Good God.

Check this crazy story out:Yahoo! News - Bush Signs $401 Billion Defense Bill.

According to the story, some of the provisions in this record-high defense budget are:

- Raising salaries for soldiers by an average of 4.15 percent, and extends increases in combat and family separation pay. Nearly half a TRILLION dollars, and the raises still barely beat inflation?

- Calls for the Air Force to lease 20 Boeing 767 planes as in-flight refueling tankers and buy 80 more. Hmmm, 767s were the planes used to attack the World Trade Center. Now the Air Force wants to use them as flying fuel tanks.

- Partially overturns rules preventing disabled veterans from receiving some retirement pay as well as disability compensation. What do they mean by "partially"? Take care of the veterans!

- Grants Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld increased control over 700,000 civilian employees. Pentagon officials said restrictions on hiring, firing and promoting employees forced them to use military personnel for jobs better suited for civilians. Democrats said the bill goes too far in stripping overtime guarantees and job protection rules. Does this make any sense at all?

- Lifts a decade-old ban on research into low-yield nuclear weapons and authorizes $15 million for continued research into a powerful nuclear weapon capable of destroying deep underground bunkers. Why?

- Exempts the military to provisions of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Pentagon claimed environmental laws restrict training exercises; environmentalists said the laws have had little effect on training and that the exemptions go too far. Why does this cost $401 Billion?

- Includes $9 Billion for ballistic missile defense research. $9 BILLION?

The real problem is that no one knows what $401 Billion really is...it is such a huge amount, it's hard to fathom. Well, here it is: it is the eqivalent of spending $300,000 a day, 365 days a year, FOR 4 THOUSAND YEARS! Bush intends for our military to spend this in ONE year. You tell me if this is a good value; remember, it's YOUR money.

More later...
Paul