# Cut the military budget in half and end all of the wars

Absolutely no-fuggin-way!  Perhaps the always anti-military mantra of the Libertarian Party born in the days of the early 70's hippies that is the cause, but, America and for that matter, Westernized civilization does in fact have real enemies that our military is actively engaged with that will even kill their own leaders for merely not being Mohammedan enough.

As for the almost impossibility of paying our debt... hogwash.  This must happen.  Listen to a liberal expert on debt for yourself.

I direct your attention to H. Res 5 - Rules for the 112th Congress.

Conviently beginning on the first page, I direct everyone's attention to the following:

"SECTION 2. CHANGES TO THE STANDING RULES.

(a) CITING AUTHORITY UNDER THE CONSTITUTION.--

1) In clause 7 of rule XII, add the following new paragraph:

     ``(c)(1) A bill or joint resolution may not be introduced unless the sponsor submits for printing in the Congressional Record a statement citing as specifically as practicable the power or powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to enact the bill or joint resolution. The statement shall appear in a portion of the Record designated for that purpose and be made publicly available in electronic form by the Clerk.

 ``(2) Before consideration of a Senate bill or joint resolution, the chair of a committee of jurisdiction may submit the statement required under subparagraph (1) as though the chair were the sponsor of the Senate bill or joint resolution.''.

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"It's time to nut up or shut up!"

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This is where the GOP can show if it's actually ready to lead.

Now that the democrats have already given up trying to understand what our Constitution means because it is "too confusing" for them, the GOP can use this advantage to literally pound them senseless and begin to start fixing the mess in Washington.

I would also say a few things concerning your bullet point on the military budget.  

First of all, too much of what is spent on the military is spent to appease legislators who cannot fathom the closing of a local base or the shuttering of a local factory dedicated to building obsolete or unnecessary weapons systems.  As such these military expenditures differ very little from the bike paths and museums we see dedicated to (and earmarked by) benevolent overlords except that they are hugely more expensive than any museum ever envisioned by Nancy Pelosi or Hillary Clinton.

Secondly our civilian government must be willfully cognizant of what can be accomplished militarily versus what our politicians hope can be achieved if only more forces are thrown at the problem.  Some goals are not reasonable (nation building in Afghanistan,) some goals do nothing to serve our national interests (police action in the Balkans) and some goals are simply misallocations of resources (the Dept of Homeland Security investigating the effects of climate change--way to go Napolitano!)

So, ya, there are untold billions that could be saved in the nation's military and either reallocated to more pressing needs or returned to pay down the debt.  Cutting it in half is not reasonable--maybe a few percent is possible and this would still amount to billions.

Having said all of that, the libertarian tack on the military is, I believe, not applicable to today's real world.  I wish it was.  You say cut the military in half...many libertarians would agree while others would say cut it even farther.  

Then again, in an echo chamber where even a response to Pearl Harbor is often considered an overreaction, I find it difficult to believe that following libertarian mores would grant us the judgment necessary to effectively respond to any legitimate threat before it had sneaked across our borders dressed in fluorescent orange and planted a bayonet in our collective ass.  

By then it will be too late.

One thing I will say Crippy is that you are a congenial debater and that is appreciated.  I know my blatherings aren't going to sway your beliefs, but I do appreciate getting in a word with you once in a while.