Your story reminds me of some things that are of course related but rarely are openly described that way.

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about companies and institutions that have become “too big to fail.” It’s secondary that they should be allowed to reach that level but they’re not only ‘allowed’ to but facilitated. Combine “too big to fail” with something I remember from a long ago television show on wealth where John Kenneth Galbraith described some of the levels of wealth.

One level was “display.” I think Galbraith described it in terms of wrist watches. He said that the technology for wrist watches (mechanical) had been well established and the very best time pieces could be made for about $50 max. Anything beyond that was overkill. More important, anything beyond was display of wealth. Buying a $30,000 gold Rolex was purely about display of wealth.

Most people see themselves as wealthy in those terms. Even “Joe the Plumber” had his phony fabricated dream in those terms. He wanted low taxes on the wealthy because when (no “ifs” about it) he became wealthy he wanted to pay very little taxes. Of course he ignored the tax burden he faced as a working stiff. That was only temporary. Like all Republicans he was soon going to be very wealthy and his current status was only a stepping stone and its burdens therefore not significant. That those burdens made it much more difficult to get to any next level was never to be mentioned in the Republican American dream machine. … Getting off topic.

Galbraith then described the next level of wealth. Power. When you get to the point where you’re so wealthy that its display gets boring and the people that are impressed by it seem shallow. Instead of using wealth for display, use it for control and the generation of further wealth. Though Tom Delay tried to put a stop to it, it can be seen in wealthy people that donate to both parties, even competing candidates in an election. Here’s where “too big to fail” enters the picture. There’s a feedback cycle much like the one described in the articles on “military experts” that dominate the public dialog on military issues. Both the companies that have the military relationships and the military itself have been allowed to become too big to fail. In the same process they’ve acquired enormous wealth and with it enormous power. The TV flunkies are only one part of that bought power.

So we have “bigger is better” leading to something on the level of “big must be protected and saved” even when its size proves not to be better, even worse in many cases. But size itself, “too big to fail,” becomes a crucial aspect in itself. All other aspects, inefficient, corrupt, outdated, whatever, aren’t important. It’s too big to fail.

It’s the welfare queen megacorporation with the dozens of gorgeous spokesmodels surrounding the big finned gas guzzling old Caddie. Add in Rush Limbaugh types chomping on expensive cigars and holding scripts for Viagra for quickie trips to islands known for underage prostitution and the whole picture takes on Dorian Gray qualities.

The military can also be seen in this sense. It’s become too big to fail. As America itself is showing signs of collapse there’s very little mention of cutting the military budget. America spends more on its military than most other countries combined. Yet that vaunted military is so effective and powerful that it can’t win wars against two nations where the opposition to the American military is almost penniless.

The funding directed to the military seems to be money very poorly spent. Yet there’s no suggestion of changing the situation. The military has become too big to fail. Too big even to examine and improve. Bigger is not only unquestionably better but essential – even at the expense of the people and nation as a whole. Stalin would almost envy the power.

And we’re back to these military general flunkies and their power wealth circle jerk of bullshit on our TVs. Spokesmodels surrounding the biggest big finned gas guzzling Cadillac in the world. The “military industrial complex” is so yesterday. It’s now the military industrial media complex. The American military. The ultimate welfare queen.

this is how the thugs do business. all under the guise of protectin america. no one will take notice, imo.

Ike was right

After the Vietnam war, in fact, years after it, there was a push to distinguish between veterans of the war and the war itself. It was not an honorable war but those who served in were. This began the modern post-Vietnam idea of “supporting the troops”. But a curious thing happened on the way to the next wars in which the US was involved. The government and military hid behind the “support the troops” mantra, saying any criticism of the policies or the policymakers was tantamount to “not supporting the troops.” Unlike those used on the battlefield of Afghanistan and Iraq, this has proved a wildly successful strategy.

And of course it isn’t just the bigwigs that do this either. Special forces often go to work for the likes of Blackwater where they can used their expensive government provided training to make a lot more money. Those who garnered a security clearance in the military can often parlay that into the rapidly expanding sector of civilian intelligence contractors.

What I am getting at here is that this is a continuum with McCaffrey at one end of it. All of these guys are cashing in on their experience in or with the military. And all of them are using to one extent or another the “support the troops” slogan to mask or cover what they are doing.

And one part of it has been ruthlessly and relentlessly exploited by General McCaffrey. You see McCaffrey is a general and wore the uniform. He is a patriot. It would be decidedly unpatriotic and lacking in our support of the troops if we were to notice that he is also a crook and liar. (Hey, that btw would make a good blog name.)

In many ways, McCaffrey is just the most obvious example of the revolving door of the military industrial complex (which Eisenhower warned us about) and which has been with us since we decided to develop and maintain a large permanent military in WWII. There are the military analysts/shills of this affair. But both military and civilian leaders jump from their Pentagon jobs into the warm and generous embrace of military contractors. Some like DNI Mike McConnell then re-enter government where they can promote the private companies they just were working for. Some like General James Jones, Obama’s National Security Adviser, join the boards of companies like Boeing and Chevron.

Oops somehow the paragraph ordering got messed up. It should read this way:

After the Vietnam war, in fact, years after it, there was a push to distinguish between veterans of the war and the war itself. It was not an honorable war but those who served in were. This began the modern post-Vietnam idea of “supporting the troops”. But a curious thing happened on the way to the next wars in which the US was involved. The government and military hid behind the “support the troops” mantra, saying any criticism of the policies or the policymakers was tantamount to “not supporting the troops.” Unlike those used on the battlefield of Afghanistan and Iraq, this has proved a wildly successful strategy.

And one part of it has been ruthlessly and relentlessly exploited by General McCaffrey. You see McCaffrey is a general and wore the uniform. He is a patriot. It would be decidedly unpatriotic and lacking in our support of the troops if we were to notice that he is also a crook and liar. (Hey, that btw would make a good blog name.)

In many ways, McCaffrey is just the most obvious example of the revolving door of the military industrial complex (which Eisenhower warned us about) and which has been with us since we decided to develop and maintain a large permanent military in WWII. There are the military analysts/shills of this affair. But both military and civilian leaders jump from their Pentagon jobs into the warm and generous embrace of military contractors. Some like DNI Mike McConnell then re-enter government where they can promote the private companies they just were working for. Some like General James Jones, Obama’s National Security Adviser, join the boards of companies like Boeing and Chevron.

And of course it isn’t just the bigwigs that do this either. Special forces often go to work for the likes of Blackwater where they can used their expensive government provided training to make a lot more money. Those who garnered a security clearance in the military can often parlay that into the rapidly expanding sector of civilian intelligence contractors.

What I am getting at here is that this is a continuum with McCaffrey at one end of it. All of these guys are cashing in on their experience in or with the military. And all of them are using to one extent or another the “support the troops” slogan to mask or cover what they are doing.

He doesn’t need to sue, because without TV networks amplifying the NYT’s reporting, the story dies. And the networks are holding to omerta on this.

Digg it

It’s not like NBC’s parent company, General Electric, makes any money on war, right?

I never trust anybody who had the job of “Drug Czar” — what a scam that is.

The irony of the title: So many have died in this racket. Not the rich ones for the most part. No wonder we like these little wars.

That’s a whole other aspect of this story from when it came out in April. This was mostly a story about cable and network news and these media outlets stonewalled it. What coverage there was happened and apparently continues to happen in the print media, and on blogs. Glenn Greenwald got into it with Brian Williams IIRC. Williams in his NBC blog went off on bloggers saying mean things about the network’s military shills and Greenwald had a field day with the clueless Williams.

I don’t know which part of this story p**ses me off the most: The lying, the double-dipping, the sleazy sucking up…I guess there is something here for everyone. But…digg this one, folks because as we all know, mold NEEDS sunlight to get rid of it.

There just has to be a special place in hell for war profiteers.

And yet, from an embalmed rightwing site, circa 2003:

Need we point out that McCaffrey is being paid to comment as a Military Analyst on MSNBC, whose Left-wing, anti-America, anti-Bush bias is never absent for 5 minutes at a time?
(Nor would they have hired Barry if he didn’t pretty much share their views.)

It burns.

Now, now, McCaffrey wore the nation’s uniform because he believes in what the country stands for, especially the part about free enterprise and making a fast buck.

On the topic of “too big to fail’” why are bailed out banks allowed to buy failing banks with their bailout $$. They then become ‘way to big to fail’ and are guaranteed bail out in the future.

Missing the forest for the trees aren’t we? NBC is owned by General Electric, a defense contractor!!!

more today from glenn (includes a nice summary noting that The Nation broke the story in 2003): The ongoing disgrace of NBC News and Brian Williams

self dealing? i’m shocked!

Brian Williams should be out of the business. He is just plain oily and there’s not an ounce of truth in anything he says. I can’t stand to watch him.

Thanks, I didn’t know that Glenn had posted today.

I think honchos like this really believe that things like ethics are for the little people and that they – the honchos – and their motives are by definition so noble that rules don’t apply to them and that their integrity is above reproach. Their power and position are equated with virtue, in their own mind, and all the money and prestige reinforce the delusion.

Well, once you’ve been a “czar” you can do no wrong, right? /s

i don’t understand the idea that joining the military makes a person any more honorable than any other job/profession/calling. it seems to me that it is possible to serve sometimes honorably and sometimes dishonorably. but honor not something a characteristic of a person, it’s a characteristic of the person’s actions, intentions, choices, etc.

or so it seems to me.

but honor is not something a characteristic of a person, it’s a characteristic of the person’s actions, intentions, choices, etc.

sorry,.

As I pointed out above James Jones is on the boards of Chevron and Boeing so at least these are good civilian companies which will cause no defense or foreign policy conflicts of interest for him.

The job of the military is to kill people and destroy property. That’s why people who work there should be regarded as more honorable. /s

thanks hugh and ecahn for setting me straight. *g*

I had been thinking of writing an oxdown diary on Jones and Obama’s decision to keep or name mostly military people to intelligence posts but I couldn’t really find a way to address it. It’s this.

Military people generally see intelligence in military terms, both with regard to how it is gathered and how it is used. But there is really a lot more to intelligence than this. Politics, history, economics, culture, religion, technology are all as important as the military side of things. And the cultivation of a few good human resources on the ground is worth more than all of the NSA’s computers. I think the military should be a contributor to national intelligence not the dominating force as it is now. As the saying goes when all you have is a hammer every problem begins to look like a nail.

You mean there’s other history besides military history? Other culture outside of war? Economies that aren’t dependent on the MIC? Religions that don’t wage war on each other (this Q is rhetorical)?

Everything’s militarized in the U.S. including civilian life. Hire more cops (not teachers), build more jails.

And on top of all that, it’s honorable!!!! Everyone will thank you for your service.

Terrific comment. Right on the mark!

It’s not just the Special Forces, either. All of the major Military Contractors hire many, many people out of the Armed Forces. By regulation, no contractor could tender a job offer to a serving member of the Armed Forces, but everyone that they wanted knew they were interested. It’s hard to say no when someone offers three or four times your salary and none of the Military’s crap (especially when you have just returned from a six Month deployment).

Lockheed Martin and the other Military Contractors hire a lot of people for Product Support and you pay to train nearly all of them.

your only option now is to kill all the fascist bastids.

it is the same option that was presented to the german population in 1933.

with rare exception, white rose society, the german population kowtowed.

there is no eliminating fascism[totalitarianism] via the ballot box. and if you think that barack blackbush is going to be a change for the better, you have been deluded.

mark my words.

joe stalin, from his grave, will be envying the power to enslave that barack blackbush will deploy.

be seeing you in the camps.

Allow me to welcome you to your new dystopian future by banning you from FDL for this repugnant and racially-charged comment.

Wasn’t the expression “Quantity has a quality all its own” attributed to Joseph Stalin. Welcome to the USSR Western Chapter. I would also extend the Complex expression to ‘Military, Industrial, Media and University” complex.