‘Good Sense from an Unpalatable Man’

Posted on February 25, 2016 by KG

From Quadrant online:
‘Alone among US presidential hopefuls, Donald Trump has pledged to scuttle the gold-plated boondoggle that is the F-35, the irregularly airborne essence of everything that is wrong with defence procurement in both the US and Australia. The other candidates? They’ve all been bought and paid for.
…Anyone still puzzled by the rise of Donald Trump should consider this fact: Congress voted that the 2016 Defense Budget include 10 F-35s beyond the number requested by the Pentagon. These unsought additions come at a cost of US$1.33 billion when the United States is saddled with much debt and the budget can’t stretch to all the things the US military actually does need. The House of Representatives and the Senate have been controlled by the Republican Party since the mid-term elections of November, 2014. So the extra 10 F-35s are a gift from the Republican establishment to Lockheed Martin….
…Lockheed Martin maintains a stable of 95 lobbyists in Washington. Lockheed Martin’s board includes a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joseph Ralston, and a former Commander, Air Force Materiel Command, Bruce Carlson. Nearly one in ten members of the House of Representatives belongs to the F-35 caucus…’

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8 Responses to ‘Good Sense from an Unpalatable Man’

  1. Brown says:
    February 25, 2016 at 08:09

    What really annoys me is the name Lockheed, with such a history of exciting designs, is associated with a lemon like the F35. Of course a bit of money changed hands to bribe people into buying the F104 but that was still a good design which the F35 is not.

  2. mawm says:
    February 25, 2016 at 08:28

    Corrupt politicians – everywhere.

    I can’t see much changing as Trump will have a Republican Congress and Senate blocking his every move.

    plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_mail.gif

    :edited to reflect author’s correction:

    • mawm says:
      February 25, 2016 at 08:37

      That is “can’t” not can, of course. http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_wacko.gif

    • Bo Chandler says:
      February 25, 2016 at 21:30

      p.s. moved the correction to trash. Hoping that’s doesn’t automatically add you to a spam list or something. http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_unsure.gif

    • Bo Chandler says:
      February 25, 2016 at 21:33

      The value will be in people being forced to confront the reality that their vote is of little to no relevance to the powerbrokers.

      By blocking him they’ll be ignoring the will of the people and thereby speeding the inevitable confrontation between the elites and the citizenry.

  3. Jamie says:
    February 25, 2016 at 20:15

    I see Trump getting retired JFK style