Chuck Grassley knows it when he sees it.
The “it,” of course, is pornography. And Grassley has seen it deep in a demurely titled section of a report from the National Science Foundation — a report that says NSF employees have been spending significant amounts of company time on smut sites and in other explicit pursuits.
Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, on Tuesday fired off a letter to the NSF’s inspector general requesting all documents related to the “numerous reports” and seven investigations into “Abuse of NSF IT Resources” cited in the foundation’s 68-page semiannual report.
Despite the less-than-lurid sound of the probes, the employees in question weren’t just logging onto their Facebook accounts or buying birthday gifts on Amazon.com. The report says they were watching, downloading and e-mailing porn, sometimes for significant portions of their workdays, and over periods of months or even years.
In one particularly egregious case, the report says one NSF “senior official” was discovered to have spent as much as 20 percent of his working hours over a two-year interval “viewing sexually explicit images and engaging in sexually explicit online ‘chats’ with various women.”
Investigators calculated the value of the time lost at more than $58,000 — for that employee alone.
Following an initial wave of incidents, the grant-making agency — which has an annual budget of $6.06 billion, and was created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science; advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; secure the national defense — reveals that probers then “selectively sampled” a single internal server and found even more workers harboring everything from software that can allow users to set up camera-to-camera connections to hard-core images and titillatingly titled bookmarks.
Committee investigators also learned from sources that one employee even had camera-to-camera software to facilitate his on-the-job sexcapades – and that the employee had complained to the IT specialist that his camera was working too slowly.
The foundation has since installed filtering software to prevent employees from accessing inappropriate websites and is currently trying to address the fallout from the agency’s adult-entertainment problem. This includes finding ways to support staffers who were “acutely embarrassed” by the filth-filled environment — like the employee who learned of a co-worker’s adventures in porn via sounds overheard from said co-worker’s computer speakers.
Grassley’s office has asked the foundation to turn over all “specific reports of investigations, audit reports, evaluations and information supporting the examination of the NSF network drive” by Thursday in an effort to “ensure that NSF properly fulfills its mission to strengthen scientific and engineering research, and makes responsible use of the public funding provided for these research disciplines.”
“The semiannual report raises real questions about how the National Science Foundation manages its resources, and Congress ought to demand a full accounting before it gives the agency another $3 billion in the stimulus bill,” Grassley said.
An NSF spokeswoman said the agency had no comment on the report or its content.
44 comments:
Engaging in activities such as this is not appropriate for the workplace. These matters should not it any way be dealt with in a working environment. It is a personal matter and should be dealt with a home in a private setting. Especially since it is costing the company valuable money. I do believe that matters should be taken to prevent it but in a private manner that does not publicly single out employees in the process.
Ok you would think that you would eventually get caught looking at whatever inapropiate stuff you were looking at so why would you do it anyway. I mean do you not have enought time to yourself at home with your husband or wife or gilfriend or boyfriend or whatever. That is just disgusting and people should really think about what they are doing in their work place where hty are supposed to be acting professional.
Wow. It is just so disappointing and really kind of disgusting that people can’t find anything better to do with their time than look at explicit material on the web. I think it is so ridiculous that someone gets paid to watch porn for 20% of their office hours in the name of strengthening, “scientific and engineering research,” and that the government is sending 3 billion $ in stimulus checks to this company. The sad part is that from this article it seems like it’s a pretty common occurrence… and that most likely for the other 80% of the time he was probably playing solitaire on the computer.
This is really messed up that people in the NSF are looking at these things at work. And when one senior officer spent so much time that he could have lost 20% of his paycheck amazes me. Not the fact that he could have lost that much money but for doing it at all. They really need to stop looking things up like that because that is not appropriate for work and I can't believe how many people are doing that. I think that they should stop people from looking stuff up like this immediately no matter what it takes.
Its good that there taking care of the issue.
But they should have made that employee that was costing the company pay his on debt.
He's a grown man he should know what is appropriate and inappropriate at a workplace
Wow, there are so many things wrong with this picture. I would hope that no employee has the gall to do that kind of thing at work, especially a government employee who should know that it is more than easy for others to look into what goes on during the business day in their agency. If it didn't really affect the public, I would just think it a bad idea, but considering it is costing the government money, I am rather personally offended. If you want to waste time and money on porn, do it at home. If the government gives you money to improve science or national prosperity and defense, use it as it was intended. It reminds me of the AIG guys going to health/day spas and spending thousands of dollars given to them to “stimulate the economy”. How are these people able to keep their jobs and simply get slaps on the wrists when they are wasting government money? Not only are they being disrespectful to their coworkers, forcing them to listen to their “net surfing”, but they are disrespecting the American citizens and our government. When filtering software has to be installed in your workplace to keep you from behaving like a child, you should feel sad for yourself. This is less about the fact that they are viewing porn and more about their blatant disrespect for their jobs, their bosses, and the public. It is completely immature behavior. And it is costing tens of thousands of dollars. Stories like this are so disheartening…
It's a shame that so much money has gone to waste for excursions like this. It raises the question "Do some companies deserve to be part of the stimulus?" Maybe it's a good thing this came into the light, because congress will be reviewing what companies have been doing with their time.
Then again that's why the net was born! Porn, porn, porn!
i think that is just hillarious that that is what they do at work and they are just now finding out about it.
Thats not right, using the workplace as a way to see pornography. They should be making money by doing they're work like they're intended to do. If they want to see stuff like that, they should do that in the privacy of their home, not on the job
I think these emplyees are really stupid to be doing this in a work place. I think some should be punished for what they have done because they have costed their company a lot of money. They should really do that on their own freaking time.
This is very weird and humorous to me that these workers would spend 20% of their work time on pornographic sites. It is also stupifying that that the company lost so much money because of what their staff was doing. I slso finding it to be an outrage when they openly embarrassed the culprits infront of fellow co-workers. I believe that to be a depriving of our rights, specifically our right to privacy. Eh, the filter is a very good idea even though it may be pricey because they will save lots of money for the company in future years because nobody will waste time on watching and sharing pornography.
~Isaac
This article is both funny and sad at the same time because one of the NSF purspose is to promote and advance natioal health. I guess the workers looking at this adult websites thought that they could get away with it but they didn't. Now they have to face the punishment of either getting a pay cut or getting fired. If they wanted to see these kind of websites they should invest in buying a home computer.
It breaks my heart to read about the ways people choose to destroy their lives. Beyond personal moral convictions, I know that pornography and sexual indulgement outside of marriage has devestating and life-shattering effects. I can't imagine the pain and consequences that these workers, and others like them, will experience because of this.
Pornography is not a line that you cross but rather a direction, of keeping oneself sexually pure in order to have the best possible marriage and life. Since sin entered the world, we have gone in cycles of declining morality then "repurification." It is really heartwrenching to watch firsthand as America takes part in this cycle, and more so to watch lives demolished as a result.
I sincerely hope that the amends being made to the NSF situation create a positive result that in turn sparks other companies to deal with such situations likewise. We can only hope that institutions created to promote "national health, prosperity, and welfare" will begin or continue to strive to do so.
Thats really sad that there was no work being done instead they were watching porn. They should be making money instead of watching porn.
This is very nasty and humorous at the same time. I can't believe these workers would spend 20% of their work time on pornographic sites, and not expect to get caught. I don't believe thier bosses where doing their job of supervising them, but then again the workers let them down. They obviously had trusted them enough to do what they where supposed to and they let them down. If they didn't have one before now they should start a policy of if you do something other than work on your company computer you will be fired.
When I first read this article, I was shocked, surprised, and sick all at the same time. I have lived a very sheltered life and I had no idea that this is what the generation previous to us does to fill the voids in their lives. Have our jobs become so purposeless that we have to fill time in the day with this immoral activity? Especially when a government employee tries this, their computers are monitored, which is surprising that this has not been brought up before. Which begs the question, how long has this been going on and why has no one has addressed the problem? I do believe that the filter on the internet will provide some block on this, but if you want something bad enough, you will find a way to get it because apparently these employees are excruciatingly bored. Also it is incredible to me that the government is, in reality, paying for them to do this. Individuals are getting paid for about an hour and a half of watching explicit material on the “internets.” It is just sick that this is what our society has become today, and I'm very ashamed at that.
Whoops! Sounds like this company has a serious control problem. This has been going on for years? Content-control software has been available since the nineties, and the NSF is just now getting around to using it? They needs to get with the program. Quite frankly, any company that does not take appropriate steps to protect their profits and keep a high employee productivity rate deserves any negative consequences that might befall them due to their carelessness. I do acknowledge the importance of the work they do, but it's harder to appreciate them when you know they are being careless with their funding. And our government should be more careful in the future when it comes to dumping billions into an incompetent company.
reading this article i honestly thought it was fake. the thought that people would be stupid enough to look at porn at the office is crazy. what is becoming of america
If you are so desperate for porn that you are spending up to 20 percent of your working hours to view porn there obviously has to be something incredibly wrong. If work hours are being spent this way, what does that automatically make us assume what you do right once you get home? When did it become ok to openly present our sexual lusts in public, especially in the work place? Not only is not ethical, but it crosses the line of being grotesque. It is still a private personal matter, I don’t care what generation were in, keep it to yourself. "Internet, as well as the emergence of social attitudes are more tolerant of sexual portrayals." To most extents this is very true. We’ve grown up in a society that’s more acceptable to sexual experimenting and displays of it. However, (wrong or right) there is a time and place for it, and all should know, or at least I thought it was common knowledge, that work was off limits. I'm glad that I'm not the only one that finds this somewhat humorous, but sadly its also becomes somewhat scary as well. It’s scary that most of this work place’s employees spend a majority of their time lusting, desiring, and watching sexually explicit material. It is proven that a majority of porn is aggressive, making watchers more sexually aggressive as well. Now that is scary.
-To:Chuck Grassley
“Pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexual arousal..” -Now you know.
Man, sounds like the place where I work. That was a joke by the way. But seriously, that article was pretty humorous. I can just picture the NSF office as a group of immature adults who, when not looking at porn, are listening to other peoples conversations trying to make "That's what she said" jokes. I wonder how many applications they received after this article was published.
Taylor, make sure you have your first and last name as well as your period # so you can get credit in the gradebook!
Mr. P
haha i find it hilairious that it's a bunch of scientists doing this. Shouldn't they be curing diseases or inventing better toastets or something? Maybe its that their job is so time consuming that they can't do that sort of thing at home....I know my job is super boring. I can't say that I haven't read magazines (non pornagraphic ones that is) at work while on the clock. But then again working at NSF is kinda more important than working at United. The people in charge should probably keep better tabs on their employees from now on though.
When I read this I was very shocked. Behaving in this way is disrespectful to so many individuals. This includes the public, co–workers, and the government who is providing a 3 billion dollar stimulus check. It is difficult to believe that someone who is supposed to be "advancing the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and securing the national defense" would engage in such questionable activity. However shameful this activity is, there is a time and place for personal matters. It is definitely not the work place.
EWWWW!!!! Is it honestly that hard to engage in such activity at home? I just thought that it is so shocking to know that people who are supposed to be working for the welfare of the nation are doing such things. On top that, they are also being funded by the public. I just think that porn is really disgusting and degrading to mankind. However, people don't have the same views apparently because these people would rather gawk at this sort of stuff than save someone's life from a horrible genetic disease. What is this world coming to?
The fact that a member of the NSF spent 20 percent of his work time viewing porn and getting paid for it is pretty shocking. I would think that the work place would have cameras or check internet records. If Americans all knew about this I am sure they would be outraged that their tax money is being distributed to companies that pay employees who watch porn(and apparently lots of it) on the job. Even though I personally believe that porn is immoral and ruins relationships, the reality is that it has become so accessible and prevalent in our society that it is no surprise so many people have a porn addiction. Still, to watch it and even go on sexually explicit chats during work is unacceptable. I feel bad for the other workers that were innocent of this. They must be so ashamed.
Yeah, so this is gross! I think it's stupid to look at porn while at work. Even in the privacy of your home! It's just disgusting. I think it's kind of embarrassing that you beat your meat to something you can't get. you nasty, horny, little, que bobo! Just save yourself till you find that woman that's just right for you! Please, no pre-marital sex either. It's a sin. And yes, for those who don't know, masturbation is a form of sex. That's why it's called "Solo Sex"
Ha! Ha! I think its really funny how those NSF people have no lifes! The government is paying them 3 billion dollars to sit around and watch porn all day. Meanwhile people are starving and dying of fatal diseases everyday. I think that we should be spending a little less on NSF and a learn to give a little more to hard working people who are trying hard everyday to make ends meet.
Bahaha, I love that this is the most commented blog post so far. Anyway. I'm just extremely happy that they are being so productive at work. I mean, so many diseases have been cured and they totally deserve to waste all of the company's time to look at porn. Sarcasm ends here. Seriously? 20% or their time has been spent doing this? I can't even see how trying to pull something like this off would be a good idea. NSF takes the creepiest office ever award. Good job guys!
This, to me, is very disturbing. To learn that some of your co-workers ae spending their work hours watching porn is degrating. It's degrating b/c the people who are working higher up will start to think that all of their employes are doing the same thing and might fire you just under the suspicion that you are doing the same thing.
That's not something that should be done in your working enviroment. It's costing the company money and that's just something you should keep to yourself and not do at work. I think should be done to try and prevent that. It's not fait to the company or the other employees.
Looking up porn at your workplace is very inappropiate. Your getting paid to work, not to look up inappropriate web sites. It is costing the company money, they need to do that on their own time.
I'm shocked that so many people would actually be brainless enough as to view pornography in their work office. People are eventually going to figure out what is going on. It is pretty ridiculous that this issue should even be causing the company money. Don't these people have any common sense and consideration for others to restrain themselves. I am disgusted that people would have so little self control that they would resort to viewing this filth when they are suppose to be working.
Ok its kinda funny and kinda stupid at the same time. Its funny because wow a job thats really easy to do just get up go to work and see porn wow thats a real nice job to have..NOT!! What kind of intelligent people do that kind of stuff thats just really gross. And its stupid because they've been doing this stuff for how long now and there barley finding out??? Wow look at the world has come to...what a shame. Some people were supposed to be looking up to.
Wow! The work place is obviously for work therefore what were these people thinking. It's sad to hear the amount of time and money wasted by the NSF. I believe such activites do raise questions about the stimulus bill, which it should. The foundation is based on research. It makes you think with all this time wasted what could have been acomplished. Yes, sexual content is always seen in media but thats not a reason to bring it to work.
I find this article very amusing. It is funny because im sure this sort of thing happens to businesses around the country. Granted it is not appropriate at all for a working environment, but it is out there and people (men especially) are prone to do this sort of thing. Companies should know that this will happen and it is their jobs to get those type of websites blocked if it does become a problem.
Some people these days are very sick. These kind of activities should not be viewed at work. This kind of thing should be viewed at home. If this kind of act is costing this company a lot of money, action should be taken place.
Huh. Well, that's really kind of funny actually. I can't really see a whole bunch of National Science Foundation geeks surfing porn sites. But on a serious note, that's proof about just how corrupt some businesses are. Even the government-funded ones. It's really annoying when the money that the American government is providing that has possibly come from our taxes is being wasted by those horny idiots rather than being put to better use like college grants for graduate research or an outreach program for younger kids to interest them in science. I suppose it's a utopian ideal.... but why must the world be so corrupt?!
I just think that "It" is funny how the workers are just looking at pornography sites during work and all the money wasted by them.
I find it disappointing that it was just found from the way the article is written this is not a rare occurance. How can NSF with all its resources not have completed a simple check of a servers history. People are going to do what you let them get away with, yes the individual is not innocent but I would lay more of the blame with the management who did not check for this.
I find it disappointing that it was just found from the way the article is written this is not a rare occurance. How can NSF with all its resources not have completed a simple check of a servers history. People are going to do what you let them get away with, yes the individual is not innocent but I would lay more of the blame with the management who did not check for this.
i find it kind of funny. But again there getting paid for looking at it so on that side its messed up.
Well, I'm just kind of astonished of government employed men are actually getting paid to look up pornography. Uhm, wow. This program was intentionally supposed to help take us into the right direction with the help of science and the intelligence of these hand-picked individuals. However, they completely took advantage of that. Talk about a waste of the people's tax funds! Personally, I'm quite surprised that the only real action they took in light of this discovery was internet blocking. Yeah, just like in grade school. The government is having to take precautions to make their employees to stop acting like lazy, unmotivated children. I believe those who were involved in those acts should have been fired because of their incredibly unprofessional behavior.
Haha wow, I was too lazy to get out of bed to come do this on the computer so I just spent the last 30 minutes doing it on my itouch only for it to refresh the page before I submitted it. Well, here it goes for the second time.
I wouldn't go as far as to say that looking at adult material is life shattering but it is, without a doubt, grotesque and it should not be view in public, especially at the workplace.
This blog makes me think just how many other companies have the same problem going on right under their noses without knowing.
It is sad that people like Dirty Joe and his co-workers don't know better than to indulge in their guilty pleasures while at work and it's even more unthinkable that their behaviors aren't being monitored, even just a little.
I definitely hope that the NSF is cracking down on this sort of activity before it is given more money to spend on employees helping themselves more than the company.
I'm sure the first one I wrote was way better but I hope this one works too. :)
I agree that people should not engage in any sexual practices during working hours. The fact it took them two years for Professionals to catch it, deffinatly surprises me. But I think people should be free to engage in any sexual practices they choose. There's nothing inherently dirty about sex. Sex is a part of nature, and so are we. We have all seen it before, on TV, Movies, Music Videos, and the Internet. If a person wants to watch porn, they have the right to do so, OUTSIDE of work.
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