The budget for the Department of State for 2009 is $11.645 billion, with the lion's share going toward defense related areas, security, etc.. The Department is extremely deficient in foreign language skills and contributions to international public diplomacy. They budget a paltry sum of less than $1 million combined to the Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue - Program and the Israeli Arab Scholarship Program.

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/100033.pdf

The budget for the Department of Offense is $512 billion, 44 times the State budget, not counting the supplementals for ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The Most War Like Nation"

"Over the last 200 years the United States has "used its armed forces abroad in situations of conflict or potential conflict or for other than normal peacetime purposes" 241 times, according to research done at the Library of Congress. I have added the number of conflicts since 1993, when the data was collected by the Department of the Navy. The report cautions:

The instances differ greatly in number of forces, purpose, extent of hostilities, and legal authorization. Five of the instances are declared wars: the War of 1812, the Mexican War of 1846, the Spanish American War of 1898, World War I declared in 1917, and World War II declared in 1941.
The fact that only five of these actions were legally-authorized wars is hardly reassuring.

Even if we choose to deny our warlike character, the rest of the world cannot. This nation, which even now numbers less than 5% of the world's population, feels it necessary and justified to regularly attack people around the world in the name of its own security. Even when we are not at war or in attack mode, we're right out there. The United States "owns or rents 702 overseas bases in about 130 countries and has another 6,000 bases in the United States and its territories."

On Memorial Day just ended, our de facto Commander in Chief declared, apparently with a straight face, "Through our history, America has gone to war reluctantly because we have known the costs of war."

Gone to war reluctantly? We go to war at the drop of a hat. Known the costs of war? Unlike the war experience of virtually every other nation on earth, that of these United States has only been in other peoples' backyards.

Ours is the most warlike nation on earth, and perhaps in all of history."

Source: James Wagner.Com http://jameswagner.com/2004/05/the_most_warlik.html

One man's trash is another man's treasure or put another way, if you're down, I want to put my boot heal on your neck and "punish" you further. You are not really poor unless you live in a cardboard box. It's the law of the conservative jungle. I don't know anyone who's a self-made man, especially those in the lucky sperm club, everyone that's fortunate gets some help along the way. MC

"In a 2003 editorial in The Washington Times, Bruce Bartlett wrote, "In a supplementary report that got no press attention, the Census Bureau looked at some of these new necessities and their ownership by the poor. It turns out many poor people today own appliances that were considered luxuries when I grew up, and some that would still be considered luxuries today. For example, 91 percent of those in the lowest 10 percent of households—all officially poor—own color TVs, 74 percent own microwave ovens, 55 percent own VCRs, 47 percent own clothes dryers, 42 percent own stereos, 23 percent own dishwashers, 21 percent own computers and 19 percent own garbage disposals. When I grew up in the 1950s, only the wealthy owned color TVs, clothes dryers, stereos, dishwashers and disposals. These were all considered luxuries. We got by with black-and-white TVs, hanging our wet clothes on a line to dry, washing dishes by hand and throwing our potato peels in a pail instead of down the drain. So did most other middle-class families. Not even the wealthiest people owned microwave ovens, VCRs or computers." [39]"

http://en.wikipedia.org:80/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States

There are 51 million Americans living below the poverty line. As of July 24, 2009, the minimum wage will be increased to $7.25 an hour or $1160 a month, assuming a 40 hour work week. ($16,500 a month for a US Congressman) There was an op/ed by Hillary Clinton in the Washington Post this morning, Partnering in Trafficing, we are the absolute worst in the world for taking advantage of it's own citizens as well as those living in the shadows. The United Kingdom, Ireland and Italy lead us in the number of people lacking functional literacy skills. The US, 60 million or 20%. A consumer economy? Can you imagine the prosperity of this country if the poorest 51 million among us had any disposable income? "....an estimated 3.5 million children under the age of 5 are at risk of hunger in the United States. The study also shows that in 11 states, Louisiana, which has the highest rate, followed by North Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Idaho and Arkansas, more than 20 percent of children under 5 are at risk of going hungry." All Republican states. MC   Read More »