No it is partisan politics.
If Hillary personal email server was really an issue, it would have brought up years ago before the start of the next presedential run.
But because she is a political threat it is a good discression that the republicans can make a fuss about, and this time the media is on their side, because they want access to her personal email. While the media touts government transparency they really want to see if Hillary is on good terms with Bill.

Now if Hillary stunk up the bathroom. The republicans will deny that they would never do that.

political pressure is now pushing them hard to open up bidding to multiple companies, which in turn will help lower cost and save the taxpayer money

That's certainly a possible outcome, and hopefully the one we will see, but I think it's a bit optimistic to say that it will do this. It may do that, but a new contract process may also be a total clusterfuck, depending on how it's structured and overseen. The Air Force might get twice as good things for half the price, or it might get something that doesn't work for half the price, or four things that sort of work for twice the price.

Yeah. Like I'd ever be caught DEAD or ALIVE in Arizona. Life is too short for that.

Isn't that reflective?

Sigh. What a difference a few years make. I am a late gen x. And I would say the same thing but with DOS, and not having a hard disk drive and a CGA 4 color monitor.
By the time windows 95 came out, I have already been hooked on Linux.

The problems with such rules, means the are plenty of work arounds,

In general booth babes are hired, because they know there are plenty of ongoers who still sexually are teenagers. And use them to attract people to their booth.

However what will happen they will have people dressed to fit the rules. However still be sexy, and they will flirt with the potentional customer anyways.

The spine was design to stay at an ideal location, with enough flexibility to accommodate movement. Our hands on the otherwise have joints and muscles designed for more purpose. However some activities, usually in the terms of fine movement, may put more strain than larger movements and grips.

And since air disasters necessarily depend on extremely low-probability events, this is not an argument for the proposition "therefore this was most likely not the cause".

We know that whatever happened it had an outrageously low probability. This makes speculation in advance of data useless, because there are an almost unlimited number of highly improbable things that could have happened, and anyone who thinks they can imagine their way to the correct one is innumerate: http://www.tjradcliffe.com/?p=...

This weekend I saw a guy apparently picnicking across the road from my house. After a while I went over to see WTF, and turns out he was working for a mapping company (and the company drone was flying overhead, snapping photos). He told me that their maps are accurate to within 1/8th inch.

Insightful? More like hippy liberal corporation bashing.
Now this isn't some conservative rant. The FAA should be taking such things carefully, so not to cause problems. However, some of the rules are not focused on more agile aircraft development, where drones are involved there is less needs to verify personal safety, and changes to the drone technology shouldn't need as much screwenty. So unlike a Jet where they decided to change a component, as the safety of the pilot is a major concern, and such change should be completely reviewed. For a drone, just as long it fits in the recommended size and flight area it should be allowed more flexibility in changes without as much FAA review. Being that the overall risk of such changes is so small.

Russian made cars might get 13,000 miles to a tank of gas, but us capitalist pigs have to stop every 400 miles for gas. Even if it was a train tunnel, no train on this planet can go 13,000 miles on one load of fuel. Then you have the pesky problem of ventilation.

"hat are we left with? keep the door open and we have murderous hijacking? "

Yes we have to accept that 0.001% risk of a MURDEROUS HIJACKING

You have a better chance of dying in your bathtub at home by a terrorist hiding behind your shampoo.

"Any method of getting in from the passenger compartment would be vulnerable to coercion."

not if you have an air marshall with an AA12 shotgun full of beanbag rounds right there. There are very simple answers, the airlines are whiny bitches that claim they cant afford it, and that is the center of the problem.

3 crew on flight deck for all aircraft, Let the pilots rest and get good sleep, and2 very well armed angry air marshalls on every flight. Solves 100% of all "terrorisim" problems.

Sadly the people in charge of security that have zero clue as to what to do, and the airlines whiny executives disallow the correct answer.

Or they will find some way the guy is linked to islamic terrorists. Or maybe he had stated an unpopular political view.

Or perhaps he just snapped. Often people with suicidal depression is really good at hiding it so other people don't realize it.

Ot that they haven't slept. I know several airline pilots, they are told to fly even when they are very tired or when sick.