December 10, 2008

Blimps!

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BLIMPS!….Julian Barnes of the LA Times reports that Bob Gates’s decision to stay on as Secretary of Defense will mean some procurement changes at the Pentagon:

The decision to keep Gates could spell the end of the Army’s $160-billion Future Combat Systems program, and dim Air Force hopes for large numbers of new high-tech F-22 fighter jets. At the same time, smaller projects — perhaps blimps or light planes useful for ongoing conflicts — are likely to find new support.

Blimps? Seriously?

Some Army officials are pushing development of a small blimp equipped with an automated high-powered sniper rifle that could provide a form of inexpensive but effective air support for platoons in Afghanistan.

Can laser-equipped sharks be far behind?

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It’s risky, but also unavoidable: A full one-third of the dollars that we need to pay for the journalism you rely on has to get raised in December. A good December means our newsroom is fully staffed, well-resourced, and on the beat. A bad one portends budget trouble and hard choices.

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We simply can’t afford to come up short. There is no cushion in our razor-thin budget—no backup, no alternative sources of revenue to balance our books. Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the fierce journalism we do. That’s why we need you to show up for us right now.

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