I. Donald Trump's Misogyny Defined
1.) "We picked a President whose ex-wife once testified that he ripped out her hair and raped her, a man who's been accused of sexual assault and misconduct by almost two dozen women, a man whose own words corroborate his accuser's claims." (Jia Tolentino, in the November 21, 2016 The New Yorker.)
2.) "Trump's descriptions and treatment of women didn't seem to bother them." One woman told the reporter, Peter Hessler: "I'm a strong enough woman." Hessler writes that he "often heard similar comments from female Trump supporters -- in their eyes, it was a show of strength to ignore the candidate's crudeness and transgressions, because only the weak would react with outrage." (Peter Hessler in the November 21, 2016 The New Yorker.)
There are at least two problems with this approach: a.) a number of strong women did come out to no discernible effect; and b.) a number of women are afraid to come out, because they will not be believed or even savagely attacked.
3.) A woman named Reem Razek said: "When I saw the women who were defending him after the pussy-grabbing comments, it reminded me so much of the women in the Muslim Brotherhood who'd defend bad things that the Brotherhood guys did. They'd say, 'Men and women are different, and we have to accept that we're the weaker sex." "I think a lot of women struggle with the Stockholm-syndrome thing." ( In the November 21, 2016 The New Yorker.)
4.) "There are dozens of reasons why Trump won, but misogyny was a big part of it." "As "Vok" reported, one of the biggest predictors of Trump support was 'hostile sexism...'" "Those white women, like the rest of us, now live in a country where the public humiliation of women has the White House seal of approval." "Repressing women in the name of purifying a decadent culture is always part of the package, as it was in the fascist states of the 1930s." (Katha Pollitt, in the December 5/12, 2016 The Nation.)
II. Some Foreign Policy and Domestic Threats Trump Poses
1.) A recruitment video released in January by Al Shabaab, the East African militant group allied with Al Qaeda, showed Trump calling for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.: the video warned, "Tomorrow, it will be a land of religious discrimination and concentration camps."
2.) A Gift to Iran
Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has called Trump's vow to kill the Iran nuclear deal "a gift to Iran." "The hard-line forces in Iran are looking for a way in which this deal can unravel, but they won't be blamed for it." "This would be their ideal solution.The Iranians would say, 'You've abrogated your end , so we're going to reconstitute our nuclear program.'"
3.) The Economist Intelligence Unit, an economic-and-geopolitical-analysis firm, has ranked the prospect of a Trump victory on its top-ten risks to the global economy.
4.) Anthony Karydakis, the chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak, an asset manager, has warned that a Trump victory is now generally regarded as "a major destabilizing development for financial markets." Karydakis added: "If he ever even alludes to renegotiating the debt, we will have a downgrade of U.S. debt, and that event will cause a massive exodus of foreign investors from the U.S. Treasury market."
5.) The American Action Forum, a conservative Washington think tank, ran budget projections of Trump's plan: raids on farms, restaurants, factories, and construction sites would require more than ninety thousand"'apprehension personnel" -- six times the number of special agents in the F.B.I. Beds for captured men, women and children would reach 348,831, nearly triple the detention space required for the internment of Japanese-Americans during the Second World War.
The report estimated the total cost at six hundred billion dollars, which it judged financially imprudent.
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Will Trump Get to Zero on Honoring Campaign Pldges?
There is now a question if Donald Trump will repudiate all of his campaign pledges. He is ripping them up at a very fast pace. Then will Trump start restoring these pledges, as former supporters start to rebel, or circumstances arise that he finds conducive to going back to them? We are not yet into the Trump presidency and already the following pledges have been abandoned.
1.) Waterboarding
According to CNN, Foreign Affairs Intelligence Committee chair Mich Rogers (R-Mich.) has said that Trump's waterboarding remarks were just "campaign talk." Yesterday, Trump told the New York Times that he has changed his mind on waterboarding. What changed his mind? The retired general that he might appoint to be defense secretary told him that you can get better information by building trust -- he said he could do it with "a cigarette and a couple of beers." Trump could have gotten this point of view long ago by talking to any of the top attorneys in the armed services, who vigorously opposed the torture regime under George W. Bush, even at the risk of ending their careers. Or Trump could have talked to Senator McCain.
2.) Mexico Paying for the Wall
Newt Gingrich has said that Trump "may not spend very much time to get Mexico to pay for it [the Wall] but it was a "great campaign device."
3.) The Iran Nuclear Deal
Mike Pence said in the campaign, along with Trump himself, that Trump will "rip up the Iran deal." But Trump adviser Walid Phares told the BBC on or about November 11, 2016: "He will take the agreement, review it, send it to Congress, demand that Iranians to restore (sic) [a] few issues or change [a] few issues."
4.) A Special Prosecutor for Hillary
When asked post-election on appointing a special prosecutor for Hillary Clinton for alleged wrongdoing, Trump responded: "It's something I haven't given a lot of thought, because I want to solve health care, jobs, border control, tax reform." Yesterday, Trump confirmed that Hillary has been through a lot and he didn't want to divide the country. Kellyanne Conway said that Hillary "needed time to heal." Heal from what? Her evil? Her loss of the election?
It is hard to erase that iconic image of Trump leaving his podium in the presidential debate, hovering over a seated Hillary and telling her that if he is elected president he will quickly appoint a special prosecutor to look into her possible criminal behavior.
5.) Entitlement Programs
Donald Trump has promised not to touch entitlement programs; however, when Rep. Paul Ryan said post-election that he would consider cutting Medicare, turning it into a "premium support" model, which would involve doling out federal private insurance, rather than the current single-payer model, Trump has remained silent.
6.) 45% Tax on China
In January 2016, Donald Trump told the New York Times that he would slap a 45% tax on China if it devalued the Chinese yuan -- Trump had made the same promise on several other occasions. Trump's senior policy adviser, Wilbur Ross, has denied, post-election, that Trump had ever made such a claim. Ross said that Trump would "threaten" China with a 45% tariff if it devalued the yuan by 45%. This is a distinction without a difference.
7.) The Wall
Donald Trump originally proposed to build a 2,000 -mile wall between the United States and Mexico. In the October 30, 2015 GOP debate, Trump sprang a big surprise by saying that the wall needed to be only 1,000 miles long. The only explanation that Trump gave for cutting the wall in half was that the natural terrain eliminated the need for a longer wall. It is obvious that Donald Trump didn't arrange for an aerial or ground survey to check the natural terrain.
The only description of any specificity that Trump has made for the type of wall construction is that it would be made of concrete and reinforced steel -- called rebar for short. The Trump camp has revealed post-election that some undetermined length of the wall will be made of fencing. A structural engineer consulted by the media company, Univision, has said that a fenced wall can easily be breached.
Univision's structural engineer has ruled out all other types of wall construction, except for concrete. Because concrete poured on site in a hot, dry climate tends to have adverse chemical reactions, he recommends precast concrete as the best choice. He told Univision that a wall 1,954 miles long, five feet underground and twenty feet high would use three times the concrete needed to build the Hoover Dam. Thus, Trump's 1,000-mile wall would use one and a half times the concrete. Two and one-half billion pounds of rebar wold also be needed.
The Washington Post has listed 76 promises that Trump made in the presidential campaign. Breaking 76 promises is a big order but Donald Trump is off to a strong start.
1.) Waterboarding
According to CNN, Foreign Affairs Intelligence Committee chair Mich Rogers (R-Mich.) has said that Trump's waterboarding remarks were just "campaign talk." Yesterday, Trump told the New York Times that he has changed his mind on waterboarding. What changed his mind? The retired general that he might appoint to be defense secretary told him that you can get better information by building trust -- he said he could do it with "a cigarette and a couple of beers." Trump could have gotten this point of view long ago by talking to any of the top attorneys in the armed services, who vigorously opposed the torture regime under George W. Bush, even at the risk of ending their careers. Or Trump could have talked to Senator McCain.
2.) Mexico Paying for the Wall
Newt Gingrich has said that Trump "may not spend very much time to get Mexico to pay for it [the Wall] but it was a "great campaign device."
3.) The Iran Nuclear Deal
Mike Pence said in the campaign, along with Trump himself, that Trump will "rip up the Iran deal." But Trump adviser Walid Phares told the BBC on or about November 11, 2016: "He will take the agreement, review it, send it to Congress, demand that Iranians to restore (sic) [a] few issues or change [a] few issues."
4.) A Special Prosecutor for Hillary
When asked post-election on appointing a special prosecutor for Hillary Clinton for alleged wrongdoing, Trump responded: "It's something I haven't given a lot of thought, because I want to solve health care, jobs, border control, tax reform." Yesterday, Trump confirmed that Hillary has been through a lot and he didn't want to divide the country. Kellyanne Conway said that Hillary "needed time to heal." Heal from what? Her evil? Her loss of the election?
It is hard to erase that iconic image of Trump leaving his podium in the presidential debate, hovering over a seated Hillary and telling her that if he is elected president he will quickly appoint a special prosecutor to look into her possible criminal behavior.
5.) Entitlement Programs
Donald Trump has promised not to touch entitlement programs; however, when Rep. Paul Ryan said post-election that he would consider cutting Medicare, turning it into a "premium support" model, which would involve doling out federal private insurance, rather than the current single-payer model, Trump has remained silent.
6.) 45% Tax on China
In January 2016, Donald Trump told the New York Times that he would slap a 45% tax on China if it devalued the Chinese yuan -- Trump had made the same promise on several other occasions. Trump's senior policy adviser, Wilbur Ross, has denied, post-election, that Trump had ever made such a claim. Ross said that Trump would "threaten" China with a 45% tariff if it devalued the yuan by 45%. This is a distinction without a difference.
7.) The Wall
Donald Trump originally proposed to build a 2,000 -mile wall between the United States and Mexico. In the October 30, 2015 GOP debate, Trump sprang a big surprise by saying that the wall needed to be only 1,000 miles long. The only explanation that Trump gave for cutting the wall in half was that the natural terrain eliminated the need for a longer wall. It is obvious that Donald Trump didn't arrange for an aerial or ground survey to check the natural terrain.
The only description of any specificity that Trump has made for the type of wall construction is that it would be made of concrete and reinforced steel -- called rebar for short. The Trump camp has revealed post-election that some undetermined length of the wall will be made of fencing. A structural engineer consulted by the media company, Univision, has said that a fenced wall can easily be breached.
Univision's structural engineer has ruled out all other types of wall construction, except for concrete. Because concrete poured on site in a hot, dry climate tends to have adverse chemical reactions, he recommends precast concrete as the best choice. He told Univision that a wall 1,954 miles long, five feet underground and twenty feet high would use three times the concrete needed to build the Hoover Dam. Thus, Trump's 1,000-mile wall would use one and a half times the concrete. Two and one-half billion pounds of rebar wold also be needed.
The Washington Post has listed 76 promises that Trump made in the presidential campaign. Breaking 76 promises is a big order but Donald Trump is off to a strong start.
Will Trump Get to Zero on Campaign Pledges?
The Washington Post had identified 76 campaign pledges made by Donald Trump. Will he get to zero on them?
Friday, November 18, 2016
Mindboggling Big Military (concluded) and the Militia Movement
The last blog presented some of the most costly weapons-related items on the Pentagon's shopping list. The continuation of that list focuses almost exclusively on the non-lethal items needed to sustain the modern U.S. military. The list is taken from the special report found in the January/February 2014 issue of Mother Jones magazine.
I. An Itemized Pentagon Budget (2012 figures)
$21.6 Billion - Petroleum and oil
$4.0 Billion - Dairy and eggs
$2.5 Billion - Nuclear reactors
$2.5 Billion - Drugs and pharmaceuticals
$1.2 Billion - Meat, poultry, and fish
$978 Million - Small-arms ammunition
$834 Million - Night-vision equipment
$783 Million - Fruit and vegetables
$738 Million - Bakery and cereal products
$554 Million - Nonalcoholic beverages
$547 Million - Land mines
$413 Million - Small arms
$294 Million - Sugar, confectionery, and nuts
$260 Million - Composite food packages (MRES)
$226 Million - Soap, toothpaste, and shaving preparations
$152 Million - Footwear
$103 Million - Bulk explosives
$102 Million - Live animals (not for food)
$86 Million - Bolts and screws
$85 Million - Soups and bouillons
$85 Million - Tobacco products
$73 Million - Coffee, tea, and cocoa
$26 Million - Grenades
$18 Million - Underwear and nightwear
$16 Million - Badges and insignia
$1 Million - Blood and blood products
II. A Well-Regulated Militia
This history of militias in the United States is found in: "Patriot Games," Mother Jones, November/December 2016.
1776: General George Washington gripes about the militiamen among his forces, "whose behavior and want of discipline has done great injury to the other troops."
1787: Constitutional Convention delegates clash over whether the militia should come under national control. As a compromise, the Constitution grants the federal government the power to call up the militia but leaves the appointment of officers to the states. The Second Amendment emphasizes that a "well-regulated Militia" is "necessary to the security of a free state."
1831: As mandatory militia duty becomes unpopular, states begin to abolish it. By the 1840s, many states set up an "organized" militia with actual responsibilities and an "unorganized" militia that exists in name only.
1903: The Militia Act of 1903 (also known as the Dick Act) beefs up state militias with federal funding and gives the feds the power to review state militias.
1916: The National Guard, which evolved from the organized militia, becomes part of the Army.
1971: William Potter Gale, a white supremacist and anti-Semite activist, forms a proto-"patriot" group called Posse Comitatus (Latin for "power of the country"), which purports that the highest level of authority is the county government. Gale says sheriffs who violate the Constitution should be taken to a "populated intersection" and "hung there by their neck." The group spreads across the West and Midwest by the 1980s.
1976: Congress passes the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, kicking off the Sagebrush Rebellion, which seeks to establish state and local control over public lands in the West.
1983: Posse Comitatus member Gordon Kahl murders two federal marshals trying to arrest him in North Dakota. He's later killed in a shootout, during which he kills a sheriff.
1990: President George H.W. Bush welcomes "a new world order," popularizing a phrase that conspiracy theorists equate with the coming of a global totalitarian government.
1992: White supremacist Randy Weaver surrenders after his wife, his son, and a US marshal are killed during a standoff at his cabin in Ruby Ridge, Idaho. The event energizes the far-right "patriot" movement, which includes armed militias.
1993: Federal firearms agents attempt to raid the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. The ensuing battle kills four agents and six Davidians. A 51-day siege ends when the FBI sprays tear gas in the building, which bursts into flames, leaving 76 people dead.
1994: Responding to the Brady Bill's mandatory five-day waiting period for handgun sales, Michigan Militia leader Norman Olson tells the New York Times, "We are ceasing to be a republic...When people sense danger, they will come together to defend themselves. That is what's happening."
1995: A truck bomb destroys the Oklahoma City federal building, killing 168 people, including 19 children. Bomber Timothy McVeigh had attended militia meetings. Militia members testify in Congress to defend their movement, but within a decade the number of militia groups drops from 441 to 35, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
2005: The Minuteman Project monitors the US-Mexican border, putting a media-friendly face on earlier militia efforts to catch undocumented immigrants.
2008: Following the election of President Barack Obama, the number of militia groups surges from 42 to 127 in one year. Mike Vanderboegh promotes the idea of the three percenters, named after the claim that only 3 percent of colonists were the backbone of he American Revolution.
2009: The Department of Homeland Security warns of an increase in right-wing extremism. After a fierce backlash from conservatives, it withdraws the report. Montana attorney and Army veteran Stewart Rhodes launches the Oath Keepers, a militia group that focuses on recruiting military members, police officers, and first responders.
I. An Itemized Pentagon Budget (2012 figures)
$21.6 Billion - Petroleum and oil
$4.0 Billion - Dairy and eggs
$2.5 Billion - Nuclear reactors
$2.5 Billion - Drugs and pharmaceuticals
$1.2 Billion - Meat, poultry, and fish
$978 Million - Small-arms ammunition
$834 Million - Night-vision equipment
$783 Million - Fruit and vegetables
$738 Million - Bakery and cereal products
$554 Million - Nonalcoholic beverages
$547 Million - Land mines
$413 Million - Small arms
$294 Million - Sugar, confectionery, and nuts
$260 Million - Composite food packages (MRES)
$226 Million - Soap, toothpaste, and shaving preparations
$152 Million - Footwear
$103 Million - Bulk explosives
$102 Million - Live animals (not for food)
$86 Million - Bolts and screws
$85 Million - Soups and bouillons
$85 Million - Tobacco products
$73 Million - Coffee, tea, and cocoa
$26 Million - Grenades
$18 Million - Underwear and nightwear
$16 Million - Badges and insignia
$1 Million - Blood and blood products
II. A Well-Regulated Militia
This history of militias in the United States is found in: "Patriot Games," Mother Jones, November/December 2016.
1776: General George Washington gripes about the militiamen among his forces, "whose behavior and want of discipline has done great injury to the other troops."
1787: Constitutional Convention delegates clash over whether the militia should come under national control. As a compromise, the Constitution grants the federal government the power to call up the militia but leaves the appointment of officers to the states. The Second Amendment emphasizes that a "well-regulated Militia" is "necessary to the security of a free state."
1831: As mandatory militia duty becomes unpopular, states begin to abolish it. By the 1840s, many states set up an "organized" militia with actual responsibilities and an "unorganized" militia that exists in name only.
1903: The Militia Act of 1903 (also known as the Dick Act) beefs up state militias with federal funding and gives the feds the power to review state militias.
1916: The National Guard, which evolved from the organized militia, becomes part of the Army.
1971: William Potter Gale, a white supremacist and anti-Semite activist, forms a proto-"patriot" group called Posse Comitatus (Latin for "power of the country"), which purports that the highest level of authority is the county government. Gale says sheriffs who violate the Constitution should be taken to a "populated intersection" and "hung there by their neck." The group spreads across the West and Midwest by the 1980s.
1976: Congress passes the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, kicking off the Sagebrush Rebellion, which seeks to establish state and local control over public lands in the West.
1983: Posse Comitatus member Gordon Kahl murders two federal marshals trying to arrest him in North Dakota. He's later killed in a shootout, during which he kills a sheriff.
1990: President George H.W. Bush welcomes "a new world order," popularizing a phrase that conspiracy theorists equate with the coming of a global totalitarian government.
1992: White supremacist Randy Weaver surrenders after his wife, his son, and a US marshal are killed during a standoff at his cabin in Ruby Ridge, Idaho. The event energizes the far-right "patriot" movement, which includes armed militias.
1993: Federal firearms agents attempt to raid the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. The ensuing battle kills four agents and six Davidians. A 51-day siege ends when the FBI sprays tear gas in the building, which bursts into flames, leaving 76 people dead.
1994: Responding to the Brady Bill's mandatory five-day waiting period for handgun sales, Michigan Militia leader Norman Olson tells the New York Times, "We are ceasing to be a republic...When people sense danger, they will come together to defend themselves. That is what's happening."
1995: A truck bomb destroys the Oklahoma City federal building, killing 168 people, including 19 children. Bomber Timothy McVeigh had attended militia meetings. Militia members testify in Congress to defend their movement, but within a decade the number of militia groups drops from 441 to 35, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
2005: The Minuteman Project monitors the US-Mexican border, putting a media-friendly face on earlier militia efforts to catch undocumented immigrants.
2008: Following the election of President Barack Obama, the number of militia groups surges from 42 to 127 in one year. Mike Vanderboegh promotes the idea of the three percenters, named after the claim that only 3 percent of colonists were the backbone of he American Revolution.
2009: The Department of Homeland Security warns of an increase in right-wing extremism. After a fierce backlash from conservatives, it withdraws the report. Montana attorney and Army veteran Stewart Rhodes launches the Oath Keepers, a militia group that focuses on recruiting military members, police officers, and first responders.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Mindboggling Big Military (cont.)
I. Where Does the Pentagon's Money Go?
The answer is that we don't know, because the Pentagon's books are such a mess that they can't even be audited, despite a 1997 requirement that federal agencies submit to annual audits.
The Government Accountability Office notes that the Pentagon has "serious financial management problems" that makes its financial statements "inauditable." The Pentagon's financial operations occupy one-fifth of the GAO's list of federal programs with a high risk to waste, fraud, or inefficiency.
Critics also contend that the Pentagon cooks its books by using unorthodox accounting methods that make its budgetary needs seem more urgent. The agency insists it will "achieve audit readiness" by 2117.
1997 - First time the Pentagon was required to be audited.
2017 - When the Pentagon says it will be ready for an audit.
II. Ways to Save a Few Billion
Here are 10 ideas for major cuts from an array of defense wonks, from the libertarian Cato Institute and the liberal Center for American Progress to the conservative American Enterprise Institute. A complete list of ideas can be found at motherjones.com/pentagon.
Proposal
Get rid of all ICBMs and nuclear bombers (but keep nuclear-armed submarines).
Estimated Savings - $20 billion/year
Retire two of the Navy's 11 aircraft carrier groups.
Estimated Savings - $50 billion through 2020
Cut the size of the Army and Marines to pre-9/11 levels.
Estimated Savings - At least $80 billion over 10 years
Slow down or cancel the F-35 fighter jet program.
Estimated savings - At least $4 billion/year
Downsize military headquarters that grew after 9/11/
Estimated Savings - $8 billion/year
Cancel the troubled V-22 Osprey tiltrotor and use helicopters instead.
Estimated Savings - At least $1.2 billion
Modify supplemental Medicare benefits for veterans.
Estimated Savings - $40 billion over 10 years
Scale back purchases of littoral combat ships.
Estimated Savings - $2 billion in 2013
Cap spending on military contractors below 2012 levels.
Estimated Savings - $2.9 billion/year
Retire the Cold War-era B-1 bomber.
Estimated Savings - $3.7 billions over 5 years.
III. An Itemized Pentagon Budget (2012 figures)
The Pentagon handed $361 billion to contractors in 2012. Some items on its shopping list:
$32.6 Billion - Planes and helicopters
$10.4 Billion - Guided Missiles
$5.2 Billion - Combat/assault vehicles
$3.9 Billion - Amphibious assault ships
$3.6 Billion - Space Vehicles
$3.4 Billion - Submarines
$2.2 Billion - Combat ships and landing vessels
$2.2 Billion - Unmanned aircraft and drones
$1.5 Billion - Aircraft carriers
$1.0 Billion - Bombs
All of the above information comes from the special report on the military found in the January/February 2014 issue of Mother Jones. Although the information is two years old, it does provide a comprehensive look at the Pentagon's role in U.S. society.
The answer is that we don't know, because the Pentagon's books are such a mess that they can't even be audited, despite a 1997 requirement that federal agencies submit to annual audits.
The Government Accountability Office notes that the Pentagon has "serious financial management problems" that makes its financial statements "inauditable." The Pentagon's financial operations occupy one-fifth of the GAO's list of federal programs with a high risk to waste, fraud, or inefficiency.
Critics also contend that the Pentagon cooks its books by using unorthodox accounting methods that make its budgetary needs seem more urgent. The agency insists it will "achieve audit readiness" by 2117.
1997 - First time the Pentagon was required to be audited.
2017 - When the Pentagon says it will be ready for an audit.
II. Ways to Save a Few Billion
Here are 10 ideas for major cuts from an array of defense wonks, from the libertarian Cato Institute and the liberal Center for American Progress to the conservative American Enterprise Institute. A complete list of ideas can be found at motherjones.com/pentagon.
Proposal
Get rid of all ICBMs and nuclear bombers (but keep nuclear-armed submarines).
Estimated Savings - $20 billion/year
Retire two of the Navy's 11 aircraft carrier groups.
Estimated Savings - $50 billion through 2020
Cut the size of the Army and Marines to pre-9/11 levels.
Estimated Savings - At least $80 billion over 10 years
Slow down or cancel the F-35 fighter jet program.
Estimated savings - At least $4 billion/year
Downsize military headquarters that grew after 9/11/
Estimated Savings - $8 billion/year
Cancel the troubled V-22 Osprey tiltrotor and use helicopters instead.
Estimated Savings - At least $1.2 billion
Modify supplemental Medicare benefits for veterans.
Estimated Savings - $40 billion over 10 years
Scale back purchases of littoral combat ships.
Estimated Savings - $2 billion in 2013
Cap spending on military contractors below 2012 levels.
Estimated Savings - $2.9 billion/year
Retire the Cold War-era B-1 bomber.
Estimated Savings - $3.7 billions over 5 years.
III. An Itemized Pentagon Budget (2012 figures)
The Pentagon handed $361 billion to contractors in 2012. Some items on its shopping list:
$32.6 Billion - Planes and helicopters
$10.4 Billion - Guided Missiles
$5.2 Billion - Combat/assault vehicles
$3.9 Billion - Amphibious assault ships
$3.6 Billion - Space Vehicles
$3.4 Billion - Submarines
$2.2 Billion - Combat ships and landing vessels
$2.2 Billion - Unmanned aircraft and drones
$1.5 Billion - Aircraft carriers
$1.0 Billion - Bombs
All of the above information comes from the special report on the military found in the January/February 2014 issue of Mother Jones. Although the information is two years old, it does provide a comprehensive look at the Pentagon's role in U.S. society.
Monday, November 14, 2016
Nuke Near Misses and a Mind-Bogglingly Big Military (cont.)
This is the last in a series of posts on nuclear near missiles occurring from 1961 through 2014; also, this post continues Mother Jones magazines's detailed dissection of the Pentagon.
I. Continuing the List of Nuke Near Misses
2007: Six fully armed nukes go missing from Minot Air Force Base for 36 hours.
May 2008: A fire in a Minuteman III silo goes unnoticed for five days.
Oct. 2008: The Air Force pledges to "sustain, modernize, and recapitalize" its nuclear capability.
Feb. 2010: A nuclear munitions crew at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico is decertified for failing safety inspections.
Oct. 2010: A computer glitch cuts off communications to 50 Minuteman III missiles for more than an hour.
2011: The reforms the Air Force initiated in 2008 are backfiring, notes an official report, "creating a climate of distrust."
July 2012: An 82-year-old nun and two accomplices break into a weapon-grade uranium facility in Tennessee -- she is sentenced to 35 months in prison for a breach that exposed "troubling displays of ineptitude."
Dec. 2012: A decertified missileer is placed on launch duty at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
April 2013: At Minot, 17 missileers have to surrender their launch authority due to performance and attitude problems.
Aug. 2013: The missile wing at Malmstrom fails its safety and security inspections; an investigation into drug use finds evidence that officers are cheating on proficiency tests.
Oct. 2013: The Air Force's ICBM commander is removed following his "inappropriate behavior" on a state trip to Russia.
Nov. 2013: RAND report: US missileers are suffering from burnout.
2014: Nine officers at Malmstrom are stripped of their commands and their CO resigns. The Air Force announces changes intended to discourage cheating and improve morale. (Source of this list: "That Time We Almost Nuked North Carolina," Mother Jones, January/February 2014.)
II. The Missing Peace Dividend
Defense spending (in billions of 2013 dollars) dropped sharply after earlier conflicts. But not this time.
Defense spending soared to $1,100 (billion) in World War II (1941-45); however, by 1948 it had dropped to a little under $100 (billion).
After the Korean War (1950-53) it had increased to about $475 (billion) and within about two years, defense spending had dropped to about $375 (billion).
The Vietnam War (1965-75) increased defense spending to about $575 (billion) but by 1975 it had dropped to about $375 (billion).
The Reagan military buildup (1981-89) jumped defense spending to about $600 (billion) and by 1998 it had declined to about $375 (billion).
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (2001-13) increased military spending to about $750 (billion) and haves dropped very little in percentage terms since then. Strictly speaking, we have at least 5,000 Special Forces troops fighting a different war in Iraq and will have about 8,000 troops in Afghanistan through 2017 at least.
We now have what amounts to a permanent standing army.
III. We're the World's 800-Pound Gorilla
The United States, with under five percent of the world's population, accounts for nearly 40 percent of global military spending. The FY 2017 Pentagon budget is nine times the corresponding budget of Russia and three times the current budget of China.
The National Priorities Project does an annual pie chart on discretionary spending, with the spending for the various activities of government sectioned off as slices. For the last few years, the Pentagon's slice of the pie has varied between 54 to 55 percent. Given that president-elect Trump has called the military "a disaster" and has promised a major buildup, it is reasonable to believe that the Pentagon's share of the pie will increase at least into the low sixties.
IV. The U.S. Paid for Two Wars with Credit
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cost $1.5 trillion (through 2013), that is about twice the cost of the Vietnam war in inflation-adjusted dollars. And that's just the "supplemental" military spending passed by Congress for the wars -- the regular Pentagon budget also grew nearly 45 percent between 2001 and 2010.
The funds to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan came entirely from borrowing, contributing nearly 20 percent to the national debt accrued between 2001 and 2012.
Contributing significantly to the militarization of the United States, the Pentagon follows a doctrine of Total Spectrum Dominance, a doctrine that means the U.S. must have superiority over every nation in every aspect of military warfare.
V. The Wartime Wage Gap
According to the special section on the military in the January/February 2014 issue of Mother Jones magazine -- from which much of the material for this post has been obtained -- while the number of Americans in uniform increased three percent during the past decade, the annual cost per person doubled to around $115,000. "Congress approved multiple raises during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but a look at base pay rates (what soldiers earn before add-ons like housing allowances and combat pay) shows that wartime wages didn't trickle down the chain of command. Some of that can be explained by 'brass creep' -- the swelling ranks of generals and admirals who earn high salaries and retire with cushy pensions."
I. Continuing the List of Nuke Near Misses
2007: Six fully armed nukes go missing from Minot Air Force Base for 36 hours.
May 2008: A fire in a Minuteman III silo goes unnoticed for five days.
Oct. 2008: The Air Force pledges to "sustain, modernize, and recapitalize" its nuclear capability.
Feb. 2010: A nuclear munitions crew at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico is decertified for failing safety inspections.
Oct. 2010: A computer glitch cuts off communications to 50 Minuteman III missiles for more than an hour.
2011: The reforms the Air Force initiated in 2008 are backfiring, notes an official report, "creating a climate of distrust."
July 2012: An 82-year-old nun and two accomplices break into a weapon-grade uranium facility in Tennessee -- she is sentenced to 35 months in prison for a breach that exposed "troubling displays of ineptitude."
Dec. 2012: A decertified missileer is placed on launch duty at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
April 2013: At Minot, 17 missileers have to surrender their launch authority due to performance and attitude problems.
Aug. 2013: The missile wing at Malmstrom fails its safety and security inspections; an investigation into drug use finds evidence that officers are cheating on proficiency tests.
Oct. 2013: The Air Force's ICBM commander is removed following his "inappropriate behavior" on a state trip to Russia.
Nov. 2013: RAND report: US missileers are suffering from burnout.
2014: Nine officers at Malmstrom are stripped of their commands and their CO resigns. The Air Force announces changes intended to discourage cheating and improve morale. (Source of this list: "That Time We Almost Nuked North Carolina," Mother Jones, January/February 2014.)
II. The Missing Peace Dividend
Defense spending (in billions of 2013 dollars) dropped sharply after earlier conflicts. But not this time.
Defense spending soared to $1,100 (billion) in World War II (1941-45); however, by 1948 it had dropped to a little under $100 (billion).
After the Korean War (1950-53) it had increased to about $475 (billion) and within about two years, defense spending had dropped to about $375 (billion).
The Vietnam War (1965-75) increased defense spending to about $575 (billion) but by 1975 it had dropped to about $375 (billion).
The Reagan military buildup (1981-89) jumped defense spending to about $600 (billion) and by 1998 it had declined to about $375 (billion).
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (2001-13) increased military spending to about $750 (billion) and haves dropped very little in percentage terms since then. Strictly speaking, we have at least 5,000 Special Forces troops fighting a different war in Iraq and will have about 8,000 troops in Afghanistan through 2017 at least.
We now have what amounts to a permanent standing army.
III. We're the World's 800-Pound Gorilla
The United States, with under five percent of the world's population, accounts for nearly 40 percent of global military spending. The FY 2017 Pentagon budget is nine times the corresponding budget of Russia and three times the current budget of China.
The National Priorities Project does an annual pie chart on discretionary spending, with the spending for the various activities of government sectioned off as slices. For the last few years, the Pentagon's slice of the pie has varied between 54 to 55 percent. Given that president-elect Trump has called the military "a disaster" and has promised a major buildup, it is reasonable to believe that the Pentagon's share of the pie will increase at least into the low sixties.
IV. The U.S. Paid for Two Wars with Credit
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cost $1.5 trillion (through 2013), that is about twice the cost of the Vietnam war in inflation-adjusted dollars. And that's just the "supplemental" military spending passed by Congress for the wars -- the regular Pentagon budget also grew nearly 45 percent between 2001 and 2010.
The funds to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan came entirely from borrowing, contributing nearly 20 percent to the national debt accrued between 2001 and 2012.
Contributing significantly to the militarization of the United States, the Pentagon follows a doctrine of Total Spectrum Dominance, a doctrine that means the U.S. must have superiority over every nation in every aspect of military warfare.
V. The Wartime Wage Gap
According to the special section on the military in the January/February 2014 issue of Mother Jones magazine -- from which much of the material for this post has been obtained -- while the number of Americans in uniform increased three percent during the past decade, the annual cost per person doubled to around $115,000. "Congress approved multiple raises during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but a look at base pay rates (what soldiers earn before add-ons like housing allowances and combat pay) shows that wartime wages didn't trickle down the chain of command. Some of that can be explained by 'brass creep' -- the swelling ranks of generals and admirals who earn high salaries and retire with cushy pensions."
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