Charles Krauthammer: The fruits of weakness

[wmw999 2,603]

Just as the lurid news attracts readers and advertising, the lurid posts seem to attract replies.

If people ignored them, and replied to the substantive ones, there'd be a whole lot more yelling. Even given that some people's substance is others' fluff.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[grimmie 186]

http://www.federalbudget.com/

If you add up the "Homeland Security", "Veterans Affairs" and the debt the defense budget has created for the "Treasury Department" to pay off, I would imagine it is getting close to 2/3rds of our annual budget for "defense".

[Gawain 0]

Quote

http://www.federalbudget.com/

If you add up the "Homeland Security", "Veterans Affairs" and the debt the defense budget has created for the "Treasury Department" to pay off, I would imagine it is getting close to 2/3rds of our annual budget for "defense".

The US has a $4Tr budget. Defense, VA, DHS (the latter two are NOT defense) do not add up anywhere near 2/3rds of the budget. If the healthcare bill gets fully implemented, the rest of the agencies won't add up to half compared to what HHS will be managing.

So again (2010 numbers), DoD $660B (approx), HHS $800B, SSA roughly $800B, Labor is up big for 2010, $200B...I've not even got to the Omnibus or Stimulus bills yet...

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[grimmie 186]

So the VETERANS Administration, Homeland SECURITY and the current massive debt don't have any connection to the "Defense" budget of the USA??? How much of the current debt owed was driven by "Defense" type things (Just not only the DoD) ???

[billvon 3,133]

> Are you comfortable with these developments in the impotence of our
> foreign policy?

If the two options are rape and impotence, I'msupporting impotence.

>This isn't Chinese style pragmatism, it's white-flag-surrender.

No, white-flag-surrender is allowing your enemies in. Doing your thing and letting other people do theirs is a) pretty pragmatic, b) cheap, c) a good way to maintain allies and d) allows a strong defense by sacrificing strong offensive campaigns.

[kallend 2,184]

Quote

The US has a $4Tr budget. Defense, VA, DHS (the latter two are NOT defense) do not add up anywhere near 2/3rds of the budget. If the healthcare bill gets fully implemented, the rest of the agencies won't add up to half compared to what HHS will be managing.

..

Some of us taxpayers think our money is better spent caring for aged and sick AMERICANS than on killing thousands of brown people half the world away in a futile search for mythical WMDs in a war based on a lie.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.