Army says no to more tanks, but Congress insists
• RICHARD LARDNERBuilt to dominate the enemy in combat, the Army's hulking Abrams tank is proving equally hard to beat in a budget battle.
Contents Pages by Subject
Government Debt & Financing
CIA’s ‘Bags of Cash’ Fueled Afghan Corruption, Bought Little Influence
• Jason Ditz via AntiWar.comIf you’re a top Afghan official money comes awfully easy. For Afghan President Hamid Karzai, you don’t even have to ask for it or leave your office, and people will show up with plastic shopping bags full of cash for you.
The U.S. Is Still Spending Billions In Afghanistan, But No One Seems To Care
• David Francis via Prison Planet.comHard-fought gains in Afghanistan over the last decade are at risk of being squandered – unless immediate action is taken to determine the fate of tens of billions of dollars in questionable reconstruction projects
Total US Debt To GDP: 105%
• http://www.zerohedge.com, Tyler DurdenNow that we have the first estimate of Q1 GDP growth in both rate of change and absolute current dollar terms ($16,010 billion), we can finally assign the appropriate debt number, which we know on a daily basis and which was $16,771.4 billion as of M
US prepares $130m military aid package for Syrian rebels
• Associated PressSecretary of state John Kerry expected to announce plans as opposition forces and international allies meet in Istanbul
Contractors’ Next Payday: Commando Logistics for Africa Shadow Wars
• Wired.comHere’s how serious the U.S. is about its African war on terror.
Obama’s budget boosts funding for health and science
• The RawStory.comPresident Barack Obama’s budget proposal released on Wednesday would boost funds for major science and health programs while making small cuts at NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Obama’s budget faces attacks from both liberals and conservatives
• The RawStory.comPresident Barack Obama rolled out a $3.78 trillion budget Wednesday, angering Republicans with a call for higher taxes on the rich while worrying liberals by countenancing cuts to retirement benefits.
The Real Reason There Will Be No 'Recovery' in America
• Lewrockwell.comNothing much happened on Wall Street yesterday. The Dow rose 56 points. Gold was flat.
Should Government Try To Extend Booms Indefinitely?
• Lewrockwell.comIn 1981, David A. Stockman, a former Michigan congressman turned budget director for President Ronald Reagan, gave a series of interviews to socialist William Greider who subsequently published an article in The Atlantic.
Obama's Budget Proposal: Cut Social Security, Medicare Benefits
• http://www.commondreams.org, Andrea GermanosPresident Obama's budget proposal to be unveiled next week will include cuts to Social Security and Medicare, according to media reports Friday morning.
Don't Expect Anything New In Obama's 2014 Budget Proposal
• Business InsiderOn April 10, President Obama will enter the ongoing 2014 budget battle when the White House releases its budget blueprint, joining Senate Democrats and both parties in the House in a partisan scuffle over the nation’s fiscal future.
Marijuana Has Won The War On Drugs
• Business InsiderAt least when it comes to marijuana, the war on drugs is over.
Obama launches $100 million brain-mapping project
• The RawStory.comUS President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced a $100 million project to map the intricate inner mysteries of the human brain, targeting cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Tennessee Republicans threaten to kill GOP voucher bill over fear of funding Muslim schools
• David Edwards via RawStory.comRepublican lawmakers in Tennessee are threatening to block Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s school voucher bill over fears that Muslim schools could receive funding.
To Fight Gridlock, a City Synchronizes Every Red Light
• nytimes.comTo combat its infamous traffic, Los Angeles has built subways and light rail lines.
Stockton bankruptcy can move forward, judge rules
• latimes.comJudge Christpher Klein paved the way for the city to be able to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy in a ruling Monday.
State-Wrecked: The Corruption of Capitalism in America
• DAVID A. STOCKMAN, New York TimesThe Main Street economy is failing while Washington is piling a soaring debt burden on our descendants, unable to rein in either the warfare state or the welfare state or raise the taxes needed to pay the nation’s bills. By default, the Fed has resor
If You Don't Believe Me....
• market-ticker.org... perhaps you will believe Mr. Stockman, former Reagan Budget Director.
Weimar vs USA: The Fall Of The Second Empire Of Debt
• zerohedge.comWhile being distracted by the developments of this insolvent European sovereign or that, coupled with increasingly prevalent episodes of deposit confiscation, is all the rage these days, the fundamental problems summarized by these three simple words
David Stockman: Fed buying insane percentage of government bonds (Audio interview)
• http://www.dailypaul.com, shraderIn an hour long interview, David Stockman says, "This bond bubble is the most dangerous thing ever imagined by policy makers."
'Fiddling While the Pentagon Burns'
• weeklystandard.comMuch has been made of the fact that the new spending bill passed by Congress this past month has given the Defense Department both $10 billion additional dollars to help alleviate the shortfalls in its operations and maintenance accounts ....
Marc Faber: "I Am Sure Governments Will One Day Take Away 20-30% Of My Wealth"
• zerohedge.comWe cautioned readers in 2011 that in a broke world in which the ridiculously named "muddle-through" has miserably failed, a global wealth tax seeking to expropriate some 30% of all financial assets is coming.
Ben Swann, Reality Check: European Central Bankers Want Personal Accounts To Pay For Bailouts? VIDEO
• http://www.dailypaul.com, emalviniEuropean Central Bankers Want Personal Accounts To Pay For Bailouts?
After the Aircraft Carrier: 3 Alternatives to the Navy’s Vulnerable Flattops
• http://www.wired.com, By David AxeThe U.S. Navy’s huge, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers — capital ships that have long dominated military planning and budgeting — are slowly becoming obsolete, weighed down by escalating costs, inefficiency and vulnerability to the latest enemy weap
The United States Senate Has Finally Approved A Budget -- Its First In Four Years
• Business InsiderThe US Senate reached a milestone early Saturday when it overcame partisan gridlock to approve its first budget resolution in four years, setting up a political duel with the Republican-held House.
Out of Control Derivative Trade Threatens the U.S. Economy
• http://www.globalresearch.ca, Washington's BloCongress Never Fixed the Financial System … And Is About to Make It Even Worse
An Evil Story?
• The Daily BellFood stamps put Rhode Island town on monthly boom-and-bust cycle ...
The Congressional Budget Debate Is Just a Sideshow
• Lewrockwell.comFederal spending once again dominated the debate in Washington last week, as House Republicans and Senate Democrats began work on their ten-year budget plans
The Search for More Pork on Mars Continues
• Lewrockwell.comThere isn’t any life on Mars. There is no evidence that there ever was life on Mars.
