Concrete Nikes

Sometimes even I hate the right-wing media machine.

It came out today that one of the things discussed for debt reduction is the military budget. Of course came the predictable nashing of teeth beating of chests.

What can the argument be that military funding is off the table? As far as I can tell, people who make this argument are pushing one of two theories. First, the military is efficient to the point where it operates without waste. Second, that even if there is waste, to eliminate it would somehow make them combat ineffective.

Nonsense. While the military is the military, it is also government. It is also bureaucracy. Millions and billions of dollars of waste and fraud and grist go hand in hand with those things. The defense budget should be looked over and have the fat cut from it, just like every other part of the national budget.

One thing these teeth nashers are right about though is that the GOP shouldn't agree to this just for the hell of it. If we are going to cut the military then we're going to cut food stamps, welfare, research grants, NEA grants, social security, MediCade/Care, foreign aid and every other thing that this country spends its money on.

If all of these things don't get cut then don't cut the defense either. If some strange sequence of events leads to real budget slashing then the defense budget will have to be on the block as well of course. No trading on faith alone.