If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people
under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy. - Thomas Jefferson


Sunday, January 30, 2011

DHS becomes DLS

Another tough one here. This reason for spending our tax dollars is beyond reproach - I just like pointing out why it is we pay our taxes...

We now have Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agents from the Department of Homeland Security in countries around the world placed there simply to defend those countries against American criminals. Specifically we're after those creepy enough to go on vacation looking for underage prostitutes. Their goal is to find these creeps and instead of letting them bribe their way out of local trouble, we bring them back to the U.S. for some real justice.

I bring this up because of the apparent inconsistencies.
1.) They are IMMIGRATION agents. They are not MIGRATION agents. Lets use our border patrols to patrol our borders. Let them work on catching people coming into our country, not leaving it.
2.) Though it has long been 'proven' that 'Home'land Security begins in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, we should really take a moment to inform our government that those countries are not our HOMEland.
3.) Imagine the costs involved in maintaining a force in other countries, in shipping the creeps back for a full blown trial, and all this process entails simply because we don't trust their courts to punish our citizens severely enough for crimes against their citizens.

Here's my point - We can't turn the Department of Homeland Security into the Department of Land Security because it is the most appropriate group of agents to spread thin. If this is a problem that we feel must be addressed, then lets take care of it. Lets create the Department of Saving Others From Ourselves and staff it to the brim with special agents trained to put an end to child/sex/slavery. Let the DSOFO find their own funding and lobbyists and support in congress. Don't tell me I'm paying for border agents to keep me safe, then send those agents a half a planet away from the borders I've been told their guarding.

Our border agents protecting their borders...

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

Friday, January 28, 2011

The Horse Molesterer

Derek 'Wood' Woods just LOVES horses.

In December of 2009, a woman who owns a stables in Devon (England), was surprised to see ol' Derek crashed out in her barn. Shooing him away, she thought she had seen the last of this sorry excuse for a man. To be safe, she had fake cameras and an audible alarm set up in and around her barn.

In February of 2010, she noticed that one of her horses was walking funny again. Fearing the worst, the fake cameras and alarm were eliminated and replaced with hidden infrared cameras.

By August, Derek just couldn't stand to be away from his little filly any longer and gave the stable owner and police a little infrared show.

Aside from the small mountain of private cash invested in this by the stable owner, we have several calls out to the police and now a trial and some punishment to pay for. Luckily they won't put him in jail, but a probation officer will be that much busier for the next 24 months. I also imagine Woods won't be paying for his own treatment for alcohol dependency.

THIS is whybritspaytaxes.

PS - I was torn about titling this post 'Horse Rearing', but 'The Horse Molesterer' just had that much more kick...

PPS - I was picturing a dodgy old man barely hanging on in his drunken twilight years. It was another look at the story before I realized this guy is 26 YEARS OLD! Man... If you can't get a date at 26, you've got issues. Wait. I guess that this guy has issues was already pretty clear...

read more:Man sentenced for sex act on horse at Devon stables(bbc)

Inspection emergency: They're baaack!

And stronger than ever! (Back story in old post: Inspection emergency(wipt))
This time, they brought reinforcements.
Doule the idling pleasure for double the breathing fun!

Yes, it takes a fire truck AND an ambulance to get 10 blocks away to re-inspect a building. This time it took about 6 folks to complete the inspection.

And, I'm not kidding, its not that big of a building I work in:
Home sweet office

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Good money after bad

I don't know what I'm going to do when I grow up, but its gonna be BIG!

You can look long and hard, but it is unlikely you'll be able to find a more shining example of government waste. As with most government waste, this project was started with the best of intentions. 10 years and $6.5 BILLION(£4.1 BILLION) later, I'm not so sure those good intentions were followed through on...

The project is the Nimrod MRA4. It is the last combat airplane Britain developed. The intent was to be able to patrol the Atlantic Ocean looking for submarines. The plan was to build 9 planes total.

Then the new government took over. With 1 plane completed and ready to fly and 3 planes at 90% complete, the government decided it would save itself from $3.19 BILLION in operating costs to kill the program immediately.

$6.5 BILLION already spent on the project. Kill it now to save $3.19 BILLION.

Lets recoup costs?
1.) 1 was complete, 3 were almost done, we can sell them, right?
Wrong - We don't want the folks who want them to have them. The folks we don't mind having them have no realistic need for them. Plus, its a very specific plane. To finish production and to maintain it in use would require its own specialized workforce.
2.) At least we're gutting them for parts, right?
Wrong(ish) - They're trying, but most everything on these planes are already truly obsolete. Remember, they were designed 10 years ago. According to a guy at the Ministry of Defense, you wouldn't put some of these components in a Play Station let alone a modern military aircraft.
3.) Just stop progress and store it until economies and budgets are restored to ridiculous levels, that'll save the money, right?
Wrong - Remember, these planes are already so obsolete, we can't even use most of the components. Plus, storing a project of this magnitude still requires a big building and crews to keep it up. Just throwing it in a garage out back ain't gonna work.
4.) We're not just going to cut it into pieces and sell it as scrap metal, are we?
You Betcha.

Spending $6.5 BILLION on a project and destroying the results...

THIS is whybritspaytaxes.

read more:Why smash up a brand new spy plane?(bbc)

Friday, January 21, 2011

Rocket fueled

Can I get your help moving this weekend? I think we got it in 1 trip.

I don't know the exact fuel economy of the Delta IV Heavy, but it has got to set us back a bit every time they fire this puppy up.

The rocket itself is as tall as a 20 story building.
It burns a ton of fuel each SECOND. (What does a ton of rocket fuel run now days?)

It brings gigantic satellites into orbit for the CIA and DOD. We don't get to know what it weighs or exactly what it carries. Though we do have this hint: Large imaging satellites of the type the Delta IV could launch would have remarkable resolution

They spent $100 MILLION just upgrading the launch pad to fit this bastard.

As I often do, I'll state that I'm not saying whether or not this project is good or bad, its just how we spend our money. I'm kind of glad our government has the baddest satellites...

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

Watch the video in this link. It looks a bit like a skyscraper lifting off.
read more: Huge Delta rocket flies from Vandenberg, California(bbc)

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Guinea raid!

Some brilliant police work and a questionable way to gain probable cause warrants led to the police investigating a hotspot in a primary school teacher's garage.

Cops taking part in the big pot growing operation bust turned out to find a couple guinea pigs enjoying themselves under a heat lamp.

Yes. Some police departments regularly fly over homes looking for irregular heat signatures. Apparently the damage to the environment and law enforcement budgets is well worth making it hard for those rowdy, no good potheads to get their fix.
By rowdy, I mean lethargic.
By no good, I mean hungry.

THIS is whybritspaytaxes.

read more: Bradford cannabis raid finds guinea pig heater(bbc)

Friday, January 14, 2011

Toll dodging

In an impressive feat, a man in China was able to evade $560,000 in toll charges over a 9 month period by affixing military plates to his vehicle. Then they fined him another $300,000 and sentenced him to life in prison.

Of interest:
That one could run up over a half a million dollars in tolls over a 9 month period makes me wonder if he did a lot of driving, or if there are simply too many toll booths in China. (I'd say both. He was running overweight loads which incurred larger than normal toll charges.)

That one could obtain military plates to put on his vehicle to evade tolls makes me wonder about their military quartermasters.

That one could be expected to repay $800,000 while spending life in prison... Well, I suspect he'll be costing more than what he already owes.

In the end:
In a relatively un-China-like move, they have decided to re-try the poor guy because of a bit of a people's revolt on the Internet. Hopefully the cost of this re-trial and the amount they save by not imprisoning him for the rest of his life are a wash.

THIS is whyCHINESEpaytaxes.

read more: Outcry prompts retrial for Chinese toll dodger(bbc)

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Dunk

Maybe this one won't cost too much if they can use a different fire truck to pull it out.
And, of course, this truck still works...

Suddenly Big Red understood why he was never to bob for apples

Thursday, January 6, 2011

The cost of freedom

Of course maintaining the largest military in the world is gonna cost some dollars, but this is still a fun figure:
The Pentagon's budget for 2012 is expected to be $553 BILLION.

I expect it'll be worth every penny.

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Bird droppings

Over a thousand black birds dropped out of the sky on New Year's Eve in Arkansas. It wasn't particularly wide spread, pretty much all came from the same flock. It can logically be explained by a number of things, but it really does make you wonder.

But why wonder, when you can have the Arkansas Fish and Game Commission investigate?
About 65 birds were sent off to the lab for further testing.
I imagine this is going to run a bit more than routine blood work.

Oh, and the city of Beebe hired a specialist waste-disposal firm to collect and dispose of the dead birds from gardens and rooftops. Can't just leave the little bastards lying around...

As is often the case, this is arguably a service well worth the tax dollars. I just hope its a competent investigation with transparent results.

THIS is whyarkansasianspaytaxes.

read more: More than 1,000 blackbirds fall out of Arkansas sky(bbc)

Saturday, January 1, 2011

What a riot!

With 2 guards and 4 support staff, it was time to conduct breathalyzer tests on inmates at Ford prison. 2 guards and 4 support staff quickly turned into 2 fire engines and 140 prison staffers when the riot broke out.

Some of what costs tax dollars:
1.) In this prison, they had "a pool room with 10 newly-installed pool tables"
2.) The prisoners destroyed this room, along with a mail room, a gym, and a snooker room. I'm glad so much has been invested into the comfort of these gentlemen. Now if only we could somehow get them to STOP DESTROYING IT ALL!
3.) "Specialist prison guards in body armour have been tackling rioting inmates" - THAT can't be cheap
4.) Prisoner transfer costs - "damage was severe and prisoners had begun to be moved out of the compound to elsewhere"
5.) "Once control is fully re-established, a review is called for to determine how and why this happened"
6.) "[calls] for upgraded CCTV for the site to be installed as a priority"

Well, I hope you boys had fun.

THIS is whybritspaytaxes.

read more: Specialist officers tackle Ford open prison riot(bbc)