I've said this before, but... Obama and Defense Secretary Gates have come out with a new budget proposal for the Pentagon. The budget moves money around, taking funding away from obsolete programs and re-prioritizing others, but it actually increases the overall defense budget from $513 billion to $534 billion.

Nevertheless this is being reported in the media as "Obama cuts defense spending". And the Republicans are happy to play it that way as well. Here Rep. Tom Cole from Oklahoma:

While President Obama's short changing of America's Armed Forces is deeply disappointing, it is - unfortunately - not a surprise. Throughout his campaign and during his short tenure as President, he has made it clear that he believes his charm and eloquence are adequate substitutes for a strong military. That will not work. Whether President Obama knows it or not, President Bush's foreign enemies were also America's enemies. He cannot charm them out of their opposition to our country. The cuts announced today, however, take that naivete to a dangerous new level. I intend to do everything I can to make sure they do not actually occur.

As i've said previously, if you're going to get bashed for doing something anyway, you might as well actually do it. We've got an extremely bloated defense budget any way you look at it. It needs to be cut. You're not giving yourself any political cover by increasing the budget. These idiots are going to attack you no matter what the reality is. So you might as well do what needs to be done.

I heard a report on NPR related to this. I forget the details but basically they're going to stop production on a super-expensive plane, which we have more stockpiled than was originally intended. Instead, we'll be building a newer plane, which, while expensive, can be more easily used for multiple functions by the Navy, Air Force, and Marines.

Senators and Congressmen are against this because the factories are not in their district, but talk about cutting defense and 'now's not the time to cut jobs anywhere.' I guess it's ok to spend money on things we have no need for to maintain jobs, but not roads or healthcare.

Actually Jon Stewart summed it up really well.

I like the part with the laser planes that shoot down the nuclear missles.