You don't know me

No? Are you a decent guy who just talks like a punk?

the absence of a coherent response/defense.

You have not made an argument that rates a response

There's a lot that his first book emphatically doesn't mention, in fact. It's a very peculiar book, telling a very unusual story in ways that make one wonder what's been left out about its very peculiar subject. I've just finished it this afternoon, so now it's on to "Audacity."

But the fact that your only response is a not very crative and wholly fictitious ad hominem attack says something about you and the absence of a coherent response/defense.

posse

"Graft for My Homies"?

Tell ya what Beldar, let's hook up and I will take you over to East Oak (Oakland) so that you can try your Ebonics out on some of the cats there.

But that would never happen, would it? Guys like you talk a lot of smack hiding behind a computer, then wet themselves when they see a couple of black kids on the street.

Do you have more info on this? What are the major reasons for this increased cost?

The information is in Congressional Research Service publication RL33110. The last time I looked it wasn't online.

This is a subject on which I've posted multiple times. Basically, the challenge is that Afghanistan is a much, much poorer country than Iraq and you've got to bring literally everything into the country. It's also landlocked and we don't have easy access from a cooperative neighboring country. Not only are we bringing everything in but we're bringing everything in by air.

The logistical problems of supporting a larger force have been a reason I'm skeptical about the practicality of all sorts of people's (including both presidential candidates') support for increased troops in Afghanistan. I think that the rhetoric will prove empty when the actual costs start sinking in.

I'm having a hard time figuring out how someone who made only $10k in the mid-1980s was able to employ a secretary.

Obama has used the figure $12k in a May speech at Wesleyan. At any rate, the "training salary" lasted 2 months at which point it went to $20k. When he left for law school he was probably getting about $35k, according to people who worked with him at the time, as reported by Byron York.

Do you have more info on this? What are the major reasons for this increased cost? Off the top of my head I can imagine the terrain itself poses significant cost-related challenges.

There's probably also economies of scale involved. It costs less, per soldier, to feed 1000 than to feed 10.

where it costs about three times what it does to support each soldier [in Afghanistan]what it does in Iraq

Do you have more info on this? What are the major reasons for this increased cost? Off the top of my head I can imagine the terrain itself poses significant cost-related challenges.

Not challenging you here, just seeking to gain a little perspective.

Economists believe that CO2 emissions credits for the continental USA are a trillion-dollar asset. You can offset $150bn in spending several times over using that asset.

I don't get this, CO2 emissions credits aren't a thing, how can they be an asset? It's more like buying and selling regulatory penalty debt, isn't it?

Also, if this system actually created a trillion dollar market, that by definition means there will be no reduction in CO2 emissions.

But isn't there an actual tangible difference between Obama's planned significant reduction in the forces/supplies/logistics in Iraq (i.e. $12 billion/month) and the McCain plan of continuing the status-quo?

I think you'll find the figure you're quoting is for both Iraq and Afghanistan. The supplemental funds both of them and it's pretty difficult to separate two in the appropriations bills.

It's still a lot of money. I think we need to be cautious about counting our savings before they're realized. If some troops are re-deployed from Iraq to Afghanistan (where it costs about three times what it does to support each soldier what it does in Iraq) and others are re-deployed to a nearby country (as Sen. Obama has suggested from time to time) there may be no savings. There may be additional costs.

Indeed, I think it would be prudent to add the costs of the additional troops he's talked about sending to Afghanistan as part of his “to-do” list.

Sort of. Obama is saying "I'll roll back some of those upper-level Bush tax cuts, do a couple of revenue-saving things, and perhaps require a magic pony." Whereas McCain is saying "My army of magical ponies can breathe fire, cure cancer and balance the budget."