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The old acquisition adage, we all fly into combat in platforms built by the lowest bidder...

A lot of shake ups yesterday. It took Miami half the game to figure out how to play without Toney. The faithful are saving we got robbed on the TD catch...I could go either way but the refs gave us good calls in other games so we were due. Win out and we are in...Toney should be back for the ACC title game. UGA stomped Ole Miss...My son was there and by the 3rd quarter the fans were throwing things on the field. Ungood Rebels... Utah looks TOUGH! The truly sad part about yesterday, a parade of powerful November games will have far less meaning next year with a 24 team playoff.

I am fully retired now, but throughout my career, I generally preferred Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) contracts for everything except situations like this. With FFP contracts, I was driven to find efficiencies that could increase profitability. Improvements in manufacturing efficiency, supply chain management, engineering processes, and labor productivity directly improve margins. The problem arises when the government has shifting priorities and requirements, as it did with the T-7. The program is a perfect example of how winning a competitive FFP development contract is not necessarily the same thing as winning a profitable program. The Air Force made three significant changes to the T-7 program and, in my view, attempted to push much of the associated cost onto Boeing. I suspect SNC is concerned the Navy will do something similar. 1. Expanded pilot accommodation requirements The Air Force expanded the required pilot accommodation range, primarily affecting the crew escape system. At contract award, the requirements were based substantially on a 1967 male pilot survey. Two years after the award, the Air Force changed the requirement to accommodate the central 95% of the U.S. recruiting population, including women weighing as little as 103 pounds. This was a significant and expensive engineering change to the aircraft. 2. Evolving training performance requirements The training performance requirements were not fully defined at the outset. To its credit, the Air Force wanted a platform that was not simply a replacement for the T-38, but a better training aid for fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft. Initial testing revealed that the aircraft did not meet the sustained-G performance metrics and exhibited significant wing rock at high angles of attack (AOA). The Air Force offered to pay the increased engineering costs to address these issues, but those costs were not fully burdened, and Boeing lost significant money implementing some of the fixes. Ultimately, the Air Force lowered some of the performance requirements. 3. Changes to the procurement strategy When a company bids on a contract, particularly an FFP contract, much of the anticipated profit comes in the out-years as production ramps up. If you slip the schedule by a year and reduce the number of aircraft purchased each year, the financial impact on the vendor can be devastating. Based on the original schedule, Boeing purchased many long-lead items in advance to reduce costs and meet delivery requirements. When the Air Force changed the procurement strategy, Boeing was left holding the bag on much of that supply chain commitment. From a taxpayer perspective, FFP contracts are generally a good thing. You budget for a capability and spend within that budget unless you change the requirements. They also incentivize companies to invest their own money in Independent Research and Development (IR&D), which drives innovation throughout the U.S. defense industry. The situation under Trump has been different because the government injected significant amounts of money into defense programs all at once. Prior to that, the Department of Defense was increasingly asking industry to assume all the risk, only to occasionally cancel programs after companies had invested tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in development. The Light Attack program is a perfect example. The Air Force spent relatively little while promising to purchase hundreds of aircraft, a commitment that never materialized. I know several CEOs who went to the Pentagon after that and a few other similar incidents and essentially said, "We won't play this game again." Justifiably so. They have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders. I know of two occasions when my former company flat-out said, "NO THANKS" when the Air Force asked us to bid on something. The service was incredulous, and the Secretary of the Air Force eventually engaged our CEO directly. His response was essentially: Either you fund the development upfront or give us a contract. If not, adios. I highly suspect that was the same calculus SNC used in making its decision.

Big day with some big games. Sadly, the 24 game playoff will make Saturdays like this meaningless going forward. BYU v Utah - should be fun to watch More two loss SEC teams playing on the bubble today. Alabama v LSU should be a war...UK v Tenn as well...Ga v Ole Miss is a season make or break for the Rebels. Miami facing Notre Dame without our best player....can Miami Run the ball and find other receivers to step up especially on long 3rd downs? Everyone hates Miami again so college football order has been restored...if they lose the drone from the Domers will be intolerable for the entire enterprise. Great time of year.

New fold up truck gun. There is a Glock 17 Gen 5 in there. Holds two extra mags on the gun.

You may be right but I think you underestimate the willingness of the left to impeach, investigate and keep the focus on conflict. Trump will be Trump but I think the general public will grow weary of the constant bickering and they will accomplish nothing, opening the door for a GOP resurgence in two years. All of the usual suspects (Schumer, Schiff and AOC), are prioritizing sweeping investigations, and potential impeachment inquiries targeting specific members of the Trump administration and his FAMILY.

My Prediction: Impeached Trump Impeach Hegseth Massive cuts of aid to Israel Cuts to defense budget Defund/Abolish ICE Push numerous nationalized Healthcare bills to POTUS to Veto Sanctuary for illegals Gun control legislation ZERO economic policies And...right on cue...Rubio rumored to exit Trump administration to set up possible 2028 White House bid

As others have said the DNC is going to flop right back to extreme partisan policy efforts...the game continues.

MARSHA Blackburn, not Martha. Rubio has proven his metal and found a way to navigate the Trump bombastic comments by sticking to policy. I think he has been great as SECSTATE and it rounded out his resume. Proven Senator with superb foreign policy experience. It will come down to the grip Trump has on the GOP and the way the voters walked away from him it will be easier for the party leadership to ignore Trump and push JD aside.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Trump has nothing left to lose and will likely unleash hell on Iran. If he closes it (a BIG if), and gas prices drop....GDP is already STRONG at 3.4%. If gas prices drop and inflation cools the last two years of his tenure could be VERY good for our economy. The market is VERY happy today as they see things will bog down for the next two years. I was up $104K a little while ago. Oddly, oil is down below $90 ($88). I saw some raw data about all the new pipelines that have opened around the straight and how the flow is WAY up. Look for the GOP positioning to start soon....Desantis already had a news conference this morning distancing himself from the loss and touting the big wins in Florida that "held the line." Trump loves Vance, I am not a fan. I have been very impressed by Rubio and would prefer he jump to the front of the line. He is seen as more moderate and would capture a lot of the Hispanic/Latino vote.

Too late...

They don't want to stonewall him, they want retribution...They do nothing but impeach and investigate for the next two years as they have no plan (other than socialism). If the people want the DNC is charge, so be it but if they hate Trump so much they are choosing Socialism that is another story. If Abdul El-Sayed wins we have crossed a line, the voters will have selected a man with deep ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, a man who signed a letter urging Egyptian leadership to PURGE the press, and he campaigned with a man who said America had 9/11 coming to it. That is beyond hate of Trump, that is the end of a great 250 year experiment.

I was a WIC instructor when Spain went through the program and I do NOT agree with your assessment. Cruiser played a part...especially on implementation.

It's like when Skeletor was CSAF and they have a one-size fits all model. The science says something completely different. Crusier seems like his clone, why is it always the Eagle clowns?

FSU announces new coach. Deion Sanders Sport GIF by Coach Prime - Find & Share on...Discover & share this Deion Sanders Sport GIF by Coach Prime with everyone you know. GIPHY is how you search, share, discover, and create GIFs.

Now Norvell has the best job in the world, fired college football coach with a $50.8M payout. Add that to FSU' $480M debt and they are in big trouble. I would love to see Coach Prime come in and continue this program on the path towards the train station but there has been a lot of chatter about Jimbo coming back. The best part, they spelled his name wrong.

Miami wins again but our defense is not that good...I have a bad feeling about next week. Miami soundly beats Clemson, FSU plays Miami to the wire, Clemson crushes FSU. Apparently they flew a banner over the stadium during before the game calling for the firing of Norvell. @M2 What is up with UF....they play lights out one week then look like a high school team the next? Your team has talent and a good coach. Ohio State is one dimensional without their starting QB. A lot of two loss SEC teams and Kentucky is standing at #2 in the conference. Crazy times.

Get in line pal...

All of them for at least 10 years...

To my face, no. However, the gentleman that did run (and win), did go negative. The incumbent was a stooge...most of the community believes he is illiterate, but he is a good ole boy.

At least one per day, usually more, never respond. Technology continues to evolve and change the game. I think the DNC mastered that first when Obama ran, but the GOP caught up. Recently, I was asked to run for local office and seriously considered it over the summer but the BS associated convinced me otherwise. I met numerous times with the local "leaders" who wanted me to run. They have an interesting machine and the local GOP group is moving away from flyers and TV ads with a huge focus on geo-fenced direct engagement. There is so much data on each one of us out there and the software uses it to know party affiliation, likeliness to vote, key demographic and geographic data points. From what they showed me (which I take with a grain of salt), in the last local election they used half the budget of the incumbent and defeated him by 15 points. For what it is worth, they still believe the attack ad sways voters. One of the reasons I dipped out was I told them I would not resort to attack ads under any circumstance.

In this case I think it could have been worse if he continued inside. They already charged him with fleeing and eluding so they would have claimed exigent circumstances and knocked the door down with guns drawn.