If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Hagel is considered a "realist" and so when it comes to such cuts, this is undoubtedly the best we're likely to get out of Washington for a long time to come. Unfortunately, it turns out that the best is pretty poor stuff.
As a mom whose son's growth and well-being is reliant on publicly funded benefits, I am deeply concerned about these sequestration cuts. But as a citizen, I'm absolutely infuriated by the way in which our society mishandles the dangers our children face.
Say what you want about President Obama's proposal to cut Social Security and veterans' benefits with the "chained CPI." He did accomplish one thing for liberals that they often have a hard time doing on their own. He united them -- in opposition to his proposal.
Chuck Hagel came out swinging Wednesday in his first major address as Secretary of Defense, putting the bloated Pentagon on notice.
Humility is an act of strength, not a sign of weakness, because it reflects confidence in the future more than a fear enslaved by the past. Isn't that, after all, what America should be most about? And if humility was good enough for Jesus, as the Pope is helping us to remember, then shouldn't it also be good enough for us?
Don't look now, but a country with actual nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, as well as one of the world's largest militaries, is threatening not only one of America's closest allies but the U.S. itself. And it's not named Iran.
Even if Iran is years away from deployment the Obama administration is still concerned that SATs may fall into the hands of terrorists.
It would be a mistake to view President Obama's visit to Israel as just a fence-mending exercise. It is in fact part of a planned redesign of U.S. foreign policy that will change the face of American leadership around the world.
Policy-wise, the GOP is an entity that literally lacks any new ideas, has no interest in governing and has rejected all of its own policy positions from as recently as early 2008.
If only the actual drone program, and the strategic thinking that underlies it, were to undergo the same sort of review as a little contraption of cloth and medal.
An astute political animal, Karzai recognizes that the Afghan public long ago soured on the American military presence. And he calculates that assailing the foreigners is his best ticket to shoring up the legitimacy of his regime.
We must develop a strategy to redress the wrongs that have been done to these soldiers, sailors and marines. Our nation -- and these male and female survivors of sexual violence -- cannot afford piecemeal, expensive, time-consuming litigation.
Hagel was once a loyal Republican foot soldier. In fact, he was on the shortlist as a possible running mate for Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush in 2000.
Once the politically-generated 'fiscal cliff' stalled in January with modestly raised tax revenues while cutting unemployment benefits, the first sequestration budget cut kicked in on March 1st despite a White House list of potentially horrendous cuts to education, transit, health care, housing, etc.
When we reflect on the administrations and policies that led to these decade-and-longer wars with such ambiguous (at best) results, we note that, of course, George W. Bush forced the Iraq War down our throats, while current President Barack Obama objected.
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