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Please Pass the Shrimp
Townhall.com ^ | April 7, 2012 | Bill O'Reilly

Posted on 04/07/2012 5:18:35 AM PDT by Kaslin

Say goodbye to Martha Johnson. This week, she was forced to resign as chief of the General Services Administration, the federal agency that manages real estate for the government.

Somehow Johnson managed to spend an incredible $820,000 for a conference outside of Las Vegas. Among the expenditures she okayed: $31,000 for a "networking reception," $146,000 for catered food and drinks, as well as $130,000 in expenses to "scout" the conference's hotel location. Apparently, Johnson's advance team had to travel to Vegas six times to get a handle on where best to discuss GSA business. Somebody had to do it.

In her resignation letter, Johnson acknowledged "a significant misstep."

Thanks.

President Obama's chief of staff, Jacob Lew, says Obama "was outraged by the excessive spending."

Oh, yeah? Has he seen the federal budget lately?

This all ties in together. Federal bureaucrats know that tax dollars roll in no matter what. It's the law. If you don't want to wind up in the penitentiary like Wesley Snipes, you pay what the feds tell you to pay. And Johnson gets a taste.

After all, what's the big deal? The Obama administration is the biggest spending outfit in the history of the country. Why shouldn't federal employees eat shrimp at $4 a piece at a cocktail party? If the rich guys would only pay their fair share in taxes, they could swallow even more shellfish.

I love the shrimp deal. A quick check with ShopRite confirms that one shrimp in that grocery chain sells for 30 cents. Peeled. But at the GSA bash, the shrimp was on a platter, so there's that. By the way, the cheese display at that party cost $19 per person, and the sushi station was another $7,000. And just in case the federal employees were hungry the next morning, breakfast was $44 per person. Egg McMuffins, anyone?

In case you haven't noticed, Obama is fighting hard against cutting federal spending. He is now calling Congressman Paul Ryan's austere budget proposal "Darwinism." Obama contends that if the feds don't continue to fund the money train, some folks will be denied the American Dream. Like eating $4 shrimp.

But my dreams have turned to nightmares with folks working for the federal government purloining my wallet and running wild in Vegas. This causes me to toss and turn because I have worked very hard for the money they are wasting. Yet the president still tells me that I am not paying my fair share.

So, how about this trade-off, Mr. President? I'll stop whining about taxes if you order all future federal "conferences" to be held at a ShopRite. Fair?


TOPICS: Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: corruption; governmentwaste; gsa; harryreid; lasvegas; marthajonhson; obama; theft
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To: Kaslin
and just who had oversight responsibility over this out-of-control chief of GSA???
21 posted on 04/07/2012 6:08:34 AM PDT by elpadre (AfganistaMr Obama said the goal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda" and its allies.)
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To: Kaslin

“President Obama’s chief of staff, Jacob Lew, says Obama “was outraged by the excessive spending.”

Yeah, who did she think she is? The president?


22 posted on 04/07/2012 6:10:22 AM PDT by lowbridge (Rep. Dingell: "Its taken a long time.....to control the people.")
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To: lowbridge

Just following the example of the first lady.


23 posted on 04/07/2012 6:13:11 AM PDT by hoosiermama
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

Very good!!


24 posted on 04/07/2012 6:19:12 AM PDT by bert (K.E. N.P. +12 ..... Crucifixion is coming)
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To: ThePatriotsFlag

Paraphrasing St Augustine: “ Without a system of justice, what is govt but a marauding gang of thieves?”

Dollars to donuts, a lot of the GSA monies ——supposedly spent on a trip and catering-——were laundered into 2012 campaign accounts.

Ohaha and the Dems are paranoid ——they know Dems are losing nationwide——and that flopola Ohaha’s going to lose.

These losers need plenty of cash to buy the election and fix the vote in their favor.


25 posted on 04/07/2012 6:20:41 AM PDT by Liz
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

26 posted on 04/07/2012 6:38:24 AM PDT by rlmorel (A knife in the chest from a unapologetic liberal is preferable to a knife in the back from a RINO.)
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To: lowbridge
"... White House Chief of Staff Jacob J. Lew said that President Obama “was outraged by the excessive spending, questionable dealings with contractors, and disregard for taxpayer dollars,” and that he "called for all those responsible to be held fully accountable..."

SPEW ALERT!


27 posted on 04/07/2012 6:48:28 AM PDT by rlmorel (A knife in the chest from a unapologetic liberal is preferable to a knife in the back from a RINO.)
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To: Kaslin
I say take the total cost of this obviously much needed conference and divide it by the total number of the government workers who attended to get the average cost of each attendee. Then deduct that amount directly from each attendees pay, if an attendee is not employed with the government then add the cost to the federal taxes due at years end.

And the government wants us to pay more taxes to support the liberal/socialist leeches out there. I am tired of the wasteful spending at all levels of government especially since I am sitting here this Easter weekend in my $565 apartment trying to figure out the following. Do I spend my laundry quarters, all $9.25, on laundry or something to eat until payday, split the money and do 1 load of laundry and get Ramon noodles or blow all of the money and make spaghetti, which would last until payday.

28 posted on 04/07/2012 6:50:56 AM PDT by SledgeCS (I will vote for Obama when he says "The F'ing MUSLIMS attacked the USA and are the enemy")
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To: hoosiermama

PJ parties with Yale sisters maybe


29 posted on 04/07/2012 7:03:29 AM PDT by silverleaf (Funny how all the people who are for abortion are already born)
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To: 2nd Bn, 11th Mar

that’s why someone had to make 6 trips to Vegas to negotiate...?


30 posted on 04/07/2012 7:05:00 AM PDT by silverleaf (Funny how all the people who are for abortion are already born)
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To: Kaslin

Who was the Caterer?


31 posted on 04/07/2012 7:12:50 AM PDT by libertarian27 (Check my profile page for the FReeper Online Cookbook 2011)
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To: KarlInOhio
How many attended and how long was the conference? $820,000 for a couple thousand attendees for a week is different from 100 for a couple days.

It was a four day conference for 300 people.

32 posted on 04/07/2012 7:22:18 AM PDT by snowsislander (Gingrich 2012.)
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To: rlmorel
That was my thought as well...

Seriously, though, this woman "resigned" but how long before she's in some other overpaid government position adding to her already bloated pension and retirement bennies package?

33 posted on 04/07/2012 7:32:40 AM PDT by Mygirlsmom (Had Trayvon been shot in Daddy Obama's Chicago, he'd be just another dead black boy.)
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To: hoosiermama

$4 shrimp?

Must’ve run out of $100 Kobe beef.

I wonder why.


34 posted on 04/07/2012 7:34:56 AM PDT by Stosh
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To: hoosiermama

Not THAT “babe”. Unless she’s a Past Master Monica.


35 posted on 04/07/2012 7:40:37 AM PDT by X-spurt (Its time for ON YOUR FEET or on your knees)
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To: Mygirlsmom

“Seriously, though, this woman “resigned” but how long before she’s in some other overpaid government position adding to her already bloated pension and retirement bennies package?”

One of the earlier threads on this topic included a quote from Obama a few years back, castigating the Republican senators who were trying to hold up this woman’s nomination for the leadership position in question, accusing them of playing politics with her appointment.


36 posted on 04/07/2012 7:40:46 AM PDT by Stosh
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To: Kaslin
According to someone on FNC this morning, the Obama administration is already blaming the Bush administration for the GSA scandal.

Juan Williams was hosting the O'Reilly Factor last night. I didn't watch most of it (there was a MLB game on) but right at the end he played a clip from Jon Stewart's show where Stewart and O'Reilly went back and forth over $4 shrimp (the GSA people could have bought 27-cent shrimp). It was pretty funny. Stewart posed a situation where space aliens were about to blow up the planet but could be stopped with one $4 shrimp. O'Reilly wouldn't do it--"A planet that can only be saved with $4 shrimp is not a planet worth saving."

37 posted on 04/07/2012 8:10:57 AM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: silverleaf

Vice president of the Council on Excellence in Government? Vice president of culture (whatever that is) at some computer company? Unbelievable.

I like how the IG’s report said her spending in Las Vegas was “sometimes impermissable”.

This infuriates me. Why should anyone be expected to pay one more dime in taxes while these leeches live off of us?


38 posted on 04/07/2012 8:28:43 AM PDT by Pining_4_TX ( The state is the great fiction by which everybody seeks to live at the expense of everybody else. ~)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

Dingbat.


39 posted on 04/07/2012 8:29:21 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Kaslin
President Obama's chief of staff, Jacob Lew, says Obama "was outraged by the excessive spending."

Thanks for the laugh....jug eared Zero

Of course Obama doesn't understand his leadership set the example for the GSA to spend taxpayer dollars recklessly

40 posted on 04/07/2012 8:45:56 AM PDT by Popman (America is squandering its wealth on riotous living, war, and welfare.)
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