Originally Posted by ODH

It is unclear if taxpayer money funded this directly. If there was a government grant to fund this specific project, then I would have a problem with it.

However, the argument that the US government provides funds to these schools and to these professors for other project does not fly with me.
Is the government funding drug smuggling because they drive on government funded roads?

This argument makes no sense. The government pays for the roads to be safe for normal Americans , not the drug smugglers. The government pays for the schools to educate the kids, not help illegals cross the border. Yes, drug smugglers use government roads, but they are also arrested and prosecuted when found. So, using YOUR argument, the people using government money from our schools to help commit the crime of illegally entering our country should also be prosecuted.

That is a little harsher than what I would suggest, but it is better than just allowing them to aid and abet a crime. I would just suggest taking all tax payer dollars out of those schools or firing the professors, but with your analogy, prosecution is the only way to deal with it.

Originally Posted by quinn14

This argument makes no sense. The government pays for the roads to be safe for normal Americans , not the drug smugglers. The government pays for the schools to educate the kids, not help illegals cross the border. Yes, drug smugglers use government roads, but they are also arrested and prosecuted when found. So, using YOUR argument, the people using government money from our schools to help commit the crime of illegally entering our country should also be prosecuted.

That is a little harsher than what I would suggest, but it is better than just allowing them to aid and abet a crime. I would just suggest taking all tax payer dollars out of those schools or firing the professors, but with your analogy, prosecution is the only way to deal with it.

You are misinterpreting my argument. The government should not pay for research that will be used to break laws, but the fact that the government funds some research at this institution does not mean, taxpayer dollars aer being used to fund the cell phome app.

Originally Posted by ODH

You are misinterpreting my argument. The government should not pay for research that will be used to break laws, but the fact that the government funds some research at this institution does not mean, taxpayer dollars aer being used to fund the cell phome app.

Tax payer dollars go to the school and are distributed equally. I don't think you are allowed to pick and choose where those dollars go. Since the tax dollars help pay for the electricity, water, or any other bills associated with this school, then yes it did help fund this research. I'm quite sure these teachers didn't pay those bills themselves.

You are making the same illogical argument that deadbeat dads make. They are always claiming that they shouldn't have to pay for new shoes for their children because they pay child support. Fact is, that money is used up when the children eat or bathe or use electricity. Same thing for tax dollars going to schools, it is used for the general everyday useage of that school. Which, was taken advantage of by these profs who built a cell phone app to help people break the law while using the tax paid admenities.

Originally Posted by RYou

If this group used any university resources toward the development of the software, even if only telephone to converse, they and the university have a cactus in their pants. Presuming these are rather smart individuals, they produced the means on their own time, not on campus and did not use university resources.

That would be great if they did do all of it on their own dime, but neither university is saying that it happened that way. Both universities have been cited in every article. If tax payer dollars weren't used, I'm sure they would have made sure everyone knew it. So, I'm sure that tax dollars went to this. No one on this site has said that they agree with tax dollars going towards this, so I guess we all agree that it is wrong.