Hi Crow Bar,
I totally agree that America has squandered (perhaps we should say “sacrificed”) its military superiority. But I don’t believe the gap is that great. Star Wars projects have been, and still are heavily funded. And we have launched countless satellites whose payload and purpose are “classified.” I doubt that they were all dedicated to supporting DishTV.
Look back to the strategic psychology of the Cold War. During most of that time, America did enjoy theoretical military superiority. Still, we really……. REALLY didn’t want to get involved in total nuclear war with the USSR….if at all possible.