I'm calling bullshit on the "sky is falling" economy

Here's a little Friday news dump you might have missed:

It's like Christmas in in July~


The House on Friday overwhelmingly passed a $649 billion defense spending bill that boosts the Pentagon budget by $17 billion and covers the costs of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.


We don't have money for Medicare & have to raid Social Security funds due to an economic crisis, while flushing billions down the toilet in *more war funding*. 


The strong bipartisan vote was 336-87 and reflected lawmakers' intent to ensure national security, preserve defense jobs across the nation and avoid deep cuts while the country is at war.


Just about the only thing congress can do in a bipartisan way is fund wars. 

Scoffing at the suggestion that "everything is on the table" in budget negotiations between the Obama administration and congressional leaders, Rep Barney Frank said: 

"The military budget is not on the table. The military is at the table, and it is eating everybody else's lunch."

Still, the overall bill is $9 billion less than President Barack Obama sought.

In a series of votes Thursday, Republicans and Democrats expressed their dissatisfaction with the Libya operation, now in its fourth month with no end in sight and waning support from some nations in the international coalition. The House voted to bar military aid to the rebels but moments later rejected efforts to prevent funding for the limited U.S. mission.

The congressional unrest over Libya stems from a stalemated civil war and Obama's contention that he didn't need congressional authorization to engage in another war on top of Afghanistan and Iraq because Libya fighting isn't full-blown hostilities. Among war-weary NATO allies, Italy announced that it was reducing its participation in the campaign by removing an aircraft carrier from the region and pulling thousands of troops home.

"Libya did not attack us. Libya did not attack NATO," Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said. "However much we detest Mr. Gadhafi and his regime, we have no reason to be at war."

The House voted 225-201 for an amendment sponsored by Cole to bar the Pentagon from providing "military equipment, training or advice or other support for military activities" to an outside group, such as rebel forces, for military action in or against Libya.

Forty-eight Democrats backed the Republican-sponsored measure.

At nearly $700 billion, the U.S. military budget is bigger than that of the next 17 countries combined.

Since NATO took command of the Libya operation in early April, the U.S. role has largely been limited to support efforts such as intelligence, surveillance and electronic warfare. The U.S. has launched drone attacks and other airstrikes, flying more than 3,400 sorties.

Source: Common Dreams

How can they say "war" budgets are on the table when they swiftly & separately passed this burgeoning billions of dollar war budget before the (remaining) budget talks are even over?