Pat Shanahan: Poster boy for Military-Industrial Complex

Back on January 17, 1961, Ike, in his Farewell Address, coined the concept that haunts America 58 years on:

"We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence by the Military-Industrial Complex"

Never has that nefarious threat to a sustainable America been more on display than ascension of Boeing supply chain and operations vice president Pat Shanahan to Deputy Defense Secretary to Interim Defense Secretary; now on the cusp of the big prize, confirmed Secretary of Defense. No government or military experience was an impediment to Shanahan's meteoric rise to Pentagon power; just experience helping funnel hundreds of billions to number 2 government contractor Boeing over his 33 year Boeing career. In 2017 Boeing nabbed a nifty $23 billion, nearly of quarter of its total revenue.

Shanahan was confirmed by the Senate for Deputy Defense Secretary in July, 2017 in spite of a dying Senator John McCain arguing “The answers that you gave to the questions, whether intentionally or unintentionally, were...condescending, and I’m not overjoyed that you came from one of the five corporations that receive 90 percent of the taxpayers’ dollars. I have to have confidence that the fox is not going to be put back into the hen house,”

Fageddaboudit, Senator. As Interim Defense Secretary since the resignation of James Mattis in December, 2018, Shanahan has acted like Wiley Coyote to Roadrunner and No. 1 contractor Lockheed Martin ($50 billion), disparaging their wares to the benefit of Boeing, so much so the Pentagon's Inspector General opened an investigation of Shanahan in March. But it just took a month for the I.G. to clear Shanahan, greasing his path to likely confirmation.

That's how it goes in 21st century America; fast track for the Military-Industrial Complex, slow death for infrastructure, immigration reform, health care for all, education, climate protection and just about every aspect of a truly sane society.