Another very quality post. Thank you. Listen to these ramblings from 1961: "We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together." Conspiracy theorist? Crazy man? Socialist/communist? Nah. Ike Eisenhower, the President of the United States and an Army five-star general during World War II who served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. Not exactly a bleeding heart. That was part of his 1961 farewell address to the nation and is credited for coining the term "military-industrial complex. Video and additional information from the National Archives. Incredible IMO. ps. Love the pic of the F-35. And your use of "eh".
I've come to the realization that large weapons projects are the only jobs program Democratic and Republican politicians can agree on. Democrats love them because they're large, stable, lucrative, doled out by government mandate and spread across dozens of congressional districts. Republicans love them because they're large, stable, lucrative, awarded based on market competition, spread across dozens of congressional districts and they kill people. Since Vietnam the only people with the balls to cut defense spending have been the bleeding hearts that don't get reelected. Soft on foreign policy? Buy bombers. Hard on foreign policy? Buy bombers. And the economics are opaque. Before digging into this I had no idea that Northrop had become "The Drone Company" but hot diggity damn, they sure hate pilots.