Slashdot Mirror
USAF Counter-Terror Funds Buy "Comfort Capsules"
An anonymous reader writes "The Washington Post reports, 'The Air Force's top leadership sought for three years to spend counterterrorism funds on "comfort capsules" to be installed on military planes that ferry senior officers and civilian leaders around the world ... Air Force documents spell out how each of the capsules is to be "aesthetically pleasing and furnished to reflect the rank of the senior leaders using the capsule," with beds, a couch, a table, a 37-inch flat-screen monitor with stereo speakers, and a full-length mirror.' Congress told the USAF twice that they could not spend the money on this frivolous project, but they did it anyway."
How does this happen?
Who's actually in charge of how they spend it? Is it not Congress?
If Congress says no, is this a "we think that's frivolous, bad dog, no biscuit", is it a "you will be breaking the law", or are congressional meetings about this stuff just for fits and giggles?
--Q
Congress has full control over spending. "No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law." - U.S. Constitution, Article 1, section 7.
Congress can exercise detailed control over spending when they so choose. Sometimes bills will contain language like "No federal funds shall be expended upon...", and that's binding on the executive branch. It's not unusual for Congress to explicitly turn off some project in this way.
Sad note, the older men get, the more sensitive their testicles get to pressure, and the more their mass drops into the part of the abdomen constricted by a belt. Business slacks become pretty uncomfortable for long periods of sitting. I'm 48, and I can already see where things are headed.
Just something for you to look forward to (assuming you're male).
So they can convert a military cargo plane into a private jet for the top brass...
...and certain civilians, like maybe Senators. No one in Congress or the Air Force brass is loosing any sleep over this. They just have stall until the next affront to the average tax paying citizen overshadows this one. Then the media/public pressure is off and the can go enjoy their fancy new hotel-room-in-a-plane. Trying to get any accountability out of today's government requires that you let ten offenses slide by, just you can finish addressing one offense. Good luck with that in today's ADD-like, sound bite ridden, OMG Amy Winehouse is a post-op transvestite!!11!
What were we upset about again?
We are all just people.
No kidding. When I was in the army (early 80's) we flew on an air force C-130 from Frankfurt to Crete.
The 'seats' were just web straps.
The 'facilities' was a small, rectangular urinal (I assume it just flowed to the outside).
I'm not sure what you are supposed to do if you need to take a crap on a long, slow flight.
Has that improved any recently? It just seems like common sense to have a real bathroom. At the very least you don't want the pilot distracted by a large load he can't dump.
While that's a perfectly reasonable and logical response, it's completely irrelevant. The issue is not the fact that they want to have these nice pods, it's the fact that they wanted to use money specifically given to them with the explicit purpose of using it for counterterrorism to do it. It's a more like your local city offical using the money your city got for a grant for new police equipment on cars and drivers for anyone in city hall. It's wrong, and it should be called out publicly.