Unless you’ve been living under a rock this week (and given the housing situation in California, it might not be a bad housing choice), the big news of the past week was Russia attacking Ukraine. Come to think of it, maybe living under a rock wouldn’t be a bad alternative to what we’re seeing now. As reports come in from the area, the world is shocked at Vladimir “I Am Former KGB and All I Got Was This Lousy Country” Putin’s actions and are urging Russia to stop its aggressive actions against Ukraine.
You know, seeing all these Leftist embrace freedom from tyranny is great, but that’s a post for another time. Instead, let’s turn our attentions to our on-again, off-again frienemy, Russia.
Russia
What the Left thinks it means – a foreign power with whom we have a complicated relationship
What it really means – a foreign power whose leadership wants to restart the Cold War and win it this time
It seems weird that within many of our lifetimes we were on the brink of nuclear war. At any moment, Russia or the US could launch missiles at each other and blow us all to hell. (On the plus side, it would have increased property values in New Jersey.) Those fears were dashed when Ronald Reagan, Patron Saint of Preventing America from Becoming USSR West, ended the Cold War by…and this is a radical strategy…treating the Soviets as the bad guys instead of treating them like an annoying brother-in-law who is staying with us until he can find a job even though it’s been 4 years and he’s been fired 43 times from the International House of Food Poisoning and he’s dumber than a bag of shi….
Sorry. Got a little too close to home there.
Anyway, as you might expect, there were some Russians who weren’t too keen on America winning the Cold War, one of them being Putin. And as a former member of the KGB, he had a vested interest in bringing back the Soviet Union. Then, he became President of Russia twice with a Putin puppet in office in between so he could keep tabs on the country (oh, and to exert his power to get what he wanted). And he didn’t even have to become a lobbyist to do it!
It’s safe to say he hasn’t gotten over his desire to bring about Soviet Union II: Electric Boogaloo, and his latest excursion into Ukraine is the latest move in that direction. Of course, the Left, who has been treating Russia in a manner that would make Sybil look stable, has been utterly mystified by Putin’s actions to date. Good thing we have President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on the case or we’d be really fucked! Remember when the President used his foreign policy expertise to make the country better and safer?
Neither can I.
Considering President Biden was at the helm when the Afghanistan withdrawal shitshow happened, let’s just say I have more faith Joy Behar says something sensible than I have in Biden’s diplomatic prowess. This was only strengthened after listening to the speech he gave last week announcing what NATO (i.e. our military) would be doing or not doing and the approval of economic sanctions, including freezing Russian assets in America. In other words, CNN and MSNBC might be in financial trouble soon.
Seriously, these steps make sense, but only if you apply a Cold War mentality to the modern world. Sanctions only work if they cause actual economic pain for the ones being sanctioned. Freezing Russian assets and going after their banks only goes so far, thanks to the advent of cryptocurrency. For any of the Congresscritters reading this, let me break it down for you. Cryptocurrency can circumvent the sanctions because a) the transfer of currency doesn’t go through banks, thus rendering the sanctions against the Russian banks meaningless, b) the Russians have a decided technological advantage over America, which translates to real power in the real world, and c) I’m pretty sure I’ve lost you by this point and I don’t have the patience, crayons, or hand puppets to explain it. Let’s just say it doesn’t end well.
Then, there’s the oil. Russia is sitting on a sizeable oil reserve, possibly enough to impact global oil prices. And if I remember correctly, oil is pretty useful in America. OPEC tolerates us, as long as we keep buying their oil at whatever price they set. On the other side of the equation, we have oil reserves and the ability to drill for it, but we lack the will, or more precisely the current Administration lacks the will. It’s not all Joe Biden’s fault, but the Left has some ‘splainin’ to do on the oil front.
There’s a third element not many people I’ve heard talk on the subject so far has broached: China. Over the past decade or so, Russia and China have started getting chummy again. For those familiar with history and, thus, doomed to watch it be repeated, that’s a bad thing. With the current situation, China stands to make some serious geopolitical bank the longer the situation in Ukraine goes. China needs oil to keep building its global stature while still being allowed to pollute the world because of their status as a developing country in the eyes of the global climate change cult. And who might just have a surplus of oil they might be willing to sell to China? That’s right, kids. It’s Russia. Sanctions or no sanctions, Russia and China will figure out a way to keep the oil flowing in a favorable direction.
On top of that, China holds a significant chunk of our national debt. Although “experts” tell us China wouldn’t use this as a weapon in this situation, the fact is we can’t completely rule it out. (Then again, these same “experts” were caught by surprise by Putin invading Ukraine in spite of the obvious red flags, so we might be able to take their expertise with a Mount Everest sized grain of salt.) It’s not that far-fetched to think China would sell or even trade some of our national debt to Russia for oil or cryptocurrency because they share the same basic opinion of America.
They hate us.
Outside of the economic sanctions, which appear to be as meaningful as Bill Clinton’s wedding vows, there’s the kinda-sorta-maybe-but-not-really threat of military action if Putin doesn’t straighten up and fly right. Of course, we as in America won’t be going to war. Oh, no! It’s going to be NATO…which means America will be going to war, but under the NATO flag. So…what are we hoping to accomplish here?
To hear the Left talk about it, it’s to deter Russia militarily. After all, who would want to go to war with America and its allies? Well…Russia and China might. And with the rest of NATO aside from us being more cheerleaders than military leaders, it’s pretty much us as in the US against them, and I’m not liking our chances. Sure, we have the tools and the talent, but we still need oil and our political leaders were stupid enough to sell national debt to China, creating a perfect storm of dumbfuckery second only to Twitter.
This idea is strengthened by how our NATO allies have stepped up to the plate. And by stepped up, I mean ran the other way by and large. And, yes, I’m looking at you, Germany. Seriously, finally coming through with helmets for Ukrainians, but expecting them to go get them? I long for the days of the quiet competence of Jimmy Carter’s handling of the Iran hostage crisis after seeing the parade of idiocy at work here.
And all because the EU wants Russia’s oil.
Maybe it’s my Gen X cynicism talking here, but I don’t exactly trust Russia and Putin here. Years of living under threat of a nuclear winter that would make Ice Station Zebra look like Rio will do that to you. And with Putin wanting to get the band back together again to do a Cold War reunion tour, I think we need a lot more of my cynicism when looking at the Ukraine situation here and abroad.
Look at the number of Leftists coming out in support of Ukraine. To listen to them (and, really, I wouldn’t recommend it for long), Ukraine has a right to exist and their citizens need to be armed to protect themselves and fight for their freedom against the evil big bully Russia. President Biden himself even said America stands up to bullies! Yet, these same Leftists don’t apply the same sentiments to, oh I don’t know…gun owners, the Freedom Convoy, conservative speakers on college campuses, Israel, and so on. These Leftists are the very definition of sunshine patriots, who will stand up for our principles and freedoms at times like this, only to abandon them when they get in the way of their goals. And when you consider these same Leftists accused Russia of interfering in our elections for 4+ years with evidence so flimsy Scooby and the gang would figure out the mystery before the opening credits finished, I’m not willing to let them wrap themselves in the Ukrainian flag and lead the freedom parade.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, I have maintained the idea that Russia is a fair weather ally that needs to be scrutinized at regular intervals before taking them at their word. As Saint Ronald said, “Trust, but verify.” He was right then, and he’s right now.
Look, I know I’ve thrown a lot of information at you with this one, but it’s important to understand the various moving parts in this ever-changing situation. We can only hope our political and military leaders take the time to see the whole field and extrapolate viable strategies to mitigate loss.
So, we’re fucked.
Time to queue up “Two Tribes” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
Month: February 2022
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
Every so often, a story comes along that restores my faith in humanity. This one comes out of San Francisco, California, where there were three recall elections for members of their school board. Naturally, since they’re Leftists and in a city that leans to the left more than a base runner trying to avoid a pick off play, you might think they would have weathered the storm without issue.
Then, they got recalled, and it wasn’t even close. So, a happy ending!
Except when it came to the recalled board members, that is. One of them went so far as to blame white supremacy for her losing her position. After all, it couldn’t have been her shitty policies. It had to be those evil white supremacists!
I know we’ve covered this topic previously, but this past week has brought a renewed focus on the topic in areas where they really don’t belong. So, let me kick open a few doors where I don’t belong to shed some light on the subject.
white supremacy
What the Left thinks it means – a pervasive and perverse idea that has roots in every aspect of society
What it really means – an overused scapegoat that is thinner than Kate Moss on a coke binge
One of the great things about America is how diverse it is. Just as great is the fact most of the time we all get along pretty well. Sure, there are assholes who think the color of their skin makes them better than everyone else, but they don’t represent what the vast majority of the population thinks. Of course, the Left doesn’t believe that because a) they have a vested interest in keeping people at each others’ throats, b) they are out of touch with the people they claim to represent, and c) they’re dumbasses.
What the Left believes can be summed up in one word: victimhood. (The judges would have also accepted fuckery.) It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, if you have a skin color that is slightly darker than an albino George Hamilton, you’re a victim. And since President Donald Trump was a thing, the victimizers are white supremacists. Can’t get a mortgage loan? White supremacists. Public schools failing? White supremacists. Another Medea movie? Someone not telling Tyler Perry to knock it off, but I’m sure white supremacists are in there somewhere.
Even if you believe the Leftist narrative that white supremacy is all over the place (and, ironically enough, invisible), there is a point at which reality crashes the party. Going back to the San Francisco school board recall for a moment, the driving force behind the recall wasn’t a Karen or Kyle upset about Critical Race Theory; it was two Asian-American parents upset about the board being more interested in advancing an ideological agenda than in helping students advance in their education.
White supremacy, ladies and gentlemen!
Actually, that’s not too far off from what the Left believes right now. Any person of color who opposes the Left’s agenda is a tool of white supremacy, either wittingly or unwittingly. Larry Elder got called “the black face of white supremacy” in a totally unironic editorial because he was pushing for California Governor Gavin “I Make Jerry Brown Look Competent” Newsom to be recalled. The Freedom Convoy, which comprises drivers of many racial backgrounds, has been called a white supremacist movement.
Why, it’s almost as if Leftists don’t think non-whites can think for themselves!
But it gets even weirder, if you can believe that. A Leftist had a video go viral, and not in a good way, for arguing eating meat…is tied to white supremacy. Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached peak saturation of white supremacy. We can’t take any more of this shit.
This is the part where we have to ask whether white supremacy is as prevalent as the Left wants us to believe. If you look at things objectively (i.e. not listening to Leftist claptrap), it’s hard to agree with the Left’s observations. Many celebrities, athletes, and political figures look more like George Washington Carver than George Washington, and not surprisingly, most perpetuate the idea of victimhood. And, not surprisingly, the people who admire them buy into it because it coincides with what they believe and/or experience.
Yet, if white supremacy were as prevalent and powerful as the Left wants us to believe, how would the aforementioned celebrities, athletes, and political figures have become so prominent and beloved by people of all races? The Left will argue it’s because they’ve overcome white supremacy, but the reality is white supremacy isn’t as widespread nor as powerful as the Left wants us to believe. At this point, it’s become the go-to excuse for whenever the Left fails in their efforts or wants to undercut a popular movement that counters what they want.
And in both cases, it’s bullshit.
But here’s the surprise twist ending: the Left are projecting their own beliefs onto others so they can appear to be virtuous while hiding their racism in plain sight. Most of the people in positions of power within the Left are white. Most of the money used to fund Leftist efforts comes from whites. And even with groups like Black Lives Matter where blacks are seen as the leaders, the ones pulling all the strings are white.
Meanwhile, the people most negatively affected by this are throwing in their lots with the people who are keeping them down.
This isn’t to say there aren’t white supremacists out there who are convinced white makes right, but they tend to be much more visible and vocal about their intentions. As they always seem to say on crime shows, it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for, and for some reason, the Left doesn’t want to talk about their own white supremacy. Funny thing, that.
Makes you wonder how Leftists can hear so many “racist dog whistles,” doesn’t it?
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
There are many great mysteries in life. Why are we here? How did we come into existence? Who keeps greenlighting Madea movies? But the one that has the most impact right now is whether you’re fully vaccinated. And not unlike the questions I asked previously (especially that Madea one), there doesn’t seem to be a clear answer.
You would think there would be, though, because it seems to be a yes-or-no question. Ah, but thanks to our good friends on the Left, it’s gotten more complicated than the network used to buy Hunter Biden’s paintings. Yet, these same Leftists insist everyone should be fully vaccinated to do anything from going outside to walk your dog to gaining entry to restaurants and bars. Why the duplicity? Glad you asked!
fully vaccinated
What the Left thinks it means – a social responsibility that must be maintained so we can overcome COVID-19
What it really means – a constantly changing metric with little to do with overcoming COVID-19
When the first COVID-19 cases hit the US, we weren’t sure how to deal with it. Some people got very worried while others pretended it was no big deal. Eventually, though, most of us came around to the idea COVID wasn’t anything to sneeze at, and we started the process of combating it. It was during this time of uncertainty that Leftists went from dismissing it to embracing it because they found a way to make money on and take power from it.
It started with Democrat governors initiating lockdowns and mandating masks to attempt to try to contain the pandemic. By the way, happy second anniversary of “two weeks to slow the spread.” When that worked as well as President Joe Biden’s Afghanistan exit strategy, the restrictions continued with dissenters (i.e. anyone who could follow basic logic and saw the fail-fest for what it was) being called out as being evil assholes who just didn’t understand the severity of the pandemic and should be shamed as much as possible.
If you’re seeing parallels between that situation and the current vaccination situation, give yourselves a gold star because it’s the same strategy. As cases continue to mount, Leftists are using vaccination in the same way they’ve used being masked: as a means to pick out the “good” from the “bad.” (No word on the “ugly” at this time.) Using that simplistic measuring stick, the Left stroked their own egos like Bill Clinton stroking his…cigar at a Playboy shoot. It became a moral litmus test and they all rushed to prove how moral they were.
You know, after spending the latter months of the Trump Administration saying they didn’t trust any vaccine that he pushed out.
Anyway, the standard for being fully vaccinated changed with the wind. First, you needed one or two shots, depending on the brand you chose. Next, you needed a third shot. Now, there’s the possibility of a fourth shot being necessary to be considered fully vaccinated. With the way things are going, the next vaccination card you get may be “Get 9 and Get the 10th Free” variety.
And here’s the kicker: Leftists are admitting the vaccines don’t actually prevent COVID-19, but merely mitigate our body’s reaction to getting it. I guess they had to change the narrative after the vaccinated started spreading COVID like they claimed the unvaccinated did. You know, I’m starting to think the bulk of the people telling us to “follow the science” might not know what science is…
Naaaaaaaaah! It’s just a coincidence these folks continue to be wrong about just about everything COVID-related.
At the heart of the Left’s approach to the pandemic is the concept of coercive power, how much people are willing to do to avoid negative consequences at the hands of the powerful. This goes waaaaaay beyond naming and shaming the unvaccinated. There are Leftists, some who have considerable political and social stroke, who want to punish people for not being fully vaccinated. Read that again. Punished not for refusing to get shots, but for not getting enough shots.
Replace “shots” with “health insurance” and you have Obamacare.
Given what we know now about the nature of COVID-19, there remains an unanswered, yet vital, question: what is Plan B if the current Plan A fails? Nobody on the Left seems to have thought that far ahead, which is disappointing, but not surprising. While concepts like natural immunity and herd mentality that were initially dismissed as not being supported by science are now being embraced because it turns out they were all along, the people who tell us to get vaccinated keep repeating the same mantra as a cure-all. And still people resist for any number of reasons.
That is what fucks over the Left most. When people are allowed to choose what is best for them, they may not choose what the Left’s option. Leftists want more of a controlled choice where you must choose between what the Left wants and what the Left wants. And, no, that’s not a typo. They want the illusion of choice more than they want actual choice, like elections in the former Soviet Union where voters chose between two members of the same Communist Party. Come to think of it, that’s pretty much the same as the 2020 Democrat primaries.
Either way, being fully vaccinated should be a personal choice. I am fully vaccinated and will get booster shots as needed due to my medical history, and I will continue to wear masks in closed public spaces for the same reason. Beyond that, I don’t care. It’s your call, and I support it because I’m not an authoritarian asshole. COVID symptoms suck regardless of how severe they are and no amount of virtue signaling moves changes that.
Regardless of whether you’re unconvinced of the effectiveness of the vaccine or get more pricks than an orgy in a gay porn movie, the negative motivations behind getting everyone vaccinated are hard to ignore and even harder to explain away. And the Left isn’t making an effort, or if they are it’s at their usual energy level. Either way, there is one thing you can do to annoy Leftists and point out the folly of this issue using their own logic against them.
Just say you identify as being fully vaccinated.
And don’t be wearing your good clothes when you do. The head explosions in the aftermath may get messy.
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
Over the past two weeks, the world’s eyes have been focused at least in part to our neighbors to the north, Canada, due to a trucker convoy so long C.W. McCall is considering making a comeback. Thanks to Canadian Prime Minister Justin “Justine” Trudeau’s mask mandates, truckers across the Great White North joined in a caravan to protest in what is being called the Freedom Convoy. In response, the Left has openly supported the truckers for uniting and standing up for their rights as workers.
Just kidding. They hate the Freedom Convoy.
But the Left’s ire isn’t just about people standing up to them and their mandate demands. It goes a lot deeper, as we’re about to find out.
Freedom Caravan
What the Left thinks it means – a far right wing movement connected to white supremacy designed to undermine the societal good of masking
What it really means – a movement being slimed by authoritarian asshats
I have a rule of thumb when it comes to political movements: the more unhinged and unfounded the accusations are against it, the closer it is to a sensible position. It doesn’t always work, but it works well enough to use as a baseline.
And thanks to the Prime Minister, the Freedom Caravan is utterly sensible using my rule of thumb. Since the truckers started making their way towards him, Trudeau went from calling them a “fringe minority” to racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, and flavor-of-the-month-phobic among other insults. If you believe the Prime Minister, you would think the Freedom Caravan was only a couple steps away from Hitler (and still six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon…or would it be Kevin Backbacon in this case?), so let’s take a look at what they’ve actually done.
No deaths. One alleged act of violence against someone possibly connected with Antifa for trying to make the truckers look bad. But worst of all…they honked. Honked, for the love of all that is holy! I don’t know for certain, but we could be dealing with Geneva Convention violations here. I’m sure we’re 943 tersely-worded UN memos away from them doing something really serious.
In the meantime, the larger issue at hand isn’t what the truckers are doing to make the Left lose their shit, but what they’re doing to dismiss the concerns they’re bringing to the table and what implications may be around the corner. Spoiler Alert: there’s a chance some shrugging will occur, if you know what i mean.
The Left loves to think they’re smarter than everyone else (just ask them), even when they’re not even as smart as the coat rack. In this case, the coat rack may be way smarter than they are. As much as the “Follow the Science” crowd crows with confidence at their scientific knowledge, they’re letting their egos prevent them from actually, you know, following the science. As recent studies have shown, lockdowns haven’t helped, cloth masks are ineffective, and the vaccinated are spreading COVID-19 as much as the non-vaccinated are alleged to be spreading it. So, instead of admitting they fucked up, they doubled down more than KFC bringing back the greatest sandwich in the history of fast food.
Which leads to them looking like authoritarian assholes when they continue to force their stupidity on others. Of course, they are authoritarian assholes so it all works out.
What may not be working out in the near future are the attempts to dismiss the Freedom Caravan as fringe actors. Judging from the reactions we’ve seen and heard from Canadians on the tundra, the truckers represent far more people than the Prime Minister and his sycophants want us to believe. I don’t have hard numbers on this, but I get the sense more Canadians support the truckers over the Trudeau.
And here’s the thing that make the Leftists very nervous: American truckers are thinking of doing a Freedom Caravan here. Something tells me it’s going to be as big and as maligned as the Canadian version. Hoo boy!
What the Left isn’t thinking about, among other things, is what impact the Freedom Caravan will have on an existing issue, that being supply line delays. Whether you believe President Joe Biden’s ineptitude caused the empty shelves peppering the country or you believe in whatever bullshit the Left wants us to believe is the cause of the problem this week, the scarcity is starting to get noticed, which causes an immediate political headache for Biden and the Left.
Oh, and did I mention there are elections this year that could affect what the President can get done legislatively?
Anything that keeps the shelves from being stocked is another nail in the Biden agenda’s coffin. That includes…oh, I don’t know…pissing off truckers who can get goods from the ports to the stores. Knowing Joe Biden like I do, he will consult with experts, weigh their advice to devise the best possible outcomes, and support the worst idea with all the passion of a true believer. Doubt me? Guess who came up with the three-state solution in Iraq, an idea worse than letting David Duke host the NAACP Image Awards.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t that bad. It was worse than giving David Duke an NAACP Image Award.
This leads me to believe the President will follow the Prime Minister’s lead and insult any trucker who decides to be part of the American version of the Freedom Caravan. If he does, the Left will cheer him on…until they realize the truckers aren’t bringing goods to the stores they frequent. Wait until their Whole Foods is half stocked.
Then, they might start to feel a shrug of the Atlas variety. Serves them right for discounting Ayn Rand as often as they have, even though her observations are as salient today as they were when she first penned them.
Although the Freedom Caravan has experienced some setbacks in the form of Leftist pressure/coercion from GoFundMe, they are winning where it counts: in the hearts and minds of freedom-loving people around the world. The longer the Caravan exists and gets, the more pressure it puts on the Left to figure out an exit strategy.
It can’t go any worse than Biden’s Afghanistan exit strategy, right?