Another Shock to Human Decency

 

by Pa Rock

Taxpayer

Kristi Noem may be back in South Dakota trying to repair her personal life, but the out-of-control spending and legacy of cruelty she fostered at the Department of Homeland Security continues unabated.

Yesterday there were stories in the press about a  new policing tool that the Department of Homeland Security is bringing into its arsenal of offensive weaponry.  A company called "Compliant Technologies" is selling DHS a cache of electro-shock gloves for $20 million - on a NO-BID contract.  

The big gloves (which look somewhat like industrial baker's mitts) are designed to subdue individuals in a non-lethal manner.  They are supposedly already in use by some police departments.   The acronym for these pain-generating devices is G.L.O.V.E. which stands for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter.

While that sounds like a plan for employing humane treatment in subjugation of human beings, there are dead people in Minnesota who would attest, if they could, to the ICE basic impulse of over-reacting.   If there is a way to misuse this new technology to bring about more pain, suffering, and even death, the secret army of ICE will soon figure it out.

But that's an outrage for another day.  Today's jaw-dropper is that OUR government is spending $20 million of OUR money on yet another no-bid contract, just as they did on the Reflecting Pool fiasco.  There is a bidding process in place for federal agencies and has been for many years.    Bids are solicited so that the quality of products can be compared and to ensure the government will get a good deal on its purchases and not waste taxpayer money.  

But Donald Trump, an impulse shopperr who is apparently the world's smartest individual, doesn't like the bidding process.   He knows which toys are best for us and he doesn't believe in wasting time with unnecessary processes and paperwork.  If Trump wants it, somebody had best be on the phone placing an order!

This taxpayer objects to the Trump administration's rampant use of no-bid contracts.

(Note:  As of this writing, there are no known connections between any members of the Trump family and Compliant Technologies.)