BF2S Forums Pork. Good Job Obama

plane ticket to foreign country -$0
Lodging in said foreign country -$0
Eating at the best restaurants in above country -$0

winning a grant to study why drunk people act drunk - priceless.

those are all shovel ready...

and BO approval has dropped to 58 percent and falling...
Better ramp up the speeches BO...
http://www.gallup.com/poll/121028/Obama … -Time.aspx

Last edited by [TUF]Catbox (2009-06-19 13:45:25)

Turquoise wrote:

You guys do realize that all this is chump change compared to the bailouts, right?

not the point

Turquoise wrote:

usmarine wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

You guys do realize that all this is chump change compared to the bailouts, right?

not the point

Who here actually believed Obama would end pork?

Well him being a Muslim and all I was expecting it to be outlawed.

ATG wrote:

The government is a collection of crooks serving only themselves.

And O will fire any AG who asks too many questions.

you know what alex...i called you a nutter for like two years.  and you may be a bit extreme, but i am with you for the most part.  just wanted you to know that.

At the next few elections the USA really does need a grass roots independent movement to spring up.

I dunno how you guys will do it, but it has to be done.

NIH grants pay my wage and I live in Oz. You pick ultra obscure studies ( which arent getting much money ) and try to make it look like all the money going to NIH is wasted. Do you think that Obamas boys really have time to go through the thousands of studies that the NIH funds with Grants. Of course you havent even looked at the many valid studies that they do fund. Not to mention the money that can be made if a bunch of scientists come up with something big ( which brings in the really big dollars) .

There are some wacky studies out there, but for the most part they are looking at really valid research. Your opinion is a little short sited and uninformed.

Without even looking one up. My lab is looking for a genetic marker that codes for NIcotine / alcohol addiction.

Also looking for a gene that causes melanoma

Heres some others I found with a very quick search:
Research into AIDS /TB
Scientists Discover New Genetic Immune Disorder in Children
heart disease /diabetes
breast cancer

Honestly there are stacks of others. I cant be bothered looking up anymore.

Like I said, there are some wacky studies out there. But being in the business, trust me, there is no real way that a govt can police every grant that goes out of the NIH. The NIH judges who should or shouldnt get Grants. Some grants that get up often dont look as valid as some that do. Grant submissions are massive pieces of work, and the NIH goes through each with a fine tooth comb. If you read the actual grant application it would sound more valid that the one line summaries that Foxnews prints out.

Even if you are right , and these are shit studies ( and it happens) it is a tiny fraction of the extremely good work that the NIH does fund ( less than $5million out of $2.9 billion ). I personally am grateful for the NIH funding, it pays the bills puts a roof over my head etc.

Looking at the studies in the thread ( which seem dodgy at face value ), you have to consider a few things. First, the fact that they are conducted overseas may look like a waste of money. But the real reason for it is that people in the US arent really too keen to participate in studies, especially when giving info, or DNA comes into it. Which is great for labs like the one I work in. if you look at it that way, these studies area actually to benefit the US ( most of the time), they are just conducted overseas.

Secondly, you would be amazed how much it costs to set up these sort of studies. The study for $400000 would be lucky to employ 4 people and the resources it needs for the study. It is a very small study, even though it sounds like big bucks to us.

Thirdly if you look at how grant funding works, its often assessed on a persons previous studies, and if results are published for that study. Therefore ,if the study on Asian hookers doesnt find anything worthwhile, the Principle researcher will find it very hard to get more money from the NIH in the future. He would hopefully be aware of this, and would be able to get good results.

USMarine wrote:

(study if you want with your own money, not mine)

Thats just how the industry works. You apply to research institutes like NIH for grants, they give you a bit of money for a study, you then publish results. No results , good luck getting more money. Trust me , there aint many scientists driving lambos.

I must admit that while this post looks at waste of money at the NIH with a bidget of $2.9bill. Why arent we looking at waste of money in the military ( not saying this because its USMarines post either). $515 billion spent  in 2009. You cant tell me that theres no pork there!

Every government budget has spending that isn't required or spending that we disagree with.

In my opinion it seems a little more prevalent with 'left' leaning governments so to speak (go Tony Blair!), but every government is guilty of it.

Harmor wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

You guys do realize that all this is chump change compared to the bailouts, right?

Your right, but it all adds up.

if it's not a lot of money than i will give them my bank info so they can put that money in my account...

    I also love the 1.15 million dollar fence that is being built around a lake that doesn't exist... and what happens to all these
jobs when the projects are over in a year or 2?  Unemployed again... 

  And the world was going to collapse a couple of months
ago if the stimulus wasn't passed... How come the world hasn't collapsed and they have only spent 6 percent of the stimulus?