I agree Eric,

What we should do instead is all sit around the fire, hold hands and sing
sha-na-na. And instead of making bombs, we could give hugs which are free.

B

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"When two people agree on everything, one of them is not necessary" - Arliss

A countries power over its people is a derivative of its ability to offer security to those people. This has been the case since the dawn of civilization, people flock to areas (good or bad) that offer them a level of protection against the other areas. In this case the USA offers substantial military security. Is this right or wrong, who am I to say however through out history the strongest military power always reigns.

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An unwavering defender of those I see worth protecting.

"promote the general welfare, not provide the general welfare"

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Never. Flim flam is alive and well.

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

One question I saw raised was what if the US spent a quarter of the military budget on the actual country. Interesting, wonder how fast we could kick off the oil habit with a $156Billion budget for it.

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An unwavering defender of those I see worth protecting.

"promote the general welfare, not provide the general welfare"

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Another great post, Mr. Arkin. Thanks.

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2010 528Xi
I demand justice.
Or, if there must be injustice, let it be in my favor.

Reynold's Wrap: it's not just for hats anymore.

If the goal was simply to provide security, they could do that for 10% of what they spend.

If the goal was simply to provide security, and in addition also protect all American business interests around the world, they could probably do that for 50% of what they spend.

But the goal has become simply to spend money for the sake of spending, so that these huge military contractors can earn record profits and their CEO's and top executives can make hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

I'm sick of it, and I wonder at what point everyone else will become sick of it. How high does the military budget have to go before people have had enough? What if they spent a trillion? or 1.5 trillion? 10 years ago the number 600 billion would have been thought impossible. And now here we are. The current budget now provides for more military spending than the rest of the countries in the world put together. And yet we are less than 5% of the world's population.

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my experience on X5world when I spend too much
time posting in political threads in the lounge...

I'm sick of your petulant child attitude toward the military, and contractors especially. You yourself have said you have either done, or have bid on work for the military. Sounds like you're mad at yourself.

You've also complained about "no bid" contracting. Sounds like sour grapes.

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2010 528Xi
I demand justice.
Or, if there must be injustice, let it be in my favor.

Reynold's Wrap: it's not just for hats anymore.

It sure fooled me! I was going to remark how sick I am of paying for slackers that buy drugs, Cadillacs and 22" rims with my tax dollars! Now if you want to talk about that, I'm all ears

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'05 X3 3.0i Alpine White/Gray Leather/Alum. Trim
Sport/Steptronic/Servotronic/Panoramic
Prem. Sound/Staggered 18" Style 114 Y-Spokes

That was his intent - to draw in the unsuspecting.

__________________
2010 528Xi
I demand justice.
Or, if there must be injustice, let it be in my favor.

Reynold's Wrap: it's not just for hats anymore.