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Pentagon redirected pandemic funds to defense contractors: report:
The Pentagon redirected most of its $1 billion in pandemic funding to defense contractors who exchanged the money for jet engine parts, body armor, dress uniforms and other military needs, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
[...] Congress instructed the $1 billion in the CARES Act to go to Defense Production Act (DPA) efforts, which permits President Trump to direct U.S. companies to manufacture necessary products, such as personal protective equipment (PPE).
Months after the funding was allocated, department lawyers concluded the money could be used for defense production, including projects that had little to do with responding to the pandemic, the Post reported. Smaller firms received more than a third of the funding for less than $5 million, but hundreds of millions of dollars went to several large companies.
At least 10 of the about 30 contractors awarded with DPA funding also received money from the Paycheck Protection Program, the Post found.
Jessica Maxwell, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense, told The Hill in a statement that the DPA funding and PPP program are not "in conflict or duplicative."
[...] Defense industry groups said the funding was needed to keep certain contractors in business during the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @11:13AM (29 children)
And Democrats spent it on Democrat stuff that had nothing to do with COVID.
Welcome to govt waste. What did you think was going to happen with this "relief" bill.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @11:25AM (6 children)
You didn't spend your stimulus check on hookers and blow?
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @11:38AM (5 children)
Couldn't spend it on COVID hookers and still follow social distancing rules. As proud as I am of my pecker, it's not quite 6 feet long.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @11:43AM
No quite by 5' 11"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @12:47PM (2 children)
I was under the impression that doggy style, reverse cowgirl, and the wheel barrow, were COVID safety approved as long as you wear a mask. Missionary is definitely not COVID safe, even with a mask.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @01:08PM
Unless you finish in under a minute, you'll need to do all these outside, with a lateral wind.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @01:10PM
I just double-glove: I put a condom on my dick and a surgical glove over her head.
Works so far, and I don't have to do a lot of post-coital chatting.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday September 24 2020, @02:05PM
'No kissing': Amsterdam's red light district reopens after coronavirus shutdown [theguardian.com]
(Score: 5, Insightful) by bzipitidoo on Thursday September 24 2020, @01:08PM (7 children)
Ah, yes, the "everyone is totally corrupt" cynical projection. Because the biggest thieves and liars find it comforting to think that Honest Abe, Mother Teresa, and even Jesus would've done the same in their shoes, that no one is better than them. George Washington and the cherry tree is a total myth, a lie, a propagandistic puff piece, because no real human would ever have told the truth, not when it would certainly lead to punishment, and when they could get away with a lie. it doesn't make sense, does it? Therefore, it couldn't have happened!
Well, it's all bull anyway. Scientists have been faking results for centuries, and that's why we have all this cool technology now, things like cars and planes, and devices that can instantly communicate with someone on the other side of the world, and record and display videos, and, even reach the moon (oh, right, the moon landings are a big hoax), and, well, a whole lot more stuff. Lot of faking to have to maintain, wonder how they do it?
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @01:39PM (2 children)
We need another mod, "Off meds".
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Friday September 25 2020, @02:55AM
> We need another mod, "Off meds".
I find your faith in Big Pharma ... dissonant.
(Score: 2) by Nobuddy on Friday September 25 2020, @09:02PM
or possibly an "unable to grasp sarcasm"
(Score: 0, Troll) by khallow on Thursday September 24 2020, @02:08PM (2 children)
Because everyone is Democrats in positions of power?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:27PM (1 child)
-1 off his meds
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:44PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 25 2020, @04:56AM
Mother Teresa was kind horrible.
She would withhold pain medicine from patients because, "suffering brought them closer to god." Thousands needlessly suffered in her "care".
But, when she was dying, she took all the morpheme the medical staff would give her. I guess she felt that she was already close enough to god.
https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/03/25/should-mother-teresa-be-canonized/mother-teresa-doesnt-deserve-sainthood [nytimes.com]
Gandhi was a dick too. When he lived in S. Africa, he wrote a letter to the editor suggesting a third entrance to movie theaters so that Indian's did not have to use the same entrance as blacks.
We want heroes. But, the truth is many, if not most of the people we lionize are either completely unworthy, or are just as flawed as everybody else.
(Score: 4, Touché) by helel on Thursday September 24 2020, @03:25PM (8 children)
Be specific. What "Democrat stuff" was purchased with money earmarked for dealing with COVID?
Republican Patriotism [youtube.com]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @04:31PM
You know - avocado on toast, tofu sushi, spriters. Liberal stuff.
(Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:03PM (6 children)
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foxnews.com/politics/congress-coronavirus-stimulus-state-local-governments.amp [google.com]
(Score: 2) by helel on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:49PM
Thank you. Still, $24 million to pay for some community college is a far cry from the $1 billion talked about here. Everything else in your linked article seems ... COVID related even if it may not be the best use of taxpayer money.
The drive through trick-or-treat program is just cracking me up. I guess the intent is to help maintain social distancing by encouraging family to stay in their cars instead of running up to all the neighbors but still, it just seems so ridiculous!
Republican Patriotism [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:59PM
Free community college for the essential workers who are risking their lives for us just sounds like danger pay for COVID to me. And that was the first example they went with...
(Score: 2, Disagree) by fakefuck39 on Thursday September 24 2020, @07:43PM (2 children)
foxnews is not licensed as a news organization. they lost that license after they made up blatantly fake shit and were taken to court. their defense to the judge was that they are an entertainment organization, and no reasonable person would interpret their information as factual. then they lost their news license.
so I believe zero of what that link of yours says, since it is not coming from a news source. posting a link to foxnews and thinking it's news is the same as posting a link to News Radio, a popular fictional TV Show, operating under the same license as the foxnews entertainment company.
oh, and of course, you are a complete retard.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @08:28PM (1 child)
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fox-news-entertainment-switch/ [snopes.com]
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fox-skews/ [snopes.com]
(Score: 2) by fakefuck39 on Saturday September 26 2020, @08:43PM
your second link says "fox won the right to lie" is false. correct - that's what I said. they did not win the right to lie. their defense was that their lies would not be interpreted by any reasonable person as fact. thank you for agreeing with me.
as far as your first link, I have no idea what meme you are talking about that is proved false.
Fox news is listed in the TV Guide as "entertainment." They are licensed by the FCC as a cable entertainment channel - as are all other cable TV news. They also broadcast OTA from local fox stations. OTA news channels have a news or entertainment classification, as opposed to cable-only programs which do not. Fox for its OTA stations does not have a news classification, hence it being listed as an entertainment show.
as far as you telling people to shut up while providing links to lightly related yet not applicable strawman arguments - that's expected. people like you do very fragile mental gymnastics and are not able to argue your point with relevant information. because you're wrong.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Friday September 25 2020, @03:37AM
Of course, the things in that report are at least somehow related to the purpose of the funding. Admittedly, some may not be the most efficient but they are at least minimally justified.
Unless the pentagon has some amazing plan to use jet engine thrust to blow the COVID out of the U.S., they cannot make the same claim.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by crafoo on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:21PM (4 children)
It blows my mind that you were marked troll. Is the truth so hard for people to hear now?
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:30PM
The Earthbus flst amirite? So I've been noticing a trend. Every time some wackadoo shitposter gies MIA we get another similar wackadoo to reolace them. Just how many sock puppets do you wackos need???
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:31PM (2 children)
Yeah, I thought my post was bipartisan.
We are now TOO partisan to acknowledge EITHER party can/will waste money.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @06:15PM (1 child)
haven't you been watching the internet? not raising your fist in solidarity with Neo-Bolsheviks is hate speech. IOW, just failure to positively affirm is a crime.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @08:14PM
I thought they were Marxists? Or Leninists? Leftists?
Whi the fuck are you actually talking about??
(Score: 3, Redundant) by Phoenix666 on Thursday September 24 2020, @11:48AM (6 children)
The MIC needs help to stay in business? Is that because Trump has refused to go to war with Syria or Iran the way they wanted him to?
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by meustrus on Thursday September 24 2020, @03:52PM
It always has. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. Biggest source of government corruption in the US right now, and neither party will commit to fight it. I mean, lots of Democratic voters would like to fight it, but Democratic candidates always find a way to weasel out of it. And most Republicans only hate wasteful spending on things Democrats want.
One may have hoped that Trump being too cowardly to go to war would have pulled back the MIC somewhat. I guess the general flourishing of corruption in federal government right now more than makes up for it.
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
(Score: 5, Touché) by DeathMonkey on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:24PM (1 child)
How to "avoid" a war with Iran:
--Unilaterally tear up an existing treaty with them.
--Implement harsh sanctions that had been removed because of said treaty.
--Wait a bit while they all starve.
--Assassinate their equivalent of a Vice President.
--When they retaliate, bomb the shit out of them.
The MIC totally HATES it when you do so much peace with a nation!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 25 2020, @01:36PM
You bring up a good point. One of the few things I can think of that have been good for President Trump is that "he didn't start a new war."
Now that you mention it, though, it seems like he's done much to engage in one. I wonder if an alternative explanation could be in order. Maybe it's more, "the US is very reluctant to unilaterally engage in war. So, having a substantially reduced international credibility and prestige, it can't get even nominal support from others. Therefore, no war."
Which would still mean it was good for President Trump in that the US didn't begin a new war under his presidency... albeit one which is much more mixed.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:39PM (2 children)
He didn't need to start any as we're still in other countries. He would have had to end conflicts and oull troops out to get any credit as a more peaceful president. And we can't forget how he tried to start a war with Iran against military advice.
You're a sad sad man, traded your disillusionment with the DNC for the true insanity and corruption of Trump.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @06:51PM (1 child)
How the heck did you get that from their post
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @08:11PM
By the magic of memory! Mod off-topic if that last line causes you such confusion.
He can post AC if he doesn't want people remembering and pointing out his flaws. His support of Trump over a centrist like Biden makes zero sense unless he is one of the idiots that brushes off every bad thing Trump does and says with fake news or TDS excuses. At BEST he might be one of those "burn it all down" types who likes Trump's destruction of norms more than he cares about Trump's corruption and fascism. I can only say what, not why, Phoenix says these things.
(Score: 0, Interesting) by HammeredGlass on Thursday September 24 2020, @12:15PM (3 children)
Let them decide where it needs to be spent.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by redneckmother on Thursday September 24 2020, @12:53PM (1 child)
"Let them decide where it needs to be spent."
But of course! C-level bonuses all around!
Mas cerveza por favor.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Thexalon on Thursday September 24 2020, @09:05PM
And stock buybacks, because the CEO's pay is closely tied to stock market performance, and a buyback = instant boost.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by crafoo on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:24PM
"Let them decide where it needs to be spent."
How about instead the government takes it, skims a percentage off the top for pork projects and to redecorate government party facilities. Then, they'll have the 80% of net-negative "tax payers" vote to take it for themselves through welfare programs. Finally, they'll toss you back a percent or two as "tax breaks". Generous motherfuckers aren't they!
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Username on Thursday September 24 2020, @12:45PM (5 children)
We do a lot of aviation/military work at my job, and work is crawling. They're having rolling layoffs since the lack of orders and no components from chi-nah. Best thing they can do is give us more work. Get my paycheck back to where it should be.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @02:47PM (3 children)
Yes of course. Me me me and fuck the rest of the world.
Typical human cancer.
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @03:45PM (2 children)
Just trying to support himself and possibly his family rather than be in the street--just like every other human being.
YOU are the pathological jerk here.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Thursday September 24 2020, @03:59PM
See: recent SN article about homelessness.
Some people think we (collectively) should not help the homeless. But ordinary hard working people can become homeless.
Young people won't believe you if you say you used to get Netflix by US Postal Mail.
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @04:33PM
Turns out he picked the wrong indrusty. Loser. Why should my tax dollars support his bad life choices?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:23PM
I know! What can you do when there is no profit in fashioning weapons of war?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @06:33PM (5 children)
this is why anyone who pays the fed income tax is a moron.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @07:01PM (2 children)
It's funny, "moron" almost rhymes with "felon".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @07:45PM
That's because y'all illiterate clowns misspelled "moran" - buncha morans.
(Score: 2, Disagree) by DrkShadow on Thursday September 24 2020, @11:36PM
Well, that's too bad - because "moron" here means "law-abiding citizen"!
There's another name for those mentioned by the OP -- foreigners! Non United States citizens don't pay taxes to the feds! That would be moronic.
There's a population of United States citizens that don't pay taxes to the fed, even, but the population is statistically insignificant.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 25 2020, @12:47AM (1 child)
I know, right! I'm all in for abolishing the fucking IRS as long as I still can collect social security, welfare, foodstamps, and medicare. Those motherfuckers.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 25 2020, @01:34AM
Just get the fucking government out of all those things. If they let a company like Medicare run it, we'd save a fortune.