Military Spending and Homelessness

The National Coalition for the Homeless tells us these sad facts:


The President’s Budget request for FY10 suggests giving the Department of Defense a budget of $533.7 billion. (Wait, it gets worse!). Another 130 billion is designated for the current actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The total is more like 708 billion, when you add in the Department of Energy spending which is Defense related.

Want to know how much they're going to spend on homelessness? This is for 2010.

$1.7 billion for homeless assistance grants.

The biggest expenditure for housing in the Federal budget goes to middle class home-owners, who get a tax break for the interest they pay on their homes. Billions of dollars are given away in this way. And yes, we would squawk if we had to give that up.

Woe to us. Judgement coming.

Who is winning this war?

It is pretty much "life as normal" in the United States. We're battling back from an economic downturn. And we are fighting a war, on two fronts.

How much does that even play into the daily lives of most people? I would say "Not at all." Unless you have a family member in the service, unless you've lost someone, you aren't paying much attention. Think about that. Your nation is at war, and you rarely have front page news about the war effort. And there is very little call to sacrifice. Because basically, despite all the rhetoric, WE DON'T CARE.

This morning on the radio I heard an amazing statistic. For each soldier deployed, it costs US taxpayers, borrowing from the Chinese, about $1.2 million dollars a year. For each.

The biggest bargain of course is the salary of the fighting man. The biggest expense is fuel costs. It is astronomical how expensive it is, to move war materials and troops around. Have you checked the mileage on an armored troop carrier lately? Didn't think so.

Osama bin Ladin's goal for this armed conflict was to bankrupt the United States. In all the yakking in Washington DC about cutting the budget, do you think anyone suggests that military waste is the reason we're in this mess? That unjustified and impossible-to-win military involvements are the ultimate crime against the poor. Who is winning this war? Osama now has a presence in Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan; despite all our fighting he still is present in Afghanistan. And Libya will also prove to be rich recruiting ground very soon.

Are you feeling any safer, now that we owe trillions to foreign investors?

peek into the black hole

Just think about this.

The Veteran's Administration is paying out $500,000,000 in payments to soldiers with muscular/skeletal injuries due to carrying too-heavy equipment in the field. This number is expected to go up to over a billion dollars a year.

Just for one type of injury. The reporter identified the added weight of body armor as a primary reason for this problem. (Remember that fight?)

Let us cut the war budget, as long as we are at it.

How to register as a conscientious objector

OK, here's what you have to do as a Free Methodist, to register with your church as a conscientious objector.

Pray. Always.

Fill out the "Affidavit of Conscientious Objection" in triplicate. There's a link on this web site you can print out.

Sign all three copies in front of a notary public. Your bank branch or a real estate office should have someone who can add their seal to each of the three. It doesn't usually cost, but there could be some nominal fee.

You must have some sort of official ID - like a driver's license or passport to prove who you are.
Send one copy to the Free Methodist conference where you attend. Here's our local Seattle office:

Matt Whitehead
Pacific NW Conference
3120 Third Avenue West
Seattle, Washington 98119

Second copy goes to the national headquarters:

Board of Bishops
Free Methodist Church
Attn: Janet Duncan
PO Box 535002
Indianapolis, IN 46253

And the third copy goes up on your wall -- keep it with your important papers.

FAQ

Question: "There isn't any draft. Why should I bother with this?"
Answer: Beat the rush. The church needs to hear from their minority voice.

Question: "I'm too old."
Answer: Say, what? Too old to have an opinion? Think it doesn't matter? Shame!

Question: "I'm a woman. They wouldn't ever draft me."
Answer: Doesn't matter. You should make your voice heard as well.

Question: "This is going to make some people upset."
Answer: The prophets always made someone mad. Is that a reason not to act, as a Christian?

Question: "Why do we have to go to this trouble. Isn't it enough to simply say that I'm against war?"
Answer: Filling out the form gives you legal proof that you object to war, which could be needed in future conflicts. Such proof was needed during Vietnam. Plus, filling out the form lets your local conference and the church know that there is an opinion out there which goes against the mainstream.

Resolutions

I am one of those people who still think resolutions are useful. Somehow, committing to writing -- and the associated accountability -- is helpful in actually getting something done.

Sooooo. Despite the fact that few, if any, read this pap, I am resolving. It will help me remember.

Here's my resolution.

I'm going to throw a "Peace Party" in 2011.

It will have these elements: a notary public and their seal, several hundred copies of the Free Methodist "Affidavit of Conscientious Objection" and the usual yummy things to eat and drink. Maybe I'll book some entertainment, maybe not.

Being close to Seattle Pacific might help. Maybe. The students might have an interest. I hope.

Nothing New

I've had this flyer since 1972; produced by the McGovern folks. Richard Nixon ran as a peace candidate in 1968, and didn't end the war. Obama ran as a peace candidate in 2008, and won't end this war. The difference? In 1972 the people still cared. Now? Not so sure.

From my friend Ian

Ian Ebright is a friend who writes for online site "Broken Telegraph"

4,430 U.S. Troops killed
31,920 U.S. Troops wounded
9,765 Iraqi Police and Soldiers Killed
98,000- 108,000 Iraqi civilian deaths from violence
Over 2,000,000 Iraqis displaced (driven by necessity into neighboring countries)

Where is the Christian outrage? There is no "just war" theory to cover this, plus murder dressed up as "drone strikes."

Just saying.