[Rant incoming.] Folks, I get more and more disgusted, then more and more angry, about Petey Boy and his bullshit. The war is bad enough. More on that in another piece, hopefully. But today we have discovered he is what I would call worse than anything Krispi did. He’s quite happy to spend taxpayer money. With gratitude to Raw Story:
A GOP senator fired a shot across the bow of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon for going ‘through tens of billions of dollars on impulse purchases” at the end of the fiscal year, with multiple purchases drawing scrutiny, reports the conservative Daily Caller. According to government watchdog Open The Books, the Department of Defense’s spending in September reached levels not seen since at least 2008 — a total of $93 billion.
The extravagant purchases have taken on new importance now that the Pentagon may be on the verge of depleting its munitions stockpile as Trump’s war on Iran escalates. The waste was staggering. The Pentagon spent over $225 million on furniture alone — the highest amount since 2014. This included $12,000 on fruit basket stands and more than $60,000 on premium Herman Miller chairs.
Fruit basket stands. $12k. Were they made of platinum? Do they have to grow the fruit every day that requires something that fancy? That just boggles me. That’s 3/8 of a car for us, and he spent it on furnishings. But we are getting low on munitions. And replacements can’t be made overnight! WHY didn’t anyone think about this?
Dining also received generous funding. The Pentagon purchased $2 million worth of Alaskan king crab in September — a feat the department has accomplished five times during Trump’s tenure. Musical instruments joined the shopping list. A $98,329 Steinway & Sons grand piano, a $26,000 violin, and a $21,750 handmade Japanese flute were among $1.8 million spent on instruments.
The Pentagon also made $6.6 billion in purchases from foreign governments and businesses — over $1 billion more than the previous record of $5.2 billion in September 2023. These expenditures included $3 billion for training classes, janitorial work, and border surveillance, plus $3.6 billion in goods, including computer chips and firetrucks.
2 million? That’s a lot of king crab. And instruments. Does anyone actually play any of those? I’d about “kill” for a Steinway grand, and I’ll bet it just sits there and has to get dusted every day. I can actually understand instruments being that expensive, since there’s a *lot* of music in my background, along with the technical theater. Wish I could go back to that. But I digress. Then there’s the insult to injury. 6.6 billion for items from foreign governments and businesses. That doesn’t sound like America First. That sounds like money going down a sinkhole. This fancy stuff, for no apparent reason, is so far above our household that I’d be afraid to breathe on something! To close:
Open The Books CEO John Hart called on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to refocus the department’s spending. “Under Secretary Hegseth, the Pentagon has consistently said its mission is to refocus on warfighting and lethality,” Hart stated. “Last year, we highlighted the problem of wasteful use-it-or-lose-it year-end spending. We noted that this reform is fully within the secretary’s control and is a historic opportunity to make good on that promise.”
Republican Iowa Senator Joni Ernst issued a direct rebuke, stating: “If taxpayers are going to be asked to spend $1.5 trillion on defense — nearly as much as the rest of the world combined — Washington must be able to defend how every dollar is being spent. Open the Books’ findings that binge-buying bureaucrats at the Pentagon burned through tens of billions of dollars on impulse purchases, as fruit basket stands, footrests, doughnuts by the dozen, and a custom-made flute, demonstrate how much work still needs to be done to meet that goal”.
How in the HAIL can we get rid of this guy? He’s ridiculous! Not only can he NOT run a war, but he’s spending *our* money on frivolities! Petey Boy seems to think that he’s a gazillionaire. This is not a DoD necessity. It’s fluff. It’s a waste. Make him spend his own money on things and see how fast he cuts back. As if. Our failing economy doesn’t faze him. We can be sure he doesn’t think about it at all. And of course, he’s still on his manly man crap. I refuse to call him the secretary of war. More shizzle. But if he (finally) gets punted, will his replacement be better or worse?
Hot diggety, Ernst will be gone soon. Rant end. See you soon!
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise that among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest-working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you.
Thank you, Susan. I add my primal scream to yours: YAAARGGGHHH!! We have to release our frustrations somehow, don’t we?
We certainly do! I had so much fun writing about Elon. Now we have Krispi and Blondi and Mark-My-Words-He-Sucks-Wayne Mullin and all the other failures in the ‘cabinet’. I admit to hoping Mullin doesn’t get approved. He’s a moron. But you almost get numb to all the crap they’re pulling and we don’t need to do that.
well, donuts, that’s ok. isn’t it?
Teehee yes donuts are okay 🙂