Ahhhh, though you directed this to CatolC, Dougie, a good place to start would be not in what is cut but how it is paid for... The federal budget was doing quite nicely until yer guy decided that the rich weren't rich enough and gave them a big tax cut...

But, yeah, if you look at the recent budget it is filled with pork barrel spending in areas with Republican Congressmen (and women). It makes the Dems of old look like penny pinchers.

Then there's the totally screwed up foriegn policy based soley on hreatwhacking folks or threatening to whack them and it takes alot of money to maintain a "War" Department... Yeah, with a more sane foriegn policy, the US could save a couple hundred billion dollars a year easily and that ain't chicken scratch...

And, yeah, the US could quit this bad habit (in a free market) these no-bid contracts to Halliburton and Brown & Root... There another few billion...

And they could close the loopholes for corporate fat cats and put a tax on them for outsourcing US jobs overseas. Yeah, make it high enough so that the American workforce will be going to back to producing stuff. Tghis can only strengthen our country down the road. Tight now we are on a collision course with China and if push comes to shove, we won't have the manufacturing capabilites to defend ourselves in conflicts without just blowing everyone up with nukes. I don't think you want that but when our plants are all idle that is what can and will happen. This is how governemtn can and should be helping the country rather than meddling in peoples personal affairs...

Just MO opionion, of course. CarolC may have some other ideas fir ya as well.

BTW, Dougie, I really would like for you to talk with my Republican friend in Ohio. You two have a lot in common...

Bobert