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Hightower Lowdown
Even a dead fish can go with the flow. -- Jim Hightower
In This Issue
One woman's brave stand against those who would steal our democracy
Go, Granny, Go!
Also in this issue:
September's Lowdown
Corporate kings grab our tax subsidies but create no new jobs. Obama fiddles.
By gollies, when the economic going gets tough for America's workaday people, you can always count on our tough-minded political leaders to get going! Get going, as in: rush like hell to find some gimmick to make it look like they're doing something without actually, you know, doing anything.
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WHY THE PENTAGON BUDGET IS BLOATED
Congress has approved yet another bloated budget for the Pentagon that includes billions more (try $17 billion) than was requested.
A billion dollars was stuffed in to this 'defense' budget to provide luxury class travel for the nine brassiest of the military's top brass. The Pentagon will lease six executive jets—at a cost to us taxpayers of $50 million a year—so the big shots can fly high. Congress also made a present of a 737 jetliner for the Marine Corps commander. The sticker price on that baby was $63 million- though flying it costs extra. These planes are not to take the generals to the front-God forbid-but to scoot them back and forth to meetings here in the States and, who knows, maybe even to policy golf outings.
Meanwhile, Republican Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi, demanded and got $375 million put into the budget for an aircraft carrier that the Navy doesn't want The ship will be built in Lott's home state at the Ingalls Shipyard, which-surprise!- is one of the senator's campaign benefactors.