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Retiring the World’s Policeman
The American ^ | Aug. 3, 2011 | Alan W. Dowd

Posted on 08/03/2011 2:24:57 PM PDT by La Enchiladita

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To: Condor51; Liz; stephenjohnbanker

That $600 billion in cuts set off by the debt ceiling bill is probably a reasoned cut, provided that $600 billion in cuts is handled properly. Will it be? No. You can take it to the bank that it will be handled with all the skill of the debt ceiling bill itself.

The democrats will get the cuts they want, and the Republicans will describe it as victory.

The F22 was cancelled with the assurance the F35 program was all we needed. Now the F35 is on the chopping block. We have to have a aircraft to replace the F16. If the F35 is a bad aircraft then something else will have to developed. That something else will be 15 years away.

There is talk of mothballing some of our carriers.

Where does this lead?

One of the main reasons why I am so reticent to contemplate cuts, is because I know exactly what will take place. Our military is going to be gutted.

In the guise of what you folks say you want, our military will become half what it is today. We will have no full time military, and our response time in times of trouble will be months, if not years, if ever.

$600 billion over ten years is nothing. During that ten years we will be going $16 to $18 trillion more dollars in debt.

Obama is spending these funds on special projects. These projects come and go, and hardly anything at all is left to show for it. We’re just burning through money.

Obama has been giving away trillions, but when it comes to cuts, we’re having to go for the infrastructure types of programs. He won’t quit his stimulus spending, so we have to cut the military, medicare, social security...

I believe you folks are about to get the cuts to the military you want. In ten years we’ll be $16 trillion more in debt, without an effective military.

If you think that’s focusing on the bad, not not realistic, look at the debt ceiling bill.

It allows Obama to spend $2.4 trillion more dollars.

It focuses on a long term goal of dismantling our military.

It focuses on adjustments to social security and medicare.

It does not focus on stopping this guy from spending.

It does not focus on stopping the pork to ACORN and a multitude of other NGOs.

This is the model for how the cuts to the military will be addressed. Expect to see the pork remain, while the skeleton of the military is stripped.

Does the U.S. have a space program any longer? Essentially no.

Does the U.S. have a super collider? No.

Has the U.S. just laid off thousands of engineers? Yes.

Will there be a mammoth loss of scientific knowledge? Yes.

The Republicans are useless tools. They have participated in the dismantling of our nation. We haven’t seen the worst of it folks.

Our jobs have been sent overseas. What assets we do have are being destroyed. Now our military is set to be savaged.

I know you folks don’t see it that way, but in ten years that’s what you’re going to get.

Good luck then, because being $30 trillion dollars in debt, we won’t be able to rebuild our military infrastructure.


21 posted on 08/04/2011 9:12:31 AM PDT by DoughtyOne (Is the destroyer anti-US anti-West anti-Christian anti-Israel and reminiscent of the anti-Christ?)
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To: DoughtyOne

” This is the model for how the cuts to the military will be addressed. Expect to see the pork remain, while the skeleton of the military is stripped.

Does the U.S. have a space program any longer? Essentially no.

Does the U.S. have a super collider? No.

Has the U.S. just laid off thousands of engineers? Yes.

Will there be a mammoth loss of scientific knowledge? Yes.”

Obama’s plans to destroy America are right on schedule.


22 posted on 08/04/2011 9:30:13 AM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (God, family, country, mom, apple pie, the girl next door and a Ford F250 to pull my boat.)
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To: Liz

” GAGARAMA The lowest point in US politics was when his adoring wife referred to Gore’s VP running mate as “My Joey.”’

One breakfast coming right up....


23 posted on 08/04/2011 9:32:02 AM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (God, family, country, mom, apple pie, the girl next door and a Ford F250 to pull my boat.)
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To: Condor51

” Besides the Neocons and their ‘WAR PROFITEERING MACHINE’ with leeches like that slimy Richard Perle lining their pockets. There was that fat ass Dem congressmen and ‘ex-Marine’, JACK MURTHA. The dope from Pennsylvania steered millions and millions to his tiny district each year with earmarks for “Defense Spending” — aka: Useless and Wasteful Pork. “

Is Murtha still alive, or rotting in hell?


24 posted on 08/04/2011 9:34:30 AM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (God, family, country, mom, apple pie, the girl next door and a Ford F250 to pull my boat.)
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To: stephenjohnbanker
Obama’s plans to destroy America are right on schedule.

They sure are. And it's a schedule read and signed off on by the House Republican leadership.

25 posted on 08/04/2011 9:37:37 AM PDT by DoughtyOne (Is the destroyer anti-US anti-West anti-Christian anti-Israel and reminiscent of the anti-Christ?)
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To: stephenjohnbanker; Condor51
Murtha died recently....but his family will live in luxury the rest of their lives.

-----------------------------------------

REFERENCES Then-Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Johnstown, helped to direct millions of dollars in federal defense appropriations to major defense contractors that sub-contract large portions of the jobs to Kuchera Defense Systems. Employees and associates are among major contributors to Murtha political campaigns. In January 2009, agents from the FBI, the IRS and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service searched the office of Kuchera Industries and Kuchera Defense Systems, as well as the homes of the firms' founders. The companies reportedly have received over $100 million in earmarks, thanks to Murtha's efforts.

=====================================

ANALYSIS There's so many other crimes being committed here it's not even funny. Can you say government fraud, multiple conspiracies, kickbacks, tax evasion (all of it to facilitate money laundering)? Conspiracy counts alone might include mail fraud, electronic fraud, and accounting fraud. L/E might consider:

(a) conspiracy to defraud the IRS, and evade US banking laws,

(b) international money laundering,

(c) conspiracy to commit money laundering, and,

(d) aiding and abetting the preparation of false federal/state income tax returns.

Authorities might examine the company's receipts to falsely verify bogus charitable contributions (kickbacks) and multiple conspiracies and transfers of funds as part of a money-laundering conspiracy.

Government audits might show off-the-books bank accounts that were accessed solely by insiders, and that government-funds were used in various illegal schemes that might have integrated:

(1) money laundering,

(2) tax evasion (stolen money is taxable),

(3) violations of US banking and currency laws,

(4) conspiracy to commit wire fraud,

(5) commercial bribery in various financial schemes,

(6) establishing secret offshore bank accounts outside the purview of the IRS and US banking laws,

(7) fraudulent and casual accounting practices,

(8) non-existent financial oversight,

(9) having a hidden financial interest in companies faking business with the company,

(10) putting phantom employees on the payroll (money laundering).

It's been postulated that co-conspirators were laundering proceeds from drug cartels and organized crime activities, whether drug dealers use the Murtha Airport, and whether money was laundered through this company.

There's a zillion ways to launder money. Drug monies could have been disguised by re-routing monies. Company may have routed the scheme through telephone lines with a maze of complex telecommunications' systems equipped with call-forwarding and voice mail systems, and numerous postal and commercial mail boxes..........and perhaps money-transfer systems that operate in ethnic enclaves and places like NYC's Diamond District.

Investigators may discover numerous falsified official documents.

Drug monies could have been disguised by re-routing through a network of domestic and international bank accounts using counterfeit checks.....opening commercial bank accounts in the name of bogus businesses and wire-transferring and/or depositing gov't checks into those accounts.

Phony checks could have had invalid bank routing numbers, forged endorsements, or been drawn on the proceeds of other counterfeit checks deposited in other bank accounts. Before banks discovered the fraud, the funds might have been transferred out of the accounts……probably offshore----leaving banks unable to recoup their losses.

State and federal tax authorities could have been swindled. In an international scheme with offshore ties, co-conspirators or subsets of them, might have obtained hundreds of taxpayer identification numbers for phantom citizens with worldwide addresses, and used the information to evade US taxes and banking laws.

In a classic fraud, co-conspirators might keep two (or more) sets of books. Methods may have included limited-recourse loans to artificially inflate "asset value," to fraudulently borrow real money based on “assets” that didn’t really exist.

ACTIONABLE OFFENSES MIGHT INCLUDE:
(1) Encouraging the filing of false documents;
(2) Rigging legislation to benefit a special interest.
(3) Forcing taxpayers to underwrite crimes against the state without their knowledge or consent (constitutes the crime of second degree coercion of taxpayers, and should beprosecuted at once);
(4) Not reporting crimes against the state (aiding and abetting).

=======================================

Is The FBI Getting Closer To Murtha?
TPM | 7-21-09 | Zachary Roth
FR Posted 07/21/2009 by smoothsailing

For months now, the Pennsylvania Democratic power-broker's name has been popping up in connection to a wide-ranging FBI investigation of defense contractors and lobbyists to whom he has ties. And yesterday brought more bad news... Mark O'Hair, a former Air Force employee pleaded guilty (sub. req.) Monday in connection to getting a kickback from a defense contract that Murtha, who chairs the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee, had provided.

Roll Call reports: According to the plea agreement, filed in a federal court in Florida, in May 2005, "Congress passed a tsunami relief act which included within the provisions of the act an $8.2 million earmark for the development of the 'Mobile Common Data Link Gateway.' Coherent Systems International, Inc. (CSI) had lobbied for this earmark appropriation."

Roll Call reported in June that Coherent was represented by KSA Consulting, the lobbying firm that employed Murtha's brother, Kit, and that the Congressman had provided this earmark to Coherent by eliminating the same sum from a project that had been designated for a previous client of his brother's firm.

The O'Hair case appears to begin tying together the other strands of the FBI probe that has put Murtha -- who frequently appears on good-government groups' lists of the most corrupt lawmakers -- in the spotlight.

26 posted on 08/04/2011 10:06:26 AM PDT by Liz ( A taxpayer voting for Obama is like a chicken voting for Col Sanders.)
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To: stephenjohnbanker

Murtha croaked on Feb. 8, 2010 and is now rotting in hell.


27 posted on 08/04/2011 10:12:55 AM PDT by Condor51 (The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits [A.Einstein])
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To: DoughtyOne; Liz; stephenjohnbanker
Here's the funny thing (not ha-ha funny) about all the Military cuts being talked about.

Not too long ago all the RATS running for POTUS, including Obama were saying how we HAD TO increase our troop strength.

"We need more Army Divisions and 'I promise' to increase them if elected." Like you can pull a Division, support, bases, etc out of thin air.)

"We need more Special Forces soldiers and 'I promise' to increase their numbers if elected." (Like SF quality men fall off tress)(1)

"We need more and better Artillery and 'I promise' to get them if elected."
(this was regarding the Tora Bora shelling and our lack of a 'Bigger and more Mobile Gun' to get at a lot of the places)

"We need more Destroyers and Frigates, a larger Naval Force to project US Strength, and 'I promise' to increase them if elected."

"We need more ... blah, blah, blah. BULL!"

Then when Barry gets the nomination and wins he says "we need a civilian security force on par with our military". Gee? What happened to increasing all the ACTUAL Military stuff ........ Bupkis! All he wanted was a BIGGER Federal gubmint and taking over every aspect of Medicine and creating Death Panels.

Now all that being said I still think there's Pork to be cut. Across the board military cuts are plain STOO-PID and invite an attack from our Chinese 'friends'. They'll invade Taiwan in a heart beat and we won't be able to do squat.

an aside: But if there's one increase needed in the Army its the Special Forces. We have SF Groups in Afghanistan waaaay out of their AOR. SF Groups trained for Jungle Fighting are now in the Mountains and Desert. And the number of Body Bags of SF Men coming back proved that was FUBAR from the get go. When I saw some of the SF Groups they were in I went WTF are they doing in Afghanistan! They're better than good, but they ain't bullet proof. But just reactivating Two of our 'inactive' Special Forces Groups will cost a HUGH sum of money and that won't happen with arbitrary cuts.

(1) Besides the men, there's all the other Army units they require for training (and Air Force support too). From Jump School at Ft Benning, to Scuba School in Florida, to more housing at Ft Campbell and Ft Bragg, and Language Schools, etc, etc, etc. And forget Barry, Admiral Mullen doesn't have a clue either.

28 posted on 08/04/2011 11:05:00 AM PDT by Condor51 (The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits [A.Einstein])
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To: Condor51; DoughtyOne; Liz

” “We need more ... blah, blah, blah. BULL!”

Then when Barry gets the nomination and wins he says “we need a civilian security force on par with our military”. Gee? What happened to increasing all the ACTUAL Military stuff ........ Bupkis! All he wanted was a BIGGER Federal gubmint and taking over every aspect of Medicine and creating Death Panels. “

Marxism on Parade


29 posted on 08/04/2011 11:39:56 AM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (God, family, country, mom, apple pie, the girl next door and a Ford F250 to pull my boat.)
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To: Condor51

Amen


30 posted on 08/04/2011 12:11:11 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (God, family, country, mom, apple pie, the girl next door and a Ford F250 to pull my boat.)
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To: Condor51

Nice post. I am in full agreement.

I think the situation at NASA is a great object lesson.

You and I probably share the idea our space program should be privatized. Here’s how the leftist placate us, while destroying us.

They talked until they were blue in the face about what would replace the shuttle. Then they pronounced conclusions, and seemed to be headed there. In actuality, they did next to nothing and allowed it to die. The programs they talked about replacing it, were suddenly cut at the time when they were making rather good headway.

If they would have developed the private sector efforts in the 2003 time frame, we might have some infrastructure now. Instead they waited until about eighteen months before the last shuttle flight, to move in that direction.

Right now we’re pretty much left with nothing. If Russia wanted to destroy the space station today, we couldn’t stop them from doing it. At a cost of about $110 to $120 billion, us paying 80 to 90% of the full cost, the “Internaional Space Station”, is drifting in space.

This is the model for fixing the military IMO. Our F16s are too old. Now that we’ve got a plan to replace them, that plan is now under attack too.

The F35 situation is almost identical to the replacement for the Shuttle. We cut the shuttle replacement. We’re now getting ready to cut the F35 program. I don’t happen to think very highly of the F35 programs, with all it’s troubles, but we do need something? Where is it?

All that’s left is for them to announce a private sector replacement that should be viable in say 2047.

Think of our military situation like the shuttle program situation. Our space station is exposed. Soon Taiwan will be expose, just as you described.

We’re being old out by both parties.


31 posted on 08/04/2011 1:11:32 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (Is the destroyer anti-US anti-West anti-Christian anti-Israel and reminiscent of the anti-Christ.)
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To: stephenjohnbanker

...and amen.


32 posted on 08/04/2011 1:12:23 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (Is the destroyer anti-US anti-West anti-Christian anti-Israel and reminiscent of the anti-Christ.)
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To: DoughtyOne; Condor51

” We’re being old out by both parties. “

I don’t know how we can stop it, short of a 10 million man march on D.C. and effectively close it down


33 posted on 08/04/2011 1:20:22 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (God, family, country, mom, apple pie, the girl next door and a Ford F250 to pull my boat.)
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To: stephenjohnbanker

You know what, if we had 30 million show up, the press would skew the meaning so bad it would be like having ten mental health escapees show up by themselves.

“TERRORISTS!” “PROTECT ME” “ARREST THEM” “CALL OUT THE TROOPS”


34 posted on 08/04/2011 1:26:05 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (The Destroyer is anti-US anti-West anti-Christian anti-Israel and reminiscent of the anti-Christ.)
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To: DoughtyOne

We have to do SOMETHING. It’s clear the R’s will do nothing


35 posted on 08/04/2011 1:28:18 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (God, family, country, mom, apple pie, the girl next door and a Ford F250 to pull my boat.)
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To: stephenjohnbanker

People have started to do something.

That something is going to amount to the second installment of the biggest landslide in the history of the voting booth come November 2012. Another 60-80 Tea Party members and the RNC will be replaced by the TPNC.

The TPNC will run the party. The Republican party will be done.

As Ronald Reagan stated with regard to the Democrat party, I didn’t leave it. It left me.

The Republican elite never respected Reagan, and that being the case, they couldn’t grasp what he was saying there. If you don’t remain true to your core principles, people will leave for a party that will.

Adios Republican elites. No need to apply for TPNC positions. We have your number. Boy do we have their number...

In January 2013, the Republican party will cease to have any power in the House of Representatives. By 2015, there will be less than 25 Republicans left in that chamber.

All it took was four years. When the people get pissed off enough, they will do something about it.


36 posted on 08/04/2011 2:10:27 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (The Destroyer is anti-US anti-West anti-Christian anti-Israel and reminiscent of the anti-Christ.)
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To: stephenjohnbanker

Check this out...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2758750/posts

The Dems know it. Both parties are doomed, and Obama is being urged to join the Tea Party.

We better put the ‘welcome mat’ on remote control. Pulling that out from under Wonder Boy would be a pleasure.


37 posted on 08/04/2011 2:13:52 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (The Destroyer is anti-US anti-West anti-Christian anti-Israel and reminiscent of the anti-Christ.)
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To: DoughtyOne

Your original comment seemed to disagree with the author of the opinion piece. I posted his article because I agree with it.

So who were calling a DU wing nut?

American Enterprise Institute is thoroughly conservative, with a strong neocon flavor.

Your comments are too opaque for me to know what you mean. When you say it is interesting to see which factions become “fellow travelers,” are you referring to the Tea Party being in agreement with the Left on defense spending?


38 posted on 08/04/2011 4:45:09 PM PDT by La Enchiladita (I said it, I meant it and I represent it.)
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To: Condor51; Liz; stephenjohnbanker; DoughtyOne
Across the board military cuts are plain STOO-PID™ and invite an attack from our Chinese 'friends'.

That was exactly the point made by the author of the article. I will take a pro-American neocon over an anti-American marxist or Paulistinian calling for "deep cuts" that include military cuts. We are in a time of war and it is a serious war, like none before. If we give up leadership of the War on Terror, heaven help not only this country but the free world.

America cannot afford the narrow-minded isolationist fiscal ruthlessness of the libertarian faction. When you talk about this faction ousting the Republican Party, you are calling for an even greater victory for Ubama. There is still a difference between the parties. I do not agree in principle with anything the Democrats stand for and would never call for anything that would strengthen their aims.

39 posted on 08/04/2011 5:04:11 PM PDT by La Enchiladita (I said it, I meant it and I represent it.)
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To: La Enchiladita
Your original comment seemed to disagree with the author of the opinion piece. I posted his article because I agree with it.

I couldn't get the link to work, so I couldn't read the whole article, but I did agree with the portion posted here.  And while the implication that Obama and the Tea Party do seem to be on the same page with regard to military spending, it was actually some FOLKS OTHER THAN YOURSELF HERE that I was refering to.  There is a contingent on this forum that agrees with cutting the military.  They don't think the war on terrorism was a good idea.  They see it as unConstitutional.  They want it ended yesterday.  They blame most of the build-up in debt from 2001 to the present on the military and the military industrial complex.

So who were you calling a DU wing nut?

I'm going to leave that to you.  There was at least one post prior to mine that seemed to disagree with the article you posted.  Upon review, it isn't quite as black and white against.  It just made fun of the premise, and that tweaked me enough to respond as I did.  I'm pretty touchy right now with folks that propose big cuts to our military, and think that is reasoned.  They're making the same arguments the flower-power kids were in the 70s.

"Peace through strength" is not an empty phrase uttered by a man out of touch with reality.

If you read some of the responses to you, I'm sure you'll find evidence of them.  At least one looked like a real diatribe on the subject.  If things aren't perfect, we should pull out and leave that region to the Taliban.

Our to this date expenses for the War on Terrorism are around $1.65 trillion.  That's not just Afghanistan, but Iraq too.  I've been trying to talk sense into folks who think it came close to $3 trillion, and even at that they actually think it was more, a lot more.  An average of $200 billion per year cost, is not what is bankurupting us, and claiming it is, gives cover to what actually has been killing us.  So I object stridently.

We have grown our debt by $8.6 trillion since 2000.  $1.6 of that was WoT related.  The rest was budgeted (for the military), and not a problem at all.

Obama is running $1.6 to $1.8 trillion dollar deficits right now each year.  That's is roughly what the total WoT has cost us to date, and yet the WoT is addressed up front.  Why?  That's very curious to me.

American Enterprise Institute is thoroughly conservative, with a strong neocon flavor.

And that's fine with me.  Upon reading some of my responses on this thread, I'm not happy with them.  Number six wasn't good.  I do believe the Tea Party has a contingent of Libertarians within.  When you study up on what they want, you begin to see a possible downside to the movement.  We have to make sure that movement isn't corrupted, turned to the purposes of another party.

I try to remain positive about the Tea Party, becaue it's probably our only hope, since the Republicans won't do their duty.  The fact of the matter is, the Tea Party could gain control, then side with the Left on the issue of the military.  That would not be good.  We would be trading one ilk for another should that come to pass.

Your comments are too opaque for me to know what you mean. When you say it is interesting to see which factions become “fellow travelers,” are you referring to the Tea Party being in agreement with the Left on defense spending?

I am refering to some people here and some people within the Tea Party that sound like Libertarians or people from D.U.  I'm sure you've seen them around.  They would be hard to miss.

You and I don't have a beef here.

I'm not sure if I was tired, or participating on too many threads, but I could have done better on this thread.  I'm not always going to be at my best.


40 posted on 08/04/2011 5:59:41 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (The Destroyer is anti-US anti-West anti-Christian anti-Israel and reminiscent of the anti-Christ.)
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