Golden Hammer
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Golden Hammer: University of Washington spends science grant on Hawaiian vacation, Snuggies
A public university used federal funding for scientific research as its own personal piggy bank, spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on personalized Snuggies, pottery, and a trip to Hawaii, according to a new audit report.
Golden Hammer: NIH spends $1.7M to train immigrants in health habits
The National Institutes of Health is spending nearly $1.7 million to prevent immigrants and refugees from adopting our 'Big Mac' culture.
Golden Hammer: DoD seeks no refund for defective plane parts
Most people who discover an item they have purchased is broken or faulty would return the item to the retailer and expect a full refund. Not Uncle Sam.
Golden Hammer: Government drops $1.6 million to study 'troublesome problem' of malt liquor
In the land of free choice and home of a thousand brews, it might surprise some Americans that Uncle Sam is researching ways to restrict certain alcoholic beverages, and he is doing it with their own tax dollars.
Golden Hammer: National Science Foundation grants helped to fund a study on speed dating
With Valentine's Day falling on Sunday, many singles are looking for the tips and tricks needed to pick up a date. Not to worry, Uncle Sam has done the leg work for lonely Americans, using their own tax dollars.
Golden Hammer: Audit finds USAID workers improperly flying first class
Most Americans know that their tax dollars are seemingly flying out of their wallets, but what they might not have known is that federal employees are taking off with them, traveling in first class.
Golden Hammer: Homeland Security loses track of training money
The Department of Homeland Security has failed to keep track of hundreds of millions of dollars for training its workforce for nearly the entirety of its existence, according to a federal report released this week.
Golden Hammer: Government allocates billions for questionable new highways
As states across the country bemoan a lack of funds to repair crumbling roads and bridges, a new report offers 12 examples of questionable highway-expansion projects that could cost taxpayers as much as $24 billion.
Golden Hammer: U.S. taxpayers paying for shoddy Afghanistan hospitals
In the wake of the mistaken bombing of a charity hospital in Afghanistan last year, one might think the U.S. government would at least be able to locate its own hospitals in the region. That would be wrong.
Golden Hammer: Feds spending millions to arm agencies that don't need guns
As the U.S. engages in a national debate over the militarization of the police, federal data shows that government agencies charged with largely administrative roles are spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to purchase SWAT and military-style equipment.
Golden Hammer: Taxpayers pony up what Iran won't under terror victim law
Under a little-noticed provision in the new law to compensate U.S. victims of terrorism, taxpayers are stepping up to pay what the nations responsible for the terror attacks will not.
Golden Hammer: Obama's liberal agenda gets federally-funded ride through the arts
Taxpayers are forking over $27 million next year for federally funded arts projects that include a performance by a San Francisco drag queen, art installations with climate change themes and theater plays that showcase food stamps, President Obama's immigration amnesty, lesbianism and gun rights opposition.
Golden Hammer: Obama administration spends millions to push labor unions overseas
Uncle Sam wants you! To be protected by a union, that is, if you work overseas.
Golden Hammer: Taxpayers on hook for Medicare payments for unnecessary scooters
Nine out of 10 customers got their Hoveround power scooters at "little to no cost," but American taxpayers were wrongfully charged tens of millions of dollars for scooters that did not meet Medicare reimbursement requirements.
Golden Hammer: State Department spent $36.5 million polling foreigners' opinions
Would you spend money to find out what people in Spain think about their medical insurance or what people in Austria think about their government? That's exactly what the federal government has been doing, using millions of Americans' tax dollars.
Golden Hammer: EPA kept sex offenders on staff
There are many reasons why an employer might sever ties with one of its employees, but apparently at the Environmental Protection Agency, breaking the law is not one of them. In fact, drug and child-sex offenders received paid administrative leave in two cases of the agency's use of administrative leave, which an audit called "unacceptable" and cost taxpayers over $1 million.
Golden Hammer: $150 million spent on tests that torture animals, don't help humans
Science or sadism? The National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse and several other federal health agencies have handed out hundreds of millions of tax dollars on numerous studies to test the effects of recreational drug use on animals, torturing and killing countless mice, rabbits and monkeys with no apparent benefit to medical science, according to a new report from a watchdog group and animal rights organization.
Golden Hammer: Homeland Security agency leases more cars than it has officers to drive them
If the Homeland Security Department had a color code for waste, fraud and abuse, its management of law enforcement vehicles would be code red after leasing more cars than it had officers to drive them.
DEA agents who hired prostitutes for 'sex parties' received bonuses, awards, time off: report
The latest inexplicable example of rewarding bad behavior emerged Thursday when it was revealed in a new watchdog report that several Drug Enforcement Administration agents who participated in sex parties with prostitutes received tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses, time off and other favorable personnel actions despite federal regulations barring them from receiving such perks.
Golden Hammer: IRS spends millions to upgrade to obsolete version of Windows
If you were a half-dozen years behind on your taxes, Uncle Sam would almost certainly be knocking at the door. But at the Internal Revenue Service, millions of dollars are still being spent to upgrade computers to the 6-year-old Windows 7 operating system, which is two generations outdated.
