Amy Goodman from DemocracyNOW asks investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill how Blackwater profited off Hurricane Katrina.

Security and intelligence expert Dr. R.J. Hillhouse reports at her "Spy Who Billed Me" blog that Blackwater has issued a shout-out for armed security officers for possible deployment under their DHS contract in the wake of Hurricane Gustav. Officers must have a firearms license - and those with revolver- only status need not apply. She reproduces this call for personell from Blackwater themselves, issued late Friday:

Blackwater is compiling a list of qualified security personnel for possible deployment into areas affected by Hurricane Gustav. Applicants must meet all items listed under the respective Officer posting and be US citizens. Contract length is TBD.

Law Enforcement Officers (all criteria must apply)

1. Current sworn [may be full time, part time or reserve]

2. With arrest powers

3. Armed status (must indicate Armed and/or Semi Auto. Revolver only not accepted) expiration must be greater than 60 days out

4. Departmental credentials (not just a badge)

Armed Security Officers (all criteria must apply)Only from the following states: OR, WA, CA, NV, NM, AZ, TX, FL, GA, SC, NC, VA, MD, IL, OK.

1. Current/active/licensed/registered armed security officer

2. All training verification [unarmed and armed certificates of completion]

3. Current state issued face card indicting armed status [expiration must be greater than 60 days out]

Last time out, during Katrina, Blackwater mercenaries were patrolling New Orleans in full battle dress and with assault weapons in what some called an end-run around Posse Comitatus. It looks like they're ready to do it again. If so, let's hope there's none of the kind of "accidents" they've had in Iraq

Morrissey - Every Day Is Like Sunday

It's Sunday and the convention high of soaring rhetoric by Democrats makes way for the Republican speak, as we gird up for their convention beginning tomorrow. As I look upon the list of scheduled guests there's one name that catches my eye, Cindy McCain, who will be appear on two of the morning shows. What are the chances even one of them will ask her about her husband's reputed hot temper or his increasing forgetfulness or his off-the-wall judgment that led him to nominate a newcomer in national politics as his running mate? I'll bet my breakfast that she will be asked how many homes she owns. McCain supporters Lindsey Graham, Joe Lieberman, Rudy Giuliani, Tim Pawlenty, Charlie Crist and Carly Fiorina will all be on as well, presumably to spin how Palin was a more "Maverick-y" choice than well, them, for VP

ABC's "This Week" - Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain; Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and John Kerry, D-Mass.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, R-N.Y.; Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.; Carly Fiorina, adviser to the McCain campaign.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn., and Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian.

CNN's "Late Edition" - Govs. Charlie Crist, R-Fla., Mark Sanford, R-S.C., and Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn.; former Sens. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., and Tom Daschle, D-S.D.; Reps. John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Eric Cantor, R-Va.; Nancy Pfotenhauer, adviser to McCain; Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.; R. David Paulison, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"Fox News Sunday" - John McCain, Cindy McCain; Mike Miller, director of operations for the Republican National Convention.

"Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Norah O'Donnell, Clarence Page, Elisabeth Bumiller, Howard Fineman. Topic Questions: As the fall campaign begins, who has the edge: Obama-Biden or McCain-Palin? Will Palin help McCain turn out conservative voters? Meter Questions: Is Gov. Sarah Palin a smart pick for John McCain? YES: 6 NO: 6 Would McCain meet stiff opposition from Democrats in Congress? YES: 11 No: 1

On 60 Minutes tonight, Steve Kroft will interview Democratic running mates Barack Obama and Joe Biden in their first joint appearance.

So, what's catching your eye this morning?

Just a lil' sumpin from Morse at Media Needle. Too bad Cheney wasn't in on the hunt they might have bagged a Texas businessman at the same time as the moose. Open thread below....

... and then one day, with no explanation whatsoever, this envelope shows up from my brother.

And this was inside.

My brother rocks.

The Easy Star All-Stars -- "Dub Side of the Moon"

"The Daily Show" and "Colbert Report" aired special Democratic Convention coverage Friday night and absolutely laced into McCain's ridiculous choice for VP, Sarah Palin. As a bonus, Jon rips into FOX's Steve Doocy for seriously arguing that Alaska's proximity to Russia gives Palin meaningful foreign policy experience.

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Stewart: "There was also some breaking news out of Ohio today when Republican Presidential candidate John McCain introduced the world to his third wife. Actually, no, wait, that's his running mate Sarah Palin, freshman governor of Alaska, star and producer of Emmy-winning '30 Rock.' I apologize...the star of the Emmy-winning 'Will and Grace.' No, no, I'm sorry...she's actually the mild-mannered yet troubled librarian from every Cinemax movie.

Colbert: "We're still waiting with bated breath for the big news: who will John McCain pick as his running mate. The Republican convention starts Monday and here he is at a rally just hanging out with some female supporter who I assume won some radio call-in contest. Is it Romney? Is it Pawlenty? Wait...she is?! Are you serious?! Who the f*ck is Sarah Palin? What? The sexy librarian?!"

Bill Maher returned to HBO last night with a great show and a hilarious "New Rules" segment.

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"New Rule: You can't put a windmill in your ad if you've voted against every single bill that might lead someone to actually build one. As long as you're sending a camera crew to a farm, why not take a picture of actual bullsh*t."

Heather also took the liberty of uploading the Overtime segment and writes this:

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This is the portion of the Overtime segment where they're talking about cable news pundits talking about nothing instead of actually covering the speeches during the convention and just how bad all "news" coverage is right now and the use of advocates as reporters and mixing commentary and reporters and Corzine takes a good shot at the papers for advocating for war and saying there were WMD's on their front pages and that there is opinion buried in almost all reporting now so that people don't know what to trust.

Oh look, the RNC has unveiled their welcoming committee:

MnIndy RNC reporter Jeff Severns Guntzel is at the Minneapolis Food Not Bombs house, which was raided by police this morning. Facts are still coming in, but Guntzel says that at 8 a.m. neighbors near the home, located at 2301 23rd Avenue South, reported hearing a loud bang followed by yelling. A single police squad car was parked out front. When Guntzel arrived he saw eight or nine officers enter the house in what he says is a joint operation between officers of the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department, the Minneapolis Police Depatment, and the FBI. According to one witness who was in the house at the time of the raid, the action is related to last night's raid on the RNC Welcoming Committee's "convergence space." Several other spaces have been raided this morning.

Glenn Greenwald and Jane Hamsher are in Minneapolis for the RNC and went to two of the raided houses. Glenn:

Each of the raided houses is known by neighbors as a "hippie house," where 5-10 college-aged individuals live in a communal setting, and everyone we spoke with said that there had never been any problems of any kind in those houses, that they were filled with "peaceful kids" who are politically active but entirely unthreatening and friendly. [..]

There is clearly an intent on the part of law enforcement authorities here to engage in extreme and highly intimidating raids against those who are planning to protest the Convention. The DNC in Denver was the site of several quite ugly incidents where law enforcement acted on behalf of Democratic Party officials and the corporate elite that funded the Convention to keep the media and protesters from doing anything remotely off-script. But the massive and plainly excessive preemptive police raids in Minnesota are of a different order altogether. Targeting people with machine-gun-carrying SWAT teams and mass raids in their homes, who are suspected of nothing more than planning dissident political protests at a political convention and who have engaged in no illegal activity whatsoever, is about as redolent of the worst tactics of a police state as can be imagined.

Jane took a video:

Glenn Greenwald and I arrived at one of the houses shortly after it was raided this morning. It was a hippie house full of people in their late teens and early twenties who said they were here to "watch history." They were forced on the floor by roughly twenty cops carrying assault rifles, who initially refused to show them search warrants and joked about the "Terminator" and the "Executioner."

We spoke with the people who were staying at the house about the raid in the video above, and they were really sweet and inspirational, interested in "food not bombs." Coming off the Denver DNC where most young people were blackberry-wielding Young Democrats hustling tickets to bigger and better parties, they were extremely refreshing and a much needed part of our political landscape. The idea that they were a serious threat to security is rendered rather ludicrous by watching the video above.

Welcome to GOPworld. Lindsay Beyerstein has more...

Beware airport restrooms, the Republicans are making their way to Minneapolis.

Click for full cartoon

(h/t Heather)

Ruh roh...I think McCain's big gamble may have thrown snake eyes. Jack Cafferty asked the question if John McCain undercuts his own message by choosing a younger politician with no foreign policy experience as his Vice President. Before the show even went on the air, Cafferty had 6,000 emails. By the next segment, they had received some 11,000 emails today.

And the response should not make McCain feel good.

Rebecca in California: "As a lifelong Republican soccer mom living in an affluent community, I was impressed with Senator Obama's acceptance speech last evening. Having my morning latte with a few of my Republican friends, I almost spit my coffee when I heard the news. Is McCain really putting the best interests of our nation first? To me, he is pandering to women, trying to obtain their vote. It seems he wants another 'trophy' to parade around with. What is wrong with this man?"

Transcripts below the fold

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Why do I get the feeling this will get swept under the rug and nothing will happen to KBR? Will their contracts in Iraq be affected at all?

AP via Yahoo: (h/t ysbaddaden)

Defense contractor KBR Inc. and a Jordanian subcontractor are accused of human trafficking in a federal lawsuit filed in Los Angeles.

The suit alleges 12 Nepali men were being transported to Iraq against their will when they were killed in an insurgent attack.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday by an attack survivor and family members of victims claims subcontractor Daoud & Partners recruited the men in Nepal to work in hotels and restaurants in Jordan.

The company allegedly seized their passports when they arrived in Jordan in 2004 and had them sent to Iraq to work on a U.S. air base.