Apocalypse (not) Now

In the last day or two I've read some interesting observations regarding Iran and the apocalyptic scenario many of us fear Cadet Bone Spurs and his henchmen have dragged us into. And so, according to some learned folks out there, World War III may not be as imminent as we may be led to believe at this point.

For one, I've seen laid out how Russia having an economy comparable to Italy’s makes it unsustainable for Putin to maintain a sizable theatre of war. And besides, he's got his hands full with Ukraine right now. Meanwhile, China’s got enough problems in their own backyard with Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Koreas and of course Japan. Also, Russia and China like to pretend they’re super tight, but ever since the fall of the Soviet Union, that has been just for show. And both of them consider Iran a nominal ally and not a country that they’re really going to risk blood and treasure for. (Kinda like I’ve always said about the Arab world vis-à-vis Palestine.)

Of course I heartily agree that a war with Iran right now would be a grave mistake on various levels. And furthermore, in my opinion, avenging the deaths of 600+ American servicemen and women by starting a war that would bring about the deaths of thousands upon thousands more of them, would be doing Soleimani’s job for him. But with the Orange Menace at the helm and the bloodthirsty, warmongering Republican bootlickers just waiting to flood the coffers of their military corporate overlords, the outlook ain't good, homey.

PS: Iraq says, "WTF, dude?!"

2020: I Hope You Bet Against Me and Win

Barring him having a heart attack or some unforeseen event, we will get 4 more years of Donald Trump.

Yes, I said it.





It is inconceivable that the most corrupt POTUS in history has a fighting chance to win re-election but when you consider that election interference will be greater this time and the Republican-controlled Senate is doing everything it can NOT to protect the election, plus add a dysfunctional, blunder-prone Democratic party with a base hijacked by a purity-driven, take-my-ball-and-go-home faction, that's a recipe for disaster.

Case in point: In a recent speech, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [D-NY] defended the purity stance as "having values" and "giving a damn" and went on to further the small donations narrative, which is little more than feel good demagoguery perpetrated by those who should be working to take money out of politics instead of grandstanding on their purity. If ever that tired hip hop cliché "Don't hate the player; hate the game" made sense, it's in this context. So before we get into the potential outcome of the 2020 election, let's take a brief detour.

Democrats are perennial losers even when good and truth are on their side because they fail to recognize that the rules are invalid if only one side abides by them. When the Republicans show up with bazookas and cannons the Democrats, instead of finding ways to fight back, just complain about only having paper clips and rubber bands, while the Republicans slaughter them. Worse still, sometimes they use the paper clips and rubber bands as a badge of honor. Like elevating small donations to holy ground while doing next to nothing to remove big money from politics.

Now, I generally like AOC but that was some condescending, delusional, self-righteous bullshit she spewed. Purity in politics is actually NOT giving a damn that your rigidity will cost elections and bring about the likes of Donald Trump and his pirate ship of deplorables. Purity is the enemy of compromise and compromise is the essence of politics, if not life itself. Purity is the reason why the Democrats will be unable to defeat the most corrupt POTUS in history, because, let’s face it—if Bernie Sanders is not the nominee AOC and a significant faction of the party and his followers outside of it will boycott the process and refuse to support the nominee, whoever that is.

Too bad Sanders can’t beat Trump. Well, to be honest, none of them can.

Sen. Biden has turned to mush; Mayor Buttigieg can’t beat his Dem opponents let alone Trump. Sen. Klobuchar? Are you serious? The aforementioned Sanders is a pipe dream; Trump will gobble up Sen. Warren like a fried biscuit; and Mr. Yang means well but, c’mon.

And so, the Orange Nightmare will continue and the Democrats will go down in history as the party unable to defeat the worst POTUS of the last 100 years because, for a chunk of them, it was more important to be self-righteous than to win.

I so hope I'm wrong. But I'm not.

Brace yourselves.