"Tell Congress to support the Gates/Obama defense budget.
"Dear David,
"At last!
"Some of us wondered if this day would ever come. Today the Secretary of Defense explained to Congress exactly the points TrueMajority members have been making for years: wasting taxes on weapons which don't work and have no conceivable use against real-world enemies makes us LESS strong as a nation1.
Show Congress we're ready to invest in True Security -- sign the petition."
OK, I know this isn't a news source. But this is an activist group that drives giant displays of Oreo cookies around the country to illustrate the relative sizes of the military budget and budgets for schools and healthcare. An Oreo got added to the military stack, and "True" Majority wants us to cheer instead of vomiting.
You could find the news if you searched, of course. CNN included the news in its 39th paragraph. AP included the total cost in its second paragraph but not whether it was an increase or decrease. A New York Times editorial in favor of more cuts included the total cost in its ninth paragraph. A USA Today editorial admirably noted and lamented the huge size of the budget but praised the supposed cutting of it and did not note that the overall budget was increasing. The Washington Post's editorial claimed to approve the cuts but deemed them politically impossible, never noting the INCREASING military budget. And, of course, columnists in the Wall Street Journal screamed "Obama and Gates Gut the Military".
But business sources told a very different story. Here's Market Watch:
"Pentagon still a cash cow despite budget cuts
"Analysts weigh in on the winners and losers from Gates' spending proposal
"By Christopher Hinton, MarketWatch
"NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The proposed 2010 defense budget from the Pentagon had a lot of changes, but Wall Street analysts said Tuesday there's still plenty of funding for the country's top military contractors. 'Lockheed Martin had the best outcome from [Defense Secretary Robert] Gates' budget decisions, there was also strong support for Northrop Grumman's and General Dynamics' shipbuilding businesses,' said Douglas Harned, an analyst with Bernstein Research. 'Notably, there were no indications of plans to bring budgets down significantly in 2011.'"
Here's Jane's:
"US defence stocks surged on Gates' budget proposal
"Major US defence stocks were raised out of the doldrums by Defense Secretary Robert Gates' budget proposals thanks to the lifting of a degree of uncertainty and proposals that were not as dramatic as the markets expected. Fitch Ratings was among those who noted that although four of the top 10 US programmes face reductions or delays, several of the leading projects - including the F-35 and F/A-18 aircraft programmes - were to be increased. The proposal to increase intelligence and reconnaissance support by USD2 billion highlighted the new priorities of the Pentagon and threw up clear winners ranging from sensor and systems providers such as Raytheon (which closed 8.2 per cent up). Textron - which successfully divested its HR Textron unit the day before and increased its exposure to unmanned air systems through the buy of AAI Corporation - was the leader of the day, with a double-digit jump of 11.3 per cent."
The second round articles tended to be worse than the first:
"Will New Military Budget Prolong Recession?
"Many Cities and Towns Rely on Government Spending to Keep Their Economies Strong
"By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ, ABC NEWS Business Unit
"April 8, 2009—Many cities and towns across this country rise and fall with military spending. And with Defense Secretary Robert Gates' announcement earlier this week of new defense spending priorities, many communities are bracing for drastic cuts or a windfall."
This article mentioned that the budget was actually increasing in its 35th paragraph.
My point is not that the reported cuts aren’t real, that jobs won't be lost, or that congress members aren't bought-and-paid-for schmucks. And my point is not just that the military should be cut and that non-military investment produces more and better paying jobs. My immediate point is that we are not getting the news, even from sources that would be screaming it from the rooftops if Obama had an "R" after his name.
Now, the last time I claimed that everybody had something wrong, Hullabaloo complained that they had got it right, so I checked and sure enough Hullabaloo got this right by quoting TPM which got this right. My advice is to follow such sources closely if you want to know you can believe what you're reading.
As you may have figured out, Republicorporate news sources will disguise and promote military spending even if done by a Democratic president, and Democratic news sources will do so only if done by a Democratic president. Democrats in Congress will play along whoever is in the White House, but at least when it's a Republican, SOME news sources will fill us in on what's happening. Practice eternal vigilance.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
