Comedian Stephen Colbert came up with a whopper of a defense for defense spending to spur the economy on Thursday night’s show, recalling the economic crisis left by the first world war and the rebound of the U.S. economy following our entry into WW2. “Europe has been torn apart by war so many times, and for it to happen again would be so wonderful, because World War II is what got America out of the Great Depression,” he exclaimed, noting both the vulnerability of recession-ravaged Germany as the Nazis came to power, and the rise of U.S. manufacturing and the drop in unemployment once America committed itself to fighting. He also noted whispers in the European union that the collapse of the Euro could lead to war in 10 to 20 years, but that would be “too long to wait” — so Colbert instead encouraged a little international trash-talking to get the ball rolling faster. “Everyone knows that the fastest way to start a European war is to piss off the krouts, so let’s give them a real kick in the schnitzels. Hey Germany! Belgium’s European Affairs minister says that you lack solidarity and shouldn’t be telling other nations what to do, adding ‘I bet you don’t even have the balls to invade us again!'”
