Afghan surge and taxes to pay for it

December 4, 2009

The Honorable Henry Cuellar
336 Cannon H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
phone: 202-225-1640
fax: 202-225-1641

Dear Congressman Cuellar,

I believe that we should immediately begin a phased withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan because we are aggravating a situation that is well beyond our ability to control. Since it appears that we will instead increase our military engagement there the war must be paid for without mortgaging our future and to do that we must raise taxes.

I know that you, a proud Blue Dog, understand how important it is that government operates in a fiscally responsible manner, it is therefore incumbent upon you and your Blue Dog associates to demand that we either withdraw from Afghanistan or raise taxes to pay for it. It is my understanding that it costs approximately $1 million to field one soldier for one year and since we’re soon to have 100,000 troops on the ground then $100 billion in taxes must be raised. Only the House can raise taxes so you and your Blue Dog colleagues are the nation’s best hope for prosecuting this unwinnable war in a fiscally responsible manner. I urge you to demand that all Afghanistan War funding be put into the standard military budget bill rather than in special supplements that hide the true cost of this war.

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Our country is endangered by neo-Nazi infilitrators in our armed forces

July 12, 2009

The Honorable Henry Cuellar
336 Cannon H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
phone: 202-225-1640
fax: 202-225-1641

Dear Congressman Cuellar,
The Southern Poverty Law Center reports a continuing surge in racial extremists infiltrating our military. It’s imperative that our armed forces are not inadvertently training future domestic terrorists. We must not wait for another terrorist action like the Oklahoma City bombing by Gulf War veteran Timothy McVeigh to wake up to the fact that a rising number of bad apples have joined the U.S. military for this express purpose.

What I find truly disconcerting is that the Pentagon appears to consider homosexuals who serve honorably more of a threat to the good order of the military than neo-Nazis who reject our Constitution's most cherished principles. While the military has discharged more than 12,500 service members because of their alleged homosexuality since 1994, it has refused to adopt a true "zero tolerance" policy when it comes to extremists in the military.

There is no place for neo-Nazis in our military as they endanger their unit members as well as those of us at home when they return. The overwhelming majority of our courageous men and women in uniform reject extremism and are dedicated to our nation's highest ideals. We owe it to them — and to the American public — to ensure that the ranks are as free of extremists as possible.

I urge you to support an immediate investigation of the military’s induction standards and push for adoption of a “zero tolerance” policy regarding extremists of any type.
Sincerely,