Federal Government Spending

Congress-and it seems the President-don't have any trouble shelling out $ 680 billion a year for defense spending but can't come up with $ 100 billion for health care for nearly 50 million Americans. In the mind of this writer, we would be better off with a healthy and cared for population rather than an over-inflated military industrial complex that hasn't met a weapon it didn't like. Then there is spending on a program to take us back to the moon-or somewhere else out there. NASA just launched a rocket whose flight lasted two minutes, according to The Record article today. This was only a first step in the moon return project and was carrying "throwaway ballast and sensors"; this is one hell of a way to get rid of some trash. This money- $ 445 million-was spent while the entire program may be scrapped. Go ahead, call me a Luddite, but it seems that $ 445 million could be put to a much better use here on earth

Defense Spending

The Senate just sent to Pres Obama a $ 680 billion defense budget for fiscal 2010. That includes $ 130 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, almost a billion for a fence on the Mexican border, a 3.4 % pay raise for the military and an increase in the active-duty force by 40,000. You might think that with all this spending they could come up with some for health care, especially since $ 130 billion is going partly to a war we should never have fought in the first place. The price of a health care plan has been stated to be around $ one trillion over 10 years. The defense budget will be $ 6,800,000,000,000 over that period. Will we ever get defense spending under control, especially when there are other equally important concerns.

Plant Closing Virginia

International Paper is about to close its plant in Franklin, Virginia and put 1100 workers out in the cold; which they will do by the end of the year. Merry Christmas to the working class. It is noted in the article in The Virginian Pilot on this date that the companies "...shares rose 61 cents Thursday to close at $ 24.38 each on the NYSE". If you are under the impression that we are all in the same boat and in it together, you are most assuredly wrong. What's good for the stock holder is not always (should I say never?) good for the worker. You wonder why the business class is opposed to unions; they can make more profits if the working class is non-union.

US Iran Policy

Check out the post from today on my history blog on this subject. I really can't believe after all we have heard about Iran building a nuclear facility and our fear that they will develop a nuclear weapon, that local governments cannot withdraw their investments in companies that aid Iran's nuclear sector. If these companies are foreign, we can't do much about it. But if these companies are American and are investing in a nuclear Iran or selling "services and equipment" to Iran's energy sector, there is something very wrong with our policy toward Iran and corporate activity.

US Defense Spending

As I noted in my history blog on this date, the US is spending billions of dollars to re-build the infrastructure of Afghanistan. This gives me a warm feeling while I am driving over the Oregon Inlet bridge in the Outer Bands region of NC; a bridge that has been in need of major repair for years. I went over it last week and some work has just begun. In September of 2005 Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and they are still waiting for infrastructure repair. Maybe they should declare war on the US and occupy a federal armory in the state. That way the US would invade Louisiana and after blowing up the ruins that are still there would have to rebuild them. I don't understand why we would be spending $ 5 billion to build roads in a country where people don't have cars. I wonder if this went out on a no-bid contract and to which company the job was given? I also wonder if conservatives in this country are as equally opposed to this spending project as they are to stimulus projects in this country.

Taxes and Services

I was recently on I-95 driving south from DC and once over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge I began looking for a rest stop. What I found was the first and second stops on that road were closed. I did not find a stop until turning off on I-64 east of Richmond. I read in the Virginian Pilot today that in order to save money Virginia has closed 19 interstate rest areas and the Transportation Board has had its funding cut by $ 1.5 billion over 6 years. It is reported in this paper that the Republican candidate for governor has stated he will not raise taxes (what else would you expect from a republican) and is critical of the democratic candidate for not making a similiar pledge. So you want to drive an interstate and have no where to stop for a break or rest or some information? Well, find a bush, Audrey.

The Party of No

Regarding the Nobel Peace Prize issue, Senator John McCain said "I think all of us were surprised at the decision, but I think Americans are always pleased when their president is recognized by something on this order". Unfortunately, he seems to be the only republican who is not tripping over himself to heap scorn on the president. Republicans have NO health care plan other than NO. They don't want a stimulus package that will put Americans to work while they will spend billions on CEO's bonuses. They have NO plan for lowering the unemployment rate. They cheer when the Olympic committee turned down Chicago for the site of the 2012 games. And now they spend what energy they can get up to say NO to an international award for a democratic president. Why does anyone, other than the wealthy, consider voting for this party?

Obama Peace Prize Issue

I like some of the negative comments (I really don't) regarding the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama. Cal Thomas-conservative columnist-says the "peace prize is meaningless". Thomas quotes the Bible-James 4:1-3-that seems to say only asking God "with the right motives" can end fighting. A candidate for the office of Virginia Attorney General-Ken Cuccinelli-says "I suspect that whoever nominated him did it as a joke" and "how about that, it really did turn out to be a joke".

New York Times colunist-Ross Douthat-says simply that President Obama should not have accepted the award. For one reason it was only given by a "committee of five obscure Norwegians". He also calls the award a "travesty".

(Source: Thomas column in The Virginian Pilot on 10/14/09, Cuccinelli bit in the same paper on 10/13/09 and Douthat column in the same paper on the same date)

Working in the USA

Working men and women of this country should wake up to the realities. Big business wants to send jobs overseas-"outsourcing"-while bringing in illegal aliens to work in the country-"insourcing"-causing a major increase in the number of American citizens without jobs. Add to that the fact that the big business community opposes any effort to create work through the stimulus program and also opposes any increase in the federal minimum wage. They also oppose any effort to bring about universal health care. But then again they do support "family values" except if that includes a job, health care and food on the table for the kids. Family values my....

Viet-stan

General Stan McChrystal has told President Obama that he needs an additional 40,000 soldiers. If he doesn't get them, he says, "the conflict will likely result in failure". That makes the decision clear to me. Obama has only two choices; send the troops or get the hell out. There can be no middle ground here. If our top military man in the war gives the kind of report he did it would be almost criminal for the President to ignore it. Eight years is enough. We should know that trying to prop up a corrupt native government just does not work. All reports seem to be saying that the last election there was a fraud. The news reports are saying that the Taliban, while not in Kabul, have control over a larger majority of the country than they did before we invaded. Our major objective should be to get Osama bin-Laden and put al-Qaeda out of operation. We can do that without getting into nation building in an area of the world that does not want us.

I supported you Barack. I sent you money, voted for you and urged others to vote for you. I am also old enough to remember 1967 when I got drafted and the needless waste that war entailed. Get out of this quagmire now before it is too late. You only have two choices; send the troops or get out. I, for one, say get out.

Taxes and Services

One of the services my town provides is crossing guards at most major intersections in town. These people make it safer to cross the street when most motorists would just as soon run you down even when you are in the cross walk. Of course, the main reason for the guards is to provide a greater degree of safety for school age kids who would be in considerable danger without them. The guards I know have been on the job for a number of years and are town residents. Some people don't recognize this as a worthwhile service because they send their children to private schools and are driven there by the au-pair, the butler or whoever.

Another service my town provides are basketball courts, with lights, that gets a lot of use by school age teams during the summer and adults from surrounding towns the rest of the year.

We may complain about the taxes we pay but lets also think of the many services that those taxes-in this case property taxes-provide and make living a little more comfortable.

Defense Spending

The Senate refused to end a program to build ten C-17 cargo planes that the Pentagon did not want. The cost is $ 2.5 billion in the 2010 defense budget. The proposal was to shift that spending to "accounts that more directly support troops and their families". Only 34 senators voted to shift the spending while 64 voted to retain it. The plane is built by Boeing mostly in California and with suppliers in 40 states. Let me re-state this decision; the Senate will spend billions of dollars on planes the military does not want. For those of you who think the military budget is about national defense, think again. At the best this is a very expensive jobs program. At the worst it is a significant give away of public funds to a major corporation and political donor. How much of this $ 2.5 billion goes to high paid executives of Boeing?

(Source: The Record on 10/4/09 and Thomas Voting Reports from 10/5/09)

One Track Minds

Republicans have only one way to view problems; that's pro-big corporations, anti-tax, anti-regulation, anti-union, anti-social programs to help average citizens. What's worse is that not only do they have only one way of viewing things they also believe its their way or the highway. Democrats are less wedded to one blueprint or plan; it seems at times they don't really stand for anything. It seems, to this writer at least, that democrats are more practical and are more willing to try different plans to attack our problems. Herbert Hoover, in 1930, was more stuck on that one way to doing things while Franklin Roosevelt believed he should try different approaches to the problems we faced. To FDR the problem would not solve itself, we had to do something, anything, just take action. Today, if the plan does not include a tax cut-most likely for the wealthy-or a cut in spending-for domestic program-or an attack upon the federal government republicans are not going to vote for it.