The cost of one combat soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq is
currently reliably estimated at about $775,000 per year.  Needless to say that doesn’t go to the
guy on the ground.   

The cost of a special election to fill Hawaii’s
soon-to-be-vacated Congressional seat when incumbent Neil Ambercrombie steps down to run for governor, is almost $1
million. At Huffpost Mark Niesse reports

Budget cuts have left the state Office of Elections with about $5,000
to last until July, with a special election costing nearly $1 million, interim
Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago said.
Until the state finds money
or this fall’s regularly scheduled elections occur, one of Hawaii’s two seats
in the House of Representatives will remain vacant. 

Unless a recently discovered
accounting error in the budget turns out to be the needed savior, Hawaii simply cannot
afford to have an election.  

To put this in context, as of 2005 $9
billion in cash allocated for Iraqi reconstruction is missing.   In addition, as of 2007 $1
billion in tractor trailers, tank recovery vehicles, machine guns,
rocket-propelled grenades and other equipment and services provided to the
Iraqi security forces is also missing. 

Nothing better symbolizes
the priorities of democracy and imperialism in America today.