Isn't Glen Beck supposed to be insane?

[HalfLotus]

I love how zakuHL's ilk somewhat liked Beck until he flaked out on the whole "FEMA camps" thing, after which he was branded a deliberate disinfo agent in league with the NWO. You just can't win with this crowd.

I love how a couple months ago you didn't even know who Beck was, and now you're an expert on him and on the timeline of approval/disapproval from my 'ilk'.

FWIW, my 'ilk' knew he'd flake on FEMA the moment he announced his so-called investigation, which later turned out to be a farce just as my ilk said it would.

[monolith94]

Yeah, we probably shouldn't be giving aid to Ireland, they're not exactly a third-world country. And I agree with him that cuts should be across the board - everyone should feel the hurt. But that metaphor at the end of his just doesn't work.

[Dauphin]

Is he saying he let his mother drown because he didn't want to jump in for fear that she would cause him to drown in the process?

[a.kitman]

i think the old saying, even a broken clock is right twice a day, fits here.

[Dauphin]

Isn't the US foreign aid budget one of the smallest of the developed world, in terms of GDP? (Not sure where I got that from - so could be wrong).

[dannubis]

Does this guy have a point ?

[HalfLotus]

Yeah you kinda wait for the punchline that never comes.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Isn't the US foreign aid budget one of the smallest of the developed world, in terms of GDP? (Not sure where I got that from - so could be wrong).

Yep. It's less than 1%... so all this stop giving foriegn aid and the budget would be magically ok is just reams and reams of bull****.

[HalfLotus]

I've never heard anyone make that argument, and when you're trying to get back in the black, no cost is too small to consider cutting.

Maybe start with the $4bn/yr or so we give to Isreal?

[Dinner]

Yep. It's less than 1%... so all this stop giving foriegn aid and the budget would be magically ok is just reams and reams of bull****.

Conservatives do seem to love pretending it is true though. That and the budget can be magically balanced by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse.

[Heraclitus]

Maybe start with the $4bn/yr or so we give to Isreal?

But they are vital to American interests in the Middle East!
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[Ecofarm]

Yep. It's less than 1%... so all this stop giving foriegn aid and the budget would be magically ok is just reams and reams of bull****.

That 1% is not including alot of stuff. The number was basically invented to counter the "US gives the most" argument and is equally intellectually dishonest.

[Wezil]

That 1% is not including alot of stuff. The number was basically invented to counter the "US gives the most" argument and is equally intellectually dishonest.

I've heard that. The US official number is quite low but private donations are quite high relative to other countries.

There are plenty of reasons to dislike the US but lack of generosity isn't one of them.

[HalfLotus]

Conservatives do seem to love pretending it is true though. That and the budget can be magically balanced by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse.

If you add up the myriad spending cuts that progressives decry piecemeal as "not being enough", you'd have a pretty big chunk of the deficit.

[Dauphin]

That 1% is not including alot of stuff. The number was basically invented to counter the "US gives the most" argument and is equally intellectually dishonest.

What is "stuff"?

There are plenty of reasons to dislike the US but lack of generosity isn't one of them.

I don't see generosity as the point here. Its overstated importance in the budget deficit is.