[Occupymendocino] [Fwd: Cut Social Security or Feed Lockheed's Profits?]

Mon Oct 28 12:18:21 PDT 2013

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [Fwd: Cut Social Security or Feed Lockheed's Profits?]
From:    agnes at mcn.org
Date:    Mon, October 28, 2013 12:17 pm
To:      occupy at mcn.org
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---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Cut Social Security or Feed Lockheed's Profits?
From:    "Kevin Martin, Peace Action" <peaceact at mail.democracyinaction.org>
Date:    Mon, October 28, 2013 12:06 pm
To:      agnes at mcn.org
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Peace Action: Working for Peace Since 1957 [ http://www.peace-action.org ]
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Dear Agnes,

Members of Congress - including leading Democrats - are talking about a
budget deal that would cut Social Security and Medicare benefits while
protecting the bloated Pentagon budget from planned cuts. [1]

We are joining with Just Foreign Policy to tell President Obama and
Members of Congress to reject any budget deal that cuts Social Security or
Medicare benefits to protect the Pentagon budget:

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/dont-cut-social-security-20?source=c.url&r_by=1135580
[
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/dont-cut-social-security-20?source=c.url&amp;r_by=1135580
]

Sen. Dick Durbin, the second most powerful Democrat in the Senate,
recently told Fox News Sunday that he would support cuts to Social
Security and Medicare benefits as part of a "grand bargain" with
Republicans. On CBS's Face the Nation, Sen. Mark Warner - one of the
Democrats picked to negotiate with Paul Ryan on the budget - said: "We all
know at the end of the day...Democrats are going to have to give on
entitlement reform."

The "grand bargain" these Democrats are talking about would cut Social
Security and Medicare benefits to pay for bloated Pentagon spending, like
Lockheed Martin's boondoggle $1.5 trillion F-35 warplane. [2] $1.5
trillion represents more money than the entire savings over the next ten
years from all current plans to cut federal discretionary spending - both
Pentagon spending and domestic spending. And that's just one unneeded
weapons system.

Over the last year, the Washington Post and other media have reported on
the extraordinary perks that the Pentagon makes available to senior
military commanders at taxpayer expense. These include paid military
personnel and DOD civilians to cut grass, chauffeur, schedule events, and
to perform other personal aide duties. They also include extraordinarily
lavish housing and entitlement to tender and/or accept offers for
post-retirement employment with Pentagon contractors and lobbying and
investment firms, even if those firms handle the very same issues that the
senior officer oversaw at taxpayers' expense.

Asking the public to watch their federally funded benefits shrink so we
can pay for these personal perks for generals and admirals is not only
offensive but also drives a deeper wedge between civilian society and
uniformed military leadership.

Tell Congress and the President  [
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/dont-cut-social-security-20?source=c.url&amp;r_by=1135580
]not to cut our earned Social Security and Medicare benefits in order to
protect the obscene profits of Lockheed Martin and the lavish lifestyles
of the pampered generals.

Thanks for all you do to make U.S. foreign policy accountable to the 99%,

Humbly for Peace,

Kevin Martin
Executive Director
Peace Action

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mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Robert
Naiman
Just Foreign Policy  [ http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/ ]

References:
1. "Cut Pentagon waste, not Social Security," [
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/329963-cut-pentagon-waste-not-social-security
] William Hartung, The Hill, 10/23/13.
2. "Sequester could ax F-35 jets," [
http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/procurement/330269-at-least-six-f-35-fighters-threatened-by-sequester-in-2014
] Jeremy Herb, The Hill, 10/23/13,

Take Action:
Tell Congress and the President not to cut our earned Social Security and
Medicare benefits in order to protect Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon. [
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/dont-cut-social-security-20?source=c.url&amp;r_by=1135580
]

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Robert Naiman
[Just Foreign Policy http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/]Invest in Peace [
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