NORTHROP GRUMMAN'S RADIO ADS, AND WHY READERS THINK I'M AN IDIOT

Thousands of Northrop Grumman

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[NOC  Loading...      (%)   ] workers are celebrating their tanker win today in Los Angeles -- even though the deal is on hold as the U.S. Government Accountability Office examines a Boeing

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[BA  Loading...      (%)   ] challenge.

We're at the party. As I've blogged many times, Boeing isn't rolling over on this one.

This, as the Northrop-Airbus tankers sold to Australia are on the ground, while the boom needs to be modified (no boom, no refueling), and as Northrop faces big problems on the shipbuilding side. The company cannot afford to lose the tanker contract.

So the company has launched a website called America's New Tanker, and for the first time in memory, the company is running actual radio ads playing up the tanker's "American"-ness, even though the airframe is European. (See one of the ads: Click above video.)

READER E-MAILS

Meantime, your emails on the tanker war:

From Bsting:

"Jane Wells, a senior reporter on the aerospace and technology sectors?? Please. She is about as unqualified as they come. This woman has no business reporting on business.

She has spent the bulk of her journalistic life reporting on mindless, sensationalized topics like the OJ trial. I recall countless occasions across multiple programs seeing her covering some stupid court case for Geraldo Rivera or other TV show du jour in which she contributed to the media blowing a current event way out of proportion for ratings purposes. Not once have I seen Jane Wells covering in-depth business topics like those one sees routinely on CNBC...It's no wonder her gig is "funny business". She's not qualified to offer substantive commentary on REAL business."

From Michael M:

"Your article stated that Northrop has not won any big contest. Well, what about Deep Water for the Coast Guard? We won't mention what a fiasco that has been--12 boats unusable, late, over budget. Oh, and just how safe are the ports?"

From Bob D:

"My fears are that if Airbus gets this contract and builds four plants here as they said, I believe it will be the end of aircraft building just as the foreign cars ended the American car business. We cannot compete with our high benefits expense."

On my post that housing may be bottoming, a blast from David C:

"I was all set to write a data-backed response on why this article is nothing more than propaganda to make people think housing is recovering, how you quoted people who a year ago said we would have a soft landing, (a now dead term) and a year before that said there was no bubble...how inflation is at its worst since the 70's, if not worse, how jobs and salaries are decreasing, and on top of it all that we're in a recession which are all proof positive of the antithesis of your rhetorical hearsay: that housing doesn't have a dream of even starting a turnaround this decade, much less finishing one in the next. Then I realized something of this brevity, based on "experts"...lacking any data, numbers, or facts, and most importantly under a Funny Business column, is surely nothing more than a joke...Good one."

Thanks to Gerry O. for correcting me on the long-ago change in GAO from Government Accounting Office to Government Accountability Office. Old habits die hard.

Regarding the MINDSTORM virtual tool to help you imagine what it's like to have schizophrenia, Jeff J. writes:

"Ironic that's about the same day that the scientist who discovered LSD passed on to be with Timothy Leary..."

He also suggests I do a story on how many people are learning Chinese... but that's another story.

And something nice from Tom E about the "Star Wars" post:

"Fake Jane + Princess Leia = The Ultimate Sex Symbol."

Questions? Comments? Funny Stories? Email

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