Matt Wuerker for July 26, 2012

Arts programs. As it so turns out invading other countries creates a feared reputation which in turn quickly becomes hate, Hate and fear create the lethal cocktail of terrorism

It’s interesting that Republicans’ biggest fear of the fiscal cliff and subsequent Defense budget cuts is that it will result in a loss of jobs in their district.-We know from Republicans that government cannot create jobs, so how can a reduction in govt spending reduce jobs?

Museums across the world are full of crumbling art pieces from nations that neglected their defense. “History is but the pattern of silken slippers descending the stairs to the thunder of hobnailed boots climbing upward from below.” – Voltaire

Fund Research ~ Not War

why not cut funding for both to reduce the deficit ?

it is the old gun vs butter argument. both are wasteful economically. see osprey, 1st gen bradley ifv, 1st gen m16, etc…even howard hughes testified in congress after ww2, that us military wasted money on failed planes. but, missile defense is a tech that is a long way from being successful…see sdi (star wars). it is like having 2 people, 1 in front of a building, the other in the back, both have baseballs, and both throw the balls over the building and trying to have both balls collide in mid-flight. is it better to make your enemy, your friend or protect oneself from your enemy with an unproven weapon?

It’s not that government can’t create jobs, it just can’t help those in the public sector if they keep spending to keep producing them and taxing the people. If you cut down on regulations and programs to force people into the system you could cut down on how many people are needed for those departments which is why they continue to increase. If government has it’s way we won’t have an economy as the goverrnment will run and fund itself and only the people in those jobs will have money while the rest of us end up on assistance which will not be funded as there will be no income. You need the private sector to produce revenue for the government. As far as reduction in spending, it is used to make sure that eveyone is using the funds wisely instead of wasting it like the GSA.

Hate to ask but which one is the wasteful one? Misile defense program could be quite usefull IF another country actually went and shot missiles at you – except these days that wouldn´t really happen except for “end of the world” scenarios (would be single attacks inside the countries instead similar to terrorism). Now if they had made it military spendings in general they could talk about it.

Brings to mind an old favorite:`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’Nothing beside remains. Round the decayOf that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,The lone and level sands stretch far away".

This from an – uh, artist.

Well said.

As the general in charge of the failed F-22 said, “Yes, their expensive, but if we didn’t intend to USE them, we wouldn’t BUY them!” The F-35 is no better in testing, and $1.5 TRILLION is already committed to THAT failed program over 20 years. Missile defense IS improving with hyper speed missiles intended to hit “threats” within moments after launch when they’re most vulnerable, but the old "bullet hitting a bullet’ of “star wars” is fraudulent dreaming. Every test that “passed” essentially glued the missile to the target so it couldn’t miss.(yet still usually DID miss!)

“Arts programs. As it so turns out invading other countries creates a feared reputation which in turn quickly becomes hate, Hate and fear create the lethal cocktail of terrorism”. Gee I wasn’t aware that “Arts programs” had that effect. Guess we should pull out all the New York Philharmonic musicians from Afghanistan right now!

‘Or are you going to lie and claim that I took your words out of context?’-Trusted, you can’t shout context on a board crowded with Fox ‘News’ viewers. Someone will be trampled in the stampede for the exits.

There was this REPUBLICAN president (Eisenhower) who warned about the “military industrial complex”. Too bad his own party didn’t listen to him…of course, neither did the Democrats.

Mitt calls cutting “defense” by 4% “massive”, but cutting all social programs by 99% is “minor adjustment”. Folks SHOULD simply think about that.

But the Japanese attacked us 71 years ago. You never know when it will happen again. So we’d better hurry and attack everyone else before they attack us.

I’d tell you to get over your petty attitude, but then you’d disappear completely. Hmmm. “Hey righty, get over it.”

The Art vrs Defense issue is much more complex than can be portrayed in a single cartoon. Consider these points:

There are no points awarded for coming in second in a war.

Is having the strongest military worth living in a Fascist state where the citizens exist only to produce a stronger military?

The most devastating attack on US soil was launched by a small band of foreign fanatics at a cost of less than $1,000,000.

The second most devastating attack was carried out by a pair of domestic fanatics at a cost of less than $1,000.

No matter what you do, SOMEBODY won’t like it.

As part of the recover from the Great Depression, artists were awarded commissions grants to provide paintings and sculptures for public buildings. Other projects built dams, roads, public parks, public buildings, etc. While this was vehemently opposed by Republicans, these programs greatly mitigated the effect of the Great Depression by injecting money into the economy. Still, in the end it was the hiring of workers to produce arms for WWII that REALLY pulled the US out of the Depression.

At the end of WWII it was the surge of employment and growth of the Middle Class that drove the US to it’s greatest accomplishments and highest standard of living.