Thursday, July 29, 2010

socialism or barbarism

7-29-2010--A recent report from the Congressional Research Service finds that the war on terror, including Afghanistan and Iraq, has been, by far, the costliest war in American history aside from World War II. It adjusted costs of all previous wars for inflation. ... it is President Obama who is now requesting 6.1 percent more in military spending than the peak of military spending under Mr. Bush....Under Mr. Obama, we are now spending more money on the military, after adjusting for inflation, than in the peak of the cold war, Vietnam War or Korean War. Our battle fleet is larger than the next 13 navies combined, according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The intelligence apparatus is so bloated that, according to The Washington Post, the number of people with “top secret” clearance is 1.5 times the population of the District of Columbia. Meanwhile, a sobering report from the College Board says that the United States, which used to lead the world in the proportion of young people with college degrees, has dropped to 12th. ... For the cost of just one soldier in Afghanistan for one year, we could start about 20 schools there. ...Mr. Mortenson lamented to me that for the cost of just 246 soldiers posted for one year, America could pay for a higher education plan for all Afghanistan. ...Faced with constant demands for more, Mr. Gates in May asked: “Is it a dire threat that by 2020 the United States will have only 20 times more advanced stealth fighters than China?” –Kristof, NYT
--FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress on Wednesday that he does not know how many of his agents cheated on an important exam on the bureau’s policies ... that raised questions about whether the FBI knows its own rules for conducting surveillance on Americans.—SBT A4
--A new climate report confirms the Earth has been warming, with the past decade the hottest on record. WSJ A1
--Insured Americans are using fewer medical services, raising questions whether patients are consuming less health care as they pick ukp a greater share of the costs. WSJ A1

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