wasted days and wasted nights

        Had I been reading the dead tree edition of the NYT, I would have considered Bret Stephans' latest column a waste of wood pulp.   Online, it's mostly just a waste of time.  Stephans decided to use his sinecure at the Grey lady to argue Vladimir Putin's disastrous war of choice in Ukraine is a canny gambit to come away with the supposedly energy rich eastern part of the country while sticking the bill to the Western powers.

       it almost makes sense, until you think of the price being paid by Ukrainian civilians and the comically inept Russian army.   By the time some sort of peace treaty is signed, tens of thousands will be dead and millions displaced.   The very definition of a madman would perfectly fit this situation.  Of course, the Bush administration's war of choice in Iraq fit the same mold, but I digress.

       Stephans has just given Tucker Carlson the license to continue the meme of Putin's supposed strategic brilliance.   That alone would make me wish i had never read the  piece.

The slap heard round the world

        I'm not a big fan of the Oscars.  However, the kerfuffle over Will Smith's slap of Chris Rock over a perceived slight to the former's wife is instructive.

       Marjorie Taylor Greene approved of the slap as an example of an alpha male defending his mate.   Most of the rest of us seemed to think it was a violation of norms at a made for television event.   A few have pointed out it is symptomatic of how the elite, whether in entertainment, sports or just being rich, operate with a different set of rules than the rest of us.   An average Joe who punched or slapped someone in a bar would most likely be spending the night behind bars rather than celebrating an Oscar win the way Smith did.   Just Sayin'

Fainting couches are fully occupied

         If a Republican president had said Vladimir Putin cannot remain in power, the media would have dusted off the 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall' quote from Ronny Raygun to laud a new, tough talking leader.  But because a Democratic president uttered the unscripted coda, Biden is simultaneously weak, a warmonger and a gaffe prone in the eyes of savvy media voices.  

Are Republicans soft on treason?

       Comes the revelations this week that as recently as September 2021 tRump was pressuring congresscritter Mo Brooks to "rescind" the 2020 presidential election as well as Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas carrying on a texting conversation with tRump chief of staff Mark Meadows, urging him to do everything he can to overturn the election results.

      Although Brooks has no power to overturn elections and Thomas is a private citizen, both were flirting with treason as they listened to or sought to encourage the overthrow of a legitimately elected government.'   That Thomas' husband might actually be involved in decisions regarding the election is even more troubling.   

     The Republican party has morphed into an authoritarian cult whose members feel they are entitled to power regardless of actual election results.  Freedom loving Americans must reject the treasonous behavior of elected officials and call for Justice Thomas to recuse himself from any litigation arising from the 2020 elections.

One more time

        It looks like Donnie two steps has managed to wiggle out of yet another rendezvous with justice.   In his letter of resignation to the Manhattan DA, Mark Pomerantz detailed a list of crimes committed by tRump and his minions and said he believed the preponderance of evidence would lead to his conviction.

      The DA, Alvin Bragg, supposedly tole Pomerantz and another prosecutor he felt there was not enough evidence to prove tRump did the crimes with intent.   In other words, he felt unless there is a recording of the failed former President gleefully admitting he inflated the value of his properties to secure loans and deflating the same to avoid taxes there will be no prosecution.

     While it is particularly galling that tRump will avoid a reckoning once more, Bragg's attitude would have been the same if a powerful Democrat had been in the crosshairs.   Rich men, backed by the best legal talent money can buy, are virtually immune from prosecution.

Ukraine war tipping point

       Discounting all the cheerleading for Ukraine in the western media is dangerous.  The idiots who keep asking the president what more he can do to aid the war effort are playing with nuclear fire.  What will be the event which will push Putin into using nuclear weapons?  I and most sane people really don't want to find out.  The warmongers among us seemingly have convinced themselves in Dr. Stranglove fashion to stop worrying and love the bomb.  Dog help us all.

Supreme justice

       Federal Appellate Court Judge Katanji Brown Jackson is likely to make history sometime in the next couple of months as the first black woman to serve on the US Supreme Court.   She has already run the gauntlet of Senate Confirmation hearings 3 times already.  Even so, Republican members of the judiciary committee are hauling out heavy artillery to attack her and her nomination.

      From the frankly libelous claims by Josh Hawley that she is soft on child pornographers to questions about her qualifications from CanCun Cruz, it promises to be a brawl.   When the dust clears, Democrats have the votes to confirm Judge Jackson and she will be seated.  The damage to the judicial branch of government will take longer to heal.  The good thing is that more and more people will question how nine unelected men and women have far more impact on how ordinary Americans live and work than their elected representatives.  

The cost of "Free Speech"

       The editorial board of the NYT made it clear the other day it thinks America has a free speech problem.  Of course, all the usual suspects agree with that grim assessment.   The Onion, however, begs to differ.  They point out our country was founded by an elite which used the media at that time to spoon feed the masses with their viewpoints.   As the satirical news site points out, that "legacy is now in tatters".  

      As usual, there is more truth in the Onion's editorial opinion than meets the eye.  With the rise of social medial and the 24 hour cable news cycle,  viewpoints have replaced facts in many corners of the internet as well as cable and newspapers.  As one wag has pointed out, "You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts".  

     The biggest threat to democracy as far as I can tell is many of us cannot agree on facts.   In the absence of that agreement, debate becomes impossible and free speech an oxymoron.

      

What comes next?

          Every morning brings pictures of another Ukrainian apartment complex bombed or otherwise blown up by the Russian army as it advances on most of the cities in the country.   Hundreds of windows blown out, appliances hanging out of gaping holes  and streets carpeted in debris are all over network TV.  I can't help thinking what will happen when the bullets and bombs stop falling.

       Ukraine is not a rich country.   Now it is well on its way to becoming an international basket case.  Damages will probably reach into the trillions of dollars.   Who will pay for it?   Asking for a friend.

Dry times coming to the West

       Despite the media's all Ukraine all the time coverage, there is other news of importance being reported.   A little nugget reported on the weather channel today said Lake Powell fell to 1/4 of its capacity recently.   Lake Powell is an artificial body of water created by a series of dams restricting the flow of the Colorado River.  It supplies water to 40 million people and hydropower to 10 million.  

     The lake may soon fall so low it may not be able to generate power.   Also, water restrictions may kick in limiting  agriculture and residential landscape watering.   This is only the initial restrictions.   The fastest growing cities in the west will be the last to feel the bite of an increasingly drought stricken area.  

How they stopped worrying and loved the bomb

         As a child of the Cold War, I practiced the "duck and cover" drills at St. John the Evangelist.  I was secure in the knowledge that somehow cowering under my desk would deliver me from atomic destruction at the hands of the perfidious Russkies.

       Our present public opinion seems perilously close to endorsing a worldwide holocaust as the proper response to Putin's invasion of Ukraine.  Generations have been brought up to discount nuclear war as something that is simply not possible.   However, mix together a volatile situation, an increasingly unhinged dictator with nuclear weapons and a sympathetic underdog and somehow the prospect of global annihilation seems possible.   Please wake me up when this is over.

The Putin recession and America's obsession

       As someone who grew up during the period of America's obsession with driving and the lure of the open road, I freely admit it would be difficult for me to transition to public transit even if it was available where I live.  So, I suck it up and pay over 4 dollars per gallon to support my habit.   It is no different than someone who picked up a drug addiction to treat excessive pain and continues the habit long after the pain is gone.

      The war in Ukraine and the worldwide revulsion spurred by Putin's actions has led to an increase in oil prices around the world.   Oil is a global commodity and those who think America is insulated from the consequences of this fact should realize the price would be the same if we were producing 15 million barrels/day instead of 11 million.   Do you really think Exxon-Mobil or Chevron would pay themselves less for American crude than they do for oil pumped in Saudi Arabia?   Consumers in France and Britain are paying up to $8.00/gallon thanks to heavy government taxes. 

       Meanwhile, some Republicans, along with many fellow citizens who should know better are blaming the price hikes at the pump on the Biden administration.   Besides being dishonest and unhelpful, the blame game does nothing to either obviate the shortage or fund alternatives.  Yes, there are problems with alternative energy and electric vehicles.  But we should be subsidizing the solutions to these problems instead of chanting "Drill baby, drill" while the biosphere on which we depend continues to deteriorate.

More of the "up is down"

        For those whose major source of "news" is Fox, OAN or Newsmax, the world is an increasingly strange place.   In this looking glass world, everything remotely bad or threatening is the Biden administration's fault and anything good must be because of  something Donald Trump did or would have done if he was still in office.

       One bizarre meme on Facebook last week proposed tRump should run for Congress, be appointed Speaker of the House, lead an impeachment of Biden and VP Kamala Harris and then as third in line for the presidency would  become the new and future president.  The mind boggles.

      Trump led perhaps the most scandal ridden presidency in history.  Full stop.  To deny this is to deny objective reality.   Just count the number of convictions of members of his administration vs. how many of Obama's,   This ain't rocket science.   Unfortunately, a significant number of our fellow citizens are so badly informed they no longer respond to objective facts.   It is disheartening to say the least.

Baseball is back

        It seems surreal to see in the news this morning that baseball owners and players have reached a new collective bargaining agreement.  Pictures of devastation in Ukraine and the continual drumbeat for a wider war took up the front page of the NYT this morning.  America's pastime was consigned to the sports pages.

       I admit to being a fan and am happy at the news, but I can't help feeling a little guilty for cheering millionaires in their battle with billionaires while most of us try to hang on to our middle class lifestyle.  Which in turn sparks guilt for the fate of millions in Ukraine who are desperately trying to stay alive in the face of Putin's army.   However, we compartmentalize every day in order to deal with the cognitive dissonance which would otherwise overwhelm us.  So, let's play ball!

Welcome to the roller coaster

     The price of crude oil and stocks seem to be increasingly tied together in an inverse relationship.   As the price of oil increases with the continuance of Putin's War, stock markets across the world gyrate with each advance and retreat of oil prices.

     I have avoided checking my and the Divine Mrs. M's various retirement accounts so as not to increase blood pressure readings, but i don't doubt things are not going well.   As we will have to fill our respective gas tanks later this week sticker shock is also in the offing.   Fortunately, we retired boomers can cut back on our car mileage, something our kids can't do in the short run.

     It looks like we are in for a wild ride, but I still think the Russian dictator is doing us all a favor by showing us the result of relying on autocratic petro-states for our energy needs.  

Energy Independence

      Many Facebook friends have posted recently bemoaning America's supposed dependence on noxious regimes such as Venezuela, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Russia for part of our oil supply.  Somehow, they imply that if only we could produce all the oil we consume, prices at the pump would fall to some tolerable level. 

     Like it or not, we live in an interconnected world.   If the price of oil on the world market soars to $200.00 per barrel do we really think Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, et. al. would keep all their oil in fortress America and charge less than the going price.  I've got a bridge for sale.   We are already a net exporter of oil and distilled petroleum products.   We could turn the public lands of this country into a wasteland of drilling rigs and it still won't change the equation.   According to economic experts, oil is a product with inelastic demand.   A few percent more or less can produce wild price swings.

      The only way to real energy independence is to get off the oil habit and switch to renewables.

Embracing the inevitable

         The world consumes over 90 million barrels of oil per day.   With increased economic growth that figure will continue to rise.  Also, the CO2 level in the atmosphere will rise in lockstep with this increased  economic activity.  War or not, the price of oil will continue to rise on the world market.   

         We have had numerous opportunities over the last 50 years to switch to cleaner energy and avoid ecological catastrophe.   A modest tax on each barrel of crude would have funded the research into renewables.  Unfortunately, whenever such a tax was discussed it was immediately put down as inimical to the free market.   Now we are reaping what we have sowed.   We are now in the 11th hour and Vladimir Putin is ironically doing us a favor with his brutal invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent turmoil in the energy markets.

       Now is the time to declare war on fossil fuels.   We need to jumpstart energy research into fusion technology, electric vehicles and solar and wind energy.   Government subsidies in all these areas need to increase exponentially.   We can still do this, but it will take political will on the part of Democrats and patriotic Republicans.  

The right kind of refugee

       Without taking anything away from the generous response by eastern European nations to the Ukranian refugee crisis, I think it is legitimate to compare this reaction to another Putin inspired fiasco.   When millions of Syrians showed up at their borders, the response by countries such as Hungary was to put up barbed wire to keep desperate women and children out.   The only difference between the two situations is the color of the Syrians' skins and their religion.   Let's face it, most people will accept those who look like us  and reject those who don't. 

Is Archduke Ferdinand in the house

        The Russian army in Ukraine attacked and captured the largest nuclear power plant in the country yesterday and this morning.  Fortunately, it seems there won't be a second Chernobyl.  But it seems the world is slouching toward a wider war.   

      Many media commenters have compared the invasion of Ukraine to the beginning of WW2.  Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939 seems to compare quite well with Putin's war of choice in 2022.   The biggest difference is the treaty which obliged Britain and France to defend Poland's sovereignty.  Ukraine has no such treaties with the West.   

      This makes the events of the past few weeks resemble the situation before the guns of August were heard.  A series of minor misunderstandings embroiled Europe in a war of attrition.  Ukraine seems to be settling into a similar situation.  Pictures of the suffering civilian population and brave partisan fighters will tempt the powers to push their aid to Ukraine past Putin's tolerance and the punishing economic sanctions against Russia may push him into a corner like the rat he has become. Anything might twitch his hand to the nuclear trigger.  Beware of cornered rats.

In like a lion

         3 days into March and the weather here in the north country is reminiscent of January with highs in the low 20s and lows near zero at night.   Light snow on a daily basis keeps the accumulation around 10-12 inches.   Frankly, most residents aside from ski enthusiasts are tired of winter.   Unfortunately, based on experience we can look forward to another month of winter, followed by mud season.   Ugh!

Bad Faith abides

         Most Republicans who attended the State of the Union address last night felt obligated to stand and even applaud as Joe Biden explained the administration's policy to rein in Russia and support the people of Ukraine as they resist the might of the Russian army.  However, that gesture did not extend to protecting the right to vote of their own constituents.

       As the world scrambles to support Ukraine, all the problems democracy has been facing remain.  Illiberal laws passed by many GOP controlled legislatures effectively restrict the right to vote by people of color, younger voters and women.   Gerrymandered districts allow Republicans to remain in control of these legislatures even when they attract less than 50% of the vote.   We represent ourselves to the world as the avatar of democracy when in fact we have allowed a minority party to usurp the prerogatives of the majority.   The money of the oligarchy in this country has allowed this to happen.  How much different are we than the population of Russia?

Russian military is the new Potemkin village

         In 1787, a series of sham, prosperous villages, much like the false front towns built for early western movies, were built in Crimea by a courtier of Empress Catherine 2nd of Russia.   She was to make a tour of the area to confirm the information of a loyal and prosperous peasantry she was assured existed.   The phrase "Potemkin Village" has passed into popular history to denote a pleasant exterior hiding a rotten or non-existent interior.   Such may be the present state of the Russian military.

       Putin expected his army to make short work of the badly overmatched Ukrainian military.   It hasn't happened and instead of flowers, the Russians are being greeted with molotov cocktails and bullets.   The situation may turn around in the Russians' favor in the next few days, but the myth of superiority of the country's military has been punctured for the time being.