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According to http://www.warresisters.org/piechart.htm it's 54%. They went through and totaled the amounts for military spending that the presidential budget put in other departments. Then they include the 162 billion asked for by Bush just for the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (not included in his budget at all). Or for a fun representation you could check out http://www.truemajority.org/oreos/
 
btw we know you're a republican, you don't need to reinforce the idea by calling social programs entitlements.

Oh, and I didn't realise that video had been taken down, here's a flash version of the Oreo demonstration here

The question is whether or not global warming is a man made phenomena? And indeed it's true that this question is emotionally and politically charged. Whenever this question is asked though, I hear very few relevant responses. Indeed, it's as if this has become a religious debate, with the only answers being the same circular type that we're used to hearing in nearly all religious debates.

Look, I'm with you guys, lets clean up the environment. Lets rid our oil dependency. But what if global warming actually is a natural phenomena?

I hear the typical argument "better safe than sorry". Well, if global warming is indeed being caused by the sun, which also seems to be warming Mars, then where will your argument get us if we focus our resources on energy only to find out that there's nothing we can do about it? The question must be answered before it can be solved!

If this is a natural, irreversible phenomena, then we're all screwed unless we figure out ways to protect ourselves from a potential extinction level event. And laughing at the skeptics while we focus narrow mindedly on prevention might just get me and my two children killed in the long run. And for what? To prove you're right? C'mon, this is science for crying out loud, we're never right, and that's kind of the point! You can't sweep the questions under the rug and call it science!

And here's a long shot for everyone who believes our government can do no evil... If you knew the world was doomed, would it benefit you to tell the people? Think riots, mass hysteria, war, etc. Would it not be better to save as many people as you can, while still keeping things quiet? And do you think the people would accept the notion that you're using OUR resources to save, well of course, your own ass, family, and friends? You simply couldn't tell everyone that global warming is irreversible, instead you would need a smoke screen. A smoke screen that hides your intentions, while giving people a sense of hope at the same time would be ideal. And c'mon, public lotteries to determine who lives is for the movies!

Indeed, this is a horrible thought, and you may think yourself better than to resort to this type of plan, but do you really think your neighbor, guy down the street, or public officials would give a rat's ass about you if it meant saving their own necks? Sadly, this is a plan that I myself might think of if it meant my own survival. If you think there's any, possible, even somewhat slim chance that something like this might be going on, then It might cause you to question the true motives behind the miles and miles of underground government top secret compounds that exist in almost every state in this country. If you don't think they're hiding anything, then you might instead question what they're hiding from?

And one final tidbit to chew on... Obviously the government wants to protect it's own ass, so if they're really so worried about preventing global warming, then why are they spending so little on science and energy? And what are they spending the rest of that federal money on? http://www.truemajority.org/csba/priorities.php

Do a Google search, I immediately found this interesting URL: http://www.anomalies-unlimited.com/Bases.html I'm sure you can find plenty more.

Here's a video of Ben Cohen (of Ben & Jerry's ice cream fame) that puts the size of the US nuclear arsenal in perspective.

Ben's BBs [flash]

Even President Reagan's assistant secretary of defense says [PDF] we could cut some of these nuclear weapons and not harm our national security.

And Robert McNamara (of Vietnam War fame) is now saying that the US should urgently confront the dangers of it's nuclear weapons policies to avoid another Cuban missile crisis scenario.

Say what you will about the United States, but at least you can't say that we spend extreme percentages on our military while we have major internal problems. I hope this was intended as irony. See also - http://www.truemajority.org/oreos/

If you really wanted to cut government discretionary spending, cut defense spending. By eliminating the non-functional boondoggle that is Star Wars and cutting funding for other Cold War weaponry (about $50 billion off of the current $400 billion defense budget), we can free up enough to more than pay for the Voyager program AND a whole bunch of other things.(Source)

How about we wait until we don't have to fight any more goddamn wars, and then cut the Pentagon budget, and use 1/4 of the savings on social programs, half on the space program, and the remaining $100 billion (according to my handy-dandy True Majority pen) we give back to the people as a tax cut?

I'm not sure if it's because of me (a /.er who's been doing a "Chicken Little" impression about electronic voting for a couple of years now) or because of Ben Cohen's (as in "Ben," the founder of Ben & Jerry's, tho' he's no longer working there) organization, True Majority, which has been sending her e-mails about e-voting, among other issues, but my mom has gotten into this issue. She lives in Maine and sent me an e-mail about an act recently passed in the Maine Legislature entitled An Act to Ensure the Accurate Counting of Votes. Note: navigation is a bit weird on the linked site-- if you go to the text of the Act, the whole text of the bill will not appear on a single page. You will have to use the arrows at the top and bottom of the pages to navigate around through the Act. You can also download a copy in M$ Word format.
Oh yeh-- there's an amendment. To see it, click on the "Amendments" link on the "Bill Text and Other Docs" page, or click here.
This is a sweet little piece of legislation. My favorite parts: it prohibits networking the voting machines, requires the voting machine software to be open source, and requires the voting machines to print paper ballots that are inspected by the voter and then placed into a ballot box. I am deeply impressed with this, and with the sponsor, Maine State Representative Hannah Pingree.
Here's a question: does anybody other than the OVC have a product that meets the criteria specified in the Act?
Responding to the parent post, I'll say that Maine can be considered a "backwater state," and its legislature has produced what appears to me to be a kick-ass piece of legislation on e-voting that explicitly requires open source software. Do big, rich, important states like California have such good legislation? I think not. Score one for the backwater states!

--Mark

PS: if you're near a Ben & Jerry's scoop shop, go there next Tuesday, April 27, and take advantage of Free Cone Day!!!

I didn't see this in anyone else's reply, but if it's there and I missed it, pardon my redundance... The Computer Ate My Vote

There is a campaign underway to address the issue of paper trails for computerized voting machines. Check it out: The Computer Ate My Vote

"I think we need to organize public awareness campaigns about how easily the votes can be tampered with..."

Here's a link to one

I'm listening to the anti-aircraft fire etc. right now, pretty scary.

He just said "On my orders.." *shivers*

I can't begin to imagine where this might take us..
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The Beastie Boys released a song (mp3 link) relating to some of this insanity, it's a decent track. Relevant links: Link1

Win Without War

True Majority - Democracy in Action

Helpful Stuff

About an hour ago, I saw one of those commercials from the President's Ass...err...Ad Council. It was that commercial where you first see a neighborhood with no flags in it, then the commentator says something like, "Terrorists thought they could change America on nine-eleven...they did", and then you see the same neighborhood, only this time covered in American flags. The next message on the screen is, "Freedom. Cherish it, Protect It."

What a bunch of BS. Here they sit preaching freedom when, in fact, we are losing freedom with such questionable practices like the US Patriot Act, Homeland Security Act, TIPS, and now TIA.

I guess all it takes is a few airplanes hurtling from the sky to push the American people into submission and toss aside the rights that so many fought so hard for in the past.

Don't be a scared sheep, contact Congress and voice your opinion, for whatever it is worth. You can fax Congress and the President here -> www.truemajority.org