The Joys of Perpetual War »
Posted By Radiofreeeuropa 1 month, 4 weeks ago in Political Opinion
Cashing in the War Dividend - So you thought the Pentagon was already big enough? Well, what do you know, especially with the price of the American military slated to grow by at least 25% over the next decade?
Forget about the butter. It's bad for you anyway. And sheer military power, as well as the money behind it, assures the country of a thick waistline without the cholesterol. So, let's sing the praises of perpetual war. We better, since right now every forecast in sight tells us that it's our future.
The tired peace dividend tug boat left the harbor two decades ago, dragging with it laughable hopes for universal health care and decent public education. Now, the mighty USS War Dividend is preparing to set sail. The economic weather reports may be lousy and the seas choppy, but one thing is guaranteed: that won't stop it.
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Radiofreeeuropa
All progress comes from unreasonable people.
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hyperbola1 month, 4 weeks ago
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To see how corrupt our "elite" class has become, one need only remember that Obama INCREASED "defense" spending and that our corporate media (state-propaganda organs) all told us about a decrease in "defense" spending.
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Face it, like with the corrupt scams of the "financial oligarchs", the scams of the "military-industrial oligarchs" are also out of control. Isn't it interesting the confluence between the "israel-firsters" that control our foreign policy (and increasingly our military, which is saturated with them) the zionists that control virtually all of the big "financial" concerns that have just received trillions in tax payer money and the zionists that control most of the media in the US.
Obama's Defense Budget - Of Pork and Baloney
http://prop-w-a-dtc01.evip.aol.com/story/2009/05/0...
This week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is set to roll out the final details of the defense budget for 2010. Beware the articles and commentary you read; many will be factually inaccurate or misleading - mostly both.
This will be the third round of revelations about the 2010 Pentagon budget. On Feb. 26, we got the bare bones - just the total amount. On April 6, we got Gates' decisions on 50 weapons programs. This week, we get all the rest - how much he seeks for every single other program and policy in the Pentagon.
The press will have a field day. The budget amounts will be spelled out with great precision in the national papers. Politicians will agonize over how much they think Gates has cut their own local just desserts or gush over the largesse for their home state. Think-tank pooh-bahs will bless us with their deep thoughts over how these details effectuate Gates' "sweeping reforms" of the Pentagon - first announced on April 6.
I will try to restrain my irritation as I read this baloney.
For decades, the media have taken their descriptions of the size of the defense budget straight from the Pentagon's annual press release - without even rudimentary double-checking. This year, they will cite the top-line dollar amount at $534 billion - the amount they reported on Feb. 26. ...
Wrong. That number ignores an additional $6 billion the Pentagon will get in "mandatory" appropriations, mostly for personnel-related expenses. ..
Some, but not all, of the news articles will also ignore the additional $130 billion sought to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Barring last-minute changes to the numbers by Gates and OMB, the correct amount for the president's request for the Pentagon in 2010 will be $670 billion.
The articles will also leave out the money being sought by the Department of Energy for nuclear weapons and other appropriations, such as for the Selective Service and the National Defense Stockpile. Again, not in the DOD press release. Add another $22 billion.-
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hyperbola1 month, 4 weeks ago
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Consider the human costs of current and previous wars in the Department of Veterans Affairs - surely, a legitimate defense cost. Add $106 billion.
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Also consider the Department of Homeland Security: Add $43 billion.
What about the military and economic aid to Iraq and Afghanistan, gifts and loans to Israel and others, U.N. peacekeeping costs, and all the rest from the State Department? Add $49 billion.
Also, there is an account buried in the Department of the Treasury to help pay for military retirement. Add about $28 billion.
Each year, we pay interest on the national debt. People disagree, sometimes strenuously, on how much is DOD's share. About 20 percent of federal spending goes to the Pentagon: That's another $57 billion.
Add it all together, and you get $974 billion - almost $1 trillion.
If you want to know how much we spend for defense in a generic sense, you can about double the $534 billion many articles will report.
... Finally, what about all those "sweeping changes" the think-tank pooh-bahs will declare they see in the Pentagon budget - well, actually, in its press release?
Didn't happen.
...When you read the news articles later this week on the defense budget, consider it all an opportunity to assess the competence of journalism in the U.S. these days.
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philbrick1 month, 4 weeks ago
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The real cost of the military.
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Total Outlays (Federal Funds): $2,650 billion
MILITARY: 54% and $1,449 billion
NON-MILITARY: 46% and $1,210 billion
http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm
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