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Thirty-Thousand On A Toilet Seat?

By: The Indy Voice, Fri Dec 9th, 2005 08:08:57 PM

When I first heard the news that the Bush administration was going to be closing military bases I was initially gleeful. The prospects of disillusioned Republicans danced in my head. I imagined all the thousands of service men and woman who bought into the Bush bullshit finding out that the guy they thought they knew had just indefinitely relieved them. I thought back to all the comments by all the pinhead conservatives who tried to paint Kerry as the anti-defense candidate.

"He voted against this piece of hardware and this billion dollar gadget that's guaranteed to kill thousands. Oh, the horror!"

The horror indeed. I remember looking at the records of the dark lord Cheney when he was a congressman, and Powell and Bush I back in the day when they were championing the "peace dividend" and advocating cuts in the military that were much deeper than what Kerry voted against. I know the hypocrisy and thought that now the predominantly Republican military would find out the truth.

Then reason kicked me in the head. No news is ever good news, with Bush loose. Sure they're saying that we're going to save $48 billion dollars over 20 years but my question is where are they going to spend the savings. After all this "conservative" President is the most spendthrift commander-in-thief this country has ever known.

Let me take a couple of guesses. How about battle-field nuclear weapons, or maybe the fantasy program that continues under the assumption that it's wise to spend trillions of dollars in the stratosphere for a sci-fi wet dream known as "Star Wars" targeted at stopping Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles?(It's a dream because if it ain't 100% perfect it don't matter) Or better yet, another war or Republican directed government waste that funnels off profit to private companies at the expense of the taxpayers? After all they are Republicans and this is your money we're talking about.

Another thing struck me as odd. Isn't it strange that there is only going to be a savings of $48 billion over 20 years when they're proposing the closing of 180 bases and we spend well over $400 billion a year on the military? I mean where is all the rest of the money going. That's only $13,333,333.34 dollars per base, per year. We spent $420.7 billion on the military last year not including the expenditures for Iraq and Afghanistan (don't get me started). So where did the rest of the $418.3 billion go?

If I'm doing my math correctly and assuming that the military budget stays at the present amount over the next 20 years that means that we'll spend well over $8 trillion protecting this great nation (by the way we kicked King George's ass without a standing army or navy and more recently got our asses kicked not once but twice by 3rd world nations).

$48 billion is like .6% of the total budget.

Let me say that again:

The budgets for 180 bases for the next 20 years equals .6 (YES THAT'S POINT 6) %(PERCENT) of the total military budget.

So my question is where is all the rest of the $7,952,000,000,000 (SEVEN TRILLION, NINE-HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO BILLION DOLLARS) going to be spent if it's not being spent on military bases?

Chew on that but here's the list of where it's not going to be spent:

Alaska Kulis Air Guard Station

Arizona Air Force Research Lab, Mesa Allen Hall Armed Forces Reserve Center, Tucson

Arkansas El Dorado Armed Forces Reserve Center Stone U.S. Army Reserve Center, Pine Bluff

California Armed Forces Reserve Center Bell Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Oakland Defense Finance and Accounting Service, San Bernardino Defense Finance and Accounting Service, San Diego Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Seaside Naval Support Activity Corona Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Detachment Concord Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Encino Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Los Angeles Onizuka Air Force Station Riverbank Army Ammunition Plant

Connecticut Sgt. Libby U.S. Army Reserve Center, New Haven Submarine Base New London Turner U.S. Army Reserve Center, Fairfield U.S. Army Reserve Center Maintenance Support Facility, Middletown

Delaware Kirkwood U.S. Army Reserve Center, Newark

Florida Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Orlando Navy Reserve Center, St. Petersburg

Georgia Fort Gillem Fort McPherson Inspector/Instructor, Rome Naval Air Station Atlanta Naval Supply Corps School, Athens U.S. Army Reserve Center, Columbus

Hawaii Army National Guard Reserve Center, Honokaa

Idaho Navy Reserve Center, Pocatello

Illinois Armed Forces Reserve Center, Carbondale Navy Reserve Center, Forest Park

Indiana Navy Marine Corps Reserve Center, Grissom Air Reserve Base, Bunker Hill Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Indianapolis Navy Reserve Center, Evansville Newport Chemical Depot U.S. Army Reserve Center, Lafayette U.S. Army Reserve Center, Seston

Iowa Navy Reserve Center, Cedar Rapids Navy Reserve Center, Sioux City Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Dubuque

Kansas Kansas Army Ammunition Plant

Kentucky Army National Guard Reserve Center, Paducah Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Lexington Navy Reserve Center, Lexington U.S. Army Reserve Center, Louisville U.S. Army Reserve Center, Maysville

Louisiana Baton Rouge Army National Guard Reserve Center Naval Support Activity, New Orleans Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Baton Rouge Roberts U.S. Army Reserve Center, Baton Rouge

Maine Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Limestone Naval Reserve Center, Bangor Naval Shipyard Portsmouth

Maryland Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Patuxent River Navy Reserve Center, Adelphi Pfc. Flair U.S. Army Reserve Center, Frederick

Massachusetts Malony U.S. Army Reserve Center Otis Air Guard Base Westover U.S. Army Reserve Center, Citopee

Michigan Navy Reserve Center Marquette Parisan U.S. Army Reserve Center, Lansing Selfridge Army Activity W.K. Kellogg Airport Air Guard Station

Minnesota Navy Reserve Center Duluth

Mississippi Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant Naval Station, Pascagoula U.S. Army Reserve Center, Vicksburg

Missouri Army National Guard Reserve Center, Jefferson Barracks Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Kansas City Defense Finance and Accounting Service, St. Louis Marine Corps Support Center, Kansas City Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Kansas Navy Reserve Center, Cape Girardeau

Montana Galt Hall U.S. Army Reserve Center, Great Falls

Nebraska Army National Guard Reserve Center, Columbus Army National Guard Reserve Center, Grand Island Army National Guard Reserve Center, Kearny Naval Recruiting District Headquarters, Omaha Navy Reserve Center, Lincoln

Nevada Hawthorne Army Depot

New Hampshire Doble U.S. Army Reserve Center, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Portsmouth

New Jersey Fort Monmouth Inspector/Instructor Center, West Trenton Kilmer U.S. Army Reserve Center, Edison

New Mexico Cannon Air Force Base Jenkins Armed Forces Reserve Center, Albuquerque

New York Armed Forces Reserve Center, Amityville Army National Guard Reserve Center, Niagra Falls Carpenter U.S. Army Reserve Center, Poughkeepsie Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Rome Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Buffalo Navy Reserve Center Glenn Falls Navy Reserve Center Horsehead Navy Reserve Center Watertown Niagra Falls International Airport Air Guard Station

North Carolina Navy Reserve Center, Asheville Niven U.S. Army Reserve Center, Albermarle

Ohio Army National Guard Reserve Center, Mansfield Army National Guard Reserve Center, Westerville Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Dayton Mansfield Lahm Municipal Airport Air Guard Station Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Akron Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Cleveland Parrott U.S. Army Reserve Center, Kenton U.S. Army Reserve Center, Whitehall

Oklahoma Armed Forces Reserve Center Broken Arrow Armed Forces Reserve Center Muskogee Army National Guard Reserve Center Tishomingo Krowse U.S. Army Reserve Center, Oklahoma City Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Tulsa Oklahoma City (95th)

Pennsylvania Bristol Engineering Field Activity Northeast Kelly Support Center Naval Air Station Willow Grove Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Reading North Penn U.S. Army Reserve Center, Morristown Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station Serrenti U.S. Army Reserve Center, Scranton U.S. Army Reserve Center Bloomsburg U.S. Army Reserve Center Lewisburg U.S. Army Reserve Center Williamsport W. Reese U.S. Army Reserve Center/OMS, Chester

Puerto Rico Army National Guard Reserve Center, Humacao Lavergne U.S. Army Reserve Center, Bayamon

Rhode Island Harwood U.S. Army Reserve Center, Providence USARC Bristol

South Carolina Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Charleston South Naval Facilities Engineering Command

South Dakota Ellsworth Air Force Base

Tennessee U.S. Army Reserve Area Maintenance Support Facility, Kingsport

Texas Army National Guard Reserve Center No. 2, Dallas Army National Guard Reserve Center (Hondo Pass), El Paso Army National Guard Reserve Center, California Crossing Army National Guard Reserve Center, Ellington Army National Guard Reserve Center, Lufkin Army National Guard Reserve Center, Marshall Army National Guard Reserve Center, New Braunfels Brooks City Base Defense Finance and Accounting Service, San Antonio Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant Naval Station, Ingleside Navy Reserve Center, Lubbock Navy Reserve Center, Orange Red River Army Depot U.S. Army Reserve Center No. 2, Houston

Utah Deseret Chemical Depot

Virginia Fort Monroe

Washington 1LT Richard H. Walker U.S. Army Reserve Center Army National Guard Reserve Center, Everett Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Tacoma U.S. Army Reserve Center, Fort Lawton Vancouver Barracks

West Virginia Bias U.S. Army Reserve Center, Huntington Fairmont U.S. Army Reserve Center Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Moundsville

Wisconsin Gen. Mitchell International Airport ARS Navy Reserve Center, La Crosse Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Madison Olson U.S. Army Reserve Center, Madison U.S. Army Reserve Center, O'Connell

Wyoming Army Aviation Support Facility, Cheyenne Army National Guard Reserve Center, Thermopolis

About the author: The Indy Voice is a no-nonsense and hard-hitting blog that discusses politics, current affairs, and American society and culture and everything in between, without being married to any cold corporate conglomerate. Check it out: The Indy Voice

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