A proposed national budget is revealed

So the Trump administration has proposed a budget. I can't imagine DJT has much idea what's in it. But there it is. I'm not bothering to read about it because all budgets -- even those from presidents I like better -- are dead on arrival at Congress. The deals are cut in the House and Senate; that's where the budget action is.

But I can't resist passing along my favorite Pentagon reporter's slant on budget day. Here's Jeff Schogol:

Beloved readers: Monday is the most wonderful all days – budget day!

The Defense Department will unveil its part of the president's budget request. If you're a trade reporter, budget day is like Independence Day, Christmas, and the Super Bowl wrapped up in a crushing orgasm.

Your friend and humble narrator has covered quite a few of these budget rollouts over the years. Each time, this reporter asks himself the same question: "How the hell did I get through this last year?"

The answer is simple, really: Budget day is a smorgasbord of figures that have little bearing on reality because lawmakers will end up rewriting the budget to reward their constituents. Defense officials also spend hours speaking in tongues by using arcane acronyms like "POM." (A Program Objective Memorandum outlines defense spending for the next five years. Since that spans two election cycles, POMs are altered so many times that they become totally unrecognizable from their original form.)

One thing your friendly Pentagon correspondent has learned is there are two things you can write about on budget day: Toys and people. ...

Go read it all for a specific account of how each of the military service branch salivates over new annual offerings.