Financier John Phelan Tapped to be Next Navy Secretary
[John] Phelan is the founder of private equity firm Rugger Management LLC and previously served as the chairman and chief investment officer of the firm that oversaw the fortune of Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell. He is also on the board of the Spirit of America [front group] non-profit, a non-partisan group with a mission to support American troops abroad that has also supported troops in Ukraine.
Related:
Read More »Twitter works with spies. Big surprise! (archived)
I mean, these days this point should seem obvious, no? Does anyone out there still think that Silicon Valley is somehow different from all the other corporate clusters that run our society? Media, energy, finance, pharma, agriculture — these corporations represent the vast bulk of the organized capital of this military oligarchy of ours, and tech’s no different, regardless of the early bullshit the industry spun about itself being a beacon of radical democracy and freedom. In fact, given the specific origins of the Internet, I’d argue the link between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon is stronger and deeper that any of the other industries. They’re basically the same thing.
Think America’s foreign reputation suffered under Trump? It’s even worse with Biden
Surprised that they even published criticism of Biden! 🤷🏼♀️
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin: A Certain Kind of Diversity
That’s no small thing to my old tribe. While there’ve been real militarists, monsters, and just plain jerks to come out of West Point’s academic departments – Petraeus and Trump’s national security adviser H.R. McMaster come to mind – in my assessment, most TAC-types were less intellectually curious or inclined to challenge prevailing assumptions (with some exceptions). Don’t take just my word for it. “He just doesn’t knock your socks off,” a former defense official close to the Biden transition team told Politico – “I just don’t see him as an independent thinker.”
None of that bodes well in crisis times – think pandemic, climate catastrophe, and reprised Cold War nuclear madness – that demand system-shaking visionaries, not company men. Unfortunately, the company man’s president may have just nominated the first black one.
The Chinese Uyghur Dark Legend and Washington’s Campaign to Counter Chinese Economic Rivalry
Dig below the surface of the allegations that Beijing is abusing its Muslim population, and you won’t find concentration camps and genocide, but a US-led effort to create a Chinese dark legend. The roots of the demonization campaign are to be found in Washington’s desire to counter China’s challenge to US economic supremacy.
The ‘Khakistocracy’ Tries to Save America
This could be the beginning of the change of American democracy not to illiberalism, but to enlightenment.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
You must be logged in to post a comment.