Anybody who thinks cooler heads will prevail like they did in 2011 doesn’t know these Republicans. Buckle up - we’re in for a wild ride that could spell worldwide disaster
When people would throw their own child under a bus for $1 million (probably a lot less), we are done and that is exactly where we are right now. These people don't care about their children, their grandchildren because they are addicted to the game. They live in a prolonged psychotic state or addiction to power, greed, lust, envy, gluttony... these character defects define them. It's just one big game of Monopoly, one big game of Risk, now.
How can we make politicians admit that Social Security is not an entitlement. I paid into the program every payday of my fifty year professional life. The Tricare for life that supplements Medicare was paid for by my husband laying his life on the line for the country. The veterans benefits he receives are because his health was damaged during those years of service.
The impossible is right around that corner. Yes the next one.
What is it that makes these Republicans play with this fire?
Its Greed , and Avarice, and an unquenchable thirst for Power and revenge.
Revenge because they’ve been caught trying to destroy our democracy,
and they failed. That time.
So in their minds they are entitled to take the power to ruin this country.
And as Thom mentioned, the wealthiest wont be hurt.
The middle class which is now the middle poor class will be devastated.
The very poor will be destroyed.
My assumption is that Republicans will then try to complete their plans for a horrific and evil autocracy.
This is where their entitlement has brought them .
Their ‘no need to comply with the law of the land.’
These are criminals making laws to absolve themselves of accountability for their crimes.
The truth is They do not care. Power has been made by money . Lots of money from many countries and sources who have given with the admonition to destroy America as a diverse and beautiful caring nation. Such as what was defined by Dr. Martin Luther Kings speech in Memphis, the day before he was murdered.
The text of this speech is in The NY Times today.
I would bet that there are few of the Maga Corrupt who would be convinced to read it .
Their hate is their indifference to the destruction they have in their cold , hard hearts.
They seem pleased to be living with their constant avarice.
Unfortunately , they will die by it but not till they’ve caused the ultimate destruction that their hatred can cause.
If there are Republicans who disagree with these concepts adopted by these Maga haters . By all means , oppose them with every fibre of caring you possess.
rePUGliCON’s are not ignorant of their actions! They just don’t care about the working class Americans, even their own constituents! Which is why shithole america is now lead by dumba$$ maggots! or terrorists, or whiny white guys...rePUGliCONs
We Dems do not have enough power to raise the debt ceiling now, but why are we hoping that the GOP terrorists will do anything about it? Let's stop this gloom and doom hand-wringing. We're not powerless. Yellen could just mint the trillion dollar coin, and it would be a moot point rather than a red herring.
Actually, I think we are already in WWIII. As Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov (or Putin) has said, the Ukraine war is now a war between Russia and the collective West represented by NATO. That's the two biggest military powers basically fighting over the future of the Russian Federation, so they see it as an existential threat. As a result, the whole world is taking sides, even if they aren't actually fighting.
In addition, our attempts to provoke China over Taiwan brings the most populous and productive country into the conflict and has pushed the Chinese into strengthening ties with Russia.
The collective West seems doomed to lose in Ukraine and the consequences, if we don't destroy the world with nuclear weapons, will be felt around the world. It's already causing great pain in Europe and only slightly less pain in the US.
What else needs to happen before most people realize that this is indeed WWIII?
If your thesis is correct, it makes it even more important than ever not to default on our debt. In fact, intentionally defaulting on our bills would be treasonous and unpatriotic during a time of war and global tensions. It would be an act of aggression against the U.S. and our Allies, by the Republicans, who would be severely impeding our ability to maintain our defenses and protect our values and interests at a time when we and our alliances face heightened geopolitical challenges, threats around the globe, and a shooting war in Ukraine.
War in Ukraine does represent a ongoing proxy war between Russia and the West, but a peace accord is more likely than a total war, in which there would be no winner. There also can't be a winner if the war continues, but default on our debt would clearly signal to our enemies and allies alike that the U.S. is unwilling to continue to lead the world, protect our interests, and honor our commitments.
Russia has the advantage of conveniently fighting a war in an adjacent country that is not allowed to intrude or attack into Russia. However, Ukraine it fighting for its very existence as an independent country which gives it not just a homefield advantage, but greater will and motivation. As long as the West provides sufficient arms, Ukrainians have shown they can survive a Russian onslaught and even push forward.
However, the West is also fighting as part of an Alliance with 30 other countries to protect their independence from the type of Russian expansionism going on in Ukraine. As such, NATO has grown stronger and more cohesive. To the extent it can decouple NATO from Russian oil and gas, Russia will be adversely affected in the long run. Finland and Sweden may also eventually become part of the NATO Alliance, even at the cost of Turkey if necessary. However, Turkey as a NATO member will likely acquiesce out of self interest and agree to accept Finland and Sweden. As Russia suffers greater attrition, it will become more likely to negotiate an acceptable peace agreement, knowing it can't have all of Ukraine and perhaps much less than it had previously bitten off in 2014. It also will understand that NATO is much stronger, more united, and more resolved to confront Russian intimidation, influence, and/or imperialism. Yet, even talking about defaulting encourages our enemies. We must be steadfast and vigilant against all of the ways Russia is conducting its war. Many Congressmen and Senators were on Hitler's payroll to thwart our efforts to stop his expansionism and defend our friends and values. They were also Republicans.
Hopefully, before we crash the world's financial system, the debt ceiling terrorists will wake up and realize how much damage would be done. (I'm an eternal optimist.) Also, hopefully, the Democrats won't cave in to their threats and agree to cuts to social safety net programs. I'm less optimistic about that as the Democrats want to cut the safety net as much as the Republicans. Someone else noted that this is a continuation of the "grand bargain" Obama always wanted and worked hard to get passed.
I have to disagree with several of the points and assumptions you make in the rest of your post.
Ukraine may be fighting for its existence, but so is Russia. As to motivation, Putin has said that he sees NATO's 30-year history of moving closer and closer to Russia as an existential threat. And Blinken, Austin, and Biden have all made clear that he is correct as they have called for weakening Russia and even breaking it up into a couple of dozen independent countries. That would allow American multi-nationals to swoop in and do to these new countries what was done to Russia in 1991.
Russia does not want anything in Ukraine except Crimea, which has been Russian far longer than it has been Ukrainian, and the 4 oblasts that have voted to be under Russian administration. In fact if you read what the Russians actually say, they don't want to reestablish the Soviet Union or Imperial Russia. They want to be safe, make win-win trade deals with other countries, and stop all the fighting.
And, Russia didn't bite off anything in 2014. The US fomented a coup to bring down the pro-Russian president and install one who was pro-Europe and Russophobic. After that the Ukrainian Army began shelling the majority Russian population in the Donbass causing about 14,000 deaths between 2014 and 2022.
Lastly, NATO is not stronger than Russia. Not at all. NATO and the US are running out of armaments and ammunition and the weapons makers can't keep up with what we are promising Ukraine. We've even drawn down the weapons and so on that our Armed Forces are supposed have available; same with the Europeans. And despite the months-long refrain that Russia is running out of missiles, they are still firing thousands each week into Ukraine. They are producing more missiles and artillery shells in a month than the US can produce in a year.
Here are some references for you to broaden your sources of knowledge:
Alexander Mercouris (You Tube), Brian Berletic (You Tube), the Military Summary channel (You Tube), Larry Johnson (Sonar-21), John Helmer (Dances with Bears), Col. (ret'd) Douglas McGregor (You Tube), and Patrick Lancaster (You Tube) who provides on-the-ground reports from Ukraine.
Thanks for the links and bringing up the "grand bargain" issue. I'll be reviewing the information when time allows. On your point about the U.S. initiating and forcing the war on Putin, I see more evidence of Trump's Russian appeasement for four years as being the decisive, impetus. It's not that Putin didn't want to conquer Ukraine for the past 30 years, it was that he didn't think Russia could and get away with it, and he was almost satisfied ruling Ukraine through his puppets. Further, he had already taken Crimea, which you claimed was all he wanted and finished his bridge to Russia.
Putin also refused to negotiate or to honor any agreement with a more independent Ukraine and end hostilities, before he launched his invasion of the entire country. It's not that Ukraine threatened Russia militarily as a result close proximity. Rather, it was the other way around and that goes for NATO too. Russia was always going to be a regional super-power, but its role as a global superpower had diminished, with the fall of the Soviet Union, until Trump became POTUS and worked in concert with Russia to facilitate it's expansion in the Middle East and strengthen its revenue sources (oil and arms).
On your note about the "Grand Bargain", Dems have made it their policy position backed by numerous votes to maintain and strengthen Social Security, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act. It is clearly the Republicans who have pushed for and implemented cuts in these programs with every opportunity they get. They tried to abolish the ACA multiple times and have continuously cut and attempted to privatize SS whenever they had a chance to do so.
How Trump facilitated and super-charged Putin's war with Ukraine:
In just four years, Trump radically changed Putin's fortunes by dealing Russia a royal flush: 1) Control of the global oil price (with Saudi Arabia and American complicity). Control of the international oil price and the amount of supply led to significantly increased revenue for Russia and even more leverage over NATO - two vital prerequisites for invading Ukraine:
2) During Trump, Russia made influential inroads into the Middle East regarding arms sales, military bases, and new alignments with Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. Instead of Americans and our Allies experiencing the benefits of a competitive oil market. 3) Additional military control of the vast reserves in Southern Libya by Russia that could no longer be sold and developed since they were under Russian military control while Trump remained silent. 4) More possibilities for Russia gaining influence, control, and development of additional resources in the Middle East and what Trump thought of as African "Shithole countries." 5) Trump's horrible surrender agreement and the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan; 6) The contraction of the U.S. economy combined with the amount of debt not going for infrastructure or other investments in America but to make the very wealthy even wealthier via the 2017 R Tax Law 7) The completion of Putin's bridge connecting Russia to Crimea. 8) The heavy European dependence on Russian oil and gas. 9) The 1/6 Insurrection and the development of a new America’s 1st political movement in the U.S. Instead of praising and idolizing Hitler, the new movement would sing the praise of a different monster - V. Putin. These conditions gave the impetus and a green light to Putin's aspiration to conquer Ukraine, a dream he cherished but would never have pursued if not for Trump help.
As we have seen, "Getting along with Russia wasn't a “good thing" no matter how many times Trump repeated it. Appeasement of an expansionist dictator only whets their appetite and strengthens their hand. We shouldn’t elect Presidents who are inexperienced, compromised, won't show their tax returns or education records, and whose vision for America ends at the tip of their noses.
It appears that you missed the recent disclosures by former Chancellor Angela Merkel and former President Francois Hollande that the Minsk Accords were for the sole purpose of holding off Russia so Ukraine could have time to build up its armed forces. They admitted that they never intended for the Accords to be implemented.
On there face those political remarks are self-serving and contradictory. They take credit for a sincere attempt to stop the killing, while at the same time they take credit for giving Ukraine more time to prepare for war, after their failure to stop the killing.
Thanks for bringing up the "Fourth Turning" again, Thom...as it's bringing into focus for me an essential point I failed to make the last time. You correctly point to the roughly 80-year cycle of 4th Turnings occurring...with the remark that "when the last one who remembers the last war dies, the next war becomes inevitable." Well, I see that as a statement of the symptom of the problem...but not the cause. Strauss & Howe did a great job describing the entire 4-part seculum cycle in terms of archetypes, our 4 seasons, and other vague terms, but did not pinpoint the obvious source of this entire phenomenon--us Human Beings. This entire cyclical pattern is rooted in our psyche--both individually and socially. And specifically with respect to the Fourth Turning, it's our generation, Thom, our "Boomer" / "Prophet" generation that brings about a cataclysmic war between the authoritarian powers-that-be and the egalitarian forces seeking liberation from such despotic control. At the very root of this entire phenomenon is POWER....and the seductiveness of POWER that leads humans to forget / ignore / discard AT ALL COSTS their concern for others. Current case in point: Vladimir Putin. That single person has become so addicted to...and entrenched in...POWER... that he is virtually single-handedly destroying the lives of millions of Ukrainians...as well as his own soldiers, their families, etc. And for what? For his sense of POWER. He wants what he wants--and he's using everything he can to achieve that narcissistic desire. It is by some strange--or perhaps not so strange--sequence of events that every 80 years or so our "Prophet" generation succumbs to this addiction....and drags us all down into such horror, devastation, & death. You are quite correct, in my view, to point out that the current House Republicans are "Playing with Fire"...that could not only blow up the world's economy but also (per every 80 years ago going back to 1480) throw us all into another catastrophic war--this time WWIII. All for what? Because some rich & powerful guys don't want to share....and pay their fair share of taxes...and are willing to use ALL the POWER they have (via House Repugs) to achieve that end ! We have met the enemy....and the enemy is US ! After 2 whole years since Jan. 6, 2021, we still have not held those who planned and organized that whole fiasco to account. Why? Because we're afraid of upsetting people in power...or even some who used to hold power (e.g., Trump). Brazil is responding appropriately to their attempted coup, but we still haven't to ours. We are still not calling out let alone responding energetically & forthrightly to those who abuse their power--from telling lies to fomenting an insurrection. We seem to be spinning our wheels. Where's our "backbone"?? Our "Boomer" leaders--and us--appear to lack one. Why??
Someone needs to come into political power who'll make those who have profitted greatly from your country's resources pay back into their country. Last year, when Pakistan was flooded, their government looked to the world for aid, while those who'd made millions from Pakistan's resources fled for a safe place. When the U.S.A. suffers, is there anyone with the political will to force those who've benefitted the most from the resources of the U.S.A. to come to their aid? Perhaps it'll be the next superstar of the Democratic party?
You can take this place and either fix it or stuff it!
The Country stands, a stark reminder of things that were in another time. Our world is cyclic and everything moves from one state to another only to return to where it was. I like it that way, but I fear that I probably won’t be here when the good times return.
I miss the days when people did the impossible things without having to have an entourage of cheerleaders to cue the spectators. I wonder about cheerleaders. In sand-lot football, there are none. But the game is played and the quarterbacks mirror Tom Brady and the impossible passes arc towards the receivers to the silent roar of the crowd. The players go home with the same inner glory as if there really had been a crowd. And with them goes the feeling that comes from knowing that the game was well played and each player was a part of it.
We did impossible things then – before the rules changed. We were valued for our skills and knowledge then – before the rules changed. And then the rules changed. It was their time to change again. And I wish that the cycle had waited…It seemed to be in such a rush…It should have waited for me to leave before it changed. But it didn’t.
Today the quarterback fumbles the ball and makes no attempt to recover. The crowd is at first amazed and the semi-clad cheerleaders, noticing all of this, leap to their feet and begin the razzle dazzle and the twirling of batons and pom-poms flung wildly about. It works! The crowd begins to cheer. The pass that goes out-of-bounds gets the same treatment and each successive failure brings the crowd to its feet. After a while the mob cheers anyone and anything! I’m amazed! Now what happens with mediocrity? The not-so-good play? If failure gets cheers, does not-so-good become “excellence”? The quarterback is smushed by a six-hundred-pound guard. The ball is buried in the turf. The cheerleaders go beyond themselves. They pull out all the stops with pom-poms everywhere and glittering batons flung skyward with wild abandon. The crowd goes berserk!
The Country is still here and the name is still the same, but that’s where the sameness ends. We were once the “best” and we continuously measured ourselves to determine this. We were very self-critical and did this well. Now, we’re measured by the cheerleaders who wouldn’t have jobs if there were no cheers to lead.
I’ll miss the next time around. I won’t be here at all. The cheerleaders will have also gone away and the field will be quiet again. Will anybody remember how to play the game? Probably not. But they will have to learn, if only to allow the cycle to continue. It has always happened that way.
Last gasp…
At the end of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, reportedly, someone asked Ben Franklin whether we had a Monarchy or a Republic. Franklin supposedly answered, “You have a Republic, if you can hold onto it”. It is clear that we haven’t been able to hold onto it.
Here is a way that Biden can get around the Republican obstruction.
He can authorize the US Treasury to print United States Notes and then use them to pay off our debts.
Actually JFK did that, he had Treasury print $2 and $5 US notes (you can buy one from a numasticist dealer), not Silver Certificates, not Treasury Notes, but United States Notes.
Of course the Association of Primary Dealers in Government Securities led by Goldman Sachs, and other major banksters would find that threatening, as it upends the system that they depend upon for wealth and power, The Federal Reserve System. It also upends the Federal Reserve System. but it would also require discipline, because the government then has the ability to keep printing and printing or digitizing and digitizing.
Thom, I suggest the Dems let the GOP cut social programs. By the election time in 2024, very few people will vote for them.
The only way they will get elected, is if we have a dictatorship from rigged voting and vote counting condoned by the supreme Court of the United States.
When people would throw their own child under a bus for $1 million (probably a lot less), we are done and that is exactly where we are right now. These people don't care about their children, their grandchildren because they are addicted to the game. They live in a prolonged psychotic state or addiction to power, greed, lust, envy, gluttony... these character defects define them. It's just one big game of Monopoly, one big game of Risk, now.
How can we make politicians admit that Social Security is not an entitlement. I paid into the program every payday of my fifty year professional life. The Tricare for life that supplements Medicare was paid for by my husband laying his life on the line for the country. The veterans benefits he receives are because his health was damaged during those years of service.
ah but it Is an Entitlement.
that's what paying-In implies:
you're Entitled To YOUR Money.
.
what's Unnerving is their
Aversion to the term
& subsequent likely
Excision to Wall
Street wanna-
bee Profit-
eers.
.
it's All about
The Framing.
The impossible is right around that corner. Yes the next one.
What is it that makes these Republicans play with this fire?
Its Greed , and Avarice, and an unquenchable thirst for Power and revenge.
Revenge because they’ve been caught trying to destroy our democracy,
and they failed. That time.
So in their minds they are entitled to take the power to ruin this country.
And as Thom mentioned, the wealthiest wont be hurt.
The middle class which is now the middle poor class will be devastated.
The very poor will be destroyed.
My assumption is that Republicans will then try to complete their plans for a horrific and evil autocracy.
This is where their entitlement has brought them .
Their ‘no need to comply with the law of the land.’
These are criminals making laws to absolve themselves of accountability for their crimes.
The truth is They do not care. Power has been made by money . Lots of money from many countries and sources who have given with the admonition to destroy America as a diverse and beautiful caring nation. Such as what was defined by Dr. Martin Luther Kings speech in Memphis, the day before he was murdered.
The text of this speech is in The NY Times today.
I would bet that there are few of the Maga Corrupt who would be convinced to read it .
Their hate is their indifference to the destruction they have in their cold , hard hearts.
They seem pleased to be living with their constant avarice.
Unfortunately , they will die by it but not till they’ve caused the ultimate destruction that their hatred can cause.
If there are Republicans who disagree with these concepts adopted by these Maga haters . By all means , oppose them with every fibre of caring you possess.
rePUGliCON’s are not ignorant of their actions! They just don’t care about the working class Americans, even their own constituents! Which is why shithole america is now lead by dumba$$ maggots! or terrorists, or whiny white guys...rePUGliCONs
Thom, what do you think of Galbraith's opinion that "the debt ceiling is a red herring"?
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/debt-ceiling-red-herring-fake-crisis-by-james-k-galbraith-2023-01?barrier=accesspaylog
We Dems do not have enough power to raise the debt ceiling now, but why are we hoping that the GOP terrorists will do anything about it? Let's stop this gloom and doom hand-wringing. We're not powerless. Yellen could just mint the trillion dollar coin, and it would be a moot point rather than a red herring.
Actually, I think we are already in WWIII. As Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov (or Putin) has said, the Ukraine war is now a war between Russia and the collective West represented by NATO. That's the two biggest military powers basically fighting over the future of the Russian Federation, so they see it as an existential threat. As a result, the whole world is taking sides, even if they aren't actually fighting.
In addition, our attempts to provoke China over Taiwan brings the most populous and productive country into the conflict and has pushed the Chinese into strengthening ties with Russia.
The collective West seems doomed to lose in Ukraine and the consequences, if we don't destroy the world with nuclear weapons, will be felt around the world. It's already causing great pain in Europe and only slightly less pain in the US.
What else needs to happen before most people realize that this is indeed WWIII?
If your thesis is correct, it makes it even more important than ever not to default on our debt. In fact, intentionally defaulting on our bills would be treasonous and unpatriotic during a time of war and global tensions. It would be an act of aggression against the U.S. and our Allies, by the Republicans, who would be severely impeding our ability to maintain our defenses and protect our values and interests at a time when we and our alliances face heightened geopolitical challenges, threats around the globe, and a shooting war in Ukraine.
War in Ukraine does represent a ongoing proxy war between Russia and the West, but a peace accord is more likely than a total war, in which there would be no winner. There also can't be a winner if the war continues, but default on our debt would clearly signal to our enemies and allies alike that the U.S. is unwilling to continue to lead the world, protect our interests, and honor our commitments.
Russia has the advantage of conveniently fighting a war in an adjacent country that is not allowed to intrude or attack into Russia. However, Ukraine it fighting for its very existence as an independent country which gives it not just a homefield advantage, but greater will and motivation. As long as the West provides sufficient arms, Ukrainians have shown they can survive a Russian onslaught and even push forward.
However, the West is also fighting as part of an Alliance with 30 other countries to protect their independence from the type of Russian expansionism going on in Ukraine. As such, NATO has grown stronger and more cohesive. To the extent it can decouple NATO from Russian oil and gas, Russia will be adversely affected in the long run. Finland and Sweden may also eventually become part of the NATO Alliance, even at the cost of Turkey if necessary. However, Turkey as a NATO member will likely acquiesce out of self interest and agree to accept Finland and Sweden. As Russia suffers greater attrition, it will become more likely to negotiate an acceptable peace agreement, knowing it can't have all of Ukraine and perhaps much less than it had previously bitten off in 2014. It also will understand that NATO is much stronger, more united, and more resolved to confront Russian intimidation, influence, and/or imperialism. Yet, even talking about defaulting encourages our enemies. We must be steadfast and vigilant against all of the ways Russia is conducting its war. Many Congressmen and Senators were on Hitler's payroll to thwart our efforts to stop his expansionism and defend our friends and values. They were also Republicans.
Hopefully, before we crash the world's financial system, the debt ceiling terrorists will wake up and realize how much damage would be done. (I'm an eternal optimist.) Also, hopefully, the Democrats won't cave in to their threats and agree to cuts to social safety net programs. I'm less optimistic about that as the Democrats want to cut the safety net as much as the Republicans. Someone else noted that this is a continuation of the "grand bargain" Obama always wanted and worked hard to get passed.
I have to disagree with several of the points and assumptions you make in the rest of your post.
Ukraine may be fighting for its existence, but so is Russia. As to motivation, Putin has said that he sees NATO's 30-year history of moving closer and closer to Russia as an existential threat. And Blinken, Austin, and Biden have all made clear that he is correct as they have called for weakening Russia and even breaking it up into a couple of dozen independent countries. That would allow American multi-nationals to swoop in and do to these new countries what was done to Russia in 1991.
Russia does not want anything in Ukraine except Crimea, which has been Russian far longer than it has been Ukrainian, and the 4 oblasts that have voted to be under Russian administration. In fact if you read what the Russians actually say, they don't want to reestablish the Soviet Union or Imperial Russia. They want to be safe, make win-win trade deals with other countries, and stop all the fighting.
And, Russia didn't bite off anything in 2014. The US fomented a coup to bring down the pro-Russian president and install one who was pro-Europe and Russophobic. After that the Ukrainian Army began shelling the majority Russian population in the Donbass causing about 14,000 deaths between 2014 and 2022.
Lastly, NATO is not stronger than Russia. Not at all. NATO and the US are running out of armaments and ammunition and the weapons makers can't keep up with what we are promising Ukraine. We've even drawn down the weapons and so on that our Armed Forces are supposed have available; same with the Europeans. And despite the months-long refrain that Russia is running out of missiles, they are still firing thousands each week into Ukraine. They are producing more missiles and artillery shells in a month than the US can produce in a year.
Here are some references for you to broaden your sources of knowledge:
Alexander Mercouris (You Tube), Brian Berletic (You Tube), the Military Summary channel (You Tube), Larry Johnson (Sonar-21), John Helmer (Dances with Bears), Col. (ret'd) Douglas McGregor (You Tube), and Patrick Lancaster (You Tube) who provides on-the-ground reports from Ukraine.
That should get you started.
Hi John,
Thanks for the links and bringing up the "grand bargain" issue. I'll be reviewing the information when time allows. On your point about the U.S. initiating and forcing the war on Putin, I see more evidence of Trump's Russian appeasement for four years as being the decisive, impetus. It's not that Putin didn't want to conquer Ukraine for the past 30 years, it was that he didn't think Russia could and get away with it, and he was almost satisfied ruling Ukraine through his puppets. Further, he had already taken Crimea, which you claimed was all he wanted and finished his bridge to Russia.
Putin also refused to negotiate or to honor any agreement with a more independent Ukraine and end hostilities, before he launched his invasion of the entire country. It's not that Ukraine threatened Russia militarily as a result close proximity. Rather, it was the other way around and that goes for NATO too. Russia was always going to be a regional super-power, but its role as a global superpower had diminished, with the fall of the Soviet Union, until Trump became POTUS and worked in concert with Russia to facilitate it's expansion in the Middle East and strengthen its revenue sources (oil and arms).
On your note about the "Grand Bargain", Dems have made it their policy position backed by numerous votes to maintain and strengthen Social Security, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act. It is clearly the Republicans who have pushed for and implemented cuts in these programs with every opportunity they get. They tried to abolish the ACA multiple times and have continuously cut and attempted to privatize SS whenever they had a chance to do so.
How Trump facilitated and super-charged Putin's war with Ukraine:
In just four years, Trump radically changed Putin's fortunes by dealing Russia a royal flush: 1) Control of the global oil price (with Saudi Arabia and American complicity). Control of the international oil price and the amount of supply led to significantly increased revenue for Russia and even more leverage over NATO - two vital prerequisites for invading Ukraine:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/steve-chapman/ct-column-trump-oil-deal-gas-pricesi-chapman-20200415-iwwn3cpegngo5krsm6tfdycqvy-story.html
2) During Trump, Russia made influential inroads into the Middle East regarding arms sales, military bases, and new alignments with Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. Instead of Americans and our Allies experiencing the benefits of a competitive oil market. 3) Additional military control of the vast reserves in Southern Libya by Russia that could no longer be sold and developed since they were under Russian military control while Trump remained silent. 4) More possibilities for Russia gaining influence, control, and development of additional resources in the Middle East and what Trump thought of as African "Shithole countries." 5) Trump's horrible surrender agreement and the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan; 6) The contraction of the U.S. economy combined with the amount of debt not going for infrastructure or other investments in America but to make the very wealthy even wealthier via the 2017 R Tax Law 7) The completion of Putin's bridge connecting Russia to Crimea. 8) The heavy European dependence on Russian oil and gas. 9) The 1/6 Insurrection and the development of a new America’s 1st political movement in the U.S. Instead of praising and idolizing Hitler, the new movement would sing the praise of a different monster - V. Putin. These conditions gave the impetus and a green light to Putin's aspiration to conquer Ukraine, a dream he cherished but would never have pursued if not for Trump help.
As we have seen, "Getting along with Russia wasn't a “good thing" no matter how many times Trump repeated it. Appeasement of an expansionist dictator only whets their appetite and strengthens their hand. We shouldn’t elect Presidents who are inexperienced, compromised, won't show their tax returns or education records, and whose vision for America ends at the tip of their noses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRX2u70vBWc
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44852812
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/17/politics/trump-soft-on-russia/index.html
It appears that you missed the recent disclosures by former Chancellor Angela Merkel and former President Francois Hollande that the Minsk Accords were for the sole purpose of holding off Russia so Ukraine could have time to build up its armed forces. They admitted that they never intended for the Accords to be implemented.
On there face those political remarks are self-serving and contradictory. They take credit for a sincere attempt to stop the killing, while at the same time they take credit for giving Ukraine more time to prepare for war, after their failure to stop the killing.
That may be, but it just goes to show that the West is not agreement-capable.
Thanks for bringing up the "Fourth Turning" again, Thom...as it's bringing into focus for me an essential point I failed to make the last time. You correctly point to the roughly 80-year cycle of 4th Turnings occurring...with the remark that "when the last one who remembers the last war dies, the next war becomes inevitable." Well, I see that as a statement of the symptom of the problem...but not the cause. Strauss & Howe did a great job describing the entire 4-part seculum cycle in terms of archetypes, our 4 seasons, and other vague terms, but did not pinpoint the obvious source of this entire phenomenon--us Human Beings. This entire cyclical pattern is rooted in our psyche--both individually and socially. And specifically with respect to the Fourth Turning, it's our generation, Thom, our "Boomer" / "Prophet" generation that brings about a cataclysmic war between the authoritarian powers-that-be and the egalitarian forces seeking liberation from such despotic control. At the very root of this entire phenomenon is POWER....and the seductiveness of POWER that leads humans to forget / ignore / discard AT ALL COSTS their concern for others. Current case in point: Vladimir Putin. That single person has become so addicted to...and entrenched in...POWER... that he is virtually single-handedly destroying the lives of millions of Ukrainians...as well as his own soldiers, their families, etc. And for what? For his sense of POWER. He wants what he wants--and he's using everything he can to achieve that narcissistic desire. It is by some strange--or perhaps not so strange--sequence of events that every 80 years or so our "Prophet" generation succumbs to this addiction....and drags us all down into such horror, devastation, & death. You are quite correct, in my view, to point out that the current House Republicans are "Playing with Fire"...that could not only blow up the world's economy but also (per every 80 years ago going back to 1480) throw us all into another catastrophic war--this time WWIII. All for what? Because some rich & powerful guys don't want to share....and pay their fair share of taxes...and are willing to use ALL the POWER they have (via House Repugs) to achieve that end ! We have met the enemy....and the enemy is US ! After 2 whole years since Jan. 6, 2021, we still have not held those who planned and organized that whole fiasco to account. Why? Because we're afraid of upsetting people in power...or even some who used to hold power (e.g., Trump). Brazil is responding appropriately to their attempted coup, but we still haven't to ours. We are still not calling out let alone responding energetically & forthrightly to those who abuse their power--from telling lies to fomenting an insurrection. We seem to be spinning our wheels. Where's our "backbone"?? Our "Boomer" leaders--and us--appear to lack one. Why??
Someone needs to come into political power who'll make those who have profitted greatly from your country's resources pay back into their country. Last year, when Pakistan was flooded, their government looked to the world for aid, while those who'd made millions from Pakistan's resources fled for a safe place. When the U.S.A. suffers, is there anyone with the political will to force those who've benefitted the most from the resources of the U.S.A. to come to their aid? Perhaps it'll be the next superstar of the Democratic party?
And finally,
OR
You can take this place and either fix it or stuff it!
The Country stands, a stark reminder of things that were in another time. Our world is cyclic and everything moves from one state to another only to return to where it was. I like it that way, but I fear that I probably won’t be here when the good times return.
I miss the days when people did the impossible things without having to have an entourage of cheerleaders to cue the spectators. I wonder about cheerleaders. In sand-lot football, there are none. But the game is played and the quarterbacks mirror Tom Brady and the impossible passes arc towards the receivers to the silent roar of the crowd. The players go home with the same inner glory as if there really had been a crowd. And with them goes the feeling that comes from knowing that the game was well played and each player was a part of it.
We did impossible things then – before the rules changed. We were valued for our skills and knowledge then – before the rules changed. And then the rules changed. It was their time to change again. And I wish that the cycle had waited…It seemed to be in such a rush…It should have waited for me to leave before it changed. But it didn’t.
Today the quarterback fumbles the ball and makes no attempt to recover. The crowd is at first amazed and the semi-clad cheerleaders, noticing all of this, leap to their feet and begin the razzle dazzle and the twirling of batons and pom-poms flung wildly about. It works! The crowd begins to cheer. The pass that goes out-of-bounds gets the same treatment and each successive failure brings the crowd to its feet. After a while the mob cheers anyone and anything! I’m amazed! Now what happens with mediocrity? The not-so-good play? If failure gets cheers, does not-so-good become “excellence”? The quarterback is smushed by a six-hundred-pound guard. The ball is buried in the turf. The cheerleaders go beyond themselves. They pull out all the stops with pom-poms everywhere and glittering batons flung skyward with wild abandon. The crowd goes berserk!
The Country is still here and the name is still the same, but that’s where the sameness ends. We were once the “best” and we continuously measured ourselves to determine this. We were very self-critical and did this well. Now, we’re measured by the cheerleaders who wouldn’t have jobs if there were no cheers to lead.
I’ll miss the next time around. I won’t be here at all. The cheerleaders will have also gone away and the field will be quiet again. Will anybody remember how to play the game? Probably not. But they will have to learn, if only to allow the cycle to continue. It has always happened that way.
Last gasp…
At the end of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, reportedly, someone asked Ben Franklin whether we had a Monarchy or a Republic. Franklin supposedly answered, “You have a Republic, if you can hold onto it”. It is clear that we haven’t been able to hold onto it.
Beyond horrifying. The stupidity and greed are intolerable
Here is a way that Biden can get around the Republican obstruction.
He can authorize the US Treasury to print United States Notes and then use them to pay off our debts.
Actually JFK did that, he had Treasury print $2 and $5 US notes (you can buy one from a numasticist dealer), not Silver Certificates, not Treasury Notes, but United States Notes.
Of course the Association of Primary Dealers in Government Securities led by Goldman Sachs, and other major banksters would find that threatening, as it upends the system that they depend upon for wealth and power, The Federal Reserve System. It also upends the Federal Reserve System. but it would also require discipline, because the government then has the ability to keep printing and printing or digitizing and digitizing.
Sounds mot ominous. Do I liquidate my IRAs, my main (and Soc Sec) source of income?
Thom, I suggest the Dems let the GOP cut social programs. By the election time in 2024, very few people will vote for them.
The only way they will get elected, is if we have a dictatorship from rigged voting and vote counting condoned by the supreme Court of the United States.
Let us see how much they want to cut?