A Boston Tea Party …(Hey, Look)

Yesterday we were told that we should not be surprised if terrorists are plotting another attack against the homeland of the United States. This stunning (sarcasm) announcement came on the heels of the previous day’s news that the President was asking for another $80 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Coincidence, I think not.

I have problems with both of these two pronouncements. First of all allow me to discuss safety. WE ARE NOT SAFE. IF YOU THINK SO THEN YOU ARE A FOOL. Don’t forget the golden rule, government does nothing well. Just because Washington talks a good game does not mean it is actually happening. If you do any research on air safety, intelligence, or border patrol you will notice one common thread. WE AREN’T DOING ANYTHING CLOSE TO WHAT IS NEEDED TO PROTECT THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES FROM FURTHER ATTACKS. We have not been attacked for one simple reason. The terrorists have not yet decided how or when it will happen. WE throw money and words at homeland security while continually failing to take the action it requires. Political correctness, government inefficiency, and cost are the main reasons. As Newt Gingrich says in his new book “Winning the Future”, we need to triple the amount of money being spent on national security before we even begin to do what is necessary to actually keep Americans safe. Tripling the amount of money spent….hmmm….what a great segue into my other problem.

I was so excited to hear during the State of the Union speech that the President was going to cut 150 federal programs in his new budget. A few weeks later I have learned the cuts are not quite as dramatic as he made them sound that night. Those same 150 programs amount to $20 billion, equaling a cut of eight tenths of one percent (.008). Yes, that is right we have heard complaints about cutting eight tenths of one percent of the total budget. This country truly has turned into a dependency citizenry. Last wek on “the O’Reilly Factor” Newt Gingrich whimsically told Bill O’Reilly that one could cut $50 billion out of the budget without really having to look too hard. Then they both laughed at the absurdity of the comment. I have a real suggestion for spending cuts. If Bush wants another $80 billion for the war then he should have to cut $80 billion from some other spending. To do so he would have to cut a whopping (sarcasm) 3.2 percent of the proposed spending. Imagine the outrage from Congress and the public. I have two cars, if I want a new one I have to decide which of my two cars I am willing to get rid of so that I can afford the new one. All budgets require choices, most much more than eight tenths of one percent.

The government tells us all what we want to hear. The skies are safe. Bullsh**! The borders are secure. Bullsh**! America is safer than we were before. Bullsh**! Spending is being reduced. Bullsh**! Conservatism still exists. Bullsh**! America will sacrifice for freedom. Bullsh**! The federal government plays the easiest trick in the book on us. If you want to distract a child, to keep them from seeing something you don’t want them to see, you yell, “Hey look over there” as you point the in the other direction. While the child turns their head you hide what you don’t want them to see. The governments gets us looking the wrong way with the words they use hoping to distract us from what they don’t want us to know. It is the people’s fault that the government is not required to be upfront and honest with us. We allow the deceit.