Al
How delightful to see a politician writing arguments that hold together across more than two paragraphs and aren't just populist slogans.
And he clearely isn't anit-MS either- his arguments start and end with unarguable principles being the welfare of the citizens.
At the risk of overdoing it with historical analogy < g > He argues for "citizen soldiers" rather than "mercenaries" in the context of protection of the state- i.e. the focus on civic duty rather than expedience and commerce. The Punic wars illustrate who is right on this one...
Regards
JR
"... They ne'er cared for us
yet: suffer us to famish, and their store-houses
crammed with grain; make edicts for usury, to
support usurers; repeal daily any wholesome act
established against the rich, and provide more
piercing statutes daily, to chain up and restrain
the poor. If the wars eat us not up, they will; and
there's all the love they bear us."
-- Shakespeare: Coriolanus, Act 1, scene 1