Stop USS Comforting Me

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Gutenberg wrote:
I live about a mile and a half from the Comfort's berth in Baltimore and I have to say that it makes more sense in Norfolk. It's too big and cumbersome to perform its original mission, which was to be a floating hospital for wounded troops and sailors, so it runs humanitarian missions. In Baltimore it's at least a half-day from the ocean--a full day is more likely. It's berthed in Baltimore so that docs from Bethesda Naval Hospital can jump aboard and go, but Bethesda's mission has changed--it's now the central hospital for wounded soldiers and sailors from the East Coast. Norfolk has Portsmouth Naval Hospital and it can pull docs and nurses from there. It's a better idea for these times.

I will miss the Comfort--when the ship heads out we gather on the pier to wave and encourage. But these days it makes better sense in Norfolk.

Gutenberg-

Looks like you've been reading The Baltimore Sun.

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And I have sat down with him to see how we might be able to help him spend that money. Computers and service? No, that's provided by another government contractor that he has no say. Hookers & Booze? Nothing food related. New office equipment? That's what he did with the budget surplus last year.

[Gutenberg]

Mac-A-Matic wrote:

Gutenberg-

Looks like you've been reading The Baltimore Sun.

I have been covering the Comfort since 1991. I can make up my own mind, thanks.

[davester]

mrbigstuff wrote:
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Heard a report on NPR today telling of the Navy plan to relocated the USS Comfort from its current home port of Baltimore to Norfolk, VA by next March. Evidently the government will save $1.7 million per year.

Couldn't help but notice the irony of the government talking about saving money while my friends' (who runs a division of a large govt agency) biggest worry for this fiscal year is how to spend the $1.5 million surplus in his budget. He's not allowed to give it back. He has to spend it all. He cannot "save" it. If he doesn't actually spend it, he could be fired.

if it's ARRA funds (stimulus), then he IS supposed to spend it to create jobs. if it is not ARRA, then I can't offer an explanation, but gov't agencies usually take the funds back and put it into the big pot, so this must be some kind of strange agency.
Exactly. Stimulus funds are supposed to be spent quickly. On the other hand, claims such as the one made by mac-a-matic's friend for regular government agency budgets almost always end up being bogus except for the department of defense. I work for a federal agency and have worked for others in the past and there has always been intense pressure to cut costs (though I hear that is not the way it is for the department of defense).

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Gutenberg wrote:
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Gutenberg-

Looks like you've been reading The Baltimore Sun.

I have been covering the Comfort since 1991. I can make up my own mind, thanks.

Interesting since every detail you wrote was straight out of the piece on the front page of the Sun.

[Spock]

Mac-A-Matic wrote:
[quote=Gutenberg]
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Gutenberg-

Looks like you've been reading The Baltimore Sun.

I have been covering the Comfort since 1991. I can make up my own mind, thanks.

Interesting since every detail you wrote was straight out of the piece on the front page of the Sun.
Since Gutenberg is a journalist and would have access to the same sources I don't find that surprising.

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Jounalist for the Sun, perhaps?

And maybe the reason why the post and the article are presented with nearly identical points?