Another Year in Afghanistan

"We are spending money winning the war in Afghanistan."

On the contrary, we have now been in Afghanistan as long as Russia, and we are still not even close to defeating the Taliban, building a stabilized government, or rooting out corruption in the present government.  We have spent some $300 billion so far, $80 billion of that in 2010, alone.  These monies are spent on weapons, ammunition, vehicles, fuel, and the people to operate them.  However, we have spent a tawdry $15 billion, rebuilding what we have bombed and turned into dust.  How this is supposed to 'win hearts and minds' is beyond me.

So, while our own nation wallows in debt, its infrastructure crumbles, its citizens refuse to even consider tax increases on anyone, we are spending money we don't have bombing a sandbox, losing the confidence of the Afghan people, and we seem unable to realize that this behavior isn't sustainable.

My question is "Why?"  Why are we so disconnected from the reality of taxes and what they pay for?  Why can't we see that we are spending money we don't have on a war we can't win, while our own highways, bridges, and rail systems dilapidate right before our very eyes?  When are we going to see that not only is the emperor naked, but he's emptying the treasury buying even more invisible clothes.

So, where is the young wide-eyed lad to proclaim the emperor's true state?  Moreover, how do we get that kid a bullhorn?

Instead, what we have is an entire television network dedicated daily to saying how masterfully crafted the emperors clothes look.  The truth is that we seem entirely unable or unwilling to accept that this story isn't going to end well for the emperor and his magical clothes, or the treasury that is funding this obscene fashion show.

Ideally, a charismatic leading liberal would step onto the stage and lay out what is actually occurring, then would provide a plan to get us out of the problems plaguing us, and the whole of the country would begin stepping up and forward to rite this ship.   What we lack is responsible leadership, willing to tell it how it actually is...