perspective

Here’s a little perspective for you:
The big one is called a Buffalo EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Vehicle made by Force Protection. It’s parked next to a standard, military grade hummer for comparison. The Buffalo can withstand most IED blasts under either its hull or its tires. Approximately 1,074 troops have been killed by insurgent bombs since the beginning of the conflict; however, not a single person has been killed in a buffalo despite encountering thousands of IED blasts. There are currently about 300 of them being used by our military in the war on terror; compare that to about 35,000 hummers still in use. So why haven’t all of our hummers been replaced by now? Simple numbers: hummers cost around $150,000 (fully outfitted), while a Buffalo costs around $750,000. They are simply too expensive to buy in large numbers. (Especially considering the ridiculous battles going on in the House and Senate concerning the new war funding bill.)
Now, let this marinate your brain for awhile: Bill Gates could buy a Buffalo to replace every single hummer currently in use by the armed forces and he wouldn’t even have to have a garage sale. He’d still be one of the richest billionaires in the world! (And I’m not even taking into consideration the fact that he could sell each of the hummers he replaced to help defray some of the cost of his investment.)
Sad that Americans will spend more on a new version of Windows than they'll spend on the safety of our troops.