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My mom, the Army wife, explained it to me when I was a kid back in the 60's. Whenever Congress threatened to cut defense funds, suddenly the Army would start serving really crappy food to all the service men, blaming "lack of funding". Of course, no weapons programs or Generals' pay or any important projects were ever effected. They just made life hell in innumerable petty ways for the "regular guys". The purpose was to make them mad, so they would raise hell with their Congresscritters, and it would all be used for political purposes.
Everyone knew what they were doing, at least back then. This is an old, old game.
And still despicable.
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by means are the ends on Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 01:16:27 PM PDT
[ Parent ]
Unfortunately, old, old, despicable games still work.
I think, therefore I am........................... Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose
by Lilyvt on Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 01:29:25 PM PDT
Maybe this time all the "regular guys" will scream at the president and the defense department instead of at Congress. They could demand that they force the contractors like Blackwater to take pay cuts instead of furloughing the civilians at the bases.
"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good." --Samuel Johnson
by joanneleon on Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 02:07:14 PM PDT
Don't they have to honor the contract that is currently in effect?
They could refuse future funding, but if Blackwater's contract is current, I think we have to wait for it to expire or be revoked (by some statutes I'm not familiar with) before they stop getting paid.
Not true of Federal employees -- Reagan furloughed me in a budget standoff many years ago when I was a government worker.
by Brooke In Seattle on Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 02:36:04 PM PDT
Should be ample grounds for terminating their contract, unless those things are part of the contract. If that's not enough, how many more outrages would it take before termination becomes doable?
What you see is what you get, but what you don't see is what ends up getting you.
by Existentialist on Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 03:53:52 PM PDT
If a man claims to speak for god he will assure he is also gods' banker.
by AuntieM on Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 02:42:23 PM PDT
There are billions and billions of dollars being spent on Defense procurements of futuristic weapons system that we don't need - like some of the crap listed on this Defense Industry Daily website. Or how about this Defense Aerospace site. The amount of money involved in all this is mind boggling.
by Anna M on Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 02:53:43 PM PDT
wide narrow
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