2.6 Billion for a Chopper that overheats in California?

Christ, this is federal fuckwittery at its best. It's also what our federal government does better than anything else; blow our tax dollars on 322 piecces of useless junk that now has to be retrofitted my dear reader.

The Army is spending $2.6 billion on a fleet of European-designed helicopters for homeland security and disaster-relief missions that cannot be used in hot weather because their cockpits overheat, according to an internal report obtained by The Associated Press. The internal report, prepared for the Army last summer, said the helicopter is effective in light-duty missions "but is not effective for use in hot environments or for medical evacuation of two litter patients requiring critical medical care."

They tested this over-priced piece of crap in Cali..which of course has the most consistently mild weather in the U.S. and... IT OVERHEATED HERE! The temperature in the Lakota rose to over 104 degrees.The Army says the communication, navigation and flight control systems can overheat and shut down at that point.

How nice..it's..so.. BushCo! According to the Army report, and I quote:

"is not effective for use in hot environments."

The temp's in the Middle East soar to 116 friggin degrees for the summer sportsfans. The Temps in NOLA also rise to over a 100, as does many other parts of the U.S. Oh, and the cost of retrofitting? The retrofitting will cost at least $10 million and will come out of the Army's budget, according to the Army.

It should come out of someone's ass imho. The Lakota Indians are a proud tribe or northern dwelling folks. Guess someone should tell them that they now have a helicopter named after them that will only work in the cool north.

Tags: Lakota helicopter, Government waste, Your tax dollars at work