Let \'em eat cake

Let ’em eat cake.

First things first… as you’ve probably noticed, we’ve changed our theme at One Jerusalem. What do you think?

Now for a far more serious topic… The Ministry of Finance proposed two distinctively different budget plans for 2009. The first aims to cut fat from the Ministry of Defense, while the second aims to save money by cutting social and welfare expenses. “Now”, says the Minister of Finance, “choose between the two.”

When leveling security vs. society, the former always wins. It’s a nasty trick. The Ministry of Finance is crafting a worldview where you have to have hundreds of families starving and being denied medical care because we need a strong military. But this whole concept is ridiculous. Why can’t we have a strong society and a strong military?! Why is it all-or-nothing? We could cut a bit here, a bit there, it doesn’t have to be a clear choice between two fatal alternatives.