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My February birthday fund-raising campaign for this website, Behind the Black, is now over. Despite a relatively weak initial three weeks, the last week was spectacular, making this campaign the second best ever.

 

Thanks to every person who donated or subscribed. It continues to astonish me that people who can read my work for free like it enough to donate money voluntarily. Words cannot express my appreciation for that support, especially in these uncertain times.

 

If you have been a regular reader and a fan of my work and have not yet donated or subscribed, please consider doing so. I take no ads, I keep the website clean from pop-ups and annoying demands (most of the time). Thus, I depend entirely on my readers to support me. Though this means I am sacrificing some income, it also means that I remain entirely independent from outside pressure. By depending solely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, no one can threaten me with censorship. You don't like what I write, you can simply go elsewhere.

 

You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

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29 Republicans and all Democrats vote to kill Senate balanced budget proposal

Apropos of my post earlier today: In the Senate yesterday twenty-nine Republicans and every Democrat voted to kill a balanced budget proposal offered by Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky).

Paul’s plan would have reduced spending by $404.8 billion in the fiscal year that starts October 1. After the budget balanced in five years, spending would be held to 1 percent increases per year, resulting in a budget that was 14.6 percent bigger in 10 years that it is now.

This very mild proposal to trim the equivalent of a penny from every dollar spent was too much for these spend-thrifts. The article at the link lists all 29 Republicans who voted against it, all of whom were liars when they said during their campaigns that they support a balanced budget, fiscal responsibility, and smaller government.

Let me repeat it so no one has any doubts about what I mean: These Senators are liars. They didn’t misconstrue the facts. Their statements weren’t misguided. They simply lied during their campaigns, and they have so done repeatedly.

The only saving grace about this story is that the trend has been to replace these crooks. Since 2010 the voters have been favoring candidates who mean what they say, on both sides of the aisle. And the result has been an increase in the numbers of real conservatives in Congress. Their influence is growing.

We also might be getting outright socialists and communists elected on the Democratic side, but at least they are being honest about who they are, unlike the lying Democrats who in the past were also outright socialists or communists, but tried to hide their beliefs behind equally offensive lies.

This honesty will maybe finally allow us to deal with the issue of the out-of-control federal budget. Or it will bankrupt us with more legislators willing to spend money like it is water. In the latter case, however, the result will be because this is what the American people choose to do, rather than being deceived by their leaders. And if that is what we choose, then at least we will deserve the hell we bring down upon ourselves.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

4 comments

  • Orion314

    As a former USAF member, i earned the right to say “if they would start with the military budget, it would be so much money for the american people, they would be shocked stupid’ The idea that the american taxpayer funds a military with a budget larger than the next 10 foreign militaries combined, well, it is a million miles past insanity road. Its not just weapons systems, go on any Army post, and it will look like a Obama affirmative action program gone wild. In my day, i never met or heard of an illiterate officer, or even an enlisted man . Now , they are everywhere. If the balloon ever goes up , US army posts will be the 1st to tank,, the fall of Rome ring a bell?

  • vonmazur

    The Chiromancy of the money manipulators would not work if the budget was balanced. The Senators who voted against it are on the payroll of those who need this to continue.

  • Commodude

    Orion, literacy cannot be judged by superficial means.

    I retired from the US Army in 2008, and never dealt with an illiterate soldier. Modern military equipment is exceedingly complex, and cannot be operated by illiterates. Even the lowly grunt is a walking computer.

    Our military budget is what it is, and could be cut, but the “Next X number militaries” include Russia and China whose military budgets are what the kleptocracies say they are, and have no true valuation in terms of real economic standards. China’s actual military budget has GOT to be somewhat on par with the US budget, given the sheer mass of the Chinese military and their numerous R&D projects cloaked as private ventures.

    I’ll be the first person to clal for a reduction in spending, but please, let’s have the discussion from a rational standpoint. Even Jackie Fischer wouldn’t use the level of absurd hyperbole you’re employing. Our soldiers deserve more than to be insulted by someone who has no earthly clue of what they speak.

  • Phill O

    I am worried that these RINOs will kill the border security basing it on the DACA (?) arguments.

    I would like to say “Yes, they are killing a great country”, but that gets one into a discussion of what a great country is. I am will to debate that.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

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