about a private, for-profit company having grandiose notions of replacing the Coast Guard and the Navy,” she said. “I think that’s very dangerous.”
Ms. Schakowsky, were you paying any attention at all? We're talking about ISR collection, not the complete functions of both the Navy and the Coast Guard.

Maybe Congresswoman Schakowsky is confusing ISR with the IRS, which busted her felon husband for bank fraud tax evasion.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Can Rep. Jan Schakowsky think for herself?

We've followed Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky's attacks on Blackwater for quite a while, but we still can't find an original thought. Indeed, it looks like she's been cribbing from Blackwater stalker Jeremy Scahill, because her comments track about 100 percent with his.

And when Scahill's been silent, so has Schakowsky. Indeed, both have been pretty quiet for a while now. In fact, Schakowsky has been rather reserved since last fall, when we raised the issue of her husband being a convicted felon.

But when Scahill recently resumed making public comments against Blackwater, Schakowsky did as well, starting this week.

Doesn't she have a mind of her own?

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Iraq war vet: Congress is undermining the 'selfless soldier and contractor'

By playing politics with urgently needed war funding, Congress is undermining the "selfless soldier and contractor" serving the nation in Iraq, a prominent war veteran says.

LTC Steve Russell USA (Ret.) is a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, and commanded a unit that was central to the capture of Saddam Hussein. He says in a Fox News column that congressional critics of Blackwater, led by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, are the real out-of-control "cowboys."

Russell (pictured) is founder and chairman of Veterans for Victory. Here's an excerpt from his column, titled on the Vets4Victory.com site as "Cowboys from Blackwater? Try Cowboys from Congress":

"Since September's now-famous Baghdad shootout that led to the deaths of 17 Iraqis, numerous critics have assailed contractors with Blackwater USA, as well as security contractors in general, by labeling them as reckless cowboys.

"But leading the chorus denouncing contractors has been a different posse of 'cowboys,' this one composed of reckless members of Congress. Their careless rhetoric and soldier funding ambushes amount to the very same thing they accuse Blackwater of doing - shooting first, and asking questions later.

"Recently, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and 13 other members of Congress have introduced legislation to turn the Blackwater incident into an excuse to bar all security contractors from performing their essential role in securing Iraq. Now, Congress sits before the end-of-year recess determined to ambush not just contractors, but also our soldiers serving abroad by attacking their needed funds.

"If these politicians succeed, they will only make the U.S. military's job harder. And American soldiers - as well as ordinary Iraqis - will face a less stable, more dangerous situation.
With victory in Iraq a distinct possibility, who is being the irresponsible cowboy now?"

Russell wrote an important piece about the Blackwater controversy in Stars & Stripes last October titled, "What's Behind Attacks on Blackwater."

Among Russell's many points: "The truth, which few members of Congress are willing to admit, is that Blackwater employees are doing some of the most difficult work in Iraq. And, they are doing a great job keeping Americans safe."

Friday, November 9, 2007

Dynamic Duo targets Blackwater from Congress

Two Members of Congress who skirt the edge of the law have targeted Blackwater in a new bill designed to shut down Blackwater's diplomatic security service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sponsor 1: Congressman Bob Filner (D-CA), who is awaiting trial for alleged assault and battery against a woman.

Sponsor 2: Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), whose husband just marked a year since his release from federal prison on bank fraud and tax cheating convictions.

Fringe Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Socialist, introduced similar legislation in the upper house.

"Mercenary armies can overthrow a democracy," Filner said as he anticipated his trial for allegedly manhandling a female airport employee. "We are going to fight Blackwater until there are no more mercenaries."

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Schakowsky's felon husband looks back on prison life

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky's crooked husband, observing a year since being released from the slammer, says from his "insider's view" that "everyone wants the time to pass."

Felon husband Robert Creamer (pictured) served time in 2006 for tax evasion and bank fraud. (A tame story in the Chicago Sun-Times says Creamer was guilty only of "writing bad checks.")

Among Mr. Schakowsky-Creamer's observations: "Even though all of the inmates are men, there is no nakedness in your sleeping area or washrooms. The norm is to change your pants in the privacy of a shower stall."

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Happy anniversary, Rep. Schakowsky!

Today marks a happy anniversary for Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, the Illinois Democrat who's best known for her crusade against Blackwater.

On this day one year ago, Schakowsky's husband, Robert Creamer, was released from the Federal Correction Institute at Terre Haute, Indiana (pictured), where he served a prison term for felony tax evasion and bank fraud.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Durbin wrote on behalf of Schakowsky's tax cheat felon husband

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) is demanding a federal probe of Blackwater on alleged tax evasion charges - but he interceded for a real tax cheat who was convicted in court and served prison time.

The convict, liberal political activist Robert Creamer, is the husband of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), considered one of the most shrill anti-Blackwater critics on Capitol Hill.

Schakowsky reportedly signed the fraudulent tax returns that her husband illegally filed.

Bloggers comment on Schakowsky tax fraud issue:
"Schakowsky ire phony as kited checks"
"More Dem corruption"
"A hero of the common man"
"Checks and balances for Seals"

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Schakowsky still silent on tax evasion issue

People are talking about why Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) remains so uncharacteristically quiet about the latest muck being thrown at Blackwater.

She has said nothing publicly about Rep. Henry Waxman's latest attack position: that Blackwater evades paying federal taxes by treating its contractors as contractors instead of as employees.

Schakowsky has never been this slow to pick up a new allegation against the protector of our diplomats in Iraq. Some people think it might be related to the fact that her husband is a convicted felon who committed bank fraud and tax evasion.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Why Rep. Schakowsky is so quiet about Waxman's Blackwater tax allegation

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a leader of the anti-Blackwater foil hat conspiracy set, is conspicuously quiet about Congressman Henry Waxman's allegation that our favorite company evaded taxes.

And that's unusual, because Schakowsky (pictured) seldom wastes an opportunity to rake Blackwater over the coals.

Why is Schakowsky so quiet? Could it be because her husband is a convicted felon who spent time in federal prison for bank fraud and tax evasion?

Mr. Schakowsky, known as Robert Creamer, was accused of swindling banks for $2.3 million, and for evading federal taxes. He pleaded guilty to bank fraud and tax evasion in 2005 and was sentenced to 5 months in federal prison and 11 months house arrest in 2006.

Is convicted felon tied to Obama's call for Blackwater probe?

It's well established that a trial lawyer, who plans to make millions of dollars suing Blackwater, is the instigator of Congressman Henry Waxman's hearings in the House.

So who instigated Senator Barack Hussein Obama's call for Senate hearings to beat up the company that protects our diplomats in Iraq?

Might it be his campaign supporter, convicted felon Robert Creamer? Creamer is the husband of Rep. Jan Schakowsky, the anti-Blackwater activist. He worked for the Barack Obama presidential campaign to train young political activists after serving time in federal prison for bank fraud and tax evasion.

Is it a pure coincidence, then, that Obama is the first US senator to call for a Senate investigation of the Blackwater guys who protect our diplomats in Iraq? Could Obama's call for an inquiry be motivated by a convicted felon?

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Partisanship seen as motivator for attacks

Political partisanship is seen as the prime motivator for the continued attacks on Blackwater. In an article titled "Democrats Target Blackwater," the Washington Times reports, "Congressional Democrats, frustrated by repeated failures to force an end to the war in Iraq, now are heaping criticism upon Blackwater USA and other private military contractors supporting the mission."

The paper cites the prime congressional critics of the company - all partisan Democrats - including: Congressmen Henry Waxman (D-CA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Dennis Kucinich (D-OH); and Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Barack Obama (D-IL).

Another critic is former Senator John Edwards (D-NC), a presidential candidate who is trying to link Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to Blackwater.

One of Edwards' former trial lawyer partners stands to make millions presently by suing Blackwater, but Edwards has not revealed that apparent conflict of interest.