News and Politics | September 28, 2008 | 44 comments

With all eyes on the bailout, House passes $612 billion defense bill

source: http://www.alternet.org/images/managed/topstories_defensegraph.gif

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On Wednesday, the House passed a mammoth defense bill by a 392-39 vote. It’s expected to clear the Senate with little difficulty next week.
It was part of a trillion-dollar stop-gap measure to keep programs running through next March, allowing lawmakers to skip town without passing a final budget. The Associated Press reports, “The legislation came together in a remarkably secret process that concentrated decision-making power in the hands of a few lawmakers.”

In keeping with the tradition of recent years, Bush held a gun to his own head and threatened to pull the trigger if his demands weren’t met. According to the AP, “To earn President Bush’s signature rather than a veto, House and Senate negotiators dropped several provisions he opposed. They include a ban on private interrogators in U.S. military detention facilities and what would have amounted to congressional veto power over a security pact with Iraq.”

In other words, Congress also maintained recent tradition, swearing not to give Bush a blank check and then whipping out their pens and signing a blank check.

The number that the House sent to the Senate for “defense” — $612 billion for the coming year — is eye-popping. Imagine a stack of 612,000 million-dollar bills. Quite a pile.
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44 comments // With all eyes on the bailout, House passes $612 billion defense bill

  • WhiteNoise
  • Neghie
    • 0
      Neghie  

    • I think it's funny. Americans have debt up to their eye balls, having bought bigger houses and bigger cars than they can afford. And most expected a bail out. Complain and moan all you want, but somethings gotta give. If these major coprations fail, even those of us who were responsible are going to suffer.
      It's an unfortunate situation, but these things happen, they have happened and will always happen. We found money to fund an unpopular war. At least this time, your tax dollars are staying in house. The complaining doesn't solve anything. The idea that this country is great only when you don't have to give is backwards.

    • 3 years ago
  • daboz
    • 0
      daboz  

    • This is not about the war nor the Federal deficit or war spending. It is about Communist moves in our Government to nationalize the Banks at taxpayers expense and sell it as patriotic. You are not even paying attention, and you make those types of comments. Watch some business news and get off the forums until you understand the topic loser.

    • 3 years ago
  • grease_weasel
    • 0
      grease_weasel  

    • Heck, that's just a small installment on the infinite war.

      Does anyone get the feeling that some of Bush's sponsor's just made alot of money?

    • 3 years ago
  • rachelmaechel
    • 0
      rachelmaechel  

    • Alfie35 I was thinking the same. This is a big deal and to be honest I don't think it will help much. It seems like they are anticipating a certain outcome...as they did with Iraq. But Im not sure that things will pan out as planned.

      Guess we'll just have to sit tight.

    • 3 years ago
  • Alfie35
    • 0
      Alfie35  

    • Even if the bailout passes, what about if it fails? The worse part of a plan is failure and even with a back-up plan it still has a high risk. What else America can do other than sell land to other countries.

    • 3 years ago
  • NeoDotCom
  • fighttheNWO
  • kewal91
    • 0
      kewal91  

    • the congress needs to swallow a bullet.. but what the hell the bill passed, it has to be somewhat a jump-starter.. .although i prefer a stimulus package of that size.. that would be nice

    • 3 years ago
  • Elligirl
  • rachelmaechel
    • 0
      rachelmaechel  

    • Wait. Back to CreditFigaro.

      That'sa damned good and interesting analysis about the McCain hookup.

      I've felt all along that he will (unfairly) win the election because that's who the underground white house wants.

      But if their fantastically orchestrated plan fails- and Obama wins- can this bailout really be reversed?

    • 3 years ago
  • googolplexer
  • CreditFigaro
    • 0
      CreditFigaro  

    • hey, if everything goes to shit, we are going to have to have an adequate military.

      So far, no one has decided to pull out of iraq, yet. If we stay, then the DOD is going to need that money to maintain a surge movement.

      The house is just preparing for the possibility of having john mccain elected.

      I think it is fiscally responsible.

      We can just reverse it if Obama gets elected and we pull out of iraq... fucking finally.

    • 3 years ago
  • futuregen
    • 0
      futuregen  
    • CreditFigaro:

      Obama is pulling out of Iraq to move into Afghanistan (watch the first debate). In the debate he also talked like Russia was our enemy. Russia is becoming buddies with Venezuela and China as well as Pakistan. More war is brooding but shouldn't be. Russia moved in to South Ossetia because Georgia attacked South Ossetia. Obama blamed Russia wrongly. That's the Bush administration lie he has embraced. Votenader.org for peace.

    • 3 years ago
  • Prijedor
    • 0
      Prijedor  
    • CreditFigaro:

      That batman wont change anything, he is not much different.

      You think the powerful people in this world that are making billions off this chaos thats happening on this Earth, would let anyone really "Change" anything?

      We all know what happen to one of our presidents (definitely wasnt killed by the one assassin, that was later executed him self, if anyone still believes the official story, I feel sorry for them) when he wanted to change things.

      History, for some reason, keeps rolling in a circle, things always seem to repeat them selves and humans never learn, but its always a FEW that fuck things up for THE REST, and it dont take a much, but few.

      So trust me no one is going to let Obama change shit, and he knows it, he is doing nothing but telling people what they want to hear

      If you didnt figure out who I ment by 'Batman', its yo man, Obama.

    • 3 years ago
  • rachelmaechel
  • 1779fleet
    • 0
      1779fleet  

    • IF we continue to elect people with "normal" ideas "normal" things are going to happen.

      Is normal good?.

      Do you remember who told you it was ok to accept the news as truth?

      The trouble is it is normaly normal to maintain normality.

      Break the chain... It starts with you.

    • 3 years ago
  • ImpeachMe
  • BuddyP
  • aliquid_
  • s0und0FF
  • googolplexer
  • intelligenceisacurse
  • googolplexer
  • kewal91
  • Yoshi1
    • 0
      Yoshi1  

    • You would think that other countries that are lending us money would stop and think about what they are doing before they lend us more. If other countries really wanted to stop us from interfering in the world community all they have to do is stop loaning us money. I for one hope they do.

    • 3 years ago
  • Prijedor
  • Yoshi1
    • 0
      Yoshi1  
    • Yoshi1:

      Its an international problem not just a certain region lending us money. We import more than we export and all of the money is going out of the country. So for other countries (not just middle eastern countries) to continue to lend to us is irresponsible. This is not Saudi Arabia's fault.

    • 3 years ago
  • jimwiz3416
  • kennymotown
  • dissimulator
  • dissimulator
  • 1percent
    • 0
      1percent  

    • The government had just better hope Americans keep paying their taxes to fund this crap.

      I've already claimed EXEMPT on my W4.

      I'm not bailing out corporate America.

      Bring on the Chaos!

      Ride on!

    • 3 years ago
  • dissimulator
  • intelligenceisacurse
  • Prijedor
  • 1percent
    • 0
      1percent  
    • 1percent:

      According to last years tax charts, I have already paid the required amount. From here out I can receive the full amount. I just won't receive a refund next year.

      The amount that i will owe next year i can save myself throughout the year and pay at the end of the year.

      Why give the government a weekly installment so they can deposit it and make interest on it.

      That is what we should be doing.

      This all given the economy doesn't crash here in the next few weeks...

      Ride on!

    • 3 years ago
  • rachelmaechel
  • WhiteNoise
    • 0
      WhiteNoise  
    • Image

    • SAME AS IT EVER WAS INDEED ;)
      http://current.com/items/89342370_pentagon_scores_a_big

      "The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State." - Goebbels

      “One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It is simply too painful to acknowledge -- even to ourselves -- that we've been so credulous“ - Carl Sagan

      MEANWHILE...

      "We are watching a poorly staged rendition of Wag the Dog , interpreted for the morbidly stupid and performed by the criminally insane." - Jules Carlysle

    • 3 years ago
  • dissimulator
  • WhiteNoise
    • 0
      WhiteNoise  
    • WhiteNoise:

      we are all but pinching our two cents since the 4th estate has betrayed us & we are left on our own to educate each other...

      Keep it up !

      "There is no such thing, at this date of the world's history, in America, as an independent press. You know it and I know it. There is not one of you who dares to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinions out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the streets looking for another job. If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty four hours my occupation would be gone. The business of the Journalist is to destroy truth; To lie outright; To pervert; To vilify; To fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and I know it and what folly is this toasting an independent press? We are the tools and vassals for rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes." - John Swinton, the former chief of staff of the New York Times, called by his peers, "The Dean of his profession," in a speech at the New York Press Club.

      "Our job is to give people not what they want, but what we decide they ought to have." – Richard Salant, former President of CBS News

      "The mass media is itself part of the same power structure that plunders the planet and inflicts human rights abuses on a massive scale" – David Cromwell

      "None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. The truth has been kept from the depth of their minds by masters who rule them with lies. They feed them on falsehoods till wrong looks like right in their eyes."
      - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

    • 3 years ago
  • CalgarC
  • dissimulator
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