Whores and Pimps

Toad, from Wind in the Willows,
Arthur Rackham illustration

The world has held great Heroes,
As history books have showed;
But never a name to go down to fame
Compared with that of Toad!
--The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame

When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of,
he always declares that it is his duty
--George Bernard Shaw

The true hypocrite is one who ceases to perceive his deception,
the one who lies with sincerity
--Andre Gide
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The New York Times ran a feature 5/20 on military talking heads -- experts who whore to the media for the Bush administration (Behind Analysts, Pentagon's Hidden Hand.) These experts are just Pentagon toadies.

"Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.

"The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air."

Is this the logical extension of the Officers Corps' Honesty Above All Else motto?

On a personal level, we have received numerous attacks both from individuals and groups casting aspersions upon Ranger's character and legitimacy. Always ad hominem, they boil down to calling Ranger a "phony" and a "turncoat." In effect, a REAL Ranger and officer would neither question nor object to a phony war.

Oddly enough, the most recent vitriol came with an invitation to join their group's site. One semi-clearheaded member of the merry band wrote to say that though Ranger was welcome on their site, he will be roundly trounced should he join. They must think all Rangers are masochists.

In effect, President Bush remains for them the Commander in Chief (though many have been out of uniform for a while), the C in C is a fuhrer, and their blood oath to him is inviolable. One group actually invited Ranger to their bar/bunker to sing German drinking songs. God bless the netizens.

It does not matter that my oath was to the Constitution and transcends all personalities, both mine and theirs.

Ranger is not paid and does not shill for anyone. All the military talking heads get paid big bucks, and are presented as all-American and impartial experts; they are anything but. They are money-grubbing whores in power neckties.

Though on reflection, that is to do an injustice to whores, who at least possess a level of honesty these pukes don't possess or comprehend.