No worries. I served 21 years myself in the military, and what I am witnessing transpire today both shocks and horrifies me.
I think there are two factors at work here - ignorance of the real facts compounded by personal fear.
Many Freepers might be Conservatives, but that is a very broad term. Some are evangelical Christians, some are really Libertarians, some are fiscal Conservatives, some care about social issues, some are pro-Defense, and some are a combination.
The bottom line for many is they know spending is out of control, but they don't care, as long as "something" is done. Even if it guts Defense. Let me tell you something, when the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the House and Senate Armed Services Committees last week that this was going to be devastating to the US military, they were not joking.
Congress knows that 2/3rds of the budget is mandatory, and the Democrats and Obama will walk over broken glass before they see the "takers" accept less - even that is a minimal sacrifice.
So they went after the 1/3rd of discretionary spending, put the greatest burden on Defense, exempted military pay and much of the procurement funds cannot be touched this far into the fiscal year - so Operations and Maintenance will be gutted. Literally.
80% of our Brigade Combat Teams will not be trained for combat. Ships will be taken out of service (it may take 10 months to get some of them back in commission IF there is future money!) Research and Development will be a shadow of what it was. TRICARE for military, veterans, and their families will be in big, big trouble financially.
When I was on active duty and overseas, I had a eye injury while on duty (I was a pilot). I nearly lost sight in one eye. The medical staff that took care of me were DoD civilian nurses and doctors.
These are the kinds of people who will be furloughed - and it makes me sick.
What kind of society have we become where the Food Stamp crowd has all they need and more, and Americans who serve and sacrifice are left out in the cold?
For many here, their own fears rule the roost. They are unemployed or under employed. They fear their Social Security or other entitlements will be affected if Sequestration is avoided, so they join the cheers to keep the cuts in place. Or, they have been hurt financially, and they want to see others hurt. For many others, I think they are just plain sick and tired of getting raped on taxes and see any cuts (even bad ones) as welcome news.
I don't know if we are in the last days or not, but these words from Christ ring true to me for today:
"Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold."
Matthew 24:12
We are a sick, evil society. This is not Ronald Reagan's American anymore. He would NEVER have allowed this to happen to the military. Our current crop of Republican leaders will.
