Rising Hegemon
Before Congress voted to cut $2.4 trillion from government expenses over the next decade, lawmakers budgeted a 1.2 percent increase, to $8.6 billion, for all missile defense programs in fiscal 2012. That would raise total costs to about $150 billion, or roughly the inflation-adjusted amount poured into the Apollo program sending men to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s.
Of course one was an edifying moment in human history, the other the prattle-brained natterings of an old idiot and has been a demonstrably colossal failure. Other than that they are the same.
6 comments:
This idiotic program has now survived through five administrations.
Perhaps because not one of those five Presidents had any scientific background or training. Few people know that Edward Teller pitched Star Wars to Jimmy Carter, and Carter pretty much destroyed Teller's proposal point by point.
Carter made his share of mistakes (one of which was listening to Zbigniew Brzezinski), but he had correctly identfied Star Wars as a boondoggle.
The military industrial complex is making money off it, so why should anyone in Congress give a missile-flying fuck whether it works or not? They get their kickbacks in the form of campaign contribribeutions, eh?
What could be a better use of money than hitting a missile with another missile especially when everyone is freaking out over suitcase nukes. Wait - we're not freaking out over suitcase nukes now? Is it shark-week already?
On a related note, if anyone thinks that the military will have it's budget slashed when the super cat food commission doesn't come to an agreement is fucking high. Look no further than Leon Panetta's performance before congress yesterday and the writing is on the wall. Democrats won't slash the defense budget. A separate bill will be passed to fully fund the military.
A classic example of a zombie idea that will not die and more pork for the MIC Eisenhower warned of. You know it is a really bad idea when the American Physical Society (http://www.aps.org/) says that it cannot work and that its assumptions violate the laws of physics.
...but he [Carter] had correctly identfied Star Wars as a boondoggle.
He was too book learned and intelligent and didn't tow the fundy line. He may have walked his faith in his personal life but by not installing a fundamentalist Protestant Christian regime in government he really pissed off what has become a base constituency of the Teavangicalbirchpublican* party.
* sociopathically dedicated to eliminating civil governance except when it comes to building a vast defense industry to do the Lords works (from star wars to vagina wars, whatever it takes).
STAR WARS? oh for cripes sake. we can't afford schools but we can afford this???
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