America's Republican politicians complain that "entitlements," by which they mean pensions and medical care, are leading the country to bankruptcy even as they fatten the spending on the Pentagon, which now takes 12 percent of the overall budget. And it should be noted that while workers contribute to the social programs during all their years of employment, the money that goes to the military comes straight out of the pockets of taxpayers before being wasted in ways that scarcely benefit the average citizen unless one seriously thinks that folks over in Syria, Iran and Afghanistan actually do threaten the survival of the United States of America.

I was in a Virginia supermarket the other day checking out when the woman behind the cash register in a perky voice asked me "Will you give $5 to support our troops?" I responded "No. Our troops already get way too much of our money." She replied, "Hee, hee that's a funny joke" and I said "It's not a joke." Her face dropped and she signaled to her boss over in customer service and asked her to take over, saying that I had been rude.