Let's provide guns and ammo to wackos, so they can execute kids with the weapons

http://news.yahoo.com/teenager-15-executed-islamist-rebels-syria-154751521--abc-news-topstories.html

Al-Assad is no saint, but the Syrian rebel factions are increasingly populated by radical Islamists. We should stay out of arming the rebels, who will probably wind up anti-Western anyway. This is a lose-lose situation.

So far, we haven't (publicly) armed these rebels. From what I have been reading, we are now leaning toward doing just that.

Big mistake!

Concur

Agreed.

Our foreign policy sucks. In my opinion we need to stay the hell out of horseshit like this and pay more attention to what's happening on the homefront.

That poor family... my heart goes to them.

All our foreign policy amounts to is giving BILLIONS to EVERY country under the sun.

We can't help our own citizens but we can try and buy allies all over the world.

I heard the other day that we give close to 2 billion dollars to Egypt EVERY year.

Total BS IMHO.

Vettecor wrote:

All our foreign policy amounts to is giving BILLIONS to EVERY country under the sun.

We can't help our own citizens but we can try and buy allies all over the world.

I heard the other day that we give close to 2 billion dollars to Egypt EVERY year.

Total BS IMHO.

SPOT ON! I could not possibly agree with you more, sir.

Some while back a politically like-minded friend of mine emailed to me a summary of the US 2012 (or perhaps 2011??) foreign policy spending. While I am by no means ignorant on the subject, it was still shocking and appalling to see in black and white, and to see the grand total at the end. My recollection (don't quote me on this) is that it is hundreds of billions... in the HIGH hundreds of billions.

I wish I had it at my fingertips to share... I'll try to look it up.

My apologies, I was incorrect about the sum of the foreign policy spend (see below). The email I received was actually forwarded to me (and which I dutifully forwarded on to my family & friends!) came from our very own Jake92! Thanks, Jake!

I nearly invariably dislike and/or ignore emails whose message attempts to guilt me into forwarding a message but given the content as I am intelligent enough to be able to decide such for myself (character fault... it's a major pet peeve, haha), I gave it a pass.

It is a lengthy message, but hits the nail on the head from my point of view.

Quote :

The most insane part of the following is that we are borrowing funds to give away...

Well?

REPUBLICANS and DEMOCRATS:

We read all the jokes and forward the good ones but I just wonder who will pass this one on. How about you sending it on and back to me if you got the guts to do so. I am and just wonder how many I will get back?

AND very happy to be of the 1%.

Someone please tell me what's wrong with all the people that run this country, both Democrats and Republicans.

We're "broke" and can't help our own:

- Seniors,

- Veterans,

- Orphans,

- Homeless,...

- Etcetera

In the last years we have provided direct cash aid to:

Hamas - 351 M,
Libya 1.45 B,
Egypt - 397 M,
Mexico - 622 M,
Russia - 380 M,
Haiti - 1.4 B,
Jordan - 463 M,
Kenya - 816 M,
Sudan - 870 M,
Nigeria - 456 M,
Uganda - 451 M,
Congo - 359 M,
Ethiopia - 981 M,
Pakistan - 2 B,
South Africa - 566 M,
Senegal - 698 M,
Mozambique - 404 M,
Zambia - 331 M,
Kazakhstan - 304 M,
Iraq - 1.08 B,
Tanzania - 554 M,

...Literally BILLIONS of dollars and they still hate us!

Our retired seniors living on a *fixed income* receive no aid, nor do they get any breaks while our government and religious organizations pour hundreds of billions Of $$$$$$'s and tons of food to foreign countries!

We have hundreds of adoptable children who are shoved aside to make room for the adoption of foreign orphans.

AMERICA: A country where we have:

- Homeless without shelter,

- Children going to bed hungry,

- Elderly going without needed medication and

- Mentally ill without treatment,

- Etc., etc, ad nauseam.

Imagine if the *GOVERNMENT* gave 'US' the same support they give to other countries.

Sad isn't it?

99% of people won't have the guts to forward this.

I'm one of the 1%... I just did.

I threw the values into Excel, autosummed and the grand total is actually much less than what I had recalled but is still appalling considering that "WE BE BROKE, Y'ALL!" and other key issues that we've already touched on here.

Grand Total: $14.933B

I think the above figures are low. We gave Egypt between 1.5- 2.0 billion alone.

No matter what the figure its too much when we have people starving day in and day out in the United States.

We even give millions to Canada and Australia each year !!! That's INSANE !!

Until politicians are held accountable for their actions nothing will EVER change.

Enough is enough.

Vettecor wrote:

I think the above figures are low. We gave Egypt between 1.5- 2.0 billion alone.

No matter what the figure its too much when we have people starving day in and day out in the United States.

We even give millions to Canada and Australia each year !!! That's INSANE !!

Until politicians are held accountable for their actions nothing will EVER change.

Enough is enough.

Agreed.

I also believe the above figures are low at best. I want to look up current figures but I've been tied-up all day. I'll try to remember to do it tonight if I get freed-up.

It looks like its between 35-50 billion a year depending on which report you look at.

My dad use to have a saying when a person tried to act like a big shot but couldn't afford it.

He use to say champagne taste with a beer pocketbook.

That would apply to the United States. We continue to throw money around to other countries when in reality we can't afford it.

Stupid and sad.

Vettecor wrote:

It looks like its between 35-50 billion a year depending on which report you look at.

My dad use to have a saying when a person tried to act like a big shot but couldn't afford it.

He use to say champagne taste with a beer pocketbook.

That would apply to the United States. We continue to throw money around to other countries when in reality we can't afford it.

Stupid and sad.

That seems closer to reality to me, Vc... Plus, as much as I love my country but do not trust my government, were I a betting girl I'd wager there are hidden expenditures that are less visible and would take some digging to unearth. Happens all the time in business... Cannot imagine the same doesn't happen in our illustrious government.

Out West in hillbilly cattle country we refer to the big shots of whom your father spoke as having "all hat and no cattle." It is the worst insult you could possibly label a man.

I have found the saying to have wide application, whether it refers to a poseur / wannabe cowboy, a fisherman who's all bullshit, $boat$ & mouth and no savvy, or to a businessman. And yeah... that could well apply to the US Government.

^All above stated, I cannot stress enough that I truly and very deeply love my country and the things upon which it was founded. I just hate my government.

Mama calling... More later.