There’s a quote often attributed to Robin Williams which says, “Politicians should wear sponsor jackets like NASCAR drivers, then we know who owns them.” Over the years, creative minds have used the quip as inspiration for many a meme and cartoon:

"Politicians should wear sponsor jackets like Nascar drivers, then we know who owns them." pic.twitter.com/8xf0NV4sCA

— rsuter (@DefyGreed) March 9, 2019

But now, this joke is more than just a snarky idea floating around in the ether. This morning, Vox published a piece titled, “This DC party invite shows all the money to be made off the Ukraine war” — our “civil servants” and their aligned interests in the corporate world aren’t even hiding their thievery and corruption. Like Oscar Wilde said, “Life imitates art.” According to the article:

The Ukrainian Embassy hosted a reception last week in honor of the 31st anniversary of the country’s armed services. Events like this are part of the social calendar of Washington’s smart set, with hobnobbing diplomats, think tankers, journalists, and US officials. Guests took photos with the Ukrainian ambassador. Even Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley showed up.

But there was something so over it led some observers to laugh out loud at the gathering’s invitation.

The logos of military contractors Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Pratt & Whitney, and Lockheed Martin were emblazoned on the invitation as the event’s sponsors, below the official Ukrainian emblems and elegant blue script that said the Ukrainian ambassador and defense attaché ‘request the pleasure of your company.’

See a copy of the invitation below:

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Guyer at Vox

War is big business, and business is booming. The very same for-profit companies currently making a killing (no pun intended) off the conflict in Ukraine are now corporate sponsors for fancy shindigs where Ukrainian politicians can network with the people who hold the American purse strings — how fortuitous!

Just one more example of why Eisenhower had it right the first time when he described this phenomenon as the “Military-Industrial Congressional Complex.”

Image: Free image, Pixabay license, no attribution required.