Earthside Comments: Here's what you will soon be hearing from the party apologists on the talking heads programs: "You see, the Dimocrats in the U.S. House and Senate were voting for much needed relief for children that didn't have health insurance ... so, gee, they had to accept spending more money for the occupation and the 'surge' in Iraq."
If you want to -- you can easily understand what is going on here with the daily marshmallowing of elected Dimocrats in the Congress. They are making a 'yes' for more dollars for the Iraq debacle a vote every 'good' party member must cast.
So, going into our third month with the Dimocrats controlling the federal legislature, this is the results -- there will soon be more money appropriated for the occupation and war in Iraq; there are thousands more troops being deployed into Iraq ... nothing has changed.
Indeed, the Dimocrats are also setting themselves up to do even more of the bidding of their military-industrial complex masters. The latest 'proposal' by the Dims is to not cut funding for deployments to Iraq, but to "... require President Bush to acknowledge problems with an overburdened military." Wow.
The answer to an overburdened military is obviously to make more resources available to the military, right? Now, Dimocrats can cheerily vote to expand the size of our standing army, vote for even more money for weapons and new weapons systems ... billions and billions more dollars for the Pentagon and defense contractors. And this time the Dimocrats can claim credit for "being tough".
It is past time for some revolutionary political reform in this country. Until the power of the corporate lobbyists and the system of legalized bribery that is our current campaign finance process is overthrown -- we, the people, will not have control of our own nation and government.
Recommended for more information and insight: DVD: Why We Fight
UPDATE!
Link: Dems Nix Idea of Military Budget Cuts | Associated Press
Just hours after floating the idea of cutting $20 billion from President Bush's $142 billion request for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan next year, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad was overruled by fellow Democrats Thursday.
"It's nothing that any of us are considering," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters. ...
... "Our caucus feels strongly that we should go with the president's numbers" on 2008 war costs, Conrad said. He spoke just hours after floating the idea of curbing Bush's request for next year's war budget. ...
... Even before restoring the proposed cut for 2008, Conrad's budget plan assumed $85 billion more in war funds than Bush requested. That's because Conrad included money for a continued troop presence over 2010-2012.
Link: Democrats to Load Iraq Bill With Add-ons | Associated Press
While Democrats try to restrict how President Bush can spend the $100 billion he wants for Iraq, they also hope to load his measure up with $10 billion in add-ons — from aid for avocado growers to help for children lacking health insurance.
Lawmakers also hope to add money for drought relief in the Great Plains, better levees in New Orleans and development of military bases that are closing down.
The expected battle with the White House over the add-ons is getting far less attention than debate over Iraq, but it could reveal a lot about how much Democrats will be able to rewrite the Republican president's budget later this year.
Bush has yet to veto a spending bill, and Democrats are gambling he'll sign the Iraq measure despite objections to spending he didn't seek. Republicans, meanwhile, may be reluctant to vote against the package since it contains funds for U.S. troops overseas. ...
Link: Democratic Leaders Revamp Anti-War Plan | Associated Press
House Democratic leaders are developing an anti-war proposal that wouldn't cut off money for U.S. troops in Iraq but would require President Bush to acknowledge problems with an overburdened military. ...
... The tactic is more likely to embarrass Bush politically than force his hand on the war. He would have to sign repeated waivers for units and report to Congress those units with equipment shortfalls and other problems. ...
Comments