Exclusively in the new print issue of CounterPunch

HOLLYWOOD AND THE CIA — Film historian Ed Rampell details Hollywood’s entangled relationship with the CIA and the Pentagon; HOUSES OF THE DEAD: Nancy Kurshan exposes the cruel human rights offenses taking place inside America’s vast gulag of Control Unit Prisons; BROTHERHOOD OF SUMMER: David Macaray charts the history of the most powerful union in the US: the Baseball Players Association; TAR SANDS COME TO AMERICA: Steve Horn explains how the Keystone Pipeline debates have diverted attention from Big Oil’s other plans to transport Alberta’s oil into the US. PLUS: Jeffrey St. Clair on CONSTITUTIONAL ENTROPY; Mike Whitney on HOW THE BANKS TARGETED BLACKS; Chris Floyd on THE RISE OF BRITAIN’S TEA PARTY; Kristin Kolb on THE NEEDLE AND THE DAMAGE DONE; Kim Nicolini on the FILMS OF WILLIAM FRIEDKIN; and Lee Ballinger on POETS VS. THE ONE PERCENT.

Weekend Edition September 21-23, 2012

The Gospel of Bloodsuckers

Romney’s Faith and the Asset Strippers

by SEAN FENLEY

Mitt apparently was filmed, in this now prominent video, at the home of a Boca Raton asset stripper. A private equity/leveraged buyout guy just like Mitt himself: a living vampire, a bloodsucker, a leech, a walking undead. A man who even has neighbors who cloned their own dog for a meager $150,000 clams. According to Governor Romney a sum of money that’s “clearly”, “not very much.”

So whilst Romney was attacking the “indolent freeloaders”, he was doing so from the palatial home of a man who has destroyed businesses, destroyed jobs, and destroyed communities — just like the “good” Mormon bishop. I wasn’t raised Mormon (there are only 14 million of them) apparently there isn’t much of a social gospel to that church. Purportedly, they follow the Bible — as I understand it — but Mitt appears to have not followed do unto others as you would have done unto you. Nor does Mitt appear to believe that how you treat the least of my brethren, you also do unto me (God).

Additionally, considering the foreign policy coterie that Mitt has devised, he plans to do a lot of killing; should he be elected to be our next commander-in-chief. Although he did not serve in Vietnam. And not only that, but he once told an audience that “he longed” to serve there, while paradoxically he has also stated, “I was not planning on signing up for the military. It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam.” But I guess, for someone who has made a living out of doing a lot of sacking, killing, would have to be about the next step above.

Unequivocally, there are many self-identified Christians of every stripe — compartmentalizing — or simply picking and choosing the rosiest elements, for them, of their religious faith. But for a faith tradition that eschews alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee, one would think, a higher level of adherence than your standard cafeteria Catholic, or Protestant — or really anyone of any mainline Christian faith. His days of repugnant economic destruction, apparently didn’t result in any sort of crisis of faith for him. And considering his redundant market fundamentalist tropisms, blarney, jive, inanity and fairy tales, on the campaign trail; it’s clear to all, that he’s just still the same old financial vampire/asset stripper “Bain Capital” Mitt.

Sean Fenley is an independent progressive, who would like to see some sanity brought to the creation and implementation of current and future, US military, economic, foreign and domestic policies.