The Other "Very Questionable" Stimulus List

Vice President Biden’s New Report Omitted Several Other Projects
“That Are Changing America”

“Vice President Joe Biden Today Released A New Report, ‘100 Recovery Act Projects That Are Changing America.’” (The White House, “Vice President Biden Releases New Report On 100 Recovery Act Projects Changing America,” Press Release, 9/17/10)

A HANDFUL OF PROJECTS THAT DIDN’T MAKE THE VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT
$500K “TO STUDY THE GENETIC MAKEUP OF ANTS” “Half a million dollars went to Arizona state university to study the genetic makeup of ants to determine distinctive roles in ant colonies; $450,000 went to the university of Arizona to study the division of labor in ant colonies.” (“Senate GOP Point Out 'Pure Waste' Found In Stimulus Package,” The Hill, 12/8/09)

$1M FOR “THE SUNSET STRIP… NOSE JOB” “Sunset Boulevard, also known as ‘The Sunset Strip’ and one of the most famous streets in the world, will be getting a $7 million facelift after more than 75 years of use, with a free million dollar nose job coming from Uncle Sam.” (“Feds Stimulus Sunset Strip Beautification Project,” WeHoNews, 9/28/09)

$390K “TO STUDY. . . MALT LIQUOR… MARIJUANA” “The State University of New York at Buffalo won $390,000 to study young adults who drink malt liquor and smoke marijuana.” (“Senate GOP Point Out 'Pure Waste' Found In Stimulus Package,” The Hill, 12/8/09)

$54M FOR NAPA VALLEY WINE TRAIN JONATHAN KARL, ABC News: “The Napa Valley wine train, to tourists a great way to see America’s most celebrated wine region, to others exhibit a in what’s wrong with the stimulus.” SEN. TOM COBURN: “What that is, is a situation where you see the wealthy or well connected get taken care of and the community suffers.” KARL: “He's talking about the Napa Valley wine train relocation project, 54 million stimulus dollars to build a new rail bridge, elevate and relocate 3,300 ft of tracks and put flood walls around the train's main station.” (ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” 2/2/10)

$3.4M “‘ECOPASSAGE’ TO HELP TURTLES CROSS A HIGHWAY IN TALLAHASSEE” “The other third of the stimulus, government infrastructure spending, has been the most controversial from the start. Some proposals have been criticized as wasteful, such as … a $3.4 million ‘ecopassage’ to help turtles cross a highway in Tallahassee, Fla.” (“The Challenge In Counting Stimulus Returns,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/27/09)

$250 “CHECKS TO THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF PRISONERS” MEGYN KELLY, Fox News: “Thousands to a million of your stimulus dollars have gone straight to convicts. That's right, the feds sending $250 stimulus checks to thousands upon thousands of prisoners... We're talking first degree murders who are getting your money.” (Fox News’ “America's Newsroom,” 8/26/09)

$325K TO STUDY THE MATING DECISIONS OF FEMALE CACTUS BUGS “The cactus bug project at the University of Florida is more ambitious, spending $325,394 in stimulus money to determine how environment affects the mating decisions of females. According to the project proposal, it should also answer the question, ‘whether males with large weapons are more or less attractive to females.’ That project has led to one new hire: a research technician.”(“Stimulus Money And Weird Science: Benefit Or Boondoggle?” Sun Sentinel, 2/15/10)

$100K FOR “A MARTINI BAR AND A BRAZILIAN STEAKHOUSE” “You probably wouldn't guess that a martini bar and a Brazilian steakhouse would be on tap for stimulus funds, but in St. Joseph, Missouri, two privately owned facilities are getting 100,000 of your tax dollars.” (CBS's “CBS Evening News,” 12/9/09)

$210K “TO STUDY THE LEARNING PATTERNS OF HONEYBEES” “The University of Hawaii collected $210,000 to study the learning patterns of honeybees, and $700,000 went to help crab fishermen in Oregon recover lost crab pots.” (“Senate GOP Point Out 'Pure Waste' Found In Stimulus Package,” The Hill, 12/8/09)

$15K TO “GAUGE HOW ALCOHOL AFFECTS A MOUSE’S MOTOR FUNCTIONS” “The rodent study at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton used $15,551 in stimulus funds to pay for two summer researchers to help gauge how alcohol affects a mouse's motor functions.” (“Stimulus Money And Weird Science: Benefit Or Boondoggle?” Sun Sentinel, 2/15/10)

TAX BREAKS FOR GOLF CARTS “Thanks to the federal tax credit to buy high-mileage cars that was part of president Obama’s stimulus plan, Uncle Sam is now paying Americans to buy that great necessity of modern life, the golf cart. The federal credit provides from $4,200 to $5,500 for the purchase of an electric vehicle, and when it is combined with similar incentive plans in many states the tax credits can pay for nearly the entire cost of a golf cart.” (“Cash For Clubbers,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/17/09)

$219K TO STUDY THE SEX PATTERNS OF COLLEGE WOMEN “Five hundred Syracuse university freshmen will divulge the details of their sex lives as part of a women's health study called ‘the women's health project,’ being conducted by Michael Carey, SU professor of psychology and medicine. Carey has found himself the target of nationwide criticism from conservatives since he received $219,000 in stimulus funds for the study, which looks at the sex patterns of college women.” (“SU Sex Study Raises Concern,” The [Syracuse] Daily Orange, 9/8/09)

$498K TO STUDY “SOCIAL NETWORKS LIKE FACEBOOK” “Millions of internet users have been enjoying the fun -- and free -- services provided by advertiser-supported online social networks like Facebook. But Landon Cox, a Duke university assistant professor of computer science, worries about the possible down side -- privacy problems. … to delve deeper into these issues and begin the search for alternatives, Cox recently won a $498,000, three-year grant from the national science foundation. The funding is part of the federal stimulus package called the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).” (“Seeking Privacy In The Clouds: Research Aims At Isolating Social Network Information From ‘Control Of A Central Entity,’” Science Daily, 10/15/09)

$50K TO REPAIR BOZEMAN, MT TENNIS COURT DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN: “I came to Bozeman to find a city on thin ice over how it's spending stimulus money -- $50,000 to erase all of these cracks and potholes in city tennis court. ... Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer wants to make Bozeman an example of how not to spend stimulus money.” ... GOV. BRIAN SCHWEITZER: “What they violated was that rule of common sense. There ought to be that little guy in your head that waves his finger at you and says, wait a minute, we might want to rethink this thing.” (CNN, 1/25/10)

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