5 Awful Things Congress Snuck Into the Omnibus Budget Deal

Makes perfect sense to me.If Congress is to cut WIC, then the 5-35’s will be much needed to carpet bomb the starving serfs when they began to burn DC and other urban centers of FSA natural habitat

and then too..
F-35 bad for pilot survival in combat , very ,very good for politician’s campaign coffers and Lockheed’s bottom line.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_F-35_Lightning_II

Produced 2006–present
Number built 150 as of May 2014[6]
Program cost US$1.0165 trillion (projected over 55 years)[7]
Unit cost
F-35A: US$114M (low rate initial production, full production in 2018 to be $85M)[8][9]
F-35B: US$142M (low rate initial production)[8][9]
F-35C: US$132M (low rate initial production)[8][9]
Developed from Lockheed Martin X-35

n March 2013, USAF test pilots, flying with pre-operational software that did not utilize the all-aspect infrared AAQ-37 DAS sensor, noted a lack of visibility from the F-35 cockpit during evaluation flights, which would get them consistently shot down in combat. Defense spending analyst Winslow Wheeler concluded from flight evaluation reports that the F-35A “is flawed beyond redemption”;[185] in response, program manager Bogdan suggested that pilots worried about being shot down should fly cargo aircraft instead.[186] The same report found (in addition to the usual problems with the aircraft listed above):

Current aircraft software is inadequate for even basic pilot training.
Ejection seat may fail, causing pilot fatality.
Several pilot-vehicle interface issues, including lack of feedback on touch screen controls.
The radar performs poorly, or not at all.
Engine replacement takes an average of 52 hours, instead of the two hours specified.
Maintenance tools do not work.[187]

The JPO responded that more experienced pilots would be able to safely operate the aircraft and that procedures would improve over time.[188]

Even in the final “3F” software version, the F-35 will lack ROVER, in spite of having close air support as one of its primary missions.[189]

A 2013 Pentagon report found these additional problems:

Overall fleet availability for the year averaged only 37%.
The Inertial navigation system does not provide reliable data.
There is a bug with the AMRAAM’s ability to provide track/guidance data.
DAS confuses the aircraft’s own flare launches with incoming missiles.
Fragment-induced damage can lead to catastrophic STOVL lift system failure.
The aircraft is particularly vulnerable to fires caused by fuel leaks. [190][191][192]

In November 2014 China unveiled the portable JY-26 Skywatch-U UHF 3-D long-range surveillance radar system, specifically designed to defeat stealth aircraft like the F-35.[193]
Pentagon−Lockheed Martin relation issues

Maybe with some future gerrymandering I could some day vote for Walter Jones. His current district ends about 50 miles from where I live. My representative is way more typical of the folks in CONgress and tends to just vote the party line.

For those who want to know the “play by play” actions of the House prior to final vote of the Omnibus bill fiasco, here it is via the numbersusa.org website:

“HOUSE SHENANIGANS

Yesterday’s floor action started with a procedural vote that would establish the rules for debate of the CRomniubs spending bill. The House Rules Committee met the night before and decided to block all amendments, including one offered by Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) that would have defunded Obama’s amnesty.

Votes on rules typically pass with little fanfare and along party-lines, but yesterday’s vote kicked off a tense afternoon on the House floor. Seventeen Republicans were prepared to vote against the rule, and by the time allotted for the vote had expired, it appeared the rule was going to be defeated, killing the massive spending bill. But GOP Leadership was able to convince two Republicans — lame-duck Rep. Kerry Bentivolio of Michigan and Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana — to change their votes, and the rule narrowly passed, 214-to-212.

Approval of the rule kicked off about two-hours of debate. Appropriators from both parties marched to the podium asking for passage of the bill, but the mood began to change when Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi delivered a passionate floor speech against the bill. Her reasons, obviously, had nothing to do with defunding Obama’s amnesty, but it was becoming more clear that the bill’s fate was in trouble with mass defections among House Republicans who wanted defunding language in the bill, and Pelosi’s call to Democrats to vote ‘NO’.

When the debate time expired, House Leaders were expected to proceed with final passage, but instead put the House in recess indefinitely. It became evident that they didn’t have enough votes to pass the bill.

For the next 6 hours, reports detailed all sorts of back-room dealings. A few reports said that Rep. Stutzman had agreed to change his ‘NO’ vote on the rule in exchange for Leadership pulling the bill and replacing it with a short-term continuing resolution.

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side of the aisle, Pelosi urged her Members not to give in and lose their leverage in the House, while Pres. Obama, Vice Pres. Biden, and cabinet members urged Democrats to support the bill.

Around 9 p.m., we learned that House Leaders would finally hold a vote on the bill, and if it didn’t pass, they’d replace it with a short-term continuing resolution. But Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and GOP Whip Steve Scalise were able to twist just enough arms and offer just enough future “promises” to garner enough GOP support for the bill. It passed with a 219-to-206 margin.”

The limit for individual political donation should be $5. That is what a working poor person might be able to cough up if they were so inclined. Otherwise democracy is just a cover for rule by the rich.