"Democrats add teacher money to war funding bill"
The story reads:
"House Democrats, who are trying to pass a long-stalled war funding bill this week, have attached $10 billion to help local school districts avoid teacher layoffs when schools reopen.
The approximately $70 billion measure is anchored by President Barack Obama's $30 billion request for the troop surge in Afghanistan and contains money for disaster aid accounts, foreign aid and disability benefits for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange."
Why Oklahoma Republicans aren't outraged by this story is beyond me and simply underscores the reality that we need real, independent leadership in Congress next year. I would have been the first to notify and mobilize citizens of the 5th Congressional District and encouraged them to not only call or e-mail the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation, but to contact everyone in their address book to raise hell over the fact that so-called leadership in Washington is doing nothing to stop this kind of reckless spending.
Appropriations Committee David Obey who finds the efforts of our troops in Afghanistan questionable, is determined to make sure this measure carries with it billions of dollars in taxpayer money to help school boards avoid layoffs. Well, in the private sector, Mr. Obey, you don't take money from critical services and pay another. In my business that I have run for 18 years successfully, if I were to call my accountant and tell him to take from the operating account ledger and put the money into the marketing ledger, he would laugh in my face.
Friends, that is exactly what we should be doing in Washington, but too many Republicans are right now busy running their re-election campaigns or campaigns for other offices to pay attention to the elephant in the room.
As a Navy SEAL and Desert Storm veteran, these kind of shenanigans fly in the face of good government and the whole reason why I raised my right hand and swore an oath. You should be as outraged as I am right now.
Call your members of Congress - if you can find them - and tell them to put a stop immediately to diversion of funds for our war effort to what should be a state and local issue to begin with, namely, education.
