PatrickHenry nailed it.  The Constitution was written when there was no significant standing army to speak of. It was assumed a “well regulated militia” would help defend the country and that Congress would need to appropriate funds for each war. It’s why the second amendment states:  “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”  My emphasis. 

Congress granting permission for wars went out the window with the Cold War.  Congress has made half-hearted attempts to get the power back but to no avail (see War Powers Resolution of 1973).  The National Security Act of 1947, the huge defense budgets of the last fifty years, and national security rulings by courts essentially mean we are in a state of perpetual war.

So, yeah, like PatrickHenry said cutting the defense budget is the only solution.  The problem is the defense budget creates jobs and members of Congress receive campaign funding from defense contractors. It’s why both the elephants and the asses are loath to break the war machine.

But break it we must or we will be royally screwed. 

I would reach out to the Republican Tea Party here and say:  You were played as fools.  There is no crime in that. It happens to us all at one time or another.  But by keeping defense spending off the table, there is nothing—nothing—you can cut to significantly reduce the deficit.

If you want a reasonable tax rate, you must cut defense spending and you must change the country’s energy policy. That requires innovative thinking because you’ll need to rapidly divert some of the money that is currently spent on the military to rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure and to funding alternative forms of energy and transportation. If you don’t, the economy will go right in the crapper. Again. 

Are you up to it? Or do you just want to cripple the federal government and tear this country apart?  Is it your belief that all the federal government can do is put people in prison and fund wars? 

Step up.  They played you as fools but you’re in power now.  Use that power wisely and you can make fools out of those Republicans who misled and manipulated you.

In our new era of budget cutting, I believe the congress is now aware of the big slush fund of military money which allows the president to engage in the 60 days or less wars without their input.

We need to trim the US military budget by half, no more exorbent pensions give them all a 401K.

A very interesting piece on why this American Muslim scholar did not support the US-Libyan intervention, from the start:
http://www.newislamicdirections.com/nid/print/why_i_oppose_the_us-led_intervention_in_libya

More of the same Right-Wing fascist regime under a Left cloak.

Oh, yeah.  I bet they’re scared now.

what a sad joke