After an enjoyable afternoon in which Della & I ran the dogs on the beach near Grayland, I came home to find the following message in my in box from Voters for Peace:
Dear Trey,So, do you still think Obama and the Dems are on OUR side?
President Obama has put forward a military budget that is $21 billion larger than the Bush military budget. His Defense Secretary, Bush holdover Robert Gates, has called for cutting some no-longer-needed and very expensive weapons systems, but he is also seeking more money for drones and a bigger DoD budget. (emphasis added)
Obama's DoD budget is $534 billion, compared to Bush's $513 billion budget. On top of all this he is preparing to ask Congress for more war funding for Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan - an additional $75.5 billion for the remainder of 2009 is expected. The military budget continues to be out of control despite the massive federal budget deficits and urgent economic needs at home. Does the U.S. really need to spend as much as the whole world combined on weapons and war?
Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.) had it right when he called for a 25% cut in military spending. Rep. John Conyers (D., Mich.) describes Obama's military budget as "embarrassingly naïve." Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D., Cal.) says she cannot imagine voting for such a budget and she heads the largest caucus in Congress, the Progressive Caucus.
Please take action today to support those in Congress who oppose military spending and urge President Obama to reduce his request for more military spending. Click here to send a letter to Obama and your representatives in Congress.
Virtually every day we read about drones killing civilians and creating new enemies for America. The U.S. needs to stop creating more enemies with drone attacks that kill civilians in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This does nothing but undermine U.S. national security. President Obama needs to be a commander in chief that holds the military accountable every time a civilian is killed. He needs to say to his military commanders - no more drone attacks if you cannot guarantee no more civilian deaths. Such killings undermine diplomatic and reconstruction efforts and makes the U.S. less secure.
It's called "Buyers Remorse". The sad and frightening thing is, that so many actually bought it.
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