...I'm okay with being REALITY-based.




Tuesday, September 09, 2003
      ( 10:53 AM )
 
Show Me the Money

Atrios has a great visual on this administration's current budget. And it looked like Wolfowitz choked a little when confronted by Congress today. With Rumsfeld continuing to blame terrorism on those of us who dare to dissent, it looks like things aren't going to be as easy for BushCo to slip by its agenda this time around. And now, when there is actually no money in the coffers to pay for any of this, we hear that the Bush administration form of supporting the troops is to make them dwell in a desert hell for just a little while longer. Obviously, when he called for "sacrifices" in his speech Sunday night, he was talking about people other than himself and his administration. They tried to keep it a secret, but it didn't work:

With active duty troops already being held longer than
expected in Iraq, officials ordered that Army Guard and
Army Reserve troops now in Iraq and surrounding
countries serve 12-month tours.

The new order, signed Friday night and not publicly announced,
covers some 20,000 people and means some of them will
remain months longer than they thought they would, officials
said. The order was first reported by The Washington Post in
Tuesday's editions.

(Or, as TBogg puts it, "enhancing overseas quality time and optimizing the potential for life-shortening experiences").

(Or, as Democratic Veteran puts it: "An Army of One...Year.")

The question isn't only how will we pay for this, it's how can we recover from this afterwards? I note that the press is reporting that the President is traveling to Florida today to talk about his "education agenda." In reality, he's traveling to Florida for more of his $2000/plate fundraisers. His "education agenda" evidently means leaving all the children behind, praising testing that puts pressure on teachers and principals to let go of crucial programs like art, music and p.e., and forcing an unfunded mandate on states that are already bankrupt and trying to find ways to keep their schools open. Sure, we might be able to agree to $87 or $90 or $100 billion to help fix Iraq... but then what's left to fix us?

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