Thursday, July 29, 2010

Washington needs more Econ teachers

I remember reading about my namesake, Eleanor of Aquiataine and although I can't remember all of her grandiose family tree, I always recall a certain relative who was considered to be one of the greatest military men of the Middle Ages. Why? He would go into each battle with a historian at his side (most probably a priest on the other...no one's perfect). Ere go, he would win nearly every battle, even if outnumbered.
Funny how history repeats itself isn't it? Although we no longer consider ourselves to be living in the Dark Ages, we could take a cue from a long dead nobleman: get yourself some people who know what the fuck they're doing to counsel you.
As I was masochistically reading the news, I came across two stories: $9.1 billion missing in Iraq and $59 billion emergency bill just passed, the bulk of which goes to Afghanistan.
Pardon me, but WHAT THE FUCK?!
Did I go to sleep and wake up in an alternate universe where we have an endless supply of money and stupid is the new smart? Out of the $59 billion (which we don't have) only $68 million is going to relieve the catastrophe in the gulf. $33 billion is going to Afghanistan to continue our war on...mmm...nobody. Al Qaeda waved bye-bye to that snake pit as soon as we made our loud and ungraceful entrance. What we're doing is fighting a bunch of insurgents who just want us the fuck out of their country. And I can't really say I blame them. Along with this bill, a second bill was thrown out suggesting we get the hell out of Pakistan. But why do that? It's nice and warm there - and we can't possibly have troops at home adding to our unemployment and begging for health care in wheelchairs with PTSD. No, no.
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Massachusetts, called the Afghanistan war policy "deeply flawed."
"Occupying Afghanistan in support of a corrupt and incompetent government will continue to claim the lives of our soldiers," McGovern said. "It will continue to bankrupt us, and it will not enhance our national security. ... It is a mistake to give this administration yet another blank check for this war." As a counter argument, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland said that since the troops are over there now, it's our job to make sure they have the supplies they need to do their job. Question: how much would it cost to send them all on a one week cruise to Jamaica and then fly back to the states first class? I'm pretty sure less than $33 billion. And I'd personally rather see our troops benefiting from a damn nice vacation than blowing some hate fueled kids head off. But that's just me.
How much money are we going to sink into a quagmire before we realize it won't come back? What exactly are we fighting? Hate breeds hate and war breeds war. There is no such thing as a good war, particularly when you don't even have a good reason for starting it. No one has ever won a war in Afghanistan, no one, including the damn Russians! President Obama, Vietnam called, they said they'd like to keep their title of useless US war loss so could you please get the fuck out of Afghanistan. Thanks.
Now, on to Iraq. How the hell do you lose $9.1 billion? I go nutty if I misplace my quarters for laundry. According to reports, the money was part of a fund created by the US back in 2003, made up of, wait here it comes, IRAQI money. The fund was made up of oil revenue and was part of the oil for food program, managed by the US with the ok of the spineless UN. In 2004, we oh so generously handed the fund over to the Iraqi interim government, which essentially translates to us handing it from our left hand to our right hand. The Iraqi finance ministry quickly asked for our help in managing the money, and make sure it would go to the right projects. So, in effect, we've miraculously pissed away almost $10 billion of NOT OUR MONEY and we have absolutely dick to show for it. Once again, Iraqis (whether by force or not) put their trust in us and we spit in their face. This is exactly what the middle east needed: more tension brought to you by the dumbasses over here on the city on the hill.
So, to recap: we've lost $9.1 billion, and passed a bill granting $59 billion to go to a country where our troops can continue to chase ghosts and kill people who wouldn't hate us if we had just minded our own damn business and left them the hell alone. Hmmmm, maybe I should change the title of this post to "Washington needs more teachers." Oh but wait...the funding that was supposed to go to that went to Afghanistan instead...sorry kids. But look on the bright side, since the whole US is getting dumber, if you can tell your ass from your elbow, you might be a powerful politician someday, and then you can disregard all history, economy, social studies, politics and just plain intelligence. God Bless the US of A.

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