Last Year's Government Waste Handbook

[Gaspar]

http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public//index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=b69a6ebd-7ebe-41b7-bb03-c25a5e194365

Great stuff here.  I like

More federal funding in the amount of $593,000 went to a primate research center to study where in chimpanzees' brains they get the idea to throw their feces.

A Virginia university received $55,000 to study Jordanian students' water pipe smoking habits.

A new grant of $176,000 joined $350,000 already spent to study how cocaine hurts or helps the sex drive of Japanese quail.

A museum of magic received $147,000 to study the audiences of magic shows.

More than $550,000 of U.S. taxes went to the production of a documentary on how rock bands contributed to the fall of the Soviet empire.

[Conan71]

So maybe we will finally crack the dark mystery of monkey poo flinging?

Where's the "but it's only a few million" chorus?

[Townsend]

I wish I could trust this.  You think Coburn did this research or was just told about it?

I have a feeling some of the stats were put together by the same people that brought you "companies are making things out of dead babies".


Conan, I don't think anyone sane thinks that way about a few million.

[Conan71]

I wish I could trust this.  You think Coburn did this research or was just told about it?

I have a feeling some of the stats were put together by the same people that brought you "companies are making things out of dead babies".


Conan, I don't think anyone sane thinks that way about a few million.

Keep believing that and "they" will just keep plundering the treasury.

[Townsend]

Keep believing that and "they" will just keep plundering the treasury.

Which part?  Coburn's folks or the "few million"?

I thought you were referring to posters on TN.  I can't imagine anyone on here would like their tax dollars wasted on things.

[nathanm]

More than $550,000 of U.S. taxes went to the production of a documentary on how rock bands contributed to the fall of the Soviet empire.

It's actually an interesting story, although it is the brainchild of some partisan right-wingers. I happened to catch a talk by one of them on C-SPAN a few years ago.

And the poo-flinging thing is actually an interesting scientific question that could help us learn about impulse control mechanisms in our own brains. I'm sure we can all agree that plenty of our fellow Americans have serious issues with impulse control.

While I admire Coburn's close eye on the budget, it would be nice if his staffers would apply a small amount of critical thinking and not simply say "oh, that looks stupid, let's put it in a press release!"

[Gaspar]

Here's an extra fun one.  This was actually awarded through the porkulus for a measly $200,000.

It is an app from OSHA that tells you when it's hot outside.  Download it today if you need it.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.erg.heatindex&feature=search_result

Now, for any of you who have developed apps before, an app that reports the local temperature/heat index and provides alerts can be coded in far less time than $200,000 would cover unless we raised our rates to around $5,000/hr.  The app was developed by a Massachusetts company Eastern Research Group.

I smell donor connection.  Probably just some piddly donor who gave $10,000 for a plate of chicken 6 seats down from the president, or perhaps it was someone that let him play through on Andrews.

[Townsend]

I smell donor connection.  Probably just some piddly donor who gave $10,000 for a plate of chicken 6 seats down from the president, or perhaps it was someone that let him play through on Andrews.

So these are all set up by the President?

[heironymouspasparagus]

http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public//index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=b69a6ebd-7ebe-41b7-bb03-c25a5e194365

Great stuff here.  I like

More federal funding in the amount of $593,000 went to a primate research center to study where in chimpanzees' brains they get the idea to throw their feces.

Don't know about the rest of those points, but this one is obviously a heavily partisan attempt by the Democrats to find insights into the psyche of Karl Rove.

[Hoss]

So these are all set up by the President?

Thinking the same thing..

His ODS is showing again...

[Gaspar]

So these are all set up by the President?

Of course not.  I am sure that there are other sources of incompetence available.

[Townsend]

Of course not.  I am sure that there are other sources of incompetence available.

So most of these are set up by the president?

[heironymouspasparagus]

Couple more you forgot....

Federal funding over a war in Iraq amounting to over $1.5 trillion dollars, continued for over 8 years, that was both unnecessary, but left an imbalance of power that has led to Iran becoming a near threat.

Federal funding to no-bid contracts with Halliburton to over $75 billion resulting in identified price gouging in excess of $400 million so far - still under investigation.

[nathanm]

I think the more interesting one he forgot was the one that cost several billion dollars: Lost cash in Iraq. Yes, we shipped billions of dollars worth of pallets of cash to Iraq and promptly "lost" a bunch of it.

[Gaspar]

I think the more interesting one he forgot was the one that cost several billion dollars: Lost cash in Iraq. Yes, we shipped billions of dollars worth of pallets of cash to Iraq and promptly "lost" a bunch of it.

It's at the Bush ranch in Crawford.