An Open Letter to Tom Schatz and CAGW

Dear Tom;

Why are you defending the status quo with regards to “Defense Spending”? From your materials (e.g., the survey), you appear to subscribe to the idea that, other than a few expensive toilets and hammers, “Defense Spending” is sacrosanct. I urge you to reposition CAGW on this issue!

Spending for our national defense is something conscious Americans can fully support. However, you and I both know that this bears little resemblance to “Defense Spending.” We have military bases all over the world, located in countries who are by and large our allies. Why? I am not interested in defending Israel or Germany – they have ample resources to do this on their own. Why are we taking food out of our poor, under-educated American children’s mouths (cue the soft violins) to monitor air traffic coming into Israel and Germany?

If we are providing a service to these countries, let them pay for it – IN FULL. Otherwise, close the bases and installations and bring our American Service Members home.

Why are we wasting our blood and money in Iraq and Afghanistan? We went into Iraq on a set of lies – we should be getting the hell out of there on the wings of the truth - Iraq has never had a damned thing to do with our national defense! Along the same lines, the Afghans insist on electing feudal lords and mullahs, so let them be. Get us the hell out of there too - just make them aware that if they ever again allow terrorist training camps back in we will bomb them the hell out of existence.

My proposed positions free up funds for and promote our national defense. The current positions and policies are related to empire-building and are a waste of American money and goodwill.

Our State Department and intelligence gathering apparatuses are a disgrace, a huge waster of funds, and in some case, a danger to our liberty. There should be more accountability in the funds that are spent for these activities.

The huge growth of the federal government implied by the health care bill is indeed a priority. But what about the massive waste represented by the Department of Energy, the Department of Education, the FDA with the so-called food safety bill and a dozen other chunks of bloated bureaucracy?

Finally, where is the call for pay and benefit equity with the private sector? Where is the call for the illegalization of public unions - how much sense does it make for public service employees to organize to lobby for their collective self-interests against those of the general public? This is a travesty, and you have not had the integrity to speak up in this matter all the years which I have been following CAGW.

I am not interested in a laundry list of expensive toilets and the occasional bridge to nowhere. I want to see some real change – some change I can bank on. Stop getting balled up in the little details and fight the big fights! If federal bureaucrats are forced to take pay and benefit cuts, they will have less time to overpay for toilets.

Sincerely,
David Rogers