By: BossE Stone

June 26

Much thanks to my dear friends Randy and Josh. Randy for always putting Josh in the middle of our political discussions and Josh for his willingness to ruffle his dad’s feathers by helping me find the facts. OX to both of you.

Last week I got an email from my friend, Josh, that said this: “my dad wanted you to see this.” I scrolled down to the forwarded portion that declared “Obama plans to disarm America.”

I thought, “Super! And since he is taking away all of our guns too, how are we going to fight the terrorists?!” Of course I was rolling my eyes. But I clicked on the link any way and I watched the video and read some of the comments that were posted.

Then I wrote back to my friend and said, “I don’t see a problem with what Obama is saying.”

He wrote back, “well, you could email my dad with your thoughts... see what he says. :)”

I responded, “Oh, I will.” But instead of just emailing my thoughts, I thought I would share them with all of you.

Here is the video.

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So now that you've watched it, let’s break this little clip down. We all know Barack Obama opposed the Iraq war, so we’ll skip that. Instead, let’s get to the meaty part:

Second, I will cut 10s of billions of dollars in wasteful spending. I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems. I will not weaponize space. I will slow our development of future combat systems, and I will institute an independent defense priorities board to ensure that the quadrennial defense review is not used to justify unnecessary spending.

First of all, nowhere in this statement are the words “I am going to disarm America.” Veiled or not, the words aren’t there.

The words that are there however, say this: “we waste too much money on things that don’t work or that shouldn’t cost that much and I am going to make sure we stop that. It is your hard earned money that the government takes and spends and I am going to make sure we spend it right.” That might be the wordy version of the first two sentences, but apparently it needed to be explained.

Considering how much of our hard earned tax dollars have been bilked by huge corporations like Kellogg Brown & Root Services, a.k.a. KBR, subsidiary of Halliburton, in 2004 alone, one might think that having an “independent defense priorities board” is a good idea.

In an audit from the Defense Contract Audit Agency, focused on Kellogg Brown & Root’s Cost Plus Award Fee task order in 2004, we see that KBR billed the US government $875,255,894 (remember that’s your hard earned tax dollars). Of that $875,255,894 in “costs” $108, 409,622 are questionable and $1,255, 333 were unresolved.

Only $108 million questionable and $1 million unresolved, that’s not too shabby, it’s hard to keep track of that money, right?

WRONG!

Let me just highlight this gem from that report:

4. KBR proposed Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) purchased from Kuwait at $82,100 for material (fuel) costs and $27,514,833 in LPG subcontract (transportation) costs. It is illogical that it would cost $27,514,833 to deliver $82,100 in LPG fuel. Refer to note 5c (2), page 3 for further details.

There are numerous other examples. My research assistant, Josh, found that document by starting his search with the terms "war profiteering toilet seat." You can find plenty more examples for yourself. Search away, friends, or just read this or this.

Second, cutting investments in unproven missile defense systems and weaponizing space: If it doesn’t work, and we can’t prove that it will, even after trying, why are we paying for it? Enough said.

Back to the Obama speech:

Third, I will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. To seek that goal, I will not develop new nuclear weapons. I will seek a global ban on the production of fissile material, and I will negotiate with Russia to take our ICBMs off hair trigger alert and achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals.

It is one thing to be aware of your surroundings and to be prepared for the worst, but it is another to think that everyone is out to get you.

What Obama is saying in this part of his speech is that we have to work and negotiate for multilateral disarmament. He is not saying we are giving up our defenses to leave us unprotected.

Now, I understand, not having the largest stash of destructive gear seems a bit scary. Additionally, it may seem scary to negotiate with people, especially with those that we don’t always find agreement with. Instead of freaking out, however, let us consider these wise words:

Disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, is a continuing imperative. Together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose. Because this need is so sharp and apparent I confess that I lay down my official responsibilities in this field with a definite sense of disappointment. As one who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of war -- as one who knows that another war could utterly destroy this civilization which has been so slowly and painfully built over thousands of years -- I wish I could say tonight that a lasting peace is in sight.”

- Dwight D Eisenhower

Also, keep in mind, the very recent news about North Korea. North Korea is being removed from the United State’s list of nations that support terrorists, a.k.a. The Axis of Evil.

Why is this happening? Well, if you click on that link in the paragraph before this, the first sentence you would read is this: “The Bush administration hailed North Korea's declaration of its nuclear program as a success for the multilateral diplomacy it engaged in through the six party talks with South Korea, China, Japan and Russia.”

See the words, “multilateral diplomacy”?

When Barack Obama talks about negotiating with other countries, and setting goals of achieving a world with fewer weapons or no weapons, this is the type of accomplishment he seeks. This was also the goal President Eisenhower called for in his final speech as Commander in Chief (see above quote or read the full speech).

In case you don’t have time to check out President Eisenhower’s complete speech, here is how he closed:

To all the peoples of the world, I once more give expression to America's prayerful and continuing aspiration:

We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love.

Peace be with you.

P.S. Thursday Corn closed at $7.54 and Beans closed at $15.74