Not a new McDonalds drink but rather the Military Industrial Complex getting in a Tizzy over the defense sequestration cuts. Things like only having one Carrier in the Gulf... http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way...l-not-deploy-aircraft-carrier-to-persian-gulf even though that is the way it used to be a few years back. Oh and the threat of scaling back military pay raises and devastating our military. But, one thing not mentioned much is that AFTER the cuts, military spending will be more than it was in 2006 in Real Dollars. You remember 2006? We were at the height of the Iraq War (which is pretty much over) and also still in Afghanistan War which is supposed to end next year. http://www.natlawreview.com/article...dget-sequestration-may-not-gut-defense-budget But now the cuts will be devastating and dangerous. BS
I'm still waiting for the Peace Dividend. But peace is not what we want. It's too threatening. We wouldn't know what to do with it. We're naked if we don't have wars to hide behind.
Rhetoric, rhetoric, wherefore art thou rhetoric? Duh. They don't want to lose their money. Sound like a politician, just in a different uniform?
I look at things like this from several perspectives before I form an opinion. Even so, that opinion is conflicted. From the military's pov, I see that they want to prepare for any contingency, and I appreciate that. I understand the desire they have, the drive, to have the best people and machinery possible so that they can fulfill their obligations. However, as a thrifty person myself, I cut, cut, cut, everything, including things such as health care, which is guaranteed to shorten my lifespan. Simply put, I have few options, and what I get from their squawking is that their options will be (or more accurately, already are) necessarily limited by funding. Do these funding cuts diminish the military's ability to respond to situations? Yes, absolutely. "By how much?" Not very much, IMO. I am confident that our military will continue to respond to any circumstance with the skill and professionalism they have always displayed. A diminished capacity will, of course, mean a somewhat diminished response, some with unknown consequences, but most of which are likely to be relatively minor. Overall, I don't believe our military will suffer too greatly over any cuts, but it's a shame we are at this point to begin with. It does make me nervous to have all these details of our capabilities broadcast around the World. I blame the republican obsession with power for that. IMO, their willingness to "go dark" to score political points has become a liability, has become a detriment to our national security. The Benghazi incident is an excellent example of that obsession, that darkness within the republican party's leaders. The republicans questioning every aspect of that incident are determined to find a reason to proclaim the Democrats guilty....of anything they can. Ultimately, their goal is to gain more power, by reducing confidence in Obama himself, no matter the cost to our country, or to the World. Today, it's the military, our national defense (and offense), that is feeling the repercussions of that lust for power, and even that knowledge has had little effect on their desire. I don't blame the military for squawking about this, despite my belief that we can scale back on many areas within the military (such as bases). I don't mind them squawking, because it will force some people, some republicans, to take an honest look at how we got here in the first place, and maybe, just maybe, they will look deep enough to see what the hell I'm talking about...and maybe we as a country can find the will to correct our collective error in judgement. That can't happen when you're dishonest, especially with yourself, but I believe most republicans are honest enough, if they can get past the delusions we all place on ourselves.
Back to the topic; But you are missing the point in "Washington speak". If medical expenses are forecast to go up 10% per year and someone says we are only going to allow the funding to go up 9% per year, that is a MASSIVE cut. That is how we have let the government baffle us with BS. Until we can end this baloney (or get the media to actually cover the news), government will remain out of control.
