The National Defense Authorization Act bill negotiated by Rep. Adam Smith and passed by the House Dec 11, 2019 (377 to 48) was an almost total sellout to the the MIC and the Republicans. The NY Times article House Passes $738 Billion Military Bill With Space Force and Parental Leave says: Mr. Trump appeared to […]
Military Spending
The Dems caved in on important NDAA amendments
(Revised 2019-12-10) Democratic negotiators have agreed on a NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) that omits all or most of the progressive anti-war amendments they had proposed earlier this year. The version passed by the House of Representatives this summer had amendments for restricting participation in Saudi Arabia’s war with Yemen, withdrawing the Authorization for Military […]
Free Stuff: Part 1
The Pentagon Budget ($700 billion) is about nine times the cost of college tuition for all students ($79 billion)” (source).
A call for a World Peace Concert
In the 1960s, anti-war music, rock music, and folk music transformed culture and helped bring an end to the Vietnam War. Nowadays, there seems to be too little popular music about social justice and peace. The costs of war are largely hidden from people. Films cover war mostly as entertainment. Soldiers are treated as heroes […]
Rep. Adam Smith on nuclear arms control and how to lobby Congress
Rep. Adam Smith spoke at a meeting of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about arms control, nuclear arms non-proliferation, and President Trump’s withdrawal from international treaties. Smith said we need to modernize our nuclear weapons, but we should not intend to use them tactically, as some people do Perhaps one leg of the […]
WA Dems pass a resolution calling for lower military spending
At the state party meeting in Pasco last weekend, the Washington State Democratic Central Committee passed a resolution calling for Rep. Adam Smith, Chair of the House Armed Services Committee, to work to lower military spending. The resolution’s THEREFORE clause reads: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Washington State Democratic Central Committee, call on […]
Speech to Adam Smith, for the 41st LD Dems meeting in Issaquah on Feb 20, 2019
Thank you, Representative Smith, for writing your statement, for attending this meeting, and for your efforts. We are honored by your presence. The United States has killed millions of people and wasted trillions of dollars in corrupt, misbegotten, disastrous wars and proxy wars. These wars have propped up brutal regimes and have led to immense […]
Rep. Adam Smith issues statement in response to a resolution on military spending, will attend 41st LD Dem meeting
In response to the resolution to Rep. Adam Smith about military spending, the congressman has issued the statement below and will attend the meeting of the 41st LD Democrats in Issaquah at 7PM on Feb 20 (at the King County Library Service Center, 960 Newport Way, in Issaquah). See agenda and other docs here. Statement […]
Book review: How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything
How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything: Tales from the Pentagon by Rosa Brooks is a wonderfully-written, informative book about the bloated military, its mission creep, and the under-funding of other parts of the government such as the State Department. The book comes with hearty recommendations from General James Mattis, General Stanley McChrystal, […]