Hi Jacob,

Yes - the aerospace companies can create cost overruns in orbit or on the ground - they aren't really too picky about the locale.

ISS would have cost a fraction of its existing cost if General Dynamics had never been acquired by Lockheed. Allowing that single merger to go through has cost the government BILLIONS spread throughout dozens of contracts.

The asinine assumption that the cold war was over and all military and defense spending could slow to a trickle - was just that: asinine. The same asinine thinking believes that manpower is unnecessary. Smart weapons are no match for ground forces. A fine balance must be maintained.

This Bush is in a position to undo his father's mistakes.

Now if the DOD can bolster the second string of aerospace companies with some of this increased spending - giving these companies greater ability to compete for larger projects in the future - perhaps the DOD will actually have something resembling competition rather than always just choosing between tweedlethumbs and tweedledumbs. ;-)

Best wishes,

SDAI-Tech1