Bombs and bake sales

Remember the line about advocacy against the Vietnam War and the military:

"It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber".

It looks like that day has come.

-- "Pentagon accepts $130 million donation to help pay the military during the government shutdown," Associated Press

The Pentagon confirmed Friday that it has accepted an anonymous $130 million gift to help pay members of the military during the government shutdown, raising ethical questions after President Donald Trump had announced that a friend had offered the gift to defray any shortfalls. 

While large and unusual, the gift amounts to a small contribution toward the billions needed to cover service member paychecks. The Trump administration told Congress last week that it used $6.5 billion to make payroll. The next payday is coming within the week, and it is unclear if the administration will again move money around to ensure the military does not go without compensation.

“That’s what I call a patriot,” Trump said during a White House event Thursday when he disclosed the payment from the donor. The president declined to name the person, whom he called “a friend of mine,” saying the man didn’t want the recognition.

-- "US army taps private equity groups to help fund $150bn revamp," Financial Times

The US army has asked private equity groups including Apollo, Carlyle, KKR and Cerberus to pitch “meaty” strategic projects to help the service fund a $150bn infrastructure overhaul.

Driscoll told the Financial Times he gathered the private investors to say, “‘Hey, here are all the assets we have in our arsenals and our depots that we are underutilising . . . What are those types of deals where we can work with you and invite you in?’”

... The proposals mark the latest example of the Trump administration’s efforts to work with the $13tn private capital industry — and an unprecedented effort to enlist some of Wall Street’s biggest investors directly in US national security. 

Driscoll added the projects could include data centres and rare earth processing facilities, and could involve the federal government swapping land for computer processing power or output from rare earth processing.