Posted on 05/19/2006 7:37:38 PM PDT by muleskinner
The real threat to U.S. security
By Rick Steves
Special to The Times
Rick Steves
The greatest risk to our society today is not Islamo-fascist terrorism, but the people who use that term to scare us. As the human, fiscal and ecological damage caused by our nation's economic priorities grows, it's becoming clear that we're addicted to more than oil — we're addicted to military spending, too.
The United States spends as much on its military as the rest of humanity combined: more than $400 billion annually (not including the hundreds of billions of dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). These military expenses are "off limits" as we sharpen our collective pencils to find $39 billion to cut from domestic programs. And yet, despite our already huge military expenditures, these days it's hard to get elected without promising even more military spending.
Recently, San Francisco Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval appeared on the Fox News program "Hannity & Colmes." Frustrated by our government's budget priorities, Sandoval suggested America would be better off without a military. Instead, he said, "we should invest our money in our kids." Right-wing pundits pounced on these statements, and even many prominent Democrats distanced themselves from Sandoval.
Should we abolish the American military altogether? Of course not. But daydream with me for just a moment: What if we gradually scaled down military spending, chose not to rush off to foreign wars based on questionable motives, and began to take the name of our "Department of Defense" literally?.....
(Excerpt) Read more at archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
I wonder if he voted for algore and JFK?
We spend more on education than on our military ... all going to public school education, such as it is.
But Rick supports recreational marjuana .... that should count for something .... you think????
Yeah, but he needs to lay off that weed before he writes his stories.
Barf-o-rama
Steves has his head in the sand. Steves IS a DOLT.And a propagandizing one at that.
There is a very important point that such people miss. The money is spent in the US making jobs at all levels of our work environment. It also developes technical skills, and new technology for every day use. Money is spent on research in Universities and private industry also. Well paying jobs for blue collar workers as well.
This point always gets missed. The Space Program is the same way. The money stay here in the good ole USA.
Since we spend less on our military than we do on social services, I wonder what ratio he would put to that in relation to the rest of the world. Doesn't suit his agenda to bring that up.
If you watch his show you always see him checking out the local pubs and lifting a few .....
Guys like this make me think rows of corrugated galvanized sheet steel housing surrounded by an impregnable security fence, located somewhere in northwesterm Montana, might be just the ticket.
March 2, 2006? OK.
Hmmmm...Rick Steves...Europe...back door...Hmmmm
no, I won't go for the cheap joke.
That makes him a libertarian, doesn't it? Or, just a cleaned-up hippie wannabe?
Yes, but remember, who would want to attack us? lol
Cleaned up hippie wannabe. I don't want to offend libertarians.
The first, and only, time I ever saw 'mister' Steves on the television, my first thought was "this cat squats when he pees".
I'm surprised he hasn't hyphenated his last name with his wife's. Then again, I wonder if he has a female wife.
P*ssies like 'mister' Steves should thank God every day that there are real men in this country keeping him safe.
Whoa. What about Mexico, long in the process of colonizing the U.S. through massive injections of its millions of unwanted (by the Mexican "elite") mestizos through our porous southern border, right into our population. Just because they aren't wearing bandoliers, or shooting silver bullets at us, or riding on burros doesn't mean they aren't an invading force. Not trying to introduce "immigration" into this thread, just that it appears the glaringly obvious is being overlooked.
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