While the Bush Administration was bragging about a $300 billion deficit, the Administration will be asking for another $110 billion to fight the war in Iraq and Afghanistan according to the White House FY2007 Mid-Session Review. If you've never seen a document like this, you really should take a few momnets to ponder the incredible amount of smoke and mirrors it contains. I'll save you some time, however, by pointing out that on Page Six (appropriately?), it states:In 2007, to fund the anticipated additional costs of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, this Mid-Session Review assumes an additional $60 billion in budget authority will be needed later in the fiscal year, for a total allowance of $110 billion.Keep in mind that the war has already cost us $315 billion, add the additional request for funding, and you reach a figure well over $400 billion dollars, with no end in sight. This, of course, is in addition to the over 2,500 military lives lost in the war effort. Can someone please explain to me again how this $400 billion dollars and 2,500+ lives couldn't be better used here in America to keep all of us safer? And clearly, our war effort in Iraq is definitely bringing stability to the Middle East, as well.
Last week, my friend over at ModFab asked a great question - faced with Bob Novak stating that Karl Rove confirmed Valerie Plame's identity, what do we do with this information? Do we care? And if not, are we complicit in the crimes of the Bush Administration? I was initially stumped at what one could do, short of screaming for the heads of these people. Rove and the others are not elected officials, and the Administration is clearly not going to kick them to the curb. So what do we do?
It would seem that Old MacDonald's Petting Zoo in Huntsville, Alabama has become the nation's most beloved petting zoo... or that's at least what the Department of Homeland Security would have us believe in listing it as a "possible terror target." A listing of over 77,000 potential terrorist targets included such high-value targets as a Sears Auto Center, a casket company, and a YMCA. Indiana led the list with a total of 8,591 potential targets. New York, in comparison, had only 5,687, and California only had 3,212. The complete report from the Inspector General is here, and highlights a number of inconsistencies with this absurd database. Vermont and New Hampshire, for example, have just over 70 assets listed, while Wisconsin and Indiana have over 100 times more assets listed. The STATE of Washington lists 65 national monuments and icons, while Washington, DC - the Nation's Capital - lists only 37. New York lists only two percent of the nation’s banking & finance sector assets, ranking between North Dakota and Missouri. Illinois, home to some of the nation’s tallest buildings in its city of Chicago, listed 28 tall buildings or just two-thirds as many as the 41 reported in Indiana.
Posted by FleshPresser at 10:19 AM /
Aunt Julia posted at 10:28 PM
