1. The most shocking statistic of all is the one sixth of $456 billion amount (of the total cost of the Iraq War) is the conversion of all cars in America to ethanol: no more reliance on foreign oil, huge savings for the American consumer, an avoidance of the worst foreign policy mistake in American history.

Not only does it show misplaced priorities in regard to the war, it shows in my opinion criminal ineptitude in our energy policy (because oil is what this war has always been about). I was shocked when I learned that Brazil had already done this. Just goes to show Big Oil really is part of the Bush cabinet.

Its past time for impeachment - Cheney first, idiot second.

Phil at 4:05AM on May 15th 2007

2. It could have purchased a LOT of National Security IN OUR HOMELAND ITSELF. It could have closed most of the open gaps along our borders. It could have provided enough manpower to inspect everything coming into our ports. It could have assured FEMA responses to natural disasters in our country would be adequate for the needs of the people. It could "fix" Social Security shortfalls, and Health Care for everyone who needs it. So why do the Republicans HATE TO VOTE FOR ALL THESE THINGS WHICH WOULD HAVE DIRECTLY HELPED THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY, BUT DIG IN THEIR HEELS IN SUPPORT OF SENDING ALL THIS MONEY OUT OF THE COUNTRY NEEDLESSLY.

Anne at 4:07AM on May 15th 2007

3. Anne, what can you expect from a President who says allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug costs would create a "new entitlement program." Translation: "one of my party's largest contributors would be financially harmed." Isn't it great to see what a multi-million dollar lobbying and donation program can create - the fact that the US pays the highest Rx prices in the world. Now, I know Big Pharma says this is needed for research and development, such as the Viagra slip covers on exam couches, the Cialis clock at the reception desk, the all paid lunches for the doctors' staff, etc.

Phil at 5:50AM on May 15th 2007

4. sEEMS VERY FEW PEOPLE READ arrp ETC. iT STATED OF THE 12 NEW DRUGS LAST YEAR, ONLY 3 WERE INVENTED IN AMERICA!
So that pricks that bubble of their needign money for research. Overseas should tell us how much *discovery* costs over there. AND HOW MUCH PROFIT THEIR MAKERS MAKE. Oh, salary and bonuses they get!

N.GODDARD at 1:02PM on May 20th 2007

5. WHAT IF IS JUST BULLSHIT FROM THIS SITE AND AOL.THERES TO MANY WHAT IF"S.WHY DO WE HAVE TO GO TO SPACE. WHY DO WE HAVE TO KNOW WHAT MAKE A BUG HAVE BABIES.THIS COUNTRY SPENDS MONEY ON MANY THINGS THAT I THINK ARE DUMB. BUT WERE AT WAR AND THEY MAKE IT SOUND LIKE THIS WAS ALL WRONG. I KNOW MOST HATE THIS WAR AND BUSH, BUT WHEN THE TIME COMES YOU VOTE SOMEONE ELSE IN AND GO FROM THERE.THE MUSLIMS CAME TO OUR COUNTRY AND KILLED THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS, WERE FIGHTING A CAUSE NOT JUST ONE COUNTRY. THE MUSLIMS LIVE IN ALL THE MIDEAST AND WERE HATED BY MOST OF THEM .

AL GONN at 9:53AM on May 15th 2007

6. The money that we spent on the war could have been used to develop new forms of energy/ There are many methods, Ranging from fusion energy Geothermal and outer space solar energy. In this maneer we would be leaders and not hated by most countries in the world. If we were able to go to the moon we surly could develop new forms of energy.

lillvic at 9:58AM on May 15th 2007

7. The real question should be what could we buy with the trillions upon trillions of dollars spent on "the war on poverty". Over 70 years of this type of warfare has resulted in utter failure. With generational welfare running amok. The war on poverty has stripped individuals of dignity and self-respect. Master government will provide for your daily needs and reward you for illegitimate pregnancies, subsequently removing the necessity of fatherhood.

Indeed war is an ugly costly thing, but sometimes war is justified. War critics indeed have the benefit of hindsight vision, but hindsight at this point is completely irrelevant. Al quada calls the war in Iraq Central against defeating the West. What else do you need to hear?

Greg at 10:02AM on May 15th 2007

8. #1)We are not capable of producing enough magic corn fuel to keep our country running.
#2) The war is a mistake only if we loose.
#3) How many other organizations, groups, or countries can also spend 34 billion to end world hunger? ALLOT. But that does not end it. It feeds the people but does not end the problem. To truly end world hunger you have to make the people self sufficient. Buy them equipment, tractors, and education. Its the same for Welfare. You pay people not to work, and its counter productive. Then the only thing they do all day is have more babies, that wont work. His figures are off. If the current population stayed the same, in these countries then yes it would work for 5 years. But Africa just doesn't work that way.

Galvaize at 10:09AM on May 15th 2007

9. Have you forgot about 9-11 ?
I want Osamas head on a stick !!!!!!!!!!
Did we forget pearl harbor ,no we didnt .
9-11 isnt setteled yet.

Bill at 10:12AM on May 15th 2007

10. if this is the case why didnt Clenton do all of these things when he was in office BECAUSE it will never happen our goverment waste more money every year only to help people that help them get in office
With only a small part of the money that congress is trying to spend in PORK they could give every service man and woman a nice raise but they choose to give congress a raise instead

dean at 10:43AM on May 15th 2007

11. I am responding to reader "Phil" (comment #1).

It is quite disturbing but understandable that there are people as misinformed and ignorant as you.

You claim that the war in Iraq is all about oil. Exactly what are you talking about? What oil? Where is the oil and who is getting the oil?

You claim that the Bush Admin is filled with "oil people." Neither President Bush or VP Cheney possess any oil interests. Mr. Cheney has long ago divested himself from Haliburton.

Your flippant comments about the use of ethanol further illustrate your idiocy. It is ill-Liberal morons like you who on one hand bitch and moan about oil production and then on the other hand are groveling at Al Gore's feet about Global Warming and other environmental reasons.

The nation of Brazil touts their use of ethanol but you carefully neglect to tell the rest of us that Brazil is irresponsibly destroying the last rain forrests in the world to make room for farming. The production of ethanol is extremely land intensive require great swaths of farming lands and an incredible amount of water.

Now, Mr. Goof, "great swaths of land and a lot of water" may sound easy for you but consider the following.

Water is not free. For most of us, water just doesn't pop up on your front door. Water is transported to your home via aqueducts, canals, pipes and pumps. What operates a pump? Electricity. Where does electricity come from? Either hydro, fossil, nuclear or wind generators. Most likely the electricity comes from a fossil fuel burning plant. Now, you are using fossil fuels to pump water to irrigate land to produce corn/whatever, to produce ethanol. Furthermore, to harvest the crop you need tractors who also burn some sort of fuel.

As you can see, the entire harvest process is very intensive and we don't have enough land in this nation to produce all of the ethanol that we would need.

Finally, if you want to draw a link between big oil and a leading politician. Here are your facts: Years ago Al Gore's father co-founded Occidental Oil Company with the reknown communist, Arman Hammar. Years later, President Bill Clinton took the US Navy Strategic Oil Preserve (Elk Hills) and GAVE it to Occidental Oil. It just so happens that VP Al Gore is the principle stock holder of Occidental Oil and he has been earning millions in petro dollars for years.

In other words, you don't know what you are talking about. You are a typical Liberal. You are stupid, ignorant, closed minded, biased and are really a threat to the well being of your nation. Why? Because it is biased idiots like you who go to the polls and vote for leftist jackasses like Hillary Clinton.

Dan Collura at 10:46AM on May 15th 2007

12. when we went into this war 99 percent of the country said it was the right thing to do.we took out husain we thought it was great.but since there is no one target to get, the glamuor or for a better word the excitment is gone.i guess that money could have been spent on rebuilding the twin towers that the people we are fighting took from us along with our friends ,families,oh and dont forget the childern that never hurt anyone.of couse if this was a election year it proble would even be a issue

bsdc at 10:48AM on May 15th 2007

13. Forget the fact that every reason for having gone to war has been debunked except for regime change. If we are going to cite regime change for a reason of going to war, we have a lot of places to invade. I really don't want to hear about how Clinton came to the same conclusion. Clinton didn't send us to war, and Clinton didn't ask his intel community to send him only the information that supports going to war.
From day one and even before the running of the war has been atrocious. Bush and Rumsfeld wanted a nice tidy little war that ended in mission accomplished. They believed the Iraqi people would welcome us as had the French when we liberated them. Rumsfeld said he was going to fire the next person that asked for a way to win the peace and showed his resolve when he fired a top army officer for just that. They went to Iraq with a force only a third the size of that taken to Kuwait and found early on the only place they could guard after taking Baghdad was the oil ministry. It took four years for Bush to finally give in and figure he didn't have enough troops to get the job done. By this time the violence has become pandemic. The way this war has been run is at very least negligent and at worst criminally negligent.

ussandromeda69 at 10:51AM on May 15th 2007

14. It hurt that immense amount of money invested in destructions instead of construction of a better world in USA and the rest of countries in extremely poverty; if I start to make statistic with that blood money (455 Billions) it will be painful to conclude how the USA had made the worst mistake in the history of man kind.
But the most important issue is the pain of all those families that put their sons in this inutile war and suffer the horrible news of their deaths or their mutilation, and what about the innocent Iraqis with their hundreds thousands relatives destroyed by the car bombs and the USA bombs; there is no money in the world that will stop that enormous pain and suffering for ever from these innocent people (Americans and Arabs).
We ask to our Congress to put an end to this holocaust before be too late for our country, let have the courage to confront the evil and say in God we trust and with that word finish this sad episode in the history of our beatiful country.

Rodolfo Tijerino at 11:07AM on May 15th 2007

15.





This is a repeat, but worth thinking about again. We really have our prioritys out of whack. Norma


Subject: Love him or loathe him, he nailed this one right on the head..........





Love him or loathe him, he nailed this one right on the head..........

By Rush Limbaugh:

I think the vast differences in compensation between victims of the September 11 casualty and those who die serving our country in Uniform are profound. No one is really talking about it either, because you just don't criticize anything having to do with September 11. Well, I can't let the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing about the entitlement mentality of this country. If you lost a family member in the September 11 attack, you're going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $4.7 million.
If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in action, the first check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of which is taxable.

Next, you get $1,750 for burial costs. If you are the surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you remarry. And there's a payment of $211 per month for each child under 18. When the child hits 18, those payments come to a screeching halt.

Keep in mind that some of the people who are getting an average of $1.185 million up to $4.7 milli on are complaining that it's not enough Their deaths were tragic, but for most, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soldiers put themselves in harms way FOR ALL OF US, and they and their families know the dangers.

We also learned over the weekend that some of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing have started an organization asking for the same deal that the September 11 families are getting. In addition to that, some of the families of those bombed in the embassies are now asking for compensation a s well.

You see where this is going, don't you? Folks, this is part and parcel of over 50 years of entitlement politics in this country. It's just really sad. Every time a pay raise comes up for the military, they usually receive next to nothing of a raise. Now the green machine is in combat in the Middle East while their families have to survive on food stamps and live in low-rent housing Make sense?

However, our own US Congress voted themselves a raise. Many of you don't know that they only have to be in Congress one time to receive a pension that is more than $15,000 per month. And most are now equal to being millionaires plus. They do not receive Social Security on retirement because they didn't have to pay into the system. �If some of the military people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7, they may receive a pension of $1,000 per month, and the very people who placed them in harm's way receives a pension of $15,000 per month.

I would like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before they start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters who are now

fighting.

" When do we finally do something about this?" If this doesn't seem fair to you, it is time to forward this to as many people as you can.

How many people

CAN YOU

send this to?

****************************
How many

WILL YOU



.IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW YOU SPEND THE MONEY.






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See what's free at AOL.com.

AL GONN at 10:58AM on May 15th 2007