<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/author/scottystarnes/> Your Tax Dollars are being wasted funding the studies of 'Shrimp on Treadmills' and 'Jello Wrestling'<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/your-tax-dollars-are-being-wasted-funding-the-studies-of-shrimp-on-treadmills-and-jello-wrestling/> *Scotty Starnes <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/author/scottystarnes/>*| May 26, 2011 at 11:42 AM | Tags: government waste <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=government-waste>, jello wrestling <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=jello-wrestling>, National Science Foundation<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=national-science-foundation>, President Obama <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=president-obama>, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=sen-tom-coburn-r-okla>, shrimp <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=shrimp> | Categories: Political Issues <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?cat=35145> | URL: http://wp.me/pvnFC-5k8
Your tax dollars being wasted. Brought to you by the U.S. government. >From The Washington Times<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/26/tax-dollars-shrimp-treadmills-jell-o-wrestling/> : *The Senate <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/senate/>’s top watchdog on government waste, in a new report Thursday, said taxpayer money has gone to fund such programs as Jell-O wrestling at the South Pole, testing shrimp’s exercise ability on a treadmill and a laundry-folding robot, all funded by the National Science Foundation<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/national-science-foundation/> *. But Obama promised<http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2009/mar/03/obamas-promise-go-after-earmarks-line-line/> to go "line-by-line" through every spending bill to end wasteful government spending. Looks like someone lied. Sen. Tom Coburn <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/tom-coburn/>, Oklahoma Republican, said he identified more than $3 billion in mismanagement at NSF<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/national-science-foundation/>, ranging from questionable studies to exorbitant operating costs, and in some cases duplication by the science agency of operations performed by other agencies. At a time when the federal government is struggling with record deficits and bumping up against its borrowing limit, Mr. Coburn<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/tom-coburn/>said the agency is a prime example of the kinds of spending taxpayers should no longer tolerate. “There is little, if any, obvious scientific benefit to some NSF<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/national-science-foundation/>projects, such as a YouTube <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/youtube/> rap video, a review of event ticket prices on stubhub.com, a ‘robot hoedown and rodeo,’ or a virtual recreation of the 1964/65 New York World’s Fair,” Mr. Coburn<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/tom-coburn/>said in a letter to taxpayers he wrote introducing the 73-page report, documented by more than 350 footnotes. *In one instance NSF<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/national-science-foundation/> employees, in their spare time, engaged in a Jell-O wrestling contest at the agency’s McMurdo research station at the South Pole. In another case, the agency paid $559,681 to test sick shrimp’s metabolism, which one researcher said was “the first time that shrimp have been exercised on a treadmill.”* Mr. Coburn <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/tom-coburn/>’s report noted that the researchers found sick shrimp “did not perform as well and did not recover as well from exercise as healthy shrimp.” An NSF <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/national-science-foundation/>spokeswoman said agency officials have a *“gold-standard approach to peer review”* for the projects they spend money on. Yes, that infamous "peer review." This is the same technique used by climate scientists. “While no agency is without flaws, NSF<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/national-science-foundation/>has been diligent about addressing concerns from members of Congress about workforce and grant management issues, and NSF<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/national-science-foundation/>’s excellent record of tracking down waste and prosecuting wrongdoing is apparent from Sen. Coburn<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/tom-coburn/>’s report,” said Dana Topousis, the spokeswoman. “We believe that no other funding agency in the world comes close to NSF<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/national-science-foundation/>for giving taxpayers the best return on their investment. 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