Worst Government Waste

This is another of our Guest series in which we publish unique commentaries of special interest to our readers; the authors have unique access and insight into issues from which most folks are excluded.

This post is from Senator Tom Coburn [R-OK], an MD who takes issue with such problems as graft, corruption, and wasteful spending. He is the ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and is a welcome successor to Senator Proxmire [D-WI] who monitored similar issues and presented his Golden Fleece Awards to the most egregious offenders during his Senate term from 1958 - 1982.

[That was a period in which our politicians were not defined necessarily by their Political Party, but more-so by their contributions [or lack thereof] to their country.

Wastebook 2013 highlights 100 examples of wasteful spending totaling nearly $30 Billion.
 Of course, that is only a fraction of the the total of about $200 Billion of federal funding diverted to fraud, waste, duplication, and mismanagement.

But, not to worry, to continue this abusive spending, both Houses of Congress are preparing to increase taxes and cut your benefits so that you'll have less disposable income. At the end of this post, there are links to Senator Coburn's comments on Defense and Tax waste and fraud.

"What's lacking is the common sense and courage in Washington to make those choices -- and the passage of fiscally responsible spending bills.  The hard truth is, we'd [Congress] much rather borrow than cut."

Here's a sampling of the unusual expenditures:

• Uncle Sam Looks for Romance on the Web -- $914,000

The Popular Romance Project has received nearly $1 Million from the National Endowment of the Humanities [NEH] since 2010 to "explore the fascinating, often contradictory origins and influences of popular romance as told in novels, films, comics, advice books, songs, and internet fan fiction, taking a global perspective -- while looking as far back as the ancient Greeks."
[NOTE: This is similar to the 1976 National Science Foundation's award of $84,000 to study "Why people fall in love".  Senator Proxmire gave it a Golden Fleece Award.]

• Mass Destruction of Weapons - $7 Billion

As the US war effort in the Middle East winds down, the US Military has destroyed more than 170 million pounds of useable vehicles and other military equipment.  The Department of Defense decided simply to destroy more than $7 Billion worth of equipment than sell it or ship it home.

• Dysfunctional ObamaCare website -- for an insurance plan few want  -- $900 Million

The contract to roll out the Affordable Care Act [ACA]enrollment website was let to a friend of Michelle Obama.   The website was three years in the making, yet, when it was opened to the public, only six [count them] SIX people could enroll.  After a month, the White House admitted that about only One Percent of those eligible had been able to enroll.

• Government Study Finds that wives should calm down -- $325,000

This National Institute of Health [NIH] research determined that wives would find marriage more satisfying if they could calm down faster during arguments with their husbands.

• Fort Hood shooter remained on the Army payroll while in jail for four years -- $278,000

Major Nadal Hasan continued to receive his monthly Army paycheck and full Military benefits after he was jailed for shooting 43 people at Fort Hood; 13 of his victims died.  DOD and DHS designated this event as an "act of workplace violence" rather than a "terrorist act" -- thus depriving the victims and their families coverage for medical expenses.

• NASA Searches for signs of Intelligent Life, in Congress - $3 Million

NASA authorized $3 million to research how Congress works

• Hurricane Sandy "Emergency" Funds spent on TV Ads - $65 Million

In January, 2013, Congress passed a bill to provide $60.4 billion for the areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy.  However, instead of rushing aid to the people who needed it most, state officials in New York and New Jersey spent the money on tourism-related TV advertisements.  A large percentage of the families devastated by the hurricane have yet to receive a dime in federal funds.

[NOTE:  The Sandy Relief Bill included $150 million for Alaskan fisheries, $2 million for repairs to the Smithsonian Museum roof (in Washington DC), $8 million to DHS and DOJ to buy new cars, and $17 Billion to Community Development Block Grants -- unrelated to Hurricane Sandy.]

• Federally Funded Solar Panels covered at Manchester-Boston Airport - $3.5 Million

Solar panels installed on the roof of the airport's parking garage, at considerable expense, were covered with a tarp once the air traffic controllers determined that the panels created a glare making it difficult for them to monitor the runways.  So much for prior planning.

• Brains, Brains, We need Brains - $150,000

The National Science Foundation funded a North Carolina company to develop a math learning game based on the Zombie apocalypse.
[NOTE: It was uncertain if the games were designed for children or for Zombies]

• NASA's Little Green Man =  $390,000

Now that NASA ended their space flight program, they've found a new program to fund; it's a YouTube TV show and cartoon series called "Green Ninja" in which a man, dressed in a Green Ninja costume, teaches kids about "Global Warming".
[NOTE:  The man is not Al Gore; and, no one has advised NASA that Global Warming is currently being displaced by record snow and ice storms]


If you'd like to dig into these, and other extraordinary expenditures, use the links below, furnished by Senator Coburn:

Defense-related waste: here.
Tax-related waste: here.

Duck Dynasty - Media Mind Control

Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson: Terminated for Expressing His Views       [ChristianPost.com]

 Click here for related commentary [DigitalJournal.com]

The A&E network has decided, on reflection, to reinstate Duck Dynasty, reportedly the " ... top-rated Reality program on cable, averageing 13.4 million viewers".

Seems the viewers of Duck Dynasty have demanded the return of Phil Robertson.  Apparently, viewers slammed DD's commercial sponsors, as well as A&E for their extreme reaction to discussing his personal views on homosexuality during an interview for the magazine "GQ".

Although we may not agree with his outlook on life, many of us served -- at risk -- for his right to express his views. 

To clarify our position, we were in the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement of the '60s, participating in Sit-Ins and Freedom Marches to demonstrate for the Equal Rights of Blacks; we even got tossed in the klink for our efforts.  We've never deviated from that philosophy, and we promote the "even-playing field" for all.
We demand that everyone should have an equal right to succeed, or to fail.  Later, we went to war to protect everyone's right to express his or her opinion -- even if we disagreed with them.

Pals: Paula & Oprah

This Political Correctness insanity followed the full-fledged Media assault on Paula Deen who, during an interview about her growing up in the South, admitted to using the "N" word once in her youth.  The Media Outrage caused the Food Network to end her program, to the outrage of her fans.

"Shame on FN for not standing behind Paula Dean for a word she used 27, I repeat 27 years ago," wrote Debbie Drilling Andersen.
"Appalling after what SHE has done for the Food Network."

With regard to Paula Deen's "racism" of 27 years ago, we hear the "N" word every day as Black rappers and youth seem to embrace the word, shouting it and using it to embrace their fellows, in the street, on YouTube, and on TV.  If the Black community loves to use the word so much, why should they object if a White person used the word 50 years ago?  Should White folks be offended when they are called Crackers. Whitey, or Honkey, or the most popular term "White MF".  



How is it Robertson's GQ interview and his comments on homosexuality became the basis for Media Outrage?   How is it Deen's interview disclosing comments she made 27 years ago became the Media firestorm, driving her off the air?

Personally, we've never watched either Duck Dynasty or Paula Deen's Food Network program, and we probably wouldn't recognize either celebrity except in photographs.

But, we're really sick and tired of the Left Wing  Media dictating how we, the adult public, and our children should think.

Is this the PC game -- sponsored by the Socialist Left? 
Oddly, Socialists used "Political Correctness" to attack Communists in times past.
Now the theme seems to be a means towards controlling speech and thought by Mainstream America.

Inflict Guilt to undercut the public's ability to express opinions -- current or past. 

Worse, create the image of White insensitivity, which then becomes the justification for "retaliatory" attacks on Whites.

Of late, racism seems directed against Whites in a game Black youth call the "KnockOut Game" in which mobs of Black youths single out a lone White, particularly Jews in New York, for random, violent attacks.  Oddly, the Media has given very little coverage to these events -- which are becoming increasingly frequent and the celebratory theme of Gangsta Rap.

This Political Correctness insanity seems to have become part and parcel of, and promoted by the Obama Administration, taking root in the electoral process; it has since deflected virtually all questioning of President Obama's past or current activities.
Question his past, and you are designated a "Racist".

Perhaps it's time to take a very close look at who is orchestrating these Media campaigns, expose them on the internet, and regain control of our lives.  Perhaps it's even worth a look at our government, which some claim is sponsoring this process, perhaps with a more strategic goal in mind.

Scratch the surface, and you'll find a disturbing trend.
Dig deeply, and you'll find the origins of this trend dating back to the 1960s, or even to the 1930s; but, that's a topic for another blog post.

Ode to the Christmas Soldier

We were provided this poem by Michael Marks and asked to distribute it widely.  We think you'll appreciate it and hope you'll pass it along to honor our Military.

 
We dedicate this to our troops who are stationed around the world in the poorest of conditions to protect the Constitutional freedoms we enjoy. 

A Different Christmas Poem
 

      The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,

       I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

       My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

       My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

       Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,

Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

                                                                                               

       The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
       Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
     My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
       Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
       In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
       So slumbered I, perhaps I started to dream.

      The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
       But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

       Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,

Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

      My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
       And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

       Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
       A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

       A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
       Perhaps a Trooper, huddled here in the cold.

      Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
       Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

      "What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
       "Come in this moment. It's freezing out here!

       Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
      You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

       For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
       Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.

       To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
      Then he sighed and he said, "It's really all right,
       I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

                                                                           

       "It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
       That separates you from the darkest of times.

       No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
       I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
       My Gramps died in Europe on a day in December,"
       Then he said,

"That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
       I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
       But my wife sends me pictures. He's sure got her smile.

       Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
       The red, white, and Blue American Flag.
       I can live through the cold and the being alone,
       Away from my family, my house and my home.
       I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
       I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
       I can carry the weight of killing another,
       Or lay down my life with my sister and brother.
       Who stand at the front against any and all,
       To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

       "So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
      Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
       "But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
      "Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
      It seems all too little for all that you've done,
      For being away from your wife and your son."   

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 Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
       "Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

     To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
       To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
       For when we come home, either standing or dead,

To know you remember we fought and we bled.
      Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
     That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."