More wasteful government programs we should question: In other threads people have discussed government programs and services that have seemed very wasteful. They seem to be very...

SpeedyWilson Loc: Upstate South Carolina

In other threads people have discussed government programs and services that have seemed very wasteful. They seem to be very p[revalent.

How about this one, where the government spends over a million dollars for puppet programs. Yes puppets, as in put one on your hand, or pull some strings:

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/03/27/Under-Obama-U-S-Spends-1-18-Million-On-Puppets

"The UCF website explains the project thusly:"

"The purpose of this project is to improve the quality of experiences that can be provided by the puppeteering paradigm (more varied behaviors, enhanced quality of service, reduced latency), while simultaneously reducing the barrier to entry (cost and complexity of set-up, cognitive load on puppeteer, need for extensive training)."

Say what???

RMM Loc: Suburban New York

I know you enjoy putting this on Obama, but it's far more likely to be Congressional pork, and that gets served up on both sides of the aisle. Who's the last president you know of who vetoed a budget or any major bill because it contained pork? Please note: I am NOT defending the practice. I think any amendment to any bill should be directly related to the bill's purpose, yet all too often, somebody attaches unrelated pork, and it gets through in order to gather the necessary votes to pass.

SpeedyWilson Loc: Upstate South Carolina

I'm not just blaming Obama. It's the fault of all the members of Congress who vote to allow this wasteful spending; but even more so those people responsible for inserting all the pork programs into legitimate bills.

Danilo Loc: Las Vegas

MisterWilson wrote:

I'm not just blaming Obama. It's aimed at all the members of Congress who vote to allow this wasteful spending.

I find it fascinating that people will trip over themselves to defend Obama even when he hasn't been mentioned, or thought of. There must be some reason for that.
But more interestingly, Mister Wilson, what does it tell us about our legislators when the only "fat" they can see to cut from the budget are air-traffic controllers and White House tour personnel. Are these politicians really intelligent, educated individuals? Or could they really be the logic-challenged numbskulls they appear to be? ALL of them, not just Republicans or Democrats or Independents.
Why not have a White House garage sale and get rid of ALL of them, even the "good" ones who've been in more than one term.

sarge69 Loc: Ft Myers, FL

MisterWilson wrote:

I'm not just blaming Obama. It's the fault of all the members of Congress who vote to allow this wasteful spending; but even more so those people responsible for inserting all the pork programs into legitimate bills.

It is the Congress and there are no intelligent beings there to stop the pork because it would affect their own.

The American public is the one footing the bill.

Sarge69

RMM Loc: Suburban New York

Danilo wrote:

I find it fascinating that people will trip over themselves to defend Obama even when he hasn't been mentioned, or thought of. There must be some reason for that.

The only reason I brought Obama into the discussion is because of the link, which contains "... Big-Government/2013/03/27/Under-Obama-U-S-Spends-1-18-Million-On..." He's no more or less to blame than his predecessors.

krgatlgm Loc: Las Vegas, Nv

Danilo wrote:

I find it fascinating that people will trip over t... (show quote)

Could not agree more! Get rid of them all as they are all greedy ba$tard$. Next step would be to make lobbying illegal! If a member of congress wants a bill on puppets, that should be the only thing mentioned in the bill and not hidden in the pork barrel. I'm done, blood pressure is coming down slowly!

rcirr Loc: Gilbert, Arizona

Danilo wrote:

I find it fascinating that people will trip over t... (show quote)

Sad to say Danilo but saying there isn't any intelligence in Congress is just giving them an excuse. Most of them know what they are doing, they just don't care. They are screwing the American people for their own gain!

digiman Loc: Brooklyn, NY/Greenville, SC

Danilo wrote:

I find it fascinating that people will trip over t... (show quote)

Have a garage sale? Who would buy "them?" Oh, I guess there might be some who would but that would be a yard sale I would avoid. I wouldn't want to give them any more money that they could use to spend on all the pork.

gasmandon Loc: Bentleyville, PA

[quote=MisterWilson]In other threads people have discussed government programs and services that have seemed very wasteful. They seem to be very p[revalent.

How about this one, where the government spends over a million dollars for puppet programs. Yes puppets, as in put one on your hand, or pull some strings:

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/03/27/Under-Obama-U-S-Spends-1-18-Million-On-Puppets

"The UCF website explains the project thusly:"

"The purpose of this project is to improve the quality of experiences that can be provided by the puppeteering paradigm (more varied behaviors, enhanced quality of service, reduced latency), while simultaneously reducing the barrier to entry (cost and complexity of set-up, cognitive load on puppeteer, need for extensive training)."

Say what???[/quote]

breitbart.com: That says it all. He's dead, best thing that's happened in a long time.

RDH

[quote=MisterWilson]In other threads people have discussed government programs and services that have seemed very wasteful. They seem to be very p[revalent.

How about this one, where the government spends over a million dollars for puppet programs. Yes puppets, as in put one on your hand, or pull some strings:

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/03/27/Under-Obama-U-S-Spends-1-18-Million-On-Puppets

"The UCF website explains the project thusly:"

"The purpose of this project is to improve the quality of experiences that can be provided by the puppeteering paradigm (more varied behaviors, enhanced quality of service, reduced latency), while simultaneously reducing the barrier to entry (cost and complexity of set-up, cognitive load on puppeteer, need for extensive training)."

Say what???[/quote]

The article states about $300,000. That is not millions of dollars. The program was at Northwestern U., sounds like something their theater department was working on. Without knowing a great deal more I could not tell you if it was wasteful or not.

ole sarg Loc: south florida

RDH you have made the only intelligent comment on the topic.

krgatlgm Loc: Las Vegas, Nv

RDH wrote:

The article states about $300,000. That is not millions of dollars. The program was at Northwestern U., sounds like something their theater department was working on. Without knowing a great deal more I could not tell you if it was wasteful or not.

Read the whole article!!!!$300,000 was one of 50 grants to the university, all dealing with puppets! Here is a list of all 50 grants:

http://www.usaspending.gov/search?form_fields={%22search_term%22%3A%22puppet%22%2C%22fyear%22%3A[%222010%22%2C%222012%22%2C%222011%22%2C%222009%22%2C%222013%22]}&sort_by=dollars&per_page=25&page=1

The grants totaled $1,186,382 from 2009 to 2013.

krgatlgm Loc: Las Vegas, Nv

gasmandon wrote:

breitbart.com: That says it all. He's dead, best thing that's happened in a long time.

So your thought is kill the messenger? Hard to argue with the truth.

http://www.usaspending.gov/search?form_fields={%22search_term%22%3A%22puppet%22%2C%22fyear%22%3A[%222010%22%2C%222012%22%2C%222011%22%2C%222009%22%2C%222013%22]}&sort_by=dollars&per_page=25&page=1

rayford2 Loc: New Bethlehem, PA

RMM wrote:

I know you enjoy putting this on Obama, but it's far more likely to be Congressional pork, and that gets served up on both sides of the aisle. Who's the last president you know of who vetoed a budget or any major bill because it contained pork? Please note: I am NOT defending the practice. I think any amendment to any bill should be directly related to the bill's purpose, yet all too often, somebody attaches unrelated pork, and it gets through in order to gather the necessary votes to pass.

It isn't just pork that screws these bills up.
Check out how many completely unrelated amendments were added to the Highway Bill. The purists will add "and other things" that was included in the title.
Here's a bill, originally designed for highways, that became an all-in-one mess with tons of convenient amendments for the politicians. They're just too lazy to do one thing at a time anymore, bundle it all up and if 80% of it makes them happy, they vote for it.