Free Talk Live - waste

West Virginia spends $24 million on routers

Razor512 — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:58:27 +0000

Government sure knows how to efficiently spend money. West Virginia has spent $24 million on 1,164 Cisco model 3945 branch routers for their government offices (adding up to 1 high end enterprise level router per 13 government employees). Each router is able to handle hundreds (or even thousands) of simultaneous users depending on their bandwidth needs.

Homeland Security is building a $4 billion 170-acre complex

dumthumbs — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 20:00:38 +0000

The US Department of Homeland Security, despite budget cuts and construction delays, is planning to add 17,000 employees into its consolidated headquarters in southeast Washington.

Museum of Government Waste

ElGuapo — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 01:37:39 +0000

It looks like Jim Hubbard finally found a project that politicians are hesitant to throw other people's money at. I think it would be very cool if a voluntarily funded Museum of Government waste were to exist - I hope they are successful.

Air Conditioning the Military Costs More Than NASA's Entire Budget

XD45 — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 14:54:26 +0000

According to Steve Anderson, a retired brigadier general who served as Gen. Petraeus' chief logistician in Iraq, the Department of Defense spends $20 billion air conditioning tents and temporary structures for the military. That's more than NASA's entire $19 billion annual budget.

$200M Government Healthcare Scam Busted

EtotheRic — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 14:23:13 +0000

Massive healthcare fraud scheme uncovered in Miami
(Reuters) - The top two officials of a leading chain of community mental health centers were among four people arrested in Miami on Thursday in connection with a scheme involving about $200 million in fraudulent medical claims, U.S. prosecutors said.

Phony products impress federal energy program

phonon — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 06:03:11 +0000

Fifteen phony products — including a gasoline-powered alarm clock — won a label from the government certifying them as energy efficient in a test of the federal "Energy Star" program.

Briton's $800 High-Altitude Camera Outclasses NASA

celestrion — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:11:48 +0000

Robert Harrison, 38, used a collection of cheap parts costing £500 to create a balloon-mounted camera that can travel up to 21.7 miles (35km) above the surface of the Earth. The result is a series of pictures taken from a height that only a rocket or weather balloon can reach. The resulting photographs, which he published online, were so impressive that Nasa has been in touch.

State Legislators In Now-Infamous Solitaire Photo Identified

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:02:29 +0000

A photo of two Democratic legislators playing solitaire has ignited controversy at the state Capitol and in the blogosphere.

The Associated Press picture has appeared in any number of venues, and it shows two lawmakers sitting in the back row of the historic Hall of the House in Hartford during the lengthy debate over the two-year, $37 billion state budget.