tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441964287069378605.post3098598997514310480..comments2023-10-30T08:31:30.437-07:00Comments on Smokes and Booze: An Equal Opportunity Offenderedbellmcsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07263919297406152341noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441964287069378605.post-11769482718970977652011-01-21T15:07:58.524-08:002011-01-21T15:07:58.524-08:00Gee....I was giving them the benefit of the doubt ...Gee....I was giving them the benefit of the doubt by only assuming 1/2 bottle of wine each. You should have seen me at the NSI Christmas Party where I was chugging out of the bottle :Pedbellmcsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07263919297406152341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441964287069378605.post-11275812282598661392011-01-21T13:02:20.664-08:002011-01-21T13:02:20.664-08:00Too long didn't read (or prefer another medium...Too long didn't read (or prefer another medium):<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if88PgI-vfU" rel="nofollow">Bill Maher on same subject</a><br />Start at 1:33 to skip a lot of the tea party crap.JChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17786414234275458854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441964287069378605.post-23254074635271712082011-01-21T12:49:58.961-08:002011-01-21T12:49:58.961-08:00Second, only Ed would assume that every single per...Second, only Ed would assume that every single person [on average] at an important state function with immense diplomatic implications would drink <i>half a bottle of wine each.</i><br /> :)<br /><br />Of course the further assumption is that the <i>only</i> wine they drank was the most expensive bottle, even though it wasn't available in the other courses.<br /><br />Alright, whatever. Call it $44k. It would take seventy-two THOUSAND of those dinners to buy <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,148141,00.html" rel="nofollow">one submarine</a>.* If we had held this state dinner <i>every single day</i> since the founding fathers, that would have bought ONE sub.<br /><br />What the hell do we need a huge fleet of subs, destroyers, battleships, and aircraft carriers for? The same goes for about 75% of our air force, and 95% of our tanks, artillery, etc.<br /><br />Subs are good for spying. But the rest of it is mostly excessive. In the past 10 years all I can think of our navy being used for is:<br />1) <a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110109/business/business9.html" rel="nofollow">Creating new reefs</a><br />2) Humanitarian aid to third world countries (tsunamis, earthquakes, etc)<br />3) Environmental clean-up (Horizon)<br /><br /><i>Those are all progressive agendas!</i> The only thing our vast military arsenal is good for is hippy stuff.<br />And that's just the Navy.<br /><br />We have even less use for having tens of thousands (literally) of fighter planes and tanks and bombers and artillery pieces on hand for the missions we engage in. <br />[Spy/recon/transport/light vehicles are a different story.] <br /><br />Aside from the fact that an expensive (-ish) dinner with China's leader makes cents [25 trillion of them], anyone who genuinely cares about out of control spending must have a heart attack when they hear a story about what we are spending on the military.<br />Right?<br /><br />* This is a dirty trick: I'm sort of hoping to watch a republican defend the commissioning of the USS Jimmy Carter.<br />:PJChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17786414234275458854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441964287069378605.post-63182932539255735402011-01-21T12:06:34.894-08:002011-01-21T12:06:34.894-08:00First, the trade deficit between the US and China ...First, the trade deficit between the US and China is about <a href="" rel="nofollow">$250 billion.</a> Let's assume we want the government run efficiently like a business, which is pretty much the mainstream GOP and libertarian view--even some libs agree if you change it to "run like your own household."<br /><br />So, if the US was a corporation and Obama was the CEO, and you were a shareholder, would you really say these things about a very rare and important CEO to (rival? partner?) CEO business dinner for an account worth up to $250,000,000,000.00?<br /><br />How far would any salt-of-the-Earth small business owner go for an account worth a fraction of that?JChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17786414234275458854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441964287069378605.post-529409784546888062011-01-21T09:47:02.763-08:002011-01-21T09:47:02.763-08:00Who got the POWA! I gotz deh powa dat who!Who got the POWA! I gotz deh powa dat who!Glennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09175891799765128931noreply@blogger.com