July 18, 2007
A dust-up between a pair of U.S. senators has expanded to include the popular 2004 military-themed video game Full Spectrum Warrior.As reported by the Omaha World-Herald, the battle between Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) is over earmarks, the practice of appropriating federal funds for projects favored by members of Congress.
The Nelson-Coburn spat began last week when Coburn tried to eliminate a $7.5 million earmark which Nelson (seen at left) hoped to steer toward Omaha defense contractor 21st Century Systems Inc. As reported by the World-News:
A Coburn spokesman compared 21CSI military computer software to video games and criticized the project as classic pork barrel spending.
Nelson defended the 21CSI earmark as important to national defense and fired back by digging up a $5 million earmark which went in part to fund development of Full Spectrum Warrior.
The earmark... involved the Institute of Creative Technologies, which has received millions through federal earmarks over the years... One product of the funding was a video game called Full Spectrum Warrior that proved commercially successful but of limited military use...
A spokesman for Sen. Nelson said:
Senator Coburn's derided the research and development work done in Nebraska by mischaracterizing it as 'video games' and deemed it unworthy of funding, while ignoring and tacitly approving a $5 million earmark for his home state that actually does fund video game development.
Comments
But seriously, federal military funding is an important thing to consider and we don't want this money going to frivolous means. But if it is for more serious and better simulation software then I am all for it.
You're both idiots. Please retire.
They don't need to add funding to get our troops out of Iraq.
How was this supposed $5 Million dollar earmark for Coburn's home state? ICT is in California not Oklahoma.
That aside, as I remember Full Spectrum Warrior came out a while ago and was derived from a larger, purely military project. Perhaps this is merely a case of using hind site to see that funding these type of projects is a waste of money, as it was probably not known what the end result would be when ICT received that earmark.
In any case, earmarks are a classic form of government pork. Sadly, since it would be up to congress to make them illegal, and they all use them to help get reelected, then the chance of such practices becoming illegal are slim to none.
but without the prok he piggies go to Washington to fight for what reason is there for them to go? surely not to help govern the people!
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