At the campaign mailbox I have received a letter from a Bethlehem Township man. I have decided to publish this one, which was created using a typewriter by a man in Bethlehem Township. I am not sure if this man has internet access since it most likely resulted from some grassroots activities (If you are interested in helping, see here!) The italic text was underlined in red.
“How come when Republicans like Brinson, Limbaugh, Hannity, etc. complain about how much money the federal government is spending, they never, but NEVER, complain about how much the federal government spends on our adventurous overseas military affairs? Why can’t they understand that war and military spending, more than anything else, expands the size of government, its budget, and its power? Chuck Baldwin wrote, “We should oppose meddling into the private affairs of foreign countries; and ubiquitous foreign entanglements that require vast sums of money, create animosity and hostility towards us, and expose us to foreign wars and conflicts in which we have no national interest. U.S. troops are not only the world’s policemen, they are not “nation-builders” and that their purpose is only to defend American lives and property, not to be the enforcement arm of international commercial interests or global elitists.” Joe Scarborough wrote in his book, “Instead of building empires abroad, Americans will soon expect their leaders to balance their books at home.” We can only hope so.
It’s long overdue.
Jake, I hope you agree with this foreign policy statement – the American people need to hear it. – [Anonymous] from Bethlehem Township
There is no return address, so my reply is simply I do agree wholeheartedly and I will be doing my best to bring the message. To place some numbers on this, the Dept. of Defense budget next year is $680 billion. Per the work of Dr. Robert Higgs, roughly doubling the amount gives the full cost of “defense” by adding in Dept. of Homeland Security, Dept. of Energy’s nuclear weapon testing, etc.
The idea that someone is “fiscally conservative” while approving around $1.5 TRILLION annually for defense is ludicrous. My Iraq War and Afghanistan War planks are now both available. I strongly suggest reading the essay “War is a Racket” by General Smedley Butler which can be downloaded or read from here.
