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All,

So this is something I ginned up because it has been a topic of conversation here in recent days. Since I had done some research to make my point I put it all in an email to send out to those with whom I have these sorts of conversations. It is political in nature, but war is the continuation of politics by other means, yes? (Thank you Clausewitz.)

This is how stupid things get done over and over in the government. The main problem is that there is no incentive for politicians to fix problems. The "power" that politicians have is in the ability to spend money. There are a few people on the Republican side that are true ideologues like Rand Paul that truly believe in reducing the amount of money in government, but they are few and far between. All Pols get power by being able to spend money - regardless of political affiliation. You will notice that the average budget during the last 6 years of Clinton was 1.7 T (yes, as in TRILLION) and the 8 years of Bush 43 averaged 2.55 T.

Of course, the trick of it is that Pols have to make it look like they give a damn about reducing the deficit (because even dullards know you can't just spend money you don't have forever) without actually significantly reducing the money/power they have to wield. One way of doing this is taking advantage of the fact that most Americans are so ill-educated that they can't even take in the concept of TRILLIONS of anything. As a matter of fact, a trillion is a lot take in even if you are the kind of person that doesn't give a hoot in hell what Kanye and Kim's baby is named (and therefore are an intelligent person). To help take this in, let's look at the congressional attention played to the egregious amount of money the military has spent on uniforms.

So the background is that House is discussing laws that would make the military use a common camouflage combat uniform. Why is this? Because the military's 4 branches have spent $14,344,000 on their 9 uniforms - and several are admitted flops. 14 million! Wow! That's a shitload of money! I could do a lot with that much cash. Well, apparently the House members feel the same. So they have gotten together and are drafting a law that would require all services to go to a single combat uniform. There! That will show the people that they mean business! . . . . . Those of you who don't know who won the last celebrity dance-off know what is coming, yes?

Here is what the 2012 budget spent:

$3.538 trillion.

With all the zeros it looks like this:

$3,538,000,000,000

And here is what we spent on uniforms:

$14,344,000

To put this in perspective, lets remove several zeros - 6 specifically - and this is what it looks like:

$3,538,000.00 . . . for the budget

$14.34 . . .for combat uniforms

So in other words, it's like saying you made $3,538,000 in a year and you spent fourteen dollars on clothes. Don't know about you, but I think I could swing that. Oh, and by the way, did I mention that the fourteen dollars you spent on clothes was over a 10 year period? Oops, I must have forgotten to do so. Yep, the first new cammo uniform was the Marines' MARPAT rolled out in 2003 - for the bargain price of $319,000 by the way.

But 14 million dollars is a lot of money to the vast majority of Americans and it is a number they can mentally digest. That is why it makes a nice punching bag to beat up on in front of cameras. Wow! That politician really cares about the budget! He's planning on cutting 0.0004025820937412293% of the annual budget!! Oh, of course that 0.0004025820937412293% wasn't all spent in one year, was it? Well, in 2012 we did spent $160,000 on uniforms so I guess it's only 0.000004490597810833567% of that year's budget, but he still must really care.

One parting thought. The total budget for 2012 was what? $3.538 T? Guess what we spent on entitlements. . .That would be 2.053 T. In other words, 58 percent of the budget. Until politicians decide that doing what is right, even when unpopular, is what should be done, our financial problem will continue to worsen. Of course, until we elect people who don't care about losing the power that comes with money, we aren't going improve our lot. We could fix that desire to stay in power for so long if term limits were enacted for congressmen, but since it is congressmen that would need to vote on term limits, that has a snowball's chance in hell.

Ah I agree with you 100 percent. Ya, and most people will say, well we gotta start somewhere, and of course that is true, but it is camouflage! It's kind of like hanging out a piece of bacon in front of the dog.

Ya, there are only a handful of TRUE believers, like Rand Paul. The vast majority of BOTH parties don't have the true interest of America nor the American people.

Don't you just love hearing them scream, well we can't cut this and we can't cut that. It can't be done. Well the ONLY reason it can't be done is they don't want to face the wrath of the "hand-out" crowd. No one wants to get THEIR piece of the pie cut. It's okay if you cut the OTHER guys benefits, but not mine. Sorry, but that doesn't cut in in the real world. Sometimes WE all have to suffer and make concessions in order to get our houses in order. Sorry folks, but that's reality.

Hey when things get tough in my house, we sit down and go through the dollars in and dollars out. When you don't have it, you cut it. You make tough decisions and certain thing have to go out the window. You start cutting magazine subscriptions, take less trips into town. Plan your meals and don't eat out. Take less vacations, etc.etc. You get the picture. Well the Federal government is NO different than household or a corporation. No really, they aren't. Rules of economy are the same at the top as they are at the bottom. Plain and simple.

They may wail and rant and feed you bull and try to explain why they can't do this and that, but it's all smoke and mirrors. Ya if they did real cuts, people would feel it, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

If 75 percent of all the hand-outs ceased tomorrow, it might be difficult, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. People would adjust, the economy would adjust...

The Federal government is not grandma's cookie jar. Even grandma said no and told you when you'd had enough. It's time to put the damned lid back on the cookie jar.

Class dismissed!

Reading this: Your politicians are quiet near to ours.

http://www.augsburge...el-Kappeler.jpg

But there is another Point: These sums are much to high for the human mind. Can you realize a Trillion dollars? I cannot. A million is easier. And it is the same in a town council with smaller amounts. I have visited some assemblies here and was very astonished how fast they decided about a new school for some 10 Million euros but discussed about two hours whether bus tickets should cost 20 cents more or less. I think they have a feeling for 20 cents but not for 10 million euros, and they have not calculated as Todd did.

Reading this: Your politicians are quiet near to ours.

http://www.augsburge...el-Kappeler.jpg

But there is another Point: These sums are much to high for the human mind. Can you realize a Trillion dollars? I cannot. A million is easier. And it is the same in a town council with smaller amounts. I have visited some assemblies here and was very astonished how fast they decided about a new school for some 10 Million euros but discussed about two hours whether bus tickets should cost 20 cents more or less. I think they have a feeling for 20 cents but not for 10 million euros, and they have not calculated as Todd did.

Christoph

So what really irritates me about sequestration is that the military actually does feel the pinch. In the MEU we have to seriously consider how much we get to train and several exercises we do with allied countries in this area of the world have been scaled down or cancelled. The Navy's big concern is sailing days because it takes a good amount of money to make 40,500 ton vessel cruise along at 20 knots. And why? To buy votes. Don't get me wrong, I have actually been pleasantly surprised that the Republicans have not caved to the sequestration drama cooked up by their opponents. For most Americans, I think, it doesn't affect them at all. This is good because it shows that you CAN cut the budget (or even just cut the rate of growth which is I think what sequestration did - it wasn't even an actual cut) and live to see the next day. The military, however was cut so (the theory goes) both sides would come to the bargaining table to take on fiscal problems. Well they didn't. At least they didn't spend any more money. I will live with less money in the military if it means less money spent in general. It just annoys me that nothing is cut on the hand-out crowd. And Marion you are right - no one wants to take that on. In his "Time for Choosing" speech, Regan mentioned the phrase "vote harvesting time" referring to the time around elections. No better words have been uttered to describe what is going on in our country today.

So here is an outrage for you. Read the following:

Vietnam-era fliers buried side-by-side at Arlington

By Jennifer Griffin

Published September 23, 2013

FoxNews.com

Buried for more than 40 years inside the plane they were flying when they were shot down over Laos in 1969, Major James Sizemore and his navigator Major Howard Andre made their final journey home Monday to Arlington National Cemetery, where they were laid to rest just the way they flew: side by side.

A single bugler played TAPS as the families of the airmen gathered and two horse drawn caissons made their way through the cemetery.

Overhead, eight civilian pilots performed a tribute flyover at their own expense after the Air Force said it couldn’t perform a traditional flyover due to sequestration budget cuts.

“I would hope that somebody would have done the same for me had I not made it back home from my tours overseas,” said retired Marine pilot Lieutenant Colonel Art Nalls, who flew an F-39 trainer over the cemetery.

Sizemore and Andre first met at Georgia Tech before enlisting in the Air Force and being sent to Vietnam. They were killed in action while flying missions against truck convoys supplying the Viet Cong.

Their remains were found a year ago and identified in April by the Pentagon's POW/MIA Accounting Command Task Force.

But once the burial was scheduled at Arlington, the Air Force told their families the U.S. government could not afford to honor the men with a traditional flyover due to budget cuts.

“Following numerous requests to volunteer units, the Air Force is unable to support the flyover request for Major Sizemore due to limited flying hours and budget constraints,” Air Force spokesman Captain Rose Richeson wrote in a statement. “However, the Air Force is providing an Aerial Control Team to assist with the two civilian warbird flyovers planned for today's event.”

That's when a group of volunteer pilots from the non-profit Warrior Flight Team (http://www.warrioraviation.org/ ) stepped in and agreed to fly in formation above the Arlington ceremony in their own planes, on their own dime.

Eight civilian pilots honored the veterans, arranging permission from the Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, and FAA with an aerial tribute above Washington.

They even flew a Douglas A26 Invader - the same plane that the two friends from Georgia were flying when they were shot down 44 years ago. It was flanked by 2 P51 Mustangs.

The estimated fuel cost: of fuel alone for the ceremonial flyover is more than $24,000.

“We're here today to honor some fallen veterans,” said retired Air Force Brigadier General Jeff Johnson, who flew over Arlington as part of the ceremony. “Do I feel like those two heroes deserved a flyover? Yes, I do, and that's why we did what did today.”

“I would hope somebody would come after me,” said Nalls. That means a lot to the individual service member to know that you're not going to be left behind.”

With a government shutdown looming, the military may have to rely increasingly on these volunteer airmen to honor the nation's fallen.

Really? You just couldn't squeak out a few thousand dollars out of the budget for this honor? Men who died in Vietnam and are just being returned home? Are you serious? I know what the message is supposed to be, "See how sequestration is hurting the government? We can't even do the right thing any more since you guys cut the budget on us reduced the rate of budget growth to less than we had expected it to." Well screw them. Just as with most things, the American people a generous lot and the civilian sector came through and fixed this situation.

To put all this in perspective, we spent 2.1 BILLION on giving cell phones to "low income individuals" in 2012. Something tells me, there is some money, somewhere in the Government that may not be very wisely spent and we could use it for granting honors to fallen servicemen.

To put all this in perspective, we spent 2.1 BILLION on giving cell phones to "low income individuals" in 2012. Something tells me, there is some money, somewhere in the Government that may not be very wisely spent and we could use it for granting honors to fallen servicemen.

That about says it all my friends...