politics @lemmy.world inclementimmigrant @lemmy.world 1d ago

Trump picks John Phelan, a businessman with no military experience, to be secretary of the Navy

www.nbcnews.com Trump picks John Phelan, a businessman with no military experience, to be secretary of the Navy

Phelan, who told NBC News he was "greatly honored," would be the first person in 15 years to lead the Navy without having served in the military.

No experience? No problem!

Making the military great again!

Oh we're also cutting veterans benefits!

56 comments

Good. Navy can eat farts.
- I mean, they're the least fascist branch of the US military and the only one we actually need to have HomElAnD sEcUrItY
  
  But they do love going to town on the budget for boondoggles
There's zero need to have civil leadership have military experience. That's kind of the point, to create a buffer. Not that I think there aren't plenty of disqualifying points for this chode, as he was appointed by Trump so that comes with the territory.

Bush had several with no military experience and Clinton had this one https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Danzig. Another had 2 years as a Lt.
Is this the dude Colin Farrell was designed to be as The Penguin?
I don’t mind this. The rank and file will see this cunt for the fake that he is. Which is possibly the best outcome we can expect while under the rule of Putin’s bitch.
- There are much more worthwhile outcomes to wish for, and to achieve.
  
  Well, yes, it would be nice if the fucking moron voters elected someone whose allegiance is to the USA. But this is our reality. Expectations must be moderated. We are now in a struggle to simply preserve our country.
And yet another blow struck for kakistocracy.
Wow, he actually looks like a robber baron.
- Stick one of those high-collared 1600s naval uniforms on him and he’d look just like those classical paintings of obese peerage with military titles.
- He looks like he exclusively does business deals in lounges while the other party picks up the bar tab
Private Investment firm.

Motherfucker is a VC bro.

Anyone else remember when the Republicans attacked Mitt Romney in the primaries for basically just being a corporate vulture?

Oh well, sure, why not. A venture capitalist for Sec Navy. Not even business experience as a supplier or contractor for the Navy.

So anyway, the US is now about as legitimate a government as Russia, post Soviet collapse.

Third world country with a Gucci belt, nuclear power with a nakedly corrupt oligarchy in charge.

(Yes I know third world has to do with nonaligned during the Cold War, pretend we all know its colloquial usage.)
... a businessman ...

And there it is, again, the deification of the "businessman" - as if that is something that is a qualification.

FFS.
- At one point I set up an LLC, planning to do stuff with it, but never did.
  
  I am a business man.
  
  I bet you that my non functional business, with 0 assets, 0 liabilities... is in better financial, net worth shape than a whole lot of other businesses.
  
  Hire me for DOGE, Elon.
- divided states of plutocrica
  
  Ferengi code of dysfunction.
The collapse of the US empire would be incredibly exciting if I did not live in it
- This perfectly encapsulates my feelings.
Trump ruining all branches of government while simultaneously making us vulnerable to Russian Intelligence with these picks.
- All Donny had to do was call the Saudi embassy on Inauguration Day 2017 and politely ask for $50 billion in a Swiss account.
  
  2017
You'd think after the last term that the idea of running the US as a business should be unpopular. It is decidedly not a business (though it can be used for profit, which is the major problem here).

It's almost like Trump voters had no clue what they were voting for. Or they did, but they had no clue what it meant.
- It's almost like Trump voters had no clue what they were voting for. Or they did, but they had no clue what it meant.
  
  no almost like, it's exactly what it is.
"businessman"

if you don't use the quotes it implies that he's actually a businessman.
I knew a second Trump administration was going to be a horror show, but I'm pretty sure Putin orchestrated a lot of this in revenge of the US using capitalism to crush the USSR.

He's now using capitalism to crush the US. And he's barely doing anything, he just had to help get a spoon fed capitalist elected and the capitalist would handle the rest.
I know it'd never happen, but seal team six is still standing by to protect us from threats inside and out.

The USSC gave biden the powers.
- The S(qu)eal who killed Bin Laden is openly pro-Trump. We'd probably have a split in the military before any civilian uprising.
The last eight people who have held the title since 2009 had served either in the Navy, Marine Corps, Army or Coast Guard, according to their Naval History and Heritage Command biographies.

Considering the one from 2009 to 2017 didn't serve in the military that's some weird phrasing...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Mabus

What's crazy is (including "acting" like the article does) we've had 8 Sec Of Navy's in 7 years...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_the_Navy

Just an insane amount of turnover under both Biden and trump.

I hated when Obama did this, at least this time the rest of the Dem party will be pissed too.

Edit:

Mabus sucked, but obviously this guy is gonna suck more. The Navy is ripe for corruption with overseas refueling, I think the Fat Leonard case still has some officers in trial, but it might be finished by now.
- Mabus was a Surface Warfare Officer for two years and attained the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. Granted, to make JG, all you need to do is have a pulse, but he still was in the Navy.
  
  You're right, both that he was and that the requirement for JG is literally a pulse...
  
  It didn't make it to Wikipedia, and barely got takes onto his defense.gov bio, but it is there.
  
  That makes the phrasing even weirder then...
  
  BJ Penn had it for two months in 09, but he had service time.
  
  The guy who had the very beginning of 09 was in freaking DARPA,but if they're counting them, why start at 09 instead of 06?
  
  Like, if we go back 8 of them, we're only in 2017 if we count acting. If we only count permanent then 8 goes back to 2001.
  
  The math just isn't matching for me.
- Having a civilian as secretary is not bad, at that level, healthy even. But that requires a type of person who almost certainly would not be in the good graces of Trump. And anyone accepting the position now must fight uphill to prove they are not a mindless, greedy thug filled with evil
  
  I was skimming more and the actual law is that the secretary has to not have served in the military in the past 7 years. It specifically calls out they're a civilian.
  
  Most of them have had military experience though, it's probably helpful.
So.....all these clown appointments. The guy just wants to wreck it all, right? WTF.
- So the 1% can just buy everything for cents on the dollar like they did during the great depression and great recession
  
  Did they forget that the last gilded age was also the same era as the Union and County wars or are they just fucken stupid. Who am I kidding all these dipshits are new money yuppies who dont know jack shit.
Well, at least we know he’s great at kissing Trump’s ass. Apparently, that’s the only requirement for any job in his cabinet or administration.
wonder how much this post cost.
“Attack me.”

Y’all need to check yourself before you wreck all of ourselves. Your infrastructure is pwned, you’re putting CEOs in charge of the country, kicking people out of the military, hinting at Geneva convention ignoring, and electing stupid people.

And you think you’ll just win. I swear.

Living in the setup of a shitty WWIII novel as the antagonist and aren’t aware enough of history to know it.
- Who's the "y'all" you're addressing here? I don't think there are all that many Trump voters in this forum.
  
  The USA.
- No offense but... fuck you.
  
  Why? He's not wrong. The description may not fit you or I but it fits enough people that it applies to the general direction of our country. Seems accurate enough to me.

56 comments