$0 For Grieving Military Families, $67,000 For Balloon Display And Mechanical Bull

This is certainly not good PR for the military, much less the government. On Day 7 of the government shutdown, a U.S. Army recruiting command had its order filled for a mechanical bull to the tune of $47,000, as reported by CNS and noted by Gawker. In the same breath, an Air Force recruiting command dumped $20,000 on a static display at a hot air balloon festival. Setting aside the exorbitant costs (apparently, that's the low-end for mechanical bulls), the obvious question is this: While gold ...