Budget gridlock in Congress could threaten this year's Seafair performance of the Blue Angels and potentially eliminate the entire U.S. Navy air show.
According to U.S. News & World Report, the upcoming sequestration deadline means the U.S. Navy could eliminate the popular air show program if Congress fails to reach consensus on a defense budget by March 1.
KIRO TV reports the Navy has confirmed the move would result in the cancelation of this summer's Seafair performance, scheduled for Aug. 2-4. But Seafair President Beth Knox said she is not in panic mode—yet.
"As we've seen in recent history, many adjustments are made prior to finalizing the budget, so until this occurs, it would be inappropriate to speculate potential cuts or the degree to which they happen," Knox told KIRO. "The Blue Angels are confirmed to fly at Seafair in 2013 and we remain confident the Seattle region will get to enjoy them this summer as they have for over 40 years.”
Would you miss the Blue Angels? Tell us in the comments section.
Pat Kenmir (comment below) nailed it: in reality this is purely a PR tactic by the Navy to rile people up.
I am going to break it down. The United States, in 2011, was responsible for 41% of the entire worlds's military spending. We spend as much on the military every year as the next 15 countries combined. Only two of those countries (Russia and China) could be considered enemies. I made you a table (based on data from SIPRI) to show you this: http://i.imgur.com/W74w8U0.png If we cut that figure of $711,000,000,000 in half, we would still be spending 1.65 times as much as our two "enemies," and combined with the rest of our allies in this list, 3.97 times as much as our "enemies" (Russia and China). At 4.7% of the entire economic output of the country, I think it is fair to ask whether we can afford this. So, how formidible do we have to be? Finally, for those who DID sleep through history class, I'd direct them to President Eisenhower's farewell address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWiIYW_fBfY Remember while watching, Eisenhower was a Republican, clearly loved this country, and was a WWII military hero.
Yes, I realize you probably meant 45,000,000 people, not 45%, but it's hard to keep your facts straight sometimes. In all seriousness, did you realize many of those people have jobs? Source: http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/09/03/food-stamps-public-policy-and-the-working-poor/. Those jobs don't pay enough for people to live on, yet the Republicans *always* oppose increases to the minimum wage, because they worry about the effect it will have on businesses. In other words, the government is subsidizing businesses by allowing them to keep wages low, and paying the "working poor" the difference with food stamps. If you want to decrease food stamp usage, increase the minimum wage, which has failed to keep pace with inflation. Source: http://www.raisetheminimumwage.com/facts/entry/amount-with-inflation/ Finally, as a former military contractor, I can tell you first-hand that if you want to see REAL waste of taxpayer dollars, look at military spending. Talk about fraud and corruption!
And, you are right -- the world is a dangerous place indeed. Did you know that we've killed hundreds of children in Pakistan *alone,* just through drone strikes? I'd rather spend my tax dollars feeding, clothing and educating people (you know, that old "hearts and minds" stuff) than killing them. I am pretty sure Jesus would agree.
Egyptians had more freedom before the Muslim B'hood took over that country... "U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday rewarded Egypt for President Mohammed Morsi's pledges of political and economic reforms by releasing $250 million in American aid to support the country's "future as a democracy."
-You mean the spending levels of Bill Clinton when he turned a federal deficit into a record surplus? Sounds good to me!
This is stupid, they're just plane acrobatics. Not the defense of the country. They aren't dismantling them, their just not fueling them for an airshow. Big deal. Why should we be misappropriating our war machines for civilian entertainment.
Regarding your second point -- it is painful to watch your country's precious capital wasted, and that's how many of us felt as we watched almost a trillion dollars (most of it borrowed) get squandered in Iraq.
Worse than fantasy is the cult like, messianic worship of a politician who has a narcissistic personality disorder.