*START SOAPBOX*

As our legislators fight over the deficit and some look at the increasing costs of providing health care to the poor and elderly, we should be taking a look at the enormous wasted resources we allocate to fight wars and maintain our military bases all over the world. I think we have our priorities mixed up. Our national security is not enhanced by maintaining large expensive military bases in Korea, Japan, Germany and a half dozen other countries.

The wars that left us holding the bag in those countries have been over for decades. It is high time to bring those troops home, close those bases and save the billions of dollars that we desperately need to repair our infrastructure, reduce our dependence upon foreign oil and to provide quality health care. And we can use the savings to help balance the budget and trim the debt.

Why don’t we look at defense spending with a critical eye? Why are we fighting three wars that seemingly have no end? Two of these wars that have been fought for over a decade and have costs that are reaching over a trillion dollars. I do not know why we are still fighting in Iraq, I do not know why we are still fighting in Afghanistan, and regardless of what the President says, we are fighting another war in Libya that has no end in sight.

Why can’t we do what Vermont’s late Senator Aiken said during the Vietnam war–“just declare victory and bring the troops home”?

While deficit hawks look everywhere for places to cut, defense spending always seems to be off-limits. Some of that is due to the widespread impact of what President Eisenhower first warned is a growing military-industrial complex. This means that every state and every district has defense contractors, military bases or other connections that make it seemingly politically impossible to make steep cuts in our defense budget to help balance the overall budget.

I am not an isolationist by any means, but I do not know what we are doing building up others’ infrastructures, schools, bridges and roads when we have so many critical needs in our own country.

We need to get our priorities in line with our needs and expectations. We have cities to rebuild, renewable energy development to support, a critical health care disaster looming and we are wasting our resources on misguided, ongoing wars.

*END SOAPBOX*

Want to share your thoughts? “*Leave a comment!*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/budget-deficits-our-national-priorities

MacBook Air is the lightest, most powerful computer around. Take advantage of the nice weather and take your work outside (without losing functionality)!

This week, we’re offering Kibbles & Bytes readers a “*13-inch MacBook Air*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/77204/at_kb (with 256GB solid state storage, no less) bundle with sleeve and AppleCare for $40 off regular cost!

Our “*Hammerhead Leather Envelope for MacBook Air*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/77831/hammerhead-13in-macbook-air-leather-envelope/at_kb is made of top-grade leather that is both lightweight and durable. Nobody wants to add bulk to their MacBook Air, so it’s a perfect solution to keep it protected without the extra weight. “*AppleCare*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/78292/applecare-protection-plan-macbook-macbook-air-macbook-pro-13in/at_kb will keep you and your portable wonderstation protected for three years–wherever you go!

It’s true, we are still adding items and dropping prices in our Famous Garage Sale!

My favorites this week are the Incipio Feather Cases for iPhone and iPad:

*Lot W179: New Incipio Feather Case for Apple iPad 1 – Black. Soft touch matte finish; Light as a feather, form-fitting durable protection. – Only $4!*

*Lot AA-31: New Incipio Feather Case for iPhone 4 – Pearl Coral, for AT&T iPhone 4 only (Not compatible with Verizon iPhone) – $4!*

*Orders will be taken online only via our website, and there are no phone orders permitted.* Get ’em while they’re hot.

“*Shop now.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/garagesale

Recently, my son was admitted to the hospital for a few days after a nasty dirt biking accident. Luckily, he’s doing fine now, but due to the severity of his injuries, I never left his side for the first 48 hours. During those first few days, he was able to spend a great deal of time sleeping, which gave me the opportunity to catch up on emails and stay somewhat connected to the office.

When the call came in to get to the hospital, I grabbed my iPad 2. While Evan slept, I was able to read and respond to emails, look at color proofs from printers and design concepts from Kali. Many times, I’ll use my iPhone when I’m in transit to do this, but it can’t hold a candle to the iPad. The large display makes reading correspondence so much easier, and when viewing design files, the color is accurate, crisp and clear.

In terms of apps, I keep it simple: “*PDF Reader Pro,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fpdf-reader-pro-edition-for%2Fid364502063%3Fmt%3D8%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 “*Whiteboard*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fwhiteboard%2Fid436822275%3Fmt%3D8%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 (so I can do some rough concepting), “*Pages,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fpages%2Fid361309726%3Fmt%3D8%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 “*Numbers*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fnumbers%2Fid361304891%3Fmt%3D8%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 and the calculator. It’s really all I need to do my job away from the office. In the hospital, Evan and I would take turns drawing pictures with Whiteboard to help pass the time, and it certainly contributed to some much needed laughs. He used my iPad often to watch YouTube videos, update his Facebook and visit his favorite dirt biking sites. It turned out to be his favorite form of entertainment, even beating out XBox 360!

Needless to say, I am 100% sold on the iPad–and so is Evan. After he used it in the hospital, he begged and pleaded for one for his 14th birthday. Well, his birthday was two weeks ago, and let’s just say his old laptop is now collecting dust in the closet. He never goes anywhere without it–just like his Mom.

To shop iPad, come in to any of “*our retail locations.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/retail
To shop iPad accessories, “*click here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/iPad_Accessories

Have you seen our latest color of the Chill Pill? Summer always reminds me of the sunny beaches in Jamaica and reggae music… so, just in time for the summer beach and travel season, we have the “*Reggae Chill Pill*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/77728/chill-pill-mobile-speakers-reggae/at_kb in tri-color red, yellow and green!

Exclusively for Kibbles & Bytes readers this week we have a special on the Reggae Chill Pill. With every Reggae Chill Pill purchase this week we will give you a FREE USB Dual Port AC Power Adapter ($15 value)–great to charge your Chill Pill, iPhone, iPad and more.

Get out and play some Bob Marley!

_Dear Friends,_

It is about this time of the year (well, it is EXACTLY this time of the year) that Artie changes his iChat status to “The days are getting shorter and I hope it snows soon.” We all start booing and throwing things at him when he does this, but the summer solstice is over and the longest day of the year is past. But snow? Come on now, my garden has barely sprouted and if it would just stop raining, perhaps we could get out and enjoy the summer weather.

Small Dog Electronics has two brands that we use to market products that we design and have manufactured for us overseas. Chill Pill Audio is the brand for the successful Chill Pill mobile speakers and other audio-related products designed to “amplify your life.” Hammerhead products are designed to “connect and protect” and while that brand was named after my Bulldog, the logo is of the Hammerhead shark.

We have introduced a great new line of iPad 2 cases, screen protectors and styluses that have really become the popular choice for our customers and other Apple resellers. We are very proud of these brands and of the historical connection to Small Dog Electronics. You will see more high quality products from both. You can see all the offerings “*on our website,*”:http://www.smalldog.com “*Chillpillaudio.com*”:http://www.chillpillaudio.com and “*Hammerheadcase.com.*”:http://www.hammerheadcase.com