I've had this idea for a new thread for a long time. Even though I'm cynical and think that "I've heard it all", there is still enough idealism in me to yell "WTF are you idiots doing" when I read about $700 hammers that the DoD bought, or that multi-million dollar "bridge to nowhere" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravina_Island_Bridge).
I would hope that this does not degenerate into partisan bickering because there is a ton of non-partisan stupidity occurring I think my main goal is for this thread to serve as a wake up call to remind us all the importance of voting. Not just the glamorous elections (President, Senate, etc.), but the elections that barely nobody pays attention to...the elections that could end up costing us just as much or more as the boneheads in DC cost us. School Boards, Utility Boards, Bond initiatives, etc.
You don't even have to go to DC to find examples like this, and it doesn't even have to be a spending issue. So, I'll start it off:
Even though this is new initiative, problems have already cropped up:
I would hope that this does not degenerate into partisan bickering because there is a ton of non-partisan stupidity occurring I think my main goal is for this thread to serve as a wake up call to remind us all the importance of voting. Not just the glamorous elections (President, Senate, etc.), but the elections that barely nobody pays attention to...the elections that could end up costing us just as much or more as the boneheads in DC cost us. School Boards, Utility Boards, Bond initiatives, etc.
You don't even have to go to DC to find examples like this, and it doesn't even have to be a spending issue. So, I'll start it off:
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-laus ... 6926.storyLAUSD launches its drive to equip every student with iPads
IMO, there are so many issues here, but here is a start:Two local elementary schools became the first to roll out tablet computers Tuesday in a $1-billion effort to put iPads in the hands of every student in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The district's 650,000 students, from kindergarten on up, are supposed to receive them over the next year or so.
L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy has pushed for the technology, which will cost about $1 billion — half of that for the Apple tablets and about half for other expenses, such as installing a wireless network on every campus.
The district is paying $678 per device — higher than tablets cost in stores — with pre-loaded educational software that has been only partially developed. The tablets come with tracking software, a sturdy case and a three-year warranty.
Little or no guidelines on how teachers are to use the iPads (they got 3 days training)
"partially developed" software???
Paid for with 25 year "construction" bonds on an item with a shelf life of 1-2 years?
Lost, stolen, or broken iPads?
Security?
Even though this is new initiative, problems have already cropped up:
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-ipad ... 6726.storyWho pays if L.A. Unified students lose or break iPads?
L.A. Unified board grapples with the question of whether to force parents to pay for damaged or lost iPads. It's uncertain whether responsibility was made clear to all parents.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-laus ... 6924.storyL.A. students breach school iPads' security
It could be said that since I don't have any kids or live in California, I don't have a dog in this hunt. Not true. Due to the large Federal monies distributed to all public schools, we all pay. In any school district, the more money spent on crap, the less of our (Federal) taxes are spent on more worthwhile and long term items.It took exactly one week for nearly 300 students at Roosevelt High School to hack through security so they could surf the Web on their new school-issued iPads, raising new concerns about a plan to distribute the devices to all students in the district.
Similar problems emerged at two other high schools as well, although the hacking was not as widespread.