4 percent increases in defense spending are cuts. And other than the occasional left wing talking heads comments shrugged off by the MSM interviewers who’ve bought into the Republican meme, only the Daily Show seems to be up on the arithmetic. Quite frankly, I wish there were cuts. 534 billion in capital-intensive, minimally stimulating, spending mostly to fight a cold war which ended almost two decades ago seems excessive to me. Call me a liberal.
You have to use the link above. I can’t embed it right now.
Meanwhile, does anybody remember Obama’s “Jewish problem?” Right wing talking heads, throughout the campaign, kept referring to his Jewish problem, namely that he wouldn’t draw their votes for various reasons. When election came around he drew 78 percent of the Jewish vote, only 4% more than Kerry received in 2004.
Is 4 percent the conservative’s magic number which reverses the laws of arithmetic?
….
Meanwhile, Obama is holding and will attend a Seder dinner tonight. Someone on television last night said that it is the first time a Seder is being held in the White House in which the president will attend. Apparently he’s making it up to his staff, many of whom missed their family celebrations last spring due to a protracted primary fight with Clinton.
I don’t know how many kids are attending, but I wonder if the youngest of Obama’s daughters will be the youngest attending and thus be assigned the task of asking the four Seder questions. If filmed, it could be a remarkable moment in the history of religious ecumenism.
4 comments
Comments feed for this article
April 9, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Anonymous
Quite frankly there shouldn’t be any religious ceremonies in the White House which imply an endorsement of the religion.
As for the “cuts” the rule is that anything Republican representatives have to give up in their own district is a “cut.”
April 9, 2009 at 4:43 pm
cosmic-religion
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/04/08/international/i030642D05.DTL
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gRK7HTeylwvWbIJwsiVhrpX5JCmwD97E9DJ80
I am surprised you haven’t blogged on this I find the whole thing very interesting and the special significance of it falling during passover, only the (alleged) 3rd time ever…was there a celebration held locally?
April 9, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Eric Kirk
Didn’t know anything about it. Thanks for posting the links.
April 9, 2009 at 5:17 pm
olmanriver
O how Ike warned us about the military-industrial complex 48 years ago.
“This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”
Most aren’t aware of his following warnings: “The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded.
Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific technological elite.”