...and now it's time to play get to know your murderous right-wing Christian war-profiteer. Here's ERIK PRINCE!!!


Born: 1970
Birthplace: Holland, MI

Gender: Male
Religion: Born-Again Christian
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Business, Military
Party Affiliation: Republican

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Blackwater USA mercenary firm

Military service: Navy SEAL Team Officer (1993-96, Bosnia, Haiti)

Erik Prince is a multi-millionaire right-wing fundamentalist Christian from a powerful Michigan Republican family. His wealth came from his father, Edgar Prince, who headed Prince Automotive, an auto parts and machinery manufacturer.

A major Republican campaign contributor, he interned in the White House of President George H.W. Bush and campaigned for Pat Buchanan in 1992, finding time to intern for conservative congressman Dana Rohrabacher as well. Prince founded the mercenary firm Blackwater USA in 1997 with Gary Jackson, another former Navy SEAL.

Prince's sister Betsy DeVos is a powerful conservative in her own right. Married to the son of Richard DeVos (Republican bankroller and co-founder of Amway), she served as chair of Michigan Republican Party in the 1990s.

Father: Edgar Prince (d. 1995, billionaire, started Family Research Council with Gary Bauer)
Mother: Elsa Prince Broekhuizen (Republican Party funder, remarried)
Sister: Betsy DeVos (former chair, Michigan Republican Party, m. Dick DeVos, Amway scion)
Sister: Emilie Prince
Sister: Eileen Prince
Wife: Joan (four children, d. 2003, cancer)
Daughter: Sophia

High School: Holland Christian High School, Holland, MI
University: Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, MI

Blackwater USA Co-Founder and CEO (1997)
Family Research Council College intern
DeVos Family by sister's marriage

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Mental/Emotional Health Status: Nut
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Iraqi investigators have a videotape that shows Blackwater USA guards opened fire against civilians without provocation in an incident last week in which 11 people died, a senior Iraqi official said Saturday. He said the case had been referred to the Iraqi judiciary.

Iraq's president, meanwhile, demanded that the Americans release an Iranian arrested this week on suspicion of smuggling weapons to Shiite militias. The demand adds new strains to U.S.-Iraqi relations only days before a meeting between President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said Iraqi authorities had completed an investigation into Thursday's shooting in Nisoor Square in western Baghdad and concluded that Blackwater guards were responsible for the deaths.

He told The Associated Press that the conclusion was based on witness statements as well as videotape shot by cameras at the nearby headquarters of the national police command. He said eight people were killed at the scene and three of the 15 wounded died in hospitals...[Open in new window]
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This just in...Former Senate majority leader Bill Frist was called in to view the video & his diagnosis is that the Iraqis are still alive, as is Terri Schiavo.