Interior Department Spent $138,670 On A Door For Zinke's Office

[Cerebral Stalker]

This got me going this morning. I don't want Zinke or the Interior Department complaining that there's not enough funding. Imagine what RMEF could do with this money, but I guess doors are a higher priority for the department.

What do you guys think?

I hate that the article came from the always biased yahoo website, but all well. Url pasted below.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/interior-department-spent-138-670-221228536.html

 

[Gr8bawana]

How else is he supposed to make "closed door deals?"

 

[noharleyyet]

..and to add insult to injury, he has a "slew of dead creatures" displayed.

 

[Nameless Range]

Conservative is a meaningless word.

 

[jabber]

Minor quote in the article, if you read it.

However, department spokeswoman Heather Swift did confirm the purchase to the AP, saying that Zinke was not aware of the contract and that the purchase is part of a long-running modernization of the historic headquarters building in Washington, D.C.

 

[JLS]

I hate "factoids" presented without context. What is the cost of materials? Type of door? Amount of renovation? Hourly rate? It's easy to shit a golden egg when you see a price tag and don't make the effort to sit down and parse out the details.

Is this excessive? Who knows.

 

[Nameless Range]

I hate "factoids" presented without context. What is the cost of materials? Type of door? Amount of renovation? Hourly rate? It's easy to shit a golden egg when you see a price tag and don't make the effort to sit down and parse out the details.

Is this excessive? Who knows.

I fully agree it is easy to shit on expenditures with out context, but if a $140,000 door is not excessive and a poor allocation of our tax dollars, then the world is broken. IMO.

 

[JLS]

I fully agree it is easy to shit on expenditures with out context, but if a $140,000 door is not excessive and a poor allocation of our tax dollars, then the world is broken. IMO.

Maybe, maybe not. If it was a full on security door with state of the art access features, and that required extensive framing and/or building modification, that's a big change in context, no?

 

[Crumb]

Hmmmm for 140,000 I could build a whole house.

 

[ringer]

Might want to quote the real issue here. It is for three double doors and part of a 10 year renovation started prior to the new administration. There are rules for historic preservation as well. Here is part of an article explaining the issue:

An Interior Department official familiar with the project said the work involves three sets of double doors in the secretary's office, including two doors that open onto a corner balcony with a spectacular view of the Washington Monument and the National Mall. A third opens to a hallway that features painted portraits of previous Interior secretaries.

 

[Sytes]

..and to add insult to injury, he has a "slew of dead creatures" displayed.

Dead... as in dead? These are not reproductions of peaceful / harmony based cuddle bug furry based loving creatures? The audacity! Think this slew of dead creatures were taken by a semi automatic hunting rifle? orrr, rifles? I bet those clips or magazines held more than 2 rounds!

Conservative, Liberal... Both = Lobbyist.

 

[Nameless Range]

Maybe, maybe not. If it was a full on security door with state of the art access features, and that required extensive framing and/or building modification, that's a big change in context, no?

Sure. I can imagine an office going through a historic renovation needing doors for 3 doorways at $20,000+ a doorway for doors up to historic preservation standards. Figure in modern security authentication for each doorway and you approach the $140,000 mark. I'm not saying I can't imagine how it happened.

All that said, it's a damn shame to me. It's been said before that spending choices reflect values, and this is the type of thing folks point to when they say government is out of control. And in some ways I don't think they'd be wrong. That's enough to fund two positions for a year. I think when the average American imagines $140,000 dollars in taxes, and the amount of work it would take to generate that amount of wealth for themselves, it's no wonder folks feel the way they do when 3 years worth of an average American's wages is spent on 3 doors.

I worked for an agency once where the director said, "If you are a kid getting dressed in the morning and you think today is the day you are gonna get a wedgie on the playground, don't wear your Mickey Mouse underwear." To me this is a similar thing. Maybe I'm just envious because I work in a doorless office.

 

[Schaaf]

139k for a door? You could pay off a porn star and still have some left over for that amount.

 

[Irrelevant]

With engineering and reviews and historical considerations, and prevailing wages, and probably odd work requires and security clearances. I could easily see $140k. Sh!t it's had to do any public infrastructure project for less. It is apples to oranges trying to compare it to building a home is rural 'Merica.

 

[Sytes]

139k for a door? You could pay off a porn star and still have some left over for that amount.

Maybe that was part of the Clinton campaign funneled dinero... especially when Billy boy thought his wife may not become POTUS thus he might not be the "first man-whore" in the history of the U.S.

 

[rtraverdavis]

The image they released of the door in question:



Totally worth the $.

 

[noharleyyet]

“When the going gets weird the weird turn pro.”

...prolly over the head (no pun) of a 22 year old intern.

 

[JMG]

You guys would bitch if they hung Zinke with a new rope. Too much cabin fever on here.

 

[Ben Lamb]

You guys would bitch if they hung Zinke with a new rope. Too much cabin fever on here.

*hanged.

Kinda seems like much ado about nothing.

 

[BucksnDucks]

I read the title of thread. OMG OMG an office door cost lots of money!!!!!!
I read the article. Yea, Washington over spends but the click bait header is a little much, not to mention people bitching about stuffed, dead animals.
Whether you like Zinke or not this seems to be crying wolf on a spending decision he had little or nothing to do with.