Congress has given President Bush the $87 billion he’s asked for Iraq and Afghanistan. Eighty-seven billion dollars is one of those Washington numbers that floats through the newspaper headlines without having a chance to sink into the public consciousness in a meaningful way.
If you had a pile of 87 billion one-dollar bills, neatly stacked, it would be 100 feet high, 250 feet deep and 125 feet wide. If you used a football field, that most American standard of measurement, $87 billion would cover it to a depth of 55 feet. The White House should give serious consideration to creating this exact spectacle before they spend the money. Take it all down to the Superdome, throw it on the field and charge admission for people to come look at it. Money porn. They could have the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders rolling around in it, naked. Funds from ticket sales could go toward reducing the deficit, or a Republican fundraiser.
Eighty-seven billion dollars is more than enough to pay off the state deficits across the country, combined. Think about that when your state is forced to raise taxes or cut services, again. Eighty-seven billion dollars is more than twice as much as we spend on Homeland Security.
Problem is, we’re not talking about $87 billion; we’re talking about $166 billion – the $87 billion Congress just approved and the $79 billion we’ve already spent. I won’t go into how big that is in a pile, but $166 billion equals $3,269 for every man, woman and child in Iraq and Afghanistan. If we actually handed out thirty-two-hundred-dollar packets of money to these poor folks, I might not feel so bad. Those people have suffered mightily in the past two decades; they could use a lottery-commercial moment. Most of the $166 billion is going to go to American companies, each and every one of which is a major contributor to George W. Bush’s re-election campaign and one of which used to be run – who am I kidding? – is still run by Vice President Dick Cheney.
You, me and the folks down the street shell out tax dollars and we get fewer services, a shredded social safety net, a deficit for our kids and their kids, a soon-to-be-bankrupt Social Security system and – funerals. Every week, eight or 10 American soldiers are killed in Iraq. Senators and military analysts say it will take us six to eight years to get out of Iraq. That’s three to four thousand dead American soldiers. Here’s another interesting number: zero. Although George W. jets around to political fundraisers on Air Force One, the president has not yet attended one funeral or memorial service for a soldier killed on his watch as commander-in-chief.
Karl Rove doesn’t want you to think about that, so last week, he arranged for President Bush to conduct a series of interviews with regional tee vee outlets, running an end-around the White House press corps, trying to put the “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” spin on the war news. I don’t think it worked. As George W. sat in the west wing, eating creampuffs served up by Hearst Broadcasting, Stars and Stripes (the Army newspaper) released the results of a poll of nearly 2,000 soldiers in Iraq. Half of them say their units are suffering from low morale and that they do not plan to re-enlist when they have served their commitment.
Mr. Bush says reconstruction in Iraq is well underway and things are progressing ahead of schedule. One-third of the troops polled by Stars and Stripes say their mission lacks definition and that the ongoing war in Iraq has little or no value. The troops reported that when politicians or other VIPs come to Iraq for inspection tours, they are exposed only to handpicked soldiers who will repeat the administration’s rose-colored talking points.
One-half of those polled won’t re-enlist, but they may be back in Iraq with a gun in their hands. Among the bloated contracts being handed out to political cronies are “security” contracts for oil wells and pipelines. Ex-soldiers can earn three times as much money in the private sector, doing the same job they were doing in the military a few months before. Same people, doing the same job, only the taxpayer pays a whole lot more, the corporation skims off a thick slice for itself (and some to kick back to the politicians) and – oh yes – there’s a lot less accountability.
All you loyal Americans keep working, keep paying, stop complaining and have a nice war.
Have A Nice War
Congress has given President Bush the $87 billion he’s asked for Iraq and Afghanistan. Eighty-seven billion dollars is one of those Washington numbers that floats through the newspaper headlines without having a chance to sink into the public consciousness in a meaningful way.
If you had a pile of 87 billion one-dollar bills, neatly stacked, it would be 100 feet high, 250 feet deep and 125 feet wide. If you used a football field, that most American standard of measurement, $87 billion would cover it to a depth of 55 feet. The White House should give serious consideration to creating this exact spectacle before they spend the money. Take it all down to the Superdome, throw it on the field and charge admission for people to come look at it. Money porn. They could have the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders rolling around in it, naked. Funds from ticket sales could go toward reducing the deficit, or a Republican fundraiser.
Eighty-seven billion dollars is more than enough to pay off the state deficits across the country, combined. Think about that when your state is forced to raise taxes or cut services, again. Eighty-seven billion dollars is more than twice as much as we spend on Homeland Security.
Problem is, we’re not talking about $87 billion; we’re talking about $166 billion – the $87 billion Congress just approved and the $79 billion we’ve already spent. I won’t go into how big that is in a pile, but $166 billion equals $3,269 for every man, woman and child in Iraq and Afghanistan. If we actually handed out thirty-two-hundred-dollar packets of money to these poor folks, I might not feel so bad. Those people have suffered mightily in the past two decades; they could use a lottery-commercial moment. Most of the $166 billion is going to go to American companies, each and every one of which is a major contributor to George W. Bush’s re-election campaign and one of which used to be run – who am I kidding? – is still run by Vice President Dick Cheney.
You, me and the folks down the street shell out tax dollars and we get fewer services, a shredded social safety net, a deficit for our kids and their kids, a soon-to-be-bankrupt Social Security system and – funerals. Every week, eight or 10 American soldiers are killed in Iraq. Senators and military analysts say it will take us six to eight years to get out of Iraq. That’s three to four thousand dead American soldiers. Here’s another interesting number: zero. Although George W. jets around to political fundraisers on Air Force One, the president has not yet attended one funeral or memorial service for a soldier killed on his watch as commander-in-chief.
Karl Rove doesn’t want you to think about that, so last week, he arranged for President Bush to conduct a series of interviews with regional tee vee outlets, running an end-around the White House press corps, trying to put the “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” spin on the war news. I don’t think it worked. As George W. sat in the west wing, eating creampuffs served up by Hearst Broadcasting, Stars and Stripes (the Army newspaper) released the results of a poll of nearly 2,000 soldiers in Iraq. Half of them say their units are suffering from low morale and that they do not plan to re-enlist when they have served their commitment.
Mr. Bush says reconstruction in Iraq is well underway and things are progressing ahead of schedule. One-third of the troops polled by Stars and Stripes say their mission lacks definition and that the ongoing war in Iraq has little or no value. The troops reported that when politicians or other VIPs come to Iraq for inspection tours, they are exposed only to handpicked soldiers who will repeat the administration’s rose-colored talking points.
One-half of those polled won’t re-enlist, but they may be back in Iraq with a gun in their hands. Among the bloated contracts being handed out to political cronies are “security” contracts for oil wells and pipelines. Ex-soldiers can earn three times as much money in the private sector, doing the same job they were doing in the military a few months before. Same people, doing the same job, only the taxpayer pays a whole lot more, the corporation skims off a thick slice for itself (and some to kick back to the politicians) and – oh yes – there’s a lot less accountability.
All you loyal Americans keep working, keep paying, stop complaining and have a nice war.