The Providence Police handed out 92 Blackberry Curves to supervisors recently.  The phones, which include 2 years of service, will cost $95,000.  So, how is a city with financial challenges able to afford such a luxury?  Barack Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, of course!  If you think that's a waste of money, check this out:


About 30 top-echelon command staff have had BlackBerrys for months, but beginning in early November the department distributed upgraded BlackBerrys to those supervisors plus new BlackBerrys to the rest of the supervisors.


     Let's get this straight: The department purchased 30 BlackBerries a few short months ago, but they already feel a need to replace the phones?  If these phones cost $300 each, that's a $9,000 expense.  These phones aren't a necessity, they're a gimmick.  By the way, wouldn't it be nice to know what the deparment's policy is in regards to personal use?

     It's also shameful that stimulus funds were used to pay for this dubious expenditure.  Does this create jobs or put people to work?  It's another waste of money, and another reason why our deficit is heading into the stratoshpere.