Pork barrel technology projects on the rise

[YankeyMCC]

(snip)
Buried deep in the initial version of a vital federal spending bill last year were some unlikely items slated for government money: a Waterfree Urinal Conservation Initiative, a Virtual Reality Spray Paint Simulator System and a community ski association in Telluride, Colo.

Not all the programs included in earlier drafts of the legislation, which was supposed to pay for Department of Defense operations and the war in Iraq, were included in the final version that President Bush signed Dec. 30. But such earmarks for favored recipients--known colloquially as pork--have become easier than ever for politicians to secure because of the rapid growth in homeland security and military spending, especially if they can find some plausible technological veneer.
(snip)


http://news.com.com/Pork+barrel+technology+projects+on+the+rise/2009-1028_3-6050719.html?tag=nefd.lede

[formercia]

1. 'Wartime' has always been a cockaroach heaven

that's why it's promoted. Lots of easy money. The Pentagon's cash sow's teats are ripe for the suckling.

[skids]

2. Johnson Controls.

While Solar Ovonics is aboveboard and well known in the wlternative energy field, the other company Dubya visited on his renewable energy tour was Johnson Controls. Big Repug contributor and they handed them press for a battery they really haven't even started to develop, as far as I can tell -- there are plenty of companies further along than they are in advanced Li-ion tech.

I diaried on that one here:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/2/25/182047/704