While the United states Armed Forces (private mercenaries) are in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Iraq, the Philippines and west Africa defending “all freedom-loving people everywhere in the world,” Republican (fascist/socialist) {resident George W. Bush signs the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005, further increasing the nation’s foreign aid commitment.

       NOTE: The 2004 Republican Party Platform contained the following passages:

       Our leaders must make sure that the growth of the federal government remains in check.

       We must maintain our commitment to free and fair trade, lower taxes, limited regulation, and a limited, efficient government that keeps up with the new realities of a changing world.

       We endorse creating a commission to evaluate discretionary spending on federal agencies and programs to ensure that taxpayer funds are being used for the best, most efficient purposes. Such a commission would determine whether certain programs are duplicative, wasteful or inefficient, outdated or irrelevant, or failed. It would recommend to Congress programs that could be terminated, moved, or restructured to make the government more efficient.

        [added 1/28/2024] Thanks to Jim Lorenz for this entry.