Sunday, August 15, 2010

Day 227- Defense spending

Should we really be up in arms over a temporary projected shortfall of about 100 Navy and Marine strike fighters relative to the number of carrier wings when America's military possesses more than 3,200 tactical combat aircraft of all kinds? Does the number of warships we have and are building really put America at risk when the U.S. battle fleet is larger than the next 13 navies combined, 11 of which belong to allies and partners? Is it a dire threat that by 2020 the United States will have only 20 times more advanced stealth fighters than China? Defense Secretary Robert Gates

Dear Mr. President,

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has proposed cuts to the defense budget that would amount to a savings of $100 billion over five years. This is, predictably, leading to more than a little hysteria from conservatives on the hill. Senator Saxby Chambliss (demonstrating exactly why the Senate has gone from somber, dignified statesmen to cartoonish, angry old men who are difficult to take seriously) actually claimed that the White House is "willing to sacrifice the lives of American military men and women for the sake of domestic programs." As though cutting 100 billion of a 3.5 trillion budget is going to cost lives. As though lives are not depending upon essential domestic programs. I'm not sure I ever had much respect for Mr. Chambliss, but he certainly isn't demonstrating the kind of tempered wisdom that I'd expect from a member of the US Senate. (Yes, I managed to keep a straight face while typing that last sentence.)

Concern for the deficit is perfectly reasonable. The necessary cuts to spending must be applied across the board and the defense budget should be no exception. There can be no incentive for a more peaceful world when so much of our economy and our federal budget is tied up in the tools of war. Al-Queda pulled off 9/11 with 19 plane tickets and 99-cent box cutters. In this world, there is no amount of money that can ever make us completely safe. We have to have a smarter and more modernized military, and that is exactly what Secretary Gates is proposing. We have to look for alternative ways to defend ourselves; all the weapons money can buy won't do us half as much good as better diplomatic relations, stable global allies and more education at home and abroad. We simply cannot kill our way to a more peaceful world.

I applaud Secretary Gates' efforts to curtail the reckless defense spending that has plagued the federal budget for decades. In a time when congress cites budget issues as cause to hold up funding for treating 9/11 responders' lingering health problems, extending unemployment benefits that sustain individuals and families through the recession, or even ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable healthcare, how can we justify spending so much money on an outdated defense strategy? The way we spend our money reflects our values as a society, and, clearly, those need to be reexamined. Mr. President, please don't allow the hysterics from conservatives to prevent Mr. Gates from implementing these necessary cuts.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

6 comments:

  1. "Al-Queda pulled off 9/11 with 19 plane tickets and 99-cent box cutters. In this world, there is no amount of money that can ever make us completely safe."


    "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
    Benjamin Franklin


    Better words have never been said then that of the Freemason scum Ben Franklin. This perfectly describes you Kelsey, you are only a tool used for evil!



    PS -

    "Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga, who revealed the existence of Operation Gladio, has told Italy's oldest and most widely read newspaper that the 9-11 terrorist attacks were run by the CIA and Mossad, and that this was common knowledge among global intelligence agencies."

    http://tvnewslies.org/tvnl/index.php/news/911-related/10726.html

    &

    BBC’s killer documentary called “The Power of Nightmares“. Top CIA officials openly admit, Al-qaeda is a total and complete fabrication, never having existed at any time.

    Get your fucking facts straight, oh evil one!


    Signed,
    A Real American

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  2. Ok, you were funny when you just didn't get that I was being sarcastic, but now you've gone off into tin-foil-hat territory...

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  3. You're saying the Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga is in the 'tin-foil-hat territory' too?? He knows more about the world then you will ever want to know! Guess what bitch, remove your head from your ass and get a whiff of some real air! Try not to believe everything you think, or that your told either. You sound like a real tool!

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  4. "Try not to believe everything you think, or that your [sic] told either."

    Check. Item one on my list of things to disbelieve: Assertions by random commenters on my blog and/or former Italian Presidents that come with no tangible evidence. So I should believe him just because he used to be President of Italy? I'm a big fan of questioning the official narrative of any situation, but you've got no proof.

    Look, I appreciate that you think I have enough power to be worth calling a "bitch" for expressing opinions you don't agree with, but I'm just a girl with a blog and you're just a troll wound up way too tightly. Why don't you channel that anger and send your complaints to some one with actual power? Maybe you could try writing letters to world leaders? You could even start your own blog! After all, your talent with the written word is clearly being wasted on a low-traffic site like this one.

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  5. The word of a former president should be all the 'tangible evidence' you need. What would he gain from saying the truth? Nothing thats what, he trying to wake up the people blinded by the lies and deceit coming out of washington. And I am a troll because you dont agree with my opinion? Well who's the hypocrite now? & write letters to world leaders? Damn bitch what are you smoking?? What ever it is let me get some cuz you trippin! Those letters would only be used for toilet paper! I am glad you refer to your beliefs about 9/11 as only your opinion because there are no real facts out there. The half truths that were sold to the American people about that day will be revealed once we remove all the corruption of that cesspool known as washington d.c.

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  6. So what's your plan for cleaning up DC? You think Washington's corrupt? So do I! I think the government lies to its people, that the powerful use violence and wealth to keep people afraid, poor and obedient. But all I've heard from you is baseless ravings with no offer of a solution. So what's your plan, Cameron? I write letters because I haven't lost my faith that there are good people leading this country- even if they are trapped in the inertia of a corrupt system. Give me a better option and maybe I'll take you seriously.

    Also, I called you a troll because you've called me a bitch (twice), a whore, and characterized my position on HR 1553 as its exact opposite. Such inflammatory personal attacks based on ignorant (and incorrect) assumptions would seem to fit the definition of "troll" rather well.

    ReplyDelete