We had hoped Jim DeMint’s decision to leave the U.S. Senate and take the reins of the Heritage Foundation would result in a shift in that organization’s support for the mindless (and unnecessary) expansion of the American military industrial complex.
Apparently not … or at least not yet.
This week the “conservative” think tank offered up a post outlining “6 Things The Next U.S. Budget Should Do.” One of them? “Fully fund national defense.”
“President (Barack) Obama has already been shrinking our military capabilities, and this can’t continue if we are going to defend ourselves,” the post states. “North Korea’s recent nuclear threats are a reminder that our forces must be modernized and ready at all times.”
Really?
What Heritage fails to point out is post-sequester American military spending remains well above our nation’s Cold War peak – with no Cold War to fight. That’s according to data from The Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C. think tank which takes principled stands based on real data as opposed to pandering to neocon whores like U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and John McCain.
We’re not saying national defense isn’t a core function of government – it clearly is – but our military spending isn’t focused on national defense, it is focused instead on imperialism and global policing (two things we can no longer afford). Also, America’s interventionist foreign policy has made us a target … which has made our citizens less safe.
If the Heritage Foundation were serious about supporting responsible budgeting (and advancing our national security), its leaders would acknowledge these realities as opposed to continuing to provide cover for fiscal liberals like Graham and McCain.
DeMint doesn’t officially become Heritage’s new leader until April 3. Hopefully at that point he will put a plug in this neocon nonsense and join the scholars at Cato in promoting a more responsible approach to military spending.
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54 comments
LMAO: FITS bashing anyone for not being Conservative.
FITS: you’ve advocated extra rights for Gays; anti-Christian ideology; Pro-Porn behavior; liberal Race Hate and all sorts of coward-moderrate Bull-$#!*…
But you NEVER openly wert after DeMint while he was the most popular person in SC politics..(you were not THAT stupid)….
But now you are you so IGNOARNT that you think people have already forgotten his record of CONSERVATIVE Walking the Walk…(and yours of bashing the Right)…
I think this attack on the guy shows a LOT more about YOU, than him…
FITS is a Garham-McCain-Sanford moderate..and not all that cold to Obama and Co.
Only dumb@$$ liberals do not see that..
PS: You Sanford people who think Sanford is a Conservative, because he tells you so..remember that FITS is Ace-Boon-Spoon…
If pro-porn behavior is wrong, then I don’t want to be right!
That’s cool, if you’re a little pervish. But when the Filthy pieces of crap are raping little girls so you can get your jollies…you are RESPONSIBLE for that…make no mistake about that…
Also: Does your partner also partake in porn. Every Gay person i know (at least males) play aroubnd on their lovers…but you HATE it when your mate is absorbed is porn, and fixated on another outlet for their addiction….
“…extra rights for Gays; anti-Christian ideology.”
Sounds good to me..I also love me some pro porn behavior!
LMAO: FITS bashing anyone for not being Conservative.
FITS: you’ve advocated extra rights for Gays; anti-Christian ideology; Pro-Porn behavior; liberal Race Hate and all sorts of coward-moderrate Bull-$#!*…
But you NEVER openly wert after DeMint while he was the most popular person in SC politics..(you were not THAT stupid)….
But now you are you so IGNOARNT that you think people have already forgotten his record of CONSERVATIVE Walking the Walk…(and yours of bashing the Right)…
I think this attack on the guy shows a LOT more about YOU, than him…
FITS is a Garham-McCain-Sanford moderate..and not all that cold to Obama and Co.
Only dumb@$$ liberals do not see that..
PS: You Sanford people who think Sanford is a Conservative, because he tells you so..remember that FITS is Ace-Boon-Spoon…
If pro-porn behavior is wrong, then I don’t want to be right!
That’s cool, if you’re a little pervish. But when the Filthy pieces of crap are raping little girls so you can get your jollies…you are RESPONSIBLE for that…make no mistake about that…
Also: Does your partner also partake in porn. Every Gay person i know (at least males) play aroubnd on their lovers…but you HATE it when your mate is absorbed is porn, and fixated on another outlet for their addiction….
“…extra rights for Gays; anti-Christian ideology.”
Sounds good to me..I also love me some pro porn behavior!
Re your last paragraph. Don’t bet the farm on it!
So you’re a fan of Cato…and you doubt DeMint and agree w/ FITS…
Who the H#!! do you F^&8in barin dead idiots think you’re fooling???
Yeah, who you barin dead idiots think you’re fooling?!
BigT College Fund: Because a barin is a terrible thing to waste.
Re your last paragraph. Don’t bet the farm on it!
So you’re a fan of Cato…and you doubt DeMint and agree w/ FITS…
Who the H#!! do you F^&8in barin dead idiots think you’re fooling???
Yeah, who you barin dead idiots think you’re fooling?!
BigT College Fund: Because a barin is a terrible thing to waste.
“…it is focused instead on imperialism and global policing (two things we can no
longer afford)…”
Please note the three peaks in the attached chart that portrays defense
spending as a percentage of GDP from 1900 through today. We can certainly spend
our money for defense related issues more wisely and it is time to come home
from SWA (In fact I’m at a conference where we’re getting the pieces in place
to do that right now). However, when we withdraw from global engagement, it ultimately
costs much more than staying engaged would have cost.
Your graph indicates that Sic Willie and his Cato buds speak with forked tongue. Who would have ever thought that!!
Let us all remember that our federal gov’t has operated in the red every year since 71′.
“…it is focused instead on imperialism and global policing (two things we can no
longer afford)…”
Please note the three peaks in the attached chart that portrays defense
spending as a percentage of GDP from 1900 through today. We can certainly spend
our money for defense related issues more wisely and it is time to come home
from SWA (In fact I’m at a conference where we’re getting the pieces in place
to do that right now). However, when we withdraw from global engagement, it ultimately
costs much more than staying engaged would have cost.
Your graph indicates that Sic Willie and his Cato buds speak with forked tongue. Who would have ever thought that!!
Let us all remember that our federal gov’t has operated in the red every year since 71′.
I would honestly have a hard time believing North Korea’s rockets could even reach Japan, let alone Hawaii, let alone San Diego, let alone Dallas, let alone D.C. We’d have better luck finding a Pee Wee football player that could throw a 100-yard touchdown in the NFL. Are we really using DPRK as a reason now to feed the military-industrial complex even more?
Eisenhower’s warning fell of deaf ears. I’d love to see North Koreans liberated from their oppressive government, but I’d rather not see yet another decade-plus-long occupation of yet another Asian country.
I would honestly have a hard time believing North Korea’s rockets could even reach Japan, let alone Hawaii, let alone San Diego, let alone Dallas, let alone D.C. We’d have better luck finding a Pee Wee football player that could throw a 100-yard touchdown in the NFL. Are we really using DPRK as a reason now to feed the military-industrial complex even more?
Eisenhower’s warning fell of deaf ears. I’d love to see North Koreans liberated from their oppressive government, but I’d rather not see yet another decade-plus-long occupation of yet another Asian country.
Keeping Americans safe is really the sole purpose for government, which is outlined in the Constitution. I’m all for cutting spending, but we must maintain a strong national defense; something Barry could care less about. He’d rather spend all that money on ridiculous Green Energy Projects, which more than half have filed for bankruptcy that received money from the ’09 Stimulus.
“Keeping Americans safe is really the sole purpose for government, which is outlined in the Constitution.”
Really? What a constitutional scholar you are. Just so we don’t get to bogged down in Constitutional jurisprudence, why don’t we just look at the first paragraph for a few others, “establish justice”, “ensure domestic tranquility”, “promote the general welfare”, and “secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity”.
I hope you are not a lawyer.
He is of course referring to Article IV, Section 4, the Guarantee Clause…BTW, I hope you are bracing yourself for a let down, arguments begin March 26,27 for Hollingsworth v. Perry, US v. Windsor, respectively. Hint: DOMA is the law of the land thanks to William Jefferson Clinton, so internal polling suggests.
Well if he had said “Keeping Americans safe is really the sole purpose for government, which is outlined in Article IV, Section 4, of the Constitution, I would not have responded. But he didn’t. Nor do I think that is what he intended to say. More likely just spouting off something he heard or read on some wing nut radio show or blog.
As for the cases you mention, I don’t need to brace for anything, since before looking them up today, in a vain effort to determine what they had to do with my earlier comment, I did not know what they were about. I do now, and they have nothing to do with my earlier comment.
As for the Defense of Marriage act, I would kind of like to see it stay in place as it reminds gay people that in the view of Republicans they are in the same boat as single women, working women, rape victims, Hispanics and Blacks; and preferably one without a sail or oar.
There is nothing more wingnut than Air America, and the “not ready for the truth” Air American, all about their paycheck, sellout, flunkys at MSNBC. Did I mention Daily Kos, or Daily Beast, and Huffington…ever read the comments there? Disturbing!
You have, you have their vile words and dangerous world views at your fingertips. I know you did not cop your attitude from 21 years of family vacations, school dances, dating, and family get-togethers, attending public or private schools…rather you were told what to think from tv sitcoms, cable and corporate media news trash, and subversive blogs.
Suggestion: read anything from Saul Alinsky and remember, you espouse his views by repeating the propaganda his disciples preach. Wake up already.
Since I have your attention, could you please annunciate your vision for America in the next 20 years?
Really, which of my words do you find vile and what dangerous world view do you think I hold?
What do you care, Jan? Obama said he is against the US CONSTITUTION…
He said it limits the power of government, too much. Of course he has not let the Constitution get in the way of his NAZI style of government…
Pretty sure George Washington and the rest of the founders had quite a different opinion on occupation of foreign countries at the time the Constitution was written, bro.
Also, your claim that “more than half” of green energy companies that received funds from the stimulus filed bankruptcy is false, as it was false when Romney claimed it was “about half.”
http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/22/news/economy/obama-energy-bankruptcies/index.html
Republicans will not be dictated to by fact checkers!!!
Keeping Americans safe is really the sole purpose for government, which is outlined in the Constitution. I’m all for cutting spending, but we must maintain a strong national defense; something Barry could care less about. He’d rather spend all that money on ridiculous Green Energy Projects, which more than half have filed for bankruptcy that received money from the ’09 Stimulus.
“Keeping Americans safe is really the sole purpose for government, which is outlined in the Constitution.”
Really? What a constitutional scholar you are. Just so we don’t get to bogged down in Constitutional jurisprudence, why don’t we just look at the first paragraph for a few others, “establish justice”, “ensure domestic tranquility”, “promote the general welfare”, and “secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity”.
I hope you are not a lawyer.
He is of course referring to Article IV, Section 4, the Guarantee Clause…BTW, I hope you are bracing yourself for a let down, arguments begin March 26,27 for Hollingsworth v. Perry, US v. Windsor, respectively. Hint: DOMA is the law of the land thanks to William Jefferson Clinton, so internal polling suggests.
Well if he had said “Keeping Americans safe is really the sole purpose for government, which is outlined in Article IV, Section 4, of the Constitution, I would not have responded. But he didn’t. Nor do I think that is what he intended to say. More likely just spouting off something he heard or read on some wing nut radio show or blog.
As for the cases you mention, I don’t need to brace for anything, since before looking them up today, in a vain effort to determine what they had to do with my earlier comment, I did not know what they were about. I do now, and they have nothing to do with my earlier comment.
As for the Defense of Marriage act, I would kind of like to see it stay in place as it reminds gay people that in the view of Republicans they are in the same boat as single women, working women, rape victims, Hispanics and Blacks; and preferably one without a sail or oar.
There is nothing more wingnut than Air America, and the “not ready for the truth” Air American, all about their paycheck, sellout, flunkys at MSNBC. Did I mention Daily Kos, or Daily Beast, and Huffington…ever read the comments there? Disturbing!
You have, you have their vile words and dangerous world views at your fingertips. I know you did not cop your attitude from 21 years of family vacations, school dances, dating, and family get-togethers, attending public or private schools…rather you were told what to think from tv sitcoms, cable and corporate media news trash, and subversive blogs.
Suggestion: read anything from Saul Alinsky and remember, you espouse his views by repeating the propaganda his disciples preach. Wake up already.
Since I have your attention, could you please annunciate your vision for America in the next 20 years?
Really, which of my words do you find vile and what dangerous world view do you think I hold?
What do you care, Jan? Obama said he is against the US CONSTITUTION…
He said it limits the power of government, too much. Of course he has not let the Constitution get in the way of his NAZI style of government…
Pretty sure George Washington and the rest of the founders had quite a different opinion on occupation of foreign countries at the time the Constitution was written, bro.
Also, your claim that “more than half” of green energy companies that received funds from the stimulus filed bankruptcy is false, as it was false when Romney claimed it was “about half.”
http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/22/news/economy/obama-energy-bankruptcies/index.html
Republicans will not be dictated to by fact checkers!!!
Bucket of cold spit !
Bucket of cold spit !
Unfortunately, it does not appear that the CATO Institute’s figures are adjusted for inflation. Based on a modest 2.5% annual inflation rate, that Cold War budget of $580B would be $1.158T in today’s costs and that $605B that we were spending in 2006 would equate to $719T in today’s spending. Therefore, the latest budget decrease from sequestration reduces the budget by 47.9% from the Cold War high (adjusted for inflation) and reduces the budget by 16.2% from the DOD spending levels in 2006 to the present day.
Now the question should be, how does our overall Federal budget compare from 1985 to 2006 to 2013 when adjusted for inflation as well as other budget areas.
Please stop bring facts into the conversation!! It ruins Sic Willie’s little stories.
I’ve a simpler question:
Why is it necessary to spend more than we take in every year?
Maybe a follow up; if you can justify it “short term”, what policy do you use to determine when the debt becomes a national security risk?
Unfortunately, it does not appear that the CATO Institute’s figures are adjusted for inflation. Based on a modest 2.5% annual inflation rate, that Cold War budget of $580B would be $1.158T in today’s costs and that $605B that we were spending in 2006 would equate to $719T in today’s spending. Therefore, the latest budget decrease from sequestration reduces the budget by 47.9% from the Cold War high (adjusted for inflation) and reduces the budget by 16.2% from the DOD spending levels in 2006 to the present day.
Now the question should be, how does our overall Federal budget compare from 1985 to 2006 to 2013 when adjusted for inflation as well as other budget areas.
Please stop bring facts into the conversation!! It ruins Sic Willie’s little stories.
I’ve a simpler question:
Why is it necessary to spend more than we take in every year?
Maybe a follow up; if you can justify it “short term”, what policy do you use to determine when the debt becomes a national security risk?
Why in the world would anyone think an old War Hawk like Jim Demint would even WANT to change Heritages defense view?Republicans,like Fits,seem ,of late,to be engaged in some strange rewriting of history.
First a bevy of them are pissing in their pants over Rand Pauls filibuster.Some of the same people who when anyone questioned George W and his neo con gang was labelled a “traitor” or a “cut and runner.”Now theyre all supportive of a guy (Paul) who makes Dennis Kucinich look like a warmonger?
GET REAL!
This is total BS.Jim Demint is now and has ALWAYS been a full supporter of huge defense budgets and an interventionist foreign policy.This longing for him to “save” the Right Wing claque at the Heritage Foundation from themselves is silly and ridiculous.About as goofy as all these Republicans new found abhorrence of the “outrages” of the so called “War on Terrorism!”
Why in the world would anyone think an old War Hawk like Jim Demint would even WANT to change Heritages defense view?Republicans,like Fits,seem ,of late,to be engaged in some strange rewriting of history.
First a bevy of them are pissing in their pants over Rand Pauls filibuster.Some of the same people who when anyone questioned George W and his neo con gang was labelled a “traitor” or a “cut and runner.”Now theyre all supportive of a guy (Paul) who makes Dennis Kucinich look like a warmonger?
GET REAL!
This is total BS.Jim Demint is now and has ALWAYS been a full supporter of huge defense budgets and an interventionist foreign policy.This longing for him to “save” the Right Wing claque at the Heritage Foundation from themselves is silly and ridiculous.About as goofy as all these Republicans new found abhorrence of the “outrages” of the so called “War on Terrorism!”
Gay Day In The USA.yeah,it’s coming up,but since bigt declared his homosexuality(I’m gay,BTW)I,don’t see the problem,except for T pulling train in a butt-fucking orgy.
All we need is a cameraman/director to film the proseedings…
And i want sloppy sevenths,T,or seventeenths …love it sloppy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMy2bmSAIeA
Gay Day In The USA.yeah,it’s coming up,but since bigt declared his homosexuality(I’m gay,BTW)I,don’t see the problem,except for T pulling train in a butt-fucking orgy.
All we need is a cameraman/director to film the proseedings…
And i want sloppy sevenths,T,or seventeenths …love it sloppy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMy2bmSAIeA