OH: Only Half of F-35s Available for Flight, Program Head Says.

Actually, readiness isn’t nearly as bad as the headline implies:

Of the 280 operational F-35s purchased to date by U.S. and international partners, only 51 percent are currently available for flight, Vice Adm. Mat Winter, director of the F-35 Joint Program Office, told reporters Wednesday at a round-table event.

Winter added that availability rates are lowest for aircraft purchased in early lots, which were beset with a number of hardware and software issues that later production lots addressed. Low-rate initial production lots 2 through 4 have availability rates between 40 and 50 percent, Winter said. The most recent LRIP lots, 9 and 10, which include aircraft that are still rolling off the production line, have the highest availability rates, 70 to 75 percent, he said.

My understanding is that the logistical train isn’t yet fully developed, which also impacts readiness of jets which would otherwise be airworthy.

METAPHOR ALERT: French Artist Trying To Hatch Eggs Will Probably Kill Them All.

DOUBTFUL, BUT WE CAN HOPE: Are Health Advocates Finally Wising Up About the Nature of Risk?

UGH: Rare, Cox Media’s Facebook-driven conservative site, is shutting down.

Rare.us, the viral content site launched by Cox Media in 2013 to take on the ever-evolving digital landscape from a right of center lens, will shut down at the end of the month, according to Facebook posts by its top editors.

It’s another example of a viral website built on Facebook traffic that is shutting down after Facebook announced it would be making changes to its News Feed algorithm to weed out publisher content.

Facebook is great for reconnecting with old friends and sharing adorable family photos, but never forget that it’s somebody else’s business with no real concern for anyone else’s.

DEATH WISH REBOOT: Audiences Love It, Critics Hate It.

The film is a remake of the 1974 Charles Bronson classic, and shares the story of an ordinary man facing down crime with nothing but courage and a gun after his wife is murdered and daughter raped. About the earlier film, Roger Ebert called it “propaganda for private gun ownership.”

The same thing is being said of the new film. As one reviewer complained, “If the NRA made a feature film, it would be this.” The conservative film website HollywoodinToto praised it for just that angle: “This gut punch of a remake will drive SJWs crazy. That’s just one of many reasons to see Eli Roth’s latest.”

It’s been a while since Willis has starred in a must-see movie, but teaming him up with Eli Roth sends this picture to the top of my Don’t Miss list.

SHOCKER: Human Ancestors Had the Same Dental Problems as Us—Even without Fizzy Drinks and Sweets.

CONSIDER THE SOURCE: Christopher Steele says RUSSIANS prevented Trump from tapping Mitt Romney as secretary of state..

AT AMAZON, Spring Deals on Women’s Swimsuits and Coverups.

Plus, deals on Men’s Swimwear.

JIM GERAGHTY: The Devin Nunes You Don’t Know.

In November, Andrew Janz, a Democratic congressional candidate, unveiled a billboard that depicts Trump and Nunes on Putin’s leash. In January, MSNBC contributor John Heilemann asked Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy on air, “Is it possible that we actually have a Russian agent running the House Intel Committee on the Republican side?”
…
In 2014, he denounced the “shameless propaganda” of RT, the Kremlin’s flagship international media outlet. And, in an op-ed in the Washington Times, he warned: “While [Vladimir Putin] may be willing to sacrifice Russia’s own economy for his geo-political ambitions, we cannot afford to be a mere bystander as his destabilizing actions begin to threaten the economies of the Baltics and other NATO allies, possibly including our own.”

In 2015, he joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers urging the Obama administration to authorize the transfer of “lethal, defensive weapons systems to the Ukrainian military.” In an appearance on CNN in April 2016, he criticized the Obama administration for being too soft with Putin.

Collusion!

KAROL MARKOWICZ: The best way to fight sex trafficking is to legalize prostitution.

DOUBLING DOWN: Erdogan calls for mobilization of army reserves in Syria.

Addressing his supporters who were chanting, “Our leader, take us to Afrin,” Erdogan said, “Don’t worry. Once we decide to go we will not leave you behind, but take you with us. Now we are dispatching our trained cadres. Those who received mobilization orders should get ready. But at this moment we don’t need them. The minute we decide we will hit the road.”

Turkish males are subject to conscription when they reach the age of 20, and they are required to mobilize until the age of 41.

Following Erdogan’s remarks that those who have received mobilization orders should be ready, millions visited the official website of the Ministry of Defense to find out if their name is on the list. Due to the heavy traffic the site went down quickly.

Devlet Bahceli, the chairman of the opposition Nationalist Action Party (MHP), which has decided to enter into an elections alliance with the AKP and to support Erdogan, answered the president’s call by saying, “We are ready for mobilization. It is time to hoist the Turkish flag over Afrin.” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim got into the mood by dressing up in military attire at a meeting of the AKP’s youth wing in Kocaeli.

Pity the Kurds.

IT’S LIKE THE PRESS ONLY DOLES OUT “ABSOLUTE MORAL AUTHORITY” TO PEOPLE WHO AGREE WITH THEM ALREADY: Meet the Conservative Parkland Massacre Survivor the Media Has Largely Ignored.

UNEXPECTEDLY: Boston Globe: The Nation’s Toughest Gun Control Law Made Massachusetts Less Safe.

SPACE: Falcon Heavy For The Outer Solar System.

STEPHEN KRUISER: Dear California: Call Me When the Commies Leave. “After 22 years in Los Angeles — 13 on its West Side — I threw half my life into boxes, the other half into dumpsters, and returned to my native Arizona.”

GET WOKE, GO BROKE: Oscar Ratings Down Double Digits, Eye All-Time Low In Early Estimates.

ONE CLICK: Bezos To Offer Amazon-Branded Checking Accounts.

JAMES MORROW: Share Bikes Were Always Doomed To Fail.

Well, I told you so.

AMERICA: At a Waffle House in La Marque, Texas, this elderly man told the waitress that his hands weren’t working too good. He was also on oxygen and struggling to breathe. Without hesitation, she took his plate and began cutting his ham.

A COMBINATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL NEOTENY AND ECONOMIC NECESSITY? Dorm Living for Professionals Comes to San Francisco.. Plus: “(There are quite a few divorcées in Starcity.)”

Probably mostly the latter: Silicon Valley Is Over, Says Silicon Valley. “In recent months, a growing number of tech leaders have been flirting with the idea of leaving Silicon Valley. Some cite the exorbitant cost of living in San Francisco and its suburbs, where even a million-dollar salary can feel middle class. Others complain about local criticism of the tech industry and a left-wing echo chamber that stifles opposing views. And yet others feel that better innovation is happening elsewhere.”

BRIAN WANG: Venezuela oil workers are dying of hunger – a military coup in 2018 seems inevitable.

Are there enough non-Maduro stooges left in the officers’ ranks to pull off a successful coup?

BLUE WAVE? The coming Trump landslide.

Wayne Allyn Root:

The memory of my CNBC debacle came pouring back to mind last week because I saw Donny [Deutsch] made news as a guest on MSNBC. Donny was asked about Donald Trump’s re-election chances. For once, I agree with Donny.

Deutsch said Trump will be re-elected in 2020 by a landslide because the economy is booming and Americans have more money in their pockets. Most Americans vote on pocketbook issues, he explained.

Then Donny spoke more raw truth. He said, “That’s why Trump must be removed from office now.”

My old pal Donny revealed what liberals are all thinking, deep down. Trump is a lock for re-election by a wide margin. As Deutsch admitted, that’s why he must be stopped now.

Deutsch has to know that even if the Democrats win big in November, they won’t win enough seats in the Senate to remove Trump from office — so what does he have in mind?

IS AN ANTI-DEPRESSANT THE COMMON FACTOR IN SCHOOL SHOOTINGS? This doctor tells LifeZette Paroxetine is the villain and he cites a bunch of studies, medical and otherwise, to make his case.

MY USA TODAY COLUMN LOOKS AT STATE SECESSION: Rural California wants a divorce from rich California.